APB
Latest
APB gets interrogated
Back at E3 2005 I had the opportunity to interview David Jones, creator of Grand Theft Auto, about their cops and robbers MMO, All Points Bulletin . Since its announcement at E3 not much has been revealed about the game... until recently. Last week rumors swirled that APB was going to turn into GTA Online, then there was the re-acquisition of the IP rights by Realtime Worlds from Webzen, and now we have an in-depth and revealing interview with Walter Kong, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime.While the concept of APB may sound similar to Grand Theft Auto, it's not. In APB gamers can play as either cops or robbers within the three dimensional, open world. What's more, Realtime is going to use "players as content. " Basically, they are attempting to take the PvP experience and craft missions around it. Most games are either PvE or PvP; APB will bring those two very divergent styles together.
Rumor: Realtime Worlds hopes APB becomes GTA Online
As far as rumors go, this one isn't much of a surprise. A mysterious masked man told Eurogamer that developer Realtime Worlds recently bought the distribution rights to its forthcoming MMO All Points Bulletin (APB to you kids) with one specific goal in mind: "so that it could try and sell it to Rockstar as GTA Online."Now, Realtime's motivation for the purchase can really only be parsed two ways: either it's going to go it alone or it'll partner with "someone else who may well be interested and have the infrastructure [to support it]." Though the founders of Realtime Worlds used to call Rockstar Games "home" – not to mention the instant similarities between APB and the money-printing franchise – the developer is opting to downplay the GTA Online link, only saying that it re-secured the license to give itself "some options." Gallery: GDC08: All Points Bulletin [Via X3F]
Rumor: Rockstar to buy APB, release as GTA Online
In rumor news that initially seems a bit far fetched but eventually turns into a rumor that sort of makes sense, Realtime Worlds' recently purchased All Points Bulletin MMO may be up for sale with the targeted purchaser being none other than Rockstar. Yup ...Rumor has it that Realtime may have secured the APB license not only to distribute it as they wish, but possibly to re-package it and sell it to Rockstar as GTA Online. Thus far, Realtime has downplayed the whole idea of an APB re-sell, but did confirm that one reason for their recent APB acquisition was "to look for another partner; someone else who may well be interested and have the infrastructure [to support it]." Interesting stuff. Seeing that GTAIV is all the hawtness right now and from what we've seen of APB, a re-worked GTA Online MMO may not be all that bad of an idea. But only time will tell.
New All Points Bulletin preview refreshes memories
If you somehow missed All Points Bulletin back when it made some serious waves at GDC '08, then here is your chance to get all caught up. GamesRadar has a preview up that pretty much sums up what we know so far about the title. While the preview is short, it only serves as a reminder to why we're prepared to give a pinky finger or two for this title. Well, the pinky finger offer is only good if the game is able to deliver on its promises, as we're somewhat attached to them.We're pretty excited to see how development of the game will progress now that developer Realtime Worlds has secured $50 million in funding. Our imaginations are going fairly wild thinking about what new features could make it into the game now.[via WarCry]
APB's Walter Kong on financial flexibility
In a new interview with Walter Kong, the Senior Vice President of Business Development at Realtime Worlds, explains the logic behind his team's recent reacquisition of the publishing rights for their upcoming game All Points Bulletin. Their latest round of fund-raising, which netted them a cool $50 million, gives them the a much higher degree of flexibility than they would have had under Webzen, so they took the opportunity to go independent, for a while anyway.Kong explained that just because that just because they moved out from under Webzen doesn't mean they are necessarily looking to self-publish; they just want to keep their options open. What seems clear from the way they've handled themselves so far is that all the veteran blood, including CEO David Jones -- the brainchild of the Grand Theft Auto series, has made them shrewd in the ways of the business. Here's hoping they're as savvy at making their game as they are financing it.
