About this episode
Mitch and Blake discuss how the rise of games-as-services has privileged durable, long-duration play-patterns -- leading to the modern idea of the "Forever Game" which can persist for decades. Mitch outlines his five attributes of long-term engagement and provides examples of each from games like Ultima Online , World of Warcraft , Age of Empires , and League of Legends . They look at the two distinct strands of long-duration play that emerged in the 1990's -- the massively-multiplayer online role playing game and the session-based online competitive game -- and how those genres evolved and cross-polinated to produce multi-billion dollar online games that have remained viable for a decade or more. Links & Show Notes: Bill Gurley on LTV Island of Kesmai Bran Ferren I/ITSEC The Assassination of Lord British Lineage AoE2: Red Bull Wololo 2022 World of Warcraft Fortnite