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Marvel Universe Online will be free-to-play, penned by Bendis
Move over, Batman: After a few false starts, Marvel's finally poised to become the next big MMO superhero thing. Thursday evening, I attended Gazillion Entertainment and Marvel's live San Francisco reveal of Marvel Universe Online's head writer, the jovial Brian Michael Bendis. Joining Brian for a lively Q&A panel were Gazillion President and COO David Brevik, VP and Studio Head for Secret Identity (fka Gargantuan) Jeff Lind, and VP of Games at Marvel TQ Jefferson. Brian's involvement in the game's story wasn't the only announcement the panelists had in store for attendees -- they almost casually confessed that players will slip into the spandex of iconic Marvel characters and that the game will be free-to-play, making it perhaps the first Western triple-A title to be designed for such a model from the ground up. Because I knew you'd be disappointed if I didn't, I dutifully asked an amused Jeff Lind about PvP, housing, crafting, voice acting, character customization, travel powers, advancement, and all those other goodies, but as you can probably guess, the devs aren't in a position to talk about sweeping systems just yet -- they want to "retain the ability to change [their] minds." So manage thy expectations accordingly! Fortunately, both Jeff and Brian were willing to chat about story, tie-ins, and MUO's niche in an increasingly crowded superhero MMO field, so hit the break for their thoughts and my round-up of the hot topics from the panel.
Super Hero Squad Online: No more "nameless sidekicks"
These days, it takes a lot to impress me. Oh sure, I love MMOs. But sometimes I feel I'm in a rut, waiting for something new and different. Something that doesn't just have a "new" sticker, but actually has some new hook that will keep me happily playing -- not grinding -- more than a month. Something that will make me feel good about being a gamer again. Something cute and friendly that actually relieves stress rather than creating more. That's why I was so surprised by Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, the official premiere of which I was lucky enough to attend yesterday in downtown San Francisco. (The folks at Gazillion Entertainment and The Amazing Society put on a great show!) I certainly didn't walk into the event expecting SHSO to pique more than my passing fancy. Comic book-themed games are definitely something I love, and Marvel couldn't be hotter right now, but let's be honest -- SHSO's press release and early screenshots suggest an overtly family-friendly, even kid-oriented, cartoony romp. I figured the game would be Free Realms in capes, and that Massively's readers would probably be more interested in the other Marvel MMO (simultaneously in development by Gazillion with Gargantuan Studios). Well, I'm pleased to report that my preconceptions about Super Hero Squad Online were mostly wrong, and now I've got a new upcoming game to add to my "gotta buy" list. Join me on the flipside of the break and find out why SHSO seems poised to *POW* *ZAP* *BLAMMO* the casual MMO sweet spot!%Gallery-93313%
Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock leaving Fallen Earth
Fans of Fallen Earth found a startling announcement on the game's site this afternoon, revealing the news that Lead Game Designer Lee Hammock will be leaving the Fallen Earth team: "Though we will miss Lee, this is an exciting opportunity for him to work on a new property that is near and dear to his heart and we are thrilled and blessed to have worked with him over the past four years in shaping the story of Fallen Earth." The (ex) Beard Man is leaving Icarus to join Gargantuan Studios as their Story Designer, and don't be surprised if the Gargantuan name sounds a bit familiar. They're the ones behind the upcoming Marvel Universe Online MMO, scheduled for release in 2012. (Editor's Note: Gazillion Entertainment's community director, Stephen Reid, would like us to clarify that the Marvel Universe MMO currently has no set release date at this time.) The Fallen Earth team will continue their push toward Sector Four in Lee's absence, and we join everyone at Icarus in wishing him the best in his new venture. You can read the full announcement on the official site.
Former Blizzard dev starts Atomic Operations game studio
Industry veteran Chris Millar has been around -- he's been with Blizzard since the WarCraft II days, and has worked on everything from Black and White 2 to Fat Princess – but now he's off to head up his own company called Atomic Operations. In this quick Q&A with Gamasutra, he says that the company will be a grab-bag of methods and products, all using "an evolved production method similar to that of movies." They've already got a project out the door, too: Atomic is the company that's supporting Fat Princess, with the bugfixes released the other day and presumably more to come. Millar and Atomic Operations join the multitude of other Blizzard veterans off working on their own companies. Let's see, there's Keith Lee and his crew at Booyah, the ex-Blizzard folks at Red 5 Studios, the unfortunate souls at Castaway Entertainment and Flagship Studios (now Gravity Bear and Gargantuan Studios), new WoW TCG licensees Cryptozoic, and a few other little developers and divisions headed up by ex-Blizzard devs. Whew, that's a whole lot of babies -- Blizzard is like the Zeus of gaming studios lately. What are they serving in the cafeteria over there, startup cola?
Marvel Universe MMO will release in 2012
If you've been concerned about the potential supersaturation of superhero titles in the MMO space, it looks like you've got just a wee bit less to worry about. According to a recent interview with MTV's comic site, Splashpage, Simon Phillips, Marvel's president of worldwide consumer products, said that the Marvel Universe MMO won't release until 2012. The idea is to time the release of the MMO to better align with the one-two punch of the Captain America movie in 2011 and the Avengers movie in 2012. So, we're looking at approximately three more years before we can put our hands on the finished Marvel MMO, and geek out by swinging along with Spidey.Stepping back, it's also an interesting move strictly from a tactical standpoint. City of Heroes will be 8 years old, Champions Online will be 3 years old, and even DC Universe Online will be at least a year or so old, depending on the final release date. Computer hardware will most likely have moved ahead by then. So is it crazy to push it out so far into the future? Or crazy like a fox? Only time will tell in this superheroic battle of titles.
Gazillion VP shares plans for Marvel Universe, Lego Universe, and beyond
If you've been reading Massively over the past few weeks, it's likely you've heard us mention Gazillion Entertainment. They're a company that seemingly came out of nowhere and revealed that they've acquired NetDevil (thus Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe) and have two MMOs based on Marvel Comics IPs in development; Super Hero Squad is geared towards kids while Marvel Universe is aimed squarely at older comic fans. Our parent site Joystiq managed to get some face time at GDC 2009 with Gazillion's VP of Marketing Paul Baldwin who explained a bit about the company and their plans for the MMO industry.
Marvel signs 10-year contract, sees an MMO in its future
After the deal with Cryptic and Microsoft fell through, we weren't too terribly sure we'd ever hear another peep out of Marvel insofar as getting a game into the MMO space. However, it would seem that they've given it some thought - or more likely, thought about all the money that's here to be made - and decided to proceed on getting their own MMO into the market anyway. According to a story from the Wall Street Journal, Marvel has signed a 10-year deal with Gazillion Entertainment (previously NR2B Research, per VentureBeat) that will encompass not only a Marvel Universe online game that will tie into a Cartoon Network series, but also a renewal of the Marvel Universe MMO project for PC and consoles with Gazillion's subsidiary, Gargantuan Studios. Considering that Champions Online is in closed beta already, DC Universe Online is showing some pretty solid previews, and City of Heroes is still chugging along with a devoted player-base, it's going to be an uphill battle from the word go for this Marvel MMO. Sure, there will be comics loyalists who prefer the Marvel universe to the DC universe, but with four superhero MMOs to choose from? Everyone involved should remember that in MMOs, no amount of retconning will help a game that doesn't bring its best from the start. [Via Joystiq]
