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[Free for All: A surprising evening of roleplay in RuneScape]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/free-for-all-a-surprising-evening-of-roleplay-in-runescape/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/free-for-all-a-surprising-evening-of-roleplay-in-runescape/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/04/free-for-all-a-surprising-evening-of-roleplay-in-runescape/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

RuneScape screenshot
Roleplay is often treated as the odd cousin of the MMO family. You know the kid I am talking about... your Aunt comes to visit and your mother tells you to hang out with him, and he ends up vomiting in your room. (Did it only happen to me?) The truth is that the odd cousin is often just misunderstood and generally a lot of fun. It might take a small leap of faith and perhaps some time, but roleplay can be a very rewarding experience.

RuneScape might not seem like a prime spot for roleplay. I hardly even heard of roleplay in the community, but I knew that the playerbase was made up of individuals from all age ranges. I thought of trying to find a good roleplay clan or trying to attend a roleplay event or two, but I didn't find the time to investigate. It began to look like roleplay was not something that happened in the game.

That was until last night. I stumbled upon some sort of spontaneous roleplay session, and it was mostly thrilling. I even interviewed a few players to see how the whole thing worked. Click past the cut and I'll tell you what I found out!

Continue reading Free for All: A surprising evening of roleplay in RuneScape

MassivelyFree for All: A surprising evening of roleplay in RuneScape originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>beau-hindmanbrowserbrowser-basedcasualEverQuest-2everquest-iif2pfeaturedffafree-for-allfree-to-playftpjagexLARPlarpingroleplayRolePlayingrunescapeSOESONYSony-Online-EntertainmentWed, 04 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Video interview with Chris McDonough reveals more details on World of Darkness]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/video-interview-with-chris-mcdonough-reveals-more-details-on-wor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/video-interview-with-chris-mcdonough-reveals-more-details-on-wor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/28/video-interview-with-chris-mcdonough-reveals-more-details-on-wor/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

So I'll be able to create a fifth-gen Brujah Anarch with Celerity 7 if I scan my character sheet, right?
There are a lot of gamers pretty interested in World of Darkness, and it's not hard to see why. The game is based in lore that's still hugely influential in the arena of tabletop gaming, and it's hard to imagine a developer better suited to labyrinthine political dramas than CCP. Machinima.com had a chance to chat with Chris McDonough during the recent Grand Masquerade, where McDonough revealed a few more tidbits about what the game would incorporate and how it would cater to existing fans of the property.

As McDonough puts it, the overall goal is to bring some of the feel of the game's many LARP activities into the MMO space, with the focus on player and character interplay in a sandbox environment. The full interview also discusses the spread of the overall property, why the team decided to focus on vampires initially, and more about what players can expect from the game world. View the full interview after the break.

[Thanks to Pilgrim for the tip!]

Continue reading Video interview with Chris McDonough reveals more details on World of Darkness

MassivelyVideo interview with Chris McDonough reveals more details on World of Darkness originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backstoryccpccp-gameschris-mcdonoughinterviewlarploretabletoptabletop-gamingvideovideo-interviewvideoswodworld-of-darknessWed, 28 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[CCP reveals World of Darkness details to bloodthirsty fans]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/18/ccp-reveals-world-of-darkness-details-to-bloodthirsty-fans/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/18/ccp-reveals-world-of-darkness-details-to-bloodthirsty-fans/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/18/ccp-reveals-world-of-darkness-details-to-bloodthirsty-fans/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Vampire the Masquerade
Details about CCP's World of Darkness are popping out of White Wolf's The Grand Masquerade in New Orleans this weekend, and they're definitely worth draining for every last sweet drop of... information. While the game is still in pre-production -- and as such, nothing is set in stone -- the devs weren't hesitant to dish out a lot of the ideas and features that they hope will make this the best vampire MMO to date.

It's CCP's desire to emulate LARPing (live-action roleplaying) as much as possible with World of Darkness, with plenty of metaplots running inside the game and without. Players will begin as a mortal human who can make the choice to become a kindred (vampire) or stay mortal for the duration of their characters' lives. There's a very real danger that characters might experience "final death" -- permadeath -- if they take too many risks. If you get in over your head, you can retreat to your character's Haven for safety.

The entire game will take place at night and on one server, and CCP is definitely aiming it toward the hardcore set. Nudity, gore, and insanity effects are all par for the course.

If players push outside of the acceptable boundaries too often, they'll lose "humanity" points and could become flagged for constant attack by other players and NPCs. Play your cards right and you may become the prince of the city. The game will change over time with dynamic events, and CCP promises that there will be real consequences for player decisions.

