Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates

Latest Gaming and MMORPG Updates


Diablo 3 Launch Events

Posted: 02 May 2012 09:15 AM PDT

Diablo 3 will launch on Tuesday 14 May to quite some fanfair. Here's the lowdown on the Diablo 3 Oxford Street HMV launch event, London:Diablo 3 Launch Events

Blizzard developers Julian Love and Leonard Boyarsky will be on-had to sign copies, including Collector's Editions, "attendees will have a chance to participate in organized activities and win great prizes," reads the Blizzard events page. That's not to be sniffed at: Oxford Street HMV midnight launches have a history of giving away some very tasty prizes, from rare and sought-after in-game goodies to expensive electronics.

Blizzard will host similar events across Europe in Berlin, Stockholm, Paris, Warsaw and across the world in the U.S., Southeast Asia, Korea and Taiwan.

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/latest-pc-news/diablo-3-launch-events/

Torchlight II – Pre

Posted: 02 May 2012 09:15 AM PDT



[Pre-order here] A major investor in Runic Games and the owner of Cryptic Studios,
Perfect World Entertainment is now cross-promoting Neverwinter and
Torchlight II. By pre-ordering Torchlight II, gamers will have guaranteed access to Neverwinter’s Closed Beta phase. However, note that access might not necessarily be CBT 1, but perhaps during CBT 2 or 3.



I am sure you have read about Neverwinter, the MMORPG currently in development by Cryptic Studios of Champions Online and Star Trek fame. Bought over by Perfect World Entertainment last year, Neverwinter was sent back to the drawing board for a re-development due to the Free to Play direction. Last I heard, the game will sport action combat. What about Torchlight II?

Developed by Runic Games, Torchlight II is essentially a Diablo-style game, yet with quite a number of differences. The list is kind of long to post here, but you get the drift. Though a single-player setting in the original game, there is now co-op features in the sequel including LAN )local area network) and online. Unlike Diablo III, Torchlight II can be accessed offline during single-player sessions.

Note that this deal is for pre-orders via the official site only. If you pre-order through Steam, you will only get a free copy of Torchlight (the prequel). Below is quote from the official press release:

We’re excited to announce that pre-orders for Torchlight 2 are available today!

As an added bonus to the purchase, anybody who pre-orders Torchlight 2 will receive access to Dungeon and Dragons Neverwinter when it enters closed beta later this year. Torchlight players will be among the first to receive a closed beta key to enter the realm of one of the year’s most anticipated MMOs.

Players can expect to receive an email containing their beta code around the time Neverwinter closed beta kicks off.

(*Beta key holders are not guaranteed immediate first access to Neverwinter closed beta but will be granted entrance dependent on testing needs*)

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/torchlight-ii-pre-order-and-access.html

Queen’s Blade Online (KR)

Posted: 02 May 2012 09:14 AM PDT



[More info] As with most Korean games, there is usually a spokesperson if budget allows. They can range from actress to actors, singers to athletes and most recently, politicians. Well, the most common is still models, and developer Liveplex (Dragona fame) confirmed that China car show model, 艾尚真 (Ai Shang Zhen), will be representing Queen’s Blade Online in Korea. This will be the first time a Chinese model is collaborating with a Korean game developer as a product spokesperson.



While I was skeptical at first, a quick google proved that she is more than capable of the task at hand, seeing that she has no qualms showing off some skin in her modelling career. Hopefully her cosplay photos of Queen’s Blade Online’s character are out soon ^__^




Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/queens-blade-online-kr-spokesperson.html

The Unfinished Swan Brings a New Angle to First-Person Puzzlers

Posted: 02 May 2012 09:14 AM PDT

Remember the Halo Reach sniper rifle shot heard (and bounced) around
the world? The one that ricocheted in such a crazy way that it
actually went through the head of the very fellow who fired it in the
first place
? Bizarre as that situation may sound, it can serve as one of many crazy
ways to assassinate someone in Dishonored. During the tail end of
a recent hands-off demonstration, co-creative directors Harvey Smith and Raf
Colantonio briefly went quiet as a Bethesda staffer playing showed off a
particularly slick method of taking out multiple targets: Having the
player character, Corvo, slow down time before laying down a spring razor
trap and using his Blink ability to teleport a short distance
away just in time to see the trap detonate when time resumes
flowing at a normal rate. To get back to Reach’s unintentional
suicide, Smith explained, “Sometimes, when you activate Bend Time,
you can actually see the bullet in the air; you can actually then
Possess the guy who shot it and walk him around to the front. When
time resumes, the bullet kills him and he has this very shocked
expression on his face.”

