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Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet's Daniel Dociu has another high-profile project in addition to his work on Guild Wars 2: the cover of National Geographic. In this month's issue of the magazine, Dociu provides artwork to illustrate a "magical mystery treasure" of Anglo-Saxan origin that was recently found. Both the cover and the article piece show an era soldier with appropriate armor, clothing, and weapons.

Dociu currently holds the positions of both creative director and art director for Guild Wars 2. His skill and prestige certainly isn't hurting the game's profile any, as this achievement comes on top of the Exposé 9's Grand Master Award he won this past July.

The National Geographic issue is on news stands (or, to you whippersnappers, the "website") now.

Guild War 2's art director illustrates cover of National Geographic originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Black Prophecy Q&A explains weapon systems and combat

James Egan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Interviews, New titles, PvP, PvE, Black Prophecy

Black Prophecy is one of the ship-based science fiction MMOs we see on the horizon, but at the same time we're not sure how long it will be before we can play it. As the game's developer, Reakktor Media, seeks a publisher, they've been dropping details about Black Prophecy here and there. Some of the info we've read comes from their "Behind the Scenes" series of in-house Q&As. The latest is with Black Prophecy's Creative Director Timo Krahl and Art Director Nick Ebenhoch.

The Q&A covers a fairly wide range of topics, from the various space station interiors players will see depending on which station feature they're using at the time, to death penalties. While there will be no permadeath in Black Prophecy, the ships players fly will take damage in a modular system. Timo says, "A ship gets 'disassembled' slowly during a fight, single ship parts can be destroyed and alter the overall values of the ship -- a ship with only one engine will become slower -- if you lose a wing the attached weapons won't be available anymore."

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Black Prophecy Q&A explains weapon systems and combat originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stargate Worlds receives new funding, development to continue

James Egan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, Stargate Worlds

The sci-fi MMO Stargate Worlds had mostly fallen off of our radar, and with good reason. It's seemed that Stargate Worlds would not see a release -- the developer Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment faced major cash flow issues resulting in employees not being paid and subsequent lawsuits. There were also departures of some of the major individuals connected with the game's development that painted a grim picture. There has been the occasional glimmer of hope of obtaining more funding, though, and some of the Stargate Worlds team has stuck with the project as additional financing for the title was sought. Now it seems things may be turning around for Stargate Worlds with the latest bit of info we came across, that Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has gotten that needed funding.

Dana Massey over at MMORPG.com recently spoke with CME about where the project stands. Massey writes, "Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment has received the funding that they believe will allow them to complete work on Stargate Worlds, and eventually pay back vendors and past and present employees who are still owed back pay."

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Stargate Worlds receives new funding, development to continue originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dave Jones: All Points Bulletin shelf life 5 to 10 years

James Egan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, All Points Bulletin, Crime

The crime-focused title All Points Bulletin is one of the upcoming games we've taken a fairly keen interest in here at Massively. While we're still hoping for more gameplay footage in the video podcasts that APB developer Realtime Worlds has been releasing since E3 2009, but there's been a fair amount of general info revealed about the game in recent interviews.

Although APB's design is a departure from some of the game mechanics found in massively multiplayer online games, Realtime Worlds is banking that their urban crime title will have the longevity of a solid MMO. Dave Jones, Creative Director on All Points Bulletin, says they could be looking at five to ten years of life in the game.

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Dave Jones: All Points Bulletin shelf life 5 to 10 years originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jim Lee on his influence over DC Universe Online

James Egan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, DC Universe Online

When it comes to the super-hero genre in massively multiplayer online games, two new names seem to be on the lips and hearts of all man-children (and we're hoping a fair number of women, too): Champions Online and DC Universe Online. The latter title is of particular interest, given how it builds on the DC Universe comics legacy which is significantly older than your average gamer. Given how much comics legend Jim Lee is involved with fleshing out the DC setting into an online world as the title's Executive Creative Director, Gamasutra's Brandon Sheffield interviewed Lee about the extent and scope of his influence over the game.

The interview is a good read, showing us a bit about Lee's approach to DC Universe Online, both in terms of his overarching view of how the game should be, and his attention to detail. It also touches upon what it's like for Lee to step away from the flexibility he's always had with 2D, and into the more concrete 3D of game design.

Did you enjoy this? We've donned our capes and tights to explore SOE's DC Universe Online in-depth. Come explore more of Metropolis and Gotham with your friends at Massively!

Jim Lee on his influence over DC Universe Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RuneScape acquires former THQ Creative Director

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Business models, MMO industry, RuneScape

Since its launch in 2001, Jagex's RuneScape has steadily established a solid presence in the highly-competitive MMO market. Now into the millions of players across the world, the game is said to currently be at its highest surge in popularity. Building from that comes the news that Jagex has just appointed former THQ exec Vince Farquharson to head up their flagship fantasy MMO.

Farquharson' role at THQ included Creative Director and Development Director for three years, overseeing titles such as Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command and Broken Sword: The Angel of Death. He will focus on expanding RuneScape through content development and global distribution. This news comes almost exactly one year to the day after Jagex acquired former European PayPal CEO Geoff Iddison as their own CEO. We wish Farquharson and the rest of the folks at Jagex the best of luck with their future growth.

RuneScape acquires former THQ Creative Director originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Hartsman of EQ2 gets profiled

William Dobson — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: EverQuest II, Culture, Interviews

Now that EverQuest II's latest expansion Rise of Kunark has been released, you'd hope that Senior Producer and Creative Director Scott Hartsman would be able to take a bit of a break -- but you can be sure it won't be too long, because its obvious that he really digs his job. TenTonHammer has a two-page interview with Hartsman that isn't so much about EQ2 as it is about the man himself.

In the article, Hartsman discusses how he broke in to the industry -- his first industry job was with a text-based online RPG at the age of 15! -- his favorite games of the past and ones that influenced him, things that he does outside of work, and even some tips for anyone that would like to get involved in the gaming business. On this, he mentions that being competent with algebra comes in very handy, something that not everyone may realize.

Even if you've never heard of Scott Hartsman, its a worthwhile read to hear what things are like on the other side of your favorite pastime. The link below will take you through to TTH's full developer profile.

Scott Hartsman of EQ2 gets profiled originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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