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LotRO blog interviews content developer Lauren "Budgeford" Salk
When it comes to MMO development studios, Turbine has always been on the ball. Using a hybrid subscription model, Turbine has managed to triple revenues from its popular fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online. With the possibility of playing LotRO free of charge, more players than ever have been gracing this Tolkien wonderland with their presence and enjoying the game's new seasonal festivals. Content developer Lauren "Budgeford" Salk is responsible for these popular festival events, which have proven to be a big hit with players. LotRO blog "A Casual Stroll to Mordor" published an insightful interview with Lauren today on what exactly goes into the content development process. The interview asks what it's like to be the only female content developer at Turbine and goes into detail on the challenges she faces in her everyday work. Often when we're enjoying the content in our favourite MMOs, we don't see all of the technical expertise that goes into creating it and the problems that can crop up in development. Head over to A Casual Stroll to Mordor to give the interview a read.
WAR Grab Bag No. 6: oRvR, Easy PQs, and dungeons
The latest edition of Warhammer Online's Grab Bag feature is up, and as well as a question-and-answer segment, we are treated to the first part of a feature on PvE dungeons, written by content developer Gary Astelford. A couple of the questions are directed at Open RvR; we're told to keep an eye out for some changes that will "make zone control more intuitive and rewarding" in the future. The new Easy PQ system is also asked about, and we learn that although the influence bonus for getting to the next stage of a PQ will be less (past Stage 2), all other influence gains are the same as a normal PQ. Oh, and those fancy statues that the top players have built in their honor to reflect the leaderboards? Expect enemies to be able to smash them down if the city becomes contested.The dungeon feature looks at four different instances, two for lower levels and two for the level 40s. The dungeon entrances are pointed out, and their theme and lore are discussed -- it's in no way spoilerific, and is meant merely to entice players to visit and discover more for themselves. Part 1 of the feature includes the Altdorf Sewers, the Sacellum, Bilerot Burrows and Sigmar's Crypt.
