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Interviews

MechWarrior Online devs talk Update 15, new UI, new mechs

by Beau Hindman (1 month ago)

Betas, Sci-Fi, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, PvP, War, Free-to-Play, Post-Apocalyptic, MechWarrior Online, Player-Generated Content

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MechWarrior Online screenshot
Mechwarrior Online is about to hit its fifth month of open beta, with promises of a late summer launch. With that launch comes continued production, new content, plenty of bug fixes, and tweaks. With all of the new content -- said to be delivered on a regular schedule -- comes plenty of challenges for the developer team.

We sat down with Piranha Games' creative director, Bryan Ekman, and president, Russ Bullock, to talk about how things have been going and where they're going in the future. Not only did we get the scoop on the next community-designed Mech to be released, but we also found out about new HUD improvements, aid for players who suffer from high ping, and much more. Click past the cut for all the details!

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Mark Jacobs on the coming F2P apocalypse

by Jef Reahard (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Business Models, Interviews, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, Crowdfunding, Camelot Unchained

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Mark Jacobs on the coming F2P apocalypse
Mark Jacobs isn't jumping on the free-to-play bandwagon like most of his MMO-making contemporaries. The Camelot Unchained developer and former Dark Age of Camelot head honcho predicted a F2P "apocalypse" in a recent interview with VG247.
You know, free-to-play is just another model, and just like every other model in the industry, it will hold its special little place for a while but then there will be consequences. Those consequences in a few years will be a bit of an apocalypse.

You're going to see a lot of developers shutting down, and you're going to see a lot of publishers going, oh yeah maybe spending $20 million on a free-to-play game wasn't the best idea ever. That's part of the reason, but the other reason is equally as important, that if you go free-to-play, you really have to compete with every other free-to-play game out there.
Camelot Unchained, which recently passed the halfway point of its $2 million Kickstarter goal, will be a "niche subscription game," which Jacobs says will allow his studio to focus on creating content for a more desirable audience.

The subscription model "allows us to focus our game on the people who want to pay for it, and are willing to pay for it," Jacobs explains. "I'll take a smaller subscription base that is dedicated, is energized and is excited to play our game, and to work with our game, than ten times that base where I have to deal with a lot of people who really don't care."

Why I Play: Villagers and Heroes

by Beau Hindman (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Screenshots, Video, Classes, Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Casual, Kids, Family, Livestream, Sandbox, Why I Play, Housing

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Villagers and Heroes screenshots
Villagers and Heroes, formerly called A Mystical Land, surprised me. I had gone several weeks if not a few months without logging in to the game for longer than a half an hour, so you can imagine my surprise when I realized that the game not only had been improved but had added systems that I thought it never would. In other words, the game was suddenly a world, a fully realized browser-based MMORPG. Despite my feeling that the game was going to languish in state of semi-completion, suddenly it had housing, more crafting, a better UI, and a fully stocked cash shop.

I've streamed the game before, but now I find myself logging in a lot more than ever. And now, after hosting a livestream with associate designer Cameron England (embedded after the cut), I'm really having fun with the game and have noticed that it offers a lot more than games that are much more well-known.

This is why I play Villagers and Heroes.

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The Age of Wushu team on what's coming after launch

by Patrick Mackey (1 month ago)

Historical, Events (In-Game), Interviews, Launches, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu, MMORPG

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Talking with the Age of Wushu team about upcoming features
A week ago, we asked Snail Games some questions pertaining to Age of Wushu and its launch in the west. Just in time for launch, the studio got back to us with some answers. Sometimes, good things come to those who wait.

We pulled no punches with our questions, asking Snail about the recent Suzhou market fiasco, when the devs plan to add features from other versions of the game, and how they plan to address current game-breaking bugs. Interested in hearing the answers? We know we were!

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Jens Andersen reveals DCUO's Origin Crisis DLC

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Super-hero, Interviews, Patches, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), DC Universe Online

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Jens Andersen reveals DCUO's Origins Crisis DLC
Although he's been dropping hints and teasing fans for a while now, Creative Director Jens Andersen kept the bulk of DC Universe Online's seventh DLC, Origin Crisis, under wraps. That all changed when we met up at GDC; he opened the floodgates of information, sharing a wealth of details about the story, the content, and the new costumes. And now I can pass it all along to you.

Story-wise, Andersen expressed how excited he was to finally let players in on the arc that ties up a few loose ends left dangling after DLCs 2 and 3 -- Lightning Strikes and Battle for Earth. As for content, Origin Crisis adds two new raids, two four-man operations per side, two special solo challenges (which offer the chance to play as a legendary character), a new superpower, and a new tier of PvE gear. Oh, and let's not forget the three new iconic-based suits.

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BioWare co-founder talks EA's influence, beer, and gamer negativity

by Jef Reahard (1 month ago)

Sci-Fi, Interviews, MMO Industry, News Items, Star Wars: The Old Republic

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BioWare cofounder talks EA's influence, beer, and gamer negativityBioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk may have traded in RPGs for craft beer, but the ex-developer still has plenty to say about his former profession. In a phone interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Zeschuk explains why he's open to games consulting and how he doesn't game as much as he used to.

