lego-universe
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First Lego Universe shots revealed, no assembly required
Things have been fairly quiet on the Lego Universe front since the game was first announced over two years ago. Developer NetDevil finally broke radio silence today, releasing a handful of screenshots which depict, in no particular order, the game's login screen, a character creation menu and a spiky-haired block-man running away from ninjas and pirates. Mind you, those two groups are pictured in completely separate images -- history has taught us that they wouldn't be caught dead intermingling. Our innate fondness for meticulous bricklaying and level grinding has set our anticipation for this title ablaze -- unfortunately, with a nebulous "2010" release window, we've got no clue as to when said flame will be doused by the cool waters of satisfaction. %Gallery-70591% [Via Big Download]
LEGO Universe screenshots reveal a first look at LEGO MMO
As all gamers know, LEGO is big business having created successful games out of franchises like Batman, Star Wars and, of course, Indiana Jones. Well now it's venturing into MMO territory (yes we're also trying to get our heads around it too) with NetDevil's LEGO Universe. The company has just revealed a few screenshots showing character customisation and three of the sets (focusing on pirates, space and ninjas) but for fans of the console games this may very well be the MMO for you. LEGO Universe is scheduled to be released on PC in 2010 and does seem to capture everything we loved about the bricks in a game, whether it pays off as an MMO remains to be seen. To judge for yourself, check out all the images here.[Via Shacknews]
Gazillion Entertainment Names Stuart Moulder as VP
Gazillion Entertainment have announced that their expansion into the MMO market continues with hiring Stuart Moulder as their new Vice President of Studios, with responsibility for game development across all of their studios. Gazillion recently announced that they had purchased Netdevil, who are developing Jumpgate Evolution and LEGO Universe. They also announced that they are developing two games based on the Marvel superhero licence.Moulder has most recently worked as Senior Vice President at Screenlife where he was responsible for bringing the Scene It? license to games as helping with the sale of the company to Paramount Digital. He also spent eight years at Microsoft where he was responsible for acquiring and managing companies such as Halo developer Bungie, Age of Empires and Halo Wars developer Ensemble Studios and veteran developers FASA of Mechwarrior and Shadowrun fame, although since he has left Microsoft we have seen Ensemble Studios and FASA shut down and Bungie has become independent.
The Daily Grind: Childhood memory MMOs
The sheer amount of "oh how COOL" and squeeing when we first heard about the LEGO MMO was pretty heavy around the virtual Massively offices. While it wasn't entirely universal, many of us fondly remember playing with Legos for hours in our youth. (Hell, some of us haven't stopped playing with them.) Then we heard that the people behind Pokemon won't consider doing an MMO, which made some of us sad - that was from our youth too. Since then we've dreamed up all manner of childhood MMOs behind the scenes; from ones based on Voltron and Gundam, to trying to recreate worlds from young-adult reading like Harry Potter. This morning we thought we'd toss this question out to you - what childhood memory would you like to see developed into an MMO? From young to old, there must have been something you thought was a fantastic toy to play with, or world to imagine - can you see it developed into an MMO? What childhood memory MMO would you make if you could?
LEGO Universe character creation a soulful experience
If there's one thing that LEGO Universe has going for it over any other MMO on the market or coming anytime soon, it's creativity. When your game is based on a franchise that's seen countless boys, girls and men and women alike sitting on the floor snapping together little plastic bricks to make well, anything, you've got a powerful place to design a game on.And as you would expect, Wired's latest preview of the game shows of plenty of soul and creativity. Our favorite quote from the whole preview is easily this, "Mini-figs are endowed with a creative spark, a "soul" that will never die. They're also fairly exuberant: They'll start mashing the 'randomize' button on their own if you take too long to begin the customization process." We certainly hope that feature stays with the game until release, and that many more like it are scattered throughout the game.All that being said, LEGO Universe is still going to have all the MMO trappings such as story, conflict and combat. And that's just fine with us considering it'll let millions of people across the globe live our their LEGO ninjas versus pirates versus robots fantasies.%Gallery-49493%
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.
