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Wargaming grabs Total Annihilation and Master of Orion IPs
Wargaming has ambitious plans for the company's 15th anniversary this year, starting with the acquisition of two well-known IPs: Total Annihilation and Master of Orion. Master of Orion is an acclaimed 4X sci-fi strategy series that began in 1993, while Total Annihilation was a popular RTS from 1997. CEO Victor Kislyi teased the possibilities that these IP pickups represent: "Total Annihilation and Master of Orion are strategy game classics. Although it's too soon to disclose any details, we are more than willing to give a new lease of life to these games most of us grew up playing. It's exactly where our major focus will be." Beyond that, Wargamming announced that it has opened a new office in Austin, Texas to help smooth the flow of communication and production processes between its teams and studios. The team also announced the inclusion of British planes in World of Warplanes, which you can see in the reveal video after the jump. [Source: Wargaming press release]
More Atari IP auction winners announced, Stardock plans Star Control reboot
A few more pieces from Atari's intellectual property catalog, which has been on clearance sale for a little while now, have new owners. Of note is the Total Annihilation and Master of Orion franchises being picked up by World of Tanks developer Wargaming World Limited, while the Star Control series is now in the hands of Galactic Civilizations developer Stardock. "We're very excited to publish a new Star Control game. We are inclined to go with an XCOM-like reboot using Star Control 2 as a major source of inspiration," said Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock to Joystiq. "By rebooting the series á la XCOM, we can bring a new generation of gamers into a fun, silly space adventure. We hope to involve as many of the original designers and developers of the series, along with the fan base. It's important to us that Star Control remain true to its origins as much as is possible." Wargaming has yet to respond to our request about its plans. We've placed the list of the latest Atari IP winners after the break. The winning bids were not disclosed.
Daily iPhone App: Starbase Orion
iOS doesn't really have much in the way of original 4X (so called due to the second letter in the "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate" gameplay) games. Yes, Civ Revolution is on the platform, but that's not original (and to be honest, it's not the best port). Ascendancy is a quality game, but it's decidedly old-school in how it looks and runs. So when I heard that someone was working on bringing a spiritual successor to Master of Orion to our platform, I was super excited. Now Starbase Orion is here, and it's glorious. It is streamed down a bit from the original space strategy series, but all of the slimming down has been done very smartly, leaving out the tedious parts of the genre, and leaving the meaty goodness. You're still managing an interstellar empire, but it's all done with a few touches at a time, turn by turn, rather than having to micromanage everything with a mouse and keyboard. Master of Orion fans will especially like the game, because it also borrows that series' extensive ship designer and real-time combat portrayals. And Starbase Orion has somehow done all of this while including turn-based multiplayer gameplay with Game Center. Those of you who know what 4X and Master of Orion are all about have probably already headed off to download this one -- it's a dream come true for turn-based strategy fans. The rest of you will probably find a somewhat steep learning curve (and a few bugs, unfortunately, though more updates are on the way), but Starbase Orion is pretty incredible. If you want a custom-made, very deep empire simulation game made specifically for the iOS platform, it's well worth the $4.99.
The Game Archaeologist plays with MUDs: A talk with Richard Bartle
From talking with Richard Bartle, reading his blog, and looking over several interviews that he's done, I've concluded that the co-creator of the first multi-user dungeon is, in many ways, a card. A smart one, a perceptive one, and an outspoken one, but a card nonetheless. I say this in a good way, of course, because for all of the verbal pussyfooting that often goes on in this industry, it's refreshing to hear the voice of someone who knows what he thinks and isn't afraid to say it, even if it goes against the grain. Dr. Bartle's name often comes up in discussions of both MUDs and MMORPGs. His designs, work and scholarship have influenced MMOs in substantial ways, and it's possible that if our children end up learning about massively multiplayer RPGs in school some day, Bartle's name will be mentioned once or twice. While he's sometimes polarizing, it's hard to deny the incredible work he's done, which is why I was excited to get to talk to him about this month's subject on the Game Archaeologist. So hit that pesky jump and let's pick the mind of a guy who really earned the right to post "FIRST!!1!"
GOG discounts some unexpected 'Atari classics'
When someone says "Atari classics," what games do you think of? Stuff like Master of Orion, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare and One Unit Whole Blood, right? Of course. Well, even if that isn't the case, let that be your working definition for now. GOG is offering a promotion for a selection of Atari PC games, including those mentioned above and more (the full list is after the break). Each game has been marked down to four bucks and change, or you can grab the whole set of ten for $31.90. The deal is active through October 11.
Joyswag: Outcast, Master of Orion 1 + 2 now out on GoG
Everyone's doing their part to help save the environment, so we here at Joystiq are forcing our posts to do double duty, thereby saving precious internet energy and human life minutes. This post, for example, is both (1) the announcement that Atari gems Outcast and Master of Orion 1 and 2 have officially been released on GoG (hooray!) and (2) a chance to win either one of them. We've got 10 codes that we're sending through our Joystiq Facebook group, the JPAG and our Twitter feed. We've rewarded those who are already members with a few codes, but the rest will be coming soon. The best thing to do if you want to keep up? Just join and follow us already, you silly goose.
GOG.com getting Atari lineup, Syberia series
After leaving us agog with its announcement of Activision support, Good Old Games is extending its lineup of DRM-free downloadable classics further with the aid of Atari. Though the full list of PC titles is set to be unveiled throughout April, GOG.com has already confirmed the following trio: Outcast, Master of Orion and Master of Magic. GOG's predilection for preserving point-and-clickers for posterity hasn't taken a break during this announcement (and accompanying Twitter competition), as it has also noted the addition of Benoit Sokal's s'okay adventure series, Syberia. The first half of the elegiac experience is available now for $9.99, including free soundtrack, wallpaper and GOG avatar. The second part -- along with Amerzone -- will follow in "the coming weeks."
Stardock looking at Master of Orion, Star Control rights
Stardock keeps 4X strategy gamers' hearts aflutter with word that it's trying to get the rights to Star Control or Master of Orion. Of course, if the publisher can't get them, like what happened with its recent attempt for the Master of Magic rights, Stardock can always just circumvent and make its own franchise -- thus, Elemental: War of Magic was born.Stardock CEO Brad Wardell tells Gamasutra that the company would base its SC or MoO sequel off the second games in the respective franchises and not the poorly received third iterations. Wardell also confirms that Stardock is currently building a second full internal development team. Given the company's release strategy, whatever game it decides to do, we won't see it until 2011 or beyond.
Vulcando Games brings 4X gameplay to MMOs with Celetania
Vulcando Games, based out of Germany, has announced the November release date of their MMO Celetania, described as a massively multiplayer 4X game. For those unfamiliar with the term, 4X is a genre of game in which four separate goals must be managed at the same time to ensure victory. The term 4X stands for explore, expand, exploit, exterminate, and is typified by games like Civilization and Master of Orion. Celetania is a persistent-world 4X game, where the orders that you give your units keep being followed, even when you're offline. In addition to the release date, Vulcando has mentioned that they will be releasing details about the game every two weeks, including screenshots, concept art, and video. In fact, Vulcando has sent along the first batch of shots of one of the races' line of starships, for your perusal. More news on this title as we get closer to the release date!%Gallery-24377%[Thanks, Andreas!]
