evolution
Latest
The evolution of classes
Classes are one of those central components of our MMOs. From the early days of Dungeons & Dragons to the use of class based systems in MUDs, we've been relying on the concept of characters with unique sets of skills working together to get the job done. Andrew Vanden Bossche over at Gamasutra has recently sat down and looked at everyone's favorite FPS, Team Fortress 2, to analyze how classes have gone beyond their original roleplaying roots. While the article isn't exactly MMO-focused, it certainly does have bearing on our genre as we too begin to branch out away from the sword-and-board fantasy and into FPS territory with games like Global Agenda and Darkfall. So if you want to see how experience and bullets go together while making gameplay more social and fun, check out the full article at Gamasutra.
WoW Insider Show Episode 114: Live on location
I think this might be one of my favorite things we've ever done (though all credit must go to Turpster, as usual). Last week on the show, he asked listeners for pictures of where they're listening to the show, and we got a nice gallery below of all of you in different places (many of you at work, which makes us worry a little bit), all listening to the WoW Insider Show all over the world. If you take a picture this week, feel free to send it along to theshow@wow.com, and we'll add it into the gallery below. In the meantime, here's a new episode, featuring said Turpster and myself, along with Eddie "Brigwyn" Carrington, talking about what's coming up in patch 3.3, including the new looting system, paladin changes aplenty, and hints at the next expansion. And as usual, we answer your emails and just generally have a fun time. Enjoy -- and be sure to send us a pic while you listen! %Gallery-77044% Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes. [RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator. [MP3] Download the MP3 directly. Listen here on the page:
EVE Evolved: The road ahead for 0.0 alliances
A lot of MMOs rarely (if ever) revisit old gameplay mechanics or areas, focusing instead on new expansions. EVE Online is different in that the developers go back and re-visit old aspects of gameplay rather than just focusing on new mechanics and content. Even Blizzard have seen the wisdom in redevelopment of old content, and in their next planned World of Warcraft expansion "Cataclysm", the entire game world is being given a revamp to bring everything up to their most recent development standards.CCP Games have been using this development strategy for years and coupled with player-based development in the community, EVE Online is truly a game that evolves over time. Player-managed political states shift allegiances, entire empires can rise, span the galaxy and fall within a year and the emergent gameplay that typifies EVE's sandbox style is constantly being expanding on by players. The game we know now is very different to the one we had a year ago and if recent devblogs are any indication, EVE is about to undergo a major evolutionary leap. The entire sovereignty system and the state of capital warfare is about to undergo a complete revamp.In this article, I take a more in-depth look ahead at the changes that are coming to 0.0, capital ships and the sovereignty system and how I think they could turn out, given my experiences in EVE.
The evolution of a UI
I love this post over at Hots and Dots, and it almost makes me wish I'd done the same thing with my UI (though truthfully, I don't get too complicated, so most of my pictures would look like her first one). Lathere has collected a series of screenshots of her UI, showing off how much its changed over the years, from her first raids in Karazhan up to the current raids in VoA and Ulduar. And it's very cool to see how things have changed -- early on, she really adhered to addons and what they did as a default, and as time passes, you can see that not only are the addons getting better at giving you the tools to lay out the UI the way you want it (not to mention that other tech has gotten better as well -- she goes widescreen about halfway through), but she's getting better at customizing things exactly the way they should be. The UI gets much more abstract and simplistic as time goes on, though you'd presume that it actually lets her do more in terms of her character.In fact, aside from the actual graphics in the background and the icons, it's almost hard to tell this is the same game. Of course, Blizzard has to keep a lot of things in the default UI the same, so they leave a lot of the really creative edits in the UI to the addon developers (and then, of course, steal the most interesting back). And they can get very creative indeed -- when you put these screenshots over a period of years up against each other, it's interesting to see how both the addon code and the player has changed the interface they use to play the game.
Preyro robot experiment could enable robots to better mimic animals, kill us all
It's kind of strange, really, how we can see just how near the end is, yet these so-called geniuses employed within the realm of academia are totally oblivious to their own evil deeds. Take cognitive science professor John Long, for instance, who is currently conducting a Preyro robot experiment in a Vassar College lab that intends to "allow robots to mimic animals far better than before." To him, he's just hoping to study evolutionary patterns in order to better understand how certain tweaks to things like fins and tails affect performance in the place we call reality. Though, there's a very real possibility that this research could accelerate the impending robot apocalypse by at least a score. Oh, what we'd give to be incognizant of the truth.
Epoq's HH07 pico projector now on sale in US
Calm down, vaquero. You've definitely seen this sucker before, but it was rockin' the BeamBox Evolution R-1 label and headed for a release across the pond. Epoq's iteration, however, is on track for a US release, and in fact, it can be ordered up right this moment for those interested. Specs wise, you're looking at a 640 x 480 resolution, 30 lumens of brightness, a 100:1 contrast ratio, SD card slot, a USB port and a size of 108- x 59- x 28-millimeters. Get in line for "just" $339.95.[Via AboutProjectors]
BeamBox Evolution R-1 pico available for pre-order, shipping April 1
BeamBox has just announced it's taking pre-orders for the Evolution R-1 pocket projector. If you've forgotten, the R-1 boasts an LCoS chip, with a brightness of 30 lumens, a 200:1 contrast ratio and VGA (640 x 480) resolution. The little guy has up to 4GB of onboard Flash memory, plus a microSD slot. It weighs in at about 175 grams, and will run you £260 (about $364), and is expected to ship on April 1st.
