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[How online gaming can change the world]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/18/how-online-gaming-can-change-the-world/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/18/how-online-gaming-can-change-the-world/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/18/how-online-gaming-can-change-the-world/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Jane McGonigal (a 10-year game designer of projects such as the I Love Bees ARG for Halo 2) has a self-professed "crazy idea" -- that gamers have the potential to change the world for the better by doing what they're already doing. At her speech, people chuckle when she first says this, but twenty minutes later they're giving her a standing ovation.

She begins by stating the obvious: we are a gaming culture that flees the "broken" world to a virtual one that offers a better and more rewarding collaborative environment. "When we're in game worlds I believe that many of us become the best versions of ourselves," she said. "The most likely to help at a moment's notice, most likely to stick with a problem as long as it takes, to get up after failure and try again."

Continue reading How online gaming can change the world

MassivelyHow online gaming can change the world originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alternate-reality-gamearghalo-2i-love-beesjane-mcgonigalworld-of-warcraftworld-without-oilThu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Sony, Turbine, Jagex, Blizzard, and NCsoft named in patent infringement lawsuit]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/sony-turbine-jagex-blizzard-and-ncsoft-named-in-patent-infri/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/sony-turbine-jagex-blizzard-and-ncsoft-named-in-patent-infri/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/09/16/sony-turbine-jagex-blizzard-and-ncsoft-named-in-patent-infri/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,


It seems to be a World of Lawsuits (TM) recently in our industry. Bloggers are being sued for libel, NCsoft is being sued for patent infringement, Linden Labs is being sued for trademark violations, Turbine is suing Atari, and now five companies are all being sued over a patent dispute.

The Boston Globe has reported that Paltalk Holdings Inc. has filed a complaint in Texas against Sony Corp., Activision Blizzard Inc., Turbine Inc., NCsoft Corp., and Jagex Ltd. all for games that violate their patent on computers sharing data so that all users can see the same virtual environment. The games in question are EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars, and RuneScape (in order of the companies as named above.)

What makes this lawsuit different from the standard patent shakedowns that we've been reporting on is that the patent has already been successfully used in court. Paltalk has already sued, and won against, Microsoft.

Continue reading Sony, Turbine, Jagex, Blizzard, and NCsoft named in patent infringement lawsuit

MassivelySony, Turbine, Jagex, Blizzard, and NCsoft named in patent infringement lawsuit originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activision-blizzardblizzardbreakingeverquestguild-warshalohalo-2jagexlawsuitlegallord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromicrosoftncsoftpaltalksettlementsoesony-corpturbineworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 16 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Superstruct: The world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/06/superstruct-the-worlds-first-massively-multiplayer-forecasting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/06/superstruct-the-worlds-first-massively-multiplayer-forecasting/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/06/superstruct-the-worlds-first-massively-multiplayer-forecasting/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Forget what you typically expect from your average client-based MMO. In fact, the title you're going to read about here differs markedly from the type of game we normally cover at Massively, but that makes it no less interesting. Superstruct is truly something different -- a futuristic alternate reality game that launches today (October 6) and lasts only 6 weeks, developed by a team at The Institute for the Future (IFTF) -- a not-for-profit think tank based in Palo Alto, California. For lack of a better, and less inflammatory, description, Superstruct is a thinking person's MMO, and is in many respects a social experiment; the game is an attempt to harness the collective intelligence and problem-solving abilities of its playerbase to make forecasts about the world's future and its escalating problems.

In fact, Superstruct bills itself as the world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game, with the tagline: Play the game. Invent the future. Despite being set in 2019 and looking forward to world issues that will become crises 20 years beyond that, Superstruct's genre is more futurist than sci-fi. Superstruct doesn't feature the traditional game elements we've come to expect from a massively multiplayer title. Instead, it fosters new ways for players to work together, testing out their ideas and strategies in a creative, collaborative brainstorming experiment that spans different mediums. Plausible future scenarios will be posited to the player base, challenging them to really think and produce compelling responses to the events in the game.

Continue reading Superstruct: The world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game

MassivelySuperstruct: The world's first massively multiplayer forecasting game originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alternate-reality-gamealternate-reallity-gamesargculturefacebookfeaturedforecastforecastingfuturehalo-2i-love-beesiftfinstitute-for-the-futurejane-mcgonigaljoystiqfeatureskathi-vianmmfgsuperstructsuperstructuresuperstructuresten-year-forecast-programthe-institute-for-the-futureMon, 06 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Are ARGs MMOs?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/the-daily-grind-are-args-mmos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/the-daily-grind-are-args-mmos/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/13/the-daily-grind-are-args-mmos/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) take the normal boundaries between games and reality and skew them just enough so that the two overlap, offering a new way to think about entertainment interaction. Perhaps one of the most famous of these is the "I love bees" campaign, which was developed to promote Halo 2. Certainly hundreds played, and part of the gameplay mechanics was taking clues from various places on the Web to complete the puzzles and solve the mystery.

However, is "hundreds" enough to typify the term "massively"? Given that you could play alone and never see another player, only becoming part of a grander, more widespread team, is that really "multiplayer"? If the entirety of gameplay isn't online, does that satisfy the "O" requirement? How precise does the "MMO" definition need to be?

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Are ARGs MMOs? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 13 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alternate-reality-gamesargshalo-2i-love-beestdgthe-daily-grindTue, 13 May 2008 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Cinemassively: Going global]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/04/cinemassively-going-global/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/04/cinemassively-going-global/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/04/cinemassively-going-global/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Our latest clip is Not Safe For Work (NSFW). If you didn't get a chance to see the stream for the UK Machinima Festival that took place on October 13th, 2007, you really missed out. Rooster Teeth, the creative force behind Red vs. Blue, debuted a special Halo 2 Machinima just for the audience. I've eagerly awaited it's public release to share with you!

As a warning, this clip has plenty of cuss words and can be quite politically incorrect. With that said, it's absolutely hilarious. The majority of this short consists of showing how different Red vs. Blue would be if it were made in a different country. If you are from England, France, Germany, Russia, or Japan, I apologize in advance.

MassivelyCinemassively: Going global originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredhalo-2red-vs-bluerooster-teethuk-machinima-festivalSun, 04 Nov 2007 12:30:00 EST