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Bigpoint talks Drakensang Online
Never heard of Drakensang? You're not alone, as the German-made CRPG from Radon Labs is a title that exists pretty far outside the mainstream occupied by the Dragon Ages, Fables, and Oblivions of the world. While it may end up falling short of household-name status, free-to-play MMO maker Bigpoint is nonetheless looking to bring the Drakensang saga to browsers everywhere. Drakensang Online is being billed as an action RPG/MMORPG hybrid, and a recent Bigpoint press release makes numerous references to the speed of the battles as well as the quick and easy access afforded by the browser-only platform. Bigpoint is also highlighting the game's "endless customization options" and "profound and enthralling story." This last bit will be a departure from the source material, as critics generally found the original Drakensang narrative to be lacking when compared to the combat mechanics and the game's overall presentation. You can read more about Drakensang Online at the official website, and don't forget to check out the game's teaser trailer after the cut.
Vivox doubles user base, now serves over 45 million
Last year was mighty productive for the folks at Vivox, as the voice chat firm doubled its user base and now serves over 45 million customers worldwide. While 45 million is quite a large number on its own, when taken together with the fact that Vivox served a mere 18.5 million users in early 2010, it's easy to see how the competition has its work cut out for it. Gaming firms including Wargaming.net, Runewaker, and Bigpoint all turned to Vivox for their voice needs in 2010, and company CEO Rob Seaver says that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. "There is a clear opportunity for voice providers to reshape the social web with a communication medium that has proven to be the easiest, most intuitive channel of communication throughout [...] thousands of years of existence: voice," he said in a press release earlier today. Vivox also provides voice services for the likes of CCP Games, Linden Lab, and Sony Online Entertainment, and you can find more coverage of the company in our interviews with VP of Product Management Monty Sharma.
The Guild Counsel: Are guild leaders a health hazard?
Earlier this week, Massively reported on a poll conducted by Bigpoint concerning gamer stereotypes. The good news is that the results of the voluntary survey showed that gamers are not overweight shut-ins who live in their grandmother's basements. The bad news is that there's some skepticism on the validity of the results, since the poll was a voluntary survey and there's no way to prove that the participants were telling the truth. However, there have been a number of in-depth studies over the years that have shown some surprising trends in who exactly plays MMOs and more importantly what their behavior is like in game. For this week's Guild Counsel, we're going to take a closer look at MMO players and touch on the role that guild leaders might play in steering player behavior in-game.
Bigpoint's Battlestar Galactica Online just the beginning of its master plan
In the Battlestar Galactica TV reimagining, the Cylons were infamous for having an overarching plan for their domination of the galaxy. Likewise, Bigpoint's plan for the newly-launched Battlestar Galactica Online is far more than it might first appear. For starters, the SyFy channel -- which is hosting the game on its website -- plans to aggressively run commercials promoting BSGO to the public. According to Gamasutra, Bigpoint itself is in a state of rapid growth with the recent acquisition of the former employees of Planet Moon for its relatively new San Francisco office. This newly combined workforce numbers over 80, and CEO Heiko Hubertz has them all mostly working on two major IPs: "We didn't acquire the company; we just took over the employees. So almost 40 of them are now working for us, and they're working mainly on Battlestar and The Mummy." Bigpoint's plan to tackle the North American market diverges from its European strategy by focusing on high-quality, multi-million dollar budget browser titles -- and so far, it's paid off, as the company is in the black. Hubertz thinks this was a smart move: "It was very quick -- the decision, 'Okay, if we want to be successful in the U.S., we have to change our thinking about this industry.' And that's the reason why we developed games here in the U.S., that's the reason why we picked a technology like Unity to develop games of high quality." You can read up on Bigpoint's plan over at Gamasutra, and don't forget to check out our first impressions of Battlestar Galactica Online.
Bigpoint launches Battlestar Galactica Online
SyFy's Battlestar Galactica odyssey may have ended, but Bigpoint's MMO adaptation of the beloved reboot has just begun. The free-to-play game maker has announced the official launch of Battlestar Galactica Online, a browser-based title set during the latter half of the TV show's second season. Players can choose to fight for either the Cylons or the Colonials, as both fleets are stranded in uncharted space and in need of repairs and critical supplies. This leads into a contest for nearby resources that involves space combat, exploration, and mission-based play as well as ship unlocks, customization, and market features. Bigpoint has also made use of assets from the television series including the seminal Bear McCreary musical score and the instantly recognizable ship models. How does all this hold up in a browser game? Pretty well, according to Bigpoint. "We are confident that a new standard has been achieved -- no longer should browser games be considered sub-par to their console or PC-installed counterparts," says CEO Heiko Hubertz.
Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey
Angry at being lumped in with the stereotype of a gaming loser who can't make a friend for all the effort in the world? It turns out you probably have a right to be upset. According to a survey by Bigpoint, most gamers are actually balanced, social and fairly good-looking -- a far cry from the antisocial nerd who cannot understand this thing called "women." The Bigpoint Gamer Survey covered 6,663 gamers across the globe in its research before coming to this startling (or not-so-startling, depending on your perspective) conclusion. The survey also showed that gamers are just as active with their online friendships as those in real life. Yes, 55% of players under 20 years old said they had more online friends than offline, and a quarter of gamers mashed the two social spheres together -- 28% of those surveyed said that they eventually met their online friends in the real world. Bigpoint's Janine Griffel thinks that this survey paints a very positive picture for the gaming community: "Our study shows that online gamers are attractive individuals with healthy and active social lives. Social and casual games are very popular among our users for the reason that they emphasize being social. The trend's definitely moving away from single-player games to social-based experiences." You can read more about this fascinating survey at Game Politics.
Battlestar Galactica Online jumps to open beta Feb. 8
Bigpoint Games is getting its space combat MMO based on Syfy's Battlestar Galactica reboot ready for open beta on February 8. Currently in closed beta, the browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online will let PC and Mac players live out their fantasies of piloting Vipers -- or Cylon Raiders, if you're secretly a toaster -- free-of-charge, with gameplay and cosmetic enhancements available for unlock with Colonial credits real cash money. The beta will be accessible from the US and Europe via servers located on the West Coast, East Coast and one in the EU. Though the game will include language options for English, French, German, Polish, Turkish Italian, Russian and Spanish, English will be the only dialect permissible in chat. Bigpoint hasn't said wether or not the word "frak" will be filtered.
The MMO Report: Newstastic edition
Welcome back! This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner and the team at G4TV are serving up a heaping helping of highlights, as the news has been crazy busy during the last week. Up first, Casey points out the sales numbers for DC Universe Online, which has been flying off shelves. From there, it's on to Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play browser-based Battlestar Galactica Online, which will either enthrall space-drama fiends, or just give people a reason to say "frak" a lot. Zipping along, it's on to Eskil Steenberg's LOVE, which went through an upgrade while narrowly avoiding a random Craigslist hookup. Also included are tidbits on an upcoming short documentary on the making of Minecraft, as well as an interesting piece on the MMORPGRTS alphabet soup of Reverie World Studios' upcoming game Dawn of Fantasy. Finally, this week ends out, as most weeks do, with Casey rifling through the best (or worst; we're not quite sure) to be found in Uncle Casey's Mailbag. For all the excitement and more, you can check out this week's episode of The MMO Report embedded for your ocular and aural pleasure behind the break, or catch it every Thursday on G4TV.
Battlestar Galactica gets an open beta date
Are you ready to step into the world of Battlestar Galactica Online and have a frakkin' good time blowing Cylons into the next century? Perhaps you're more the type of person who feels a certain affinity with the toaster-people and instead would prefer to play on the side of the Cylons themselves? Whatever the case, if you've been waiting for Bigpoint Games' upcoming free-to-play SyFy Channel space dogfighter, then you're in luck. According to a post by Husker on the Battlestar Galactica Online forums, the game's open beta is right around the corner: February 8th, to be exact! Initially, three servers will be launched for open beta: Caprica for the U.S. West coast, Scorpia for the U.S. East coast, and Tauron for players located in the EU. However, all players will be expected to use English in common chat channels, even on the EU server. The only exception is in Squad and Wing chat, which is left up to players. Any other language used in open channels will cause you to be ganked with a GM banhammer and be sent to appeal on the forums. Bigpoint also states that if more servers are needed, the company will be adjusting accordingly. In the meantime, you can check out Beau's First Impressions of the game or watch the red-hot trailer Bigpoint just released to get an idea of what this very ambitious Unity-engine-based game will be like.
