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Massively Exclusive: RuneScape Betrayal at Falador excerpt
It's not every day you get to read a novel on Massively, so grab a cup of your favorite beverage, curl up next to the fireplace (assuming it's relatively chilly in your neck of the woods) and prepare for something a bit out of the ordinary. We recently interviewed RuneScape novelist T.S. Church about the impending re-release of 2008's Betrayal at Falador. Now that the mass market edition of the book is hot off the presses, we're pleased to bring you this exclusive excerpt in order to whet your appetite for all things RuneScape. Turn the page for more.
Free for All: F2P and microtransactions at GDCO
Last week I wondered about how free-to-play would be discussed at GDC Online. After attending the event -- it was all a blur -- and listening back to my audio notes, it seems that free-to-play has reached some sort of level as a standard pricing option for a modern world. It could have been the fact that many of the developers at the event are making browser-based, iPhone or Facebook social games, but the word "subscription" came up rarely. Blended models seemed to be the runner-up. It appears that all the older companies -- the Turbines, SOEs and other western companies -- just cannot let go of that sweet, sweet subscription cash-flow. Can you blame them? It's a good deal for many, and it could be argued that without that subscription, many players would be turned off. Does all this talk of free-to-play and microtransactions signify some sort of change in quality or style of game? No, not really. It's my argument that things are different in only one way: quality has gone way, way up.
Flying Lab answers six questions about Pirates of the Burning Sea
Unless you have a boulder for a roof, you know that the folks behind Pirates of the Burning Sea recently announced that the game is going down the free-to-play route. While that's very exciting, especially considering what free-to-play has done for games like Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online and EverQuest II, there were still some questions we wanted answered. We reached out to Declan O'Connell, the head of the Design Department at Flying Lab, for answers to some quick queries.
GDCO 2010: Bigpoint's Alan Dunton on the next-gen of browser MMOs
Bigpoint has had a very successful run as a multi-game publisher over the last few years. If you're familiar with Seafight or Dark Orbit, then you have played some of the company's games. Of course, those titles -- plus the many others -- are just not enough for the devs at Bigpoint. They wanted to host, create and specify a game for the North American market. What they ended up with are a few titles -- The Mummy Online, Battlestar Galactica, and Ruined Online -- all crafted in the same amazing Unity browser engine. What this will do is allow for more flexibility, accessibility, and possibility. Bigpoint's background in free-to-play and microtransaction-based games will also help to monetize the titles -- a delicate science in itself. We were able to meet up with Alan Dunton, and he explained to us what Ruined Online meant for the company and for the future of Battlestar and The Mummy.
GDCO 2010: gPotato's Tara Einis on Iris Online and Allods' cash shop
When I heard that I had landed an interview with Tara Einis of gPotato (publisher of Allods Online, the upcoming Iris Online, and many others), I immediately began daydreaming about poring over hours and hours of audio and transcribing hard-hitting interviews filled with fiery give-and-takes. Instead, I found myself calmly wanting to know about gPotato's general cash-shop practices, long history in free-to-play, and reaction to Allods' perceived "debacle." I also found evidence for my theory that the company is, yes, still publishing games and still excited for the future. It should be no surprise, though -- gPotato has maintained a hefty presence in the world of free-to-play for longer than most. So, what are we going to see next? What did gPotato have planned for the future? Turns out quite a lot.
The future of the RuneScape novels: Massively's interview with T.S. Church
I had a lot of fun recently reading and reviewing Betrayal at Falador. This RuneScape novel was published in a very limited format a few years ago, and this month it's being re-released in paperback on a much wider scale. I enjoyed the opportunity to read the book and give my perspective as a RuneScape novice, but the follow-up was even better. Author T.S. Church spent some time chatting with me about the the characters, his plans, and the world of RuneScape. Church was very open and forthcoming about the story so far and gave plenty of exciting details on what's to come. Follow along after the jump to see what he had to say.
