Massively

Realtime Worlds to announce second MMO project next year

Seraphina Brennan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, New titles, News items, All Points Bulletin, Crime

Not one, but two MMOs are to come out of Realtime Worlds, the Scotland based developer of All Points Bulletin. Even more intriguingly, this second MMO is actually the company's original MMO project!

According to Realtime's CEO, Dave Jones, during his keynote speech at GameHorizon, their original investment drive of 30 million dollars was actually for their new product, this unnamed MMO. However, due to the ambitious nature of the project, All Points Bulletin was moved forwards in the production list to give the company a solid foundation before moving onwards.

While all details of this next project remain a mystery, Jones has said that the company is very excited to move fowards with this next project, their original MMO project. While we can't first hand attest to how ambitious this project is, we believe that actually moving your project backwards just so you can get another MMO out first really says something about how ambitious the project is.

Realtime Worlds to announce second MMO project next year originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GTA MMO would be a profitable venture, analyst suggests

Seraphina Brennan — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, News items, Opinion, Crime, Rumors

In a recent set of statements to Gamasutra, Mike Hickey, an analyst with Janco Partners, brought up the profitability of an MMO set within the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

While Hickey notes that success would only be possible if Take-Two partnered up with another company who had a well designed infrastructure and MMO experience, the whole paragraph is certainly a nod in the direction of online crime games at large -- a genre relatively untapped in the MMO landscape.

Certainly a Grand Theft Auto MMO would be the new gorilla of the online space, one can't easily forget about the stylized and anticipated offering from Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds, All Points Bulletin. A GTA MMO would certainly be nice, but APB will certainly be setting the bar for all upcoming crime MMOs, regardless of a GTA entry into the scene.

GTA MMO would be a profitable venture, analyst suggests originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 May 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vivox to provide voice solutions for urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin

James Egan — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, News items, All Points Bulletin, Crime

If you're a fan of GTA-style urban crime games, you might be interested in what Realtime Worlds is cooking up for the MMO space: All Points Bulletin, which could very well prove to be the online evolution of single-player games like Grand Theft Auto and Crackdown. While new details on this title are still light, Vivox announced today that they'll be providing voice solutions for APB.

The integration of Vivox with the All Points Bulletin client will include voice fonts, where players will be able to alter their voices to better fit their character. Vivox has already established its presence in EVE Online and Second Life, and recently announced plans to extend gaming VOIP to web browsers as well. There could be interesting times ahead with this agreement between Vivox and Realtime Worlds in All Points Bulletin.

Vivox to provide voice solutions for urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Joystiq gets its hands all over DC Universe Online

Kyle Horner — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, Hands-on, DC Universe Online

Our fellow (sisterly?) bloggers over at Joystiq were given some hands-on time with DC Universe Online, which is good since it appears they seemed to enjoy much of the experience. What primarily interests us is their mention of Crackdown when speaking of movement through the world. This isn't the first time we've heard the comparison being made, and it's a good sign that SOE is on the right track with the travel powers.

While the game was still in pre-alpha -- a fact stressed a lot by the understandably cautious SOE -- Joystiq came away impressed by what they saw. And since another repeated point by the developer is that DC Universe Online isn't being built around the classic MMO success model, there's already a better chance for this game to find a loyal following. Can you say lower, if not non-existent monthly fee? We certainly know console gamers like the sound of that particular tune.

Gallery: DC Universe Online

Joystiq gets its hands all over DC Universe Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brilliant flora to permeate Earthrise

James Egan — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, News items, Earthrise

Masthead Studios has licensed SpeedTree modeling software to add a higher degree of realism to their upcoming MMO Earthrise. The software suite is now used extensively in the game industry for foliage modeling. What, you've never heard of SpeedTree? Well you've almost certainly seen it before. You're not likely to stop and notice the trees and shrubs as the FBI and military are trying to cut you down with automatic weapons in GTA IV. You probably won't admire the indigenous plantlife while you're trying to frag your opponents in Unreal Tournament III either. But the unnoticed backdrop for your carnage in these games was built with SpeedTree. While we may not pay attention to them directly, these details that permeate our virtual environments can have a big impact on our immersion in those settings. Neverwinter Nights 2, Crackdown and Viking: Battle for Asgard are other prominent titles enhanced by SpeedTree.

