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2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule announced
The 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit schedule has been announced, along with a synopsis of this year's speeches and panels. The conference on virtual worlds and social gaming will be held on September 16th and 17th, during the Austin Game Developers Conference.Worlds in Motion bills the 2008 Summit as a conference geared toward those who wish to better understand the business opportunities offered in the expanding social game networking space, and who plan to leverage their content and brands into interactive online worlds. Early bird registration ends July 31st; details can be found at the Austin GDC homepage. Read on after the jump for highlights of the upcoming 2008 Worlds in Motion Summit.
E308: Neopets Puzzle Adventure flips Othello over
So I didn't exactly play Neopets Puzzle Adventure on the DS. But I did play Neopets Puzzle Adventure, and Neopets Puzzle Adventure will eventually end up on the DS. It's not as if the Othello-based gameplay will face significant challenges in the transition from PC to DS.And Othello it is, at least at first. You place a piece on the board to flank the opposing player's pieces, flipping them to your color. But there are layers and layers of new weirdness that change the board game entirely. For one, the board is different shapes, not just the standard square. Some spaces on the board award points, and others are marked with icons of a certain color. Points and gem collecting are the real point of the game, rather than controlling territory. You get points for covering spaces, but you can't just win by controlling more of the board.Gaining control of a space with an icon on it enables you to use Petpet abilities, which are like spells. Each Petpet requires a varying amount of icons to activate. Clicking on a Petpet activates a spell that does something like flipping a bunch of pieces or awarding you points or otherwise altering the game -- you know, basic spell stuff. What this means is that it's no longer obvious how to succeed at Othello. Random and non-board elements can change the status of the game instantly. In addition, when you flip a bunch of pieces, you trigger a combo effect that flips even more pieces.
Neopets creators reveal monster taming MMO Twin Skies
Relatively young game developer Meteor Games, founded by the minds behind the kid-friendly Flash game portal Neopets, recently unveiled their latest project -- a rather ambitious 3D MMO titled Twin Skies. Following the style of their claim to fame, the title will place you in the shoes of an adventurer who uses pets to do his or her pugilistic grunt work, though with various races and classes mentioned on their FAQs page, we imagine your character can hold their own in a ruckus.Arguably the coolest thing about the title is the integration of various web-based minigames set apart from the actual title. For instance, winning one minigame might unlock a monster for you to use in Twin Skies, while another might reward you with valuable lewts upon your next login. While subscription fees haven't been decided upon, the game will be free to download direct from the Twin Skies site. We'll definitely be looking forward to this title's first appearance at PAX, if only to see if "my Twin Skies pets, let me show you them" really has the same ring to it.
Neopets creators enter the MMO world with Twin Skies
After a bit of a tease a couple of weeks ago, Meteor Games, founded by the creators of the kids Flash game portal Neopets, has announced details of their first-ever MMO. Twin Skies will be a blend of a traditional, 3D MMO with innovative out-of-game elements. For instance, certain web-based mini-games can earn you a monster in-game, who will roam about, fight, and even send you pictures of the hapless newbies it kills. That ... is so deliciously evil. Other mini-games could change the weather in-game, open a chest full of loot, or other game-changing things. Continuing with the theme from Neopets, every Twin Skies player will have their own pet to aid them in their travels. While killing beasties will be one way of progressing through the game, the social aspects and of course, the mini-games, will keep people busy no matter how they like to play.Kids have no expectations of what MMOs are like, so it's easier for companies to innovate. Playing web-based minigames to aid your character in-game, or just messing with people by spawning monsters on them -- you'll be able to play some parts of Twin Skies no matter where you are. That's a trend you'll certainly see more of in the future.[Via Under Twin Skies]
E308: Capcom puts Mega Man 9 on the menu, we plan to binge
Do you want to know everything there is to know about Mega Man 9, or, uh, Neopets? If so, it's time to send hugs and kisses to Capcom. The company officially announced what it's showing at E3, and, guess what? Those titles made the cut. Now you have more reason than ever to try and get on Capcom's invite list.For Wii owners, the Capcom Belle of the Ball is definitely going to be (a playable) Mega Man 9, a game that we just can't shut up about. Those of you who aren't impressed by the awesomely retro, 8-bit goodness might just come away from E3 feeling better about the project (/hypnotic stare). The rest of us who are already in love can commence happy dancing, as we wonder what Mega Mannish goodies will come out of the convention.Oh, and Neopets! Can we get a woot? ... No? Okay, well, we tried.