GDC09: Joystiq interviews Gazillion VP about Marvel MMOs, Lego Universe and where the publisher came from
Gazillion. Up until a couple weeks ago, the word was representative of numerical hyperbole, and now it represents a publisher with massive venture capital backing and the MMO rights to major IPs like Marvel and Lego. We had a chance to interview the company's VP of Marketing Paul Baldwin -- with a fire drill intermission -- during GamesBeat 2009 last week. We asked him pretty much anything we could think of ... you know, considering we knew almost nothing about this new publisher.Joystiq: We're here with Paul Baldwin, who is the vice president of marketing at the "newly founded" Gazillion Entertainment? What's the deal there?Baldwin: Newly announced. The company was in stealth mode since 2005, so we've been around for a while, but we are "newly announced."You guys just appeared on the scene and got the Marvel license. I can tell you, we spent hours the day we first heard of the company, just calling up several journos and PR asking, "Who are these guys?" So, who are you guys?Good question, I have to first say that I was amazed myself that we were able to keep the company quiet since 2005, additionally when we acquired NetDevil in July of '08 and obviously we were very excited to get Jumpgate and of course Lego Universe, then we also acquired a company in Seattle, and we've been slowly building up the Marvel Universe studio, Gargantuan, in San Mateo, and throughout this period we were able to keep it quiet, which, once again, really surprised all of us. As I mentioned, the company started in 2005. At that point, we had kind of modest goals, frankly. We had an original IP, which is going to be a big client, high production quality -- World of Warcraft-like production quality -- coming out. That was the first product we had actually on tap.
NetDevil acquired by Gazillion Entertainment... last July
We've got good news that also happens to be a bit strange. Remember that new publisher that's now bringing us the Marvel MMO? Well, it turns out that NetDevil was actually acquired in July 2008 by the newly revealed Gazillion Entertainment. NetDevil's Scott "Scorch" Brown says in his post on the official Jumpgate Evolution forums that the choice was made due to Gazillion's shared view on game development. Specifically, the two companies value lots of focus testing, vertical slice development, iterating until things are great and only releasing games when they are ready.The strange part is of course the announcement of an acquisition that occured over half a year ago. We're assuming the delay was due to Gazillion wanting to make a big announcement splash, but it's dark business magic like this that make us scratch our heads sometimes.Is this news and that of Codemaster's chief operating officer unexpectedly departing from the company connected? It's hard to say, but at this point it's anybody's guess as to what's really going on.
LEGO Universe eventually hitting consoles
Just yesterday, MTV Multiplayer's Tracey John spoke with LEGO Universe's project lead Mark Hansen about several topics. His most curious response was to the inquiring of a possible console version of the up-and-coming click 'em together MMO, wherein he basically said yes -- albeit with a caveat. That little "but" is that a console version would exist sometime in the game's future and probably not at the launch date. And considering that launch day just got a little further away, we could be waiting a while.And while putting something like LEGO Universe on a console sounds like the perfect idea, it seems like we'll just have to build our giant space pirate ships complete with castle tower and damsel in distress on our PCs first, and our Xbox's and PlayStation's second.
LEGO Universe not clicking together in 2009
We've got bad news for all the LEGO maniacs out there, who've been looking forward to LEGO Universe in 2009. They're going to have to wait a bit longer for NetDevil's take on massively multiplayer LEGO play, according to Kotaku's Brian Crecente, who reports that LEGO Universe may not even see a 2010 release date. Despite the economic troubles many MMO developers are coping with these days, this news about LEGO Universe is not necessarily a bad thing. Kotaku spoke with the director of business development for the LEGO group, Mark Hansen, who said, "Within the company we have made a strategic decision within LEGO to make a delay of LEGO Universe. It will not be coming out in 2009. The reason is, we have a luxury right now, the business is going good. We have products that are not digital, the physical products, with them going so well we don't want to take focus away from them."
The Digital Continuum: Looking back while moving foward
This last year has seen a lot of things happen in our beloved MMO-world. Things like the launch of Pirates of the Burning Sea and Age of Conan delays seem long lost in the fog of summer and winter. It was all buried underneath the revelations of DC Universe Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic. And the noise created by the build up to Warhammer Online's launch seemed squelched by the silent wall that was the Wrath of the Lich King launch. It was all a gust of insanity that blew through our brains, creating ebbs and tides in our attention and interest faster than any of us probably thought possible. And just when we all thought it was over, Atari bought Cryptic.But it seems safe to leave our homes and wonder about the great precipice of 2009. At least until the next massive storm rolls in and knocks an oak tree into our recently mended skulls.
