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One Shots: Friendly advice
You never can tell what kind of strange and interesting people you'll run into at your local MMO tavern. Some prefer to drink and play cards, others prefer to gossip, and then there are those folks who use these social spots to find dungeon groups. Today's image from RIFT not only offers us a look at one such dungeon-running hopeful but also nets us some sage -- and funny -- advice. Undoubtedly anyone who has raided in World of Warcraft would take exception to the advice today's contributor, Melissa, received from this well-meaning gentleman. However, as this is from RIFT, Melissa wanted to pass it along: "I'm an explorer in MMO cities and will typically go to just about every corner of a building and meet all the town's citizens. In Sanctum I met Mitch, an un-Ascended Adventurer, and he gave me a bit of advice about dungeon fires. He also told me he has trouble finding groups for dungeons, since he can only die once." We love adventurers who find funny things in familiar MMO landscapes. For that matter, we love seeing games that aren't often featured here too! If you'd like to contribute to One Shots, it's very easy to do. Email a screenshot showing off a slice of life from the MMO you're currently playing to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Make sure you add in your name, the name of the game, and a note about what we're seeing in the picture as well. From there, we'll whip up a One Shots post spotlighting your image and post it here on Massively. %Gallery-112285%
IE9 is the most energy-efficient modern browser, according to Microsoft's own testing
Of all the battlefields we've witnessed in the browser wars, this one's never really crossed our minds before: energy efficiency. Yes, the power efficiency of a piece of software, not hardware, is being touted by Microsoft as a differentiating feature for its fresh new Internet Explorer 9. It's thrown together the top five most popular browsers and put them through a cycle of benchmarks -- including Microsoft's own FishIE Tank graphics acceleration test, but not the somewhat popular Adobe Flash -- while measuring how much power they use beyond what the underlying Windows 7 system needs to keep itself going. Shockingly, IE9 was the winner each and every time and there's a tenuous conclusion drawn that if you want good battery life, you'll be going with Internet Explorer. Oh well, whether you consider them a good laugh or really valuable buyer's advice, there's plenty more of these power consumption comparisons at the source link below.
The Daily Grind: What do you actually think is going on at the studio?
Whether we're playing a game developed by one of NCsoft's many studios or something developed in-house by Turbine, most of us have never been inside the company that actually makes our games of choice. On the rare occasion that we have, it's usually been for a special event rather than an actual work day. And while you know that the team behind Star Trek Online is hard at work, even if you've worked in programming before, part of you has to wonder what goes on behind closed doors. So while you're off at your job, doing whatever it is that you do, what do you imagine is happening at the development studio? Do you think it's probably more fun than your job? Less? Do you picture a team hard at work or one slacking off and only putting in a token effort at development? Or do you think that the entire thing is a mockery, that there's just one guy coming by on weekends to turn on the content machine for the next major patch? (Please note that there's no such thing as a content machine.) 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!
One Shots: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
There are many different cosmetic costume choices to be found in DC Universe Online, either through gear purchased off vendors or picked up as drops. Thanks to that variety, you stand a good chance of having your character look fairly unique. That is, unless your friends decide to have some fun with the in-game ability to switch costumes at any time. If that happens, you might face a situation like Zlaine shows off in today's One Shots. He writes in to explain: "I just started playing DC Universe Online a couple of days ago. I was with a group of people doing bounties and we had just finished the Gotham circuit. I wanted to take a screenshot for fun, when the group leader decided to change into the exact same style of gear to spice things up. The similarity is uncanny -- right down to the violet emissive eyes. Seeing double? Don't worry, you're not the only one. Hopefully he won't turn out to be my evil twin a la Katherine from The Vampire Diaries." Has someone pulled off a practical joke on you in an MMO? Have a screenshot of it? If so, we'd love to see that picture. Email it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a note that tells us all about it. Your image could wind up being the next one we post here on Massively! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: Casual friday
It is crazy fun being part of the team here at Massively. The sheer amount of chat that goes on about how pants are evil might shock others not used to the dynamics of our motley MMO-loving crew. You know what's even better (or worse, depending on your point of view)? It appears that some of our readers also carry a similar pants-free preference into their games of choice, as proven by this nearly naked dance party that happened recently in RIFT! This image comes to us from Bizket, who writes in to tell us more about it: "This is Bizket, member of Unrepentant, a Defiant guild on Gnarlwood. Our guild leader, Dao, swam out to an island that you have to take fatigue to get to. The island has a tower with a great view of the burning city in the background. We all stripped, had a few beers, and proceeded to dance. Here is a picture of our party! I'm really loving the game." Had a great party in your favorite MMO? Perhaps you and a group just got together to take on some bad guys and you captured a moment of the action? Whatever your reason, we're always on the lookout for fun screenshots from all around the MMOGverse. All you have to do is email in your screenshot to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Be sure to include your name, the name of the game, and a note telling us what's going on in the picture. Yours could be the next one we post as part of One Shots! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: Feeling the love
