Virtual World News
Farscape MMO plans from shuttered studio go public
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous
If you answered yes please, we've got both good news and bad news. The bad news is that the game is dead in the water. The good news is that former Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock has made a ton of information about the development process available on his blog.
In a nutshell, Hammock and other Fallen Earth ex-patriots signed on with a startup company a couple of years ago. Said company claimed to have $150 million in funding, so the devs jumped into pre-production (which included a design document, over 200 pages of content iteration, and meetings with Farscape creator Rockne O'Bannon and Jim Henson Studios). After six months of work, funding dried up and the startup's CEO left the devs empty-handed.
Former project lead Colin Dwan told us that the motivation behind releasing this information now is twofold. "We want people to see some of what goes into writing a design doc for a multi-million dollar MMO. We want to share the passion we had for a universe that was cut short without having a chance to see the light of day," he said. Head to Hammock's blog to see some concept art, storyline info, the project mission statement, and more.
Farscape MMO plans from shuttered studio go public originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Hammock's blog
MMO Family: How helpful are those ESRB ratings?
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, Kids, MMO Family, Family, Miscellaneous
But the real question is, are ESRB ratings accurate when it comes to MMOs? The poll also claims that 65% of parents regularly check a game's rating before making a purchase, but are those ratings as helpful when choosing an MMO for your children? Read on for a look at why the E, T, and AO symbols might actually deserve an F.
Continue reading MMO Family: How helpful are those ESRB ratings?
MMO Family: How helpful are those ESRB ratings? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Farscape MMO plans from shuttered studio go public [Updated]
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, MMO industry, News items, Miscellaneous
If you answered yes please, we've got both good news and bad news. The bad news is that the game is dead in the water. The good news is that former Fallen Earth lead designer Lee Hammock has made a ton of information about the development process available on his blog.
In a nutshell, Hammock and other Fallen Earth ex-patriots signed on with a startup company a couple of years ago. Said company claimed to have $150 million in funding, so the devs jumped into pre-production (which included a design document, over 200 pages of content iteration, and meetings with Farscape creator Rockne O'Bannon and Jim Henson Studios). After six months of work, funding dried up and the startup's CEO left the devs empty-handed.
Former project lead Colin Dwan told us that the motivation behind releasing this information now is twofold. "We want people to see some of what goes into writing a design doc for a multi-million dollar MMO. We want to share the passion we had for a universe that was cut short without having a chance to see the light of day," he said. Head to Hammock's blog to see some concept art, storyline info, the project mission statement, and more.
[Update: Lee Hammock has been asked to take down his blog posts on his work with the Farscape MMO for legal reasons.]
Farscape MMO plans from shuttered studio go public [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Hammock's blog
Why I play Star Wars: The Old Republic
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Culture, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Why I Play
From the music to the action figures, I loved them all. I still have a picture of me at six years old riding an AT-AT. Yes, even at six, I knew exactly what an AT-AT was. And although I called a lightsaber a light-saver, I grew up with Star Wars entrenched in my psyche. It was only natural that when the video games revolving around the series came out, I would take up that cause. You guys remember the crazy wireframe Death Star trench arcade? You'd better believe I was there playing that.
When Star Wars entered the MMO space, I was there with bells on. But it's not just this longing to recapture my childhood that propels me to that galaxy far, far away in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The spice addiction runs quite a bit deeper.
Continue reading Why I play Star Wars: The Old Republic
Why I play Star Wars: The Old Republic originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Wizard101 invites players into the mythical realm of Avalon
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, News items, Free-to-play, Wizard101, Family
Wizard101 players have been all over, from the lush jungles of Zafaria to the pyramids of Krokotopia, but as of today there's a whole new land for them to explore: the mystical land of Avalon. Avalon, as the name implies, is a land based in Arthurian legend, and it also happens to be the former home of Ravenwood's headmaster, Merle Ambrose.
But all is not well in the usually idyllic Avalon. The nefarious Umbra Queen Morganthe and her minions are causing trouble, and it's up to the players to find and recover the legendary blade of King Artorius, the Sword of Kings, and put a stop to Morganthe's mayhem. Players who are level 70 or above and who have completed the quest Through Glass, Darkly can find their way to Avalon by speaking to Merle Ambrose, who will send them on a quest to the new zone. For the full details on the new update, magick your way on over to the Wizard101 official site.