Realtime Worlds buys back rights to APB franchise
Big news comes from Realtime Worlds today with word that they are putting their recently acquired $50 million to work, acquiring the global distribution rights to their upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin.GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that Realtime Worlds purchased the APB distribution rights back from Webzen to "ensure that gamers around the globe experience the revolutionary gameplay we envisioned when we first began creating the property." We aren't sure exactly what their global release plans entail or how much they had to put up for the rights, but we're sure they didn't come cheap. Lesson learned kids. When sleeping with Webzen and things turn sour, know that you'll have to buy your way out of the relationship. That said, you could probably apply that lesson to all relationships you encounter.
Realtime Worlds takes APB distribution rights from Webzen
It always seemed to us that MMO-maker Webzen had a bit too much on its plate, what with working on APB, Huxley and Soul of the Ultimate Nation year after year with no signs of any actual releases. Well, Webzen's plate got a little less full today, as developer Realtime Worlds announced it has regained the global distribution rights to APB. Realtime Worlds' announcement follows a an intriguing demo of APB at February's Game Developer's Conference and a $50 million cash infusion for the Crackdown developer in March. As for Webzen, maybe this disquisition will finally give it the focus it needs to finish up the long-dormant Huxley.
All Points Bulletin may make its way onto the PS3
Realtime Worlds is the developer of a game called All Points Bulletin. It's okay if you haven't heard of it -- we hadn't either. Apparently it's an MMO that plays a lot like Grand Theft Auto. Sound interesting? We thought so. The possibility has been put on the table for this game to make its way to the PlayStation 3. So far, it has been confirmed for the PC and Xbox 360.Realtime's studio manager, Colin MacDonald, clarifies the situation somewhat: "The situation is that yes, all the consoles are an option for us, and we'll be looking at them. But there's nothing decided, nothing to report at the moment I'm afraid ... Yes, we'll be looking seriously at [PS3] ... But that doesn't mean it's going ahead, and it doesn't mean it's not going ahead." We'll have to find out before the game launches in 2009. With a facelift, hopefully.
Realtime Worlds undecided on All Points Bulletin for PS3
"The situation is that yes, all the consoles are an option for us, and we'll be looking at them, but there's nothing decided, nothing to report at the moment I'm afraid," said Realtime Worlds studio manager, Colin MacDonald. The only thing worth reporting then, as discovered by GamesIndustry.biz, is that the Crackdown developer has no concrete plans to bring its bandanna gangster MMO, All Points Bulletin ("APB" as it's known on the streets), to Sony's black behemoth. It seems there was some jumping to incorrect conclusions after an article in the Scotsman suggested Realtime Worlds was looking to adapt APB "for games consoles such as XBox and PlayStation in the future." That's only partially true, as the game is currently bound for PC and Xbox 360. Still, there's loads of time between now and 2009, and plenty of ways to spend $50 million in funding. Gallery: GDC08: All Points Bulletin
Vogster Entertainment introduces CrimeCraft
CrimeCraft, a "gritty, crime drama MMO", has just been announced by Vogster Entertainment for your enjoyment. Hopefully no company will have an objection to the name.Vogster has yet to release in-depth information for the game, but their website points to a third-person shooter MMO that pushes cooperation via a fleshed out economy and territory control. They've already licensed out the Unreal Engine for the game, so we can expect some fun with physics and a polished graphics system.Vogster has announced that CrimeCraft will include five classes and feature an advanced character customization system, as well as allow players to evolve their characters through special fighting skills. Gangs will be able to claim control of territory and defend their holds from rival gangs, all while running from the police.Right now though, the game looks to be a version of All Points Bulletin except minus the police and with alot more dystopia. The game is set in a city where crime controls the streets and the cops can do little more than shrug and bunker down in specially sectioned off areas. Sounds to this blogger like someone needs to call out the tanks.We'll be following CrimeCraft and giving you more information as it's released. Until then, enjoy their teaser site.[Via TenTonHammer]
The Daily Grind: Do MMOs underrepresent ethnicity?