Neopets founders announce a new MMO
Started in 1999, Neopets was one of the first kid-friendly online virtual worlds on the web, and is still fantastically popular today. Hoping to bring their success with Neopets into the MMO world, founders Adam Powell and Donna Williams started Meteor Games in 2007 to make a game targeted at a slightly higher age bracket than Neopets. Their still-unnamed MMO, due to be shown at this year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), will be a seamless, 3D world with elements drawn from today's top MMOs -- World of Warcraft is specifically mentioned.Their new game will be a drastic departure from Neopets. Not only will it be a 3D world instead of a collection of minigames, but it won't be free to play. The founders believe they need a subscription in order to produce the highest quality game, but the price will be less than WoW, and there will be an item shop of some sort where new outfits, furniture and other non-unbalancing items may be bought. Meteor Games is also looking into ways to integrate cellphones into their game. Due out in some fashion in 2009, their MMO will enter a market already dominated by Runescape and will be competing directly with SOE's Free Realms, which promises to be free to play and run also on the Playstation 3.Neopets is famous for its huge amount of content, involvement with players and accessibility. Can Meteor Games grab that same sort of success with a more traditional MMO? CEO Adam Powell explains their strategy in this interview with Gamasutra.
The Social Gaming Summit: Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds
Friday the 13th: An inauspicious day for the superstitious crowd, but a great day for attendees of the Social Gaming Summit, held in San Francisco. The day saw a schedule full of great panels, populated by some of the industry's finest movers and shakers, among them representatives from Gaia Online, Nexon, Three Rings, and Gamasutra, among others too numerous to list here.A particular highlight of the conference for this blogger was the panel entitled "Casual MMOs and Immersive Worlds", which provided a lively discussion on what it means to create a virtual social space, how to monetize free-to-play content, and what exactly is a casual MMO? Trying to divide attention between listening raptly and taking notes is difficult; here is the result, along with the panelists, after the jump.
Nickelodeon creates new divisions for online worlds
$100,000,000 dollars buys you 5,000 online games and virtual worlds -- if you're Nickelodeon. The famous kids' cable channel has spent two years bringing these games onlines, and has plans for 1,600 more online games set in such properties as Spongebob Squarepants, iCarly, and Carrie the Caregiver. Current virtual words for Spongebob, NeoPets and a new property called, enigmatically, Monkey World, are being developed by the newly renamed Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group Virtual World Studios, previously known as NeoStudios. The new division is being helmed by current NeoPets senior VP and general manager, Kyra Reppen.$20,000 per online game. Not yet known is how many of those 6,600 games are re-skinned clones of Minesweeper and Tetris.
The Daily Grind: Should MMOGs and virtual worlds be separate?
Friday held the Social Gaming Summit, a meeting of the luminaries of the various virtual worlds -- Gaia Online, Neopets, and IMVU to name a very few -- in San Francisco. This blogger was on hand for several of the panels, and came away with a deeper understanding of where the demarcation between massively multiplayer online game and virtual world was drawn. On the virtual world side, developers are beginning to incorporate more and more elements of what would normally be considered MMO-only features, like quests and leveling up.However, similar integration of virtual world-like elements in MMOs has so far remained off-spec. Chat aside, games like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and City of Heroes don't have features like profiles with integrated blogs for players, or spaces in which one could post photos and media for others to enjoy. Is this something that might change as the Web 2.0 landscape evolves? Are MMOs better off remaining "pure"?
