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EVE podcast The Drone Bay returns
We mentioned the EVE Online podcast The Drone Bay last week, which broke radio silence after some months with an exclusive on the upcoming Fanfest PvP tournament. We thought it might have been a one-off release in connection with the player gathering, but it seems The Drone Bay has returned now, with all three hosts back on the podcast. For those who haven't listened to The Drone Bay, it's hosted by players from different walks of life in EVE. Crovan is known to many players for his PvP-centric mercenary gameplay, plus he's really good at this whole 'public speaking thing', good enough to commentate during last year's live broadcast of the EVE Alliance PvP Tournament. Then there's CrazyKinux, who's into more industry-related pursuits in EVE and has a broad knowledge of the game. The trio is rounded out by Alsedrech, who's not quite a noob anymore, but whose focus will still be helping newer players with learning the ropes of the game. The show has a good mix of commentary on happenings in New Eden and tips for new players looking to get into EVE Online.A few of us at Massively are huge fans of the podcast and we're hoping there'll be plenty more of The Drone Bay in the future. Like our own podcast Massively Speaking,The Drone Bay is part of the VirginWorlds collective. If you're curious about checking this one out, head on over to The Drone Bay site.
Dusktreaders put on hold for iPhone version
As other MMO developers are turning to a similar business model, Granite Games has announced in a recent interview with VirginWorlds that their Victorian Gothic/Steampunk MMO may be put on hold for a bit while they work on an iPhone game set in the same world. Despite the fact that the Dusktreaders MMO has been in development for four years now, Granite Games has decided that the iPhone game is their priority for now.This interview covers some facts about the MMO part of the project as well as the reasons for the iPhone game, which is decidedly not an MMO. Lead developer Erik Hyrkas speaks openly about the development process so far and the problems they've had with Apple and their infamously slow response times for posting new content. So will we see more of these major MMO projects put on hold for a simple version on portable devices? Is this something most players want, in lieu of a total shut-down of the project when/if there are problems?
Will Free Realms be bigger than World of Warcraft?
When Brent speaks, people listen. As the host of one of the largest MMO podcasts and communities out there, Brent Lassi of Virginworlds said something in his most recent podcast that may ruffle some feathers. "After what we saw today...if any of you were here, listeners, and you saw what they're doing with Free Realms, you would agree... that this is going to be the biggest MMO in the World." He then goes to say that there will never be any numbers, with WoW, Habbo Hotel and Lineage included, that will ever touch the numbers we'll see in Free Realms.
The Daily Grind: Your favorite MMO podcasts?
One of the things we really love about VirginWorlds is their awesome podcast collective. Not only has Brent given us his general VirginWorlds MMORPG News podcast, but he's provided a syndicated home for many other fantastic titles like Shut Up. We're Talking., The Drone Bay, to more recent additions like The VanHemlock Podcast and even our very own Massively Speaking! With such a treasure trove of fantastic podcasts, we gleefully load up our iPods and get our game on -- even when we're not gaming!For today's Daily Grind, we wanted to ask you what some of your favorite MMO podcasts are. Are you a follower of TabulaCast? Can you not resist the awesome Epic Dolls? Is The Instance your favorite? Perhaps something well off the beaten path that you think everyone should really start listening to? Let us know!
Shut up. We're beta testing
In the most recent episode of Shut Up We're Talking, the hosts Darren and Karen talk with a few guests on the very same topic that every single other gaming website and podcast are discussing for the past few weeks: Age of Conan. The distinction here though, is that the members of this roundtable podcast are discussing their impressions of the game so far from the perspectives of open beta users vs. closed beta users. This is something that is very important to those players who may have had a bad experience with either of the betas, or the pre-order early access fiasco.John, from The Ancient Gaming Noob, also brings up some great points from the perspective of someone who has worked in a related field, regarding the fact that AoC's beta seemed like one big marketing tool. He cites the example of this being done in Tabula Rasa's beta as well, where the information collected from the beta was seemingly ignored for the official launch of the game.The AoC discussion is in the first half of episode 26, and is certainly worth a listen, especially if you're someone who was completely turned off to the game after your experiences with the beta.
MMOG Podcast Roundup: Dec. 18th - Dec. 28th
Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there. As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.This week I want to highlight two 'historic' podcasts: one historic from the standpoint of an 'event' and the other historic because it's easily one of the most respected 'casts out there.The Maelstrom podcast is quickly becoming sort of an insane 'newshour-style' roundtable discussion. I had the pleasure of participating in Episode 19, and this latest is just huge; a full nine people sat in for a discussion about MMOGs that lasted for an epic amount of time. Beware - there be blue-mouthed people here.VirginWorlds, on the other hand, is a stiff-upper lip look at the news. Hosted by Brent, the mastermind behind the VirginWorlds Collective, it's a reliable and (mostly) dispassionate weekly dip into the latest Massive gaming information. Of course, we like you coming here too.If you're not already listening to VW ... you should be. This is, of course, the last roundup of the year. I've only done three other roundups, and less frequently than I wanted ... but consider this the first weekly podcast roundup. Meteor storms and inclement weather allowing, I'll be back next week (year) with another update to the MMO podcasting world. Until then, enjoy the list.