NetDevil talks past, present and future of MMOs
Now that Tabula Rasa will be closing in two months, many of us are remembering a similar situation in 2007 with NCsoft's Auto Assault. The game's development team at NetDevil was fairly outspoken at the time about what they felt was a savable game, yet NCsoft saw it as a business decision. One of the most vocal NetDevil employees who tried to save the game was Scott Brown. Ten Ton Hammer caught up with Brown in a recent interview where he gave his current views on Auto Assault's closing, what the company is working on now and a hint at what's in their future."I would never turn off a game." Brown says in the interview. "I would do what I would need to do to make the game support itself, but why turn it off? Especially when there are people that love your game?" With knowing what they know now, Brown discusses how the studio has changed their development process. Their current projects, including the LEGO Universe MMO, Jumpgate and an unannounced web-based game coming soon, are enough to keep this company from focusing too much on their past mistakes and just blasting forward into the future.This interview is part one of two, so look for more from Scott Brown in the second half coming next week.
The week in Massively features
DC Universe Online goes beyond questingTo that end, the designers are seeking to push content on players, rather than make players seek them out with their precious game time. Calling them 'encounters' rather than quests, these experiences are totally changeable based on developer intentions, and local conditions. DCUO offers traditional questing as well, with well-known quest givers and amazing quest content ... but they're definitely seeking something new in encounters. Massively's WAR Camp: Capturing and defending keepsFrom Tier 2 onwards, players of Warhammer Online have the option of mustering an army to go forth into the RvR lakes and capture keeps. There are numerous benefits to capturing a keep -- renown bonuses and set-piece loot await a victorious party, as well as a chance to claim the keep in their guild's name, and push the zone control meter forward for their realm. DC Universe Online concept art sneak peekBatman. Superman. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter. Black Canary, Oracle, The Question. The world of DC Comics is populated with amazing characters and fantastic stories. The entire four-color experience is coming to fans of the MMO genre in the form of DC Universe Online, a title in Sony Online Entertainment's stable of next-gen MMOs. Lego Universe could eventually include Star Wars, Indiana JonesWe recently had the chance to speak with Ryan Seabury, Producer for Netdevil's in-development Lego Universe. Along with Project Lead Mark Hansen, Seabury gave us an insider's look at the exciting create/play/explore world of Legos online. The two men were extremely confident in their vision for the project, and we couldn't help but be impressed by their passion for bringing this millions-of-kids strong product to the world of MMO gaming.
Lego Universe could add Indiana Jones, Star Wars content
We haven't spent much time talking Lego Universe (if we're going to waste our lives in a pretend land, we at least want to be able to sport crude geometric breasts, thankyouverymuch) but a recent nugget from a Massively interview with project lead Mark Hansen has our interest piqued:"Massively: Are you interested in bringing some of the more story rich play themes into Lego Universe? Star Wars, Indiana Jones?Hansen: I think that IPs would be great to see in the game. It's not for the first launch.Mass.:It's not something you're discounting, or isn't possible, though.Hansen: No, not at all. I think you will ... yeah. (laughs)"So, with Star Wars a possibility, could The Boss be far behind?
Massively week in Review
Joystiq's sister site Massively.com has all the news you'll need about MMOs. Here's the best, brightest, and most interesting stuff from the last week, all in one convenient place for your MMO minute. The Digital Continuum: Rock Band, the MMOI've actually entertained the idea for a long time now, only to shove it aside as a crazy notion. But the thing kept popping back into the forefront of my mind so often that I couldn't discount it as happenstance. I've become enamored with the idea, because let's face it; a Rock Band MMO has the potential to ooze- no, to gush pure liquid awesome. Massively's exclusive Mines of Moria dev tourEarlier last month, Massively was invited to get a hands-on look at Mines of Moria, the first-ever expansion for Lord of the Rings Online with Turbine's Adam Mersky and Moria Producer Mike Jablonn. During this special dev tour, we were treated to many of the features of the new environments, new creatures, certain landmarks and the Legendary Item system. Is LotRO coming to the console?According to a job posting on Turbine's website, they're looking to hire a Senior User Interface Engineer who "may be refactoring existing user interfaces or implementing completely new user interfaces for systems such as combat, skills, inventory, treasure, and social systems." Does this mean LotRO?
