Massively

New Korean MMO Bless reveals English website

Jef Reahard — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Stop us if you're heard this one before: There's a new MMO coming out of Korea. It's drop-dead gorgeous, it's built on the latest version of the Unreal engine, and it features fantasy armor that doesn't leave much to the imagination.

No, it's not Aion or even TERA. The new kid on the block is called Bless, and though we told you about the game back in October, it's taken Neowiz a while to come up with an English website. That website is now live (though it does take forever and a day to load). The site features a trailer, a few screenshots and character concepts, and brief snippets of lore that seem to indicate two factions (Cosmopolis and Hierapolis).

We've heard a rumor that Neowiz has more than 150 developers working on the project, some of whom worked on Aion, TERA, and Lineage II. We'll bring you more on the new title as it becomes available.

New Korean MMO Bless reveals English website originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Marvel Heroes to use Unreal 3 engine

Jef Reahard — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Super-hero, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Marvel Heroes

Gazillion Entertainment has announced that it is licensing Epic's Unreal 3 game engine to power the upcoming Marvel Heroes MMO.

The game, informally known as Marvel Universe Online, allows players to step into the shoes of Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-man (among others). Gazillion says the third-party toolset will enable its developers to focus on delivering a high-quality game experience. "We [...] love the flexibility we get from the actor components, which have empowered us to make all kinds of customizations without sacrificing the built-in features of the engine," says Jeff Lind, head of Gazillion's Secret Identity Studios.

Gazillion hasn't mentioned a timeframe for the game's release (heck, there's no official website yet, either), but we'll keep you informed as we hear more.

[Source: Gazillion press release]

Marvel Heroes to use Unreal 3 engine originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Neowiz partners with Epic Games Korea for new Unreal 3 MMORPG

Jef Reahard — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST

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

There's a new fantasy MMO in town, and it goes by the name of Bless (for now, at least). And actually, when we say "in town," we mean in Korea, where Neowiz has partnered with Epic Games Korea to develop the former's first Unreal 3-powered MMORPG.

MMODen has the press release as well as the game's first trailer, and Bless features Eastern MMO staples like skimpy armor, feline anthropomorphs, and slick violence doled out with rather impressive weaponry. There's virtually no information on actual gameplay save that the title will feature 10 races, but we'll keep our eyes peeled and bring you the latest info as it develops.

Prior to Bless, Neowiz was best known for its Cross Fire and Alliance of Valiant Arms MMO shooters, and the new title boasts 150 dedicated developers who've been working on the project since 2009. Check out the trailer after the break.

Continue reading Neowiz partners with Epic Games Korea for new Unreal 3 MMORPG

Neowiz partners with Epic Games Korea for new Unreal 3 MMORPG originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Soapbox: Game developers are not rock stars

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, 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.

Take a moment to think of your single favorite game developer. Is this person your favorite because of his talent? Maybe he made a game that influenced you growing up, or he has a charming personality for interviews. Whatever the reason, we probably all have our favorite game developers whom we hold on a pedestal of greatness.

But did this one person make the game entirely by himself? Did Sid Meier write every line of code for the Civilization games? Did Richard Garriott draw every texture in Tabula Rasa? No, of course they didn't, but their names are right there on the box, showing ownership. Despite my own fanboy appreciation of certain devs, the title of this article says it all. With a few notable exceptions, those who make our favorite games make up a collective group of talented people who come together under proper leadership and design guidelines to create something that keeps us entertained for hours/weeks/months/years.

So why do we pick out one or two and treat them like rock stars?

Continue reading The Soapbox: Game developers are not rock stars

The Soapbox: Game developers are not rock stars originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Codemasters denies picking up APB

Jef Reahard — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST

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

If you were holding out hope that the defunct urban crime MMO All Points Bulletin would be resurrected courtesy of the folks at Codemasters, Eurogamer has a little bit of cold water to throw on your fire. David Solari, Codemasters Online general manager, minces no words in a recent interview.

"We have not picked up APB, I can answer you definitively," he said.

Rumors circulated that the publisher might be picking up the pieces of the shuttered MMO, left scattered by the closing of Realtime Worlds, when former RTW community manager Ben Bateman updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new job at Codemasters. Epic Games has also been rumored as a potential salvager, and Solari says that someone will inevitably pick up APB's assets, if only for the innovative tech. "If they don't pick up the game then they will pick up the technology for sure, because the avatar and character customisation technology is incredible. Something will definitely be done to preserve that," he muses.