Fawkner talks up Neopets
Steve Fawkner, the CEO of Infinite Interactive, chats a bit about the recently announced Neopets and some of its features in the video above. Neopets takes the game Othello (also known as Reversi in some circles) and spruces it up a bit with magical spells and things of that nature, while also adding an adventure storyline. This may not excite some of you, but we still have fond memories of 7up's Spot: The Video Game, which showed us that Othello can be awesome in the right circumstances.Fawkner also claims that if you play just one game, you'll be hooked. Since Infinite Interactive gave us Puzzle Quest, a title that people had big doubts about until they realized it was video game crack (the DS version, at least), we're inclined to see if Neopets can live up to Fawkner's promise -- even if we still think the tie-in with the Neopets franchise is just weird. Gallery: Neopets Puzzle Adventure
Captivate 2008 screenshot roundup
Interested to see all the eye candy that came from Capcom's Captivate 08 event? From jet packs, zombies and bionic arms to Neopets and banjo-playing fish-cyborgs, check out all the new screenshots below (also after the break):%Gallery-24222%%Gallery-24248%
Overheard@Captivate 08: Of Puzzle Quest and bomb threats
Steve Faulkner of Infinite Interactive was promoting Neopets: Puzzle Adventure last week at Captivate 08, but hit us with this informative nugget when asked about Puzzle Quest's level 50 cap."I actually got a death threat for that," Faulkner said. "Twenty-five years in game development, I get one death threat. Puzzle Quest comes out and I get six death threats and a bomb threat."Apparently, the bomb threat was thanks to a glitch in the PSP version. So keep your head high, QA staffers: You're more than bug squashers ... you're lifesavers.
Infinite Interactive reveals Neopets Puzzle Adventure, gets death threats
While we find it no joke, apparently Infinite Interactive's CEO Steve Fawkner thought that his company's receiving death threats was worth a slight chuckle. Heck, if the company received death threats before they revealed this, then they're sure to receive many, many more after today.That sound you hearing? It's probably Eric, crying his eyes out as we hear about Infinite Interactive's new project, Neopets Puzzle Adventure. He's probably the biggest fan of their first title, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, we have on staff, so afford him some time to mourn.If you still find yourself interested in the title despite it's Neopets branding, know that Joystiq managed to get some play time in with the title and actually enjoyed it. Hopefully that'll be enough to pull Eric out of his dark place.%Gallery-24260%Source - Infinite Interactive reveals Neopets Puzzle AdventureSource - Infinite Interactive death threat
Infinite Interactive targets kids with Neopets Puzzle Adventure
We don't know too much about the Neopets franchise, except that the Neopets can have their own pets, called "Petpets." It seems to be Pokémon without the good games associated with it. Despite this, it seems to be doing quite well. In one of the most frightening developer/franchise pairings in recent history, Capcom announced Puzzle Quest developer Infinite Interactive's next game, Neopets Puzzle Adventure, at their Captivate '08 event. The game, releasing at the end of this year on DS, Wii, and PC, combines a Puzzle Quest-like puzzle game with Neopets pet care and collecting.Joystiq's Justin McElroy will have a hands-on report later today. We can only assume that his hands are still on the demo, clamped down permanently.
Puzzle Quest dev's next project: Neopets Puzzle Adventure
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Puzzle_Quest_dev_s_next_project_Neopets_Puzzle_Adventure'; So, let's say you're a company called Infinite Interactive. You're riding on a wave a fanboy love for your brilliant game Puzzle Quest: Forgettable Fantasy Subtitle, and you need two projects to follow it up. How do you do it? Well, you could go with a sci-fi re-imagining of the series, but what else? ... What's that, peanut gallery? Did we hear "a game based on Neopets"? ... No? Well, tough noogies, because that's what you're getting during this year's holiday season on DS, Wii and PC.You know the scariest thing? We played Neopets Puzzle Adventure at Capcom's Captivate 08 in Las Vegas last week -- and we liked it. Like, a lot. Check back for our hands-on preview later today and understand the full extent of our shame.%Gallery-24247%
Lost. The Monster. Reward: Cuteness.
Do you like cuteness? Do you like monsters? Do you like puzzles?If you said yes to all three, then do we have the multiplayer game for you! As we reported earlier, Mind Candy, the crazy developers behind the super-huge alternate reality game Perplex City, have been working on something for the children. Their result is Moshi Monsters, a cross between a Tamagotchi, Brain Age, and sheer attitude.The picture to the right is Smigglesnuff. Smigglesnuff likes two things: the word "miasma" and choptastic moves. Oh, sure, she enjoys the tickles I give her, but don't mess with her unless you want your face re-arranged. Go visit her if you want to find out for yourself.
