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SOE publishes panel schedule for PAX and Dragon Con
Going to PAX or DragonCon this weekend? Excited for news about the EverQuest franchise or SOE's other MMORPGs? You should check out the firm's convention schedule, then, because there's a little something for everyone. Whether you're hungry for EverQuest Next tidbits, you're looking to break into the game industry, or you're wanting to brush up on your online gaming history, SOE has a developer panel with your name on it. And of course don't forget to check in with Massively through the weekend and on into next week as our on-site staffers bring you the best DragonCon and PAX scoops! Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 30th to September 2nd, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2013. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, The Elder Scrolls Online, EverQuest Next, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
Escape Goat 2 pushes its release date baa-ck from Sept. 10
Escape Goat 2 developer Ian Stocker has rammed back the game's release date from September 10 to an undecided day after that, which he will announce after PAX. Stocker announced the September launch date in July, and at the time, that seemed absolutely doable, he writes – but recently, the map system got in the way. The original Escape Goat has a hub-based world, but Escape Goat 2 was designed with a flat world map, with rooms connected and curling around each other. Playtesters at Casual Connect – an expo held right after Stocker announced the release date – prompted him to reorganize some stages, a feat that was easy to do in Escape Goat. Not so in Escape Goat 2. "With rooms locked into specific positions, things become very rigid," Stocker says. "Inserting a room in a series throws off half the rest of the map, which then needs to be reordered. For about 10 days this month, map organization was where I spent the bulk of my time .... What I decided on is kind of a hybrid between the EG1 and original EG2 map system." Stocker says that while it'd be possible to hit the September 10 launch date, the game simply wouldn't be polished to the level he'd like: "We've put 10 months into this project. As much as I want to release it to the world soon, I believe that delaying is the right move to make .... If you're at PAX this weekend, be sure to drop by and play the build. And if you are a pre-orderer, I can apologize to you in person, or try to bribe you with one of our shiny new 1.25 inch buttons." Escape Goat 2 will be in PAX Prime's Indie Megabooth, as part of its "Minibooth" section.
PAX Prime 2013: Wargaming plans presence and presents
If you are heading out to PAX Prime in Seattle this weekend, you'll have the opportunity to drop by the Wargaming booth and get your hands on World of Tanks on the Xbox 360 and World of Warplanes. Located at exhibit space 132 and 232, Wargaming's booth will have 30 playable gaming stations set up for attendees to play the games on. If playing the games isn't enough of an incentive to drop by, how about this one: The studio also plans hourly giveaways for the chance to win a variety of gaming hardware. [Source: Wargaming press release]
Twitch live stream schedule for PAX Prime
Unable to attend PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington this weekend? Well, you can still partake in many of the festivities through the modern marvel that is the internet. Streaming website Twitch has uploaded a full schedule of content spanning the extended weekend, with various events hosted at its own booth every 20 minutes. There are also streams dedicated to panels in the Main and Kraken theaters. Joystiq will be on-hand at PAX Prime this year, ready to relay all of the big news and our own impressions from this year's lineup of games. PAX Prime begins on the morning of Friday, August 30 and runs through Monday, September 2.
The Nexus Telegraph: The impact of WildStar's new release window
It merited only a footnote when the business model was announced, and it was easy to miss for all of the screaming between players who refused to listen to the other sorts of players, but WildStar isn't aiming for a 2013 release any longer. Not that this is exactly a shock, of course; I said about a month ago that I would prefer to just be told that the game wouldn't release until 2014, which already looked to be the case. But there's something interesting to be unpacked with that almost offhand mention of the game's targeted release date, especially when you consider how many huge holes there are in our present knowledge of the game. We'll learn more at the end of the week as PAX Prime starts up, but I find myself filling in some blanks both in terms of upcoming revelations and what we've not been told yet.
Indie Megabooth starlet 'Gravity Ghost' opens pre-orders on Aug. 26
Gravity Ghost has been on our radar for more than a year. It's a whimsical physics game about flinging yourself around planets and collecting stars in an effort to reassemble the universe. It's not a game about dying, killing or destroying – but it is about to come out as a pre-order, on August 26, from the Humble Store on developer Ivy Games' website. Pre-orders are for PC, Mac and Linux. Gravity Ghost has music from FTL: Faster Than Light composer Ben Prunty, and it snagged a spot in the PAX Prime Indie Megabooth, scheduled to touch down on the show floor from August 30 to September 2. To prepare for PAX Prime, Game Designer and Artist Erin Robinson made "swag" – miniature bottle dioramas starring the Gravity Ghost fox, Voy, in a bell-studded, glittering environment of colorful sand. See the intricate, cute process on the Ivy Games blog. The swag bottles will be available at PAX Prime, and one of them includes a ghost girl, rather than the fox. Gravity sold separately.
