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GDC 2012: Forty minutes with Derek Smart and Line of Defense
"I didn't want to make another Derek Smart game because usually when you mention 'Derek Smart' and 'game', gamers tend to run in the opposite direction," Smart told us when we asked about Line of Defense. That's quite a candid intro, and it set the stage for an interesting 40-minute interview that featured plenty of insights into 3000AD's latest offering. Smart, of course, has something of a notorious reputation in the online community, and while we won't go into that here, it is worth noting that he's focusing on the work and letting his game do the talking.
GDC 2012: The Tattered Notebook attends Brasse's community panel
What do dwarves and Monty Python have in common? They both feature prominently in Linda "The Brasse" Carlson's GDC 2012 talk about the front lines of the SOE community relations team. Given the recent roller coaster ride of the ProSiebenSat.1 deal and the turmoil on the forums that followed, I found it interesting to hear what it's like to be a member of the community management folks as they try to handle being in the middle of it all. While her talk was mainly aimed at community managers in other games, there were a few tidbits that players would probably find interesting and maybe even surprising. Read on for the highlights!
GDC 2012: The Repopulation demonstrates world-building elements
GDC literally has a little of everything, from indie developers to major studios, from free-to-play games to shooters to arena battles to retro to family... there really is something for everyone. As a massive fan of sandboxes myself, I was pleased to get to spend so much time with Above and Beyond Technologies' lead dev and co-owner Josh Halls and artist Kevin Grove as they demonstrated some of the features in their upcoming title, The Repopulation. (And I would have even spent longer if I could have!) While I had a monopoly on the team's attention, I had the chance to see some of the customization available to characters, both in appearance and gear, as well as get the lowdown on the world building element. We actually walked through the building of a nation, a feature that will make many a sandbox fan giddy! Although Josh was quick to point out that only a few items were available at this point in development, there was certainly enough to get a feel for the system. And I am looking forward to it!
GDC 2012: Wargaming.net on World of Warplanes, clan wars, and taking over the world
Wargaming.net had a huge presence at this year's GDC, and why not? The firm is growing at an exponential rate, and we're not just talking about the fact that it has World of Warplanes and World of Battleships coming down the pike. CEO Victor Kislyi told me that over the past year the firm has expanded to include 700+ employees and a global presence that features development centers in Kiev, Ukraine, and Russia. The firm's flagship World of Tanks title currently boasts 18 million players worldwide, and it is paving the way for the second and third entries in a World War II trilogy. Its clan wars mode is also the starting point for a grand vision of military combat at the squad level.
GDC 2012: TERA's growth spurt and dynamic events
"It's been a helluva year since we've been at GDC last," TERA Producer Chris Hager started, "and everyone wants to know what we've been doing for the past 365 days." Thus began our time with En Masse at GDC, in which enthusiasm for the forthcoming TERA was positively infectious. Hager sighed happily as he reminded us of the title's May 1st launch date: "You have no idea how happy that makes me to be able to say that." Just because a launch date is on the horizon doesn't mean that the hardest part is over for this crew. During this past month, the team's been running a closed beta test that's provided vital feedback for last-minute tweaks and preparations. "We've taken that feedback and it's helped us evolve TERA into the game we all want to play," Hager said. So just what has En Masse been doing for the past year, and what has us most excited about getting our hands on a launched version of TERA? Read on to find out!
GDC 2012: Bigpoint discusses the Game of Thrones MMO
The Game is coming. It had to be said. And for fans of George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, that one little phrase elicits some powerful and mixed emotions: excitement (to actually wander about Westeros) and dread (will it actually be Westeros?). There was even a collective cringe among some Massively staff when the announcement was made that Game of Thrones was becoming an MMORPG. Could such a complex world translate well into the virtual realm? It made the transition to television pretty well in HBO's series, but a free-to-play browser-based MMO is a whole other beast. We're pleased to say that fans of the books and the series can breathe a little easier and even look forward to the upcoming title becuse it's going to be gritty, it's going to be gory, and power will shift like the winds across the Dothraki Sea. Massively was able to sit down with Jorgen Tharaldsen (Producer at Artplant), Alan Dunton (Public Relations Director at Bigpoint), and Rob Ollett (Executive Producer at Bigpoint) to discuss details about what's coming.
GDC 2012: The Firing Line's PlanetSide 2 and DUST 514 redux
This week I was fortunate enough to chat up the developers on the two biggest MMOFPS titles of the year. Exactly what year that is remains to be seen, and after hearing Sony Online Entertainment use the word "alpha" quite a lot, I suspect that PlanetSide 2 may slip into 2013. And that's not a bad thing at all, by the way. CCP's DUST 514, on the other hand, is surely coming in 2012. The devs will be doling out some long-awaited hands-on time with EVE's precocious little brother at Fanfest in a couple of weeks, and while DUST and PS2 share similar core gameplay, their target audiences (and the general feeling I get from each game) are completely different.
