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Halo 4 Master Chief statue coming to protect your desk from tiny aliens
A limited edition, 12-inch tall statue of Master Chief will be available via McFarlane Toys starting December 6 for $295, the action figure and collectibles company has revealed. The statue depicts Master Chief as he appears in Halo 4 - or more accurately, how he appears on the game, as the pose seems modeled after the Halo 4 cover. Each of the limited run of 1,000 statues will come with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by Todd McFarlane, as well as three interchangeable weapons: the Assault Rifle, the Energy Sword and the Boltshot. The statue's official page does not currently offer pre-orders, so if you want to get your hands on Chief before the Covenant Didact other collectors do, you'll want to keep a vigilant watch on the McFarlane Toys site.
The Perfect Ten: MMOs that died in development hell
If you know me, you probably know that I have a weird fascination with alternate history. You know, the daydreams of historians when they're not rewriting the past to suit the latest trends. "What if?" my mind wonders, especially when it comes to MMOs. You see, for every game that actually makes it to launch, there are several that die gasping and alone in the bowels of development hell. Sure, many of these are pathetic creatures that didn't really stand a chance anyway, but there are some that could have made an impact on the industry if they had reached release and been halfway decent. We'll never know what a world would look like with these games in them, but we can always muse, "What if?" Continuing Perfect Ten's recent dark streak, here are 10 MMOs that died in development hell; it's to our eternal loss that we'll never get to play them.
Last week in MMO news: The best of Massively
Sometimes, you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. StarCraft Universe prologue goes live on Battle.net StarCraft Universe is a user-created multiplayer mod that fell off of the face of the Earth for awhile. However, the mod creators have just released the StarCraft Universe prologue, effectively an open beta that allows single-player users to explore its systems ahead of its multiplayer launch. Bungie's Destiny: Always-online console shooter revealed Bungie has officially lifted the veil surrounding its Destiny project, and Joystiq reports that it is a persistent-world console shooter and part of a 10-year publishing deal with Activision. Players will be able to customize their identities and gear as they venture across "a future vision of our own solar system on quests to gather loot and defeat evil." Todd McFarlane talks about Project Copernicus Spawn creator Todd McFarlane spoke with Kotaku recently and had some things to say about Project Copernicus, 38 Studios' would-have-been Kingdoms of Amalur MMO. He was the project's art director and says he really thought that it "was going to raise the bar." He remains hopeful that, in time, somebody will "be smart enough" to come in, sweep up the pieces of the unfinished MMO, and make something of it. Massively's least favorite League of Legends champions League of Legends is a big game and has a lot of characters. Not all of them are equally loved. Everyone has characters they hate, and everyone has characters they love. This week, Massively explores the champions they just can't stand. Massively's week in review Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
Todd McFarlane talks about Project Copernicus
Spawn creator Todd McFarlane spoke with Kotaku recently and had some things to say about Project Copernicus, 38 Studios' would-have-been Kingdoms of Amalur MMO. He was the project's art director and says he really thought that it "was going to raise the bar." He remains hopeful that, in time, somebody will "be smart enough" to come in, sweep up the pieces of the unfinished MMO, and make something of it. The way McFarlane described it, Project Copernicus was very nearly a finished thing. "It's only ten yards away from the goal line," he explained. "If I had the extra cash I'd do it myself, because it's that cool." Skip below the cut to check out the full interview. (Project Copernicus talk begins at about the 5:20 mark.)
Editorial: Learning from the 38 Studios disaster
The closure of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games yesterday sparked a series of interesting events that make me both sad and proud to be a part of the greater gamer community. Job offers were overflowing from current game companies looking to snatch up some of 38's talented designers, and a Twitter hashtag was even created to spread the word and get new jobs for those affected by the layoffs. I am proud of the outreach and camaraderie of the game development community, but the hate being thrown at Curt Schilling isn't going to solve anything. The most important thing we can do at this point is to tape off the crime scene, look at the evidence, and figure out what went wrong.
