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Want to be Massively's next Guild Wars columnist?
ArenaNet's Guild Wars is a fascinating MMO. The original released almost seven years ago, with the sequel set to release later this year. There's no doubt that Guild Wars 2 tops the list of the most anticipated MMO for 2012, which makes writing about it all the more fun and exciting. That's where you come in. After learning that our own Rubi Bayer will be whisked away by an as-yet unnamable job offer, we're in desperate need of someone to fill her weekly Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2 columnist spot on the site*. Follow along after the jump for the full details! *Keeping us in line and making "that's what she said" jokes optional.
Bigpoint working on Game of Thrones MMO
Winter is coming, and according to USA Today, so is a rogue's gallery of games based on George R.R. Martin's trendy Song of Ice and Fire IP. In addition to the recently released A Game of Thrones: Genesis strategy title, the lands of Westeros will be featured in an upcoming single-player RPG, a social networking game, and an MMO. The massively multiplayer entry is being developed by Bigpoint, a German browser-game specialist known for its Battlestar Galactica game and its love of selling in-game advantages. Whether you're excited about the prospect of killing 10 Lannisters or slitting your wrists over the inevitable MMOification of another beloved fantasy world, the next few months should be interesting to watch.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite SWG memory?
So yeah, millions of sandbox fans cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Something terrible has happened, yada yada. By now the news of Star Wars Galaxies' untimely demise has circled round the interwebs a few million times. What better time, then, to get on with a bit of nostalgia, amirite? Whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool Pre-CU-loving NGE-hating John-Smedley-cussing veteran, a former player who took a break and planned on returning one day, or a newly interested curiosity-seeker a bit late to the party, chances are you've got an SWG memory or two in your back pocket (along with all your droids and speeder bikes). Today's Daily Grind is pretty simple. What's your favorite SWG memory? Tell us. Tell us now (or we'll force you to watch Attack of the Clones). 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!
Raph Koster on the legacy of Star Wars Galaxies
Amid all the internet commentary sure to be forthcoming over the next few days regarding Star Wars Galaxies and its upcoming swan-song, none of it is really as relevant as the thoughts of the man primarily responsible for designing the original game. Raph Koster offers up a bit of commentary on SWG's demise via his personal website, and despite the brevity, he manages to touch on exactly why the game mattered to so many of us and why it will be sorely missed. "It gave us features that continue to amaze people who don't realize what can be done: Real economies complete with supply chains and wholesalers and shopkeepers, that amazing pet system, the moods and chat bubbles [...], player cities, vehicles, spaceflight," Koster says. It also gave us dancing, and while many progression-focused gamers scoff at SWG's social features, Koster rightly concludes that they may well be the game's legacy since they allowed us to "stop saving the world or killing rats and realize the real scope and potential of the medium." In the end, Koster says that SWG's potential may have overshadowed the final product, but what remained was nonetheless a mold-breaking MMORPG. "I'd rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity. There's a reason people are passionate about it all these years later," he wrote.