Part of the fun of fantasy and science fiction MMOs is playing a race substantially different than your own, whether it be orcs or aliens. But when you feel like playing close to your own type, and aren't Caucasian, do you feel underrepresented?Games like Age of Conan and APB offer some pretty sophisticated character creation tools that allow more accurate rendering of facial morphologies -- epicanthal folds vs. no folds; lip thickness; cheekbone sharpness and angle, etc. Most of the rest simply allow you to change skin color, yet leave the actual skull structure of your characters alone. This is not a deal-breaker by any means, but does it ever bother you?
Realtime Worlds grabs $50 million
Techcrunch is reporting that developers Realtime Worlds (makers of last year's Crackdown, which could be an MMO, and the upcoming All Points Bulletin, which we heard lots about at GDC) have picked up a whopping $50 million in funding from a round of investment capital, including lots of it from Maverick Capital.So good news for APB fans -- of course, it's just a fraction of that billion dollars that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claims anyone will need to take on World of Warcraft, but $50 million buys a lot of artists, programmers, and servers, all things that a great MMO needs for a strong launch. APB is still in the development stages of course -- we've heard that it'll drop this year, though at this point (and with the extra cash going into a little extra development), we're probably looking at a spring 2009 release.
Realtime Worlds receives $50 million in real world investment
Realtime Worlds, the developer best known for Crackdown, raised $50 million in its third round of financing. The company is currently at work on the MMO All Points Bulletin in conjunction with Korean company Webzen. Realtime Worlds CEO David Jones was a creator on the original Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings back in the day. Although Crackdown was a great game, nobody is going to deny that the title did better because of its tie-in with the Halo 3 beta. APB should let us see how a Realtime Worlds title does without the assistance of Master Chief and the Halo army. [Via GameDaily]
Rockstar founder calls GTA MMO "the Holy Grail"
In case you haven't seen it, Crispin Boyer of EGM sat down for an interview with Rockstar founder Sam Houser to talk in-depth about all things Grand Theft Auto. In addition to some tasty preview bits, Boyer raked Houser over the coals a little bit, trying to glean from him what the future of the franchise might be. In terms of multiplayer, Houser didn't shy from expressing his enthusiasm for the idea of a GTA MMO. Specifically, he said such a title, "is very, very doable and is a very, very compelling proposition." In a subsequent question he refers to a mainstream subscription-based MMO on a console as "the Holy Grail."The problem, as Houser sees it, is in combining the GTA gameplay with the idea of a persistent world. Without the right constraints, the game might amount to little more than a city of a couple thousand players all shooting at each other with rocket launchers, instead of an interesting, compelling MMO experience. From the tenor of his comments, it doesn't seem like Houser and Rockstar currently have any specific plans for an MMO just yet, but we imagine they're going to be paying very close attention to Realtime Worlds' All Points Bulletin when it comes out later this year, as its 'cobs and robbers' gameplay is the closest to GTA we've seen yet.
The Digital Continuum: Cops & robbers
Every so often a game comes along that seems imbued with the essence of my childhood imagination -- its as if the game has it coursing through its veins. For instance, my personal interest in Spore stems from the fact that it's tapping into my fantasy of playing a game that lets me shape worlds -- one that I've had since even before my teenage years. Still, there hasn't been an MMO yet that's truly tapped into any of my more youthful wishes. Sure, City of Heroes delivered the first realization of creating my own personal super heroes, but when looking at what a game like Champions Online could provide in comparison -- at least in the superhero genre -- its quite apparent that CoH was barely scratching the surface.Enter All Points Bulletin, a game that had developer and journalist jaws alike scraping across the floors after its demonstration was delivered in a manner not unlike -- say -- the opening to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
APB demonstration shows 'Cops and Robbers' gameplay
Sure, these past few days have seen a number of megaton announcements come from the Game Developers Conference, but nothing tickled our collective fancy quite like Realtime Worlds' Crackdown-turned-MMO, All Points Bulletin. The above trailer more than justifies our infatuation -- with Ronin-esque car chases instead of corpse runs, and assault rifles in lieu of broadswords, there may be no country for old MMOs once APB hits the unsuspecting online gaming market.
