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The Daily Grind: Do MMOs coddle us too much in the early game?

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

As much as I loved playing RIFT this year -- and I truly did -- one of my biggest critiques happened to be something beloved by many. This was the fact that the early game was so skewed toward giving you everything all at once: access to mounts and all of your class souls (and several builds). As nice as it was for the moment, I soon realized that it robbed me of that strong desire I usually have to want to level and reach significant milestones in my journey, as marked by finally getting said mount or finally gaining access to new classes.

The devs said that these changes were a result of player feedback, of which I have no doubt -- if you're going to ask players if they want everything as soon as they start a game, they're going to say "yes" whether it's a good idea or not. In practice, it felt like the game was coddling our new characters so much that we weren't put in much danger or had to struggle hard to gain these shiny toys.

What say you? In your MMO of choice, does the game coddle newbies so much that it picks them up every time they stub their toes, is it a perfect balance of challenge and ease, or is it even too difficult? Is coddling a good thing to retain new players or is it bad for the game over the long haul?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Do MMOs coddle us too much in the early game? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIFT Ember Isle developer diary talks art and lore

Brianna Royce — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, Lore, Patches, Previews, News items, RIFT, Dev Diaries, Dungeons

"1.4 was a big patch, 1.5 was an bigger patch... 1.6 is going to blow them away," declares Trion Worlds' Hal Hanlin in this most recent dev diary for RIFT's upcoming From the Embers patch. RIFT's Design Producer is joined by developers Morgan Lockhart, Michael Daugherty, Mike Chang, Jason Colombo, and Berenger Fish to discuss the newest endgame zone, Ember Isle, the largest the team's undertaken to date. But it wouldn't be a proper dev diary without some gushing about the lore, art, locations, and mechanics of the zone, and that's all included too. Sweeping musical score included free of charge!

Hit the break to review the video in all its green glory.

Continue reading RIFT Ember Isle developer diary talks art and lore

RIFT Ember Isle developer diary talks art and lore originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Captain's Log: Every day I'm tribbleing

Brandon Felczer — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Game mechanics, Patches, Opinion, Star Trek Online, Captain's Log

Captain's Log, Stardate 65322.9...

Hello, computer (and players)! For the past several weeks, Star Trek Online players have been checking out the latest F2P beta builds on the Tribble test server. While there have been a few patches on other days, more for stability fixes and minor tweaking, Thursdays seem to be the designated day for us to receive the largest pushes of new content. The latest round of updates has brought further economy changes, new events and ships, and even more heated debates. Since we seem to be a ways out from the seeing the updates ported to the Holodeck live server, there is still plenty of time to check it all out and provide your feedback to the devs.

I would like to dedicate this entry to those who are helping test the changes. This week's Captain's Log serves as a checklist of sorts on what new content you can test and where you can provide feedback about it. As you read through, I suggest that you read a particular section, jump into game to check out the particular change, formulate an opinion, and head to the linked forum where you can leave your feedback. No matter what you think, it's important to let the devs know -- they will make changes based upon a collective opinion.

Ensign, warp 10! It's time to create our own party rock anthem...

Continue reading Captain's Log: Every day I'm tribbleing

Captain's Log: Every day I'm tribbleing originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What would you ask your favorite game dev in person?

Shawn Schuster — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Let's say you found that golden ticket. Somehow you had the chance to tour your favorite game studio to meet your most admired MMO game developer. There he or she is, standing before you, willing to answer any question you can throw at him or her. As an added bonus, the dev can't avoid your question!

So what would you ask? Would you ask Curt Schilling if you could play the Project Copernicus MMO? Would you ask Mike O'Brien when Guild Wars 2 is coming out? Or would you ask anyone at Blizzard what they were thinking when they decided Kung Fu Panda would make a great expansion to World of Warcraft?

Let us know in the comments below!

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What would you ask your favorite game dev in person? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: On armchair development

Jef Reahard — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous

Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column.

A couple of weeks ago I penned a Soapbox that, to put it mildly, elicited passionate responses. While a few people sided with me in my belief that MMO combat is silly and sucky, the cries of the masses drowned us out with variations on "you know nothing, Jon Snow" and "go back to consoles, you inexperienced newb!"

Some of the responses got me to thinking about game design in general and about game designers and their cult celebrity status in particular. When you cut through the anonymous insults and keyboard courage, most of my would-be critics were actually right about one thing: I'm not a game "developer." You know what's funny, though? That doesn't make a lick of difference when it comes to the ability to talk intelligently about games and game design.

