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MMObility: Google's Nexus tablet and Dark Legends' update
Some weeks, mobile news just comes right up to my doorstep and invites itself in. This was one of those weeks. The mobile MMO market is still only a fraction the size of the standard one, but thanks in large part to browser-based games and smart studios like Spacetime Studios and Gameloft, we mobile fans still have a lot to choose from. In my opinion, mobile MMO gaming will slowly rise to the popularity of the standard mobile game market, especially given new tech like the new Google Nexus 7 tablet that we're going to talk about today. Still, mobile MMO fans have got to be diligent and need to know what to look for. They also need to be a bit flexible in their game choices, sometimes playing around with different styles of MMO like MUDs, browser-based strategy games, and games that are a bit more primitive in the graphics department. Luckily, Spacetime's Dark Legends just released a pretty game-changing patch, so I'll give you the skinny on that as well.
E3 2012: Dragon Eternity's cross-platform warfare and weddings
Harken back, o reader, to ye olden days of E3 2012, if thou canst recall, as a great and powerful force of dragons has arrived among us. OK, so E3 wasn't that long ago (although it often feels like it), but something dragon-like has certainly surfaced: During the expo, I saw an impressive demo of Dragon Eternity, a cross-platform fantasy MMO from Game Insight, and as of this morning, the embargo on all the details of that demo has finally lifted. Hit the break and I'll tell you all about it!
MMObility: What Microsoft Surface means for mobile gaming
This week, Microsoft announced Windows Surface, a new tablet that comes in two basic flavors. Immediately the social mediasphere lit up with speculation, but specifications were limited. We know that there will be a lighter, more affordable version that will run Windows RT with an Tegra-based Arm chip, and a chunkier, more expensive one that will run on a Intel Core i5 (Ivy Bridge) processor and sport a nicer screen. It seems that the Core i5 will come with at least a few gigs of RAM, but here's my question: Don't we need to be moving in the direction that we talk about experience more than hardware specs? I imagine that someday the specs of the machine will be largely unknown... ask an iPad user what's in his. It makes sense if you think about it. This basic, $500 laptop that I am writing on right now has enough power to do certain things, but it runs those same common apps like Twitter or email services as fast as any other gaming PC in my house. When it comes to basic internet usage, does it matter that one device runs an app quickly while the other runs it seemingly at the same speed? Fast is fast. Still, I wonder how the new Surface devices will fit into the tablet gaming sphere.
MMObility: Parallel Zombies, Glitch's new butlers, and a new space MMO
It's been a great week for mobile MMOs. That's a wonderful thing to type up, especially considering how few mobile MMOs are released when compared to standard browser- or client-based games. This week, I found myself logging in quite a bit of time with a few titles, but I still want a lot more time to explore some of these games. One you can't play yet, another you have played probably quite a bit already, and the last one promises to suck up a lot of your time in between meetings. It's neat to see another iOS MMO. iOS doesn't seem to get as many MMOs popping up in its market as with Android, but things are slowly evening out. The imbalance right now might be due to the fact that Android phones feature larger screens and sometimes more power than the latest iOS phones, something that is simply appealing to gamers. I wonder whether we'll see a larger iPhone screen anytime soon? Probably so -- and that would mean more MMOs!
MMObility: RuneScape dev details new combat, hotbars, and critical hits
RuneScape's combat is pretty unique. If I were to introduce the game to someone who has played mostly client-based, mainstream MMOs, he would probably be a bit confused as to how combat worked in RuneScape. The truth is that there is a lot of depth to the combat system as it is now, but it is often hidden behind layered UI screens. A player needs to know where to go to find the best abilities. Don't get me wrong; this system is great for grinding out experience by killing monster after monster, but in higher-level combat or PvP, a player's "skill" is determined by how much she knows about the UI, rather than how much she knows about her enemy's weaknesses or which skills to use. This is all about to change, thanks to what is being called one of the largest updates in the entire decade-plus history of the browser-based giant. I sat down with an interview with Mark Ogilvie, lead designer from Jagex, to find out just how large the update will be and how it might affect players.