Earthrise is in good company on the MMO front with Masthead's decision to use SpeedTree, joining the ranks of Stargate Worlds, Fury, and Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. If the actual game environments can live up to the screenshots Masthead Studios has released, Earthrise stands to be one gorgeous MMO.

Brilliant flora to permeate Earthrise originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 May 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Realtime Worlds grabs $50 million

Mike Schramm — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, New titles, Virtual worlds, All Points Bulletin, Crime

Techcrunch is reporting that developers Realtime Worlds (makers of last year's Crackdown, which could be an MMO, and the upcoming All Points Bulletin, which we heard lots about at GDC) have picked up a whopping $50 million in funding from a round of investment capital, including lots of it from Maverick Capital.

So good news for APB fans -- of course, it's just a fraction of that billion dollars that Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick claims anyone will need to take on World of Warcraft, but $50 million buys a lot of artists, programmers, and servers, all things that a great MMO needs for a strong launch. APB is still in the development stages of course -- we've heard that it'll drop this year, though at this point (and with the extra cash going into a little extra development), we're probably looking at a spring 2009 release.

Realtime Worlds grabs $50 million originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 31 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08 Highlights: Age of Conan, Requiem: Bloodymare and All Points Bulletin

Dan O'Halloran — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:59:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Horror, Galleries, Podcasts, Screenshots, Age of Conan, Business models, Events, real-world, Interviews, New titles, Previews, PvP, News items, Hands-on, Massively highlights, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Requiem: Bloodymare

Age of Conan

Conan gets mounted

One of the hottest tickets for MMO enthusiasts at GDC08 was the Funcom session showing off new features in their upcoming Age of Conan. Mounted combat was the eye candy of the day. Game Director Gaute Godager walked our team through the basics of head to head battles astride War Horses, War Mammoths and War Rhinos. For the reading-averse, you can also listen to an audio recording of the presentation.

Gallery: GDC 08: Age of Conan Preview

Continue reading GDC08 Highlights: Age of Conan, Requiem: Bloodymare and All Points Bulletin

GDC08 Highlights: Age of Conan, Requiem: Bloodymare and All Points Bulletin originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 02 Mar 2008 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08: All Points Bulletin info and eye candy

Barb Dybwad — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Galleries, Events, real-world, New titles, Consoles, All Points Bulletin, Crime, Massively Event Coverage

What word is perhaps most synonymous with the current MMO playing field? Grind. Realtime Worlds' Dave Jones (no relation?) is setting out to change that with the studio's first massively multiplayer title All Points Bulletin we've been following eagerly. He's hoping the formula Crackdown + MMO = crack will be proven true with variables like infinite, professional-looking character and vehicle customization, contemporary setting, integration with last.fm and dynamic, variable team-sized missions hidden in the equation. Hit up our symbiotic other selves at Joystiq for the complete overview of APB.

Gallery: GDC08: All Points Bulletin

GDC08: All Points Bulletin info and eye candy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Brazilian court bans EverQuest

Michael Zenke — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Politics, Legal, Education, Virtual worlds

In a classic moment of governmental insanity, word has gone out that a court in the Brazilian state of Goias has put a ban out on Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest. The consumer protection agency for the country has apparently picked up on the ban, and is noting it on its official website.

Kotaku readers have been writing in to that site, expanding on this decision and a similar one that has been handed down on the tactical shooter Counter-Strike. This ban technically applies to the whole country, as decisions made in one court system are technically the law of the land throughout Brazil. A reader noted that at the moment only the state of Goias is applying the ban, as other court leaders seem to think the decision may be flawed.

