gdc-2009
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Game Developers' Conference to include iPhone Games Summit track
Macworld reports that the 2010 Game Developers' Conference will include an 8-class track on iPhone games. The iPhone Games Summit, which takes place over two days, replaces an older format where panels on the iPhone were mixed in with those on gaming for other mobile platforms or independent development. Classes appear to be aimed toward niche development ("A Big Dash of Success: How to Capture the Female iPhone Gamer") and utilizing social networking and multiplayer capabilities for iPhone games. The two most interesting classes to me is a case study of one company's year in the App Store and a class aimed at covering the finer points of the iPhone contract. Given that this is their first year, it'll be interesting to see how these are attended and what changes they make next time around as well. The Game Developers' Conference will be held March 9-13 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
New details surface about MechScape
Ever since Massively first learned of Jagex's sci-fi follow up to RuneScape at GDC 2009, a project codenamed "MechScape" -- and that it will be more than "RuneScape in space" -- we've wondered what to expect from the game. Jagex has given us a few hints though: four distinct species; choice of alliances which affect player adventures; and the potential for cloning, player-built vehicles, perhaps even spaceship construction. There's now more info out there about MechScape through a Eurogamer interview with the game's Chief Designer Henrique Olifiers. Eurogamer's Rob Purchese learned just how different a spin on MMOs MechScape might be. Olifiers said, "From the beginning we didn't want to make another RuneScape: it can't be another fantasy game, so no more elves... no more orcs, no more dragons." This sci-fi game will not share some of the standard MMO game mechanics we've come to expect.
GDC Austin keynote speaker announced as SOE's John Smedley
GDC Austin has announced that SOE president John Smedley will be providing the keynote for the event, which takes place next month. Entitled: "From Daggers and Dragons to Kart Racing, Cooking and Concerts ... It's a Whole New World", the keynote -- which takes place on Wednesday 16 September -- is an obvious allusion to SOE's very own Free Realms, which has been one of the most hyped freemium PC MMOs of the year and will eventually see a PS3 release. The keynote page goes a little more in-depth, informing attendees that they "will learn about the challenges and lessons learned when creating a full-blown MMO for kids together with a ground-breaking new business model; and how developers can re-educate their teams to move from stagnant and dated MMO design toward mass market success." GDC Austin, which is taking place between 15th and 18th September in Austin, Texas, will also see a keynote, taking place the following day from Blizzard devs Frank Pearce and J. Allen Brack entitled "The Universe of the World of Warcraft".[Via GameSetWatch]
Gaikai and OnLive both a no-show at E3 Expo 2009
We heard about two competing gaming services at GDC 2009 that could revolutionize the video game industry, if the technology announced can live up to its claims: OnLive and Gaikai. Both services aim to stream game content to users while the graphics crunching is handled on company servers, thereby eliminating the escalating hardware barriers to playing the latest and greatest titles -- a home user's low-end machine would be able to run high-end games. Gaikai head David Perry (of Acclaim) has said that the company's "Streaming Worlds" technology is suited to handle MMOs, and has specifically stated that World of Warcraft and EVE Online can already be streamed to browsers. When we heard about these companies at GDC we were hoping to hear more a bit later in the year, but it seems that neither OnLive nor Gaikai will be at the E3 Expo 2009. Gaikai cites patent filings as the reason they've had to pull out from E3 while OnLive states that their service doesn't fit in with the 'retail-orientation' of E3. We'll keep an eye on both companies as time goes on, though at this point only Gaikai has announced that they plan to stream MMOs.