Codemasters denies picking up APB originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: APB buyout apparently nearing the "light at the end of the tunnel" [Updated]

Justin Olivetti — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:15:00 EST

Filed under: Legal, All Points Bulletin, Crime, MMOFPS, Rumors

"It's looking like there might be light at the end of the tunnel for APB. The end of the administration process is apparently close and there appears to be a buyer for the game."

Fans of the beleaguered and quickly shuttered All Points Bulletin may have something to celebrate soon, as the above message recently popped up in the game's patch notes. While the website has been taken down, the patcher is still delivering news. Earlier this month, the message went out that there still may be hope for APB, as the October 7th patch notes reported: "The negotiations continue! Still many groups in the fray, still hope that APB will rise again."

While the patcher address appears to be a little sketchy, APB's Ben Bateman, one of the former community managers for the title, has retweeted the address of the patch notes in order to spread the word.

There is no indication which company may be angling to take over -- and perhaps re-open -- the enforcers-vs-criminals MMO, although last we heard, Epic Games was a contender. We'll bring you more on this as it develops.

UPDATE: Ben Bateman works for Codemasters, according to his LinkedIn. Did Codemasters buy APB? Commence speculation!

[Thanks to Notturno for noticing the tweet and Mike for the LinkedIn profile!]

Rumor: APB buyout apparently nearing the "light at the end of the tunnel" [Updated] originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumor: Epic Games in talks to buy APB

Justin Olivetti — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, Legal, All Points Bulletin, Crime, MMOFPS, Rumors

Could the Gears of War folks be the knight in shining armor that doomed APB desperately needs? According to BBC, Epic Games is possibly interested in scooping up Realtime Worlds' MMO, although nothing is confirmed at this point. Realtime Worlds abruptly announced yesterday that APB was to be shut down today, sending shockwaves through the community.

While Epic Games is not commenting on any possible negotiations, a spokesperson confirmed that Epic's CEO, Mark Rein, is a fan of the game. "Mark absolutely loves APB, and everyone here loved what they saw. We've got our hands full of Gears of War 3, Bullet Storm and the recently announced Project Sword. If any talks like that are going on, then they would be confidential," Dana Cowley, Epic's spokesperson, said. Rein was outspoken about his enjoyment of the game at PAX last year.

Epic Games may also have a vested interest in the technology powering APB. We'll be keeping our ears to the ground on this one if anything further develops.

Rumor: Epic Games in talks to buy APB originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CCP: Unreal Engine 3 will power Dust 514

Jef Reahard — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, New titles, News items, MMOFPS, DUST 514

EVE Online developer CCP Games has announced a partnership with Epic Games China that will bring Unreal Engine 3 technology to their forthcoming console MMOFPS known as Dust 514. Set in the same universe as their successful PC MMORPG, Dust 514 is a console-only title that will enable players to interact with EVE pilots as they battle for control of New Eden's resource-rich planets.

"The dynamic large-scale battlefields of DUST 514 presented an interesting challenge for us," said Hilmar Petursson, CEO of CCP. "We determined Unreal Engine 3 to be the perfect solution because its tremendous flexibility allows us to easily integrate new technology and produce stunning results."

Hit the link for the full press release.

[Thanks Amethyst Lynx!]

CCP: Unreal Engine 3 will power Dust 514 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2009: Massively's first look at gameplay in All Points Bulletin part 2

Kyle Horner — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: New titles, News items, All Points Bulletin, Massively Event Coverage

Continue reading PAX 2009: Massively's first look at gameplay in All Points Bulletin part 2

PAX 2009: Massively's first look at gameplay in All Points Bulletin part 2 originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First look at NASA's Unreal Engine 3 MMO

Kyle Horner — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, New titles, Previews, News items

Big Download took a look (one of the very first, in fact) at the Unreal Engine 3 powered NASA MMO. They came out the the experience with two pages of information. Some of the more interesting facts are that the game is actually set in the year 2035, and is designed to spark a fire of infatuation with space and NASA in those who play it -- similar to what America's Army was all about.