Smith has previously described Dishonored as an action-stealth title in
terms of its overall genre, but he cites titles like Far Cry 2, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex as examples of what he,
Colantonio, and the rest of the developers at Arkane are going for with their new creation: An
open-ended game driven more by systemic interaction than by
scripted spectacle. In other words, they want to simply provide a
suite of tools, and objective, and then let players go at it. Corvo has
a number of tools — including gear such guns, daggers, traps, grenades
and weird steampunk treasure detecting devices as well as more supernatural
abilities such as Bend Time, Possession, and Windblast — and his task is simply to find his targets and neutralize them. This can be as simple as
stabbing someone in the face; as odd as possessing fish and mice to
navigate through the sewers below until you find said target before
possessing him to make him jump out a window; or as elaborate and
non-lethal as arranging to have his identity stolen in order to condemn him to work in the very same salt mine that he owns.

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187061

Will LittleBigPlanet Karting Fulfill Our Mario Kart Wish List?

Posted: 02 May 2012 09:14 AM PDT

Remember the Halo Reach sniper rifle shot heard (and bounced) around
the world? The one that ricocheted in such a crazy way that it
actually went through the head of the very fellow who fired it in the
first place
? Bizarre as that situation may sound, it can serve as one of many crazy
ways to assassinate someone in Dishonored. During the tail end of
a recent hands-off demonstration, co-creative directors Harvey Smith and Raf
Colantonio briefly went quiet as a Bethesda staffer playing showed off a
particularly slick method of taking out multiple targets: Having the
player character, Corvo, slow down time before laying down a spring razor
trap and using his Blink ability to teleport a short distance
away just in time to see the trap detonate when time resumes
flowing at a normal rate. To get back to Reach’s unintentional
suicide, Smith explained, “Sometimes, when you activate Bend Time,
you can actually see the bullet in the air; you can actually then
Possess the guy who shot it and walk him around to the front. When
time resumes, the bullet kills him and he has this very shocked
expression on his face.”

Smith has previously described Dishonored as an action-stealth title in
terms of its overall genre, but he cites titles like Far Cry 2, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex as examples of what he,
Colantonio, and the rest of the developers at Arkane are going for with their new creation: An
open-ended game driven more by systemic interaction than by
scripted spectacle. In other words, they want to simply provide a
suite of tools, and objective, and then let players go at it. Corvo has
a number of tools — including gear such guns, daggers, traps, grenades
and weird steampunk treasure detecting devices as well as more supernatural
abilities such as Bend Time, Possession, and Windblast — and his task is simply to find his targets and neutralize them. This can be as simple as
stabbing someone in the face; as odd as possessing fish and mice to
navigate through the sewers below until you find said target before
possessing him to make him jump out a window; or as elaborate and
non-lethal as arranging to have his identity stolen in order to condemn him to work in the very same salt mine that he owns.

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187060

SimOcean: The New Sim Game From Maxis?

Posted: 02 May 2012 03:18 AM PDT

SimOcean: The New Sim Game From Maxis?

SimOcean has been registered as a new trademark by SimCity developer Maxis. While there's a chance that it's just a placeholder, a case of Maxis protecting any future expansion of the Sim franchise, it seems unlikely.

The Sims series is yet to branch out into sea and with Maxis coming to a close on XCOM: Enemy Unknown and the SimCity on the cards for 2013, it wouldn't surprise us if the studio has a sea-based Sim game is already in the pipeline.

YouTube Preview Image

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.totalpcgaming.com/latest-pc-news/simocean-the-new-sim-game-from-maxis/

MAZE: The Treasure Hunters (CN)

Posted: 02 May 2012 03:18 AM PDT



This game was actually revealed a couple of years ago to be in development over at G*Star (I think it was 2010), but since then nothing much was heard about it. This is MAZE: The Treasure Hunters, currently in development by Korean studio DreamExecution, the same folks who brought us War Rock (link). The artwork might be quite similar, but I can assure you that your opinion will be changed after watching the trailer below.