Battlestar Galactica fires up its FTLs for an in-game trailer
In December of 2003, the SciFi Network (now Syfy) launched a hugely successful re-imagining of the '70s space-opera Battlestar Galactica. Early last year, Bigpoint announced it had procured the license to make a browser-based MMOG set in the same re-imagined universe. Today, we have the first-ever in-game trailer for Battlestar Galactica Online. The press release states that this game is "one of the most ambitious browser-games ever developed," and the trailer features the in-game footage of Cylon Raiders and Colonial Vipers facing off against the Galactica and Basestars. We also get a taste of what actual combat will feel like, with Bear McCreary's musical score as a emotional backdrop. Catch the full, exciting trailer after the break. Beta applications are being accepted on the game's website, open beta begins sometime soon in Q1, and launch will be shortly after that. When the game launches in the United States, it will be available only through Syfy.com. Stay tuned here for more information. So say we all!
First Impressions: Battlestar Galactica Online
There's a pretty universal rule among MMORPG players, although many of them are not aware of it: "Never, ever play a human, an elf, or the 'good side' unless you have no choice. Even then, improvise." I try to follow this rule to the letter. Even when I am asked to try out, preview, or generally mess around with the greatest new game in all of history, I try to avoid playing the good guys. So when I was asked if I could take a look at Battlestar Galactice Online by Bigpoint, I knew exactly what to do. While I much prefer the older Cylon look and feel (bulkier, rounder ships), and while I did not find myself glued to the TV set to tune into the latter incarnation of the campy series, I did absolutely love how the newer writers and special-effects masters made the space dog-fighting look. It felt, well, real to me. Would I feel the same way about combat inside my browser? What about my character -- how would he feel while walking around inside a station or base? Follow me past the cut to see what I found.
Planet Moon studios loses funding, Bigpoint acquires staff
It was a less-than-happy holiday season for the folks over at Planet Moon Studios, it seems -- multiple sources are reporting that the studio responsible for games such as Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Armed & Dangerous ran out of funding last December, due to the loss of a "substantial amount" of money allegedly owed by investors. CEO Aaron Loeb says his company will file suit against its debtors. Fortunately, MMO developer Bigpoint has picked up 37 staff members from Planet Moon, swelling the ranks of its San Francisco studio to more than 100 people. Bigpoint's CEO, Heko Hubertz, says the refugee staffers will be put to work using their cross-platform experience on Bigpoint's titles, which it just recently claimed have an audience of over 150 million users. Joystiq has reached out to Loeb for a comment on the pending legal action, and to learn what happened to any titles the company currently has (or had) in development. We'll let you know when we hear back.
Five MMOs that have gone MIA
Unlike Chuck Norris, who seems to hang on as an MMO meme with insane tenacity (perhaps it's that extra fist under his beard), there are a handful of MMOs that appear to have dropped off the radar in the last several months -- if not years. Admittedly, this was originally to be a top 10 list of missing MMOs, but in the last half of this year, several developers have seen fit to thwart our plans by actually releasing information about their games. Shock! Horror! Nevertheless, I've armed myself with an enormous cup of coffee and plundered the archives of Massively and general press releases for MMOGs that seem to have dropped off the radar. Are they still under development? Will we see some movement on them in 2011? Will it take a Chuck Norris-level feat-of-strength and all-around badassery to pull them back from the developmental abyss they appear to be in? Join me behind the break as I run down some of the MMOs we're still waiting for word on.
Free for All: Four games I'm dying to play in 2011
The year 2010 was a great year in gaming. If anyone tells you any different, look him in the eye -- you've just met a madman. In fact, 2010 did so much for me, personally, that it might be hard to top it for a while. I actually started getting paid to write my blog entries this year, discovered so many wonderful new developers this year, and played more hours than in all of the previous years combined. As luck would have it, there are already several new games being announced that are making 2011 look like an even bigger year for me. Browser-based technology is only growing more robust and rich, indie gaming is finally starting to get a lot of the respect it deserves, and I now have the ability to contact almost any developer I want for use in my columns. All of this adds up to some exciting times ahead, for sure. All thanks to Massively, of course. There are four games in particular that I am very excited about. More will come, I'm positive, but these four have already cast huge spells on me. Click past the cut to see what you should be excited about, too!