But all is not well in the usually idyllic Avalon. The nefarious Umbra Queen Morganthe and her minions are causing trouble, and it's up to the players to find and recover the legendary blade of King Artorius, the Sword of Kings, and put a stop to Morganthe's mayhem. Players who are level 70 or above and who have completed the quest Through Glass, Darkly can find their way to Avalon by speaking to Merle Ambrose, who will send them on a quest to the new zone. For the full details on the new update, magick your way on over to the Wizard101 official site.
Wizard101 invites players into the mythical realm of Avalon originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Wizard101 update notes
Free for All: Why social gaming could destroy MMOs and how we can fight it
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Business models, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, Browser, Casual, Free for All, Miscellaneous
Has social media affected MMO gaming? It definitely has. Watch any smart developer's Twitter feed and you will see the community team interacting directly with players, answering questions, hosting contests, and helping players feel as though the developers are actual people. Social media has also changed how we connect to our games, MMO or not.
All of this means that everything is social now. Going to the dentist? Share it with your friends. Defeated a boss monster on your Xbox? Tweet it. Just picked up that epic sword in Dark Age of Camelot? Post it to your Facebook. Heck, many MMOs now have a Twitter or Facebook option built right into the client. All of this instant connectivity is nice, but it's possible that the "massively" part of MMO will soon apply to any game. What will this do to the genre?
Continue reading Free for All: Why social gaming could destroy MMOs and how we can fight it
Free for All: Why social gaming could destroy MMOs and how we can fight it originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Choose My Adventure: Taking a right at Paragon City
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Super-hero, Polls, City of Heroes, Opinion, Free-to-play, Humor, Choose My Adventure
The masses have spoken. For this leg of our Choose My Adventure journey, we will be parking ourselves in Paragon City, fighting the forces of evil, destruction, and movement keys! I must concede that Bree certainly knew her City of Heroes community -- ya'll voted just how she said you would. But Bree, you didn't predict the mask, now did ya?! Ha!
It recently came to my attention that I could have easily queried you on the spandex issue, but come on -- what superhero doesn't have to shimmy into that painted-on suit? We want the full experience, right? Right. So let's get to it. All we have left to do to get this show off the road and into some action is whip up a character.
But this is me we are talking about here! Thankfully, I am marching into this process armed with your decisions! I mean, how bad can it be? We have three days between close of the last vote and a new set of new ones, so it isn't like there isn't time. Here goes...
Continue reading Choose My Adventure: Taking a right at Paragon City
Choose My Adventure: Taking a right at Paragon City originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Diablo III's Wizard rebels against the system
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Classes, Diablo III
Diablo III's Wizards are described as "brilliant practitioners of the arcane arts who deftly wield the energies of fire, ice, lightning, and even time itself in the pursuit of their enigmatic goals." These Wizards are part of an underground rebellion that is seeking great power, and they are scorned by the mages in charge, yet they may be the only ones to save the world from the great new threat that's arisen.
Check out the fire-and-brimstone action of the Wizard after the jump!
Continue reading Diablo III's Wizard rebels against the system
Diablo III's Wizard rebels against the system originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Wizard spotlight
Matt Higby discusses PlanetSide 2's progression and customization
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, PlanetSide 2
The game's overall progression path is meant to be one of options, not straight power. That's the case for classes as well as advancement; Heavy Assault characters will play distinctly from other classes, but they'll have a variety of unique abilities that players can choose among. The interview also sheds more light on what players can expect from the game's overarching persistent elements, which set the game and its factions apart from standard FPS fare. The game still has a long way to go in development, but what's been shown thus far is definitely an encouraging start.
Matt Higby discusses PlanetSide 2's progression and customization originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Gamebreaker.tv Higby interview
Star Trek Online puts its featured episodes into reruns
May 02, 2012
Filed under: Sci-fi, Events, in-game, News items, Star Trek Online, Free-to-play
May 3rd through the 9th will feature the Spectres series, followed by Cloaked Intentions from May 10th through the 16th, The 2800 from the 17th to the 23rd, and Cold War from the 24th until May 30th. All of the special rewards are still unique, so if you already have one, you can't get it again. But if you weren't playing the game at the time or just missed the chance, this month offers a chance to go back and catch up.
[Thanks to The_Grand_Nagus for the tip!]
Star Trek Online puts its featured episodes into reruns originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
- Source: Featured Episodes rotation
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