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Lucent Heart: A Game for Couples
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Ever had one of those relationships where "he" plays online games and "she" doesn't? If so, you'll definitely want to check out MMORPG.com Managing Editor Bill Murphy's article about Lucent Heart. Calling it a "game for couples", Bill spent some time playing Lucent Heart and has a lot of experiences to share. Read on!
I love my wife. But there are precious few games she’ll play with me, and even less MMOs. If she wasn’t so sweet and pretty, I swear I’d kick her out (kidding). With this in mind, when the folks at Gamania told me Lucent Heart is the perfect game to get my wife to try MMOs, I scoffed. But then last week I had the chance to sit down with Jon and Mark from the team, and well… I’m starting to believe that they’re onto something. Sure at first glance, Lucent Heart looks like little more than another F2P MMO ported from Asia. But I was surprised to find out just how deep the rabbit hole went, just how cheap and well-planned the cash shop is, and just how much my wife loves the cuter more “romantic” aspects of the game. Heck, during the closed beta they had a 45% female demographic… and believe it or not real women were playing female characters!
Read more of Bill Murphy's Lucent Heart: A Game for Couples.
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Comments
Mine plays Vanguard. She would probably be a little ill if I came in and suggested this.
I think if you could build a house or a farm, I might actually be able to get my wife to play the game.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Mark was happy to tell me just how cheap they’re able to keep everything with 30-days of additional backpack space costing a mere $1.50. Gamania doesn’t seem to be about nickel and diming their players.
F2P but you don't buy extra storage space from the store, you buy a storage space subscription? How is that not nickel and diming? I was never very interested but they completely lost me right there.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Welcome to the smoke and mirrors of so called 'F2P'.
Once the current 'freemium' adapted AAA MMOs built under the sub model have all gotten too old and gone away this is exactly the model that will be left for you to play.
I hope the folks out there using them as poster boys for 'F2P' understand the future they afre building for themselves.
It would be more accurately named 'À La Carte', where you choose what to spend your money on. This game developer is focusing on convenience items to generate income. They could just as well focus on power level items. I think the convenience items are the way to go.
** edit **
Virtual land ownership for real world money is OK in my mind too. Except I don't think you can buy a house or anything like it in this game.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
My objection wasn't to selling the space for $1.50, it was to selling a subscription to the bag space. That's a new low.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." -Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
Welcome to the smoke and mirrors of so called 'F2P'.
Once the current 'freemium' adapted AAA MMOs built under the sub model have all gotten too old and gone away this is exactly the model that will be left for you to play.
I hope the folks out there using them as poster boys for 'F2P' understand the future they afre building for themselves.
It would be more accurately named 'À La Carte', where you choose what to spend your money on. This game developer is focusing on convenience items to generate income. They could just as well focus on power level items. I think the convenience items are the way to go.
** edit **
Virtual land ownership for real world money is OK in my mind too. Except I don't think you can buy a house or anything like it in this game.
My objection wasn't to selling the space for $1.50, it was to selling a subscription to the bag space. That's a new low.
I just don't see it as a new low. It's not even new. There are a few games I've seen where you rent bigger storage for your character. Some of them aren't all that new at all.
I think it's fine for things you don't need while playing. You can still play for free, and compared to a player who is paying money, you can still be competitive in PvE and PvP. Bag space fits in that category.
I think being able to buy a house or virtual property in the game for money would be a better deal. Especially if I want to get my wife to play.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Do they allow same sex couples? I'm guessing not.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Until it's more widely accepted, I highly doubt it. I thought I heard of one game you could have same sex couples though.
MMO's have always been this way, before the money was spent privately through E-bay or IGE. Now it's given to the studios, nothing has changed in this respect except the way in which money transfers and what is being sold.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
so yes, they do. except you want to play the japanese version :P
I agree...looking over my shoulder at the screenshots with me, she keeps repeating the same term for each image: "Ghey". It appears as if they recycled the human models from Uncharted Waters Online, which too is "ghey" according to her. I'm inclined to agree.
They do In Voyage Century Online...but then, that game is a money sink.
Thanks for all the info. I think the free to play model is probably going to keep me from wanting to play anyway, but it's nice to know the game is out there should I ever get so bored that f2p sounds like an option.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
is this really a game for couples?
Chins
If you read the article, there are some mechanics that allow couples to have their accounts joined or related to each other. There is a little more to it than that, but that's the 'couples' bit.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.