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Blizzard quashes speculation about a potential World of StarCraft
There's a very good reason why the now-infamous World of StarCraft mod had so many people so excited -- it seems like a pretty obvious project. After all, Blizzard has certainly made a big impression on the MMO world with World of Warcraft, so it seems like a no-brainer that their science fiction RTS might follow a similar path. Unfortunately, those of you waiting for just such an announcement have been told the exact opposite -- Blizzard currently has no plans to adapt the StarCraft setting to an MMO. According to senior VP Frank Pearce, it's not so much a case of not liking the idea as not having available staff and time to pursue the angle, with the company's teams currently occupied by Diablo III, the mysterious Titan project, further sequels to StarCraft II, and of course World of Warcraft. While the title remains in Blizzard's trademark arsenal, it doesn't look as if the company will be using it for a game any time in the near future. It's good news for players who want the series to remain as an RTS, but bad news for the many fans hoping to make their own mark on the galaxy.
Blizzard debuts new products at San Diego Comic-Con
Blizzard's Chris Metzen graced the floors of the San Diego Comic-Con today to talk Blizzard licensing partners and show off some awesome new merchandise coming this year featuring Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo wares. Diablo merchandies looks to include knee-high Diablo socks, a Diablo face belt, new shirts, and two hoodies modeled after Diablo's demon hunter class and the angel Tyrael. StarCraft's line is expanding with new shirts, a first look at the MegaBloks Viking, a leather wallet, and StarCraft: Ghost: Spectres, which has been confirmed by Metzen to be a novelization of StarCraft: Ghost, the game that was and then never was. Warcraft's wares continue along a familiar path with a slew of new T-shirts as well as what appears to be a beverage called the Forsaken Elixir of Undead ... I really have no idea, since it's most likely a joke slide. Metzen also previewed the covers for the forthcoming original graphic novels Horde and Alliance, coming out later this year. [Thanks, Kotaku, for the tip and images.]
Starcraft Universe alpha gameplay video released
What if the year's most noteworthy MMO release wasn't a mega-budget corporate themepark but a crazy-detailed mod produced by a tiny team of fans? A lot of gamers out there would love to see a StarCraft-flavored MMORPG, and modder Ryan Winzen is in the process of making that dream a reality with StarCraft Universe, a total conversion for Blizzard's StarCraft II that turns the strategy title into a full-blown massively multiplayer experience. Eurogamer has published a four-minute video of the mod in action, and viewers will get a good look at the alpha-state UI, combat, and a glimpse of character creation before the clip is done. As to the legalities involved, we reported earlier this year on Winzen's amicable accord with Blizzard, and though the gaming giant invoked its right to block the distribution of videos promoting the mod, it allowed development on the project to continue.
Winners announced for Memories of Blizzard video contest
The Memories of Blizzard contest, which asked you (all of you, really) for videos containing your memories of Blizzard games over the past 20 years, has announced the lucky winners. Who won for their efforts in crafting videos of their memories? Well, I'll tell you. (He's going to tell, he's going to tell.) Stop singing, please. Grand Prize Chris Modica – Atlanta GA, USA First Place James "Pinkhair" Lawless – Selden, NY, USA Second Place Michael Cawcutt – Minneapolis, MN, USA Runners-Up Edwin Choi – Carrollton, TX, USA Nicholas Gibbs – Aloha, Oregon, USA source If you're interested in seeing the videos yourself, you can do that at the video contest page. Congratulations to all the winners!
The Game Archaeologist traces his Lineage: The highlights
If we judged MMOs by their numbers alone -- and I'm not suggesting we do so -- then Lineage would be the crowing rooster strutting about the hen house. It's also been one of those games that I've always intellectually acknowledged was a huge hit for some reason, but I never gave it much attention. I think it's because, contrary to many of the "big name" games we cover here, Lineage was and always will be an Asian phenomenon. That doesn't mean it should be shunned, of course, but just that it may be difficult to understand when you're on the outside of it. So let's back up the memory truck to September 1998, when a then-fledgling NCsoft rolled out a Diablo-esque isometric MMO and struck virtual gold in South Korea. At the time, gaming rooms were becoming a huge thing in the country; a recession had hit (giving people a lot of time with nothing to do), and the government was rapidly expanding the broadband network. In the face of this perfect storm, titles like StarCraft and Lineage became overnight household fixtures -- and the country hasn't looked back. Even if you haven't played Lineage and you don't know anyone who does, trust me: There are a lot of people playing this 13-year-old title, to the tune of millions and millions. As former Senior Producer Chris Mahnken said, "Lineage keeps going because it's just plain fun." This month we'll be looking back at the incredible legacy that Lineage has given the industry, starting with an overview of the highlights of these past 13 years. Hit the jump and mind the gap!
