| Massively Exclusive: Storybricks team talks art, animation, and non-combat design Posted: 16 Jan 2012 09:00 AM PST Filed under: Video, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Dev Diaries, Miscellaneous, Sandbox Namaste Entertainment is working away on Storybricks, and the company has just released a new exclusive video dev diary featuring CEO Rodolfo Rosini, art manager Oliver Bermejo, and a glimpse of the game's art style and animations. Rosini talks at length about the inspiration behind the art; one of the chief influences is a book called The Illusion of Life by early Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Rosini also name-checks Generation X geek icons like Dragon's Lair and The Secret of Nimh as well as more recent properties like the Fable series, and he says that the Storybricks team aims to convey emotion in a similar manner to these epics. "We want to capture some of the Disney magic without necessarily making a game for kids," Rosini explains. Rosini also talks a bit about the game design philosophy behind Storybricks. In current MMOs, he says, NPCs have two states: They either serve as quest dispensers or as targets. Namaste is aiming for a new type of gameplay that isn't built exclusively around combat. "Don't get me wrong -- murder works fairly well. There are 12 million murderers in World of Warcraft," Rosini says. "I've been one of them for many years, and I think it's a great game. But there has to be something different." Enjoy the full dev diary after the break. Continue reading Massively Exclusive: Storybricks team talks art, animation, and non-combat design  Massively Exclusive: Storybricks team talks art, animation, and non-combat design originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Pew pew more: A sneak peek at Vindictus' newest archer Posted: 16 Jan 2012 08:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Previews, Free-to-play, Vindictus The website Steparu.com has a hands-on preview with the latest character coming to Mabinogi Heroes -- also known as Vindictus to NA and EU players. His name is Kai, and he's a flashy archer with more than a few surprises up his pretty sleeves. As an archer, Kai's tactics largely revolve around kiting and long-ranged assaults, so keeping one's distance is essential in most fights. Kai can transform his bow into a long or short variant, with the long doing more powerful (but slower) attacks and the short one pew-pewing much quicker at closer range. He can also unleash an attack that hits multiple targets at once, making him ideal for some burst AoE damage. One of Kai's more unique skills is the ability to place a marker on the battlefield and then quickly grapple his way back to it on a moment's notice. While he's traveling back to his marker, he's immune to all damage, making this a strategic move for pitched fights. Kai is coming to Mabinogi Heroes in Korea tomorrow, although it will be some time before he lands in the States or Europe. [Thanks to Justatip for the tip!]Pew pew more: A sneak peek at Vindictus' newest archer originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Secret World answers community questions about the Illuminati Posted: 16 Jan 2012 07:00 AM PST Filed under: Horror, Real life, Lore, Previews, News items, The Secret World, Community Q&A, Miscellaneous Do you have questions about the Illuminati? Of course you do -- that's sort of their whole method of operation. But when it comes to The Secret World, some of those questions got answered via yesterday's community question-and-answer session on Facebook. While you'll have to Like the page in order to view all of the answers, you're rewarded for doing so with a breadth of facts about the secretive power-mongers and hoarders of secrets. Among the first questions was the simple one of how the Illuminati aren't in control of everything in the game world if their operatives have infiltrated the highest level of government; as it happens, with the world exploding and lighting up with the supernatural, the Illuminati is too concerned with working overtime to keep things under wraps to try and take total control. The answers also reinforce the idea that the Illuminati crave power and competence above all, up to the organization's willingness to discard lesser members for valuable information. You can take a peek at the full set of answer on Facebook, but keep in mind that you're going to need to Like the page first. The Secret World answers community questions about the Illuminati originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MV Guide: January 16-22, 2012 Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST Filed under: Livestream, Miscellaneous, MV Guide MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively TV. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule! Continue reading MV Guide: January 16-22, 2012 MV Guide: January 16-22, 2012 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| The Daily Grind: Would you pay for an MMO's mobile app? Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:00 AM PST Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Mobile, Miscellaneous The rise of smartphone gaming has created a niche somewhere between mobile MMOs and regular MMOs: MMO apps. Games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, the upcoming Guild Wars 2, and now RIFT all have (or will have) mobile apps that players can use to perform a variety of in-game or pseudo-in-game activities, like chat with guildies, relist auctions, reset crafting timers, or play lotteries. The sticking point is that some of these games aren't giving the app away for free. World of Warcraft, for example, lets everyone download the Mobile Armory app for free but charges a $3 monthly subscription fee for premium services in the Remote app. That's $3 above and beyond the $15 subscription just to access guild chat and play the auction hall from your pocket. Would you pay for a mobile app for your favorite MMO, and if so, how much? What's your limit?  