So head on over and take a look, if getting your virtual space walk on (trainable at level 40, we hear) is something you'd be more than happy to participate in. Don't say we didn't warn you about those urine packs, though.

Gallery: Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond

First look at NASA's Unreal Engine 3 MMO originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic Games China reforms as Titan Studios, developing MMO

James Egan — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, MMO industry, New titles, News items

When most of us hear talk of the company "Epic Games", the first thing that comes to mind is Gears of War or the Unreal series of titles. While Epic Games had a Shanghai games studio for outsourcing purposes, it's now evolved into Titan Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary based in Seattle. Through Titan Studios, it seems Epic Games is turning their attention to MMOGs, following up their work on the PS3 title Fat Princess.

As to what's going on within the Titan Studios walls, GameSpot's Tom Magrino reports that "an undefined number of unannounced projects are in the works at the studio, one of which is a massively multiplayer online game." Needless to say, that bit of information has piqued our interest, and we'll keep our eyes open at Massively for more about the Titan Studios MMO project in the future.

Epic Games China reforms as Titan Studios, developing MMO originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Who's your dream developer?

Kyle Horner — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Opinion, The Daily Grind

If you could have any developer tackle an MMO project, who would it be? There are a lot of great developers out there who've never -- as far as we know -- tried their hand at the genre. In fact, recently both Sid Meier and Gabe Newell have expressed their interest in creating MMOs. So there's always the dream of seeing a Valve MMO or even something based on the Civilation franchise as well. However, there's still plenty of other developers that we'd love to see tackle the genre. Bungie, Rockstar, Insomniac and Relic Entertainment are a few that come to mind. There's also long shots like Nintendo or Epic Games, too.

With so much money being made in the MMO market, we wonder if it's only a matter of time until a high profile developer can pitch a crazily-yet-awesomely different MMO concept and see it published and released into the wild. Maybe we'll even get a game out of

The Daily Grind: Who's your dream developer? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Huxley in-game footage reminds us of something

Kyle Horner — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Huxley, New titles, News items

It's not a bad thing that Huxley gameplay looks a lot like Unreal Tournament III, but it is a bit disconcerting for anyone interested in the MMOFPS in regards towards its possible uniqueness. The fact that what we're seeing in this video amounts to a standard deathmatch is probably the biggest reason for the comparison. While we professed our enjoyment of Huxley's recently released cinematic trailer, neither that nor this look into the game have told us why Huxley is any different than the many other FPS and MMO games currently proliferating across the market.

Don't get us wrong, though. We're always interested in different experiences here at Massively, so you can expect us to be playing Huxley whenever it manages to wash up on our shores. We're just hoping that the experience amounts to more than running around beautifully rendered worlds shooting things up, because that can be found elsewhere.

[via Rock, Paper Shotgun]

Huxley in-game footage reminds us of something originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide

Rafe Brox — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: PlanetSide, Events, in-game, PvP, Reviews, Opinion, War, Hands-on, MMOFPS, Humor, The Gaming Iconoclast

"Come on, you apes! Do you want to live forever?"
- Unknown WWI platoon Sergeant, as quoted in the epigraph of Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein

This sort of chaos, of being flung into the maw of an overwhelming and relentless foe, very succinctly sums up the jovial insanity of Massively's foray into PlanetSide's world-event realm as so-called Black Ops. Replete with frenetic action, us-versus-the-world attitude, and the ever-so-helpful seismic and meteoric stylings of a GM eavesdropping on our Skype chat, TGI hopes that our incursion into PlanetSide's universe provided an entertaining distraction to the folks for whom it's been a long-time daily driver.

Our efforts could politely have been called "lambs to the slaughter." They could less-politely be visualized as a well-worn combat boot meeting a sensitive part of TGI's anatomy, perhaps the one he sits upon, repeatedly and with great vigor.

It was glorious.

Continue reading The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide

The Gaming Iconoclast: A side of PlanetSide originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey, look, another Korean developer licenses Unreal Engine 3

Samuel Axon — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Epic Games is apparently doing a good job selling and supporting its Unreal Engine 3 in the Korean market. Yet another developer has licensed the engine for an MMO project. This time it's T-Entertainment, which is working on a "space opera" MMO called L2. Wow, that sounds like the name of another Korean MMO!

