On Frozen Blog

So in addition to hockey in general and the Washington Capitals in particular, one of my obsessions is playing World of Warcraft. Well, my playing time pales when compared to several friends’, but it’s still something I enjoy when I get the chance to login.
So when I heard that NHL 09 was going all MMO on us, well, I was pretty darned intrigued. Things like level progression (i.e., improving your skills based on quality/duration of game play) and “guilds” (a.k.a. “teams”) will debut in next month’s NHL 09 release. A complex behind-the-scenes formula helps determine how well you played and delivers individual-game grades and your cumulative average; the grades factor into how your players progresses and allow prospective teammates to see your skills in advance ‚Äî something sorely missing from WoW, as anyone who ever played with a random pick-up group can confirm (“You call that healing?” “Have you actually played before or did you steal this account?”).
Well-designed video games help the casual fan of a particular sport appreciate the strategies and rules of that sport. One of the game’s features is the “positional arrow,” something that helps assess your in-game play while teaching the strategies of the real game. This arrow improves your player’s positioning skills by showing you where you should be when you don’t have the puck ‚Äî thus hopefully avoiding everyone clustering to the puck like a between-period Mites game at the Phone Booth. Rewarding good positional play not only encourages teamwork, but also helps the hockey novice learn the proper way to execute a strategy and to appreciate sound positioning when watching the real game.
To appeal to most gamers’ competitive nature beyond simply winning a given game, worldwide rankings will provide bragging rights and aid in recruiting. You may see some Warcraft-level LFG (Looking For Group) pick-up hockey games, but you’ll also see the best teams recruiting highly-ranked players, like picking up key UFAs for a Cup run. And yes, the end-of-season champions will receive a physical trophy from EA Sports. As Dave Littman said last month in an interview with Puck Daddy, “Our plan is to reward the winning team with the Cup, and we want to do that in person. I can’t tell you what the Cup looks like yet, but it’ll be something you want to win.”
The video clip below is an early look at the game as played by developers and testers. You get a 12-minute preview of the game as it’s actually played, along with fun commentary by one of the developers (occasionally and entertainingly interrupted by coworkers and in-game events). Note that despite “team” being the obviously-appropriate terminology for NHL 09′s MMO, the word “guild” keeps slipping into conversation ‚Äî while you won’t be learning new spells or seeking that epic sword in NHL 09 (sorry, no [Blade of Infinite Scoring], [Sidney's Helm of Underwater Breathing], or [Dryden's Glove of Power] in the game), World of Warcraft is clearly a big influence on its MMO component.
As you’ll see in this video, EA Sports has harnessed much of the addictive nature of MMOs into NHL 09. Assuming the game’s a big enough seller to achieve the critical mass of gaming population required for a successful online community (and I’m sure there will be), NHL 09′s embrace of MMOs should keep EA’s NHL franchise at the top of hockey fans’ wish lists.

To read more about NHL 09′s MMO component check out Nate Ahearn’s article on IGN.