DUST 514 beta starts in April, gameplay video released at GDC
CCP has been incredibly coy about public testing for its DUST 514 MMOFPS, but last night the company revealed an upcoming April beta window in an exclusive interview with Gametrailers. CEO Hilmar Petursson and CMO David Reid both gave the website a few interesting soundbytes as well as some long looks at DUST gameplay over the course of the eight-minute clip. DUST isn't intended as an EVE Online replacement, nor does CCP expect huge numbers of EVE capsuleers to play the new shooter concurrently with its flying-in-space sandbox MMO. "It is really about providing this new gateway into the EVE universe for all the people who have been intrigued by it," Petursson said. "In April we'll open up the beta test we've been running since December of last year," he revealed. Be sure to check out the full clip after the cut.
GDC 2012: The Firing Line talks release dates with Tribes Ascend's Todd Harris
It's been a crazy week at GDC, and though I've already gotten the skinny on both PlanetSide 2 and DUST 514, there's more on the way when it comes to online shooter news. Yesterday morning I headed over to the Hi-Rez Studios booth on the main show floor, where COO Todd Harris had some exciting news to share with fans of the firm's Tribes: Ascend title. The free-to-play shooter will officially launch on April 12th, and Hi-Rez has also released a new parody trailer that pays homage to Dead Island and shows off the perils of the dreaded "llama capture" (if you're a Tribes newb, just know that speed equals survival when it comes to flag-grabs). Join me after the cut for some Tribes-related chit-chat as well news of new content on the way for Global Agenda.
GDC 2012: A peek behind SWTOR's project management curtain
GDC is often described as the most cerebral of the various gaming conventions. E3 has its big reveals and booth babes, PAX has its fan-friendly hands-on sessions and general geekery. GDC, though, is mainly by developers and for developers, and last night's BioWare panel was a good case in point. The session ran for well over an hour (not counting a brief Q&A at the end), and it focused largely on the daunting management tasks inherent in a project like Star Wars: The Old Republic.
GDC 2012: Locking on to MechWarrior Online
The notion of strapping oneself into a massive battle robot chassis and duking it out with other 'Mechs appeals to the inner child in all of us (or it should), so it's hard not to feel a tingle of excitement when the makers of MechWarrior Online promise that we'll soon be able to do just that. We caught up with the Piranha Games crew at GDC to become one of the very first non-studio witnesses of MWO's in-game footage and to hear why this is a title that should be on all of our radars. The team is filled with huge fans of the MechWarrior and BattleTech franchises, so the devs were eager to construct a proper MechWarrior title when Piranha got ahold of the license this year. The studio seized upon the free-to-play model early on as the best way to draw in as many potential 'Mech pilots as possible. It also snagged the CryEngine 3 to provide the best possible graphical fidelity for its product. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to categorize MWO as "massively," as its non-persistent arena maps will host up to only 24 players in 12v12 fights. Setting-wise, MechWarrior Online begins in 3049, but that date will keep tempo with the real-world calendar (so tomorrow it'll be March 9th, 3049, and so on). As events happen in the story according to the game's canon, the game will change to reflect that in real-time. Read on to hear what the devs had to say about two of the game's four pillars: mech warfare and role warfare.
GDC 2012: A look at Dark Legends with Spacetime Studios
Life, death, and a return from the grave: That sums up the life of a vampire, but it also sums up the journey of Spacetime Studios. What do the two have in common? The studio's upcoming title called Dark Legends. At GDC 2012 this week, Massively had a chance to talk with Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios, and we got a first-hand look at how the company successfully created a game in which people can play together on laptops, tablets, phones, and virtually any mobile device available.
GDC 2012: A look at Otherland and Grimlands with Gamigo
Do you prefer a post-apocalyptic world or Tad Williams' vision of the internet of the future? Luckily, you can have them both by the end of the year because Gamigo is working busy at work preparing to launch two new titles. Massively had a chance to talk with Anthony Guzzardo, Gamigo's North American Publicity Manager, as well as PR Manager Dennis Hartmann as they showed off Otherland, based on the works of Tad Williams, and Grimlands, a post-apocalyptic vision in the desert.
GDC 2012: CCP talks DUST 514 PC possibilities and World of Darkness development
GDC 2012 is now in full swing, and today we had the chance to sit down with CCP's Hilmar Petursson, Halldor Fannar, and David Reid to chat about the studio's upcoming FPS title, DUST 514. When asked about the studio's primary goal with DUST 514, the team had a simple reply: Make the best AAA free-to-play shooter possible. But is it coming to the PC? While many EVE Online players aren't thrilled with DUST 514's PlayStation 3 exclusivity, there may be hope for a PC release yet. And while the devs weren't ready to make any official statements on the spot, a bit of wink-nudging indicates that a PC release may still be in the cards. As the devs note, mouse and keyboard controls are already supported in the PS3 version of the title. "I wonder why we did that," Hilmar joked during the interview.
