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The Daily Grind: Do you still watch game trailers?
As the summer convention madness winds down, some of us in the Massively offices came to the realization that many of the upcoming, over-hyped releases aren't necessarily floating our collective boat. Though we're sure to buy all these blockbusters, play them, and love them in the end (we're gamers, after all), it's been hard to summon much enthusiasm in the pre-launch fog. Some games are making us apathetic -- in my case, so apathetic that I skipped over some of the major gameplay videos from Gamescom and PAX, even for MMOs I am planning to purchase or have already preordered. At some point, I know I've already decided to buy it. I don't need the spoilers or details anymore. How about you, Massively readers? Do you consume all the big gameplay videos and trailers like a feral fan? Or are you so over the hype that you'd rather pass up the footage and wait until you can play the real thing? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
MMObility: is mobile at risk?
It doesn't take much effort to see evolving and emerging trends in today's connected world. Memes, popular fashion, even popular methods of becoming inebriated -- basically if we humans hear, read or talk about it we will probably take it on as our own. It's just how we are, we need to fit in with each other a lot of the time in order to feel connected. I suppose it should be no surprise that we do this with our video games as well. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most of the games I find borrow very heavily from each other, sometimes to the point that I wonder if the developers didn't literally just cover their game with a new title and skin and ship it out to players. This is a time in which the same-old same-old is shrugged off because developers "didn't promise anything revolutionary." That's right, we players have gone on to provide an excuse for shoddy development, so many developers don't even have to. It happened with "social" gaming...everyone and their Aunt Tilly jumped into making a Farmville ripoff. The few fantastic titles were covered up by a sea of copycats. Now, is it going to happen in the mobile market? Can such a new market already be seeing it? Click past the cut and let's talk about it.
The Daily Grind: What's the most you'd pay for a collector's edition?
So the year's most inescapable MMORPG has officially made it to the pre-order stage. Not only that, but BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic opus has also pulled the curtain back on its collector's edition treasure hoard (which will dent your wallet for the princely sum of $150.00). While both the in-game and real world goodies are quite appealing to Star Wars fans, the price tag is one of the most expensive in the history of MMOs. Today's Daily Grind is all about your reaction to said price tag. Are you going to shell out twice what a normal CE costs for SWTOR? If not, what's the most you'd pay for a collector's edition? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Hyperspace Beacon: Expecting a living world
The other day I was talking to some friends about Star Wars: The Old Republic, of course. As of late, it seems to be the only thing I'm talking about. My friend isn't a guy who follows the game that closely, but he is an MMO player and has certain expectations for the game. Specifically, we talked about Crew Skills and space combat. He is an EVE player. EVE Online has one of the most in-depth crafting systems in any MMO to date, not to mention the game is completely set in space, right? On the other side of the fence, I was talking to some roleplayers in Star Wars Galaxies, who also don't follow the game as closely as I do. These MMOers are expecting SWTOR to be filled with the best roleplay tools available in the gaming industry. It's BioWare; after all, that team created Never Winter Nights, the most customizable RPG ever. (Of course, this doesn't take into effect that latest games to come from the developer were pretty linear and not very sandboxy.) As arm chair developers, we sometimes believe that implementing ideas in an MMO is a lot easier than reality. On the official forums last week, a player made this statement: "I, and 14 other guildmates, really want to plan on rolling on an rp-pvp server. It's such a trivial game feature to confirm for us, I don't understand why they wouldn't just mention it and be done with it." After saying that he would look into it, Community Manager Stephen Reid made the statement that "A good rule of thumb with MMO development is to never assume something is trivial." What are some other "trivial" expectations players are placing on this game? Which ones can BioWare deliver on? Which ones aren't as trivial as suggested? Why can't Star Wars: The Old Republic give us everything we want? In this week's column, let's talk about setting.
PlanetSide 2 info coming tomorrow
Look lively PlanetSide 2 fans. Your long, dark winter is almost over and spring is coming in the form of a major new announcement on July 7th. That's tomorrow if you're counting at home, and Sony Online Entertainment has even provided a helpful countdown timer on the new PlanetSide 2 website to assist in said counting. There's also a new Facebook page with a cryptic teaser for "classified information incoming," so mark your calendars and set your alarms for 7:00 p.m. PDT tomorrow. Is SOE getting ready to drop a release date in the laps of eager sci-fi MMOFPS fans? Are there gameplay feature reveals in our immediate future? We're not sure at this point, but we are sure that tomorrow can't come fast enough.
