User blog:ProfessorBrickkeeper/Op-Ed: Why Buy-to-Play is good for LMO (and my experience playing it!)

Lately, numerous players have been voicing their disdain at the decision to convert LEGO Minifigures Online to a buy-to-play game model. They have said that it will bring about the downfall of the game, that they will stop playing, and that it’s too expensive (which is patently unfair, considering that nothing is known regrading pricing data yet). My opinions differs from the view of the majority. I believe that the buy-to-play change may be the best thing ever to happen to LEGO Minifigures Online.



Some of you may consider this to be a brazen statement given the lack of details Funcom has provided about the buy-to-play change and the fact that nobody has yet experienced it. This is where one is wrong. I was recently provided with the opportunity to experience the buy-to-play content update before it lands for everyone on the 29th.



First of all, let me preface this by saying that any and every detail mentioned is subject to change, and in all likelihood the game may not even resemble what I describe here by the time it is released. Additionally, when I played the game, it was (and still is) in a state of active development, and not all features promised by Funcom had been added yet.



The game begins when you choose one of three minifigures; a builder, a striker, or a defender, and assign them to one of the multiple character save slots now housed under a single account.



The overarching story of the game has received an overhaul. It begins with a narration of the lines “The LEGO worlds. Lands of mystery and adventure, where everything that can be imagined is possible.” From the get-go, it draws you in, when the Video Game Guy wakes you up in your home, having seen the evil Captain Dreadleg escape from your home with the Crystal Compass in his possession. Following Dreadleg summoning several of his minions to deal with you, you finally face off against the dreaded pirate himself. Right as you are about to deliver a finishing blow, Dreadleg disappears, vowing to return. He leaves you with the Crystal Compass, which serves the same purpose as the Homestone formerly did. At this point, it is worth mentioning that the maps have all received a visual upgrade, and now illustrate exactly where you wish to go in a fun, cartoonish style. Additionally, from any place you are, you can travel to any checkpoint in any world, to make travel extra easy.



Following a dandy new cinematic, you are immediately plunged knee-deep into trouble, when the Video Game Guy and you land on an island off the coast of the Isle of Yarr, right in the heart of jacket territory. With enemies all around, the only way to defeat Dreadleg is to free the Swashbuckler from prison, and get his help to assemble a daring team of minifigures. Along the way, a dark secret (that I shall not spoil) of the Isle of Yarr is revealed, setting you out on an epic journey. Along the way, a new game mechanic is revealed- explosives! At various points in the world, you can feed your minifigure into special machines, transforming your figure into controllable timed explosives for a period.



As mentioned earlier, the process of collecting minifigures has been improved, making it easier than ever to expand your collection. You can now unlock complete minifigures just by playing through the main story arc of the game, by using stars to purchase random minifigure parts which can be assembled into complete minifigures, or by collecting certain minifigure parts in Pocket Adventures and Epic Dungeons.



I should also mention that, though they weren’t available while I was testing, bricks have been replaced with something even more exciting in their place- pets! While I was playing, several different types of pets were listed, such as Teddy Bears, Dogs, Cats, and Spiders.

 <p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0,0,0);-webkit-text-stroke-width:initial;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Helvetica;-webkit-text-stroke-color:rgb(0,0,0);-webkit-text-stroke-width:initial;">To reiterate, it is my opinion that the decision of Funcom’s LEGO Minifigures Online to switch over to a buy-to-play business model on June 29th is in the best interest of LEGO, Funcom, and all the players. It allows the game to introduce a stronger narrative with new storytelling techniques, new game features, new mechanics, and a better system of minifigure collecting, all of which come together to reinvent the game and strengthen it for a better run.