Continue reading The Soapbox: On armchair development

The Soapbox: On armchair development originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Who's on your dev dream team?

Jef Reahard — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Most of us are armchair developers in one respect or another, and a lot of what occurs in the comments section of an MMO blog relates to decisions devs have made on our favorite (or least favorite) games.

Certain devs have also attained celebrity status, and of course, companies like Blizzard, BioWare, and Sony are household names outside of MMO circles. It's also fun to speculate on what might result from the addition of dev A to team B or the merging of company C with publisher D. For today's Daily Grind, imagine you had an unlimited budget, as well as every MMO dev in the industry knocking on your door and offering to make the game you've always wanted to play.

Who's on your dev dream team, and what kind of game would they make?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Who's on your dev dream team? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 17 Jul 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultima Online developer Q&A video covers... way too much for this headline

Matt Daniel — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Interviews, News items, Ultima Online

An Ultima Online developer Q&A was released today for all the undyingly loyal UO fans out there, and boy is it packed with information. Allow us a moment to take a deep breath and get a glass of water as we try to break it down for you.

In the Q&A, UO Producer Cal Crowner (Uriah) and Associate Producer Bonnie Armstrong (Mesanna) cover a ton of territory, including spring cleaning, bug fixes, the potential addition of rare titles, and... woodchucks. A few notable responses, though, involved new additions coming to Ter Mur, the upcoming new player experience update, and the oft-discussed classic shard.

Regarding the former two, the devs say that the tweaks to Ter Mur aren't finished just yet, with a new live event arc -- which will "encompass the history of Ter Mur" -- coming this June, while the new player experience is getting a huge revamp with the sweeping adjustment of many classic dungeons and the early play experience.

And lastly, but very certainly not least in terms of "how likely is this to raise a firestorm from the deepest and most depraved depths of Hades," is the discussion of a classic shard. The verdict? There won't be one... for now. The team says, "We hear you... and yes it would be great, but there are so many ifs that people can't agree on... that it would be a really bad pursuit right now with what we're doing." That's right, light your torches and pitchforks, classic UO-lovers, and riot on past the cut for the full video.

Continue reading Ultima Online developer Q&A video covers... way too much for this headline

Ultima Online developer Q&A video covers... way too much for this headline originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 May 2011 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Celebrate City of Heroes' 7th anniversary with the devs!

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Community Q&A

Few MMOs make it to seven years, and fewer still retain a sizable, fanatical playerbase the way City of Heroes has. From its humble origins as a different type of online RPG through its growth in fame, power and two expansion packs, City of Heroes has mimicked the superhero archetype in more ways than one.

The devs at Paragon Studios want to celebrate this seven-year milestone with the coolest crowd on the block: namely, CoH players! While there will be no in-game events this year due to content coming in May, the devs will be available for a meet and greet this Thursday, April 28th on the EU and NA servers. Check out the schedule to see when and where you can hang out with your favorite dev and perhaps unload a burning question or two. The team will also appear later that day in a special UStream live chat event.

Stay tuned to Massively, as tomorrow our Mild-Mannered Reporter column will be throwing the confetti and blowing kazoos to mark this auspicious occasion!

Celebrate City of Heroes' 7th anniversary with the devs! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Anvil of Crom: New AoC devs bringing optimism for the future

Jef Reahard — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, The Anvil of Crom

Wait a minute. Stop the presses. W. T. F?!

Do I detect some optimism here? From the Age of Conan community (and while we're getting all incredulous, from me)? What's next, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, and mass hysteria? As strange as it sounds, I do believe the tide is turning ever so slightly when it comes to Funcom's fantasy MMORPG. Things are, as they say, looking up, in no small part due to some fresh content and the promise of more to come.

Join me after the cut for a stroll down why-it's-a-good-time-to-be-an-AoC-fan lane.

Continue reading The Anvil of Crom: New AoC devs bringing optimism for the future

The Anvil of Crom: New AoC devs bringing optimism for the future originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Is it better for devs to try and fail than never to have tried at all?

Justin Olivetti — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Recently, two of the MMOs that I'm playing -- RIFT and Lord of the Rings Online -- both experienced rather lackluster events. In RIFT, the much-anticipated final phases of its first world event fizzled out so quickly that several players never saw it at all, and LotRO players have their ire up over the grind and mechanics associated with the fourth anniversary event.