The two Apple engineers who created Hype
Jonathan Deutsch, co-founder of Tumult Inc., recently talked to The Startup Foundry about leaving a stable job at Apple to build Hype, the new HTML5 Animation Builder for Mac OS X. Despite some provocative headlines linking to the story, the reason the founders took on this challenge wasn't borne out of Apple's attitude towards Flash. Released last Friday exclusively through the Mac App Store for an introductory price of US$29.99, Hype embraces the HTML5 family of technologies -- including new HTML5 tags, CSS3, and the latest JavaScript technology -- to allow customers to create standards-based interactive websites that rival Flash. Over the weekend, Tumult's product became the top-grossing application on Apple's software marketplace, topping Pages, Aperture, iPhoto, Keynote, Numbers, and iMovie. Prior to opening shop for himself, Deutsch was the engineering manager for Mac OS X Mail's back end. He also worked on Mac OS X's software update mechanism, automation technology, and even Steve-note demonstrations. Despite a successful career at Apple, he always wanted to have his own company, saying it's "in the blood." He and his business partner Ryan Nielsen, another senior member of the Mac OS X team, both saw a new wave of "Web 3.0" technologies, more commonly referred to as "HTML5," hitting the market. "It was always in the back of my mind that for any technology shift you'd need tools to help out," Deutsch told The Startup Foundry. "I'm really a tools guy, though we tend to call them 'apps' nowadays." Deutsch said the idea for Hype came after a trip to Europe. He wanted to showcase photos from his travels on a website with animations and pizazz. Hand-coding the site he imagined in HTML5 would've been a "nightmare," and Flash wouldn't be appropriate for mobile access to the site. When he couldn't find a better way to easily build an interactive website for his photos, Deutsch recognized the opportunity to build a solution for himself and start a business around it. Walking away from an established career at Apple was bittersweet. Deutsch says he formed a deep social and professional network at the Cupertino company that was painful to say goodbye to, but if he had chosen to stay at Apple, Deutsch would've been left to wonder what if. "'Regret Minimization' is what should win out in life," he says, "so it did." [via Business Insider]
Hype 1.0 allows you to create slick, animated websites in HTML5
If you've wanted to create a simple but attractive site with some animation but didn't want to go through the hassle of using Flash (not to mention the cost), check out Hype on the Mac App Store. Hype uses a simple timeline metaphor to allow you to place images, text, shapes and more into pages and animate them. Hype uses a Scene metaphor to arrange your pages, much as you would arrange slides in Keynote. Add in your graphics, video and text, and a simple animated site can be yours in a few clicks. Hype also provides a JavaScript API so that you can plug in your animations to a larger site, one perhaps beyond the capacity of Hype to adequately manage it. This isn't an application for creating a large e-commerce site. Hype is more tuned to simple, informative sites. While you can make animated sites quickly with Hype, the real beauty is the fact that you don't need plug-ins to deploy your pages. Freed from Flash, Hype exports lightweight HTML5 that will work nicely across iOS devices and Macs without crushing your CPU or draining your battery. My MacBook Air is so relieved! Hype is available on the Mac App Store for a limited-time price of US$29.99. You can also take a look at the free beta of Sencha Animator, a similar tool that Brett checked out late last year that's aimed more at the online advertising market.
Marvel MMO announcing its writer this Thursday
Wakey wakey, Marvel MMO fans: Your favorite company has a big announcement lined up for later this week. It's so big, apparently, that today the legendary comic book publisher released an announcement about its upcoming announcement. On Thursday, April 28th, Marvel will be unveiling... drumroll please... the writer of its upcoming comic book-flavored MMORPG. Who could it possibly be? Is Marvel going to talk about the actual game at some point? Inquiring minds want to know the answers to these and other burning questions, and a blurb on the company's website promises some dialogue after the big info drop. "We'll be taking your questions via Twitter, Facebook and the liveblog below once the action has begun," says the site. There's also a brief preview video featuring Marvel.com's editorial director, which will be replaced by a live video stream of Thursday's event. Check in with Massively later this week as our own Bree Royce reports from the Marvel shindig in San Francisco.
Ask Massively: Singing the praises of things edition
Holy crap, guys, have you heard about this? The world is full of things. There are big things, small things, some things to set other things on fire -- we've got tons of things. Unfortunately, you can only access most things via various cash shops that cost real money, so that's kind of lackluster, but some things don't cost any money and they're pretty cool. Those green leafy things look fun. I wonder if I can equip one as a weapon or a trinket. Let's hear it for things! If singing the praises of things isn't the sort of thing you're looking for today, however, you're in luck -- we have a different thing ready for you, an Ask Massively thing. It's the usual discussion of MMO things, in this case what players are actually looking for out of new things and this Star Wars: The Old Republic thing. If you've got a thing to ask about other things, you can leave your question in the comments, or you can mail it along to ask@massively.com.