GDCO 2010: UTV True Games wows with three new titles
One of the most thrilling aspects of this job is visiting game studios. It's essentially like stepping into a toy factory, complete with strange noises and funny personalities. Nerf guns are a staple, and each desk or station is decorated with all types of toys, posters, and other trophies from Nerd-dom. UTV True Games is no different, so when we were asked to sit down with three (count 'em, three) different teams to preview some new titles, we knew we were in for a good time. Of course, our professionalism prevented us from actually clapping and going "sqqquuueeeee!" every time a new product was shown, but it's very possible that the teams would not have cared anyway. So what did we see? What do we have to look forward to from the same people that brought us Mytheon? Well, click past the cut and let's take a look!
GDCO 2010: Spacetime Studios' Cinco Barnes talks mobile design
Spacetime Studios, the developer of the popular mobile MMO Pocket Legends, was started back in 2005 to create large-scale MMOs. Its founders decided to make a mobile platform MMO upon seeing the obvious marketing opportunity that the iPhone provided. After all, the players would already be connected and would be accustomed to microtransactions through exposure to iTunes and the app store. Of course, development could prove disastrous if the wrong game plan were followed, so Spacetime decided to keep it simple. How simple? Cinco Barnes of Spacetime was on hand at GDC Online to explain how his team members did it. What they found was a chance to do more than they'd initially planned on -- and an audience ready to gobble up everything the studio could create.
The Road to Mordor: The Codemasters conundrum
J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote, "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger." In light of recent events, we might turn that phrase to become, "Do not meddle in the affairs of players, for they are outspoken and very, very quick to anger." I'm referring, of course, to the outright debacle that's been happening on the Lord of the Rings Online European front. While Turbine released LotRO's F2P version along with the latest patch a month ago in North America, Codemasters has yet to follow suit, citing numerous problems on its end. When we first heard of the delay, I assumed it would be shortly resolved -- perhaps no more than a week or two at the most -- which is why I've mostly kept from discussing it in this column before now. Tech problems happen, there's always legal traps waiting, code can be glitchy, and regionalization is an ever-present obstacle. But at this point it feels as though the EU "Have-Nots" community has been under siege from lack of information and a frustrating view of the "Haves" across the pond. When will it be their turn? Why didn't Codemasters see this coming? How is the EU team trying to mollify the community as the devs scramble to get this puppy to live? Let's take a journey, you and I, through the past month and into the near future. Don't mind the hobbits picketing the Shire -- I'm sure it'll all work out.
Exploring Eberron: Community and community division
It's been an interesting week for me in Dungeons and Dragons Online, and while that's obviously just a personal perspective, I've come away from it with some observations on the community. Executive Producer Fernando Paiz told me at PAX that Turbine will start turning its collective eye back to the veteran players, and it looks like Update 7 is the first step in that direction. My Update 7 tour set me thinking, as did Wednesday night's outing with OnedAwesome, Massively's DDO guild. Follow along after the jump as I take a look at what these factors have told me about the community in Dungeons and Dragons Online.
Massively's tour of Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 7
Last month at PAX, Dungeons and Dragons Online Executive Producer Fernando Paiz said that the development team has plans to start creating more content for higher-level players. Over the past year, the team has focused on constructing plenty of content for the huge influx of new free-to-play players, and now it's time to turn attention back to the +10 half of the playerbase. Update 7 is our first look at what's to come. The quest series is in the level 12 range, a bit higher than what we've seen in the past months. It's free-to-play, which makes it even more appealing, and heavily features the two new races, the half-elf and the half-orc. Fernando and Producer Erik Boyer were kind enough to spend some time showing off part of the new content and updates, so follow along after the jump for a first look at Update 7, titled Half Bloods.%Gallery-104048%
The Road to Mordor: Entitled
A few days ago I asked the Massively community members what in-game titles they loved the most. Titles have been on my brain for the past week, as I've started to realize just how many -- how bogglingly, terrifyingly many -- exist in Lord of the Rings Online. I hadn't really given them a lot of thought before, because who really stops to read every small paragraph that magically floats above people's heads? "Frodo, Ring-bearer of the One Ring of Power, Fellowship of the Ring, Formerly of Bag End, The Shire." Yeah, we get it. You're Mr. Fancy Pants. But really, titles are kind of neat, if only for the player who puts one on like a fine three-piece suit before an evening on the town. A title tells the world not only of your great (or not-so-great) accomplishments, but also a little about your personality -- after all, you chose that particular title to wear above all the others. A title can tell me if a player is really proud of his crafting achievements, or if he's a raider, or if he has a decent sense of humor. While I'd say that -- like LotRO's hats -- a good bulk of the titles in the game are cosmetically useless, there exists quite a few that are worth procuring if you're into titular collection. Today we're going to look at some of my favorite titles in the game, as well as how to nab them. Please don't pee your pants in excitement.