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm teaser shoots its way onto the Internet
We're not sure what the original distribution plan for the 45-second teaser for Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm was, but we're pretty sure it wasn't "Let it leak onto every video site on the Internet." Regardless, we're glad it's here -- and after watching it below, we wager you will be, too.
TUAW's Daily App: Starfront Collision
Gameloft has earned a reputation for, ahem, "borrowing" some game ideas for the App Store. A lot of the company's (very popular) games are more or less copies of popular titles on other platforms. One of Gameloft's latest games, Starfront Collision, is no different; it's basically a clone of StarCraft. But here's the thing: Who cares? Blizzard hasn't actually put out a version of StarCraft for iOS, and to be honest, the RTS options are pretty limited. So if Gameloft wants to "borrow" the genre and even some of its various factions and units, that doesn't bother us one bit. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite have the polish of StarCraft (what does?), but it's a working RTS, built from the ground up for the iPhone. While it would be nice to see some official Blizzard games on iOS, we don't have those yet. In the meantime, fans of the genre and Blizzard's classic can check out Starfront Collision, either as a free version with in-app purchases for content, or by buying the app at US$2.99.
Blizzard giving StarCraft 2 players 30 days of WoW
Blizzard has quietly begun giving players with active StarCraft 2 accounts free 30-day WoW accounts. Verified by several sites and lots of SC2 players, Blizzard just flipped the WoW switch on many players' Battle.net accounts, inviting them to come join the world of Azeroth. Battle.net is a great asset to Blizzard, as it allows the company to easily facilitate subscriptions from all its games and create potential customers to its other games through the common account. Giving away WoW subscriptions is an easy and practically costless move that might get even more people hooked. If you know any StarCraft 2 players who haven't set foot in Azeroth yet, maybe it's time that they gave the game a whirl. WoW Patch 4.1 is on the PTR, and WoW Insider has all the latest news for you -- from previews of the revamped Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub to new valor point mechanics and new archaeology items.
Rise and Shiny recap: 2029 Online
You can't win them all, as they say. I suppose that has to be true in any field or occupation. I try to find the coolest indie, free-to-play and odd little games to show you guys in this column, but of course I don't always play them ahead of time (I haven't played every single game in existence yet), so I might wind up with a dud occasionally. I try to give them a fair chance, though, and will play them as long as they let me. Unless, of course, a game fights me almost every step of the way. If there is one person who is understanding and who will give a fair chance to pretty much any game on Earth, I'm the one. I will forgive glitches and mistakes in smaller or lesser-known games because I have to. If I had some of the standards of some of our readers and writers, I would only be talking to you about RIFT and Lord of the Rings Online. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think it's safe to say that even broken games like 2029 Online deserve a chance. So I gave it one. Heck, I gave it several. Click past the cut and I'll tell you all about it.
MMO Roundup: World of StarCraft, RIFT news, and more
Sometimes you'd like to know that there are other MMOs out there, right? It's not all WoW, all the time! Our sister site Massively can provide you with everything you need to know about all of the other MMOs around -- past, present and future. StarCraft II turned into World of StarCraft by enterprising fan World of StarCraft is, by all indications, high on the list of desirable games that have never been announced or even hinted at. It's certainly a universe ripe for development, and it's not as if Blizzard doesn't know anything about running an MMO. But why wait for an official release when you can put the game together yourself? The latest RIFT news If upcoming MMO RIFT has caught your attention, the past week had a number of RIFT-related news stories that might strike your fancy. New beta additions? PvP details? New class reveals? Massively has it all. First Impressions: Battlestar Galactica Online Last year, developer Bigpoint announced that Battlestar Galactica Online was being developed as a free-to-play browser MMO. Just last week, Massively was able to get its hands on the game and take it for a spin. The Guild Counsel: What every leader should know about recruiting Do you like WoW Insider's Officers' Quarters? Then you might like Massively's Guild Counsel. This week, The Guild Counsel tackles the topic of guild recruitment, discussing the right and wrong ways to do it. Hello Kitty Online meets Manhattan Hello Kitty Online is near and dear to our hearts here at WoW Insider. We were all excited to hear about the latest HKO update. Hello Kitty Online visits New York City, where the locals have gone missing for mysterious reasons. Find out what happened, and cheer up the victims! Week in Review: It's all about souls Don't let WoW Insider do all of the talking when it comes to Massively's best content of the week. The Massively staff themselves have picked out what they think is the best content their site has to offer in their own weekly roundup.
