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LEGO Universe beta constructed, signups begin
If we've learned anything about LEGO Universe, it's that the game should not be dismissed. Yes, it's an MMO aimed at younger gamers, but did you see the trailer? Whether you did or not, you need to watch it right now. We've embedded it directly above this post. There should be a play button right in the middle. Click it. We'll wait. Now, having seen that, know this: The LEGO Universe beta is now accepting signups. We suggest you head over to the signup site and sign up immediately. Unfortunately, no one is guaranteed a slot in the beta so, while you're waiting on confirmation, why not check out some footage of the actual game in action? After that, you can start refreshing your inbox like mad. [Via Massively]
LEGO Universe begins beta signups
It was a bit quiet on the LEGO Universe front for most of 2009, with a reveal of screenshots, and a bit of development news here and there, but not much else. January 2010 changed all of that, with a big reveal at CES that gave us a trailer full of zombie pirate awesome, and some actual alpha footage of the game. This quick progression from screenshots and interviews to trailers and gameplay footage led to the natural assumption that more was going to come quickly, and we were right: signups for the LEGO Universe beta began today, just a short while ago. Don't tell us that it's a kids game and you're entirely too grown-up for it -- we know better. Nobody outgrows LEGO. Now go sign up for the beta, you know you want to. Signups can be made here, and we hope to see you in the beta. (Yes, we're signing up too. We told you: nobody outgrows LEGO.) [Thanks to Dennis for the tip!]
LEGO Universe gameplay footage full of 'imagination'
It's been a long time coming, but we've finally got a good look at early alpha footage of LEGO Universe thanks to CES10. Gametrailers has a four part video of a developer walkthrough given by NetDevil's Scott Brown, and boy is it ever full of multicolored brick-y goodness. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/Great_New_LEGO_Universe_Developer_Walkthrough_footage_Vids'; We're impressed by how much this game looks similar to its console brethren, especially where action and platforming elements are concerned. Of course, it wouldn't be an MMO without social elements, some of which we get to see here. More importantly, we get a look at how the developers are handling building with LEGOs in-game. The game simulates a kind of personal bubble around the player's avatar, which is strikingly similar to the metaphorical one all kids experience when sitting on the floor with a big pile of the toys. Hm, we're pretty sure NetDevil is on the right course with this one. Check out the video walkthrough after the break.
The Digital Continuum: Socialize, now
Socialization is dead! Isn't it? Well actually, that's a tough one. Certainly, the perception that socialization is becoming a lesser factor to more and more developers has become the norm among most people. That doesn't necessarily mean they're correct. So, let's examine the general landscape of yesteryear and beyond to see what's really going on when it comes to human interaction in our massively multiplayer online games.
CES 2010: LEGO Universe unveils trailer full of zombie pirate awesome
As if the idea behind the LEGO Universe MMO wasn't already pretty awesome in our books, this shiny new trailer straight from the CES floor has cranked up the previous levels of awesome to 11. In the new launch trailer we're treated to zombie pirates, ninjas, characters building race cars in bullet-time, rockets, and all manner of other cool-looking LEGO craziness. Along with the shiny new trailer, we've also managed to get our hands on a good number of screenshots that not only show off some of the environs that Netdevil have created, but shed some more light on how things will work inside LEGO Universe. According to what we've gleaned from the CES reports, the "LEGO brick lies at the center of the experience" so players will be able to use them for everything from completing simple building challenges to "sophisticated brick-by-brick building." Netdevil has also tapped a group of LEGOmaniacs called LUPs (LEGO Universe partners) to help them build imaginative content for the game. We've got the trailer for you behind the break, and gathered up the screenshots into the gallery below. Either way you go, it looks like we're in for some seriously fun LEGO Universe adventures! %Gallery-82359%
Lego Universe trailer looks unexpectedly thrilling
We know we've built a permanent establishment in our cheek in which to house our tongues, but we're being completely sincere when we say that the above trailer for Lego Universe is one of the coolest trailers we've seen in a long time. Who knew that a kid-friendly MMO in which colorful, stackable bricks are collected could cause our adrenaline to rise in a way we only thought really intense episodes of 24 were capable of? We certainly did not know that. Check out the trailer above, then check out a fresh batch of screenshots below. They're considerably less awesome than the trailer, but they can't really be blamed for their stationary nature. %Gallery-82468%
LEGO Universe to hold first public showing at CES
When you think Vegas, what do you think of? Why, LEGO of course! Wait, you don't? What do you think of when you think of...you know what? Never mind. At any rate, CES 2010 begins in Las Vegas this Thursday, and LEGO Universe will be on hand to show fans how the game is progressing. Fans awaiting this fun MMO will find plenty at CES that is being offered for the first time: hands-on demos, the debut game trailer, and of course the always coveted beta sign ups. The game is planned for launch in the second half of 2010, so this is probably the first of many previews we'll see in the next few months. If you're in the area and a LEGO fan, you'll definitely want to head to the Las Vegas Convention Center and take a firsthand look at what LEGO Universe has been up to. CES 2010 is scheduled to run from January 7th-10th.