Beambox launches Evolution R-1 pico projector
You may recall Beambox as the company that brought us the very tiny Beambox Pocket Projector. Well, its newest model, the just-announced Evolution R-1 is not quite as compact (though it's still pretty tiny), but it looks like it will pack a lot more punch than its predecessor. The R-1 will boast an LCoS chip, a brightness of 30 lumens, with a 200:1 contrast ratio and VGA (640 x 480) resolution, and will be capable of projecting an up to 100-inch image. The little guy will also have up to 4GB of onboard Flash memory, plus a microSD slot. The pico -- which weighs in at 175 grams -- is expected to ship around March 20th. It looks like the projector is going to run you £250 ($360), and be available in black, red, silver and white. One more shot after the break.
World of Warcraft as evolutionary model
This must be the time of year for zany social theories about videogames. First, we heard that World of Warcraft might quality as being a religion. Then we heard that it might make for better citizens. And now, in an essay over at Gamasutra on the event of Charles Darwin's birthday, Noah Falstein suggests that games like World of Warcraft are actually models for evolution -- as we level up with experience points, our characters get stronger and more evolved, and we feel comfortable with that because that's exactly what we see happening in the world around us.Technically, of course, you can't model Darwin's theory of evolution with a single character -- evolution isn't about one individual getting better, it's about a process of natural selection in a species over a period of time. To really model evolution, you'd have to play hundreds of alts, and quit them each time you ran into a problem, leaving you with just a few characters that worked really well. Wait -- maybe some of you are already doing that.But Falstein makes good points in saying that certain elements of what Darwin described as evolution have shown up in game design as well -- the idea of specialization for certain character classes, tribal and national allegiances, and even the idea of memes (which are certainly widespread in WoW -- anyone ever heard of Chuck Norris or Leroy Jenkins?) are all drawn from Darwin's thinking and definitely embodied in the game we play.
EVE Evolved: The top ten EVE videos of all time
Whether you like EVE Online or hate it, I think everyone can agree that it's a visually stunning game. Combined with the enthralling PvP experiences to be had in the game, it's not surprising that the game lends itself well to making some excellent videos. Films of EVE gameplay have been around since EVE began and large fleets now routinely bring a camera specialist pilot in a cloaked covert ops frigate to film their action. With the release of the premium client and the proliferation of good video editing software, the quality of EVE videos has improved significantly over the past few years.In this article, I run down my list of the top ten EVE videos of all time.
WoW Moviewatch: The evolution of a Warlock
Inspired by Noah Kalina, the Brooklyn photographer that took his picture every day for six and a half years, DerangedTaco captured a photo of his Warlock every time he changed gear. The resulting timelapse is a journey from roughly level 20, all the way up to level 70. He worked his way from level 70 blues, and then progressed into S1 and S2 items. Due to the upcoming release of Wrath of the Lich King, he doesn't plan to get anymore upgrades, but the video is still pretty interesting!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
'Militant atheists' up in arms over Spore's sim-religion
You'd think that a life simulation that begins with single-cell organisms and follows their evolution into space-faring races might get some folks from the "intelligent design" camp riled. It turns out that what Spore creator Will Wright refers to as "militant atheists" seem to be the most bent out of shape by the inclusion of a religion mechanic in his latest opus. "I didn't expect to hit hot buttons on the atheist side as much; I expected it on the religious side," Wright said in an interview with Eurogamer. "What we had was a good, sizable group of players that we might call 'militant atheists,' and the rest of the players seemed very tolerant, including all of the religious players."If anything, we'd expect Spore to be an equal-opportunity offender. After all, it implies that the biological material giving rise to its in-game life came from another world, but also has players acting in a "God" role to influence its evolution. "We didn't want to go too far down that path," Wright explained, adding, "We leave the whole creation of the universe question open." Open ... to debate, it seems.
MMOs may not inherit the Earth after all
A lot of attention has been paid in recent months to the notion, espoused openly by Phil Harrison and quietly acquiesced to in much of the rest of the MMO industry, that single player games as we know them are going the way of the dodo. With technology connecting people to each other in greater numbers than ever before, many people see the logical end of this being the complete co-option of the traditional single player experience that has prevailed in games for so long.In a recent interview with Ben Mattes, producer for the new Prince of Persia game over at Ubisoft, Mattes rejects this notion, insisting there are experiences in a single player game that you can't reliably replicate in a multiplayer context. Players still crave these distilled bouts of fun, and will continue to flock to them in the future as long as companies keep making them. Obviously, being the producer on a big budget single player title doesn't make Mattes the most unbiased source in the world, but we have to agree with him. While the greater trend is towards connectivity and multiplayer, there's always going to be a market for a well-told single player story.
