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MMObility: Simplifying design for the mobile market
Whenever I write up something about a smartphone MMO, one of the most common complaints I hear is this: "If I wanted to play a game for several hours, I would sit at my gaming desktop." While this is true for many players, it is also true that games like Star Legends and Pocket Legends by Spacetime Studios have met with a lot of success. The developers were surprised to find that players were more than willing to sit for several hours while playing the games on their tiny screens. Still, there is a lot of truth to the complaints about smartphone MMOs. An MMO is typically something a player wants to get lost in. We commonly refer to it as "immersion," but really we're just talking about being sucked into the ideas and design of a title. If you have found yourself daydreaming about a game while at work, you were "immersed." I would argue that this type of deep immersion is very possible on the smaller screens of smartphones and tablets. However, in order to achieve it more commonly, developers might have to adjust many of their designs and theories. Click past the cut and we'll discuss it!
Massively's 2011 winter holiday event roundup
The winter holiday season is well underway, both in and out of game. Many schools, businesses, and communities are preparing to take a little time off to enjoy the holidays, and here at Massively, we want to make sure you don't miss a single in-game party. We've been rounding up all the details on celebrations happening in our favorite MMOs, combining them into a handy guide. Follow along after the jump for your map to all of the can't-miss MMO winter holiday events for 2011!
Hanging with my Gnomies: Wizard101's Zafaria trailer hits below the belt
Gnomes are absolutely awesome. This can never be denied, disproven, or displaced. Just because you're a tiny garden decoration doesn't mean that you aren't fearsome in large numbers (or when hit by a growth spell). So it's good to see that Wizard101 is unafraid to put its Gnomes up front on the center stage. While Wizard101's Zafaria expansion came out a couple weeks ago, KingsIsle wants to make sure that everyone is aware of the new high-level area and all of its fun features. Hence, an official Zafaria trailer that shows off the expansion's lands, monsters, landmarks, and Gnome attack spells. It's a mash-up of tourism, humor, and hype in one quick video application, and it's yours for the low, low price of hitting the "Continue Reading" button! Check it out. We mean it. We'd hate to have to unleash the Massively Gnome Punishment Squad on your shins.
Free for All: Shopping for your favorite free-to-play fanatic
Well, November is officially over. You know what that means: The shopping season is upon us. While you might or might not celebrate any one of the numerous holidays that are coming up over the next several weeks, you are probably quite aware of the sales and seasonal happenings in your area. Times have changed, though. It only takes one trip to the local game shop to see how boxed MMOs are not as common as they once were. Digital delivery, faster internet speeds, free-to-play payment models and many more titles to choose from have all encouraged developers to skip the boxes for the most part. So what is there to get for the free-to-play fanatic in your life? There's plenty, fortunately. It can be quite a trip to navigate the muddy waters of cash-shop goods and virtual money, and the last thing you would want to do is buy something that is not needed or wanted. Click past the cut and I'll give you some suggestions for gift giving this season!
KingsIsle launches new Wizard101 Zafaria content
It's update time in the world of Wizard101, and KingsIsle has released a mammoth set of patch notes to go along with its new Zafaria content. What's Zafaria? It's a whole new slice of the game world comprised of six unique areas that can be accessed with a Wizard101 membership or via individual purchases. The game's level cap has also been raised (to 70), and the requisite new gear is present as well. New spells can also be found in the update, as can new henchmen and improved character stats. There's a bunch more for you to read about (including info on a new music player!), so head to the official Wizard101 website for all the details.
Wizard101 heading to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau
KingsIsle Entertainment announced today that its popular free-to-play MMO, Wizard101, is expanding to the exotic east. Thanks to an agreement with Taiwan Taomee Technology, the game will be launching in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in 2012. This announcement comes shortly after the company's deal with Taomee Holdings Limited to launch the game in China next year. To get in on the Wizard101 fun yourself, head on over to the game's official site.
MMObility: Ten terrific titles for this nifty new netbook
I mentioned this new gaming toy of mine last week, and it finally arrived. I immediately loved how it felt and weighed. Sure, there are lighter netbooks, but many of them feel more fragile. This Inspiron Duo has a rubberized edging to it, and the flip-screen feels snappy but firm. I was happy right away. It's a higher-quality netbook with a decent-quality tablet included. After I tweaked it and purged it of bloatware, I had to get some games going on it, and not just casual Facebook games but real MMOs. I spent a few days going through my list of titles to see which ones would work on the netbook and how many will work well with the touchscreen. I wanted games that would give a normal netbook fits but not lag excessively. Note that my netbook's screen is 1366x768, while the cheapest ones out there are normally 1024x600. Adjustments might need to be made there. I came up only with 10 games for now, but expect more in the future. Click past the cut to see the list!
Gameforge laying off 100 employees, canceling at least two games
Another month, another round of MMORPG-related layoffs. This time the bad news comes courtesy of Gameforge, a German browser MMO maker responsible for Gates of Andaron as well as the upcoming Star Trek: Infinite Space and the European version of Wizard101. Gamasutra reports that Gameforge is realigning its studio to the tune of 100 layoffs and the cancellation of at least two games, with Hellbreed and Mythos on the chopping block and Star Trek: Infinite Space not far behind "if it cannot find a co-publisher." The company will do away with its web- and client-based games divisions and restructure itself around separate development and publishing arms. The news comes on the heels of layoff announcements by CCP, NCsoft, and GamersFirst last month.