Jumpgate Evolution brings on a new Executive Producer
Any of you die hard Dark Age of Camelot fans out there? We hope you're paying attention, because NetDevil just brought Lance Roberston aboard their Jumpgate Evolution team as executive producer. For those not in the know: Lance's career blossomed as he rose through the ranks at Mythic Entertainment while working on Dark Age of Camelot. As such, he possesses extensive experience developing MMOs with both PvP and PvE focuses. He also helped to ship Warhammer Online as a senior producer, before the unfortunate events we're all aware of over at Electronic Arts. Jumpgate Evolution is a three faction game that deals with PvP and PvE. Sound familiar? It should, as DAoC's tri-factions were one of its selling points back in the day. Lance also benefits from having experience in the "what do do" and "what not to do" areas of PvP/PvE MMO development, so we're certain he'll prove to be an immensely useful member of the JGE team.
The Digital Continuum: Five exciting MMOs in 2010, part 2
Mmm, Star Wars made into an MMO by BioWare. The scope and breadth of what BioWare is looking to accomplish makes me the most excited, if I'm being honest. Star Wars: The Old Republic really needs to hit before the next World of Warcraft expansion.
Progression and building in LEGO Universe
Information on LEGO Universe has been somewhat thin as of late, but that's beginning to change. Over at 1up you'll find a meaty preview that covers quite a bit of ground, including basic MMO features like progression to LEGO specific stuff like building quests. The building mode is of course the keystone to this game, and the fact that a player cannot be harmed when entering the mode speaks volumes about its importance. Aside from building mode, zones in LEGO Universe are likely to be distinctly memorable due to the licenses' ability to have pirate, ninja, robot or even Star Wars themed planets -- assuming they're capable of using any of their real world toy lines within the game. And as for combat? If you've played any of the console LEGO games, then you'll know what to expect, which is essentially action-based combat. There's a lot more detail in the actual preview, so check it out if building with bricks is how you get your kicks.
Gazillion layoffs hit Romero's Slipgate Ironworks
Whatever Gazillion Entertainment's secret mastermind plot is, their next step has been to create an unfortunate situation for a suspected 50 now ex-employees at Slipgate Ironworks. The reasoning? According to Gazillion, "As part of our focus on reaching the widest possible audiences with breakthrough MMO entertainment, we decided to change the format of our project at Slipgate Ironworks to better achieve this aim," So, whatever unannounced MMO the team was working on is now canned, it would seem. At least there's a silver lining, in some sense. Gazillion also stated, "-the other Slipgate staff are already in discussions around the many open positions across our slate of projects." You know what? We'd make another world conquering joke here, but that'd be too easy. Instead, we're just going to sit in our chair, pet our cat and sip this lovely whipped latte. Oh, whoops, guess we just can't help ourselves sometimes.Seriously though, next year is going to be interesting, because the official statement alludes to something being released from the publisher next year. Unless they're just talking about Jumpgate Evolution -- at least, we hope that comes out by next year -- and then we're not really sure why they just didn't say as much.
Redefining MMOs: Developers weigh in
What does "MMO" mean anymore? When we launched our "Redefining MMO" series over the summer, we began with a look at the terminology behind the games we play -- what the term "MMO" encompasses and what kinds of games it describes. But with the online games market expanding into new genres and incorporating new gameplay and social elements, the definition of "MMO" has changed. So is it time for a new word? We reached out to developers working on different MMOs. We asked what they thought about the word "MMO" and if it's time to eschew the term and come up with something new. Read on for thoughts from Cryptic's Bill Roper, Metaplace's Raph Koster, Mythic's Paul Barnett, Nexon America's Min Kim, Sony Online's Laralyn McWilliams, Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel and many more.
Building the LEGO Universe MMO
It's slowly coming together -- brick by brick. The LEGO Universe MMO is still on track, and it's still under control of NetDevil. While the company has gone quite quiet on the production of Jumpgate Evolution, GamesIndustry.biz was able to catch up with the company at GamesCom in Cologne to ask them some questions about the LEGO Universe MMO.This interview is with Ryan Seabury, the creative director on the project, and focuses in on the challenges behind making a directed gaming experience coupled with the creative power of a sandbox game, and then making it all accessible for kids and their families. It's really a great read if you're interested in how game design decisions are made, and how LEGO Universe will bridge the gap between an entirely open sandbox world and a more "theme park" experience.
