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MMO Updates

EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice!
One Shots: Beautiful balloon
The Daily Grind: Do you eat while you play?
EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney!
The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history
The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information
RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers
The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony

EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice!

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Filed under: Galleries, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Massively Meta, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

You may be thinking to yourself, "I saw yesterday's EB Games Expo highlights video, but I want to hear from the people in that wacky Sydney crowd!" Consider your wishes granted: Massively Multimedia Contributor David Desi (that's Psykopig to you livestream junkies) today submits his next video from this weekend's convention down under, and it's loaded with all the man-on-the-street interviews you can handle. What do Aussies want to see when they come to a con? Just how confused are attendees about the races in Guild Wars 2? Can Sydney cosplayers pull off a Mario accent? It's all there along with the Pig's usual dose of crazy humor.

Check out the video just after the break, and stay tuned for the final video later today -- a full interview with some of the people responsible for Guild Wars 2!

Gallery: EB Games Expo Sydney 2012

Continue reading EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice!

EB Games Expo 2012: The people have a voice! originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Shots: Beautiful balloon

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Galleries, Screenshots, Guild Wars 2, Massively Meta, One Shots, TERA, Miscellaneous

Massively logically selects for readers who aren't necessarily playing World of Warcraft -- if you were, you'd probably be reading our sister site WoW Insider, not this column. But I am still a WoW fan, as is this week's One Shots submitter, William. He sent in a freshly snapped pic from Mists of Pandaria with this note:

This screenshot is a little bit of a spoiler, so I won't actually say much about what's in it, but needless to say, this is one of my favourite scenes from the Pandaren starting area. The art design is fantastic in Blizzard's new expansion!

Also, panda in a balloon! William's color image is tucked after the break along with a few more of your One Shots-worthy images.

Continue reading One Shots: Beautiful balloon

One Shots: Beautiful balloon originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Do you eat while you play?

Posted: 07 Oct 2012 06:00 AM PDT

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

I can see why camping something for five hours would produce positive thoughts if you also had a tasty pizza.

MMOs are time-consuming in a way that few other games are. The oldest games often asked people to sit and camp monsters for hours on end, the sort of thing that required a long vigil and continued attention. Those days are largely gone, but even in games supporting more bite-sized chunks of content, there's still a strong incentive for long leveling sessions and chain-running dungeons.

Considering that you're likely in a game that's overflowing with food items, either from crafting or as background ambiance, it's understandable why you might want to get a bite to eat. And if you're just going to go back to playing after you're done eating, why wait?

Sometimes you really can't eat at your desk (or wherever you play), and sometimes you don't want to. But as a rule, do you eat while you play your game of choice? Or do you step away from the game to have a snack?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do you eat while you play? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney!

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 07:00 PM PDT

Filed under: Video, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Previews, Massively Meta, Humor, Massively Event Coverage, Miscellaneous

This weekend, Massively's resident Aussie and livestreamer extraordinaire David Desi -- aka Psykopig -- was on the ground at the EB Games Expo in Sydney, Australia, marking the first time we've ever sent anyone to an Australian gaming con. It was jam-packed with goodness -- so much goodness that he had to make a video highlighting the weekend's adventures! You'll see some dancing, some silly faces, a whole bunch of cosplay... and maybe even a few surprises! Ever seen Deadpool and Darth Vader battle through dance? What about a flock (I think it's a flock?) of Pikachu jumping out from behind a host? If you are quick enough, you might even glimpse a wild Psykopig appearing and having a dance himself.

Check out our convention overview video behind the break, and stay tuned for more videos and even a Guild Wars 2 interview later this weekend!

Continue reading EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney!

