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GDC Online 2011: Riot Games' Travis S. George talks game production
Gamasutra has its hands on a new interview with Riot Games' lead producer Travis S. George, straight from GDC Online 2011. In the interview, George goes into the finer points of game production and outlines five habits into which producers can find themselves falling if they aren't careful. These habits are things like writing down tasks and documentation or resolving all conflicts; in sum, they're all things that sound harmless, or even benevolent. George warns that the true danger comes when the five habits are combined, like some kind of bizarro-game-production-Captain-Planet. It's a truly interesting piece for anyone interested in game production or design, and let's be honest: There are worse people to learn from than the lead producer of Riot Games. For the full technical details, click on over to the full article.
Riot reveals new League of Legends champion
There's a new League of Legends champion heading to town, and with a name like Malcolm Graves, you know he's probably a little bit of a badass. Riot Games has just unveiled the newest playable character for its mega MOBA hit: a quick-drawing outlaw who brings a bit of gunfighter 'tude to the fray. The LoL website highlights Graves' buckshot, smokescreen, quickdraw, collateral damage, and true grit abilities, while also giving players the skinny on Graves' lore. Yes, League of Legends does have lore, and once you've had a good chuckle over that fact, you'll want to head to the official site to check out the new champion's details.
Massively's guide to PAX 2011
What can be said about PAX Prime in Seattle, Washington that hasn't been said already? Everyone knows that it is the largest public gaming event in North America. Attendance totaled 67,600 last year, not including press and exhibitors. And this year, even more gamers will descend on the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The latest and greatest games -- released and unreleased -- will be available for public consumption. Developers will mill around the showroom floor, answering your questions. Not to mention that no one will look at you funny because you play video games! This year, MMORPGs really stand out in the crowd. Seattle native NCsoft has a huge presence at the convention, borrowing a theater just to showcase its games. BioWare comes armed with its heavy-hitter, Star Wars: The Old Republic. And free-to-play titles like Firefall, Lord of the Rings Online, and Wakfu promise to strut their stuff at this year's PAX. Punch past the break as Massively outlines the must-see booths for MMO fans. And don't forget the panels, including a couple of MMO spotlights for PAX Dev, the gathering of fans and developers at Sheraton Seattle Hotel on the 24th and 25th.
UK teen arrested for illegal BBM, social media crackdown gains steam
Lending further gravity to the proposed crackdown being bandied about in British parliament, an Essex teen has been arrested for sending a BBM that ran afoul of the Serious Crime Act of 2007. The 18-year old, now free on bail, allegedly used the service to encourage copycat attacks of the violent rioting that's swept London, and is set to appear in court on September 1st. It's the second known case to put RIM's private messaging service -- "popular among urban teenagers" as a cheap texting alternative -- in the UK's legal hotseat. For its part, the Canadian electronics maker has since reached out to police, promising to aid the investigation "in any way [it] can." Although no decision has yet been made to extend law enforcement's powers over social media services, such as Twitter and Facebook, arrests like these seem to indicate a murky free speech future.
UK Prime Minister exploring social media crackdown in wake of London riots (video)
As Londoners continue to pick up the rubble and carnage from this week's riots, UK Prime Minister David Cameron is exploring new ways to maintain order -- including, apparently, a government crackdown on social media. In a speech to members of Parliament today, Cameron made clear his belief that law enforcement officials should be able to curb and monitor the use of social networking sites under certain circumstances, lending credence to the theory that mechanisms like Facebook, Twitter and BlackBerry played a critical role in inciting the recent violence: "Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence we need to stop them. So we are working with the Police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality." There's a fine line separating issues of national security from the rights to free speech, but it's a line that Cameron seems willing to toe. And, though he and his Conservative government are only mulling the idea, it's difficult to ignore the irony in his statements. Keep in mind that this is the same man who roundly condemned Hosni Mubarak for shutting down Egypt's internet at the height of its revolution, calling for the now-ousted leader to fully respect the "freedom of expression and communication, including use of telephones and the internet." Cameron, of course, isn't calling for anything nearly as drastic as what Mubarak orchestrated, nor is he facing anywhere near the same level of domestic turmoil. But the fundamental narrative remains the same: in the face of social upheaval, a national leader instinctively reaches for a digital muzzle as a stop-gap measure, while (perhaps) ignoring the larger, longer-term ramifications of his actions. Fortunately for the UK, though, Cameron is already doing one thing that Mubarak apparently never did -- he's thinking about right and wrong. Head past the break to see Cameron's speech, in its entirety.
