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The Soapbox: If you want to sell special items, just do it already
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. I've argued before about the merits of being an honest cash-shop salesperson. You have to be upfront, blunt, and willing to take some heat. Bigpoint is one of my favorite examples of a cash-shop dependent developer simply because it says what it means and means what it says. It sells items, sometimes powerful items, in several different titles. Granted, the studio usually offers a way to get those same items through in-game means, but that doesn't make for as good a story. We reported on Bigpoint a while ago when its reps essentially said that if a developer is going to make an effort to sell in-game items, it should do it the right way by making those items have a significant impact on the game by being either powerful or desirable. I cannot agree more. Bigpoint is a car lot that sells beautiful luxury automobiles. It also sells junkers and even gives out a lot of cars for free, but its charity once again does not make for a good dramatic write-up. I tend to think that if you you are going to make a cash-shop, depending on the style of game, of course, you as a developer have got to consider just what sort of impact you want that cash-shop to have on your players, and you can't be afraid to push your idea from the beginning. But just get on with it.
Win a life-size Cylon statue from Bigpoint and Battlestar Galactica Online
Bigpoint's in the news again this week, and for once the company is steering clear of microtransaction controversies. It seems as if there's a giveaway afoot, and Battlestar Galactica Online fans will be pleased to note that they have a chance to win a life-size Cylon statue (settle down guys, it's a Centurion, not a Number Six). The browser-based sci-fi MMO also features 15 new paint jobs for Cylon and Colonial ships, each of which may be purchased with real money or in-game credits. Bigpoint says more color schemes are on the way, and oh yeah, if you want a chance at the statue, you'll need to log in at least five times during the month of December. Head to the official BSGO forums for the official contest rules.
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.
Ask Massively: Cylon edition
As a wise man once said, "Curiosity killed the cat." But I'm not here to harm any kitties, so today we're going to reward your curiosity with answers to two questions. I find it peculiar how we're receiving more and more questions regarding the inner-workings of Massively.com, but I enjoy answering anything I can with my own special brand of pedantic humor (*ting*). So follow along after the jump for the answers to this week's Ask Massively and don't be shy about getting your own questions in by commenting on this post or sending your inquiries off to ask@massively.com.
'Battlestar' composer Bear McCreary scoring SOCOM 4
The grizzly-named composer Bear McCreary, most famous for putting together the score on the recent Battlestar Galactica TV series, has announced on his blog that he'll be composing the music for Zipper Interactive's upcoming SOCOM 4. McCreary previously did the scoring work on Capcom's Dark Void (and 8-bit spin-off Dark Void Zero), and for SOCOM 4, he says he's written, "muscially, a franchise re-boot," with over eight hours of original music featuring "ethnic percussion, virtuosic Asian stringed and woodwind instruments, and the spectacular, other-worldly tones of the gamelan." Insert joke here about how that Indonesian ensemble's name actually looks like "game LAN." He also says that the soundtrack will fulfill his dream "of a video game score that would feel as if it were being composed specifically for each player, adapting and shifting perfectly to capture the mood of the individual gamer." Which sounds fun, but if we start hearing an orchestral version of "All Along the Watchtower" as our individual score, what exactly does that mean?
TV shows that could be MMOs: Battlestar Galactica
Watching the final season of the new Battlestar Galactica the other night, and getting only a taste of the amazing, chaotic, shaky-cam ship-to-ship action left us wanting more. But even better than a full episode devoted to space combat would be an MMO based in that world. How would that work, you ask? We're glad you did! Keep in mind that this article assumes basic knowledge of the show universe and its characters. If you haven't seen it, get thee to a torrent, or a rental store immediately!First, consider some of the great two-sided rivalries in MMOs: Horde vs. Alliance; AFS vs. the Bane; Humanity vs. Hell -- Mankind vs. the Cylons fits right in. In fact, since the show itself manages to portray both sides as sympathetic, there isn't too much storyline massaging to be done; the universe of Galactica is nicely morally ambiguous. All that really matters is survival.
Battlestar Galactica XBLA price frak-ed on Saturday
This Friday marks the debut of the final season of Battlestar Galactica, and while we have no delusions that the 60 minutes of commercial interrupted TV will leave us any more stupefied than we were at the end of last season wondering what in the frak is going on, we nonetheless cannot wait to pick our jaws up off the floor. To celebrate the premiere, Sierra has chopped the price of its casual BSG-themed XBLA shooter in half to 400 points, and while playing the game still just serves as a painful reminder that we still lack a real Battlestar Galactica game, the new price is nonetheless a welcome treat. But get it while it's hot; the toasters are going to jack the price back up to 800 points 24 hours later. So say we all! Gallery: Battlestar Galactica (XBLA, PC) [Via Press Release]
