Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Fabled Lands: The MMO that almost was]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/11/fabled-lands-the-mmo-that-almost-was/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/11/fabled-lands-the-mmo-that-almost-was/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/11/fabled-lands-the-mmo-that-almost-was/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Bit Tech has an interesting look at the Fabled Lands MMORPG that almost was. Authors Jamie Thompson and Dave Morris initially set out to create an expansive, explorable world with their RPG-inspired gamebook series before being hired to turn the property into an MMO. "We liked the idea of being able to freely roam around a game world, not having to run on the rails of one single storyline like in most gamebooks. In Fabled Lands you can get involved in multiple quests, traveling back and forth between cities, trading, having random encounters. Everything you can do in a regular RPG really," Morris tells Bit Tech's Joe Martin.

Though the MMORPG became mired in development hell while the pair were working at Eidos in the early 2000s, both authors are adamant that the series will eventually see the light of day in a video game format. "We'll be reviving Fabled Lands and Abraxas, hopefully," says Thompson. "We've just raised a six-figure sum and we're actively looking for the right partner. Frankly, most publishers have been slow to recognize the potential of e-books; that they can be much more than an old-fashioned book on a glowing screen. We understand both."

Head on over to Bit Tech for the full article.

MassivelyFabled Lands: The MMO that almost was originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dave-morriseidoseidos-interactivefabled-landsfantasygame-bookjamie-thompsonSun, 11 Apr 2010 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Eidos closes down their marketing department]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/eidos-closes-down-their-marketing-department/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/eidos-closes-down-their-marketing-department/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/28/eidos-closes-down-their-marketing-department/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


As a result of the recent deal with Warner Bros., Eidos has now announced it will close down its North American marketing, sales and PR departments completely. This coming after their parent company SCi's announcement to cut 25% of its worldwide workforce earlier this year. It hasn't been an easy year for the publisher of such successful titles as Hitman, Deus Ex and the Tomb Raider series, but this may just be the restructuring they've needed.

Most importantly for us though, we wonder what this means for Age of Conan, which is handled by Eidos. SCi mentions the fact that they have discontinued development on 14 different game projects in an effort to stem the company's financial losses, including a $161 million deficit in the second half of 2007, and a refocus on high profile games likely to generate a larger return. We can only hope they're talking about Age of Conan.

MassivelyEidos closes down their marketing department originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conaneidoseidos-interactivemarketingpublic-relationssalessciwarner-brosMon, 28 Apr 2008 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan's Gaute Godager explains delay, feels confident]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/22/age-of-conans-gaute-godager-explains-delay-feels-confident/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/22/age-of-conans-gaute-godager-explains-delay-feels-confident/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/22/age-of-conans-gaute-godager-explains-delay-feels-confident/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


When the Age of Conan beta community expressed concern with the combat controls and overall balance last year FunCom listened. That -- as we all remember -- was the first delay of the game from last August into this year. From what we've been seeing from the game at CES 2008 it was a wise decision. So when the announcement was made that the release date for AoC was pushed back eight weeks, we assumed there was another good reason.

There was a strong suspicion that the reasons for delay were bug and polish related -- turns out that suspicion was right after all. Thankfully most people in the community seem understanding, which is good to hear. It's also good to hear that FunCom has learned their lesson from Anarchy Online's buggy launch. The first impression for an MMO is everything and we believe Gaute when he says he believes they made the right decision.

MassivelyAge of Conan's Gaute Godager explains delay, feels confident originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conananarchy-onlineaocbuggybugscescommunitydelayeidos-interactivefuncomTue, 22 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Age of Conan preview makes mention of women, animations]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/age-of-conan-preview-makes-mention-of-women-animations/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/age-of-conan-preview-makes-mention-of-women-animations/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/age-of-conan-preview-makes-mention-of-women-animations/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Curse has a new write-up about their recent trip to FunCom where they go over some key issues fans of the upcoming Age of Conan might want to know about. One such thing is in regards to the severe lack of a female presence in the world of Hyboria up to this point. We're told that the main reason we haven't seen any female player characters is that FunCom wanted to do it up right. After all, you only get to make first impressions once. Well, apparently now that females are ready for the spotlight, beta testers can expect to see them as soon as the next patch even. This bodes well for the rest of us seeing the lovely ladies of Hyboria sooner rather than later.

If FunCom takes their armor sets as seriously as they take their Hyborian women, then it sounds like we're in for some satisfying sets of equipment. We're told to expect over 500 unique armor pieces, which in terms of sets doesn't tell us too much. Although a very rough guess on our part would be somewhere in the ballpark of 70-90 armor sets, which would span over three races and twelve classes. If they keep their word then hopefully we won't have a bunch of clones running around.

What really interested us the most, however, was that after hearing lots of concerned feedback on the run animations the developers are going back to the motion capture, uh -- board. Sure, you can expect all sorts of custom fatality animations for different classes, but FunCom continues to impress us with their ability to listen to the community. There's nothing worse than an unnatural looking run animation when you have to stare at it constantly for hours on end.

MassivelyAge of Conan preview makes mention of women, animations originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conananimationaocarmorarmor-setseidoseidos-interactivefuncomMon, 21 Jan 2008 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[FunCom decides Age of Conan needs more time, aka delay]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/funcom-decides-age-of-conan-needs-more-time-aka-delay/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/funcom-decides-age-of-conan-needs-more-time-aka-delay/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/funcom-decides-age-of-conan-needs-more-time-aka-delay/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Many massively game developers make mistakes during the development of a title; both minor and major. Sometimes they can be financial, while other times they can be launching with technical bugs -- like Anarchy Online back in the day -- and then sometimes it's launching too early. That's why even though it may seem like the most terrible thing in the world to people already tired of waiting, Age of Conan getting pushed back eight weeks to May 20th is probably for the greater good of the game and its future community.

It's not like there's too much competition in terms of new massively games this half of the year. Some people have been speculating that we may end up seeing a fall release for Warhammer Online as opposed to one sometime in the spring. From what we can tell, FunCom is betting on the same prediction and taking more time to make sure players feel like they've purchased a well polished game at launch.

[Thanks, QforQ]

MassivelyFunCom decides Age of Conan needs more time, aka delay originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conananarchy-onlineaocbreakingdelayeaea-mythiceidoseidos-interactivefuncomrelease-datewarhammer-onlineMon, 21 Jan 2008 06:15:00 EST