Battlestar Galactica Online goes closed beta, releases new screens
It looks like Bigpoint is stepping closer and closer to launching the browser-based Battlestar Galactica MMO. Open beta is due this December with launch exclusively on SyFy.com this fall. (Sci-fi on SyFy? Yes!) Fans will be happy to know that the game will be firmly set in the popular television show's universe complete with warring factions, exploration, mission-based PvE and lots of player-obliterates-player combat! Ah, the joys of exploring the unique sights and ships of the Battlestar universe. Right now, closed beta players are being asked to finish a tutorial mission -- as either human or cylon -- then are sent off to freely explore the universe. They can experiment with mining, PvE or PvP content, or even exploring the Battlestar, space outposts, planet bases or a Cylon basestar! We all know that Cylons rule and humans drool, so this is good news. Read on!
Bigpoint vs. BioWare: CEO says The Old Republic will never be profitable
As a high-profile MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic is proving itself to be a big target for attack. Bigpoint, the German game developer that's working on Battlestar Galactica Online, stepped up to take a swing at the as-of-yet-unreleased title. At the London Games Conference, Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz made the bold prediction that The Old Republic will never see a profit: "If you look at Star Wars from EA and BioWare, they estimated a development budget of over $100 million. This is an online game for many million of subscribers, so the publisher does not understand that a subscription model is not the future. With microtransactions maybe I see the game having a chance but I don't think that EA or BioWare will ever be profitable with this game." EA BioWare has yet to release a definite pricing plan for TOR, although it is widely believed it will be subscription-based. Earlier this year, Dr. Ray Muzyka said that there will be "more of the traditional business model with maybe some twists as well."
GDCO 2010: Panel and interview roundup
As you may have noticed if you're following our GDC Online 2010 coverage, we were there in full force. Karen Bryan, blogger and podcaster extraordinaire, covered the event along with our own Beau Hindman. As a wrapup to her interview articles, Karen gives this final impressions piece on the panels of GDC Online 2010. I had a busy week at GDC Online, seeing some great panels and speaking with some enthusiastic developers. Since not all of you could attend this Austin, Texas event, we've done our best to bring you the highlights. Follow along after the jump for a quick rundown of what I saw, as well as the big takeaway from each.
GDCO 2010: Bigpoint's Alan Dunton on the next-gen of browser MMOs
Bigpoint has had a very successful run as a multi-game publisher over the last few years. If you're familiar with Seafight or Dark Orbit, then you have played some of the company's games. Of course, those titles -- plus the many others -- are just not enough for the devs at Bigpoint. They wanted to host, create and specify a game for the North American market. What they ended up with are a few titles -- The Mummy Online, Battlestar Galactica, and Ruined Online -- all crafted in the same amazing Unity browser engine. What this will do is allow for more flexibility, accessibility, and possibility. Bigpoint's background in free-to-play and microtransaction-based games will also help to monetize the titles -- a delicate science in itself. We were able to meet up with Alan Dunton, and he explained to us what Ruined Online meant for the company and for the future of Battlestar and The Mummy.
Massively.com and GameBreaker.TV: Coming to you live from GDC Online!
GDC Online (formerly GDC Austin) is rapidly approaching, and we here at Massively.com are making sure that we're on the front lines of coverage from the event. We have plenty of interviews lined up with a huge variety of companies, and we're teaming up with our friends at GameBreaker.TV to deliver live coverage of the event via GameBreaker's live show at the Vivox booth! To get you excited for the coming conference, we've provided the list of companies we're meeting with just after the break! The list isn't fully extensive, as we'll be covering a variety of panels as well, but it will give you an idea of whom we're meeting with. Plus, keep an eye out for a link to the live GameBreaker.TV broadcast on our right-hand sidebar! Their coverage of the event will be starting on Wednesday, October 6th at 12:00 p.m. EDT!
Bigpoint teams with Playboy for Poisonville
Playboy has teamed up with MMO developer Bigpoint, and plans to enter the MMO industry before the end of 2010. The first title from this partnership will be Poisonville, a 3-D, browser-based title full of hardened criminals, fast cars, and beautiful women. It's not an unfamiliar title to MMO fans -- Bigpoint had plenty of information to offer on this game back in March at GDC. Bigpoint's founder and CEO Heiko Hubertz is optimistic about the partnership: "Launching this new game through Playboy.com will allow us to directly tap into our ideal gaming audience – avid, online men between the ages of 18-35. We look forward to engaging gamers in new and exciting ways through Playboy's network of high-traffic websites." While the title doesn't have a firm launch date yet, a new trailer is up and running, so follow along after the jump for a look at Poisonville.