Your kids, Green.com and Spyware
Is it okay to just be a little cynical when a marketing company such as InterActiveCorp (IAC) announces a new virtual world where kids can learn how to help the environment and "do good deeds in fun ways"? Especially when the current site at that address sells coupon books? No? Not okay? Well, it's possible that this could be the one kid-oriented site that doesn't try to sell children things under the guise of education... but the odds are against it. IAC, owners of such sites as Match.com, Ask.com, LendingTree and Ticketmaster, also announced Zwinktopia, a site where kids can earn (or buy) Zbucks to customize and equip their avatars -- Zwinkies -- which they may take offsite and share with friends or place on their MySpace pages. In the future, children will come home from school, sit at their computers, and actively seek out marketing so that they can earn the Neopoints, Zbucks, KidCash, Popularity Pennies and whatever else they feel they need to farm to have all the latest avatars and accessories. When children raised on virtual worlds graduate to MMOs, will they even notice the grind or understand the objections to RMT?An additional warning to parents eager to let their children enjoy the pleasures of Zwinktopia -- the toolbar you must install in your browser is known to install a lot of adware and spyware on your computer. Here's the explanation from their site: "Bonus: Also includes Smiley Central™, Cursor Mania™, Popular Screensavers™, the MyWebSearch® search box and Search Assistant - relevant search results in response to incorrectly formatted browser address requests." Install at your own risk (the links under each add-on lead to a page where the risks of each are discussed. Suffice it to say that once you install the toolbar, everything you do on your computer will be watched and reported upon.)
Virtual Worlds 2008 overview
The 2008 Virtual Worlds conference has come and gone, and the aftermath is gracing news sites all over the web. In a particularly in-depth article at Virtual World News, we get a first hand account of what went on. It's a no-brainer that the majority of business attendees focused on how to make money in virtual worlds. The Wall Street Journal calls this "virtual business 2.0", which is basically a few buzz words thrown together in an attempt to look hip and cool. We're certainly not saying that business has no place in a VW, but it can become a scary thought, ultimately.Another prominent avenue explored at this event is that of children's virtual worlds, which are becoming increasingly popular. Neopets, Nickelodeon, Barbie and Dinokids were all on-hand to make sure their piece of the pie was well-represented.
Kids are the focus at VW08
Businesses have tried marketing to adults in Second Life. It's not working out for them. Instead, adults are gravitating toward casual games, while it's children who have shown themselves to be most receptive to marketing in virtual worlds. Such is the feeling at the Virtual Worlds 2008 conference in New York City, where aside from a single booth promoting Linden Lab's Second Life Grid, the place seemed like a toy fair. Barbie Girls Online, Nickelodeon, Neopets and Dino Kids are getting the big buzz at VW08. Teen-oriented sites like MTV's vLES are mature by comparison.Electric Sheep's Giff Constable says over the last three years, while he feels more people know what avatars are, he doesn't know any people over the time who have gotten one of their own. Part of that may be just what your definition of avatar is -- if it's meant to be an avatar on Second Life, that's one thing. An avatar in a social space like Facebook, perhaps something else.
Barbie Girls Online: Been there, done that, got the tiara
How will you ever tell your little girl that her friend Jane is a special VIP in Barbie Girls Online, but you won't even give her a dented copper tiara? Jane's tiara is made of diamonds, platinum and unicorn hair! Your daughter: No tiara. You: resented in real life. But you're a good mommy or daddy, and you'll buy your little girl her VIP membership and her tiara will be gold, with rubies, because you love her just that much. Welcome to the wonderful world of getting to your wallet through your children. It's not entirely new; Kid-oriented web sites such as Webkinz and Neopets have offered dolls with codes for use on their website for some years now, but they were real dolls, and the special perks on the website were theirs forever. They had something to keep when the computer was off. Now, your daughter's tenuous reign as VIP lasts only so long as you keep paying for a VIP membership. (Barbie Girls Online also requires a Barbie-shaped dongle/MP3 player to be plugged into the computer for full access but is not required for most of the site).