Wizard101 introduces Zafaria and Grub Guardian minigame
KingsIsle Entertainment has announced the latest content update coming to its popular MMO title, Wizard101. The new patch, which is coming later this month, introduces the African-themed world of Zafaria, which features many major themes related to the return of the Umbra Queen, Morganthe. The update will increase the level cap from 60 to 70 and will introduce new gear, pets, mounts, and spells. In addition, players will have new areas to explore, such as the open grasslands of the Savannah and the ruins of the Drum Jungle. A new minigame feature known as Grub Guardian will be launching in tandem with the new update. Grub Guardian is a tower-defense-style game which, will be available for web browsers and eventually, Android and iOS mobile devices. The game will allow players to link to their Wizard101 accounts, which will enable them to play the game using their in-game pets. As players progress in Grub Guardian, their pets will reap rewards of experience and increased attributes. KingsIsle hopes this will allow players to make progress within the game even if they are away from their computers or simply short on time. For more information about the coming updates, and to join the fun for yourself, head on over to Wizard101's official site. [Source: KingsIsle Entertainment press release]
Enter At Your Own Rift: The big takeaways from GDC
After dining on enough beef brisket to feed an army of hungry cowboys, I returned from Austin's GDC Online to chip away at the Ashes of History world event quests. RIFT had a nice showing at the GDC Online Awards ceremony, walking away with awards for Best Online Technology and Best New Online Game. In addition, Trion CCO and RIFT Executive Producer Scott Hartsman gave a talk about RIFT's pre-launch preparations and post-launch plans. GDC was dominated by a handful of common topics, like free-to-play, metrics, monetization, and technology. In this week's Enter at Your Own Rift, we'll take a look at a few of these to see how they apply to RIFT, and then we'll look at the big takeaways from GDC overall.
Wizard101 offers reimbursement for Sunday downtime
Wizard101 players may have noticed some unplanned downtime in their gameplay Sunday afternoon. J. Todd Coleman, aka Headmaster Ambrose, stopped by the forums today to clarify the issue. The technical problem that caused the downtime has since been fixed, but Coleman has said that some players may have experienced a loss of items acquired just prior to the downtime. But don't fret, Wizard101 players. The team keeps detailed logs of all acquired items, and any items acquired (or crowns spent) prior to the downtime will be reimbursed, even if the item was not actually lost. The team understands that erring on the side of caution such as this will result in some players receiving double the loot, but Coleman states that this outcome is "far preferable to running the risk of some players not recovering lost items. All items should be successfully reimbursed within the next 24 to 48 hours. For the full details on the problem and subsequent recovery, head on over to the game's official forums.
Leaderboard: Free Realms' vs. Wizard101's unicorns
In honor of the recently revived MMO Family column here on Massively, I thought that this week we'd extend the brutal beatings, clobberings, and verbal beratings to family-friendly MMOs. In many ways, Free Realms and Wizard101 are almost like siblings with so many things in common, and this extends to the use of sickeningly cute unicorn pets. While I personally stopped paying attention to unicorns when Trapper Keepers went out of style, apparently they're still a "thing," especially with the younger market. You young 'uns, always keeping the unicorn union in business! Why don't you just let us harvest them for their magical horns which can be ground up and sprinkled on our Starbucks lattes? Ahem. Sorry. In any event, one such instance of ultra-cuteness is enough; two is completely unnecessary and unhealthy for the well-being of our universe. So today you must decide which game's unicorns will rule as lord supreme over the hearts of tweens everywhere, and which will be sold to the salt mines to haul loads while crying rainbow tears. Vote! And let it forever be on your conscience! [The unicorn on the left is from Wizard101; the one on the right is from Free Realms.]
MV Guide: October 24-30, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) It's no surprise that we're heavy on the Halloween festivities in this week's MV Guide. Nearly every game out there is partying with the ghosts and goblins, from the newly discovered Little Horrors (pictured above) to the familiar Free Realms. Our livestream team is going to spend plenty of time checking out events in various games. If Halloween's not your thing, don't worry -- we've got plenty of regularly scheduled gameplay as well, so follow along after the jump for this week's lineup!
