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Family Guy Online to shut down next month
Get your Quahog gaming fix soon because Family Guy Online is not long for this world. The game announced that it will be shutting down next month on January 18th. Family Guy Online is currently in open beta, which means that it will have never officially launched before spinning down. The game will refund any cash purchases made during the last two months (from October 22nd through December 21st). If you're curious how this interactive version of the TV animated series performed, you can check out Beau's Rise and Shiny expedition. [Thanks to Matthew for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: Is EverQuest a sandbox?
Our coverage of John Smedley's SOE Live keynote elicited some curious comments, chief among them the notion that EverQuest is a sandbox title. This sentiment followed on from Smed's announcement that EQNext has been remodeled from an EQIII evolution to a sandbox revolution, as some of our readers said that that's a return to the franchise's roots. While it's true that the definition of sandbox is somewhat malleable and subjective, we're curious to know how you can stretch it to include a level-based title with class-based gameplay that largely revolves around killing and looting. Sure it was less directed than modern themeparks, and there was a lack of documentation/communal knowledge that made early gameplay challenging, but a sandbox? Really? What do you think, Massively readers? Is EQ a sandbox, and if so, what makes it one? 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!
Fox unveils Family Guy Online... really
This week's edition of I-can't-believe-they're-making-that-into-an-MMO comes courtesy of Fox and the Family Guy. Yes, Family Guy. The MMO. We're not kidding. Details are pretty scarce at this point, so the wisecracks we're dying to make about history's worst IP-to-game translations will have to wait until gameplay footage, screenshots, or trailers are available. As it stands, Family Guy Online was announced via its official website, and Fox has also set up a Facebook presence as well as the usual social media suspects. Interested parties can register on the official site, and while said registration doesn't guarantee you a beta slot, the site does say that registration will put you "among the first in line for the closed beta." Stay tuned to Massively for further Family Guy MMO news as it happens!
The lolcats have been lifted
It's now safe to go back to the forums -- the "lolcats," "lolwut"s, "lolz," and all of the other nonsense Blizzard put in players' posts have been deleted, finally. Blizzard hasn't given any hint why it took so long -- of course there's the chance that they just let the joke go on long enough (and trust me, you shouldn't be too angry at anyone who pushes an April Fool's Day joke longer than you think it should go), but it seems a little more likely that the folks in charge of the joke stumbled a little bit -- for a while there, it seemed like we might have "lolz" forever.But no, things are back to normal, and all of the "lol wut"s that you see on the forums are players' own fault.
April's fooled? Players rubbed the wrong way
As you probably figured out on Friday, I love April Fool's Day (yes, I posted the joke on Friday, but it was Phat Loot Phriday, and if I'd posted it yesterday, no one would have fallen for it! Lots of people did, though, and I'm glad everyone liked it so much-- shout out to my good friend Tamzarian on Thunderhorn for coming up with the idea). But even though I love not believing anything I read on April 1st, there is a case to be made that it's getting a little out of hand. Everyone on the Internet is lying through their teeth around this time every year.And some people are a little miffed. While most players enjoyed the CM/poster role-reversal on the forums (which spawned Tseric's now immortal phrase "lol wut?"), not everybody did. A few players say that Blizzard is outright making fun of their customers. Jonas over at MBAzeroth says the same thing: that the CMs are calling players, some of whom have real concerns about their gameplay experience, "trolls." What if, after waiting for twenty minutes in the grocery store line, the cashier made fun of you when you walked up to check out?Now personally, I think that's a load of hooey. Blizzard is responding to player concerns as best they can, and no one can keep everyone happy all of the time. And even if Blizzard is making fun of their customers, it's an April Fool's Day joke on a videogame forum. Have a sense of humor, guys. As I said yesterday, the best part of the whole "blue for a day" joke wasn't when the CMs made fun of the players, it was when the players made fun of the CMs by parroting their own words back at them.I won't tell anyone what's funny, though-- if being fooled isn't your thing, you'll just have to turn the computer off next year and come back on April 2nd. And if you think Blizzard is laughing at their customers instead of listening to them, quitting the game is still completely free. Because for some people, April Fool's is serious business.