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]
Jumpgate Evolution dev blog looks at balancing combat
As player-versus-player pew-pewing is one of the biggest draws for those interested in the upcoming Jumpgate Evolution, there's no wonder that a lot of attention has been given to balancing the game's combat. The most recent Jumpgate Evolution dev blog entry from lead producer Hermann Peterscheck, titled "Combating Combat", shed some light on how class balance came to be where it's at now. The post goes on to say that from the very beginning, balance was approached with PvP in mind, as NetDevil realized that it would be easier to tweak PvE accordingly at a later stage. Starting with just one class of ship, additional classes were introduced over time and put through their paces in daily play tests. Petersheck noted that the goal was to have each class feel truly unique and not simply have a bit less of this stat, or a bit more of that one:"It's very tempting to just throw a bunch of classes of ships together in order to say things like 'our game has 15 classes of ships!' but this, we believe, is the wrong direction. People want meaningful and strong choices and not lots of meaningless, empty choices. Currently we plan to have 4-6 classes, but they will each have nearly endless possible configurations within those groups."It's a promising design philosophy, to be sure. Check out the rest of Peterscheck's article at the JGE dev blog.
Jumpgate Evolution beta snags 250K sign ups
After jumping back into the slipstream of development this past May, NetDevil announced today that the latest beta for Jumpgate Evolution has had 250,000 sign-ups. The game is currently in the "friends and family testing phase," but it plans to go into full beta ... um, somewhere in the future.Jumpgate Evolution's development is in an interesting place at the moment. All we know officially is that the game missed its June release, and that feedback during the current stage of testing of the "feature complete" game caused the team to rethink some stuff.%Gallery-26197%
Jumpgate Evolution hits 250,000 beta sign ups
The upcoming sci-fi title Jumpgate Evolution seems to be highly anticipated by the MMO gaming community, at least if the deluge of unique beta sign-ups is any indication. Jumpgate Evolution's developer NetDevil and publisher Codemasters announced today that they've passed 250,000 beta sign-ups. They added, "Everyone working on Jumpgate Evolution is ecstatic about the news, and we can't wait to begin allowing those who have supported us through this phase of development into Beta once it begins later this year." [Via WarCry]
Jumpgate Evolution interview drops details on PvP
NetDevil's upcoming sci-fi MMO Jumpgate Evolution is notable for its aggressive, joystick-style approach to PvP. Needless to say, it's a game we're really looking forward to trying, we're just not sure about when that's going to be. Without a solid ETA on when the title will launch, we're just keeping up with NetDevil's updates on Jumpgate Evolution's development. They've recently announced some new info about the game's move towards a player-driven economy, but we'd imagine most of our readers are more interested in JGE's PvP. That's the focus of an interview with the title's lead producer Hermann Peterscheck that we've just come across over at MMORPG.com.Jon Wood spoke with Peterscheck about how PvP will factor in the game's lore, and vice versa. Peterscheck explained how each of the nations has a personality or a character, which they've been trying to convey with the lore released for the militaristic Octavians, the profit-motivated Solrain, or the mystic Quantar. NetDevil's goal is to present enough 'character' for each nation that players can identify with that faction and bring that into their gameplay.
Jumpgate Evolution updates lore surrounding the spiritual Quantar faction
The writers on the Jumpgate Evolution team have released a lore update that focuses on the mystic Quantar nation. In Jumpgate Evolution's setting, the Quantar are a people who follow many different religious paths, but are "united by the fundamental belief that human destiny lies among the stars." Their spiritual beliefs are reflected in their technology, centered around the concept of a pilot and ship striving to become a single being, which explains their prowess in combat. NetDevil's lore update to Jumpgate Evolution chronicles the history of Quantar culture and society, but they also released new info on sectors of Quantar space accompanied by some gorgeous images. There's now quite a bit of material centering on the Quantar nation which should be good news to fans of Jumpgate Evolution's lore.
Jumpgate Evolution economy changing to player-driven system
Some gamers were disheartened when NetDevil opted to delay the Jumpgate Evolution launch in order to refine some aspects of gameplay, but we're hoping the extra time they've bought for themselves will equate to a more polished release. One of those aspects of the game they're improving is Jumpgate Evolution's economy, which is the subject of an interview that producer Hermann Peterscheck gave to JGERadio's "Tikigod."Throughout the interview, Peterscheck emphasizes that Jumpgate Evolution's economy should, by design, function in ways similar to a real world economy (but hopefully with a lot less fail) -- a far more dynamic system than one driven by NPC vendors. Peterscheck says, "I actually think the changes make the economy more alive. What we have done is moved away from an AI-based economy to a player-driven economy."