GDC08: Realtime Worlds' MMO darling, All Points Bulletin
Realtime Worlds and Webzen dropped an MMO bombshell today during their "My first MMO" GDC panel, officially revealing (for the first time) All Points Bulletin. And it's impressive.APB is a cops and robbers, Crackdown / GTAIV hybrid, open world MMO that'll do away with the tediousness (or the "grind") that traditional RPG based MMOs are known for, focusing more on the community and the world. Customization will be key, as every player will be able to completely makeover their in-game character, changing things from hairstyle to eye color to whether or not a tshirt is tucked in. That same level of customization lends itself to vehicles as well. Realtime Worlds also revealed that APB will not have a leveling up system, instead players will be rewarded by gaining more and more character customization options. Realtime then showed off a quick pursuit demo where a group of cops had to band together to take apprehend some TV stealing thugs. The placeholder graphics aren't great, but we get the idea and yes ... it's delicious. Make the jump to read Joystiq's APB impressions and learn why APB is where you'll wanna be.[Thanks, xenocidic]
GDC08: Realtime Worlds shows off All Points Bulletin
What word is perhaps most synonymous with the current MMO playing field? Grind. Realtime Worlds' Dave Jones (no relation?) is setting out to change that with the studio's first massively multiplayer title All Points Bulletin we caught wind of back in September. He's hoping the formula Crackdown + MMO = crack will be proven true with variables like infinite, professional-looking character and vehicle customization, contemporary setting, integration with last.fm and dynamic, variable team-sized missions hidden in the equation. In today's innocuously-titled "My first MMO" panel at GDC, Jones revealed a number of details about those variables and showed off some gameplay and character customization demos that left a packed house audibly oohing and ahhing. Read on for a breakdown of the session and details on the game. Gallery: GDC08: All Points Bulletin
Top 10 MIA MMOs of 2007 - part 1
In the waning weeks of December, we've already started turning our eyes towards the new year. 2008 is already showing a great deal of promise for the MMO community, with the impending release of Pirates of the Burning Sea, Wrath of the Lich King, Age of Conan, and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Though most of these titles are still a good ways away from hitting retailer shelves, we've already got a pretty good idea of what's in store, not just in terms of assets and information that's already been released, but also from hands-on impressions and beta testing. In other words, as excited as we are, there probably won't be terribly many surprises as it concerns these titles. They're practically a given.As luck would have it, those aren't the only titles we'll be drooling over next year – this much we know. There are a number of games in development out there that have shown up on our collective radar screens over the past few months, but only as tiny blips. For the most part, they still represent riddles wrapped up in mysteries with a side of question mark. We've assembled a list of the top 10 MIA MMOs - those mysterious games that represent the future of the MMO... if only we knew what they were.In the first part of this feature, we'll take a look at the first half of the list.
In Development: APB
It seems I spoke too soon regarding the lack of a Crackdown MMO! APB is Realtime Worlds' action MMO, and judging from the awesome character concept artwork, it's going to have a lot in common with Crackdown. And I'm interested because in at least one way it's going to feature something I wrote about: criminals vs. law enforcement. More to get interested in: 'The game itself centers on player vs player combat and will be the first massively multiplayer online title where player skill determines character progression as opposed to the traditional model of time investment." That's a tall order, and one I'm keenly interested in seeing how it's going to be implemented. That aside, the art direction on this game is gorgeous -- I'm happy to see that the 'good guys' (law enforcement) are just as visually interesting as the 'bad guys' (criminals). Check it: the photo there? That's a cop. Uh huh. The Artwork section of the site has a bunch of great pics; go check 'em out now. It's not gameplay, but it's enough, by gar. APB is coming out in 2008, according the site, and let's hope this is the hit the Crackdown could've been.[Thanks, Chris!]