Huxley: The Dystopia beta signups begin
Huxley: The Dystopia is the re-monikered MMOFPS from Webzen that will be published in the West by NHN USA and ijji. Huxley clearly puts more emphasis on FPS than MMO although elements of the latter are certainly there, and Massively had a chance to see a bit of what the game can offer at GDC 2009. Shortly afterwards, they launched a teaser site counting down to... something. We admit, we must've looked away from that countdown for too long because the teaser site changed today, adding video footage, forums, screenshots, character descriptions and backstory info. The main thing we'd like to mention to our readers is that Huxley: The Dystopia is currently taking closed beta signups. The signup period is May 6 - May 20, and the first round of closed beta testing will last from June 3 - June 14. If you've been looking forward to fragging in Huxley, head on over to the Beta Test Registration page at ijji, and check out all the new info about the game they've added to the site.%Gallery-48874%
The Council of Stellar Management's impact on the game
Massively: Was giving the players this degree of input a frightening prospect for the developers and the designers? Pétur: [Laughs] Yes. I've been hearing the other companies in the industry asking if we've completely lost our minds. Of course it's a difficult step, but we wouldn't have have a game without the players, so I think it's a logical step to take. Even though it's a frightening one. Massively: Now that you've been doing this for a while, is it still as frightening now, seeing what the CSM is coming up with? Pétur: No. They still surprise us sometimes but in a good way. It's becoming a very valuable tool for us to have. It's important. Dr. EyjoG: Pétur and I work in the unit of Research and Statistics and what we are increasingly finding happening over the past two months is that the developers come to us and ask 'What do you think the CSM would think of this?' And now we can answer, 'Well, just ask them.' Pétur: There are at least three cases off the top of my head where the CSM was asked by the developers themselves about a feature they were thinking about, what the players' take on this might be.
Massively speaks with EVE Online devs about Council of Stellar Management
The Council of Stellar Management in the sci-fi game EVE Online is a fairly unique concept in the massively multiplayer online game industry. As an MMO matures and the number of subscribers increases by thousands of new players every year, representing very different playstyles and outlooks on how the game is evolving, there are few companies out there that would ask the players themselves to advise on how best to move forward. But this is exactly what CCP Games is doing with EVE.Following their GDC 2009 presentation on virtual democracies, Massively had a chance to speak with Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, CCP's lead economist, (also know as Dr. EyjoG) and Pétur Jóhannes Óskarsson, a researcher at CCP who is in the unique position of pursuing a Master's degree in Philosophy while facilitating a system where political philosophies can play out virtually.
Five upcoming MMOs with indie-cred
Eurogamer's Oli Welsh attended the Game Developer's Conference last month and took a look at five MMOs being produced by independent studios. Earthrise, Fallen Earth, Gatheryn, Global Agenda, and Love are all being developed without the support of a huge publisher. Given all the big budget competition, do they stand a chance?According to Oli, Earthrise has many interesting features but with beta set for May and release set for late 2009, he's a little concerned with the framerate issues and lack of polish. Much like its post-apocalyptic brother, Fallen Earth shines on many levels and is also due in 2009, but it is lacking in execution with animation, combat, and AI issues. As for Gatheryn, Oli is a bit confused as to why this game is even being made at all because it lacks depth and has no clear direction (here's what we thought).On the other hand, Mr. Welsh has high praise for both Global Agenda and Love. The former appears to be an interesting blend of adrenaline-pumping MMOFPS action with more polish than an antique car show. The latter is the brainchild of a one-man army, giving it the most indie-cred out of all the titles. For a more in-depth explanation of his opinions, follow Oli as he takes a journey through the MMO's wild frontier.
EVE Online developers speak about player-elected councils
The sci-fi game EVE Online is unique among the massively multiplayer online games on the market in that it has a form of player governance, which allows for a new channel of communication between the subscribers and developers -- a council of representatives of the playerbase. Players are not selected by CCP Games, the creators of EVE Online, they're actually elected by the game's subscribers themselves. Those elected form the Council of Stellar Management (CSM), delegates who represent the interests of the players and deal directly with CCP Games. It's a bold idea and certainly one that many MMO developers would shy away from, particularly in that the CSM has input into the game's development pipeline. CCP Games felt what they're doing would be of interest to other people in the industry, and gave a presentation at GDC 2009. The session was titled "The Council of Stellar Management: EVE Online Bridges Worlds for a Society". Two speakers from CCP Games presented: Dr. Eyjólfur Guðmundsson, EVE's lead economist, (also known as Dr. EyjoG) and Pétur Jóhannes Óskarsson, a researcher at CCP whose work has been integral to making the CSM a reality.
