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The Daily Grind: Which studio would you like to see do a Reddit Ask Me Anything?
Funcom, ArenaNet, and heck, even Blizzard have all turned to the popular online gaming community at Reddit to participate in what is known as an Ask Me Anything (AMA). These Q&A sessions are in real-time and can get quite heated, although they are monitored closely by Reddit mods. The results of these AMAs are sometimes up for interpretation as weeding through the oceans of questions for anything meaty can be a chore. Nonetheless, more and more game studios are discovering how effective these scheduled events can be. So who (in MMO gaming) would you like to see do one of these AMAs? If your favorite MMO dev studios haven't jumped in yet, would you like to see them go for it? Or do you think it's a waste of time? Let us know! 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!
Reddit AMA transcript now available
Yesterday, several members of the Warcraft development team had a massive AMA on Reddit. AMA stands for Ask Me Anything -- and players responded with a deluge of questions on everything from Cross-Realm zones to story and lore. For the sake of convenience, Blizzard put together a transcript of the entire post on their website earlier today. The questions and answers are separated by the designer who answered them. Game Director Tom Chilton focused on PvP, gameplay systems, cross-realm zones, character models and development timelines. Lead Quest Designer Dave Kosak focused on lore, novels, characters, and quest and zone design. Lead Encounter Designer Ion Hazzikostas focused on dungeons and raids as well as loot and talent systems and endgame progression. And of course Lead Systems Designer Greg Street focused on classes, as well as gameplay systems, cross-realm zones, and dungeons and raids. There is a ton of information contained in the AMA, including some clarification on the purpose and mechanics of Cross-Realm zones, something that a lot of people have been wondering about. Check out the full transcript for an information overload of Warcraft goodies. It's open warfare between Alliance and Horde in Mists of Pandaria, World of Warcraft's next expansion. Jump into five new levels with new talents and class mechanics, try the new monk class, and create a pandaren character to ally with either Horde or Alliance. Look for expansion basics in our Mists FAQ, or dig into our spring press event coverage for more details!
Reddit AMA with WoW developers today
Community Manager Zarhym will be hosting an AMA (or Ask Me Anything) in /r/WoW on Reddit this evening at 5:30 p.m. PDT (8:30 p.m. EDT). Joining him will be Greg "Ghostcrawler" Street, Dave Kosak, Tom Chilton, and Ion Hazzikostas. For those who don't know, an AMA is where you post questions for the people participating and they are supposed to answer them all -- or as many as possible in the time allotted. Because this will be a heavily attended session, they will be answering the questions that are upvoted the most. WoW Insider will be monitoring the AMA, so we'll keep you posted on any important news items that arise. Zarhym's post with all the details is after the break.
Super Hexagon sells 10K on iOS, ask Terry Cavanagh anything
Super Hexagon has sold "about 10,000 copies in three days and has been in the top 25 on the iPhone charts," developer Terry Cavanagh says on Reddit, where he's currently hosting an Ask Me Anything thread. Personally, we find Super Hexagon to be "beyond ideal for the mobile format," so its success isn't a huge surprise.Cavanagh is looking to make Android, PC and Mac ports of Super Hexagon, and maybe even one for Blackberry Playbook, since a friend of his has one of those. Sales on iOS have been "way beyond expectations" so far."I didn't see that coming at all – I'd really gone into this expecting the game to be a super niche thing that only a tiny handful of iPhone gamers would be interested in, and I'm really glad to be proven wrong," Cavanagh writes.In other news, Cavanagh is interested in board games and has built two, "but neither are very good yet." To learn more about this, Cavanagh's take on Steam Greenlight, or to ask your own question, hit up his Reddit AMA post.
Player banks $10,000 with Diablo III
A gamer who says he's been interested in item markets and economics since he started trading in Neopets is seeing that interest pay off in Diablo III. Redditor WishboneTheDog posted some screenshots lending proof to his impressive claim of making $10,000 with Diablo III's real money auction house. Then he invited other players to ask him (almost) anything. He said he'd never botted, scammed, or otherwise cheated at all in his efforts because trading in item markets is part of how he has fun, so it "wouldn't make sense" to cheat. He wrote, Gold is like a foreign currency. It represents value, but only within the specific game world. You can't use gold to buy things in stores in the US, just like you can't use Yen to buy things in those stores. If, however, you can convert that currency to a usable one, it has an "exchange rate." Gold has an exchange rate exactly like a foreign currency has. (Except gold is more easily exchanged than 90% of the currencies in the world.)
