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Hitting the Books: The fall 2022 reading list
Hitting the Books Quarterly is back with a brewer's six-pack of great titles to get you clear through to cuffing season!
MMO Blender: Bree's big-budget sandbox
Writing MMO Blender feels like getting three wishes from a magical lamp and having to think very, very carefully about what you ask for. You have to word it just right and ponder the consequences of each wish on the others because you just know that Genie's going to screw with you. If I were stronger, I'd reject the wishes (here, the 1000 words) outright, knowing they're a trap, but I just can't resist a turn at this column. I want a new sandbox. A good one, not one made by gank-obsessed fanboys on a shoestring budget. I don't think sandboxes are dead; I just know it takes money to make money, and modern indie sandboxes are forgetting that rule. Fortunately, I don't need money for this column. I'll take my MMO Blender wishes and build a sandbox that's more than just a pile of sand and an empty box.
Allods Online taking sign-ups for closed beta
gPotato has announced that Allods Online is just about to enter its closed beta phase of testing, and there is now a sign-up form available for those interested in getting involved. The upcoming free-to-play title is being developed by Russian studio Astrum Nival, who are responsible for localizing and publishing a number of online games for the Russian market, as well as developing Heroes of Might and Magic V (though they were known as Nival Interactive at that time, the core team is now part of Astrum Nival). With Allods Online, the team hopes to create a game that stands out in the free-to-play arena due to its high production values -- with a US$12 million budget to work with, they certainly have the opportunity to achieve this goal. It is based on a popular Russian single player RPG called Allods (or Rage of Mages internationally).So what's the game actually about? Here's the developer's rundown: "Allods Online is a free full blown MMORPG set in a fantasy space opera universe with player-built and player-controlled space battleships, creating a new dimension of co-operative game play. Join one of the 2 factions at war in the deep storyline by choosing from one of the 28 classes available." If this has you wanting to find out more, then make sure to visit the game's site and sign up for the closed beta. It's set to begin in the next couple of weeks, with further invites being sent out in waves after the initial batch. There are also some incentives for players who reach certain levels during the test. Head past the break to see a trailer explaining a little bit about the title's battleship gameplay.
Why Fantasy, and not Science Fiction, Part Eleventy-Billion
As my compadre Eli writes here, there is reasoning available that Fantasy MMOs have flourished due to there being a greater preponderance of Fantasy titles, in various media, upon which to draw inspiration to sustain an MMO. The lack of substantive Science Fiction titles of the time, therefore, leads to the correlating dearth of such MMOs. However, this argument only mentions in passing what I think is the more crucial element, which is this:Fantasy titles are about the Hero's Journey, or the Epic. Science Fiction titles are about exploration of ideas. One of these story types makes for better adaptation to immersive gameplay. Guess which?Now, I will back up a bit and acknowledge that as a blanket statement, what I said does not (and should not be considered to) cover every Fantasy or Science Fiction title everywhere. Clearly, Star Wars is the most well-known Epic SF story, but then again, Lucas based the plot almost entirely on Joseph Campbell's monomyth, which was itself formulated around the epic myths and stories of history. And perhaps one of the finest Fantasy titles ever written, John Crowley's Little, Big, uses Fantasy tropes to examine the idea of the complexity of human relationships, rather than one character's journey to overcome evil. But having made those concessions, let me make my case.
Rumor: Mass Effect 'delayed', due in September [update]
A CVG report asserts that the Xbox 360's role-playing space opera, Mass Effect, has been "delayed" until the horrifyingly distant month of September. Of course, having never had an official release date to begin with, it seems exceedingly impatient to consider the game delayed just as its first potential release window is revealed. Though there have been hints pointing towards a May or June release, September would be the first month Microsoft and BioWare have openly committed to -- if indeed the report is wholly accurate.We'd prefer a month that was sooner (like April), but it seems the utterly blinding level of light bouncing off all the shiny spaceships, futuristic weapons and revoltingly moist aliens in the game just isn't enough for BioWare to stop polishing. The only worrying aspect of such a September release is that it would be awfully close to the August arrival of Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon. Having access to both time-consuming RPGs within 30 days could prove socially, economically and hygienically disastrous for fans of the genre. Curiously, when asked for comment on the September date (which could specifically be for Europe), the Mass Effect publisher only offered, "Microsoft has not announced a release date for Mass Effect."Update: "We have not made any official announcements regarding release timing for Mass Effect," adds Microsoft. "At this time, any information about the game's release date is purely rumor and speculation."Joystiq contacted CVG for clarification. We were politely informed that the information originated from a Microsoft employee and that it has yet to be "officially" announced. In other words, we're waiting on that official announcement letting us know we have to wait until September for the game -- point being, we're waiting.