Anyone who has played EVE Online for any real period of time can appreciate why so many people feel internet spaceships are "serious business." However, much like CCP's own developers and their recent "chessboxing" video, many capsuleers also have a fun-loving side -- despite the dangers in EVE Online. Today's fun screenshot comes to us from Ryan V., who captured this while wandering through New Eden recently and writes in: "This was taken outside of a Space Monkeys Alliance station in the northern nullsec regions. The Space Monkeys are known for their love for bubbles, and this just exemplifies that." Found a fun interstellar anomaly while adventuring through your favorite space-based MMO? If so, send in a screenshot of it and share with the rest of us! It's easy to do. Email your image to us here at oneshots@massively.com and include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the picture. You never know -- your image could be the next one we feature here on Massively! %Gallery-112285%
One Shots: Good for the gander
The idea of skimpy armor in a fantasy-based game certainly isn't anything new. Toss a cat, and you're likely to hit a game that offers players ridiculously tiny plate armor. Still, while it is often a contentious issue to some, today's One Shots contributor misterorff tries to offer some levity on the topic by noting how the tables are turned in RIFT. According to his note and screenshot, men are made to wear skimpy-ish armor too. Oh noes! He writes in: "Another RIFT screen... I know, I know, RIFT overload! I just wanted to point out that instead of objectifying females in RIFT, they objectify us men! This is 'plate' armor -- that does NOTHING to protect my heart. One quick stab and my tank is dead! I'm THIS CLOSE to losing a nipple!" Whether your character looks like a well-armored armadillo or a woad-covered extra from Braveheart, we love to see MMO screenshots from all manner of people. If you'd like to show off what your character is wearing this season, then email your image to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. We'll post it out here and give you the credit for sending it in. %Gallery-112285%
Age of Empires Online posts first dev diary video
Cross an RTS game over to an MMO? Madness! Well, OK, maybe it's not madness at all, but this new video dev blog from the team behind Age of Empires Online is pretty crazy! In it, we're treated to an interesting look behind the scenes of this upcoming MMORTS title under production at Gas Powered Games. However, as we learn from CEO Chris Taylor, Producer Dex Manely, and Marketing Manager Justin Kirby, there's a lot of brainstorming and work that goes on when it comes to creating interesting video dev blogs for a game. With fun, stylized graphics, vividly colored environments, tons of action and a pedigree spanning several different popular titles, Age of Empires Online looks like it has a good start. For now, check out the video embedded behind the break, and if the game seems like your idea of fun, head over to the Age of Empires Online site to get signed up for a chance to beta test.
National Day of Unplugging 2011 starts now, but only after you tweet about it
Darren Murph was scheduled to write about the National Day of Unplugging 2011, which spans from sundown on March 4th to sundown on March 5th. Unfortunately, this post was delegated to him too late in the evening. He had already "unplugged." You could bother to search Facebook and Twitter to see his last snippet of digital communication for the day, but then you'd be laughing in the face of this marvelous idea. Your call. You know who you have to answer to in the end.
The MMO Report: Newstastic edition
Welcome back! This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner and the team at G4TV are serving up a heaping helping of highlights, as the news has been crazy busy during the last week. Up first, Casey points out the sales numbers for DC Universe Online, which has been flying off shelves. From there, it's on to Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online, which will either enthrall space-drama fiends, or just give people a reason to say "frak" a lot. Zipping along, it's on to Eskil Steenberg's LOVE, which went through an upgrade while narrowly avoiding a random Craigslist hookup. Also included are tidbits on an upcoming short documentary on the making of Minecraft, as well as an interesting piece on the MMORPGRTS alphabet soup of Reverie World Studios' upcoming game Dawn of Fantasy. Finally, this week ends out, as most weeks do, with Casey rifling through the best (or worst; we're not quite sure) to be found in Uncle Casey's Mailbag. For all the excitement and more, you can check out this week's episode of The MMO Report embedded for your ocular and aural pleasure behind the break, or catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
Wizard101 reveals the truth behind the green blob in space
If you follow astronomy or just like stories about big green things, you probably were aware of last week's photo from the Hubble telescope showcasing an enormous green blob. It's a known spot in space, an enormous region in which new stars are being formed -- although why stars would be forming out in the middle of nowhere has researchers baffled. But researchers from Wizard101 have helpfully taken the opportunity to dispel the mystery, making it clear exactly what the region of space actually is. Does it look sort of like a giant green frog? Well, that's exactly right. The discovery was made possible by use of facilities in the ancient undersea world of Celestia, but it still raises a number of new questions. Some of the wizard researchers speculate that the enormous frog might be a powerful minion of Morganthe, while others are certain the frog's appearance is simply a prank by a wizard with more time than common sense. Whatever the case, Wizard101 has helped provide us with the answer to a great scientific mystery, and for that we can all rest a little easier.