GDC 2012: A look at Seven Souls Online with the NEOWIZ team
Just a few short weeks ago, Seven Souls Online was in closed beta and Massively readers were scooping up beta keys to test it out. Now, with closed beta, well, closed and open beta just around the corner, the team at NEOWIZ GAMES sat down to show off the state of the game and its plans for launch. The devs showed some beginner gameplay and then revealed some of the content that's ready and waiting for the higher levels. From jackpots to cubes to rage mode, Lead Community Manager Cesar Gatica and Marketing Manager Joon Yoon explained it all. What the heck are jackpots, cubes, and rage mode? Read on!
GDC 2012: SOE's PlanetSide 2 gunning for the big time
Our PlanetSide 2 bootcamp didn't start on the war-torn planet of Auraxis. It started on a plushly appointed hotel terrace in the middle of downtown San Francisco. Sony Online Entertainment brought its A-game to GDC 2012, and though its MMOFPS sequel is still undergoing internal alpha testing, the demo was striking enough to make us feel like battle-weary soldiers returning from the front. Executive producer Josh Hackney kicked things off with a short spiel that touched on what made the original PlanetSide unique (truly massive combat, ambitious open-world design, and a passionate/enduring community, in a nutshell). Hackney then turned the microphone over to creative director Matt Higby and a team of SOE devs who proceeded to wow the gaggle of game journos with an hour of pure awesome.
GDC 2012: Advanced recon of PlanetSide 2 uncovers hot zone photographs
Massively's boots are on the ground at this week's Games Developer Conference, and we've stormed Sony Online Entertainment's stronghold to find out any and all information about its upcoming MMOFPS PlanetSide 2. We've been tweeting the excitement from the show floor, and while hearing it is one thing, seeing it for yourself is another. That's why we're bringing to you a mega-upload of 22 hot new images and concept art from this MMOFPS. Showing off a huge variety of environments, ships, soldiers, outfits, and action sequences, these screenshots are pure eye-candy for those anticipating this title. And after the cut, you'll find two GDC videos of the game, courtesy of PlanetSide Universe and tipster Kyle. This is only the beginning, however. Stay tuned to Massively for our first impressions of PlanetSide 2 and an interview with SOE's Tramell Isaac coming later this week! %Gallery-127964% Massively sent four resolute reporters to San Francisco to bring you back the biggest MMO news from this year's GDC, the largest pro-only gaming industry con in the world! From games like The Secret World to PlanetSide 2, we're on the case, so stay tuned for all the highlights from the show!
Cook: iCloud has 100 million users, 3 million Apple TVs sold last year
Tim Cook spoke at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, and he's shared a few up-to-date numbers about a few of Apple's platforms and services. iCloud is probably where he shared the most fascinating insight: The service now boasts over 100 million users, which is a very sizable user base. I don't know offhand how many Apple accounts are out there, but that seems like a significant amount of growth for a service that's not all that old (although MobileMe customers were obviously migrated). Apple TV is also growing -- we've already heard this year that it was big, but Cook says that Apple sold over 3 million set-top boxes last year, and a million last quarter already. He confirmed that the Apple TV was still just a "hobby" for the company, but noted Apple still wants to see more mainstream acceptance of the streaming media device before really dumping in. We'll leave it up to your imagination as to what the Apple TV would be like if Apple decided it was a real market instead of a hobby. Finally, Cook also pointed out that Apple is growing at a gigantic rate in the developing world, earning twenty times the income from previous years in developing tech nations like Asia, India, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It certainly sounds like Cook has confidently moved into a leadership role at Apple -- not only are things going great, but he definitely has a plan for the future.