MMObility: MUDing on the go and a new Android castle-builder
In this week's column, I wanted to give you a few mobile options to fill your time. The mobile market is anything but devoid of content or new games to explore. In fact, the problem is often finding games or apps of quality, something worth passing along in one of my columns. Often I search out different games or apps and vet them a bit, and sometimes I just grab the first thing that I find. This week I have two great apps for those who play MUDs, and one game that, honestly, I have seen many times before and often in ways that were better designed. But I'll still give them all some time on my Android phone to see just how they pan out in the long run. My patience might grow a bit thin, though. That's another benefit of the mobile market: if you're not satisfied with a new game or app you find, there are literally thousands more to choose from. It's a cut-throat world of competition.
Order & Chaos celebrates its first anniversary
Gameloft's hit mobile MMO, Order & Chaos: Online, has reached its one-year anniversary, and the studio is breaking out the goods to celebrate. To spread the joy, Gameloft is giving three months of game time, 25 runes, and a free gift box to all players. There's plenty to do inside the game as well, as the anniversary update adds quests, pets, fireworks, mini-games, and a lottery to enjoy. Order & Chaos recently received an upgrade that allows it to be played over 3G as well as wifi and upgraded its graphics for the retina display on the most recent iPad. The team also put together an infographic to show off the game's impressive numbers. According to the chart, over three million characters have been created, 831 million creatures have been slain, 35,500 guilds have been created, and 14 million messages have been sent.
MMObility: Command and Conquer's new twist on the MMORTS
I've had my fill of MMORTS games. I love them, and I mean love them, but after being asked to look at the 567,386th title from the genre, I am getting a wicked case of tunnel vision. Sometimes I wish I could hit a switch and see these games with the eyes of a brand-new player, to truly judge their quality without any preconceptions. That's not possible, unfortunately. Luckily, once in a while there comes along a title that feels fresh or does enough with design to seem new and clever. Command and Conquer Tiberium Alliances stands out from the crowd with its interesting combat and a casual approach to hardcore gaming. I have to admit that, at first, I was a bit bummed at having to take a look at yet another epic strategy game that would probably not feel that epic, but my mind was changed after a solid week of playing.
Order and Chaos Online developer discusses server-linking and more
In honor of the game's paper anniversary, Order & Chaos: Online producer Arnaud Bonnard took the time to do some Q&A with user-submitted questions about what is one of the biggest mobile MMOs available. Arnaud shared some of the toughest parts of development, which were the pressure of creating a world vast enough to entertain players for months (and now years) and ensuring that everything was as stable and functional as possible from a technical point. He followed up by reliving the joy of a successful launch and the success that the game met with over time. He talked a bit about updates and DLC, which come out every one or two months and are generally still drawn from the original design document for Order & Chaos: Online, given that the world design was much bigger than could possibly fit into the game originally. Bonnard also addressed the server separation between Android, iOS, and Mac devices: Not only would it be time-consuming to link all the operating systems, but such a system would mean that patches could only be deployed once every device was supported, which would be tricky and cause too many extra delays. As far as Order and Chaos' future is concerned, he's optimistic. There are new graphic features coming down the pipe as well as "lots of ideas for the game" as the company looks forward to another fantastic year thanks to fan support. Catch all the intricacies of Bonnard's answers for yourself over at Gameloft.
MMObility: An exclusive look at the Runespan in RuneScape
Jagex, developer of the ever-popular browser-based game RuneScape, is known for its rapid development schedule. Heck, I fully expect that this article will be outdated by the time I finish its rough draft. Players of the Jagex flagship MMO can log in to find new items, places to explore, and quests to do almost weekly. I tend to poke my nose into the game several times a week, so I know that a more casual player has endless amounts of content to run through. I might level up my construction skill and then switch to something completely different. I just recently spent an afternoon playing with just the new bonfire skill. Of course, those pesky developers are at it again: giving me more content to go through even though my highest skills hover around only the level 40 mark. This time it's the Runespan, a brand-new area that helps players level runecrafting by offering them a one-stop shop that is more casual and non-competitive than the normal runecraft experience. I got the chance to call up some of the lead developers on the phone and ask not only about the Runespan but about the new FPS improvements, so be sure to check that out!