The MMO Report: Bloopers of 2010
It's another holiday week! Rather than just rehashing the best of 2010 or giving us another chance to check out Uncle Casey's Mailbag up close and personal, Casey and the team behind The MMO Report on G4TV have instead opted to create a reel of some of the strangest, most irreverent, and downright silly bloopers and out-takes from this season. Aside from the normal tripping over words common to anyone who has ever been stuck behind a microphone, there are also crazy bits where the cast and crew relentlessly mess with Casey, as well as giggling fits, bleeped words, and the general things you'd expect to see. So whether you're enjoying some time relaxing today or nursing a serious New Year's hangover, check behind the break to enjoy some blooper madness in this week's video from The MMO Report. Alternatively, you can also catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
Five MMOs that have gone MIA
Unlike Chuck Norris, who seems to hang on as an MMO meme with insane tenacity (perhaps it's that extra fist under his beard), there are a handful of MMOs that appear to have dropped off the radar in the last several months -- if not years. Admittedly, this was originally to be a top 10 list of missing MMOs, but in the last half of this year, several developers have seen fit to thwart our plans by actually releasing information about their games. Shock! Horror! Nevertheless, I've armed myself with an enormous cup of coffee and plundered the archives of Massively and general press releases for MMOGs that seem to have dropped off the radar. Are they still under development? Will we see some movement on them in 2011? Will it take a Chuck Norris-level feat-of-strength and all-around badassery to pull them back from the developmental abyss they appear to be in? Join me behind the break as I run down some of the MMOs we're still waiting for word on.
Moine-Garde offers finely rendered watch apps for indiscriminate Android owners
Moine-Garde recently came to our attention, and we were quite frankly amused by its offer of "fine virtual timepieces" -- if only because, in this context, "fine" and "virtual" would seem to cancel each other out. But like the best websites and catalogs catering to the wealthy, social climbers, or the just plain gullible, this company is not just selling Android apps, it's selling a lifestyle. Some of our favorite item descriptions: EX-01 Homme ($15) Entering the boardroom at 8:30 AM - everyone awaits a decision. Mentally going over the broader picture. Calmly sitting down at the end of the table. Placing the phone quietly on its black glass surface. Time: 8:31. Let the meeting begin. F-01 M'elle ($7) Strolling down Rue Saint-Florentin. New dress: Check. Artichokes: Check. Hometown Crémant: Check. All is ready. Thinking about his smile on the last date. Loving the scent of vanilla from the bakery across the road. 7:10 PM. Incoming text message: "Chéri - Can't wait to see you tonight." M-01 Jaune ($3) Finally got around to reading Fritz Neumeyer's essay on Mies Van Der Rohe. 3:05 PM, Sunday afternoon - Coldplay in the background. Sitting comfortably with a tall glass of Chablis. The patterns of rain on the terrace windows are simply amazing. Page 122. M-02 Verte (Coming soon!) 12:30 PM, Singapore. Lunch break at the School of Art & Design. On the rooftop enjoying a Katong Laksa. Green as far as the eye can see. Remembering a Murakami sentence. Watching a plane go by. How time flies. Have to return to the lecture. Guess that's ok. At this point you're probably asking yourself if this is all a joke, or if these guys are serious -- and to be honest, we can't tell either. But we do know this: $15 is quite a lot to spend on a watch app, even if it does display hours, minutes, and seconds. PR after the break.
World of Warcraft's mad cow against the naked orcs
If you've played World of Warcraft for long enough, you know about Gamon. An NPC in Orgrimmar for a relatively standard rogue quest, Gamon's life became a perpetual cycle of death shortly after players found that he could be attacked even by his fellow Horde members. So for Cataclysm, Blizzard Entertainment proved its sense of humor borders on sociopathy by making Gamon a max-level elite who hits like a 747 in a nose dive if anyone is dumb enough to attack him. As it turns out, 300 naked orcs are precisely dumb enough to attack him. Again, if you've played World of Warcraft for long enough, watching huge player spectacles is not a new experience. But it's rare that you can get this many people to band together in an effort to kill an enemy whose death does not and has never offered any rewards beyond a death animation. Gary Gannon and the Gamebreaker TV crew did just that as part of their Legendary podcast Cataclysm launch party last week. Click on past the cut for something everyone can enjoy -- half-naked muscular green men stabbing at an enraged bipedal cow.
