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MMObility: How Facebook's recent changes affect MMOs
As you might be aware, Facebook is officially changing its policy on how an embedded MMO interacts with the famous social network. I'm no fan of reading through lines of policy changes and attempting to interpret them exactly, namely because reading about changes and fully experiencing them are two different things. Both can lead to different conclusions, as well. I want to know how these changes affect MMO developers. I would also like to clear up what Facebook is. I've covered it many times before, but there is always a section of players and readers who have no idea or have only heard what Facebook is and what it does. To many of them, Facebook is FarmVille and spam, period. While I will not deny the existence of either of those things, I'd rather take this week to break down what Facebook is to developers, how it actually works, and how recent changes might affect players like yours truly who enjoy playing games through, on, or by utilizing Facebook.
New Star Trek MMO in dry dock courtesy of Gameforge
"Boldly going where one MMO has gone before!" doesn't quite have a ring to it, but that's not deterring German developer Gameforge from grabbing a slice of the Star Trek IP for a new MMO. Gameforge hasn't exactly been a household name up to this point, with titles such as Gates of Andaron and Ikariam, but it seems like that might change now that they have a crack at one of the most recognizable science fiction franchises in the world. The unnamed Star Trek MMO will be -- yes -- a free-to-play browser title, so don't expect it to directly compete with Cryptic's own Star Trek Online. TrekWeb reports that Gameforge signed a worldwide licensing agreement with CBS Consumer Products to develop the game in the original Star Trek universe, from the classic era of Captain Kirk up through the days of Deep Space Nine. However, Atari will still hold the exclusive MMO rights to Star Trek.
Frogster America gets a new CEO
No big company shake-ups here, folks. Although this is news nonetheless, as Frogster America -- publisher of Runes of Magic -- has selected Lars Koschin as its new CEO, replacing founding CEO Sean Kauppinen. The reason this isn't a big deal for the company is because Kauppinen's role was transitional in nature, and the appointment of a more permanent person was always the assumption.For those of you wondering who this Lars guy is, other than someone with an awesome name, let us point you to a little company called GameForge. Here is where Lars was previously in charge of such titles such as Ikariam and other yet-to-be-translated browser based online games were, um, forged. Sorry, we couldn't help ourselves.The move is an interesting one considering that Koschin likely had a firm hand in the creation and direction of several of these free-to-play titles. Runes of Magic continues to become curiouser and curiouser as time marches forwards.
Gamasutra interviews Ikariam's Gameforge
Coinciding with Gameforge's recent announcement that it will open a new studio in San Francisco as part of its push into the North American market, Gamasutra has interviewed Gameforge Productions Inc. President Lars Koschin. Some of the topics covered include the continuing perception that web-based MMOs are simple, mini-game affairs; and how Gameforge's games differ in essence from more traditional, accepted brands like World of Warcraft.It's not terribly lengthy, but there is some meat here to chew over. Certainly one of the barriers a web-based game initially overcomes is the sometimes-inaccessible system requirements a more 3D-heavy MMO might require of its players. Add to that the platform-agnostic nature of these games, and the potential audience can be much greater than many PC-only titles.
WRUP: A long week's weekend
Happy Friday! Maybe it's just because sickness set in at the beginning of this week, but for some reason the past five days have seemed unreasonably long, so the break of the weekend is a welcome sight today. Friday also happens to be the day where we ask: What aRe yoU Playing in this wide and wonderful world of MMOs?Kyle Horner says he's been enjoying himself in Ikariam lately -- he says it's a free-to-play browser based game that's "kind of like Civ," which makes it a must-check out. Michael Zenke tells us he's got Mythos and WoW on the docket for this weekend, along with another super secret game that we can't quite tell you about yet. But our own Tateru Nino takes the cake. Here's what she says she has planned for this weekend: "Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, Half Life 2 (original recipe), Team Fortress 2, UFO: Afterlight, The Bard's Tale, Imperium Romanum, City of Heroes, LotRO, The Longest Journey (original game), Two Worlds, Bioshock, Dream of Mirror Online, Neverwinter Nights 2, plus time in SL." Yowza. That's a lot of gaming.So what are you up to? Taking advantage of the extra XP in Pirates of the Carribbean Online? Trying to sign up to play Age of Conan? Or just desperately trying to finish up your taxes? Leave a comment below and let us know what's on your MMO plate this weekend.Previously on WRUP...
