Virtual World News
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, EverQuest Next, Sandbox
SOE CEO John Smedley recently talked to Gamasutra about his company's free-to-play business makeover and a new focus on players-as-content."Everybody is content for everyone else," Smedley said. "That's the core of our strategy moving forward. A simple way to put it is: By allowing players to interact with each other, we're providing tools. It's like we're building a gladiator arena and throwing in the swords... We might bust the tigers out or bring in new kinds of weapons, like a tank. In my opinion, the days when companies can make content [generation] the number one strategy, in the kinds of games we make, are over, because we can't win the war. Star Wars:The Old Republic proved that. Players bought it, loved it, and they played the game. Then they left."
Smedley also hinted that SOE's long-awaited EQNext project may be closer to fruition than many folks expect. While we've known for some time now to expect a playable demo of the fantasy sandbox at this fall's SOE Live convention, Smedley's comments to Gamasutra will probably invite plenty of speculation.
"Players will get their hands on an actual release version of what we're doing late [this] year -- and I don't mean a beta," he said.
Smedley talks players as content, hints at EQNext 'actual release version' originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gamasutra
Filed under: Opinion, The Guild Counsel, Miscellaneous
But one of the first things players select when they make their character is a name, and that's also the first thing that identifies our characters to other players. It sounds simple, but getting a name, and then keeping it, is actually harder than it sounds. And for players, not getting a favorite name can actually take away from enjoyment of the game.
How important is a name? And do players have a right to keep it forever even if they aren't necessarily using it on an active character? Let's look at some of the complexities behind a simple name.
Continue reading The Guild Counsel: The battle for character names
The Guild Counsel: The battle for character names originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, New titles, PvP, News items, Free-to-play, MOBA
Not only will players no longer need a key to download and play the game, but they will get to keep their progress and unlocks thus far throughout both open beta and release -- there are no planned character wipes. Hi-Rez is also offering a limited-edition cosmetic skin to all players who reach level 30 during the beta period.
To join the new open beta, visit the official site and create an account. Want to see SMITE in action? Then be sure to catch Massively TV's Lunchtime Livecast on Saturday the 26th at 11:00 a.m. EST.
[Source: Hi-Rez press release]
SMITE moves to open beta today originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Events, real-world, News items, MOBA, League of Legends
Simon "Rayt3ch" Näslund has also had his account banned and is barred from tournament participation for one year, but his future accounts will not be flagged as kill-on-sight. These bannings will force Team Solo Mebdi out of the qualifying rounds for the League of Legends championship, as the loss of the players pushes the team below the minimum necessary number of members. It's an aggressive step toward cleaning up the notoriously vile community, although it remains to be seen what the lasting impact will be from these bannings.
Riot Games issues lifetime bans for League of Legends players originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Banning Announcement
- Via: PCGamer
Filed under: PvP, Opinion, Free-to-play, Guides, MOBA, League of Legends, The Summoner's Guidebook
Ganking is a critical part of LoL. You can put an enemy team out of commission long before the midgame starts by having many successful ganks. While it's common in Summoner's Rift to have the jungler be the ganking linchpin of a team, ganking is not confined to junglers. Roaming supports and mages are also quite effective, and in a gametype like Dominion, anyone who can approach undetected and deliver burst damage or CC can make an effective ganker. This week in the Summoner's Guidebook, we'll talk about setting up for ganks and some ways to make them pay off more effectively.
Continue reading The Summoner's Guidebook: The perfect LoL gank
The Summoner's Guidebook: The perfect LoL gank originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Super-hero, City of Heroes, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Ask Massively, Community Q&A
That's just not how it works.
Continue reading Ask Massively: We don't need another hero
Ask Massively: We don't need another hero originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Defiance
The mutants used to be human soldiers, but have since been transformed into raging, muscular monstrosities. These creatures retain their former training and -- more importantly -- their weapons. While powerful, the mutants aren't invincible and can be taken down with a little aggressive persuasion.
Check out the short mutant spotlight video after the jump!
Continue reading Defiance video spotlights mutants
Defiance video spotlights mutants originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Mutants video
Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Free-to-play, Community Q&A, Dev Diaries
Chief among the topics was Update 10, of which the team spilled a host of details. The update will go to the test server next week, and promises to contain new armor sets, standardized power pools, the removal of dread on the landscape, a big change to Wardens, and the second half of the instance cluster. Turbine also said that while Update 10 won't have a new book in the epic story, Update 11 definitely will (and it'll be "super-sized"). Update 11 is also slated to add a whole new region to the game that includes mounted and standard combat.
We've got the beefy Q&A transcript for you after the jump, so check it out!
Continue reading LotRO devs talk Updates 10 and 11
LotRO devs talk Updates 10 and 11 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: LotRO Twitter
Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Defiance
Check out the thread and be sure to check back often (or ask a question yourself) as it will be continuously updated with new info as it becomes available.
[Thanks to Levi for the tip!]
Trion compiles pre-order FAQ for Defiance originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Preorder FAQ
Filed under: World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Ultima Online, Global Agenda, Humor, Star Wars: The Old Republic, RIFT, TERA, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous
Believe it or not, MMOs get off easy when it comes to notorious marketing campaigns. Anything on the following list, good or bad, is a pale shadow of what we've seen in the larger video game industry. Still, there have been plenty of attempts to promote MMOs in ways that make us either applaud or laugh at the studio (and sometimes both at once, which takes coordination).
After doing some staff polling and internal polling, here are 10 memorable marketing campaigns from the era of MMORPGs. Maybe they're all winners in that they got noticed by at least one person, even if they're the most foolish notions in history. Here we go!
Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Memorable marketing campaigns
The Perfect Ten: Memorable marketing campaigns originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.