Zeschuk also rejects any notion of Electronic Arts being a negative influence on BioWare. "They don't second-guess you, they don't say you shouldn't do that," he explains. "We had complete creative control over a lot of it; some fans didn't like some of it and some of it was experimental, quite frankly."

Finally, Zeschuk has some interesting insights into gamer culture and the negativity that surrounded BioWare's recent projects. "At the end of the day, for every one person complaining there are a whole bunch of other people who actually like it," Zeschuk says. And while he admits to enjoying the fact that beer lovers aren't prone to arguments and invective like gamers, there's something to be said for that level of engagement. "I think the problem with gamers is you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. But what it talks to is the power of games as art and the power of games as a medium where people get really, really passionate," Zeschuk explains.

Path of Exile interview reveals plans for player-generated races

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Events (In-Game), Interviews, New Titles, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), Some Assembly Required, Player-Generated Content, Path of Exile

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Path of Exile interview reveals plans for playergenerated races
Although there is no Some Assembly Required in the title, don't let that fool you; today's focus is on one of the founding precepts of this column, player-generated content. It's just not sandboxy player-generated content like we've covered before. Today's special edition explores the PGC proposed for the decidedly non-sandbox action RPG Path of Exile.

At GDC I sat down with managing director Chris Wilson and technical director Jonathan Rogers to discuss Path of Exile and their idea of adding player-run races to the game. A fan favorite, these timed gaming experiences are currently only officially sponsored events grouped into seasons, the first of which just concluded. However, devs would like to give players the opportunity to create and host unofficial events (meaning results won't have any bearing on the seasons) to allow players to enjoy this wildly popular facet of the game in a place where they can practice skills, test themselves against friends, or just enjoy a unique challenge.

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Wings Over Atreia Exclusive: Aion 4.0 launches in June!

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Aion, Business Models, Classes, Events (Real-World), Events (In-Game), Expansions, Game Mechanics, Interviews, Previews, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Wings Over Atreia, Anniversaries

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Wings Over Atreia Exclusive Aion 40 launches in June!
Good news! (Well, at least for my police record.) As it turns out, I didn't have to resort to kidnapping to convince someone from NCsoft to talk to me about Aion at this year's GDC. I swear, Sean Orlikowski, the game's associate producer, came willingly.

It does, however, appear that in the fine print of the meeting proposal, I agreed to be outfitted with a special electronic device that would send massive jolts of electricity through my system if I tried to speak about something I shouldn't. So let's see how much I can share with you before this apparatus leaves me unconscious.

Can I tell you that Aion has a special celebration planned for the first anniversary of the Truly Free conversion? So far, so good, folks. Hmm... can I add that the next big expansion has a North American launch date planned without going unconscious... oh, appears so! OK, let's push this a little further: How about if I happened to mention that 4.0 will hit servers in June 2013 -- would I be zapped? Nope! So there you have it, folks: 4.0 is indeed going live in just two short months!

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GDC 2013: City of Steam demo showcases crafting and other streamlined features

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Interviews, New Titles, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Browser, Hands-On, Interviews (Massively's), Hands-On (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), City of Steam

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GDC 2013 City of Steam demo showcases crafting and other streamlined features
It may seem like a while has passed since we last experienced City of Steam, the fantasy steampunk MMORPG that fits in your browser. That's because it has! The game's last closed beta testing round was back in December, and fans have been eagerly waiting to get back into the city-state of Nexus. Of course there has been some news to tide us over in the meantime while developers have been turning all of that beta feedback into fixes and updates, but that's not the same; people want to play. Luckily, it's GDC to the rescue!

While the rest of the world won't actually get to access City of Steam until it launches open beta (which is anticipated to be within the next two months!), I was able to dive in and explore the fruits of the devs' winter labors. And let me tell you, they've put their time to good use! I met with Communications Manager Gabriel Laforge and Operations Director Andrew Woodruff from Mechanist Games who showed off all the work that has gone into the game since the beta closed, from graphics to crafting to airships. They also highlighted the game's cash shop and revealed numerous rewards players can earn simply by playing the game.

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GDC 2013: Hands-on with Vendetta Online on the iPad

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Sci-Fi, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, Hands-On, Interviews (Massively's), Hands-On (Massively's), First Impressions, Events (Massively's Coverage), Sandbox

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GDC 2013 Handson with Vendetta Online on the iPad
When we talk about getting our hands on a game at GDC for a little playtime, we don't usually get to literally grasp said game in our fingers. But that's exactly what happened when I tested out Vendetta Online on an iPad 3; instead of just relating to the space-based sandbox through the standard accessories like mouse, keyboard, or joystick, I held the entirety of the game universe in the palms of my hands. My own 10 digits were the only accessories. And the experience impressed me!

I had the opportunity to sit down with John Bergman, Founder and CEO of Guild Software, to talk about the new iOS platform for Vendetta Online while doing my best Goose impersonation (he's way better than Maverick) playing it.