Todd McFarlane says Project Copernicus is coming this year
Gamers got their first look at the Kingdoms of Amalur universe in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning earlier this year, but we here at Massively are still anxiously awaiting more details on 38 Studios' MMO branch of the setting, Project Copernicus. Thankfully, it looks like we won't have to wait too much longer. In an interview with START, comic artist extraordinaire Todd McFarlane, who is providing art design for Copernicus, nonchalantly dropped news that the studio is aiming to release Project Copernicus "later in the year." He doesn't expound any further on when exactly we can expect to get our hands on the game, but with any luck we'll be getting some more details before long, so stay tuned folks. Oh, and the full interview is embedded past the cut in case you'd like to watch the full thing. The relevant quote hits at about the 11:50 mark, but the full interview is definitely worth a watch. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Meet Kingdoms of Amalur devs at GameStop midnight launch events
You may not know this, but most mages and fantasy archetypes don't get much sleep. If you're sleeping, who will vanquish all the rats in the town cellars and prevent the animals of the wild from threatening their crops? Who will transport arbitrary items from one town to another?That's why the planned midnight launch of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning at three different GameStop locations is such an appropriate plan. Curt Schilling and R. A. Salvatore, owner of 38 Studios and the game's writer, will be on-hand at the Bellingham, MA location. Todd McFarlane, who was in charge of the game's artistic vision, will be at the Tempe, AZ GameStop to greet fans, while lead designer Ken Rolston and select members from Big Huge Games will be at the Cockeysville, MD location.Doors will open at each location starting at 11:30pm on February 6.
Creating a new world: 38 Studios discusses the formation of Amalur's IP
As MMO fans, we're keeping a close eye on 38 Studios for its development of Project Copernicus, the MMO that will serve as the follow-up to next month's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The risk factor of not only developing two major intertwined projects in parallel but to have the additional task of creating a brand-new IP in which to put them must be a pressing one, which is why CVG sat down with Reckoning Lead Designer Ian Frazier to talk about challenges the studio has been tackling. Frazier outlines the balance the studio's struck between its three big-name creators -- Todd McFarlane (art), R.A. Salvatore (story), and Ken Rolston (design) -- not to mention the ideas that pour in from founder Curt Schilling. Fortunately, Frazier says that these larger-than-life personalities mesh well together: "The nice thing that's worked out is, I think if we'd got three famous game designers, it would have been a disaster: big egos, they're all on the same plane, it wouldn't have worked out. What makes this work is they're all different." Even though Rolston previously worked on The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Frazier said the designer wanted to try his hand at something fresh with a better combat system. "They're all great games," Frazier said of the Elder Scrolls series, "and I think they're progressively better, but they're all the same game. It's not like they're radically changing with time." Frazier said Reckoning has been compared to a "single-player WoW" as well as Dragon Age and Fable, but he insists that the world and ideas the team's been creating will take it far past those basic comparisons. You can take your first peek into the world of Amalur with the Reckoning demo -- and let us know what you think in the comments!
McFarlane's sixth Halo: Reach action figure series drops in February
Another platoon of Halo: Reach action figures from McFarlane Toys is set to be deployed to a toy store near you. Microsoft has revealed the Series 6 figurines, which include new individual Carded Figures and Deluxe Boxed Sets, will be available in February 2012. New individual figures include Noble Team members Kat and Jun, an Elite Zealot, Brute Major and the Team Objectives set seen above. Finally, Kat can live forever in both our hearts and our toy display case!