MMObility: Glitch's new updates stretch players' imaginations
When Tiny Speck, maker of the wonderfully odd browser-based sandbox Glitch, announced that it would be taking the game back to a beta state in order to retool many of the game's most essential systems, I was skeptical. Heck, I've remained skeptical. I stopped streaming the game due to time constraints but continued to log in and enjoy it. More specifically, I didn't feel like continuing to stream it until the new releases were officially released. I tend to enjoy betas but want to hold back my opinions until games are actually open, and this return to beta made me feel the same way. Lately, however, the changes being tested and implemented into the game have just been too cool to stay hushed about. Housing is receiving wonderful, wonderful updates that will allow for complete creative freedom that is rarely seen in MMO housing. The UI is transforming as well, and new skills and creatures are being introduced. Beta or not, there is some crazy-cool stuff going on in the land of Ur. In fact, check out these brand new patch notes!
Project Triniate attempts to put an MMO on a Nintendo 3DS
There have been plenty of attempts at creating MMOs on mobile platforms, but so far those have been largely confined to smartphones, tablets, and iPod Touches. Enter Project Triniate, an MMO aiming to release on Nintendo's 3DS handheld platform by developer Robdeprop of 3DSPlaza.com. Since the 3DS can't handle Java or Flash, the idea is that the player uses the system's browser to navigate to the official website and use the website to run the game instead. The title looks like a top-down 2-D game that relies on the stylus for any in-game conversations. While interesting, it's certainly a long shot; even the developer says that it might not be released. Still, if you have a 3DS you can currently give the game a try -- for a buck, that is. Check out a demo video of Project Triniate after the jump.
Dark Legends launches on Apple devices, hits 500K players
The tortured souls of the underworld Apple users have twiddled their thumbs and sharpened their canines for over a month now, a month that Android and Chrome users have played Dark Legends to their hearts' content. After that long wait, iOS owners can stop penning brooding poetry on Livejournal and start playing the game proper: Spacetime Studios has released Dark Legends on the App Store. Apple users can now joining the 500,000-plus Dark Legends community by simply downloading the game from the store and getting their vamp on. Edward-wannabes have a daunting task in front of them, however, as all of the darker fantasy forces are out to be a serious pain in their neck. Dark Legends follows in the wake of Spacetime's enormously popular Pocket Legends and Star Legends. It's available as a free download with optional in-app purchases and can be played over wifi, edge, 3G, and 4G networks. Our own Beau is livestreaming Dark Legends today on Massively TV, so be sure to see what he thinks of the game! [Source: Spacetime Studios press release]
MMObility: The pros and cons of Tibia's browser version
Tibia is an MMO that has been hanging in there for many, many years. You have to give it respect for that alone. When you add on the fact that the game seems to be updated relatively frequently and boasts a pretty good-sized playerbase, it becomes even more intriguing. I've played it in the past and have enjoyed the simple graphics and slower-paced gameplay. I like how NPCs chat with you, old-school EverQuest-style, and how there seems to be a lot more to the game than meets the eye. There are plenty of eyesores, however. The developers recently released Tibia in a beta browser form. While the client was always easy enough to download and run on my multitude of devices, I always prefer to just jump into my browser and load it up. I found a lot of neat little systems but also quite a few bugs or odd design choices. Colors and layout can be a problem, and I am not the biggest fan of Flash-based MMOs. Still, I am enjoying myself so far and look forward to more. Let's talk about what I found over these last several hours with Tibia's browser-based version.
MMObility: Killing the bland in Iruna Online
Once again, Droid Gamers sent me a sweet tip regarding yet another Android-based MMO. This time around, it's Iruna Online, a real and actual MMO complete with open worlds, "millions" of other players, quests, equipment and monsters. In fact, the game reminds me in some ways of Final Fantasy XI. Iruna Online is not the first mobile MMO that has felt like the Square-Enix favorite, perhaps because they all share a similar art style. As I played, it struck me that the newer smartphones have enough power to run a game that looks as good as Final Fantasy XI, albeit with some graphics options turned down or off. The similarities basically end there, however. Iruna Online is one of the newer stock of mobile MMOs that show mobile massively multiplayer gaming is really here. It should not be shocking or surprising anymore. Just as in the PC market, we are going to see many titles stream from the Eastern market. Many of them will be duds, but many will also be very, very cool.
