new-devs
Latest
Firefall scoops up dozens of former BioWare and 38 Studios devs
While some other studios are laying off and downsizing, Red 5 is bucking the trend by recruiting top talent to add to the team working on Firefall. The free-to-play MMOFPS has updated with a massive summer patch that overhauls combat, removes traditional levels, and adds new crafting functionality. BioWare's and 38 Studios' loss is Red 5's gain; the staff has jumped from 60 to over 100 as recruiters snatch up talent the other companies let go. Although a deluge of layoffs is bad for the gaming industry as a whole, lead class designer Dave Williams said, "The timing of 38 Studios and Star Wars dumping all their staff at the same time is really good for us. We've found some incredibly talented people who are really happy. It's allowed us to build up the team quickly." Players wishing to participate in Firefall's beta and experience the game can sign up via the official site.
Xsyon devs talk farming, crafting and PvE vs. PvP
If sandbox MMORPGs are more ambitious than their themepark counterparts, it follows that the former are also more susceptible to bugs, performance problems, and general player discontent. Xsyon is no exception, and the post-apocalyptic world-building title from Notorious Games has traveled a rough yet familiar road since its March release. According to a couple of recent posts on the Xsyon boards, better times are in the offing. Notorious is in fact expanding its dev roster, and new game designer/programmer Danathur throws the community a few bones in his introduction post. Aside from providing a bit of detail on his new duties, he also addresses the ongoing war of words between PvE and PvP supporters vying for the future of Xsyon. "We do not want to create a massively multiplayer first person shooter. On the other hand, conflicts and managing them (not only by violence) [are] the real challenge and where the most fun will come from in the long term," he explains. Danathur goes on to say that both crafting and combat will become more expensive in short order due to the enabling of item stats and decay. His sentiments echo those of lead designer Jordi Grau-Davis, who posted earlier this week to announce the new dev hires and to give the community a feel for Xsyon's development roadmap. "We are going to evolve Xsyon to include farming, contested expansion totems and revamped combat. The goal is to provide more daily activities to tend to and something to fight over," he wrote.
The Anvil of Crom: New AoC devs bringing optimism for the future
Wait a minute. Stop the presses. W. T. F?! Do I detect some optimism here? From the Age of Conan community (and while we're getting all incredulous, from me)? What's next, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, and mass hysteria? As strange as it sounds, I do believe the tide is turning ever so slightly when it comes to Funcom's fantasy MMORPG. Things are, as they say, looking up, in no small part due to some fresh content and the promise of more to come. Join me after the cut for a stroll down why-it's-a-good-time-to-be-an-AoC-fan lane.