The Perfect Ten: The upcoming contenders
While I'm on board the Star Wars: The Old Republic train (at least until SOE's Star Wars: The New Republic comes out in 2014 and forces SWTOR to shut down), I can certainly sympathize with the frustration that non-fans are feeling right about now. There are few things more annoying than not being into the latest craze -- or hating it outright -- and yet being unable to escape it. So I'm here to say to you today that, like World of Warcraft, SWTOR isn't the be-all, end-all of the MMO field. It's a part of it, but just one part, and there are many, many others in the works as we speak. Mama always told me never to put all your eggs in one basket anyway, so I'm spreading my eggcitement across many cyber-nests. This is the bone I'm throwing to all of you this week: a list of 10 Midichlorian-free MMOs that have me -- and should have you -- extremely buzzed about their development. In putting together this list, I realized that there are so many promising prospects that I divided them into two groups. This week I'm presenting the strongest contenders that should make it to launch with a solid product, while next time I'll list promising prospects that may be more of a long shot. I'm 47% confident that I will not forget your most-anticipated title.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning designs narrative with McFarlane, Salvatore, Rolston
Todd McFarlane, R.A. Salvatore and Ken Rolston walk into a bar. Mcfarlane orders a round for everyone and happily begins drinking. Salvatore takes one sip of his and spits it out, exclaiming, "What is this?" McFarlane finishes his gulp, sets down his glass and answers, "I reckon it's the king of beers, Bud Light." Salvatore and Rolston beat up Mcfarlane using their full pint glasses, leave him with the tab and storm out. As they're leaving, McFarlane mumbles through the blood in his mouth, "I always knew you were a mauler!" You're welcome. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning has an intriguing cast behind its conception, and the devs that got to work with McFarlane, Salvatore and Rolston certainly have plenty to say. See what the narrative designers thought of the terrific trio in the above video.
McFarlane reckons Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will arrive in February
Todd McFarlane is probably the busiest guy ever at San Diego Comic-Con 2011, but he found some time to stop by the Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning panel to drop some news bombs on us. When asked about the game's current release window, McFarlane told attendees, "It's scheduled for February, unless EA tells us otherwise." That's a bit of a bump from the game's initial launch window of Fall 2011 -- we're surprised that EA wouldn't want to make that announcement themselves. Perhaps McFarlane wasn't supposed to let the cat out of the bag; not that EA could do anything about it, since McFarlane is the President of Comic-Con.
Preview the world of Copernicus with 38 Studio's Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning trailer
38 Studios has been in the news quite a bit over the last year despite not having a released game under its belt. While the upstart company still lacks a finished product, it's one step closer with today's release of the first gameplay trailer for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. The footage from the upcoming single-player RPG gives fans a first look at the world of Amalur, which 38 Studios will revisit in the Copernicus MMO to follow. In addition to featuring company president (and former World Series MVP) Curt Schilling, Reckoning boasts an impressive array of talent from both 38 Studios and Big Huge Games including lore-master R.A. Salvatore, former Morrowind and Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston, and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. The video clip showcases a good look at Amalur's fantasy trappings, glimpses of combat with several creatures (including a big bad), and a 2012 release date. Check out all the details after the cut.
38 Studios is looking for a few good men -- and women, too, of course!
38 Studios has kept its Project Copernicus MMO under tight security for a while now; however, we do know that the studio has some big names in its pocket. Comic book giant Todd McFarlane, award-winning author R.A. Salvatore, and baseball great Curt Schilling have already added their talents to the roster. Even the government of the state of Rhode Island is excited about what this team is doing, given the guaranteed loans 38 Studios was offered if it moved to the state. Today, Lead Community Manager Charles Dane tweeted that the team is LFM. He posted, "38 Studios is looking for top tier talent. This is a great opportunity to join an awesome team!" A buzz over to the jobs page for the studio shows that it is looking for an abundance of people. QA, engineering, art, and even finance are on the list of departments needing minions. Who knows? Maybe you are the top-tier talent the studio is looking for.