The trailer certainly reminded me of Tomb Raider (also The Mummy and Indian Jones), which of course is part of the marketing strategy now to promote this game. Players will be sent to different parts of the world to explore ancient crypts, tombs, underground mazes, labyrinths, pyramids and what not.



As seen in the trailer, there will be various adventure gadgets to use as well to get across platforms. MAZE is also touted as the mixture of 3 genres: AVD (Adventure Game) + RPG + FPS in an online environment.Team work is also very, very important due to some of the puzzles’ designs. This game is looking very unwelcoming for the newbs~!



ChangYou will be the publisher of the game in China, and MAZE is the company’s 3rd of 5 games revealed for 2012 and early 2013 in a campaign call “Game+”. You can view the other 2 games here (link), with God Slayer leaving a very positive impression as well. I am not sure what the screenshot below means, but it looks great… (^___^)v

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/04/maze-treasure-hunters-cn-debut-trailer.html

Dungeon Striker (KR)

Posted: 02 May 2012 03:18 AM PDT



[More info] If you did not read about the game in my previous posts, here is a quick rundown. Dungeon Striker is the 2nd action MMO title from Korean developer Eyedentity Games, which is also the creator of the awesome Dragon Nest. The game is vastly touted as the “cute version” and SD (super deform) of the upcoming Diablo III by the media, and after watching a couple of videos below, I have got to agree with them.

I only have videos of 2 classes to show currently from the Korean forums, but you will get the juice of what Dungeon Striker is about (hint: it is in the name). Getting it release a couple of months after the Korean gamers are done with Diablo III and are having serious hangovers will be a good strategy in my opinion.

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.mmoculture.com/2012/05/dungeon-striker-kr-closed-beta-1-videos.html

Is Black Ops 2 America’s Metal Gear Solid?

Posted: 02 May 2012 03:14 AM PDT

Remember the Halo Reach sniper rifle shot heard (and bounced) around
the world? The one that ricocheted in such a crazy way that it
actually went through the head of the very fellow who fired it in the
first place
? Bizarre as that situation may sound, it can serve as one of many crazy
ways to assassinate someone in Dishonored. During the tail end of
a recent hands-off demonstration, co-creative directors Harvey Smith and Raf
Colantonio briefly went quiet as a Bethesda staffer playing showed off a
particularly slick method of taking out multiple targets: Having the
player character, Corvo, slow down time before laying down a spring razor
trap and using his Blink ability to teleport a short distance
away just in time to see the trap detonate when time resumes
flowing at a normal rate. To get back to Reach’s unintentional
suicide, Smith explained, “Sometimes, when you activate Bend Time,
you can actually see the bullet in the air; you can actually then
Possess the guy who shot it and walk him around to the front. When
time resumes, the bullet kills him and he has this very shocked
expression on his face.”

Smith has previously described Dishonored as an action-stealth title in
terms of its overall genre, but he cites titles like Far Cry 2, Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Thief, and Deus Ex as examples of what he,
Colantonio, and the rest of the developers at Arkane are going for with their new creation: An
open-ended game driven more by systemic interaction than by
scripted spectacle. In other words, they want to simply provide a
suite of tools, and objective, and then let players go at it. Corvo has
a number of tools — including gear such guns, daggers, traps, grenades
and weird steampunk treasure detecting devices as well as more supernatural
abilities such as Bend Time, Possession, and Windblast — and his task is simply to find his targets and neutralize them. This can be as simple as
stabbing someone in the face; as odd as possessing fish and mice to
navigate through the sewers below until you find said target before
possessing him to make him jump out a window; or as elaborate and
non-lethal as arranging to have his identity stolen in order to condemn him to work in the very same salt mine that he owns.

Similar Article can be found at: http://www.1up.com/previews?cId=3187062

MMO Updates

MMO Updates


MMO Family: How helpful are those ESRB ratings?

Posted: 02 May 2012 10:00 AM PDT

Filed under: , , , , , ,

ESRB Rating
Quick, what's the ESRB rating symbol of your favorite MMO of choice? And if you know that, what are the content descriptors that account for your game's rating? If you got them right, bravo! According to the ESRB's official poll, 85% of parents with children who play video games are aware of the ratings system. For those not familiar, here's the deal: The Entertainment Software Rating Board began in 1994 with the goal of providing a standard set of ratings and descriptors to help adults choose appropriate games for children.

