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This week on The MMO Report
This week on The MMO Report, Casey Schreiner starts things off with a bang by highlighting Undead Labs' zombie MMO-in-the-making and a spectacularly polarizing quote by developer Richard Foge that first broke right here on Massively. Moving right along, Casey takes a look at Star Wars: The Old Republic's recently announced PvP Warzones, scenario-based battles that will see players fighting for control over various objectives. He also spends a segment on the drama surrounding All Points Bulletin -- or more accurately -- its firesale. The new sci-fi MMOFPS Genesis A.D. also gets a mention, and its shiny trailer grabs the spotlight for a few precious seconds. Finally, the episode pays a bit of lip service to Blizzard's charitable endeavors via the Moonkin hatchling promotion and finishes things off with a death-defying dive into the nether regions of Uncle Casey's mailbag. Check out the full episode after the cut, and if you're looking for past episodes of The MMO Report, head over to G4TV.
Undead Labs: Current MMOs are "barely even games"
Undead Labs has a new game designer, and he's come out swinging against the established MMO format. Richard Foge, who previously worked on God of War, SOCOM and Guild Wars, says he "loves the idea of MMOs" but isn't satisfied with the current market. In a recent manifesto on Undead Labs' site, Foge professes his love for console games and his puzzlement as to why MMOs haven't advanced as far: "MMOs get breaks because of their social nature, but if you really look at them closely they're barely even games. Mario 64 (nearly 15-years-old at this point) feels better than any MMO I've ever played. MMOs aren't even close to keeping up with cutting edge videogames from a gameplay or presentation perspective." The solution, he thinks, is to skew more toward console action titles. "What if we replaced all the math with action?" he muses. Undead Labs' first MMO, a zombie-themed romp through the post-apocalyptic world, is being made for consoles instead of PCs. The perfect platform for an action MMO, in his opinion, isn't the PC: "I believe that MMOs can and should compete with the best triple-A games. And I believe consoles are the perfect place for MMOs to make this stand."
Four ArenaNet team members joining Undead Labs
In all the excitement over the Guild Wars 2 MMO manifesto, a quiet announcement on the Guild Wars wiki was very nearly lost in the shuffle, but it gained the attention of some sharp-eyed fans. ArenaNet founder Mike O'Brien put a post on his wiki talk page entitled "Departures," and bid farewell to four members of the ArenaNet team. Design Director James Phinney is leaving ArenaNet to join his former colleague Jeff Strain over at Undead Labs, and he's not going alone. Joining him are designer Richard Foge, as well as artists Scott Albaugh and Doug Williams. It's been very quiet on the Undead Labs front for a while now, so this may signal the beginning of some progress on the zombie front. As for ArenaNet? "Of course we're disappointed to see them go, but I also know these guys are each individually huge zombie fans and are going to work on a zombie game, so I'm excited for their opportunity and wish them all the best," says Mike. We at Massively join him in wishing the group the best of luck in their new venture.