EA: The Old Republic not launching by July 1st
Fan site Darth Hater has a bit of cold water to throw on the fires of Star Wars: The Old Republic fans who thought the highly anticipated MMORPG might actually launch prior to July 1st. It seems as if Eric Brown, CFO of TOR publisher Electronic Arts, quashed that long shot in a speech at today's Lazard Capital Markets Technology and Media Conference. If you think that was a mouthful, Brown's quote is as well, but that isn't stopping it from making the blogsphere rounds this afternoon. "So we said it's going to launch sometime in calendar, but not within Fiscal 11. So that basically pens down between, you know, April 1st and December 31st of this calendar year. It's also reasonable to infer that it's not in our Q1 guidance. We gave Q1 Fiscal 11, Fiscal 12 non-gap revenue guidance, minus 39 minus 44 cents and I think it's not unreasonable to infer that it's not included in that 90 day period," Brown said. So, for the three of you who actually expected BioWare's Star Wars opus this summer, we're sorry. For everyone else, it's back to the guessing game regarding release dates.
GDC 2011: Bungie's MMO won't be WoW in space
The top secret MMO project from Bungie continues to raise fan and industry eyebrows despite the absence of any real information about the title. The game, rumored to carry the code name Destiny, will be massively multiplayer, and it will be set against a space/sci-fi backdrop. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess as to what will actually emerge from the Halo-maker's secret laboratory. Joystiq has unearthed a blurb about the project from this week's GDC, wherein Bungie lead network engineer David Aldridge was overheard referring to the game as "massively multiplayer" as well as the fact that it won't be "WoW in space."
The Perfect Ten: Phases of pre-launch hysteria
One of my private theories about MMO players -- one I'm now making public -- is that we all have the collective memories of goldfish. It's the only way to explain why we go through the same exact phases each and every time an MMO nears launch, all the while acting as though this has never happened before. In a way, it's kind of cute. You're cute, MMO community! Really, it's just one of those events during which everyone starts rational yet slowly but surely slides down into the multi-colored stomach of hysteria. It's why MMO communities pre-beta tend to be tight, intelligent and excited, but from beta through launch they lose their cool and become a morass of screeching monkeys, flinging poo every which way in a vain effort to be heard above the noise of the zoo. Mind you, I've been one of these monkeys, so I'm not excusing myself from this metaphor. So if you're wondering why the blissful excitement of anticipating a game has fractured under the weight of inconsolable insanity, I'm here to walk you through the 10 phases of how and why this happens for most major MMO launches.
The Daily Grind: Should devs share more info with the community?
A recent thread on The Old Republic forums brought some interesting points to light regarding MMO development teams and how they interact with frothing pre-release communities. It seems the natives are restless on account of BioWare's piecemeal reveal strategy (a strategy that, to date, has shown us a flashpoint, a raid, and little else in terms of actual gameplay). Whether you abhor hype or live for it, you have to admit that BioWare is doing a masterful job of keeping fans at arm's length while simultaneously maintaining an air of excitement and expectancy. This isn't likely to change either, as community manager Stephen Reid chimed in on the thread with a polite version of STFU. Reid made no bones about the fact that BioWare will continue to parcel out info only "when it's ready," despite the mounting exasperation of some long-time followers. For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know where you stand on the issue. Are you OK with BioWare's "release it when it's ready" mantra, or do you feel the company is doing its fans and potential customers a disservice by withholding information? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Do you think developers promise too much?
It's like the circle of life. A developer with an upcoming game makes some comments about how the new game will be so much better than any contemporaries, usually specifically mentioning World of Warcraft. And it will be better because of new styles of quests that are better than what World of Warcraft does, or more character customization, or better story, or playable chupacabras. Then the game is finally released, and more often than not, while the new features are in there, the "revolutionary" aspects turn out to be lackluster at best and functionally identical to the old way of doing things at worst. Certainly, no one realistically expects a developer to repeatedly state that the upcoming game is boring and not worth playing, but promises of killing the "kill ten rats" style of questing turn out to be rather ill-advised if you just wind up killing nine cats instead. Do you think that developers should have a bit more humility and moderation when talking about upcoming features? Or are you happy with more enthusiastic pre-release talk, even if the revolution may not happen quite on the advertised schedule? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Soapbox: Episode II - A New Hype
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect that of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Well golly, I think it's time for a bit of contrarian opinion regarding The Old Republic. I know, I know, I don't write about TOR aside from the occasional news post, but here is one of the many joys of Massively (and more specifically, the Soapbox). We all play a lot of games and have pretty strong opinions about them regardless of whether or not they're our bread and butter. So, while my day job consists of covering sword and sorcery titles for our fine website, it's hard to get away from the oncoming repulsorlift hype train that is The Old Republic. Several months back, I wrote a Daily Grind in which I basically said that all the hoopla surrounding the game was getting tiresome. Predictably, crucifixion by comments ensued, all for daring to question the supremacy of both BioWare and Star Wars. The fact that a minority opinion generated so much rancor (yeah, I went there) got me to thinking about TOR, BioWare, and the unrestrained optimism that often characterizes MMO fandom in general. On a purely personal level, my fire has gone out of the Star Wars universe, the fandom is all but extinct, a couple of posters and a model X-Wing are all that's left of my former religion. Can BioWare rekindle that fire? Do I even want it to? Make point five past the lightspeed jump for more.