FFXIV: A Realm Reborn plans launch party for PAX Prime
Ready to do the Chocobo Shuffle? The Mog Twist? Some Limit Breakdancing? Then you'll need to hightail it to next week's PAX Prime, where the crew of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn will be throwing a two-day launch party. The festivities start on Friday, August 30th and continue through the next day in the Seattle Ballroom at the Red Lion Hotel. The devs will show up to make their grand remarks, followed by autograph sessions, contests, raffle drawings, and hands-on gameplay sessions. It's here that you'll get to see FFXIV, not in the main PAX exhibit hall, so make plans accordingly if you want to be part of the celebration! [Source: Square Enix press release]
ArenaNet reveals its PAX schedule, GW2 PvP invitational teams
Going to PAX Prime or PAX Dev? Love Guild Wars 2? Well, check out ArenaNet's schedule to see if any of the studio's panels or panelists tickle your fancy. There's a little something for everyone whether you're interested in video game story, content delivery, or breaking into gaming. In other Guild Wars 2 news, the game's official website has been updated with a look at the PvP Invitational Tournament teams.
Retro City Rampage coming to 3DS, playable at PAX Prime
Retro City Rampage is coming to the 3DS eShop, Nintendo has announced. The news was buried in a Nintendo press release, which we've embedded past the break, revealing playable games at next week's PAX Prime show in Seattle. Creator Brian Provinciano confirmed with Joystiq that this will be the latest version of Retro City Rampage, including the recently added Retro+ graphics mode that doubles on-screen colors and adds dynamic soft shadows to the game. He also said Retro City Rampage will be out on the 3DS eShop this holiday season. Retro City Rampage, a game we thoroughly enjoyed when it launched last year, is a humorous open-world crime game that started as a project to port Grand Theft Auto 3 over to the NES. Provinciano did the majority of the work himself – which was the subject of a rousing talk at this year's GDC show.
Guild Wars 2 throws anniversary bash at PAX
ArenaNet is throwing its own mini-convention during PAX this month. The studio's rented out the Madison Ballroom in downtown Seattle's Renaissance Hotel to throw a grand anniversary bash for Guild Wars 2. The event takes place on Saturday, August 31st in the afternoon and all of the evening. The anniversary bash kicks off with an address by President Mike O'Brien, followed by a sneak peek play session of exclusive new content, a panel on the living world of the game, a PvP invitational tournament, and a fun party. It is first-come, first-served and the event has limited capacity. Can't come? Don't worry: ArenaNet will be livestreaming the event of anyone who would like to attend virtually. [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Indie Megabooth at PAX Prime: Aztez, Reus, Hotline Miami 2, 80 more
Indie Megabooth is poised to take over PAX Prime 2013 with more than 80 games, including titles off of the following list: Anodyne, Aztez, Audiosurf 2, Bit.Trip Runner 2, Contrast, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Don't Starve, Electronic Super Joy, Foul Play, Gravity Ghost, Hate Plus, Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number, Legend of Dungeon, Luftrausers, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Reus, Monster Loves You, N++, Scale, Secrets of Rætikon, Sportsfriends, That Dragon Cancer, The Stanley Parable and Where is My Heart? That's not even half of it. Indie Megabooth also has the Indie Minibooth space, featuring booths that developers can share, splitting costs and fitting in more games. The Minibooth includes Cannon Brawl, Death Road to Canada, Escape Goat 2, Lost Toys, Mushroom 11, Spellirium, Moonlighters and other alphabetically ordered titles. A space with games hand-picked by organizers is on its way. Indie Megabooth also has a shiny new website featuring all of the PAX Prime 2013 games and a map of the booth layout. It's historically the largest booth at PAX Prime, but still Megabooth organizers get more submissions than they can handle every year, marketing volunteer Rami Ismail told Joystiq at E3. Full-time Indie Megabooth Overlord Kelly Wallick is off to Germany this year, finalizing plans to bring the booth to Gamescom in the future. Indie gaming never looked so fun (and busy): Check out the list of announced PAX Prime 2013 games below.