Huxley: The Dystopia gets new teaser site with countdown
Huxley: The Dystopia is one of the new breed of games about to hit the massively multiplayer online world -- a hybrid first person shooter and sci-fi MMO, built on Unreal Engine 3. Massively took a good look at Huxley at GDC 2009, which we (naturally) feel is a solid starting point to catch up with what this game is shaping up to be, given its long hiatus between the early announcements and its re-appearance in the games journalism sphere. So what will come of this splicing of FPS and MMO? We're not sure how well-received titles like Huxley: The Dystopia and Global Agenda will be, but it'll certainly be interesting to see what these games will add to our online gameplay options. In the meantime, Huxley: The Dystopia has launched a teaser web site with a countdown clock showing just under 30 days. We don't believe this is an actual launch countdown, but it's expected that more game info will be revealed at that time. If you're devouring everything you can about this particular game, you'll want to have a look at the Huxley teaser site and its front page video showing off more of the game. [Via IGN]
Martial arts and robots MMO Titan Online goes open beta this month
Korean MMO developer EYA Interactive has announced that their game Titan Online will enter open beta for its international version on April 28th. Massively had a look at Titan Online at GDC 2009, a game that EYA Interactive explains as "an epic title based on traditional Asian culture... a fusion MMORPG that boasts a unique combination of martial arts and robots that takes place in a spectacular fantasy world." Gamers interested in getting in on the open beta can sign up at the Titan Global Site. EYA Interactive has also stated they will allow players to keep their existing open beta characters once the game goes live, with no account wipes from open beta onwards.[Via Worlds in Motion]%Gallery-48434%
City of Heroes Issue 14: Architect is live
Much of our recent coverage of City of Heroes has focused on the Mission Architect, and with good reason. Issue 14 brings player-created content into the superhero MMO, placing the tools the developers have used to create missions in the hands of the players. Essentially, players can create their own playable content and tailor these missions to their liking, right down to the characters and the story itself. In some respects, it takes the UI of the character creation tool and applies it to the creation of actual game content. We had a good look at the potential for user-generated content with the Mission Architect at GDC 2009, while it was still in beta testing. Mission Architect is clearly ready for primetime though; NCsoft has announced that Issue 14: Architect is now live, giving City of Heroes players more control over their gameplay than ever before. The Issue 14: Architect release notes are up and detail the many features the update brings to City of Heroes and City of Villains.%Gallery-45908%%Gallery-48661%
LOVE creator Eskil Steenberg on how his game differs from other MMOs
It would be an understatement to say we're excited about the upcoming massively multiplayer online game titled LOVE, and we've certainly given the title some mention here in the past. It's an MMO being developed by one person, Eskil Steenberg, featuring a rather unique art style and some interesting gameplay elements. We're always looking out for more info about the title and came across an interview with Steenberg conducted by Phill Cameron from Gamasutra, just before the LOVE creator's Independent Games Summit lecture at GDC 2009. Steenberg discusses his choice to adopt procedural generation for LOVE, which was actually the only way forward on this project. "Working alone, you simply just can't build a massive world all by yourself, so you need to do something smarter," he says. "Given that I am forced to solve this problem, I get some added bonuses like being able to constantly generate new content while the game is running." Steenberg points out another benefit to this type of game design."As it turns out I think this could be the key to gaming in the future, as the game is able to develop and change in response to the player's actions," he says. "Rather then having a few binary plot choices, the world becomes far more dynamic and responsive to your actions."
EVE Online developers discuss Apocrypha expansion's impact on the game
EVE Online's recent deployment of the Apocrypha expansion brought major changes to the game. Apocrypha is the largest expansion they've released to date, incorporating wormhole exploration and modular ship designs, in addition to a new NPC race into the fabric of the game as we know it. BattleClinic, a site best known for its player-built tools, guides, and as a hub for sharing and commenting upon ship setups, caught up with CCP Games at GDC 2009. They spoke with Halldór Fannar Guðjónsson, CTO at CCP Games, and Gabe Mahoney, VP of Engineering. Given how significant Apocrypha has been from the standpoint of the players and CCP alike, the interview focuses on the expansion.
GDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist pt. 2
So, with expansions, you said that you'll be starting out with New York, London, and Seoul, right? Yes. Those will be the first cities, the hub cities, available at the start of the game. Now, the gameplay takes you beyond that, yes? Oh yeah, absolutely. We're not doing all New York, or all of London, or all of Seoul. We are actually doing very tight and very constrained neighborhoods there. That's where you'll start your gameplay, but they won't be the large, huge open zones where you have tons of gameplay or tons of monsters. That will be left to areas like Egypt and New England, which will be more expansive and include more open-world mechanics and other things that we're not revealing quite yet. We will also be including more instanced and team-based areas as well. Regarding expansion packs, yeah, we're going to expand beyond what we already will include. It's not like we're going to run out of content, the world is a big place. Yes, I was going to ask if it will expand into more locations and cities throughout the world. Yes, it certainly will, but it won't be limited to just that. We have more interesting locations but they won't be limited to just our world. We will be including locations throughout time and space itself. I want to emphasize that this won't be something like Grand Theft Auto with magic, with a focus on huge, huge open cities. They are reasonably small places where you will start out and take the adventure from there. But one very important thing to note is that this sounds like a very fragmented world. London, New York, Seoul, those cities are a long way away from each other. But we are creating, or at least trying to create, a pretty seamless world. This means there are ways of getting from London to New York very quickly, and we are focusing on that. You won't be just walking up to a plane, clicking on it, and getting a red line that quickly points to where you're going and boom, you're there. You will be moving in real-time from London to New York, just a lot quicker. There's alot of traditional MMO components that are around now. We're kinda in a new generation of MMO, and people are tired of World of Warcraft model and they're looking for something new. This is certainly in that realm. Are you guys trying to get away from traditional models, like crafting, and moving to something new? Ah, I can't really talk about crafting right now. What I can say is that while combat is a core focus, we really want other non-combat stuff in the game. We're just not going to be talking about them as of yet. But there will be gameplay that isn't all about fighting monsters or exploring. There will be other things that you will be able to do. Like you said earlier, like mysteries? That, yes, that also and there will be other ways for people to play in the game, to participate in the game, that isn't about traveling around the world. Exactly what that is, I can't say as of yet. Now, will there be a player driven economy? Well, I can't speak much about that now, but there will be ways for players to take part in the economy. Sorry for being so cryptic, but trying to keep this very focused and very narrow for now. And player guilds? Ah, we are going to have cabals, yes. There will be a point to making cabals, and it will play a very large role in the game, but exactly what that is I'm not going to say as of now. We are a game and we are focusing on the social aspects of the game. We are, in some aspects, a story driven game and alot of it you can play solo, but we really want to emphasize that it is an MMO. There will be stuff that will require you to team up with people in small groups and also in larger teams, without me going into deeper detail. I hate having to keep saying I can't talk about this stuff. Oh, so what about in-game factions? ...and I can't talk about that. *laughs* Ok, so what about the range between hardcore and casual? Yeah, well, we always say we're going to cover all of it, but the fact is that you can't the game for everybody. So I think we're leaning towards... *sighs* I wouldn't say the casual, because when you talk about MMOs and casual you usually end up at Club Penguin or something like that, and we're really not there. We're somewhere between halfway, I think. There's tons of stuff for the hardcore MMO players, like the whole skill based system and the tweaking that you do to those types of systems with numbers and all the items we'll have, and that will be a hardcore player's dream. But I think in terms of time investment and what's required of you, we're leaning towards the middle ground. It will be fun for MMO players, but it will be equally fun for someone who just likes the idea of a world that has a bunch of other people in it, is completely open, you can play it online, and you can chat, but doesn't feel so unfriendly and unwelcoming as other MMOs. So, would your target audience be someone who has played MMOs? I think a large part of our target audience is who are playing or have played MMOs. We want it to be different enough for them to come back or a game that is different enough to have them come to play it with their friends. In addition to action/adventure gamers who play games like Fable 2 for the Xbox 360 and just want to try their hand at something that's online and not feel completely eliminated and have something that's recognizable to them.We'd like to thank Ragnar for meeting with us at the GDC, and we're looking forward to more information on The Secret World!