In reading the forum comments and comments here on Massively, I started to wonder: Is it better for devs to try and fail than to have never tried at all? Obviously, it's best to try and succeed, but that's not always the case (or the question for today).

Are we as a community too harsh and unforgiving toward developers when we feel that a promised feature or event hasn't lived up to its potential? Are the flaws and failed attempts worth the experimentation? Would you rather have developers trying new things -- even if they don't always work out great -- than to just not do them at all?

Let us know what you think; there's a lot of meat to chew on this bone!

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Is it better for devs to try and fail than never to have tried at all? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA Visions trailer sighted in the wild

Jef Reahard — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Trailers, Video, MMO industry, New titles, News items, TERA

Kotaku's got the scoop on the latest TERA trailer, and the new four-minute video treats fans and curious bystanders to a lot of spiffy Arborean fly-through shots as well as some tough talk from En Masse Entertainment developers.

The dev dialogue snippets basically collate all of the talking points that En Masse has been hinting at in various interviews over the past year: There's the action combat, the size of the world and the way it caters to explorer-types, and the focus on the action instead of the UI. There's also a quick blurb about story from lead writer David Noonan, specifically the fact that TERA's story (and the world itself) is the dream of two ancient gods. En Masse VP Chris Lee even drops a hint about guild housing, which mitigates the fact that we've seen a lot of the footage in this video before.

There is some new stuff, though, so make sure to keep watching past the titles at the three-minute mark for additional footage. Click past the cut to check it out.

Continue reading TERA Visions trailer sighted in the wild

TERA Visions trailer sighted in the wild originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What developer do you appreciate?

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

Last week a group of bloggers led by Scarybooster celebrated DAW -- Developer Appreciation Week. In Scarybooster's words, DAW "is about developers and how we appreciate them. Plain and simple, this is the time to be positive and show them our heart-felt thanks for making our lives fuller."

So today, let us put down our critical cudgels and sarcastic snark to send some love toward individual developers and dev teams. Whom do you appreciate? Who do you think has been doing a stellar job making games, communicating with the players, and standing up to the immense pressure of the business?

Yes, it may be hard to bite your tongue when someone else mentions a dev you have a blood vendetta against, but let's make today's Daily Grind positive. It can be done! So who do you love, baby? Give your favorite devs a shout-out and perhaps make their day!

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What developer do you appreciate? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup

Brendan Drain — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Events, in-game, MMO industry

Starting life as a humble indie MMO development studio, CCP Games was always noted for its close relationship to the players of its flagship game EVE Online. That relationship diminished a lot over time as both the size of the playerbase and the scale of EVE's development grew to immense proportions. Today CCP relies on players to guide development more than ever, but it needs a lens through which to focus feedback from such a large community of players into a form that the team can use. The democratically elected Council of Stellar Management (CSM) is that lens.

Fifty-seven players submitted their applications to join EVE's elected player council this year, and all this week, players have been voting to decide who will represent them in discussions with CCP. With so many candidates in the running and only four more days to make up your mind, it can be hard to pick one individual from the list. To help you decide, Massively has compiled a full list of every applicant in the running along with a short message about his or her campaign and handy links to available campaign resources.

When you're ready to vote, follow this link to the voting page, log in, and click the vote button to the right of your chosen candidate. Remember to get your vote in before March 23rd when polls close! The results will be published on March 30th, and we'll find out who will be representing the EVE playerbase to CCP for the coming year.

Continue reading Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup

Massively's EVE Online CSM 6 candidate roundup originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Perfect Ten: Phases of pre-launch hysteria

Justin Olivetti — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Launches, Opinion, Humor, Perfect Ten, Miscellaneous

One of my private theories about MMO players -- one I'm now making public -- is that we all have the collective memories of goldfish. It's the only way to explain why we go through the same exact phases each and every time an MMO nears launch, all the while acting as though this has never happened before. In a way, it's kind of cute. You're cute, MMO community!

Really, it's just one of those events during which everyone starts rational yet slowly but surely slides down into the multi-colored stomach of hysteria. It's why MMO communities pre-beta tend to be tight, intelligent and excited, but from beta through launch they lose their cool and become a morass of screeching monkeys, flinging poo every which way in a vain effort to be heard above the noise of the zoo.

Mind you, I've been one of these monkeys, so I'm not excusing myself from this metaphor.

So if you're wondering why the blissful excitement of anticipating a game has fractured under the weight of inconsolable insanity, I'm here to walk you through the 10 phases of how and why this happens for most major MMO launches.