SOE's John Smedley tackles an epic AMA
What do you get when the president of SOE steps up to the mic at Reddit and tells the crowd to ask him anything? You get everything ranging from the NGE to former employee critiques to humble origin stories. The crowd didn't waste time getting John Smedley to apologize for Star Wars Galaxies' NGE once again. "Stupid decisions. Complete and utter fail and I am very sorry," he said. After that, the topic quickly turned to SOE's rising star, PlanetSide 2. Smedley said that he's been closely involved with the design of PS2. With the beta beginning on Monday, he also assured the crowd that it should take around two to three weeks to include everyone who has keys. He said that the game's coming along swimmingly: "I play the game three to four hours a day now. It's rough but fun as hell." Smedley also admitted that SOE is working on additional undisclosed IPs. When asked about SWTOR's transition to F2P, he stated, "It is the only way to go for new games. It was the right decision for SWTOR (which is a fantastic game). Wait until you see our next round of games after PS2."
RIFT exclusive: Storm Legion lore bonanza
With fall on its way, the dark forces of the Storm Legion are preparing to invade RIFT and give its players a new challenge. Fans of Trion Worlds' maiden MMO are no doubt scouring the internet for any scraps of relevant information about the expansion, which is why we're pleased to offer you two exclusive lore pieces on the Infinity Gate and the Storm Legion itself. In addition to this lore, we've got brand-new concept art and screenshots to give you a taste of what's to come with Storm Legion. When you're done soaking all of this in, you may want to check out Executive Producer Scott Hartsman's Reddit AMA (ask me anything) that's going on today!
WildStar aims to be 'anything but WoW'
Carbine Studios Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney took the microphone at a recent Reddit AMA (ask me anything), where he addressed several burning questions that the community had about WildStar. Right off the bat, he was asked what sets this MMO apart from the pack. Gaffney had a laundry list in reply, saying that the largely ex-Blizzard team's motto is, "We just crunched for six years, we want to do anything but WoW." Layered content is a big buzz-phrase for WildStar, and Gaffney attempted to provide an example of the game's flexibility. "You're on a mission to kill alien jungle cats. You see one that's irradiated and start scanning it. Or it's too tough, so you scare some prey away from you into the cats, and they start attacking the prey, and then you jump in when everyone is weakened. They're tough, so you see a huntress and drag them to her to get her cheering on for rep -- you see a second huntress and now you're bouncing between them for double rep rewards." Other AMA topics included polish, microupdates, competing with World of Warcraft, bunny ears, the future of the MMO industry, and a hint at an unannounced race.
Jay Wilson and other Diablo 3 developers answer (almost) everything
Three Diablo III developers stopped onto Reddit tonight for an AMAA -- "Ask Me Almost Anything" -- where they answered questions from all over the internet. Most of the questions were gameplay-related, given that these guys are developers and not dudes involved in the creative aspects of the game (story, etc). There are a lot of great answers in here: fixes coming for common complaints, overall design goals for the future, and more. Check out the full transcript after the break, but here are a few interesting points: Non-trash white items like potions and pages will have different item colors in a later patch, and an option to filter out trash white items completely is also being considered. An "auto-skip cutscenes" option is being considered. Bosses will drop rares the first time you kill them on any difficulty, not just normal, in a future patch. Legendary items are getting a big buff to be more attractive and unique. Auctions can be canceled in patch 1.0.3.
Guild Wars 2 devs answer anything, including launch date speculation
ArenaNet President Mike O'Brien and his motley crew of pirates, flibbertigibbets, and developers just stormed the seas of Reddit and fought valiantly through a dynamic event of Q&As concerning Guild Wars 2. No topic was off-limits, although the team didn't necessarily address all of the hundreds of queries put forth. Some of the questions answered included confirmation that there will be a way for guilds to raise their membership cap, word on bug fixes, a detailed explanation of the new trait system, and excitement for the upcoming beta weekend event. For those hoping to hear word on playable Asura or Sylvari, however, the rote response throughout the Q&A was, "Watch this space." What bug will the team actually miss? "Sit jumping," Mike Ferguson replied. "I don't know why, but it seems like everybody loves it (except the guy that introduced it). I'll actually be sad to see it go." O'Brien did directly address the rampant curiosity surrounding the game's launch date: "The fundamental issue here is that we just don't have a release date right now. We're using beta testing in the traditional sense. When beta testing shows that the game is where we want it to be, we'll lock in a release date. We're not that far off. We're obviously going to release in 2012, and any statements to the contrary are absurd."