38 Studios set to expand the world of Amalur into merchandising and a newsletter
Kingdoms of Amalur is a familiar name to gamers who are looking forward to Project Copernicus, the mysteriously code-named MMO under development by 38 Studios. If you're finding it hard to wait for more news on this project, 38 Studios has just the thing to distract you. The world of Amalur, created by R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane, is going to begin showing up in the real world soon in the form of comics, toys, novels, and even a few more games. Not a surprise there, amirite? Speaking of other games set in Amalur, you'll see more from Reckoning soon. The single-player game is set to launch fall of 2011, and the game's online newsletter will launch in October. Will all of this activity surrounding Amalur include new information on Copernicus? It seems likely and it's fun to speculate, so here's hoping! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
GenCon 2010: Fantasy fencing with 38 Studios
One thing is for certain: When you are sitting in the crosshairs of Curt Schilling and R.A. Salvatore during an interview, it's easy to become bowled over by their collective intensity and passion, especially when it comes to their interest in games and fantasy worlds. While GenCon Indy lacked its usual MMORPG presence this year, Massively was able to grab a few minutes of face time with 38 Studios' founder and lead writer as they passed through the convention. It was a bit of an odd interview, however, as two of the biggest topics -- 38 Studios' move to Rhode Island and any solid details about their top-secret MMO -- were off the table for discussion. Do not fret, as that certainly didn't stop us from trying to pry for a few hints along the way. Schilling and Salvatore were obviously eager to spill the beans about Copernicus, but they are still biding their time until the right moment. Happily, the duo didn't mind us fencing with them for facts, and were quite open about their single-player RPG lead-up to Copernicus, their general philosophy of designing the MMO, and why they've waited so long to unveil it to the public. Read on, gentle gamers, for a few ripostes, parries and lunges with two of the biggest figures in the industry right now.
The Game Archaeologist and the Ultima Prize: The History
Welcome to the first madcap adventure of The Game Archaeologist! In this column, we'll be looking back at some of the MMORPGs that may not get the spotlight these days, but deserve our respect and attention due to their place in MMO history. Together, we'll don our explorer gear, jump back in time, dust off forgotten treasures and look at the titles that helped build an online empire. Each month, we'll embark on a voyage through a particular MMO of yesteryear in a three-part series. The first part will examine the history of the game and its place in the genre, the second part will feature interviews with current and past players of the game, and the third part will witness The Game Archaeologist himself checking out the title as it stands today (if the MMO is still up and running, that is). For our first column, we'll salute one of the greatest grandfathers of the modern MMO: Ultima Online. Crack your whip and dive into the Stygian Abyss with us!
Big, huge interview: Big Huge Games head Tim Train
When 38 Studios isn't busy hiring former Nintendo execs, Curt Schilling's Massachusetts-based MMO developer is buying up close-to-death development studios -- take, for instance, Big Huge Games. Tim Train, the studio's president, illuminated the near-death experience that Big Huge had in a talk at PAX East earlier this year (slides from said speech can be found below). He explained how, with just a handful of days left and termination letters ready to send out, 38 Studios swept in and saved Big Huge and the vast majority of its staff. We found his story so interesting, we thought we'd follow up with Train and have him explain it once more, as well as speak about other topics. Will Big Huge ever produce another digital board game? Unfortunately, it looks like you could be waiting on that for quite some time. Hit the break for the whole thing. %Gallery-92043%
Curt Schilling says majority of savings spent on 38 Studios
Retired Red Sox player Curt Schilling has approached the development of 38 Studios with the same drive and enthusiasm as he did his baseball career, a fact that comes as no surprise to those who know what an avid MMO gamer he is. A recent article on Gamasutra took a closer look at the development of 38 Studios. Schilling felt confident in his endeavor from the very beginning, making an initial investment of $5 million and hiring a lineup of very familiar names including R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, and several others. Once the project was underway, he increased the investment in a big way: "I have put the majority of the money I've earned in my life on the table. If I make another financial investment, I will have crossed the point of no return from a personal investment and company standpoint." The financial and personal commitments have been significant, as with any large business venture, but Schilling remains very confident in the project: "I have no doubt I am on the cusp of creating a multi-million dollar company[...]" Take a look at the full story on Gamasutra.
Prince of Persia movie getting the graphic novel treatment
There's every chance that the Prince of Persia movie, like so many game-to-movie adaptations before it, will be tripe. Having said that, the recent poster reveals – coupled with the news today that a graphic novel will be released soon after the movie – may be improving our expectations. The book will be written by the creator of the Prince of Persia series, Jordan Mechner, and will feature cover art by comic book legend Todd McFarlane. Inside, the artwork will be completed by "some of the most talented names in comics," and will feature six self-contained prequel stories. So even if the movie does suck, at least this graphic novel should be worth picking up.The graphic novel will be discussed during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, hosted by Mechner, McFarlane, Bernard Chang, Tommy Lee Edwards and Cameron Stewart, so expect to hear more information out of that.