KingsIsle teasing new Wizard101 content
Our friends at KingsIsle Entertainment have tipped us off to an exciting bit of news regarding Wizard101. Unfortunately we don't know quite what that news is just yet. Why the posting then? Well, that's where you lot come in. Take a look at the image above and put on your thinking caps. KingsIsle let slip the fact that this picture is the first in a series of three to be released over the next week or so, and there's some sort of message hidden in each image. As we understand it, all three will be needed to decipher the full message, which ultimately has something to do with some "mysterious upcoming new content." [Source: KingsIsle press release]
The Perfect Ten: Best starter MMOs
I think it's tremendously easy for experienced MMO players to completely forget what it was like getting started in this genre. It's natural to assume that everyone around you cut their teeth on the same games and in the same ways you did, even though this is completely ridiculous when you give it any real thought. The truth is that MMOs are often very intimidating to the newcomer, and a bad first impression can push a player away for life. You have to contend with a typically busy user interface, you have to master keys and mouse buttons all over the place, you have to learn the lingo, you have to pick up skills on how to survive, and you have to do all of this almost all at once or risk feeling completely lost. This is why many MMO studios place such a priority on an excellent, welcoming tutorial experience. I can relate to the newbie because my first MMO was Anarchy Online. I've never felt so out of my depth than when I played that back in 2002, and I don't think I ever quite understood it all before I left. My second MMO, City of Heroes, was far more friendly to my newbish soul, and it was smooth sailing from there on out. For today's Perfect Ten, I want to highlight MMOs that I feel would be the best for a completely new player to experience. These are titles that combine a welcoming beginner journey, intuitive controls, a helpful community, and enough similarities with other video games to help the transition.
MMO Family: Why games are good for family
A couple of years ago, Massively readers engaged in a great discussion that doesn't get covered nearly as much as it should. Thanks to former Massively columnist Lisa Poisso, the column MMO Family was born, and she and the readers looked at how MMOs affect the family, both the positives and the potential dangers. I'm excited to have the opportunity to start the column up again because I think a lot has changed in the short time since the column went on hiatus. We'll revisit a few issues that Lisa brought up and some of the more recently released MMO titles to see which ones are the best for family-centered gaming. To kick things off, I'd like to explore why MMOs are good for kids and for the family unit as a whole. When it comes to talk about kids and gaming, the discussion tends to revolve around the negatives, like violence, antisocial behavior, or lack of physical activity. No one will argue that MMOs, as with most anything, can have detrimental effects when played to excess. But to focus on the negatives is to ignore the vast amount of benefits that gaming can provide. Read on for a few examples.
The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The fansite managers
Back when I covered Asheron's Call for The Game Archaeologist, I got an impassioned email from a former fansite operator who made me promise that I'd drop her a line when the time came to talk about Asheron's Call 2, as she was not only a huge fan of the title but still in contact with many former players who carry a torch for Turbine's long-departed MMO. One thing led to another, and I ended up talking to both her and a fellow AC2 fansite manager about the ups and downs of covering the second coming of Dereth... The Game Archaeologist: Please introduce yourself, your current job position, and how you got involved with Asheron's Call 2 back in the day? Kiersten Samwell: I'm Kiersten Samwell, Community Relations and Social Media Manager for KingsIsle Entertainment, the creator of Wizard101. I used to be the Site Manager for Warcry's Crossroads of Dereth/Asheron's Call site as Ellen Ripley, so it was natural to work with the site manager of their Asheron's Call 2 fansite as well. His name is Roberto, and he was just an incredible site manager. Of course, being an avid AC1 player, I enjoyed AC2 for both its similarities to and its differences from AC1. Robert Hackett: Hi, I'm Robert Hackett, the Managing MMO Editor of GamersInfo.net. I actually got invited to one of the betas along with a friend of mine. The lag was so bad (the day I logged in may have been a stress test; I can't remember) that I told my friend that there was no way my rig could handle that. Fast forward to the month after release and Ophelea from the old AC Crossroads site begged me to come over to AC2 and be an editor for the database she was trying to build. Logged in and the game was a million percent better. I stayed to work on the database and eventually fell in love with it beyond "work!"
Wizard101 celebrates another anniversary of taking over the world
Ah, Wizard101. My, how you have grown. So much has happened over the last three years that we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the milestones that happened during that time. Instead of going all the way back to the beginning, we'll be covering the major happenings over the last year. If we wrote up all of the patches and major updates to the game from the beginning, we would be here all night. Feel free to retell some of your favorite memories in the comments section, and join us in wishing a happy birthday to KingsIsle and its baby, Wizard101! Click past the cut!
MV Guide: August 29-September 4, 2011
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on Massively's Livestream channel. Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During livestream events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, livestream events are subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.) Follow along after the jump to see what's scheduled for this week!
Game Developers Choice Online Awards announces finalists, EQ to be ushered into Hall of Fame
It's not quite to the prestigious level of the Academy Awards -- yet -- but the Game Developers Choice Online Awards is fast becoming one of the more well-known and highly respected award ceremonies in the MMO world while only being in its second year. With October 12th's ceremony coming soon, the field has been narrowed by 400 industry leaders into a competitive pool of nominees in a dozen categories. The categories include Best Online Visual Arts, Best Social Network Game, Best Online Game Design, Online Innovation, Best Online Technology, Best Community Relations, Best Audio For An Online Game, Best New Online Game, and Best Live Game. Several popular MMOs, including RIFT, DC Universe Online, World of Tanks and Wizard101, are up for a possible award. In addition, the awards will recognize Kesmai Corporation founders John Taylor and Kelton Flinn for the Online Game Legend Award. EverQuest, too, will be getting its long-overdue kudos as it is ushered into the Hall of Fame. We'll be anxious to see which games grab the gold this fall, but until then we're just going to grouse that we weren't tapped to be one of the judges.