Apple reacts to London riots
The ongoing London riots, now in their fourth day, have already caused significant damage across the city. Apple, a tempting target for thieves and vandals during the best of times, has reacted as any prudent and sufficiently cautious high-end retailer should during such a time. The Apple Store in Liverpool has entirely cleared out its inventory, and according to TNW several other stores have followed suit. The Regent Street store has closed early with unconfirmed reports of armed police guards standing by, and many stores have police vans parked directly in front of the stores. Several London-area Apple resellers are also clearing stock from their shelves. We've received several reports of 40 new-in-package iPhone 4 units available for sale on Craigslist, possibly related to the looting. With reports on Twitter indicating that at least one of Sony's London-area stores was looted yesterday, Apple's reaction seems particularly prudent. Its products are obviously a high-profile target for would-be looters, and the fact that its storefronts are almost entirely glass could draw unwelcome attention from the vandals currently wrecking their way across London. So far we have received no credible reports of any looting or vandalism taking place at any of London's Apple Stores, with the possible exception of the Craigslist seller mentioned above. None of our UK correspondents have been directly affected by the rioting yet, and we wish them and all of the UK a speedy return to order.
League of Legends boasts 15 million registered players
League of Legends has officially surpassed the 15 million player plateau. That means it's time for a smattering of silly stats from the marketing department to help illustrate just how large that number really is. In a new press release published this morning, Riot Games touts everything from its peak concurrency numbers (500,000), to its daily player totals (1.4 million), to the headline-grabbing registered players figure. While those numbers are quite impressive, Riot doesn't stop there. "An average of ten games of LoL start every second of every day," the company says, before adding that "gamers spend 3.7 million hours in-game [...] every day." The title's first season of competitive play is coming to a close, and Riot CEO Brandon Beck has a hearty thank you in store for the title's faithful. "We're committed to continuing to match their dedication with our relentless focus on ongoing enhancements to the player experience with great new features, content, and polish – and we have some very exciting surprises in store just around the corner," he says.
League of Legends surpasses 15M registered players, 1.4M play daily
Riot Games announced today that League of Legends has over 15 million registered players, with 3.6 million monthly active users and over 1.4 million playing daily. The company also revealed its peak concurrency (number of those LoLing at the same time) as over half a million players. This is the first time the company has publicly shared its user numbers since launching in October 2009. The League of Legends Season One Championship drew in over 1.69 million online viewers, with 210,000 checking in for the final match. Riot Games plans to expand LoL in 2011 to Southeast Asia and China, home of its parent company, Tencent. Riot also made headlines recently with the human acquisition of Mass Effect 2 lead gameplay designer Christina Norman, who has taken a lead designer role. Check out more coverage of today's announcement in our interview with Riot Games' CEO and co-founder, Brandon Beck.
Reports: Chinese online giant Tencent acquires majority stake in Riot Games
China's biggest Internet company, Tencent, has reportedly acquired a majority stake in Los Angeles-based Riot Games for the sum of $350 million. Tencent has already acquired a number of other Western properties, including Crytek's free-to-play FPS and Take-Two's NBA 2K Online, and also runs the QQ messaging service, boasting over 600 million-plus users. Riot makes League of Legends, the free-to-play DotA-style multiplayer title, and has said it will stay in Los Angeles and continue to "aggressively" hire through 2011. This deal likely won't affect the day-to-day of League of Legends (or any other titles Riot has under development), but given Tencent's contacts and assets in China, Riot will likely get a lot of help in spreading its games to players overseas. The transaction is still subject to regulatory measures, but is expected to close within 30 days.
WoW Moviewatch: Riot by Sylverbkwolf
Warning: There's a tiny bit of cussing in this music video, listen with care.Zeb, otherwise known as Sylverbkwolf, created this music video because he was feeling a little bored of the game itself. It's his first video longer than 20 seconds or so, representing his first attempt at editing, framing, and other similar concepts. It took him about a week or two to finish it, and thus was born Sylverbkwolf's WoW music video for Three Days Grace - Riot.In terms of music videos, it didn't reach out and grab me. That being said, considering it's Zeb's first time out, he did a good job of creating smooth animation and a logical follow-through in the video. It made sense, and nothing really struck me as being out of place. The scenes, the requisite use of musical models, and the "story" worked together just fine for a rock and roll video.What I did particularly like, however, is the use of Wintergrasp footage. I've not seen a lot of videos -- music videos or story films -- using this new gameplay feature, and I thought it was keen Zeb included it. I think all the siege engines, in particular, fit a good metal music theme, so it was a good call to include it.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ..