Grey Area announces Shadow Cities, first location-based iPhone MMO
Searching for a new MMORPG for your iPhone? Look no further than the platform's first location-based massively multiplayer title, Shadow Cities, courtesy of Finnish developer Grey Area. Virtual World News checks in with some interesting information about the game, including the fact that the it tracks your location via OpenStreetMap and creates a game world based on your city before populating it with various enemies. Gameplay consists of exploring, hunting down rogue spirits, and obtaining new spells as you level. Casting spells is accomplished by drawing rune-like shapes on the iPhone's screen, and players can also join one of two factions and battle other players in the same area of the game world. The game is slated to be released in late 2010, and you can sign up for an email notification on the official Grey Area website. You can also view a brief teaser trailer after the cut.
Free for All: How much for a ten-spot?
In this week's Free for All, I decided to check out some cash-shop games to see what I might get for 10 U.S. dollars. For the record, some games can be subscription-based and still have cash shops, and some games can have cash shops that have been redesigned and tweaked so that they do not fit into the same old "cash-shop" model. For clarity, I stuck to cash shops that normally pop up while you're in-game -- usually inside their own window. Sometimes, though, the cash shops might be accessed or found on the games' main websites, as well. It was hard to choose, being that I generally don't buy from cash shops any more. It takes a very special product (like Wurm Online's currency) to get me to pay, namely because I do not spend as much time in a single game as I used to. Actually, let me rephrase that before someone starts to write a comment based on that statement: I still spend a lot of time in certain games, like anyone else, but my pace has slowed. Most of the cash-shop items out there are convenience items -- simply time-travel devices that allow the player to speed up his experience. Since I have all the time in the world because of the free nature of these games, speeding up is not something I am interested in. So, let's look at a few cash shops to see what piqued my interest!
Rise and Shiny recap: Nanovor: Evolution
Nanovor: Evolution, by Smith and Tinker, has the ability to allow a player to experience in-depth combat and collecting or pick-em-up battles on the fly. It has also been created with the purpose of running in a browser window or (soon) on an iPhone or iPad. What you end up with is a perfect game for someone who spent a good deal of his week feeling ill, like I did. Playing the game was almost relaxing, rather than nail-biting or stressful. Were there intense moments? Yes, like the time I played someone several levels above me. Generally, however, the game provides an environment for fun on the go. The few criticisms I have heard about the game -- that it's grindy, "pay-to-win" or made only for children -- are completely valid but a little out of place. Nanovor: Evolution, like Vindictus or LOCO, isn't trying to be an open-world, non-instanced groupathon. What Smith and Tinker does is provide an easy opportunity for fun and action, while skirting the edge of the definition for "MMORPG."
One Shots: Everybody smile for the camera!