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?

MassivelyMMO 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.

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    The Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content

    Posted: 02 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , , , ,

    The Repopulation
    As The Repopulation is free from conventional MMO leveling and hews to skill-based progression instead, dealing with player gear is substantially more difficult than it would be otherwise. The team posted a five-minute dev video explaining how items, repair, and what it calls "fittings" work in the game.

    The long and the short of The Repopulation's gear system is that players will be able to pick the outfit (or "shells") that they like the best visually and then equip the stats they want on it. This is done through fittings, which is similar to socket systems found in other MMOs.

    As outfits take damage, the conditions of the fittings can and do degrade, reducing the stats associated with it. If it gets too bad, the fittings will either need to be repaired or replaced.

    You can check out The Repopulation's gear system after the break. The team is currently accepting signups for June's alpha testing.

    [Thanks to Halldorr and J.C. for the tip!]

    Continue reading The Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content

    MassivelyThe Repopulation lets players customize outfits to their hearts' content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    CCP analyzes EVE's Jita player event

    Posted: 02 May 2012 08:30 AM PDT

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    EVE Online - Jita heatmap
    If you warped into EVE Online's Jita merchant hub last week, chances are you didn't make it out alive. If you were plying your trade elsewhere in New Eden, the much-hyped "Burn Jita" campaign likely didn't even register on your radar.

    It registered on CCP's, though, as shown by the company's latest EVE-focused dev blog. As per usual, there are a bunch of pretty graphs and plenty of tech-speak. There's also some verbiage related to TiDi (time dilation), which is CCP's way of dealing with massive concentrations of players in its single-shard universe. It's worth noting that since the devs had advance warning of this particular player-run event, they were able to beef up EVE's server infrastructure to handle the increased load. You can read all the technical details on the game's official website.

    MassivelyCCP analyzes EVE's Jita player event originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    Farscape MMO plans from shuttered studio go public

    Posted: 02 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , ,

    Farscape MMO concept art
    So, Farscape fans, what would you say to an MMO based on your favorite IP that was designed by former members of Fallen Earth's dev team?

    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.

    MassivelyFarscape 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.

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    SWTOR on the rise and planning more PvP, endgame content

    Posted: 02 May 2012 07:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , , ,

    SWTOR
    Star Wars: The Old Republic's moon (that's no moon...) is waxing, not waning, says Daniel Erickson. BioWare's lead designer on the project said that rumors of the game's demise are incredibly premature -- and outright wrong.

    Following Update 1.2 and the Rakghoul Outbreak live event, Erickson reports that player activity in the game is increasing. He said that the studio is working hard to keep its customers happy: "The community has generally been excited about the direction the game is going as we finish up our last must-have quality of life features (group finder, etc) and can start concentrating full-time on creative things like the world events."

    Erickson said that the live event was kept a surprise to make it "feel organic" and not spoil everything in this age of instant internet sharing. He said that the team took a cue from World of Warcraft's Corrupted Blood plague that swept through the game in 2005 and tried to channel the player's actions to fun rather than griefing.

    He says that the team discovered that SWTOR had a huge PvP community and has since "turned a huge amount of resources" to developing more content for that side of the game. BioWare's also shifted several team members over to creating more endgame content as the players chew through the stories at an increasing rate.

    MassivelySWTOR on the rise and planning more PvP, endgame content originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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    The Daily Grind: Does fighting multiple mobs at once make you feel heroic?

    Posted: 02 May 2012 06:00 AM PDT

    Filed under: , , ,

    City of Heroes
    One of BioWare's stated goals with Star Wars: The Old Republic was to make players feel more "heroic" by having them wade into packs of mobs more frequently than one-on-one encounters. The thinking here is that movie heroes often fend off whole groups at a time to showcase their prowess and tenacity, so why not game heroes?

    SWTOR isn't alone in tossing players into enemy packs and seeing how it turns out. Most of the superhero MMOs are notorious for doing this, but if a Batman can't lay waste to entire street gangs at once, why does he wake up in the morning?