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Phases of pre-launch hysteria

The Perfect Ten: Phases of pre-launch hysteria originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Should devs prioritize player requests?

Jef Reahard — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

A couple of recent threads on Funcom's Age of Conan forums got us to thinking about MMO development priorities and how (or if) they're affected by playerbase desires. Leaving aside the more outlandish requests from the eternally dissatisfied vocal minority that lurks in the shadows of o-boards everywhere, most games feature an intelligent community filled with suggestions that would, on paper at least, expand the game and its playerbase.

For whatever reason, though, it's rare that even the smallest requests are acknowledged, let alone implemented. Lacking development experience ourselves, we can only guess that this is because of time constraints, budget constraints, or visions of a game that leave little room for branching out.

Ultimately, we're left to wonder if some MMOs wouldn't be better served by heeding a few of the wishes of their more reasonable players. As one poster succinctly stated: We asked for PvP and got Bori. We asked for a Priest of Mitra/Herald of Xotli revamp and got a Ranger/Guardian revamp. We didn't ask for horse racing or graphical engine upgrades (the former was recently implemented in AoC while the latter is currently Funcom's top development priority). For today's Daily Grind, we'd like to know your take on the situation in general. Should MMO devs prioritize customer requests?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Should devs prioritize player requests? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: If you designed a quest, what would it be like?

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Every once in a while, I like to turn the tables on the longstanding love/hate relationship players have with devs -- you know, "We totally love and appreciate you until you screw up, and then we'll eat your bones for dinner!" That sort of thing. From the outside looking in, it's often easy (and quite tempting) to play armchair-developer, to tell the world on forums and blogs just how it would be done if someone had the superior wisdom to put you in charge.

You know what? I believe in you. And I'm not even being sarcastic here -- I truly believe that there's a huge well of boundless creativity amongst gamers that's itching to come out (I mean, heck, look at what everyone's doing with the tools that Minecraft gives you). Not to mention that most devs and CMs are gamers first and foremost themselves.

So today I'm using the powers vested in me by the state of Massively to empower you to create one quest. If you could create an immersive, interesting, interactive, memorable quest for your MMO of choice, what would it be like? How would you make it stand out from all of the others?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of our readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's The Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: If you designed a quest, what would it be like? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 01 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Who's your dev crush?

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind

In our tiny part of the pop culture world, players seem to be as absolutely fascinated with the people and personalities at work behind their favorite games as they are with the games themselves. These developers are, for all intents and purposes, the celebrities of the MMO world, and as such, are subject to much scrutiny and intense feelings.

I've noticed that the mere mention of a famous developer, community manager or industry leader on Massively is often enough to set off a huge string of comments that typically revolve around how we feel about the person rather than what he or she is currently doing. For example: Paul Barnett. Bill Roper. Richard Garriott. Raph Koster. Eliot Lefebvre. Right now, there are dozens of readers who have skipped the remainder of this article to provide a reactionary comment down below.

But for the rest of you, I'd like to know: Who is your "dev crush"? Which developer do you follow most closely? Which one do you believe in the most? Who excites you with his or her work? If you had to have just one developer's babies, whose genes would be most welcome in your household? (OK, that last bit is probably too much, but you get the idea.)

The Daily Grind: Who's your dev crush? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit

Brendan Drain — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, MMO industry

In recent years, CCP Games have made significant efforts to get players involved in EVE Online's game design efforts. In addition to pre-releasing features on a test server to collect feedback, CCP have involved players more effectively in the development process through their innovative Council of Stellar Management. The council members are voted for by players, with the highest-voted member securing the chair position for the year. Players bring important EVE-related issues to their council representatives, who meet with CCP developers in Iceland twice per year for a week-long council summit.

During the summit, all the most important issues backed by the council are posed to developers and discussed. Previous council sessions have made a significant impact on the game, getting features like the skill queue implemented and providing key feedback on expansions. This year's council had a record voter turnout, with confidence in the team at an all-time high. At the conclusion of their first council summit meeting with CCP, however, two key delegates have begun to voice concerns at the dismissive attitude with which they were met.

Skip past the cut to find out why two council members are annoyed with CCP's approach to this year's summit, and why it's not all bad news and negativity.

Continue reading EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit

EVE CSM delegates voice disapproval of CCP's attitude to council summit originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Which MMO developers do you appreciate?

