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BioWare: SWTOR could've been a Game of Thrones MMO
The Force may be with BioWare, but it might interest you to know that the Canadian RPG giant wasn't married to the Star Wars IP when it began discussing its initial foray into the MMO space. According to an article at PC Gamer, everything from the Lord of the Rings, to the Dark Tower, to A Song of Ice and Fire was on the table when the team began drawing up its design documents. "If we were going to do a Game of Thrones MMO, what kind of rules and what kind of gameplay elements would really bring that world to life? Each [design document] had that, but we always focused on the story at the fore," says BioWare's James Ohlen. Ultimately, the devs forsook Westeros for the fertile setting they helped create in the Knights of the Old Republic series, and George R. R. Martin fans are left to ponder the differences between a huge BioWare production and a Bigpoint browser title.
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: Are MMOs your main hobby?
This week is a big one for fantasy fans, as the fifth volume of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire cycle has finally arrived in bookstores (six years after its predecessor, no less). Since there's quite a bit of overlap between fans of fantasy literature and MMORPGs, and since most MMOs are fairly time-consuming, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that a few of you may be seeing less of your favorite game than normal this week. Whether you're making a long-awaited return to the world of Westeros, or you're feverishly turning the pages of the first four volumes in an effort to catch up, today's Daily Grind is all about budgeting your hobby time. Specifically, do you play MMOs at the expense of other hobbies or do you occasionally set the games aside? 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!
15 Minutes of Fame: Hodor!
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. When last we heard from Game of Thrones' Kristian Nairn, the burly Irish actor was preparing to stuff himself into an airplane seat and fly to America for a bit of rest and recreation before filming begins on Season 2 of the acclaimed HBO series. As you read this week's installment of our interview -- a Skype conversation held a few days after our initial e-interview simply overflowed the confines of email -- Nairn is wrapping up his whirlwind visit and preparing to head back to Belfast ... and more World of Warcraft. This week, we chat with Nairn about his preferences for PvP and arcane spec, more on his character Hodor, and his very pointed notion of what questing would be like in a Game of Thrones MMO.
15 Minutes of Fame: Azeroth to Westeros with Game of Thrones' Kristian Nairn
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. If you've read the books behind the spellbinding new HBO series Game of Thrones, you'll instantly recognize the character portrayed by the bearded beast of burden above -- yes, that's Kristian Nairn as Hodor, on the set with young passenger Isaac Hempstead-Wright (as Bran Stark). While you may not recognize Nairn yet if you're new to the gritty fantasy series (he hasn't been onscreen yet), the show itself has been hard to ignore, debuting amidst a deluge of publicity and earning a renewal for a second season after only a single episode. Luckily for us, Nairn's enthusiasm for the World of Warcraft proves to be as capacious as both the series' success and his own 6'10" frame. The Belfast resident, who's also a professional DJ, plays on both US and EU servers (yep, he's that enthusiastic about the game), and once we'd covered the basics by email, he felt there was still so much left to say that we wound up chatting on Skype a few days later. So Hodor -- no, not Hodir, Hodor ... although come to think of it, they're both rather remarkable in stature, and ... awww, heck, set thy nose to the page if you haven't yet read George R.R. Martin's best-selling Song of Ice and Fire series and you don't know who Hodor is. These are characters that'll grab you by the short hairs -- it's the ride of a lifetime. In the meantime, settle in with us for the first of two interviews with Kristian Nairn, from Azeroth to Westeros and back again.
The Daily Grind: Would you like to see your favorite IP as an MMO?
MMORPGs often take their inspiration from existing intellectual properties including novels, films, and even pre-existing games. A few of the comments on yesterday's edition of The Daily Grind got us to thinking about untapped IPs that could conceivably be made into online games. Whether they should be made into online games is another thing entirely. Take George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire opus, by most accounts one of the landmarks of fantasy literature and an absurdly detailed feat of world- and character-building. Would it make a great MMO? Eh, I'm not so sure. The ground-work would certainly be there, but at the end of the day, it would likely turn into some sort of faction grind, skill grind, or level grind, and much of the human drama that makes the books what they are would be lost. A similar fate might befall Frank Herbert's Dune, another genre classic based in a world that lends itself to game settings, but again featuring a narrative driven by memorable characters, not PvP, questing, or lulz-worthy avatar names. What do you think, Massively readers? Would you like to see your favorite world given the MMO treatment, or are you skeptical that it would be the same old same old with new skins and a built-in audience?
Cyanide acquires game rights to George R. R. Martin's 'Song of Ice and Fire' series
We don't get to talk about books much here at The Stiq, what with our heavy focus on teh gaming and all, but today is a joyous day, as the best series of books ever made -- George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series -- will be turned into games courtesy of Cyanide Studio. Don't bother arguing with us, because we do not sow and these books are so good. The press release says that R. R. Martin and Cyanide have already begun development, with the combined efforts bearing fruit for "next generation consoles and the PC." Sadly, no other details are available as of now, but we're holding out hope that these games will be more fun than that A Game of Thrones board game ...