WoW Moviewatch: Riot
Though fairly new to World of Warcraft machinima, bi0man22 took a crack at this music video. Named after the main song, Riot, by Three Days Grace, it's all about the little guy. The troops, led by a wee gnome, take on their king, who had begun to cause problems for them.What I find interesting about this machinima is that he used Adobe Premiere Elements, the lesser of the Premiere family, which retails for roughly 100 USD, and GIMP, a free image editing program. As evidenced, you don't always need a fancy editor to produce decent results. While he could use work on some of his handmade signs, he didn't do a bad job overall. If you're looking to rock out, check out the music video tag for more videos![Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Samsung resignations spark rioting, photo burning
Think you're a fanboy? Supporters of the Samsung Group gathered for a rally during a press conference held by Kim Yong-chul, a lawyer calling for punishments to be handed out to disgraced company CEO Lee Kun-hee. During the proceedings, supporters burned pictures of Kim and generally made Apple and Microsoft fanatics look like choir boys on especially good behavior. Now that's dedication.[Thanks, Dooder; Image courtesy AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon]
Forum Post of the Day: Lookin' good
If you've been reading our Shifting Perspectives druid column, then you'll probably remember our discussion of the way druids look as they level up and get newer gear. The druids over in Europe have found a new way to show Blizzard how they feel about it on their forums: in a post by Rawr, entitled "[Screenshot] Season 3 Set Looks So Awesome," they've not only highlighted how druids look in the latest arena gear (as pictured above), but they've shown compiled pics very much like all the the different gear they've had leveling up, from level 10 to level 70.My druid looked something like this at level 10, which as you can see, is pretty drab. But once I got to level 45 or so, I completed a set I thought looked pretty nice. Now at 70, I have three sets for Bear form, for Cat form, and for healing. I don't mean to brag or anything -- my gear isn't the best in the world -- but one day I hope my druid can look like Xgeno does in his armor!There are many players out there who may think druids' opinion on their looks is a petty issue that doesn't matter, but when you think about it, there are lots of people out there with very strong opinions on class-specific issues that other classes don't understand in the least. In an age when some players stage riots on their servers or spam forums to protest class problems, these druids have once again demonstrated that there are alternative ways to share your feelings on a particular issue. For anyone out there who feels extremely angry, happy, or whatever, about any particular class issue, it makes sense to stop and think how you want to look in the eyes of other players before posting on the forums about it. Do you want them to get really frustrated because you're disrupting their gaming in some way? Or do you want them to read your post, then grin and say, "I see what you did there?"[Thanks Lewi!]Edit: Apparently the European thread Lewi brought to our attention has its roots in the US. The level 20 druid Pando showed everyone what her animal form looked like, and invited everyone to show theirs. Classic. [Thanks Delkral!]
WoW Moviewatch: Rioting across the realms
Well, some players have decided that in-game riots may be the answer. The answer, at least until GMs started mass sleeping players participating and handing out three hour bans. This video (which is not entirely safe for work) covers rioting on Dentrag, but there are similar happenings on Warsong, Stormscale, and perhaps other realms. However, while many priests don't feel they're being listened to elsewhere, I'm not sure this is the solution -- at least unless your goal is to get your account banned.[Thanks, Adam]
PS3 crime spree, part II: Fall of man
So, um, the PS3 is out today. Had you heard? That's right, that shiny box which has had been subjected to the harshest criticism, the loudest praise, and a shortage of epic proportions, has finally made it's way in -- and out -- of stores on this launch day to end all launch days. We got a pretty dang good idea of how ugly things were going to get last night, but who could've predicted 12:01AM would be greeted by such violence? We've got ourselves an actual shooting (none of this BB nonsense), hospitalizations aplenty (due to the genius who lined up 300 people to make a run for the door in the pic above), an armed EB holdup that netted 5 PS3s for the thieves, pepper ball riot control and an escaped convict just to spice things up a bit. Plus, all these suckers missed last night's episode of The Office -- how dreadful! Jim and Pam fuhevah!Read - CT man shot outside Wal-Mart, suspects still on the loose. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Armed robbers steal 5 PS3s from Ohio EB Games store. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - Riot breaks out at Circuit City. [Thanks, John C.]Read - Police use pepper balls to control crowd in Tyson, VA. [Thanks, Troutman]Read - Escaped rapist apprehended in Best Buy PS3 line. [Thanks, MrMarvey]Update: While not actually criminal, last night's award for cruel and unusual went to PC Gamer, who were on hand in SF to try to convince a card-carrying line-waiting PS3 fanboy to swear off Sony forever. In exchange for a $7,500 Falcon Northwest PC rig, dude had to sign a legally binding contract to not purchase or ever own a PS3, under pain of death paying back $7,500. Some guy named Neil, who'd been waiting for 40 hours, signed his life away -- pic after the break.