When it comes to stylish rides, there's something to be said for having one of the new swift shark mounts in Wizard101! Not only can the sharks cross from land to water, but they also have an excellent smile, perfect for fun screenshots like today's One Shots. This image comes to us from Leesha Darkheart and was taken at a recent in-game party. We'll let her explain this smiling group: "[This] is a pic of some friends and me hanging out at the Ravenwood Radio podcast in-game after-party this week. We decided to have a swimming party in the new underwater zone, Crab Alley, on our new swift shark mounts. The shark mounts are really awesome-looking and have great animations. They chomp at the bit every once in a while and bounce up really far when you jump. Makes the sparkle pony look like chopped liver." Have you snapped a fun picture from an in-game event that you'd like to share? We'd love to see it. Just email it in to us here at oneshots@massively.com. Include your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing in the picture. Please make sure your image is at least 1024 pixels wide and has as few visible UI elements as possible. We'll post it out here for everyone to enjoy and give you the credit! %Gallery-85937%
Ngmoco releases We City
Ngmoco has introduced its third title in the "We" series. We City arrives after We Rule and We Farm as the same kind of social simulation game. This time around, players will be building and creating their own cities, but other than the setting and the graphics, not too much has changed. Just like the other We titles, you can build farms to grow harvests (in this case, factories that build products), houses for citizens to give you rent, stores for your Plus+ friends to come and put orders in, and various types of decorations and custom items to paint your kingdom, sorry farm, sorry city as you see fit. What's called Mojo and Gro in the other two games is called Zap here, and it's available for the usual microtransactions, or some for free as you level up. Colleges are the one big innovation here -- you can build colleges and universities to do research for you, and those bits of research can unlock new buildings and items. It's kind of a shame that Ngmoco didn't go too far off of the beaten path -- especially with NimbleBit's Pocket Frogs showing that you can do different (and really fun) things with freemium, it's disappointing to see another "We" game with only the names and graphics changed out. But then again, I guess I can't blame them for going with what works. We City is available for free now on both the iPhone and the iPad. If you've played the other games, you know what you're in for, and if you've never seen Ngmoco's freemium model in action, here's your chance to check it out.
MMO Family: A parent's look at Hello Kitty Online
MMO Family is your resource for leveling a gaming-specced family, from tips on balancing gaming with family life to finding age-appropriate online games for everyone in the family. Hello Kitty Online is the first of our Parents Guide selections that's aimed squarely at teens and young adults rather than the kiddie set. Say what? We were surprised, too -- but given the mind-bogglingly persistent popularity of Hello Kitty among grownups with more discerning taste (and expansive wallets), it stands to reason that developer Sanrio would want HKO to reach as broad an audience as possible. What HKO brings to the keyboard, then, is less a kiddie game than a crafting-oriented, sunshiny, Hello-Kitty-themed version of an MMO. Sure, it's 2-D. Sure, it's free-to-play. But despite the precious proliferation of pink, you'll find gameplay that's more in line with traditional, fully developed MMOs -- a purrfectly friendly MMO choice for your teen daughter.
The Tattered Notebook: Community rumblings
Ah, the Everquest II community. A fascinating melting pot of cynical veterans, middle-of-the-road types, and now (thanks to EQ2X), fresh-faced new bloods. While there is no shortage of informational destinations about the world of Norrath to be found around the web, the best is still the official boards when you're looking for up-to-the-minute anecdotes about the game (courtesy of its most passionate players). In this week's Tattered Notebook, I break down a few of the more interesting discussions from the past couple of weeks, many of them dealing with the recently released GU57, EQ2X, and of course the future of Norrath in both Live and F2P flavors. Turn the page for more.
Free for All: Turbine's pristine payment plan perfects pay-to-win
There is one recurring statement that bothers me to no end, largely because it is simply not true. Most of the time if I pursue the player who uses the term, he will admit to using it only to justify his dissatisfaction with a handful of free-to-play games. That term is "free-to-play is pay-to-win." Essentially, the term refers to gaining advantages over other players through one's pocketbook, by buying power. As someone who has played, investigated, talked about or interviewed developers of over 100 free-to-play games, I can tell you that a "pay-to-win" scenario exists in the minority of games, not in the majority as some would have you believe. Most of the comments from the "pay-to-win" playbook come in more recent times, but that could be because my column has provided a nice, fertile space for everything anti-free-to-play. But I have found the most vocal of the detractors to be referencing recent free-to-play games like Allods Online, primarily because they may have loved it so much, yet did not want to pay a single dime for it -- and because they simply had not played many free-to-play games before that. Allods Online was, essentially, their main experience with free-to-play. Meanwhile, I am often shown DDO (or now, Lord of the Rings Online) as some kind of "proper" way to do a cash shop. Ironically, Turbine is now not only the largest, but the closest to a true pay-to-win developer. Anything larger would exist outside of North America.