EB Games Expo 2012: Hello from Sydney! originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 04:00 PM PDT

Filed under: EverQuest, EverQuest II, Opinion, Free Realms, Legends of Norrath, DC Universe Online, The Tattered Notebook, EverQuest Next, PlanetSide 2

The Tattered Notebook 7 highlights from Fan Faire history

There's just a couple of weeks left until this year's SOE Live, and players are all preparing for what should be a very busy convention with lots of game news. But for some of us, it's hard to get used to not calling it Fan Faire. The gathering has had a long past spanning more than a decade and more than a few memorable moments (some of them not fit to print!).

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas, and as fans get ready to once again descend upon Bally's, it's worth looking back at highlights from past Fan Faires. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll revisit a few of those memorable moments.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history

The Tattered Notebook: Seven highlights from SOE Fan Faire history originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Previews, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, The Mog Log

Not so long ago I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on Final Fantasy XIV's relaunch. (All right, I was getting upset at a lack of hard information on stuff to make people currently long gone care about the game, but that was tied into a lack of hard information.) Over the last two weeks, we've received a lot of hard information on the relaunch.

Well played, Naoki Yoshida. Well played.

Metacommentary aside, we've actually gotten some useful bits, chiefly in the form of a fully translated Letter from the Producer LIVE and an update on what's happening with items and money when the relaunch happens. There's a lot of information to hit there, so I'm just going to take it piece by piece and cover what I see as the highlights. I wouldn't say that this information really fixes some of the communication concerns I've had, but it certainly mollifies me for the moment.

Continue reading The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information

The Mog Log: Reacting to FFXIV's relaunch information originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Game mechanics, Lore, Previews, Professions, News items, PvE, RIFT

RIFT has been updated with new areas and content since launch, but the upcoming Storm Legion expansion is set to seriously kick things up a notch. As if tripling the size of the game world weren't enough, the expansion will raise the level cap and add a new technology-based soul to each of the game's core classes. The battle-mage style Harbinger soul was revealed at Gamescom 2012 in August, followed by the Tempest, and data from the test server hinted that the remaining pair might be named Defiler and Tactician. Last night Trion Worlds confirmed our suspicions by revealing the new Rogue Tactician soul to livestream viewers.

The Tactician uses a magical weapon that's part flamethrower and part fire extinguisher, able to deal incredible area-effect elemental damage to enemies but actually heal allies. Players using the soul can also place small devices called Cores on the ground to provide area-effect healing, buffs, and additional damage. The flamethrower-like weapon is directionally aimed and can be channelled while the player is moving, so clever positioning is required to get the most out of this unique soul.

RIFT reveals the Tactician, master of flamethrowers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: Tactician reveal

The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: Betas, MMO industry, Legal, The Game Archaeologist

You know the story of Roanoke, right? That early American settlement that abruptly went missing with only the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree for later colonists to find? It's a big mystery that might not be much of a mystery at all, but I've always been fascinated with it and other similar tales. There's just something about an abruptly vanishing thing or people to arrest the imagination.

So what about an entire MMO that one day just went "poof" and vanished into thin air? And what if it had the ironic name of Lost Colony? And what if I were so bored as to scour the internet for clues as to what happened to it? I think you're going to find out.

Lost Colony came to my attention during a recent trip to Planet Wikipedia, where the natives are interesting if not always fully sourced. I was reading through an article on vaporware when this game caught my eye. An MMO I never heard of that just disappeared? I felt a Scooby Doo mystery coming on!

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony

The Game Archaeologist: The curious case of Lost Colony originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 06 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMORPG News

Guild Wars 2: Game On Podcast: ArenaNet's Bobby Stein
Battle of 3 Kingdoms: October Events Announced
Runescape: Player Events Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month
General: SOE Plans Halloween Happenings In All Games
Uncharted Waters Online: Second Anniversary Celebration

Guild Wars 2: Game On Podcast: ArenaNet's Bobby Stein

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 04:38 PM PDT

Guild Wars 2 has been going strong since launch, and this week, Som Pourfarzaneh talks with Bobby Stein, Lead Writer at ArenaNet, all about writing for GW2, dialogue, VO, storytelling, in-game text, and much more!