GDC09: Interview with The Secret World's creator, Ragnar Tørnquist
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/GDC09_Interview_with_The_Secret_World_s_creator_Ragnar'; With our unveiling of The Secret World, we were also able to have some time to ourselves with Ragnar Tørnquist, the creator of Dreamfall and, of course, The Secret World. While our look at the videos and basic fact sheets were interesting, we wanted to get to the heart of the matter. What should lure us into this dark, fantastic world? What had Funcom learned since the launch of Anarchy Online and Age of Conan? And how many times can we have one man say the words, "I can't talk about that?"We put Ragnar to the test in our interview, and his responses were certainly enlightening. Interested? Join us as we brave The Secret World with the creator himself.
GDC09: The veil lifts on The Secret World
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Funcom_reveals_The_Secret_World_a_new_horror_conspiracy_MMO'; If you've been waiting for a chance to see what lies beyond the curtain and fall into the elegantly dark setting of The Secret World, then get ready for your first glimpse of what lurks beyond. At the GDC we got the chance to sit down and discuss The Secret World with Funcom and lay our eyes on a few cinematics of the game.While we were unable to get our hands around a playable version of the title, we were treated to many of the game's basics and concepts. This may not be the tidal wave of information, but it is a start to the flow of The Secret World's river of fresh ideas.What lies after the break is an explanation of what the game is all about, followed by the first cinematic of The Secret World that we've been allowed to release. Later in the hour, we'll be posting our interview with Ragnar Tørnquist, the game's creator. So stick with us as we lead you through our peek of TSW.
GDC09: Mission Architect in-depth
At GDC recently, Joe Morrissey, Senior Designer at NCsoft and Lead Designer for Mission Architect talked to an audience about the challenges of implementing a user generated content system in a 5-year old MMO. Afterwards, we had a chance to sit him down and ask a few questions of our own. But to start with, the basics, for those of you who haven't been following Mission Architect's development: it's a system that allows any City of Heroes or City of Villains player to create their own missions, complete with their own characters and stories. (If the idea of user generated content sounds strange and foreign to you, let Captain Dynamic explain the idea to you.) Currently in beta, this content Godzilla will be released upon the live realms in Issue 14. (For people who haven't yet dived into the City of franchise, there will also be a new game box coming out for Mission Architect: the aptly named Architect Edition.)%Gallery-48661%%Gallery-45908%
The Digital Continuum: What's up with APB?
I'm not entirely sure what's going on with All Points Bulletin and the only reason I'm bothered enough to consider worrying about a game that we know only fractions of is because those fractions are amazingly potent pieces of excitement. The depth of customization, the level-less progression wrapped around a GTA style game make for powerful appeal.I was hoping that because it'd been a year since the last GDC, when All Points Bulletin was first revealed to a dumbstruck media, we would be treated with a delightful updated look at the game. That just wasn't the case at GDC 2009, and frankly it has me slightly worried.
Guitar controllers axed from Brutal Legend
Tim Schafer, speaking to a group of (likely excited) game journalists, broke the hard truth last week during GDC 2009: "I was trying to figure out how you would throw down the controller and pick up the guitar," he said. MTV Multiplayer is reporting that Mr. Schafer then told the group there are "no plans" for guitar controller compatibility in the upcoming Double Fine-developed, EA-published game. We've got one question for you, Mr. Schafer: WHAT?! But rather than mull over the fact that we won't be literally melting enemies' faces In Brütal Legend with our plastic guitars -- a travesty, no doubt about it -- we'll instead spend our time once again perusing the gallery of screens below, looking forward to its eventual release.%Gallery-41208%