Justin Olivetti — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, The Daily Grind

MMO players are undeniably full of passion and energy, but that often comes with a dark side -- we can be quick to judge developers' directions and jump on every mistake, perceived or real. So instead of being down on developers this week, a few bloggers have taken it upon themselves to throw "Developer Appreciation Week" (DAW). In it, they put aside criticism and acknowledge the individual MMO devs and dev teams that have done a lot of good for the genre, and who might be unappreciated for all of the hard work that they do.

So which developers do you appreciate? Who are the ones that do an outstanding job reaching out to the community? What teams "get" how to make and run a MMO in a superb way? Which devs are engaging, intelligent, witty and insightful? And -- most tellingly -- have you ever named an in-game character and/or real life child after your favorite dev?

The Daily Grind: Which MMO developers do you appreciate? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fallen Earth dev chat transcript a glimpse into the game

James Egan — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, PvP

As the post-apocalyptic massively multiplayer online game Fallen Earth has now entered closed beta and gets closer to its launch, Icarus Studios is sharing more info about the title. Tiggs, the Fallen Earth Community Director, has posted the latest Stratics HoC Chat Transcript. Quite a number of the Fallen Earth devs were on hand for the chat, not limited to the game's writer and content designer, lead scripter, lead game designer, and the art director.

They fielded questions from the Fallen Earth community about the game, hitting upon everything from their choice to create an MMO without classes to the goal-oriented PvP style of the game, where territorial control is key. If you missed this as it was happening, have a look at what the devs and players are saying about Fallen Earth.

Fallen Earth dev chat transcript a glimpse into the game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chat with the Fallen Earth devs on February 12th

Shawn Schuster — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, MMO industry, New titles

Next month's usual dev chat with the Fallen Earth devs will take place on Thursday, February 12th, 2009. This is an ongoing schedule of chats that have been going on for a few months now, where Alpha participants get to interact through in-game events, and other fans of the game get to chat live with the devs through Stratics.

This time around, the in-game event will take place at 1pm EST and involve a team-based takeover of New Gallows, one of the conflict towns in Sector Two. Later that day, at 9pm EST, anyone can join in a live dev chat where the topic will be anything goes with Fallen Earth. The devs attending this one will be Alec Masters, RandomTask, Funslayer, Dst3d, Circatrix, Tiggs, Morgana and Quisno. If you've been following along on their "Meet the Team" features, you probably have a good sense of who these people are already. If not, this would be the perfect opportunity to get to know them (and the game) better.

Chat with the Fallen Earth devs on February 12th originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite 3.4 million downloads, PlayStation Home announced too early

James Egan — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Interviews, Virtual worlds, Home

The new virtual world we've written about at Massively, PlayStation Home, seems to have garnered itself a large user base despite getting off to a rocky start. Kaz Hirai of Sony Computer Entertainment mentioned in his Consumer Electronics Show speech that 3.4 million PlayStation 3 users have downloaded Home. It was, however, announced too early according to key members of the Home team in an interview with Develop.

Announcing Home back at the 2007 Game Developer's Conference had the effect of stoking the interest of third parties (not to mention gamers and virtual world residents), but there was no where to run with their projects, given the early stage of Home's development at that time. Indeed, Home's Game Director Peter Edward feels that initially some developers were reluctant to get involved, but that situation is beginning to change. Edward says, "The feedback we've been getting is that, in the early days, it was a bit thin on the ground in terms of support and tools, but now it's mature and everybody's starting to produce some really interesting stuff."

Continue reading Despite 3.4 million downloads, PlayStation Home announced too early

Despite 3.4 million downloads, PlayStation Home announced too early originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the Fallen Earth dev team

Shawn Schuster — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Forums, Interviews, MMO industry

The developers at Fallen Earth are certainly doing the whole community relations thing the right way, it seems. In addition to special events like Day with the Devs, their forums are bursting with activity. The game's community manager, know as Tiggs, has arranged a series of interviews with the developers where fans of the upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO can ask questions of a certain dev when it's their turn.

For the inaugural interview, we hear from PirateEye, a 3D Animator on the game. While some of the questions are simply a fun way to be silly with the forum members and fans, this seems a great way for people to become more involved with who is making the game. Long gone are the days of unnamed artists and programmers working behind the scenes on our favorite games. This is the age of the developer rock star!

[via WarCry]

Meet the Fallen Earth dev team originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Join Fallen Earth creators during their monthly "Day with the Devs"

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles

Today marks yet another "Day with the Devs" for Fallen Earth, where players have an opportunity to interact with the upcoming post-apocalytic MMO's creators. The first one of these was last month during a Stractics House of Commons chat, but today's will double the effort. At 9pm EST tonight, you can head over to the Stratics HoC chat to talk with the devs about Crafting and PvP. All questions will need to be submitted on the Fallen Earth forums ahead of time.