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: Would you pay for an MMO's mobile app? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| MMO Week in Review: Space zombies Posted: 15 Jan 2012 05:00 PM PST Filed under: Massively Meta, Week in Review, Miscellaneous At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. Miss a big MMO or WoW Insider story last week? You've come to the right post. There's never a dull moment with Star Wars: The Old Republic around. This week, those crazy kids at BioWare kept us busy as they defended TOR's " innovation," debated visual quality and performance, and promised gray Jedi. We also snagged an amazing preview of the game's upcoming 1.1 patch, discussed cheating in TOR, and demanded love for the game's underpowered guild system. Check out the rest of this week's best MMO posts! Continue reading MMO Week in Review: Space zombies MMO Week in Review: Space zombies originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Rumor: WAR40K canceled, THQ readying itself for sale [Updated] Posted: 15 Jan 2012 04:30 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Rumors, Warhammer 40k It's been a rough couple of years for Warhammer MMORPG fans, and if the rumors are true, it's about to get a bit bleaker. Kotaku reports on a tweet by games industry insider Kevin Dent that indicates that THQ has "canceled its entire 2014 slate of releases to position the company for sale." This would include Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, which Dent referred to as " the Games Workshop MMO" on his Twitter page. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. [Update: THQ's Australian PR department has issued a statement asserting that the company has not in fact canceled its 2014 lineup and "has not made any decisions" regarding WAR40K.]Rumor: WAR40K canceled, THQ readying itself for sale [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare Posted: 15 Jan 2012 03:00 PM PST Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, Game mechanics, PvP, Opinion, EVE Evolved, Sandbox I think it's safe to say that most EVE Online players have never tried their hands at faction warfare, the state-sponsored bloodbath that pits Minmatar and Gallente pilots against their Amarr and Caldari rivals. When the system launched almost four years ago during 2008's Empyrean Age expansion, it was an immediate and colossal success. CCP ran news stories leading up to the expansion to show the growing tensions between the four nations, with several videos highlighting major flashpoints like the Malkalen incident. The stage was set for the war to end all wars, and players were brought to the front lines to die for their nations. Faction warfare was originally designed to be a stepping stone for empire-dwellers who wanted to get into nullsec and to give fleet-based PvP to pilots without nullsec contacts. The first few months saw some spectacular action, with fleets of over a hundred rookie pilots happily smashing each other to bits. For over a year, faction warfare provided practically instant-action PvP on any scale you could want, from solo roaming and small gang warfare to full-on fleet battles with several capital ships. Unfortunately, CCP didn't iterate on the feature, so after a year with broken capture mechanics and no real purpose or reward for fighting, faction warfare began to grind to a halt. In this week's EVE Evolved, I speculate on how faction warfare could possibly be resurrected. Continue reading EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare EVE Evolved: Resurrecting faction warfare originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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| Massively tours Fiesta's new Expedition to Adealia Posted: 15 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Filed under: Fantasy, Expansions, Previews, Free-to-play, Hands-on Who doesn't love checking out a game's new content? I love it, for sure. So I was more than happy to sit down and ride along with the developers of Fiesta as they showed off their new expansion, Expedition to Adealia. The tour wasn't all rainbows and kittens, that's for sure. I found myself surrounded by towering monsters, crazy children brandishing giant knives, and massive, fire-breathing boss-monsters. It was fun, but I had no idea this cute Anime title could be so hardcore! Luckily for me, my hosts had the ability to heal or resurrect me when needed. I didn't do too shabbily, though, and I shot arrows like bullets, bringing down every mighty beast I came across. It was fun, yes, but a real slaughter. Well, for the monsters at least. And for those of you who'd like to host your own dance party in the game, Outspark was kind enough to provide Massively with plenty of goodie bag codes to give away. To get this free item, head to the redemption page and enter the item code MassivelyFiesta. You have until the 31st of January to redeem it. Journey on to see just what I found during my tour of the Adealia expansion! Continue reading Massively tours Fiesta's new Expedition to Adealia Massively tours Fiesta's new Expedition to Adealia originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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