Lego IPs interview pt. 2
Mark: How many play themes there have been? There's been over a couple of thousand. But they're all very different, right, because there are some that are underwater, there are some that are in space. We have a couple of 'evergreen' sets that have been with us forever. Lego City was one of those themes, Racers, the car set, that's been with us forever, Castle has always been very popular. You're going to see them and those different universes come alive. That's why we work so closely with NetDevil. We want to get that Lego passion and Lego understanding of our products across. If it was as easy as saying, "Here's Lego Castle, let's make it into an MMO", we wouldn't need to do that. It's not that easy. It's how we tie every set together. It's for every kid out there that loves Lego. It's a community of 3 million people, that we have. Each have different interests, you can see if you go online. There are Trains, there have City, they have Space, everything. They're trying to fit a little bit of each in to start with. What we're trying to do with the game is put enough content out there, to see that this is a creative game. You can create what you want, so how far are you going to take it?
Lego Universe could eventually include Star Wars, Indiana Jones
We recently had the chance to speak with Ryan Seabury, Producer for Netdevil's in-development Lego Universe. Along with Project Lead Mark Hansen, Seabury gave us an insider's look at the exciting create/play/explore world of Legos online. The two men were extremely confident in their vision for the project, and we couldn't help but be impressed by their passion for bringing this millions-of-kids strong product to the world of MMO gaming.Join us as we talk to Seabury and Hansen about the background behind the project, and what kind of worlds we'll be seeing. From Castle to Racers and everything in between, it sounds like whatever kind of kid you are at heart there'll be something there to enjoy. And, of course, the exciting news is that it's definitely possible we'll one day see Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and the other licensed Lego products inside of Lego Universe. Read on, and be sure to come back for our next interview clip about gameplay!
The how and why of LEGO Universe's early focus testing
Gamasutra has an interesting article up concerning the reasons and implementations of early focus testing; two and a half years early in the case of NetDevil's LEGO MMO. They speak at length with LEGO Universe lead producer Ryan Seabury about why NetDevil has been taking the early approach to testing and how they do it in a way that actually helps the game. The biggest piece of the puzzle seems to be that LEGO itself has been treating the upcoming game like any of its other projects by offering its own consumer testing group to support LEGO Universe's development. Although there's a lot more to getting helpful results out of the process.It sounds like NetDevil has learned a hard lesson from their time spent on creating Auto Assault, which didn't receive any focus testing until the end of its development cycle. This isn't an entirely new tune from the MMO developer out in Denver. They've been taking a similar approach with the sci-fi space shooter MMO, Jumpgate Evolution. Things are looking pretty positive for both games if our impressions from time spent playing and seeing Jumpgate Evolution at PAX 08 is any indication. Hopefully we'll soon begin to hear some information on the actual game part of LEGO Universe and not just the development of the game.
LEGO and NetDevil talk LEGO Universe Online
While the real nitty gritty news on LEGO Universe Online is still a well-kept secret, MMORPG.com's Jon Wood recently had the opportunity to sit down with NetDevil's Ryan Seabury and LEGO's Mark Hanson on the development and collaboration of the project. This article doesn't dig too deeply into the upcoming game itself, but rather focuses on how the two companies have worked so closely together to create a LEGO experience that is true to what LEGO fans would expect. While many development studios have close ties to their licensed IPs, the relationship between NetDevil and LEGO runs a bit deeper. For example, there are seven full-time LEGO employees currently assigned to the NetDevil offices to collaborate on the game. Not only that, but once a year, the NetDevil team flies several LEGO fans to their Denver studio for general input and consultation. At this program's inception last year, 47 people made the trip, while this year, the number has grown to 68. As the game creeps closer to a launch date, that number should continue to increase, and we'll be here awaiting the results!
Behind the scenes video peeks at Lego Universe
Here's something interesting. It's a LEGO Universe behind the scenes look video (mouthful!) in which we get to see some sneak peek stuff concerning the upcoming title that lets players build their own world, which is likely full of genitals. Oh, we also get to gawk at a really cool building full of more LEGO than half of America sees in a few years. We really aren't sure how anyone at NetDevil or LEGO gets anything done with all those blocks just begging to be put together. We'd be halfway done creating our LEGO-dition of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite after our first day or two.It didn't help our jaw-to-floor ratio when the video also informed that within LEGO Universe, we can expect to experience pirates, ninjas and robots in LEGO form. It's a nerd trifecta +1! We're not sure whether we want this MMO to succeed or fail. Success means the loss of our entire lives for an undisclosed amount of time and failure -- something we never really wish upon a developer -- means keeping our families, friends and jobs. You can check out the video for yourself below below the cut.