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GDC 2013: The MMO impact of the Webzen and Gala-Net merge

by MJ Guthrie (1 month ago)

Business Models, Events (Real-World), Interviews, MMO Industry, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage)

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GDC 2013 Interview sheds light on Webzen and Gala merge
Acquisition. Though it sounds pretty benign on its own, when used in reference to one developer taking over another, the word can inspire fear in the hearts of gamers. Questions quickly arise about the future of titles that fall on the acquired side of the equation. How will the games and players be affected by the change? Will there even still be a game?

I sat down with Claas Wolter (European PR Manager) and Deanna Peter (Marketing/PR Associate) to discuss just this topic regarding the recent purchase of Gala-Net (the parent company of gPotato) by Webzen and how that acquisition will affect Allods Online, Age of Wulin, Terras Militaris, and the company's other MMORPGs.

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Jet Li: There's 'no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport'

by Jef Reahard (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Culture, Game Mechanics, Interviews, MMO Industry, PvP, News Items, Free-to-Play, Age of Wushu

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I want to be Jet Li when I grow up
Jet Li may be known for his martial arts prowess, but he's also an avid gamer according to an interview translation at MMO Culture. Li recently attended an Age of Wushu PvP tournament and had some interesting things to say about e-sports and the validity of video gaming as a sport in general.

"If poker card games and chess both have the players sitting down and are considered sports, why not virtual gaming as well," Li explained. "There are two kinds of sports: one physical and one mental. There is no good reason to debunk virtual gaming as a sport, and I believe the participants of such virtual PvP events have the same mentality as physical athletes."

GDC 2013: How APB exploded into a franchise

by Justin Olivetti (1 month ago)

Business Models, Events (Real-World), Interviews, PvP, Free-to-Play, All Points Bulletin, MMOFPS, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage)

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GDC 2013 How APB exploded into a franchise
By now, pretty much everyone knows the story of how GamersFirst swept in to save the DOA All Points Bulletin by relaunching it as APB: Reloaded. Since then, the title's done immensely well for the company and has prompted Reloaded Games to look into turning APB into a bona fide franchise.

How this happened was explained to us by PR Manager Darek Connole at GDC. Connole said that the devs are constantly taking suggestions from the community and sorting them into different buckets. While some of the buckets represent doable ideas, one bucket is full of great ideas that are impossible to implement in the current game.

"We're taking the NPCs from APB: Reloaded and bringing them into their own game," Connole said. "It's going to be a traditional first-person shooter, but it's also going to have non-traditional elements."

Read on to discover how APB's world is going to get a lot more crazy with APB: Vendetta -- and how the team is even thinking about future games in the same world.

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Trion Worlds' Victoria Voss talks ArcheAge

by Matt Daniel (1 month ago)

Fantasy, Interviews, News Items, ArcheAge, Sandbox

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Screenshot -- ArcheAge
There's been quite the hubbub surrounding Trion Worlds' taking up the mantle as the Western publisher of Korean sandbox title ArcheAge, largely because many fans were doubtful that the game would even make its way to the western hemisphere at all. Now that we know that we're going to be able to get our hands on the title courtesy of Trion, a new set of questions have been raised. How will Trion be handling the game's localization? Will the game be receiving extensive westernization, or will we be getting the game as-is? Thankfully, some of those questions now have answers.

In an interview with MMOCulture, Trion Worlds' Senior Producer for ArcheAge, Victoria Voss, answered a few questions on the upcoming western version of the hotly anticipated sandbox title. In the interview, Voss reveals that Trion is in constant communication with ArcheAge developer XLGAMES in regard to the localization process, noting that Trion has discovered that "XLGAMES had many of the same thoughts [on localization] as [Trion], so many of the changes will be game-wide, not just for the west," though Trion is also "working with XLGAMES on some western-specific changes, such as character creation options, which [western] players are expecting." And of course, in the ultimate tease, Voss reveals that there is an internal ETA for the game's closed beta test, but Trion isn't quite ready to announce the specifics. For now, though, try to satiate your cravings by clicking through the link below to check out the full interview.

[Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]

GDC 2013: Age of Wushu's world is your playground

by Justin Olivetti (1 month ago)

Betas, Fantasy, Historical, Events (In-Game), Interviews, Launches, Previews, Free-to-Play, Interviews (Massively's), Events (Massively's Coverage), Sandbox, Age of Wushu

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GDC 2013 Age of Wushu
As Age of Wushu is just a couple of weeks away from launch at this point, catching up with Snail Games at GDC this year was one of our highest priorities. We tagged and bagged Associate Producer Colin Miller for a brief interview about the latest pre-launch decisions and preparations that the team is making.

Miller had a lot to say about the tweaks and improvements that have been done to this martial arts sandbox. A huge amount of work has been poured into cleaning up the localization over the beta period, not to mention the interface. "Most of our feedback was pretty negative on the UI that we had in place, so we've been trying to rework that a bit," he said. "Hopefully there's going to be some improvements there."

All systems are go for an April 10th launch, Miller assured us. Keep reading after the break for more on what Snail Games plans for Age of Wushu after it goes live.

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