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Android client for Pocket Legends enters beta
Pocket Legends turned a few heads when it was first launched as an MMO playable on the iPhone, but it's time for the game to expand beyond its roots. Past time, Droid users might say, as they've been suffering through no MMOs for their preferred phone for some time. But the wait is over -- the game has just entered a beta for the Android platform, making it not only the first mobile 3-D MMO but the first multiplatform mobile MMO. You can download the game through the link on the front page of the site and through the Android market. It requires Android 2.1 to run successfully. A support forum has already been put together for players taking part in the beta, which is assured to have its fair share of issues as the porting is perfected. Still, this means that for the first time in the history of these dueling platforms, iPhone and Droid owners can walk hand in hand... well, while playing Pocket Legends, anyhow.
Rise and Shiny recap: Pocket Legends
Over the last two weeks, I have been taking a look at Pocket Legends, a fully functioning MMO made for the mobile player. I did not publish a Rise and Shiny last week (I was busy writing up my GDCO coverage) but that is a good thing -- I had no real time to play the game anyway. I've jumped in and out, played through a few dungeons and scoured the cash shop. After hearing Cinco Barnes from Spacetime Studios -- the developer of Pocket Legends -- I really saw how well the company's design choices were working in practice. What I found is a game that works and is stable. While that isn't the most glamorous description, you would be hard-pressed to find a game that has succeeded without either of those traits. The key here is that it runs while in the palm of your hand (or lap, in the case of the iPad). But let me take you through a bit more of the game before I pass judgment.
GDCO 2010: Spacetime Studios' Cinco Barnes talks mobile design
Spacetime Studios, the developer of the popular mobile MMO Pocket Legends, was started back in 2005 to create large-scale MMOs. Its founders decided to make a mobile platform MMO upon seeing the obvious marketing opportunity that the iPhone provided. After all, the players would already be connected and would be accustomed to microtransactions through exposure to iTunes and the app store. Of course, development could prove disastrous if the wrong game plan were followed, so Spacetime decided to keep it simple. How simple? Cinco Barnes of Spacetime was on hand at GDC Online to explain how his team members did it. What they found was a chance to do more than they'd initially planned on -- and an audience ready to gobble up everything the studio could create.
Pocket Legends update brings new content, increased level cap
Pocket Legends, the popular mobile device MMO, has been growing in popularity for the past few months, and Spacetime is working to keep up with that increased popularity. The company has released a new update for Pocket Legends, one that brings new content, an increased level cap, and an impressive list of improvements. Players can work toward the new level cap of 50 by checking out the five new PvE maps, two new PvP maps, and new bosses in Alien Oasis 3: Trials of the Galactic Overlord. Alien Oasis 3 will be available to players for 20 platinum, and you can see all the current patch notes on the Pocket Legends forum. Finally, follow along after the jump for a preview trailer of the new content!
GDC Online 2010: Spacetime Studios and the making of Pocket Legends
Pocket Legends has been out on the App Store for quite a while now, but if you (like me) haven't seen it in a while, you might want to check it out again. Spacetime Studios has been steadily updating the game, and the title they showed off at GDC Online 2010 this week was pretty impressive -- an instanced MMO, running in full 3D with three character classes, dungeons and loot, and almost all of the other trappings you'd expect from the genre. This week, I got to sit in on both Cinco Barnes' panel about the studio and its up-and-down background. I also chatted with the company's CEO, Gary Gattis, both about Spacetime's history and what it's done with Pocket Legends so far, and what's in store for the growing title.
Spacetime announces cross-platform mobile play, prepares to license game engine
Spacetime Studios, the makers of the wildly successful Pocket Legends MMO, has just announced a new influx of funding that will enable continued development on the Spacetime Engine and licensing of said development platform to other game makers beginning in 2011. Gamasutra reports that Spacetime is also claiming an industry first for Pocket Legends in terms of the ability for players on Windows PC, Android, and iOS systems to play on the same shared servers. "Providing players, no matter where they are, with a single deep, seamless 3D MMO gaming experience on multiple devices has been a dream of ours since the company was founded. We feel we're at the forefront of a whole new market for MMO game developers," said Spacetime CEO Gary Gattis.
Pocket Legends updated to Pocket Legends: Adventures, a full MMO on iOS
I tried Pocket Legends for the iPhone a while back, and found it to be pretty interesting. It's a full 3D MMO inside the iPhone, where you create a character, equip it with weapons, and then jump in with a few other people to hack, slash, and cast your way through a dungeon. It could use a little polish (the particular dungeon I played wasn't exactly tuned for my difficulty level, and the people I played with weren't exactly forgiving), but if you're looking for this kind of cartoony MMO gameplay, Pocket Legends actually delivers quite well. And since it's completely free, there's not a huge investment barrier anyway. And the game just recently got a big update, adding in an actual explorable world, a bunch of new quests and items to play with, and some optimization to the game engine that makes it a little more forgiving on older devices (but the game looks pretty good, given what it is, on the iPhone 4 already). It's available on the App Store for free right now for both iPhone and iPad -- what Spacetime Studios has done in implementing a full PC-style MMO on Apple's handheld device is impressive, and the new update makes it even moreso. If you've never given Pocket Legends a look, but can appreciate a solid MMO, definitely check it out.