Plus, at 4pm EST this afternoon, all registered Alpha participants will have the chance to fight alongside the devs for control of New Gallows, one of the conflict towns in Sector Two. Not in the Alpha testing program? No problem! The team is currently accepting clans, while individuals will soon be able to sign up through forum membership. You can check out the main website for the individual Alpha sign-up info coming soon. If you're not in Alpha now, you certainly won't make it for this afternoon's event, but the Fallen Earth folks promise to have these "Day with the Devs" on the second Thursday of each month. Check out this post by Community Director Tiggs for more information on today's happenings.

Join Fallen Earth creators during their monthly "Day with the Devs" originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE live dev blog on medals and certificates, Thursday Oct. 16

James Egan — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Forums, Game mechanics, Guilds, News items

Medals and certificates are two of the new features coming to EVE Online, as recently announced by developer CCP Greyscale. These features may prove useful for newer players in dispelling some of the complexity of skill training, while providing some bragging rights and easier recruitment (less need to request another player's API) for veteran players, but there's still some confusion about how they'll be implemented in the game. With this in mind, CCP has decided to hold a live dev blog on this feature, slated for tomorrow, October 16th. CCP Wrangler announced:

"It is time for another Live Dev Blog and this time it's Chronotis and Greyscale who will answer all of your questions about Medals and Certificates. As usual Mindstar will be there to ask them your questions. This event will take place on Thursday, 16th October, in the in-game channel 'Live Dev Blog.' It starts at 20:00 GMT and lasts for about one hour." EVE players are already getting their questions in on the forum thread linked to this announcement. Given that the live dev blog will take place tomorrow, if there's anything you really want to know that wasn't addressed in CCP Greyscale's dev blog on certificates and medals, now is the time to ask in the thread.

EVE live dev blog on medals and certificates, Thursday Oct. 16 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Certificates and medals coming to EVE Online

James Egan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Forums, Game mechanics, Patches, Professions, News items

Most players who've been drawn to EVE Online enjoy the game for its complexity. For such gamers, complexity in a title can be a strength, not a drawback. However, you know what they say about having too much a good thing... Newer players especially find aspects of the game daunting to learn, particularly in terms of skills and skill training plans. This complexity surrounding skills, while not a big deal to veteran players, can be hard to grasp for newer players. Enter "certificates" -- EVE's simplified and (visually) ranked groups of skills that should help rookie players better understand what they should focus on to achieve particular goals.

If the feature does what the developers hope, certificates will remedy a problem newer players face -- "an inability to clearly see where a particular skill fits into the greater scheme of things, what it enables, how to get there and where to go next," CCP Greyscale writes in his latest dev blog "Certificates: Planning the Future."

Continue reading Certificates and medals coming to EVE Online

Certificates and medals coming to EVE Online originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mythic addresses Waaagh, naked dwarf issue

Adrian Bott — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Patches, Warhammer Online

In the wake of Warhammer Online's launch, Mythic have kept up a stream of information. Today we have Destin Bales, the Live Producer, giving us a rundown of that quintessential WAR ejaculation, Waaagh! 'It's an enthusiastic battle cry, challenging both our enemies on the battlefield and ourselves in the office. It's a howl of frustration when at the last moment some piece of code unexpectedly breaks. It's the sound of a rampaging horde of developers rushing to get to the pizza on a night we have to burn the midnight oil to make sure an update to the game is fully tested and ready to go. It's a sort of unofficial slogan we proudly wear on green t-shirts. Oh, and yeah, apparently some Orcs said it once.'

Destin also drops some intriguing hints about easter eggs, and stuff in game that may as yet remain undiscovered. WAR is notable for being especially rewarding to the 'explorer' kind of player, those who like to roam around for themselves and uncover little oddments of lore. We were drawn to the comment about altars in the Lair of Xaphan, which itself is apparently elusive. 'It might seem odd at first that they don't do anything when you interact with them. Well, that's probably because you haven't found them all yet.' If any of our readers have found them all and can tell us what Destin's hinting at, then please do let us know!

Along with the Dev blog, there have been the anticipated hotfix notes, summarized under the cut.