    So we want to hear from you on this: Does fighting multiple mobs at once make you feel heroic? If you accidentally pull more than expected and live to tell the tale, does it fill your inner ego banks and make you flex and go, "Oh, I am bad, you know it, you know it!"?

    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!

    MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Does fighting multiple mobs at once make you feel heroic? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      League of Legends' World Championship is worth a cool three million bucks

      Posted: 01 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT

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      League of Legends World Championship
      League of Legends' hold on the e-sports community appears to be going strong, especially if we're judging based on the sheer size of the prize pool up for grabs in this season's World Championships. How much money will players be competing for this time around? Something to the tune of three million bucks.

      The folks over at PC Gamer got the opportunity to sit down with Riot Games' Vice President of e-sports, Dustin Beck, to have a chat about the upcoming League of Legends World Championships and the competitive gaming scene as a whole. The interview includes some insight into the game's success in the e-sports circuit as well as some discussion on the various teams and strategies we can expect to see on the tournament level at this year's championships. For all of the sweet, juicy information, just head on over and check out the full article.

      MassivelyLeague of Legends' World Championship is worth a cool three million bucks originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Diablo III offers global play, provides a guide to the auction house

      Posted: 01 May 2012 05:00 PM PDT

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      What do you call a fire spell in France?
      As Diablo III gets ever closer to release, you've probably moved on from the question of what you're going to play and on to the question of who you're going to play with. If your friends live across the planet, that's going to make things a little more difficult, but with the new Global Play feature, not impossible. Players will be able to play in any region, although the real-money auction house will only be accessible in your home region and your characters from the home region won't transfer to the global service.

      You hadn't forgotten the real-money auction house, had you? Just in case you had, a new official guide is available detailing how the service will work, what regions can use what money, and of course the actual mechanics of buying and selling. Players using the global play feature will not have access to the real money house of other regions, but will have access to the regular auction house, so even if you're planning on a global jaunt, it's worth examining the particulars.

      MassivelyDiablo III offers global play, provides a guide to the auction house originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      TERA reveals launch trailers, provides update on account errors

      Posted: 01 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT

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      Screenshot -- TERA
      Today is a fateful day for Arboreans everywhere, as En Masse Entertainment's spankin'-new action-based MMO, TERA, is officially live. In celebration of the momentous occasion, the studio has released a shiny launch trailer for existing fans and potential players alike to feast their eyes upon. As one might expect from the game that coined the terms "big-ass monster" and "real action combat," the trailer is essentially a series of scenes of ass-kicking set to some suitably epic music, offering players a glimpse at the fast-paced combat they can expect from the title.

      In addition to the launch trailer, the studio has posted the two final race videos; we've included all three after the cut.

      But of course, MMO launch days are always fraught with at least a few issues, and TERA's launch is no different. Many players are experiencing errors that are keeping them from getting into and enjoying the game, but En Masse tells those players to rest assured that the team is "actively working to resolve them." Players experiencing those issues should keep an eye on the official TERA site as well as the game's Twitter and Facebook pages, as any updates to the situation will be posted as they happen.

      Continue reading TERA reveals launch trailers, provides update on account errors

      MassivelyTERA reveals launch trailers, provides update on account errors originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Storybricks starts Kickstarter campaign, welcomes aboard animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

      Posted: 01 May 2012 03:00 PM PDT

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      Storybricks
      Build-your-own-MMO toolset Storybricks is getting a major second wind today as the company's announced that it's brought on board legendary animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman to assist in animation and character design. The two are well-known in both the film and video game industry for their work on The Secret of NIMH and Dragon's Lair (among many other projects).

      "We intend to bring our experience in animation and character design to help provide appealing, believable, thinking characters to Storybricks' founding partners' vision for gaming," Goldman said. The two join a dream team of advisors for the project that includes Richard Bartle, Liz Danforth, and Chris Avellone.

      Storybricks is also tapping the Kickstarter well to help fund the project. The team hopes to raise $250,000 in pledges by June 1st. "Though we have found the right people who share our mad (or perhaps inspired) vision of role-playing and storytelling in computer RPGs, we haven't been able to find enough people willing to write us a check," the team explains on the page. Sponsors can get copies of the game, beta keys, and even digital versions of themselves inserted into the final version.