Motorstorm 2 officially adopts Pacific Rift as subtitle
It had been rumored around the internet for a while now, so it's not exactly shocking news to hear its confirmation. Motorstorm 2 has officially been re-named Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. We're almost certain we'd heard this before, but since it hadn't been confirmed (the official unveiling is due in June's edition of PlayStation: The Official Magazine) we thought it'd be nice to assure you that you can, in fact, call the game by this title when amongst groups of friends. So get ready to race around some sexy islands and get into some sexy crashes later this year with Motorstorm: Pacific Rift.[Thanks, Andrew Gaspar!]
The Daily Grind: Will griefers ever evolve?
The MMO industry as we know it today hasn't been around very long, really. Still, we can see definite generational shifts, particularly between the current crop of foul-mouthed, immature children (of all ages) we might label 'griefers', and the older, more stable cadre of players who just want to enjoy their hobby in peace. The generation of kids being raised on MMOs have the dubious honor of receiving input from both of these spheres. What will they become? Respect can be taught, but kids are mimetic; they'll copy behavior they find amusing. Is there a chance that griefers can grow out of their abusive tendencies and learn to behave? What will it take for that behavior to evolve?
The Evolution of World of Warcraft's many games
To say that World of Warcraft has changed over the last four years would be something of an understatement. Major content additions have come at a fast and furious rate, from minor class tweaks all the way up to the Burning Crusade expansion itself. The blog GameSetWatch hosts a feature called Play Evolution that looks at just these kinds of changes. In an article this past week author James Lantz laid out some of the ways that Blizzard has modifed WoW over the years.What's interesting is that he doesn't just comb through patch notes. Lantz notes that within Azeroth itself there are several different games being played all alongside each other. The leveling up game is the one many people talk about, but there's also the raid game, the pvp game, the crafting game, the social game ... everyone is playing a WoW slightly different from everyone else's. Using the evolution of Player vs. Player combat since the game's launch, Lantz talks about the path Blizzard has walked to focus that particular 'metagame' for players - be it for good or ill.
BBC: Motorstorm 2 goes island, coming this holiday
We've officially known a sequel to Motorstorm was in the works since last September (and logically known it for much longer) but we've been short on details. That changed today when the BBC reported that Motorstorm 2 would be released in time for Christmas and would feature four-player split-screen (huzzah!).The piece also revealed that players would "race around a lush island environment, full of interactive vegetation." You say "interactive vegetation," we say "hottest new buzzword of 2008 con-firmed."
Games that could be MMOs: Spore
Ever since I saw Spore being shown at Macworld this year, I've been thinking about how our characters progress, and likening it to evolution. The more you fight, the more you grow -- in levels, anyway. Here, however, death doesn't cut off your genetic line, but neither do you get to pass yours on. And while it's cool to watch your character gain abilities, hit points, new gear, etc., what if there were an MMO that let you actually evolve?Take Spore as our example: start life as a single-celled organism. Eat and avoid being eaten long enough, and you level up to the next step: evolving into something better adapted to the environment, so you can survive better, longer. Keep on growing until you've begun making tools. Organize a community. Explore the world, and eventually, space itself, and new worlds. This is what Spore promises, but currently it's a single-player game, with the only interaction with other players arising when spaceflight is achieved. But what if Spore started out as an MMO?
Codemasters looks to outer space for next MMO with Jumpgate Evolution
Codemasters' love affair with all things MMO seems to have no bounds, with the company continuing to throw money and people at the genre like a kind of catapult gone mad. Though like a clueless homeowner who perpetually waters his plants into an early grave, Codemasters' track record with keeping the MMOs under its stead alive is spotty at best.Its latest target is NetDevil's re-engineered space-combat MMO Jumpgate Evolution, which Codemasters announced today that it will publish across both North America and Europe in "late 2008." While the game's North American release will be handled by both NetDevil and Codemasters' online devision in tandem, the publisher/developer will be calling the shots all by its lonesome for the title's European debut. Given Jumpgate's lineage, the title tracing its roots all the way back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth in 2001, this is a game that many have been waiting to offer up subscription fees to play for some time -- though given Codemasters' history we predict that players may be playing the game for free before it's all said and done.
CES 2008: discussion panel on virtual worlds and the "MMO explosion"
Gamasutra has posted a panel discussion covering many different facets of virtual worlds and MMOs in general. The panel consists of several panelists coming from all sorts of companies from AMD to Turbine. Overall the panel discusses many of the issues you always hear about when virtual worlds/MMOs come up. You've got talk of evolution within the industry, in-game advertising, global relevance (aka "how can we conquer the world?"), virtual goods/secondary markets (RMT/item selling) and of course cannibalizing older markets.The discussion on each piece is mostly similar to what has been said already. There are a few intriuging quotes from some of the panelists throughout. Their conclusion to the discussion happens to be focused on a few aspects, but we found one was more interesting than the rest. Steve Goldstein from Flagship Studios had this to say, "As we spend the next three or four days talking about margins and monetizing, we shouldn't lose sight of the miraculous industry we're in, where people are selling imaginary gold and building real relationships across the world."Probably the most prolific statement of the entire discussion, Goldstein manages to bullseye the nail on the head.
