Massively week in Review

Massively's exclusive pre-launch Moria interview with Jeffrey Steefel
Massively chats with Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer for Lord of the Rings Online the night before the release of LotRO's first expansion. Mines of Moria is now live, and from the sounds of things the servers and players are having a great time of it.

Massively's ArenaNet interview: The past, present and future of Guild Wars PvP
Massively catches up with ArenaNet Game Designer Isaiah "Izzy" Cartwright for a brief interview regarding the past, present and future state of PvP in Guild Wars. Follow along after the cut for the full interview and some exclusive PvP screenshots supplied to us by ArenaNet.

Massively checks in on The Agency with Lead Designer Hal Milton
Massively talks over the current state of The Agency's development with the animated and always-interesting lead designer Hal Milton. Hal shares with us a bit of insight into what they're currently working on, give us a few fun facts to chew on, and makes us actually look forward to next year's summer con season.

Know Your LotRO Lore: Khazad-dum and the origins of Moria
Long ago, the Dwarves were numerous and mighty. This was an age when the Elves, Men and Dwarves lived in harmony, the mithril was plentiful and the Orcs were driven back to Sauron's lair. This was the end of the Second Age: the age of Khazad-dûm. To first understand Khazad-dûm, we must start at the very beginning.

EVE Evolved: Where's the grind?
Everyone who plays MMOs will be familiar with the concept of "grind", possibly one of the most debated topics in the MMO industry. World of Warcraft's Jeff Kaplan asserts that we call progression a "grind" when it's not a fun experience and that grinding can be properly tuned. Whether you love it or hate it, repetitive elements exist in all MMOs and are necessary to maintaining long-term playability.

Veteran's guide to Mines of Moria: What's in it for me?
We understand that and we only want to make your time with Moria that much better, so we've created this guide to the changes in Moria according to what a veteran player would seek. The low-level guide has been done, and now it's your turn, oh Master of Middle-earth.

Know Your LotRO Lore: The Watcher in the Water
In this article, we'll explain the creature's role in Tolkien's Lore, the many speculations of its purpose and how it pertains to Lord of the Rings Online and the first expansion, Mines of Moria. Follow along... and beware!

The Star Wars Galaxies devs on how Hoth was made
Join the two developers as they walk through the challenges of fully exploring the Empire Strikes Back movie, the thorny issue of one side being guaranteed to lose, and the critical need for detail and finesse in this difficult development challenge.

The Digital Continuum: Why must MMOs die?
Sitting on my desk are copies of Earth and Beyond and Auto Assault. In fact, I've even got a CE box for Auto Assault (that thing cost me 80 bucks). Unfortunately, these games are just dust collectors now. I keep them to remind me of the possibility of sunset and how much it can suck. Even if you didn't play Tabula Rasa, there were thousands of people who did, and that's all that really matters.