      [Source: Storybricks press release]

      MassivelyStorybricks starts Kickstarter campaign, welcomes aboard animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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      Hyperspace Beacon: Six things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other

      Posted: 01 May 2012 02:00 PM PDT

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      Hyperspace Beacon: 6 things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other
      As I'm sure most of you can guess by the title of this piece, I spent a little time in another MMO this weekend. That doesn't mean that I will be trading in my Jawas and Wookiees for Asura and Charr. However, I will admit that Star Wars: The Old Republic does not contain everything I want from an MMO. That's also not say that Guild Wars 2 has all those missing elements. But I believe there are quite a few things that both of these great MMOs can learn from each other to make the overall MMO experience better for everyone.

      Before I begin this breakdown, I should state that this is not a comprehensive list of everything that I liked and disliked from either game. At the same time, I want to also state that, besides the 20 or so minutes at trade shows I had with the game, this weekend marked the first time I've spent any serious time in Guild Wars 2. My opinion here is far from complete, and my experience is really based on the first 10 levels of GW2.

      Lastly, I'd like to say that Wookiees will always be cooler than Charr!

      Continue reading Hyperspace Beacon: Six things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other

      MassivelyHyperspace Beacon: Six things SWTOR and GW2 can learn from each other originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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        The Game Archaeologist: When dead MMOs come back to life

        Posted: 01 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT

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        Hellgate Tokyo
        Maybe I'm alone in this, but my jaw just dropped when I came home this past week to see that Massively posted the news that Shadowbane is coming back to life. Granted, it's only going to happen in China, but still, that's pretty incredible. Shadowbane's been in the ground for three years now, and if I had to pick an MMO that deserved resurrection, this particular one would be farthest from my mind (no offense if you liked the game; it's just that there are so many others that are even more worthy).

        But how can this not give you hope? Many of us have lost an MMO we loved or at least had a decked-out character populating the character select screen, and the thought of that game coming back against all odds is a goosebump-rising one. It may also smack of justice served, as some MMOs fail not because of faulty gameplay but because of mismanagement by the studio, complex legal wrangling, or bad marketing.

        Today let's look at a few examples of dead MMOs that were brought back to life and what this may mean for the future of the industry. Zombie MMOs! Not, you know, MMOs with zombies.

        Continue reading The Game Archaeologist: When dead MMOs come back to life

        MassivelyThe Game Archaeologist: When dead MMOs come back to life originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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          The Soapbox: The perils of passive gaming

          Posted: 01 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT

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          Couch potato cat
          Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

          My folks don't really understand my infatuation with video games (and MMORPGs in particular). "How can you sit there and play a game for two or three hours at a time?" my mom is fond of asking. Ironically, this usually happens on a visit that ends where most of our visits do: on the couch in front of the television.

          Don't get me wrong; she's no couch potato, and in fact she has the meanest green thumb you'll ever see. When the sun goes down, though, my parents (like most of their generation, I'll wager) park their butts in front of the TV. That I should park my own posterior in front of the computer is exceedingly strange to them even though online gaming is to the 21st century what television was to the 20th.

          I wonder, though, if games are starting to become more passive forms of TV-like entertainment.

          Continue reading The Soapbox: The perils of passive gaming

          MassivelyThe Soapbox: The perils of passive gaming originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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            Elsword celebrates first anniversary with cake

            Posted: 01 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT

            Filed under: , , , , ,

            Elsword Online - gameplay screenshot
            It seems like every other day is an MMO anniversary around these parts. Next on the list is Elsword Online, the free-to-play side-scrolling manga actioner from Kill3rCombo.

            "As with any new business venture in North America, we were both apprehensive and hopeful that online gamers would receive Elsword as well as audiences overseas have," says Kill3rCombo CEO Ben Colayco. "Now, as we celebrate Elsword's first anniversary, we are proud that the game continues to grow and has found its niche within the gaming community."

            The firm is not only proud but in a giving mood if the in-game anniversary festivities are any indication. Players can enjoy reward-filled anniversary cubes, hit point recovery cake, limited edition coins, play-time bonuses, and increased drop rates. All of this is ongoing through May 8th, so log in now to join the celebration.

            [Source: Kill3rCombo press release]

            MassivelyElsword celebrates first anniversary with cake originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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