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Rise and Shiny: Ensemble Online
I always love it when a new indie MMO comes across my virtual desk. I never know what I'm going to get, even though I think I can tell a lot from its name or even the font that the name is written in. Ensemble Online is one of the newest ones, and I assumed it would be a sci-fi sandbox. In reality, it was indeed a sci-fi sandbox but mostly felt like a more cartoony, gentler Wurm Online. I was even able to sit down with the developers during my livestream of the game. Thanks to the fact that the team seems to be really up on social media and appears to pay attention to things like the press (unlike many indies), I learned a lot from that livestream. Be sure to watch it; it's embedded in the article. Ensemble Online holds a ton of potential. It's not there yet, but I'll tell you why I think it can stick around for a while.
Rise and Shiny: Vega Conflict
You might be familiar with Kixeye for many different reasons, but this week I am discussing one of the games from its line-up: VEGA Conflict, which is typical in many ways but can definitely be surprising when it needs to be. Many of my favorite MMOs are made up of mechanics we've seen before, but those mechanics are delivered so smartly that the end result is a game that is worth more than it should be. As far as browser-based MMORTS titles go -- and there are scores and scores of them -- VEGA Conflict is a fun and unique blend of strategy, city-building, and Gratuitous Space Battles. It implements none of its designs flawlessly, but the game is almost perfectly balanced between casual play and powergaming. I did receive a wad of coins from the developer shortly after I spent 10 dollars on some myself, and those coins bought me resources and sped up development and building. It's not directly a sell of power and is typical for the genre, but some might find it distasteful. The community didn't seem to mind the model much.
Breaking down the cost of an E3 booth
Semiformal Studios secured a 600 square foot space on the E3 show floor this year, and it ended up spending $100,000 on the entire show. That figure may be shocking – because it's so low. "If we hadn't second-guessed everything, worked really hard, and gotten clever it would have been about $300,000 - $500,000, but the necessity to put on a good show and the lack of funds forced us to think cleverly and work hard to make it happen on the cheap," Semiformal Studios Director Ian Kinsey tells me. "I'm confident we had the cheapest price per square foot (when you factor in all costs) of all the decently interactive booths at E3." The space itself cost $30,000 – 600 square feet is the smallest space offered – and that doesn't factor in the actual booth itself. For its construction, Kinsey got quotes from dozens of booth and expo designers, even museum exhibit companies, that ranged from $80,000 to $250,000, just for a standard design, no frills. "Some companies literally told us that the reason for the cost was simply, 'If you want an E3 booth, you have to pay E3 prices,'" Kinsey says. "Even some of the non-E3 expo makers, like the museum designers, gave that as their reason."
How 10 indie developers got into E3, legally, with Indies Crash E3
Reserving 600 square feet of space on the show floor of E3 costs $30,000. That's $50 per square foot for the smallest offered space, and it doesn't include other necessary costs – fees for the E3 management company GES, union labor and various red tape – which can add up to $15,000. More still, these prices don't include actual booth construction, game-demo tech, man-hours or convention swag. Semiformal Studios bought one of the 600 square foot spots to show off its game, Ensemble Online, at E3 this year, and the team ended up spending $100,000 in total. This was cheap – Semiformal could have easily spent $500,000, Director Ian Kinsey tells me. After dealing with the finances of E3 firsthand, Kinsey and Semiformal saw why more indies were unable to show their games at the event – and they decided to help. Semiformal established Indies Crash E3, a fan-voted contest to allow 10 indies into E3, using passes Semiformal was granted as a show-floor developer. The developers would demo their games in the Semiformal booth, share in its marketing campaign and have access to the most concentrated batch of networking opportunities of the year.
Ensemble Online gears up for beta, launches Kickstarter drive
It's been nearly two years since we first heard of Ensemble Online, a browser-based MMO that combines elements from RPG and RTS titles. SemiFormal Studios is gearing up to launch Ensemble's beta testing phase, and the firm has taken to Kickstarter to help with funding. SemiFormal bills the game as "the world's first MMORTS"; the company says that it allows you to "tactically control territory, harvest resources, and build buildings anywhere on an expansive, real-time, never-ending map." The game doesn't limit where you can build, either, and there are no text-based battles (nor do you lose your progress when you log out). If that's piqued your interest, head to the official site to learn more about the game, and don't forget to check out the Ensemble Kickstarter page to contribute.
Ensemble Online wants you for alpha testing!
Longtime Massively readers will remember a giveaway we had last year for Ensemble Online alpha keys. Ensemble Online has been under construction since then, and the small indie studio creating it has grown as well. The developers -- now operating under the SemiFormal Studios moniker -- are preparing for alpha test phase II, and you're invited! SemiFormal has given us 50 alpha test keys to share with you, so if you'd like to see how far the game has come since alpha test phase I, head to our giveaway page and pick up a key for yourself. It's an alpha test, so don't forget to report all those little bugs and glitches. Even more importantly, don't forget to have fun! [Sorry, all codes have been claimed]
Grab yourself an Ensemble Online alpha key with Massively!
How would you like to alpha test an MMORTSRPG? Yeah, that's what we thought. The amount of letters has distracted you. Our evil plan is coming to fruition! And, speaking of things coming to fruition, let's talk about Ensemble Online -- a new game from a small indie developer group. The game is incorporating aspects of a traditional RPG with elements of a real-time strategy game, all under an MMO flag. Retrieve resources, hunt monsters, build buildings, craft weapons, create empires, and wage war with other players in this 2D MMO. It's very ambitious, and ambitious things need testers. We've gotten 50 alpha keys to give away, and that means it's time for a contest! If we've caught your interest, jump with us after the break and we'll give you all of the relevant information. %Gallery-93695%