Look for our World of Darkness interview with CCP coming later this week.

[Thanks Pilgrim for the tip!]

MassivelyCCP reveals World of Darkness details to bloodthirsty fans originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 18 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-gamesfinal-deathgorehardcorehaveninsanitykindredlarplarpingnew-orleansnuditypermadeathprincepvpthe-grand-masqueradevampirevampire-the-masqueradevampireswhite-wolfworld-of-darknessSun, 18 Sep 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: What pen-and-paper RPG would make a great MMO?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/04/the-daily-grind-what-pen-and-paper-rpg-would-make-a-great-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/04/the-daily-grind-what-pen-and-paper-rpg-would-make-a-great-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/04/the-daily-grind-what-pen-and-paper-rpg-would-make-a-great-mmo/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This weekend thousands of gamers and geeks are descending on Indianapolis for GenCon Indy. Over four days, countless board, card, LARP and RPG games will be played, merchandise purchased in mass quantities, and new friendships formed.

GenCon's always been a good reminder that we MMO fans have roots in a much larger community of gamers, and that our interests often converge in unexpected ways. For all of the MMOs we have, there are even more pen-and-paper roleplaying games out there, some of which might just make a good online game if put into the right hands.

So how about it? What tabletop RPG would make a good MMO -- and for kicks, what studio would you want handling it?

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!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: What pen-and-paper RPG would make a great MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>card-gamegencongencon-indylarpopinionpen-and-paperpen-and-paper-roleplayingrpgtabletop-gamingtabletop-rpgtdgthe-daily-grindThu, 04 Aug 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Free for All: So, what does "MMORPG" mean?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/08/free-for-all-so-what-does-mmorpg-mean/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/08/free-for-all-so-what-does-mmorpg-mean/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/09/08/free-for-all-so-what-does-mmorpg-mean/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

As a reader of Massively, you should have a pretty good idea what MMORPG means. Not just what it stands for, but what it feels like, looks like, and behaves like. The problem is, despite common definitions, the games keep coming in different shapes and sizes -- and from all over the world. While I receive many comments about the Western coverage that Massively features, I would only be doing half my job if I reported on only the latest half a dozen games to break the multi-million-dollar budget mark in America.

The world is a smaller place, especially now. And across the world there are MMORPGs that are being played and enjoyed in many different ways. There are PvP games, games that place players into instance after instance with only a handful of other players, all while offering the potential to hang out with thousands of other people. Is an instanced combat game still an MMO? How about a game like Mabinogi, which maintains a persistent world, but is broken into several invisible channels for players to skip in to and out of?

This is impossible, but I think I will try to define exactly what MMO means -- now, in this current market.

Continue reading Free for All: So, what does "MMORPG" mean?

MassivelyFree for All: So, what does "MMORPG" mean? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it comes to my roots in MMOs, I actually have to start fairly early on with my general introduction to tech geekery. Growing up in my house was a somewhat strange affair. You see, back when computers used to take up entire rooms and ran on giant reels of tape -- later plastic key cards and paper tapes -- my father was working with them. Being part of our household meant one was essentially living with a highly technical mind that worked on and loved things like supercomputers. I experienced ideas and machines that many in the world hadn't, save in movies or on TV. It also meant that there were some pretty strange technical odds and ends floating around our home.

Continue reading MMOrigins: The play's the thing

MassivelyMMOrigins: The play's the thing originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cosplayfeaturedlarplive-action-role-playingmmommoriginsmmorpgmmospgopinionrole-playrole-playingvampire-the-masqueradevtmwodworld-of-darknessFri, 13 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Turbine recruits new operations of VP into its fellowship]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/turbine-recruits-new-operations-of-vp-into-its-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/turbine-recruits-new-operations-of-vp-into-its-fellowship/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/turbine-recruits-new-operations-of-vp-into-its-fellowship/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

News on the wire is that Ken Surdan has been appointed as Turbine's new VP of operations, and will oversee worldwide operations of Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Asheron's Call. His previous gigs include senior vice president for technology for TripAdvisor, chief operating officer at Smart Bargins and a member of the "Lord of the Rings: One LARP to rule them all" group. If we had to guess, we'd say Ken probably played as Gandalf -- because that guy managed just about everything.

Okay, in all seriousness, Surdan is bringing quite a lot of operations experience to Turbine. For a company that seems to be looking at expansion in the coming years, it's a very smart hire. The only thing we're not entirely clear on is whether or not he's replacing anyone or is filling an until-now empty position.

MassivelyTurbine recruits new operations of VP into its fellowship originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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