Did you enjoy this? Make sure to check out our Warhammer guides: Massively's Character Creation Guide and our WoW Player's Guide to Warhammer. Plus, don't miss any of our ongoing coverage as Massively goes to WAR!

Continue reading Mythic addresses Waaagh, naked dwarf issue

Mythic addresses Waaagh, naked dwarf issue originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The great divide between EVE's players and developers

James Egan — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Forums, Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion

Once upon a time, there was a game about internet spaceships set in a vast galaxy, just waiting to be explored and conquered. It wasn't a huge game in terms of subscribers, in fact it was quite niche, but its small following was devoted. The size of the community allowed the developers to really interact with them and refine the game. The devs were approachable, open, and direct. In many respects, the players and developers were friends. All seemed well in the internet spaceships game, until the player base's numbers grew, and so did the collective din of their voices. The developers soon found they had to be careful about what they said to the players, in case they'd be accused of going back on their word somewhere down the line. At the same time, the game company grew to handle all of these new faces. As with most internet communities, the ever-growing numbers of players became more and more hostile, and the developers grew more and more silent...

Then, a developer -- let's call him "t20" -- used his knowledge of the game to cheat a little. Some players received an unfair advantage over others because of this lapse of judgment, and it was revealed publicly. The players became enraged. The developers were embarrassed and apologetic. Many players left the game, or at least loudly professed that they would. Many perceived that the developers, seen as a whole, were untrustworthy. Given how bad this situation was, and seeing no real way to change these perceptions, the game's creators had to accept that this was how things were. The people who built up the game from nothing saw little recourse but to withdraw even further from the very community which was so vital to their success. Does our story end there?

Continue reading The great divide between EVE's players and developers

The great divide between EVE's players and developers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stargate Worlds Developer Q&A: Episode 8

Akela Talamasca — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Podcasts, Game mechanics, New titles, Stargate Worlds, News items

How time flies. Since June of 2007, the Stargate Worlds Developer Q&A podcast has been a great resource for fans of the upcoming MMO, and the latest episode brings even more information to the masses.

Covering topics like Stargate addresses, target lock in combat, captureable towns on contested worlds, instanced worlds, and the ability to play as dark or light factions, among others, one of the hallmarks of this podcast series is the direct connection community members enjoy with the developers of the game. Fans get to ask questions directly of particular devs, and those devs answer just as directly, with no unnecessary spin. Don't you wish every development house were this transparent?

Stargate Worlds Developer Q&A: Episode 8 originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Singularity's Empyrean Age begins Saturday

Samuel Axon — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Events, in-game, Expansions, PvP

CCP will begin testing EVE Online's recently announced Emyprean Age expansion on the Singularity test server beginning this Saturday, the 17th of May. To celebrate the event, the dev team is hosting an event at 19:00 GMT. Everyone is invited to test the new features -- particularly Factional Warfare -- with the dev team.

There will be awards for achievements like "most kills" and "most bizarre bug found" once the dust has cleared. If you're an EVE subscriber, read the announcement for more details. If you want to jump right in, don't forget to download the patch and apply it to your client (not the installation with which you play on Tranquility, though!). Once you're all patched up and ready to go, log in on Saturday and join the chat channel "Faction Testing."

How often do you get the chance to blast the entire EVE dev team out of the skies? Sounds like fun.

Singularity's Empyrean Age begins Saturday originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Podcast Interview with Positron and Castle

Adrian Bott — Sat, 10 May 2008 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Podcasts, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Interviews, Patches

With City of Heroes Issue 12 finally in Open Beta, people can talk about it, and there is a lot of talking going on.

On May 7th, the folks at Split Infinity Radio managed to corner CoX Devs Floyd Grubb and Matt Miller, otherwise known as Castle the Powers Guy and Positron the Lead Developer, and sit them down for a good long interview. Players attending via IRC also submitted questions.

Much like the earlier interview with Joe Morrissey on CoH Podcast, there's a lot of meaty information. Although DJ Jules can sound giggly and nervous at times, she's a sweetie and a long-term supporter of CoX, and SI Radio is the winner of a MMOFury fansite award. So we're going to let her off.

The interview is now available for download here.

Face down the forces of evil! Give good a quick jab to the jaw! Massively has all the CoX Issue 12 news you can handle. Make sure to check it out!

Podcast Interview with Positron and Castle originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 May 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Interesting Book 13 features revealed in LotRO dev chat

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, Interviews, Patches, Previews

During the most recent House of Commons chat over at Stratics, we got some interesting information from the LotRO devs regarding Book 13, slated to release later this month. Wait, thats like two weeks away!