Tim Cook speaks on labor, cash and culture during Goldman Sachs conference (Update)
Tim Cook presented remarks at a Goldman Sachs Technology Conference on February 14, and it turned out to be a quite lively affair. Cook opened up on a diverse array of topics ranging from Apple's commitment to improving working conditions at its suppliers all the way to what sounded to us like choking back comments on the next-gen Apple TV. Mac Rumors has an impressive word-for-word transcript of the entire event, and it's definitely reading through the entire thing. We've reprinted some choice excerpts below. Apple may post a podcast of the event on iTunes later; if it does post it, it's worth listening to not only for the fascinating content but also to hear Tim Cook sounding the liveliest and most animated he's sounded since taking over as Apple's CEO. On Apple's commitment to worker rights: We think the use of underaged labor is abhorrent. It's extremely rare in our supply chain, but our top priority is to eliminate it totally. We've done that with our final assembly and we're now working with vendors farther down in the supply chain. If we find a supplier that intentionally hires underage labor, it's a firing offense. We don't let anyone cut corners on safety. If there is a problem on safety, we seek out the foremost experts and set a new standard and apply that to the entire supply chain. We focus on the details. If there is a fire extinguisher missing from a cafeteria, that facility doesn't pass inspection until that fire extinguisher is in place. We are continuing to focus on problems endemic to our industry like excessive overtime. Our code of conduct has a cap of 60 hours per workweek [...] In January, we collected weekly data on over a half million workers in our supply chain. We had 84% compliance. This is significantly improved from the past, but we can do better. We're taking the unprecedented step of reporting this monthly on our website, so it's transparent to everyone what we're doing. (emphasis added) On the iPad and the PC market: We started using it at Apple well before it was launched. We had our shades pulled so no one could see us, but it quickly became that 80-90% of my consumption and work was done on the iPad. From the first day it shipped, we thought that the tablet market would become larger than the PC market and it was just a matter of the time it took for that to occur. I feel that stronger today than I did then. As I look out and I see all of these incredible usages for it, I see the incredible rate and pace of innovation, and the developers -- If we had a meeting at this hotel, and we invited everyone doing cool stuff on PC, we wouldn't have anyone here. If you invited everyone working on iOS or on that other operating system, you wouldn't be able to fit everyone! That's where the innovation is! On competition and cannibalization: Price is rarely the most important thing. A cheap product might sell some units. Somebody gets it home and they feel great when they pay the money, but then they get it home and use it and the joy is gone. The joy is gone every day that they use it until they aren't using it anymore. You don't keep remembering "I got a good deal!" because you hate it! The customers that we're designing our products for are not satisfied with limited function types of products. I think the real catalyst of the tablet market will be innovation and pushing the next frontier. Honestly, we'll compete with everybody. I love competition. As long as people invent their own stuff, I love competition. (emphasis added) I don't predict the demise of the PC, I don't subscribe to that. Given what we've seen, I believe the iPad is cannibalizing some Macs but more PCs. There are more of them to cannibalize than Macs so thats a plus to us. On Apple's cash pile: I think everyone would want us to be deliberate and really think it through. That's what we're doing. We're not going to go have a toga party and do something outlandish. People don't have to worry that it's burning a hole in our pocket. It's not new that we're discussing [dividends]. We are discussing it more and in greater detail. The balance has risen to the point you've made and I think it's clear to everyone and I'd be the first to admit that we have more cash than we need to run the business on a daily basis. I only ask for a bit of patience so we can do this in a deliberate way and make the best decision for the shareholders. On the Apple TV: It's clearly ramping, but the reality -- the reason we call it a hobby -- we don't want to send a message to our shareholders that we think the market for it is the size of our other businesses. The Mac, the iPad, the iPod, the iPhone. We don't want to send a signal that we think the length of that stool is equal to the others. That's why we call it a hobby. Apple doesn't do hobbies as a general rule. We believe in focus and only working on a few things. So, with Apple TV however, despite the barriers in that market, for those of us who use it, we've always though there was something there. If we kept following our intuition and kept pulling the string, we might find something that was larger. (emphasis added) We need something that could go more main-market for it to be a serious category. Note: It doesn't come across so much in the transcript, but on the call itself Cook was being very cautious and deliberate in his choice of words when discussing the Apple TV. Everyone at TUAW listening in on the call could tell he was holding something back here. On Siri and iCloud: They're not something we run P&L's on, we don't believe that. We run the company from the top and don't worry about the iCloud team or Siri team making money. Both of these things go in the profound category. They're things that you'll talk to your grandkids about that are profound changes. On the "Apple Culture": Apple is this unique culture and unique company. You can't replicate it. I'm not going to witness or permit the slow undoing of it. I believe in it so deeply. We should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society, not just sell a lot of products. These things, along with keeping excellent as an expectation, these are the things that I focus on. I want to look out at an audience and see people using iPhones and see people using iPods at the gym, or going to Starbucks and seeing people use the iPad. These are the things that bring a smile to my face. There is no substitute for that. Update: Apple has posted audio of Tim's presentation.
WWDC Alerts will help make sure you get into Moscone
Two Mac developers have created an alerts service, which you can sign up for free right now, that will let you know the very moment that tickets go on sale for this year's WWDC in San Francisco. Just put in your cell phone number, send back one code for verification, and then you'll get a text the instant tickets show up, which should give you a nice head start on making sure you get in the door for the conference. There's also a Twitter account to follow if you want something that might get you a little less spam, but the makers of the alert system say they won't forward your details to anyone or misuse the list at all, so if you trust them, it shouldn't be an issue. Obviously this service is being seen by a ton of people, so I'm not sure how much help it will actually be, but any heads up is better than nothing. If you're planning to try going to WWDC this year, good luck! [via TNW]