Welcome to the club, T-Entertainment! Meet AcroGames and Bluehole; they're also Korean developers using Unreal Engine 3. Oh, and of course you know about Webzen's Huxley, which is built on Unreal Engine 3. Yes, also Korean. Let's not forget the illustrious NCsoft, which already used the previous version of Unreal for Lineage II, and plans to use version 3 for not one but two new projects.

There was an interview with Epic Games' Mark Rein at Gamasutra several months back. He said that Epic is working hard to propagate Unreal Engine 3 in Korea, but described serious challenges -- particularly with customer support. It looks like Epic is finding ways to deal with those challenges after all.

[Via Worlds in Motion]

Hey, look, another Korean developer licenses Unreal Engine 3 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bluehole joins vast ranks of Unreal-using devs

Samuel Axon — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, New titles, News items

A new Korean development studio called Bluehole announced this week that it has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for its "flagship" MMO project, which is codenamed Project S1. The studio just started up last year, and is composed of "key members from some of the leading development and management teams in Korea." Specific, that!

Project S1 is being developed for the PC, and according to a statement by Epic's Jay Wilbur, its team has "plans to reinvent MMO design and battle system mechanics." Sounds promising, but it's awfully soon to tell. We're looking forward to hearing more about this project in the months to come.

Bluehole joins fellow Koreans NCsoft and Webzen, along with seemingly countless other studios like Cheyenne Mountain and 38 Studios in using the prolific and popular Unreal engine.

Bluehole joins vast ranks of Unreal-using devs originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCsoft revs up the Unreal Engine

Eli Shayotovich — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Virtual worlds

NCsoft, makers of a hoary host of very popular MMOs (City of Heroes, City of Villains, the Lineage series, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, the as yet unreleased Aion) just announced that they've picked up the keys to Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3. NCsoft and Epic already have a relationship as both Lineage II and Exteel use tweaked versions of Unreal Engine 2.

So what does the MMO juggernaut plan on using the latest and great Unreal Engine for? How about "two unannounced, top-tier massively multiplayer online games." Hey now!

Stay tuned to Massively as we try to ferret out what these two unannounced MMOs are all about.

NCsoft revs up the Unreal Engine originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Molyneux laments the state of PC gaming, blames WoW and The Sims

William Dobson — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, MMO industry, News items

Gamesindustry.biz has posted an article that features comments from outspoken game designer Peter Molyneux, and his thoughts on the current state of PC gaming -- and he's not awfully happy. The primary causes for his concern are the two enormous PC successes, World of Warcraft and The Sims. While the remarkable sales for these games should mean that new people are brought to PC gaming, he felt that they may be taking too much of the pie: "You've got The Sims and World of Warcraft sucking all the air out of the PC market. It's just incredible."

Molyneux also called to question the casual gaming market on the PC. He admitted that some of the earlier successful casual games such as Peggle were all fine and dandy, but as of late the trend for casual-game developers has been to look at what's already doing well and simply re-brand it with a total lack of innovation. Rock star game designer "CliffyB" of Epic Games also recently voiced his opinions on PC gaming, saying that it is in "disarray" and that his studio will focus on console games for the time being.

Molyneux laments the state of PC gaming, blames WoW and The Sims originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AcroGames using Unreal Engine in new online game

Samuel Axon — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: MMO industry, News items

AcroGames, an upstart Korean game development company, has licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3 for a new game. Epic told Gamasutra that the new game is an online title for the PC. There are lots of different kinds of online titles, but AcroGames is partly comprised of former Lineage II team members, so it's a good, educated guess to suggest that the new title is an MMO. Also, Lineage II was developed using the previous Unreal Engine iteration.

Epic VP Jay Wilbur was quoted in Gamasutra, saying: "AcroGames is a promising team comprised of top talent and we look forward to working with them. We are committed to supporting the Asian game market with best of breed development tools, and our agreement with AcroGames marks a significant achievement in this effort."

In an interview published just yesterday, Epic's Mark Rein described the language-barrier-related challenges Epic is having with supporting its engine in non-English speaking countries (specifically Japan, in that article). One wonders if they'll run into the same troubles when working with a Korean studio.

AcroGames using Unreal Engine in new online game originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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