Fascinatingly, EverQuest isn't even commercially released in the country of Brazil. Even more interesting, reader comments seem to indicate this is a forced ban: copies of the game reported being 'taken' by the police. The ban (on EQ, anyway) seems to stem from the moral ambiguity of many of the quests:

As for EverQuest, Procon states that it "takes the gamer to complete moral conflict and 'heavy' psychological conflicts; for the tasks that are given to them could be bad or good. (...) Violent videogames that use violence are capable of forming agressive individuals, making it evident that is strong its influence on psyquism, reinforcing aggressive attitude against certain individuals and social groups".

Further commentary is available at Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

A Brazilian court bans EverQuest originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China cracks down on MMOs, claiming they're "spiritual opium"

Chris Chester — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

In a curious bit of international news, Reuters is reporting that China has issued a crackdown aimed at diminishing what the communist government believes to be the undesirable side effects of online games' explosive growth in popularity on the mainland. Most of the online gaming that takes place within China happens in popular "net bars," which are packed to the gills with PCs. The government watches over the proprietors of these net bars with a close eye, making sure they enforce recent laws passed that both ban children from playing altogether, and restrict the number of hours adult players can stay in one net bar.

The establishments on which the government brought down their hammer were operated illegally and didn't abide by the gameplay restrictions mandated by the government. In one southern border city alone, officials shut down over 500 illegal gaming cafes. They cited one case where there was as many as 30 computers packed into a 40 square meter room. If you're more an english standard kind of person, that would be a room about 16 feet by 26 feet. You have to hope they had a good air conditioning unit!

What I found interesting was one official's comment that, "Although China's online gaming industry had been hot in recent years, online games are regarded by many as a sort of spiritual opium and the whole industry is marginalized by mainstream society." While their description of these net cafes does conjure up an image not entirely unlike that of an opium den, you have to wonder whether they see the real problem underlying China's addiction to MMOs. If players are so desperate to escape the hopelessness of their everyday lives that they'll literally sit and play a game at a computer until they die, shouldn't it be the conditions they live in that are changed, and not their opiate of choice, whether real or in a fantasy?

China cracks down on MMOs, claiming they're "spiritual opium" originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In Development: APB

Akela Talamasca — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, New titles, All Points Bulletin, Crime

It seems I spoke too soon regarding the lack of a Crackdown MMO! APB is Realtime Worlds' action MMO, and judging from the awesome character concept artwork, it's going to have a lot in common with Crackdown. And I'm interested because in at least one way it's going to feature something I wrote about: criminals vs. law enforcement.

More to get interested in: 'The game itself centers on player vs player combat and will be the first massively multiplayer online title where player skill determines character progression as opposed to the traditional model of time investment." That's a tall order, and one I'm keenly interested in seeing how it's going to be implemented. That aside, the art direction on this game is gorgeous -- I'm happy to see that the 'good guys' (law enforcement) are just as visually interesting as the 'bad guys' (criminals). Check it: the photo there? That's a cop. Uh huh. The Artwork section of the site has a bunch of great pics; go check 'em out now. It's not gameplay, but it's enough, by gar.

APB is coming out in 2008, according the site, and let's hope this is the hit the Crackdown could've been.

[Thanks, Chris!]

In Development: APB originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Games that could be MMOs: Crackdown

Akela Talamasca — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion

Hey, have you played Crackdown? No? Me neither. Not from lack of interest, mind you; I just don't have an Xbox 360. I foolishly made the decision to eat instead of buying one. It sounded great to me, though: an adventurer that allows you to upgrade your attributes through use -- keep using your gun and your marksmanship will improve. Keep tossing things around and your strength will increase. Just like leveling up, only not so numbers-oriented.

I started wishing I could play it on my computer, which led me to the conceit you read before you: a Crackdown MMO would do me nicely. Think of it: play as an agent of, well, The Agency, the law enforcement entity of this world. Or, positing that the enhancement program that fuels the special abilities of Agency officers is stolen and sold on the open market, play as one of the 3 rival crime syndicates instead. PvP is built right in!

Continue reading Games that could be MMOs: Crackdown

Games that could be MMOs: Crackdown originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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