Dark Legends aims to make your vampire sparkle with a weapon giveaway
We posted yesterday that Dark Legends, the latest in a line of F2P mobile and browser-friendly MMOs from Spacetime Studios, is now officially up and running on Android systems and Chrome browsers. Today, Spacetime has a present for all you would-be vampires out there: a pair of rockin' weapons called Devastation Maces. To grab yours, start up the game and either log into your existing account or create a new one. Make sure you're playing the character whom you want to receive the weapons because you can only grab these once per account! Zip through the tutorial missions and then head to the Spacetime Nexus from the main lobby screen. There, on the bottom right of your screen, you'll see a button for enterting a promo code. Enter the code massively20120410 and find your maces waiting for you in your character's inventory. The code has unlimited uses, so everyone who wants one can use it, but do note that it will expire eventually, so snag that gift sooner rather than later. Many thanks to Spacetime Studios -- have fun!
MMObility: The 16 MMOs in my pocket
I have a smartphone that is pretty much filled to the brim with actual, functional, persistent MMORPGs. Some of them are three-dimensional romps through massive worlds filled with dungeons and dragons; others are representational browser-based games that work through the phone's native browser; and the rest are hardly nothing more than a few dots on the screen and impressionistic gameplay. Still, they are MMOs. I love having access to them, and over the last year I have actually grown to love simple, clever design and basic artwork over almost anything else. Forget Guild Wars 2; we'll hear enough about that to make us choke. Sure, it might be a fun game, but I'm a tech guy from the Bizarro universe. I prefer to see how little tech I need to game with. I want to push the limits even lower. Anyway, it's springtime here in Texas, so it's time to clean out all sorts of crap from my life. I organize all of my hundreds of songs, films, movies and art pieces and get my digital life in order as well. This process includes tweaking my current line-up of basic technology and downloading any updates for the games that exist on those devices. It's time to cull the weak and glorify the wonderful.
The Daily Grind: Would you pay for an MMO's mobile app?
The rise of smartphone gaming has created a niche somewhere between mobile MMOs and regular MMOs: MMO apps. Games like World of Warcraft, EverQuest II, Fallen Earth, Lord of the Rings Online, the upcoming Guild Wars 2, and now RIFT all have (or will have) mobile apps that players can use to perform a variety of in-game or pseudo-in-game activities, like chat with guildies, relist auctions, reset crafting timers, or play lotteries. The sticking point is that some of these games aren't giving the app away for free. World of Warcraft, for example, lets everyone download the Mobile Armory app for free but charges a $3 monthly subscription fee for premium services in the Remote app. That's $3 above and beyond the $15 subscription just to access guild chat and play the auction hall from your pocket. Would you pay for a mobile app for your favorite MMO, and if so, how much? What's your limit? 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: Simplifying design for the mobile market
Whenever I write up something about a smartphone MMO, one of the most common complaints I hear is this: "If I wanted to play a game for several hours, I would sit at my gaming desktop." While this is true for many players, it is also true that games like Star Legends and Pocket Legends by Spacetime Studios have met with a lot of success. The developers were surprised to find that players were more than willing to sit for several hours while playing the games on their tiny screens. Still, there is a lot of truth to the complaints about smartphone MMOs. An MMO is typically something a player wants to get lost in. We commonly refer to it as "immersion," but really we're just talking about being sucked into the ideas and design of a title. If you have found yourself daydreaming about a game while at work, you were "immersed." I would argue that this type of deep immersion is very possible on the smaller screens of smartphones and tablets. However, in order to achieve it more commonly, developers might have to adjust many of their designs and theories. Click past the cut and we'll discuss it!
Rise and Shiny recap: Pocket Legends and Star Legends
This week my job was a bit harder than it usually is. This week I had to revisit Pocket Legends and Star Legends, the entirety of the Spacetime Studios lineup, in order to catch the updates and differences since both games were recently adapted to play within the Chrome browser. See, the device that you play an MMO on does make a difference. While I haven't found many players who have an issue with moving up to a finer machine with a larger screen, I almost always receive a few comments in any of my mobile MMO columns about the lack of fun involved with playing anything on a screen that will fit in your hand. While I understand the difficulty in downgrading your monitor size, the mobile market's reception of Pocket Legends surprised even the developer. People are playing it, for many hours, on screens that are very small. But now we have the ability to play it in our browser. Does it make a difference in the experience? Click past the cut and I'll let you know.