Retaining your masculinity while carrying the iPad
The New York Times had an odd post recently in which it responded to men who were having trouble carrying their iPad around town in a masculine fashion. According to the article in its Fashion & Style section, some men have even eschewed taking their iPad in public just because there's a lack of suitably macho bags. Scott Stein at CNET even rated iPad bags in terms of their "humiliation index." I've used a laptop for many, many years and I'll admit this isn't a problem that's ever occurred to me. Any doubts or questions about my bag are instantly dissipated when I bust out awesome technology like the iPad. I guess I could see a bit of embarrassment if you're wearing a funky fanny pack or something, but there are tons of great looking bags for the iPad. Just check out the Booq Boa push bag, for example If you really have trouble with establishing your masculinity via your gadget bag, let me suggest using a Sharpie to draw some skulls on it or maybe add some spikes.
First Look: Ninja Steve for iOS
CEO. Industry Mogul. Superhero. That's the idea behind the upcoming Ninja Steve app. Inspired by the fake story about Steve Jobs being denied the chance to take shuriken onto his private plane, Ninja Steve transforms an urban legend into a deliciously silly idea for a game. It features a CEO hero named Steve, who leads a secret double life as a Ninja. The developers assure us that "[o]ur character share the name with Steve Jobs, but is a fictional character, he and his fictional company has no relation to Steve Jobs or Apple." Here at TUAW, we haven't had a chance to play the game -- and honestly, we have no idea whether it's awesome or awful -- but we were tickled by the marketing graphics and the developer was kind enough to give us an exclusive first peek at the game promo video, which appears after the jump. This is not the first time we've covered the Ninja Steve meme, here on TUAW. Previously, we saw the fake "iPod ninja" concept ad, which we thought was hilarious. Got any more Apple Ninja spoofs, games, or tributes to share? Let us know in the comments.
The Daily Grind: Do you make ugly characters?
With the Thanksgiving holiday safely behind us, it's now time to assess the damage to our waistlines. With all the leftovers likely making the rounds over this long weekend, it might even be Monday before some of us get back to our normal dietary routines. All the food talk got us to thinking about character customization in MMORPGs, specifically the fact that few games allow you to make unattractive avatars. Those that do tend to resemble a veritable theater of the absurd, as the silly folks among us delight in making grotesque caricatures and over-the-top uglies. One former Star Wars Galaxies player even made an in-game career out it. Starsider veterans in the audience may remember one Ichben Einberliner, a strange chap who loved to strip his Fat Bastard avatar down to a pair of speedos and do a seductive pole dance for the unfortunate patrons at the Coronet spaceport. Rumor has it that Berliner was even awarded a character badge by SOE GMs (ostensibly for his unique personality) after regaling space travelers with his diaper-clad cabaret act for months on end. Whether it's the Ichbens of the world or the folks who make bobblehead midgets in Aion, there are always a few on every server. Today's question is two-fold: Do you make unattractive avatars? Why? 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!
One Shots: We play pretend
Ever been stuck in an area waiting for things to get rolling? Oh wait, it's Monday -- that's a pretty common trope in Mondays isn't it? Well, if you've ever hit that type of a snag in your favorite MMO, you'll likely appreciate the ingenuity of today's One Shots contributor, Huggies S., who snapped this disturbingly silly screenshot in the Lord of the Rings Online not too long ago. Rather than be down about getting stuck in an area, he decided to use his imagination and turn it into a wacky adventure. We'll let him explain: "While exploring Moria without leaving the mines for a week, I started going stir crazy without sunlight. So I decided to role-play the mines as a Lore-Master who took the title "Friend of Animals" a little too seriously. This was snapped in a split second before I was yelled at for not paying attention to the orcs." Why not join the fun and send in your own screenshots to be featured here on One Shots? We love to have lots of different games to pick images from! Just email them to us here at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the game it's from, and a quick note describing the scene. We'll post it for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit. %Gallery-85937%
The Daily Grind: Three years of coffee talk
Three years! Three years we've been here at Massively, talking about all manner of things! Speaking as someone who has been here from the start, it's all been like butter. Like butter, I tell you! Along the way, every morning, we've gotten up, grabbed our coffee and enjoyed some coffee talk here on The Daily Grind. From simple questions about things like favorite music in MMOs to more in-depth discussion about systems, lore, character development, and more, we've given you over a thousand different topics so you could talk amongst yourselves -- like now, when we're a little verklempt. There. OK. It's passed. This morning, we thought it would be fun to give you the chance to ask us (and of course, the other Massively readers) something in honor of our third birthday as a site. Ever wanted to know what a day in the Massively virtual offices is like? Does Shawn really have a post-apocalyptic costume? Does Eliot randomly say "kupo?" If you've got burning questions, we've got answers. Just leave them in the box below, bubeleh... and you know... we'll talk. 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!