ArenaNet president Mike O'Brien heading to Reddit for AMA
Guild Wars 2 fans, do you have some deep, profound questions gnawing away at your brain that will simply drive you to the depths of madness if you don't get an answer? Well, we probably can't help you there, but if you've got any questions regarding Guild Wars 2 or its upcoming beta weekend event, there is a solution: Head over to Reddit's /r/gaming subreddit at 3:00 p.m. EDT to catch ArenaNet's latest Reddit Ask Me Anything. Join ArenaNet president Mike O'Brien and other members of the ArenaNet staff who will be on-hand to answer your pressing Guild Wars 2 questions. As we've seen in the previous AMAs with Jon Peters and Mike Ferguson, these events tend to get hectic quickly, so if you've got something you want answered, get yourself over to /r/gaming and prepare your interrogation.
Indie Megabooth devs let anyone ask them anything
At PAX East this weekend, 16 popular indie developers (plus one "bonus" developer) will congregate into a super-giant indie creature in the first-ever Indie Megabooth. Developers include Ska Studios, Strange Loop Games, Retro Affect, Dejobaan Games, Fire Hose Games, DrinkBox Studios, Pocketwatch Games, Carbon Games and the rest -- to get the indie love flowing, the previously mentioned developers are running an "Ask Me Anything" thread on Reddit, right now. So far, we've learned that each developer gets 99 bitches a day and that most of them cried while playing Journey. Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games, Eitan Glinert of Fire Hose and Retro Affect's David Carrigg have also offered differing perspectives on the possibility of indie development for the Wii U, or any Nintendo system in general. Said Glinert: "We're not. I don't know any small third party companies that make any serious money there. Nintendo sadly isn't serious about supporting non-Nintendo companies, and so it's not worthwhile for us to spend the time and effort bringing our games to their platform. Sad face." Schatz disagreed with the doomsday sentiment: "Speak for yourself Eitan! I haven't announced platforms for Monaco yet, but WiiU is still a possibility! Nintendo is slow to change (which is weird given the crazy innovation on their software side), but the boulder is finally starting to move wrt their digital sales storefront."Carrigg said Nintendo's eShop is "far behind" the XBLA and PSN competition, but Retro Affect has been talking to Nintendo and would "really like to work with them. I would not be surprised to see a Retro Affect game on a Nintendo platform sometime in the future."James Silva of Ska Studios addressed the lack of deadly dishwasher games on PC, saying he wants to make PC titles, but for now that would be a problematic process. The AMA is ongoing (as of this posting) so head on over and uncover some you-specific bits of information from this mega-group of indies.
Reid on Reddit: SWTOR fans ask him anything and everything
"Ask me anything." That's a dangerous command for anyone to issue, nevermind the community manager of the hottest new MMO on the block. Yet that's just what Stephen Reid said today to the Star Wars: The Old Republic community on Reddit, and the length of questions and answers would make for a mini-novel if packaged as such. While Reid certainly hedges on issues that BioWare is not quite ready to address, he doesn't shy away from direct answers when applicable. The compiled Reddit thread lists dozens and dozens of Q&As, including the much-asked-for guild housing ("on the list for future development"), the ability delay issue ("we'll talk about it publicly soon"), and an upgraded Galactic Trade Network ("improvements will come to the GTN in time, definitely"). In response to the request for non-mechanical (read: animal) mounts, Reid said, "Maybe -- it's a technical challenge, I've been told." He's most excited about the upcoming legacy system reveals, but he's not allowed to talk on it just yet. Amidst the probing questions of the newly launched title is a personal query about what it's like for him to be at the helm of SWTOR community management. "What's it like?" Reid responded. "Bewildering and overwhelming and exciting and demanding, all at once, all day long (and often into the night). I had some idea what I was getting into, but it was bigger than expected. I'll stay as long as I'm wanted."
SWTOR's Reid hosting Reddit AMA tomorrow
Got a few burning questions for BioWare on the heels of Star Wars: The Old Republic's blockbuster launch? Get them ready, because community manager Stephen Reid is throwing himself to the wolves preparing a Reddit-based AMA event for this Wednesday. What's AMA? It stands for ask me anything, and it'll be interesting to see if Reid is able to answer the slew of questions sure to be forthcoming. The tomfoolery starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern on December 28th, and the Reddit posting features a few preliminary notes. "The format is simple: ask Mr. Reid a question and he will do his best to respond to as many as possible within his area of expertise; he is not a game designer but still has many interesting things to share about the game," it explains.