New Pocket Legends update adds new backstory and content
Pocket Legends, the MMO designed for mobile devices, has been enjoying a measure of success and is introducing a new update for fans. Pocket Legends: Adventures is available now as a free update to the original game and expands things quite a bit. Many traditional PC MMO features are added with the update; you'll find a world map now, a new quest system, new townes, and an instanced player tutorial for those who are new to Pocket Legends. The creators didn't stop there -- open-ended zones have been added to the game as well, along with more lore and backstory to enrich the game's story. Follow along after the jump for a look at the trailer.
The Daily Grind: Who's your MMO mistress?
Many in MMO circles look down on what they consider to be the second-class citizens of online gaming: browser-based MMOs. In fact, just about every time that we post a news article about a browser MMO here on Massively, it's inevitable that someone will pish-posh the game on the general principle that "all browser MMOs suck." Yet that attitude overlooks one of the key demographics of browser MMO players: us. It's not uncommon for many of us to be stuck with a non-gaming computer for a good chunk of time, i.e. at "school" and "work" and "in the Batcave." While we may not talk about it in mixed company out of fear of being ostracized, I believe many of us have an on-the-side MMO that feeds our addiction when we're away from our main gaming rig. Whether it be on Facebook, a browser or even on a mobile device, what MMO do you visit on the sly when you can't access the real thing? Have you spent time doodling around in City of Eternals, RuneScape or even Pocket Legends when your boss isn't looking? Who's your MMO mistress?
Massively Mobile: Pocket Legends evolves
Every two weeks, Massively Mobile brings you the latest news, guides and analysis about MMOs on mobile devices. Covering iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms, we're on the lookout for the next generation of MMOs. Much has changed with Spacetime Studio's free-to-play, mobile, 3D MMO Pocket Legends since we posted our first impressions of the game last month. Since then, it has seen a number of updates, content patches, refinements and improvements. It has evolved from a multiplayer Diablo-esque dungeon runner to sporting the kinds of bells and whistles one expects to find in an MMO. In this inaugural Massively Mobile column, I catch up with the game that's blazing the trail for mobile MMOs. Before I jump into the big patch that came out this week, I want to touch on a particular small improvement that was patched in recently. They restricted loot distribution and experience gains to only those within range of the monster kills. This prevents people from having their friends go /afk at the dungeon instance. But, for me, the main benefit is that it will hopefully stop parties from splitting up at intersections in dungeons. Seriously, people, it's a simple rule: follow the tank. Divided parties are dead parties. Ok, grumpy healer frustration vented. On with the show.
First Impressions: Pocket Legends
On paper, Pocket Legends is just one of many free-to-play fantasy MMOs that litter the gaming landscape, a little blip that is otherwise drowned out by the noise of its peers. On paper, Pocket Legends is skimpy in standard MMO features: only three classes, no customizable avatars, completely instanced, and a maximum of four skills on your hotbar. On paper, it might be a passing diversion, except for one little detail: Pocket Legends is the first truly successful 3D MMORPG for mobile devices. And that makes all the difference, my friends. Several of us here at Massively have been devouring Pocket Legends since it was released this past week, first for the iPad, then for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The general consensus is that for what it lacks, this micro-MMO has the most important quality of all: it's genuinely fun and addictive. Hit the jump for more detailed first impressions!
One Shots: Adventure on the go
While normally we don't run screenshots with UI elements, today we couldn't resist simply because of the uniqueness of this particular game. Today's screenshot comes from Spacetime Studios' recent free-to-play iPad release, Pocket Legends. While still very much in the vein of MMO lite, the game does appear to be a very marked jump forward in mobile gaming technology. This image comes to us from Mark S., who explains what we're seeing here: "Even for a MMOer whose roots go back to Ultima Online, this game is a hoot. Here's my archer early in his career getting ready to face a castle of evil knights." Are you playing a game we haven't seen here before? If so, why not send in a screenshot to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a description of what we're seeing. Your image could be the next one we feature here on One Shots. %Gallery-85937%
Spacetime's Pocket Legends hits Apple's app store
While there have been many attempts at reproducing the MMORPG experience on Apple's incredibly popular iPhone and iTouch devices, the limitations in technology and connection speed have kept these applications from hitting the big time. Spacetime Studios hopes to change all that, as they just revealed a new MMO for the app store: Pocket Legends. Boasting 3D graphics, three classes and accessibility across iPhone, iTouch and iPad devices, Pocket Legends might be considered an "MMO-lite," but it still contains all the necessary ingredients. Players can choose from one of three anthropomorphic animal classes -- a cat sorceress, a bird archer, and a bear tank -- and head off for a career full of dungeon running, chest looting, and stat leveling. Grouping is also possible (and encouraged!), with thousands of players connecting over a server. Spacetime promises that players can not only play Pocket Legends on almost all of Apple's portable devices (except the first edition of the iPhone), but the game can be accessed via WiFi, 3G and even EDGE networks.