Matt Elliot, Paul Simon (no, not that one), Cardell Kerr, Meghan Rodberg and Aaron Campbell answer the most pressing player questions. We hear a bit about a new shaggy reputation horse created specifically for the frigid climate of Forochel. We also hear the glorious news that more drops will be consolidated to be stackable, creating much more room in our bags for bulbous boar intestines and neekerbreeker filth! Talk of fishing is also prominent on the minds of the developers, mostly in the context of their rods. Oh, you'll just have to read it to understand. So be sure to check out this recent dev chat log for more details on what they have in store for us with Book 13.

Interesting Book 13 features revealed in LotRO dev chat originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Weekly DDO dev activities list gives Module 7 details

William Dobson — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Bugs, Patches

Want to see what the developers of Dungeons and Dragons Online have been up to? The Weekly Developer Activities list on the official forums keeps you in touch with the latest happenings behind the scenes at DDO. It's also the place to look to see some of the things that are coming with Module 7, as that's the next big chunk of game that the devs are spending time on at the moment.

This week you'll find a number of changes and additions to the game's spells, feats, enhancements, items, and quests, and some other miscellaneous updates. Check out the full list at the forums.

Continue reading Weekly DDO dev activities list gives Module 7 details

Weekly DDO dev activities list gives Module 7 details originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Warhammer dev chat next week

Eliah Hecht — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:31:00 EST

Filed under: Previews, Warhammer Online

Warhammer Online, which is probably (as is often claimed) the most anticipated MMO of 2008, will be having a developer chat next Wednesday, January 30th, at 8pm EST at Warcry. Details about this game are still a bit thinner than I would like, so any information we can get on it is nice to have. To connect, join #WarCouncil on irc.chatspike.net:6667 (#warcry for discussion), or use one of the web clients available on Warcry's page.

Personally, I'm not that interested in the game, since it seems quite PvP (sorry, RvR) heavy, and I'm more of a PvE guy. It is, however, still the strongest competition I can see on the horizon for WoW, at least until Blizzard announces their own "next-gen MMO" that they keep trying to hire folks for.

Warhammer dev chat next week originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chat log includes more details on Jumpgate Evolution

Samuel Axon — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, Jumpgate Evolution, New titles, News items

Jumpgate Evolution will feature joystick support, accessible system requirements, and a story by D&D Eberron setting creator Keith Baker. Those are the sorts of details you'll find in MMORPG's dev chat with three Jumpgate Evolution team members. There's a lot more info in the chat, as well, though some of it is stuff already covered in our own interview with Netdevil's Hermann Peterscheck.

It looks like Netdevil is delivering a more accessible, streamlined version of the basic game-play found in the original Jumpgate; for example, the flight model will be similar to that of the original, but there will be "more effective braking" to prevent the out-of-control feeling that intimidated some newbies in Jumpgate. But we'll see some totally new things in the game as well.

We're all getting very excited about this game, and the info is only just starting to roll out. Rest assured that we'll bring you every update as it comes!

Chat log includes more details on Jumpgate Evolution originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP launches official Trinity website

Samuel Axon — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Expansions, News items

CCP launched the website for EVE Online's Trinity expansion today. It's a sleekly designed website with a well produced promo-video (including clips of the shiny new graphics), video interviews with a few dev team members, a feature list, and screenshots and wallpapers. And of course it has EVE's usual dark, intelligentsia-aimed Sci-Fi motif going on.

None of the information is new if you've been following the news super closely, but hardcore EVE fans will undoubtedly want to check it out anyway, and if you haven't been keeping up with Trinity news, it's a good place to get the low down on what CCP will be doing in the expansion.

CCP launches official Trinity website originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Nov 2007 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chat live with the EverQuest devs on November 15

Samuel Axon — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest, Events, real-world, Expansions, Interviews

MMORPG.com will be hosting a live chat with the developers of EverQuest on November 15th at 7:00 PM EST. There will be a particular focus on the new Secrets of Faydwer expansion. You can either plug in through their web-based chat interface, or connect via IRC in the #mmorpg channel on forthegamers.org.

EverQuest set the stage for the contemporary, DikuMUD-inspired MMO experience. Its subscriber numbers have dwindled over the years but it still retains a hardcore following. The new expansion aims to satisfy some of their cravings for new content, and to win back some old-timers as well.

Also, check out our tour of the expansion.

Chat live with the EverQuest devs on November 15 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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