Paradox's Björn Johannessen hosts Salem Q&A
Paradox Interactive's upcoming MMO Salem has garnered a good bit of attention due to the game's unique frontier-fantasy setting and the fact that it will feature -- gasp! -- permadeath. Of course, as with any mold-breaking game that comes along, there are bound to be a lot of questions about how the game's mechanics will work. Salem's Creative Director, Björn Johannessen, realizes this, and decided to stop by Reddit for an AMA session. For the uninitiated, AMA stands for "Ask Me Anything," and that's exactly what the fine Redditors over at /r/IAmA did. A wealth of information can be found over at the thread, whether you're interested in the game's influences, the way permadeath will work, the reasoning behind permadeath's inclusion in the game, or more. So if you're interested in Salem to any degree, head on over to Reddit and give the thread a look.
Sprint's big surprise to be unlimited calling, data, text, and MMS for $70 (update: official)
We can't say we expected Sprint to actually surprise anyone with its "game changing" announcement tomorrow, and right on schedule, the details have come leaking out. Apparently Sprint's $70 rate plan going unlimited, meaning seven Hamiltons will get you endless mobile-to-mobile calling (to any network, not just Sprint), texts, data, and MMS -- stuff you could already get on the Simply Unlimited plan, but the big change at this price point is the unlimited mobile-to-mobile voice, up from 450 minutes in the current plan. Yeah, it's a good deal, but is it a revolutionary deal? We'd say that all depends on whether or not it comes with a free Palm Pixi.Update: The Any Mobile, Anytime plan is now official.
Sprint's big surprise to be unlimited mobile calling, data, text, and MMS for $70 (update: official)
We can't say we expected Sprint to actually surprise anyone with its "game changing" announcement tomorrow, and right on schedule, the details have come leaking out. Apparently Sprint's $70 rate plan going unlimited, meaning seven Hamiltons will get you endless mobile-to-mobile calling (to any network, not just Sprint), texts, data, and MMS -- stuff you could already get on the Simply Unlimited plan, but the big change at this price point is the unlimited mobile-to-mobile voice, up from 450 minutes in the current plan. Yeah, it's a good deal, but is it a revolutionary deal? We'd say that all depends on whether or not it comes with a free Palm Pixi.Update: The Any Mobile, Anytime plan is now official.
MMO couple plead guilty to child neglect
A Reno, Nev couple who were apparently obsessed with the internets and video games have plead guilty to child neglect. The couple, Michael and Iana Straw, have a 22 month boy and and 11 month girl who were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors examined them at a hospital. The couple, according to prosecutors, were so obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons Online they neglected their children. Guess it's true what they say about bad games and addiction. The couple faces a potential 12 year prison sentence each."They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," said the prosecutor to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Now would be a good time to stop reading if you don't want the bad details. Police say hospital staff had to shave the girls head because it was matted with cat urine and the boy had to be treated for a "genital infection." Apparently Michael Straw, an unemployed cashier, received a $50,000 inheritance, which he spent on computer equipment and a plasma TV. Allegedly the couple was simply addicted to video games and there was no drug abuse. Maybe it's time the AMA got cracking on trying to figure out what the real deal is with video game addiction.
Addiction experts: Video games aren't an addiction
Apparently the doctors from the American Medical Association (AMA) who were looking to have video game addiction classified as a disease have backed away from their decision. They now recommend the American Psychiatric Association, who would have had the final word on the matter anyway, consider doing more research into the issue and possibly add the diagnosis to their revision of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) in 2012. The AMA doctors who believe video game addiction exists say it affects approximately 10% of players, but say more study is needed.."There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn't get to have the word addiction attached to it," said Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York. But Dr. Thomas Allen of the Osler Medical Center says, "Working with this problem is no different than working with alcoholic patients. The same denial, the same rationalization, the same inability to give it up." But is that addiction, compulsion or just playing really bad games? That's the question.Dr. Louis Kraus who deals in child and adolescent psychiatry says it's not such cause-and-effect issue. He says certain kids just have a more "compulsive component" in what they do. Kinda sounds like the same argument about kids who play video games and kill. The AMA will make its final recommendation on the issue later this week.
AMA voting on legitimacy of video game addiction
The American Medical Association will decide later this month whether "Internet/video game addiction" will be added to the Bible of crazy: The DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The proposal comes in a 10-page document prepared by the AMA's Council on Science suggesting that video game addiction is similar to the pattern of behavior observed in pathological gambling.Now remember, they aren't saying that all video game players are addicts. They're merely saying that video game addiction, like gambling addiction, does affect some members of the gaming population and they need help. The armchair psychologist might say that if you know well enough to eat, sleep, go to work/school, kiss your significant other and/or children goodnight, chances are you aren't an addict. Then again, you could just be in denial. After the AMA votes on the matter, it'll still be up to the American Psychiatric Association to decide whether it goes in the DSM. So, for those who think people dying in front of their computers playing games are crazy, this decision by the AMA at the end of the month would put that on the record.