Battle of 3 Kingdoms: October Events Announced

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:42 PM PDT

The Battle of 3 Kingdoms team has laid out a trio of events for October. There is an in-game event, a Facebook event and a recruit-a-friend event that all yield some pretty awesome in game swag.

Runescape: Player Events Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:46 PM PDT

RuneScape clans have banded together to raise awareness for breast cancer research by donning pink for the month of October. Thousands of players are sporting pink hair, clothing, armor and more. Players also participated in a walk across the Gielinor game world.

General: SOE Plans Halloween Happenings In All Games

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:35 PM PDT

Sony Online Entertainment has laid out the spooky happenings for Halloween in all of the games in its stable of MMOs. DC Universe Online, Free Realms, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures and Vanguard will all see spooky events throughout the month of October.

Uncharted Waters Online: Second Anniversary Celebration

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 06:27 PM PDT

The team behind Uncharted Waters Online is pleased to announced that for the next month, players will be able to celebrate the game's second anniversary with activities both in game and via social media platforms. Players logging in on Saturday, October 6th will receive a premium ticket that can be traded for one of fifteen 'covetous' prizes.

General Gaming Article

Microsoft to Update Built-in Windows 8 Apps Before General Availability

Posted: 05 Oct 2012 11:35 PM PDT

In an atypically terse post on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft announced on Friday that many of the apps that come with Windows 8 will be receiving updates in the lead-up to the October 26 release of Windows 8 and Windows RT. According to the company, it has been beavering away on bringing new features and improvements to these built-in apps since August.

"Leading up to GA for Windows 8, we will be releasing updates for many of the apps that were included with the release to manufacturing (RTM) build of Windows 8 that was delivered to PC makers and to MSDN and TechNet subscribers in August," wrote Gabriel Aul, director of program management for Windows fundamentals, on the Building Windows 8 blog.

The Bing app will be the first to receive an update, with updates for other built-in Windows 8 apps steadily trickling into the Windows Store over the next few weeks. Microsoft has announced updates for almost all the major built-in apps: SkyDrive, Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, Photos, Maps, Bing, Finance, News, Sports, Travel, Weather, Video, Music and Games.

"Naturally, these app updates will also be available to PC makers to include by default with their PCs shipping in the future, but for those of you who have already installed Windows 8 RTM, it is super easy to get the updates from the Store app," Aul further wrote. "The Store tile will notify you when updates are available, and you can open it and click the updates link in the top right corner to see the list and install the ones you want."

You can read our Windows 8 review here.

MMO and SEO News from Gameforumer.com

Atlus bringing Kalypso titles to the US
Microsoft to Update Built-in Windows 8 Apps Before General Availability
Saturday Crapshoot: Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark
Core Online – Nostale developer going PvP-serious for new game

Atlus bringing Kalypso titles to the US

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 01:22 AM PDT

Tropico 4 and more will be distributed by Atlus in North America

Microsoft to Update Built-in Windows 8 Apps Before General Availability

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 01:21 AM PDT

In an atypically terse post on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft announced on Friday that many of the apps that come with Windows 8 will be receiving updates in the lead-up to the October 26 release of Windows 8 and Windows RT. According to the company, it has been beavering away on bringing new [...]

Saturday Crapshoot: Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 01:20 AM PDT

Every week, >Richard Cobbett rolls the dice to bring you an obscure slice of gaming history, from lost gems to weapons grade atrocities. This week, 80s B-movie horror has a new face. Though that's not exactly the first body part most of her devotees liked to focus on… "Elvira who?" you might be asking, rudely [...]

Core Online – Nostale developer going PvP-serious for new game

Posted: 06 Oct 2012 01:13 AM PDT

Do you still remember that cutesy, dungeon-running MMO, Nostale? If you do, give yourself a pat. The game's developer, Entwell, has just revealed its 2nd MMORPG, Core Online, which has been in development for the past 3 years. Like most of the upcoming Korean online games, Core Online is heavy on the PvP side, boasting [...]