WildStar primps for convention appearances
WildStar's dance card is quite full this month, as Carbine is heading to both Gamescom and PAX Prime for promotions, hobnobbing, and public demos. First up is Gamescom, where the devs will be present at the NCsoft booth (Hall 8, Booth #B030), showing off the Chua and Mordesh races and a couple of new zones. The team is throwing a party that Friday at the Marriott Koln that is first-come, first-served. Up next is PAX Prime, where the devs and demo will be at booth #642 for the curious and beta-envious. Carbine's hosting a panel at PAX on Saturday, August 31st, which will be livestreamed for those who can't attend. There will be a PAX party as well later that night at the Hard Rock Café, so Massively encourages those who attend to drink and demo responsibly.
PAX Prime schedule is live, already exhausting to look at
Going to PAX Prime? The organizers of the annual Seattle show, which runs from August 30 through September 2, have just posted the full schedule online and it's a doozy. Peter Molyneux's story time session will kick off the show on Friday morning. Other notable panels cover how Naughty Dog pitched The Last of Us, a roundtable with Grifball experts, a Firaxis Games talk and the requisite games journalism panels that happen every year. Then there's the PAX 10, a gathering of ten top indie games as chosen by 50 industry experts, which will be showcased on the floor. It's going to be a hectic show, so you'd best start combing through the packed schedule if you're planning on spending that long weekend bumping elbows with your fellow enthusiasts in Seattle.
PAX 10 stars Gunpoint, Ridiculous Fishing, Towerfall, more
The PAX 10 is a decadent lineup of the year's top indie games, as chosen by a panel of 50 industry experts and primed to be featured at PAX in Seattle, Washington. This year's list reads as follows: Avalanche 2: Super Avalanche, Badland, Escape Goat 2, Gunpoint, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Owlboy, Ridiculous Fishing, Rogue Legacy, Sokobond and Towerfall. We're particularly tickled about Gunpoint, which we think "oozes creativity;" Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, which is "too cute to be depressing," and Ridiculous Fishing, which earns five stars with flying colors (and fish). The entire lineup offers a hefty hunk of indie gaming goodness, and you can find them all at PAX Prime in Seattle from August 30 to September 2.
Mew-Genics, official comic debuting at Pax Prime
Team Meat's new, characteristically adorable/disturbing cat-lady sim Mew-Genics will be on display and playable for all of the hot, teeming masses attending Pax Prime in Seattle this August. This will be the game's first exhibition at any tradeshow or convention, in addition to the debut of its companion comic book. The 28-page black-and-white comic is "packed to the brim with funformation," according to Team Meat's announcement, and it (along with the game itself and "other fun stuff") can all be found at Team Meat's official booth.
Indie Megabooth is so popular it has to add shared spaces, more changes
Indie Megabooth has a problem. It's not something that's easy to bring up in polite conversation. Like a friend complaining that he has two dates in one night, or someone pouting because she has too much ice cream, the problem could easily be misconstrued as a humblebrag and brushed aside. But it's a serious issue. Indie Megabooth is too popular. "One of the problems we were running into, is that the amount of submissions that we have this year far exceeds what we can support," Indie Megabooth marketing mastermind Rami Ismail tells Joystiq. This is a major roadblock because Indie Megabooth's goal is to promote the full spectrum of independent games. Even though the Megabooth takes up the most space of any exhibit on the PAX East and Prime show floors, it isn't enough to give every willing developer a spot. Indie Megabooth hosts 40 - 60 developers at each show – that's larger than Sony's booth at E3 – but this year, 150 developers submitted 200 games for consideration, Ismail says. "We just don't have space for that," he says. Luckily, Indie Megabooth has a solution. Or two.
PAX Prime tickets go on sale, four-day pass already sold out [Update: All gone!]
Tickets for PAX Prime are availa... wait, what? Already!? OK, so the PAX Prime four-day pass is already sold out, but individual days for Friday, August 30, through Monday, September 2, are still available.Last year it took a little over a week for the entire expo to sell out. Given that the four-day pass sold out in under an hour of tickets going on sale, it's best not to delay if you want in. As in: go get your wallet right now and get it done before you move on to the next thing in your day. Fair warning.Update: The official Twitter now reports that all badges have completely sold out. If you got a badge, we'll see you at the show!
PAX Prime 2013 registration is up and running
The time has come once again to prepare for PAX Prime! Registration for the four-day con went live earlier today. In typical PAX fashion, four-day tickets sold at a jaw-dropping rate and are now unavailable. You've still got a chance to swipe up single-day tickets for as many days as you like, though. PAX Prime 2013 will be held in Seattle's Washington State Convention center and runs from Friday, August 30th, until Monday, September 2nd. Of course, if you can't make it to PAX or the thought of spending that much time with that many folks is wearisome to you, we'll have all the juicy news right here. (We just can't attend the parties for you.)