Blizzard plays nice with World of StarCraft modder
Gaming giant Blizzard Entertainment has officially weighed in on the World of StarCraft controversy, and the verdict is something of a happy ending for fans of the MMO-flavored mod and its mastermind Ryan Winzen. Gamasutra reports that Winzen has been invited to meet the StarCraft II development team, and his hard work won't be for naught despite the removal of his YouTube preview videos. "It was never our intention to stop development on the mod or discourage the community from expressing their creativity through the StarCraft II editor. As always, we actively encourage development of custom maps and mods for StarCraft II, as we've done with our strategy games in the past," Blizzard said in a prepared statement. The company went on to explain that issuing a take-down order for the offending videos is part of its standard procedure when dealing with fan mods and possible copyright infringement and that it is "looking forward to seeing development of the mod continue," according to Gamasutra.
Ask Massively: It's my birthday and I'll devote a column title to it if I want to edition
Yes, 28 years ago, something very special (to me, anyway) happened. That means that while I'm going to spend the day on my usual cocktail of whatever the heck I do, I get the opportunity to make Ask Massively's opening even more of a non sequitor than it normally is. Here, have a screenshot from one of the worst-animated episodes in all of the original Transformers cartoon. I swear that looks bad even in a still frame. It was either this shot or the one of Blaster and Ultra Magnus getting married. (That's what it looks like, anyway.) Now that I've gotten that out of my system for another 10 minutes or so, we can move on to this week's column, which is sadly devoid of giant robots. It does have questions about DC Universe Online and the sad story of World of Starcraft's rise and subsequent fall, so I still get to indulge in things that I like. And birthday or not, questions can be left in the comment field or mailed along to ask@massively.com.
Berkeley Overmind AI wins the 2010 StarCraft AI competition
In a lengthy piece over on Ars Technica, Haomiao Huang, one of the University of California at Berkeley students responsible for creating the StarCraft-playing AI, Berkeley Overmind, describes how he helped create the virtual wunderkind. Berkeley Overmind was the students' entry in the 2010 StarCraft AI Competition, which -- well, the contest is kind of self-explanatory now, isn't it? The group would go on to win the competition, only after several trials against Oriol Vinyals, the group's in-house expert player. A PhD student in computer science and top tier player, previously ranked best in Spain and ranked among the top 16 players in Europe, Vinyals would eventually be bested by his AI foe, but the process would teach the team many things -- like how the AI could macro (grow its resources) faster than a human player could, but had difficulties formulating particular strategies against some of the more unorthodox ways to play. It's a process of evolution far too lengthy to describe here -- the report on Ars Technica weighs in at a whopping four pages, so hit up the source link below to give it a read. If you want to follow the Berkeley Overmind more closely, check out the official site here.
World of StarCraft modders clash with Activision Blizzard
Last night, we brought you the news that a talented StarCraft II modder had begun developing a full MMO based in the StarCraft II engine. World of StarCraft, as the mod came to be known, used the game's open modding and map-editing tools to produce some pretty impressive MMO-style mechanics. But the project has not been officially endorsed by Activision or Blizzard Entertainment, who own the rights to the StarCraft intellectual property. Given the huge popularity of both StarCraft and StarCraft II, an MMO based in that setting would be a sure bet to attract a lot of interest. There has even been speculation that Blizzard may be planning to develop an official StarCraft MMO in the near future -- a move that, after the rampant popularity of World of Warcraft, would seem like a no-brainer. Today brings some bad news for fans of the World of StarCraft mod and its development, as Activision has finally taken notice. The alpha trailer released on YouTube has been removed at the request of Activision, the reason being cited as copyright and intellectual property violations. This may pertain to the use of StarCraft II material in a game trailer, the similarity of the name to World of Warcraft's, or something else entirely. Whatever the reason for it, it's clear that it won't be plain sailing for the development of this popular StarCraft II mod.
