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  • Make My MMO: March 23 - April 5, 2014

    by 
    Jef Reahard
    Jef Reahard
    04.05.2014

    This week the team at Black Eye Games released a bit of new info on its Gloria Victis fantasy sandbox. Last weekend saw a player test of the territory capture and PvP systems, and there are also some new screenshots for your perusal on the game's Facebook page. New this week is Contested Space, a pre-Kickstarter project for fans of sci-fi conquest, expansion, and ship design. Creator Matthew "Zon" Haralovich says that the PC/Mac/Linux title "mixes action-oriented ship combat with creativity and community. Players design their own ships and stations while defending and expanding territory for their alliance."

  • Zon: the MMO that teaches you to speak Chinese

    by 
    Samuel Axon
    Samuel Axon
    06.04.2008

    A team of developers supported by Michigan State University and the Office of the Chinese Language Council International have spent the past few years piecing together Zon -- a browser-based virtual world wherein users can learn the Mandarin Chinese language. The game is currently in its open beta phase; you can sign up to play right now.Users create an avatar and then find themselves in a representation of Beijing International Airport. From there, they may interact with NPCs and other world objects to learn more about Chinese language and culture, as well as communicate with other players to practice their language skills. As they progress through the system, they move up in rank from Tourist to Resident, and finally to Citizen -- at which point they may create their own content for the world.We learned of Zon through the blog of Areae president Raph Koster, who had an interesting anecdote to add. During his stint at SOE, the company worked with college campuses to use EverQuest II for total immersion language education. So this is not a new idea -- just a really cool one!

  • Portugal's ZON intros ZON BOX HD DVR

    by 
    Darren Murph
    Darren Murph
    05.14.2008

    ZON TVCabo, a leading programming provider in Portugal, has introduced an all new HD DVR for its users: the imaginatively titled ZON BOX. The unit boasts a 160GB hard drive, USB 2.0 port, gigabit Ethernet and HDMI / component / S-Video / composite jacks for good measure. We're also informed that the box will come in handy here soon, with National Geographic HD (which recently launched on rival Portugal Telecom), MOV HD and possibly SportTV HD going live. The latter two channels would be dedicated to movies / TV series and sporting events such as Euro 2008, respectively. Unfortunately, we weren't able to solicit pricing information, but feel free to give the carrier a call and see what this gem will run you.