Flameseeker Chronicles: A year of hype
This was one of the quietest weeks on the Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 front that I can remember in a long time. Even during convention weeks, the folks at ArenaNet have kept busy churning out new information. It might be something big like a class reveal, or it might be something tiny like a hint at a new hero, but there's always something. The team seems to have taken a well-deserved breather this week, which might mean nothing or might mean that the devs are about to spring something big on us. Either way, I thought it would be a good time to look back over the past months. It's been just over a year since ArenaNet pushed the start button on the hype machine, so follow along after the jump to see how far the team -- and we as fans -- has come in a year!
Waging WAR: Gamescom and Mythic's anti-hype
In light of Gamescom coming next week (August 18th - 22nd), this week WagingWAR looks forward to what could be coming for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. But beware: Since Mythic has been so secretive about the future of WAR, we've been forced to compromise and offer mere conjecture. Unchained by reason or fact, we follow in the wake of that terrible beast known only as "Greg's Imagination." With less than a week left until Gamescom, I find myself more and more excited by the potential of what Mythic could be set to reveal, regardless of the fact that it's given me nothing to chew on. I am hyped by the anti-hype. What follows is the result of that hype. There are no facts, rumours, hints, or tips to back up what amounts to totally unbarred speculation. I have organized the aftermath of my brainstorm in terms of what would excite me, from most to least, followed by why I believe these additions could make sense, and how they might be implemented. Keep in mind that some of what follows could simply be passed off as madness; it might be totally unfeasible, even by the most adept and well-financed of development teams. I'm fully aware of that. The point here was to just "let it go." And I did. Crazy, or uncanny -- you decide. Follow along after the break.
The Daily Grind: Before they were famous
The path to launch for a major MMO is a heady time, filled with ideas and promises that may or may not be included with the final release. It's understandable -- BioWare wants people excited about Star Wars: The Old Republic, for example, and so the team wants to drum up enthusiasm for the best and brightest portions. But when release day comes, the countless ideas about what might be in a game collapse into a single view of what's actually included. If you read news sites (such as Massively, for instance) on a regular basis, you usually get plenty of information on your game of choice. The question is, how does that match up with release? What did you think about your current game of choice prior to playing? Did you feel like you knew what was going on from all the pre-release information, or were you somewhat disappointed by the end results? Or did you think you'd never want to play the game based on previews, and then find yourself enjoying it once it was released?
The Daily Grind: Expectations vs. surprises
Part of being an MMORPG fan is a fascination with any and all interesting-looking upcoming titles. Even if we're satisfied and comfortable in our current game of choice, it doesn't stop us from checking out the latest models (the '10 Fantasy Coupe has new trim!). And with games coming down the pike, I have to ask you: would you rather have a much-anticipated MMO live up to expectations and hype, or would you rather be bowled over by a game that comes out of nowhere to rock hard? On one hand, to have a game live up to expectations is almost a foolish wish in this genre; we are let down too often to really expect that everything will be as glorious and perfect as the press releases -- and our imaginations -- make it out to be. If an MMO managed to hit most or all of those expectations, and perhaps even exceed them, it would be a glorious day indeed. On the other hand, it's fun being surprised. There are so many MMOs in development that it's fiendishly difficult to track them all, and odds are that a gem will slip past your radar sooner or later, hit release, and make you cry out, "Where have you BEEN all my life?" So which is it: Would you rather have an upcoming MMO live up to expectations, or be completely surprised by a terrific hit that blind sides you?
New Fallout Online artwork sighted
It seems like the Fallout Online hype-machine is slowly grinding into gear, what with the recent FAQ update and now word of some cryptic new artwork being sent to mailing list subscribers late last week. Destructoid has the scoop on the email blast, which kicked off with a brief textual teaser before leading into the imagery. "There are many stories and many more tall tales about life in the wastelands, this is one of them," read the notice. In addition to artwork like the vista shown above, subscribers were sent images of a letter scrawled by a character named Les, who waxes on about the Menkey Butte Mine and a "Ragskin" named Fast Eddie. Yeah, we can't make sense of it either, but it's a great way for Interplay to pique our collective interest.