StarCraft II turned into World of StarCraft by enterprising fan
World of StarCraft is, by all indications, high on the list of desirable games that have never been announced or even hinted at. It's certainly a universe ripe for development, and it's not as if Blizzard doesn't know anything about running an MMO. But why wait for an official release when you can put the game together yourself? That's what's behind the rather intuitively named project making the rounds today -- an effort to use the powerful map editor in StarCraft II to create a full MMO within the existing game's framework. While development is still in the very early stages, and of course the project is wholly unofficial, it's a fascinating use of player-edited gameplay as well as a display of just how much people want to play in the world as an MMO. Take a look at the trailer past the cut to see the surprising amount of work that's been done on converting the RTS into a more familiar genre -- although bear in mind that the official forums have been getting rather hammered before you go nuts.
StarCraft 2 demo deployed by Blizzard
The Starcraft 2 demo is now -- finally -- available for PC and Mac. The sample includes the first three campaign missions and doesn't require a Battle.net account (so no online, sorry). It's perfect if you're still debating relinquishing all of your free time to the game. Link after the break!
Analysts speculate on leaked Blizzard release schedule
Last week's leak of a series of internal documents detailing Blizzard's upcoming products has taken a turn away from tabloid headlines with reports of a full investigation underway at the gaming behemoth's China offices. The leak, brought to light by MMOGameSite.com, may be linked to the recent resignation of Ye Weilun, Blizzard China's general manager. Among other things, the leaked documents indicated that Blizzard could be releasing Diablo 3 and something Starcraft 2-related (dubbed "Phoenix") in 2011. The 5-year roadmap also shows two new World of Warcraft expansions and Blizzard's long-rumored WoW followup, an MMO code-named Titan. While much of the information surrounding the leak should be taken with a grain of salt (Blizzard has yet to officially confirm any information relating to the story), several analysts and industry reporters have speculated that the scenario seems entirely plausible.
Report: Blizzard suing over Korean StarCraft broadcast rights
According to a report from The Korea Times, Blizzard CEO Paul Sams is none too happy with Korean channels MBC Game and OnGameNet. They've been broadcasting StarCraft tournaments without the company's consent, Sams revealed in a press conference in Seoul yesterday. Last month, Blizzard filed to sue both networks and he says the company is currently considering filing against the Korea e-Sports Players Association (KeSPA) as well, who manage these tournaments. Bupropion seems to be having little effect on the popularity of the game in the country. The other side of the argument, uh, argues that games used in public tournaments such as these should be considered part of the public domain and Blizzard has no right to charge licensing fees. "StarCraft is not a public domain offering, as Blizzard has invested significant money and resources to create the StarCraft game and the overall StarCraft universe,'' Sams said. "Classifying StarCraft and other e-sports as part of the public domain deprives developers such as Blizzard of their IP rights. There will be no incentive to do what Blizzard had done to balance the games for competition, which is a more difficult task than creating a normal game." Back in August, Blizzard inked a deal to the broadcast rights for StarCraft 2 with GomTV. Currently, the company is deciding whether to file a preliminary injunction against the broadcasts, which would legally halt all contests until the dispute could be settled in or out of court.
G-Star 2010: From the show floor
With the booming popularity of Korean games in western culture, the G-Star convention in Busan, South Korea is quickly turning into an international event. We had an opportunity to attend the four-day convention to see the latest and greatest from Korean online gaming. Follow along after the jump as I describe my experiences on the first day of the convention, as well as take a look at what else you can expect as we go into days two, three and four.
The Lawbringer: Buying precedent
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Running parallel to the games we love and enjoy is a world full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? The following is an opinion piece dealing with Blizzard's ongoing litigation. The opinions and views expressed are solely those of me, Mathew, the columnist. You might have heard that Blizzard and its lawyers have recently started new litigation against three StarCraft 2 hackers in District Court. To a lot of people, this looks like another case of Blizzard going after more hackers for screwing with the online experience. To me, I see Blizzard's lawsuits as positive EULA-builders with huge benefit to the independent game market. It sounds crazy, but less so when you think about the concept of buying precedent.
