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The Secret World's engine takes center stage

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST

Filed under: Horror, Real life, Game mechanics, Interviews, News items, The Secret World, Miscellaneous

Unified engines for MMOs have long been a rarity, simply due to the time needed to develop a game and the number of different companies developing separate products. The Secret World manages to buck this trend, using the same core Dreamworld Engine as Funcom's Age of Conan. A recent interview with lead programmer Øystein Eftevaag discusses the way that the engine interacts with the newer game, how the unified engine helps both games, and what special features the game is using in a technical sense.

Eftevaag explains that the Dreamworld Engine benefits chiefly from cross-pollination; improvements made in terms of optimization for Age of Conan can be imported to the engine on The Secret World with minimal extra legwork. The engine also uses a series of dynamic equations to determine what player characters should be able to see, subsequently leaving obscured areas blank to save on processor cycles. It's an interesting look under the hood at the technical side of Funcom's upcoming conspiracy and horror title, even if this particular dream world is tilted toward a nightmare.

The Secret World's engine takes center stage originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Game Archaeologist crosses Meridian 59: An interview with Brian Green (part 1)

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Meridian 59, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, Free-to-play, The Game Archaeologist

Last week we began to examine one of the most significant MMOs in history: Meridian 59. While it never rose to the level of fame and subscriber numbers as its successors did, Meridian 59 was a daring pioneer that paved the way for all that followed. Its story is almost like a movie, with the title born from the fruits of two amateur programmers, surviving studio shutdowns and huge competition, and persevering from 1996 through today.

As I'll recount over the next two episodes of The Game Archaeologist, I sat down with Brian Green, a blogger and game developer who oversaw the resurrection of Meridian 59 in the early 2000s and ran it for the better part of a decade. Green graciously agreed to participate, saying that he always loves talking about games -- and this one in particular.

The Game Archaeologist: Hi! Please introduce yourself and your current position and project.

Brian Green: I'm Brian "Psychochild" Green, a long-time MMO designer and programmer. I'm known for my professional blog and my work on Meridian 59. I'm currently working on the Storybricks project as the MMO Wizard. We're a startup, so that means I do whatever needs to be done at the moment.

Continue reading The Game Archaeologist crosses Meridian 59: An interview with Brian Green (part 1)

The Game Archaeologist crosses Meridian 59: An interview with Brian Green (part 1) originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online expanding API functionality

Eliot Lefebvre — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST

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

Amidst all of the scandals and player controversy, it's important to remember what really matters in EVE Online -- API development. Well, maybe not for every player, but there's certainly a burgeoning community that's quite happy to hear about major updates to the game's overall API structure. And there are indeed two large changes discussed in the newest devblog -- the addition of customizable API keys for players and the inclusion of new contract functionality.

If you're not familiar with the programming side of the API, naturally, the developer blog is largely going to read like so much arcane nonsense to you. The takeaways for all players are that there is greater flexibility in setting access keys with limited durations, and calling contract information is now easier than it was before. On the other hand, if you are a part of the game's programming community and want to know more about the changes, the blog should provide a great deal of more in-depth and useful information for improved functionality.

EVE Online expanding API functionality originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Break into the gaming industry as an ArenaNet intern

MJ Guthrie — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Events, real-world, News items, Miscellaneous

I can do that!

Budding game artists and programmers rejoice! If you have been looking for a way to break into the industry, ArenaNet is offering just that opportunity -- it is now considering applications to its 2012 Internship Program. The Class of 2012 will offer the following disciplines: Character Art, Environment Art, Technical Art/VFX, Animation, and Programming.

ArenaNet feels that "artists learn more in the first few months of a game industry job than in their entire time at art school." The focus is on "an immersive work-based educational program where intern artists work alongside professionals" to develop and hone their skills.

If accepted to the program, interns will have to relocate to the Bellevue, WA area at their own expense, but they will be paid an hourly stipend for their work as well as have the opportunity to participate in an internal educational program.

The deadline for entry into the 2012 class is September 21st, 2011. If you think you have what it takes, check out the official announcement for full details and links to each discipline's respective applications.

Break into the gaming industry as an ArenaNet intern originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ex-NetDevil programmer talks LEGO Universe and getting an industry job

Jef Reahard — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, MMO industry, News items, LEGO Universe

Fan site MMO Fallout has an interesting interview with Stephen Calender that's worth a read. Who's Stephen Calender? He's a Flash developer who was front and center for the brouhaha that went down when The LEGO Group acquired the LEGO Universe MMO from NetDevil (putting many NetDevil programmers out of work in the process).

The interview is a wide-ranging and lengthy affair, and it features discussion on Gazillion's relationship with NetDevil, a blurb about the ill-fated Auto Assault, and of course, the bulk of the piece that focuses on the past and future of LEGO Universe. For all of the aspiring game devs in the audience, Calender also spends quite a bit of time talking about selling yourself in an increasingly competitive industry.

Ex-NetDevil programmer talks LEGO Universe and getting an industry job originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT

Brendan Drain — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, News items, Dev Diaries

With the Incursion expansion's second phase almost ready to deploy, it's been a busy few weeks for the developers at CCP Games. Work is well underway, but a few of the folks at CCP have taken time out of their busy schedules this week to explain some of the interesting developments that have recently gone on behind the scenes. GM Grimmi, well-known for his work battling EVE's RMT (Real Money Trading) problem, delivered an update on the problem and what CCP is doing to tackle it. Similarly, aptly named developer CCP Masterplan wrote two in-depth devblogs detailing the latest developments in the war on lag.

Lag has always been an issue in EVE Online's territorial warfare, as each side in a fight will try to bring as many ships as possible to major battles. The point at which the EVE server lags and server nodes begin to drop has been increased over the years through hardware upgrades and software performance optimisations, allowing much larger fights than were previously possible. With the playerbase growing every year, however, the number of players who can potentially meet in one place for a major battle has similarly risen and the issue of lag has persisted.

Skip past the cut for a roundup of three new devblogs detailing CCP's progress in the war on lag, recently deployed optimisations for fleet battles, and the progress made in the fight against RMT and botting.

Continue reading EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT

EVE devblogs discuss developments in the war on lag and RMT originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: What game would you like to see go open source?

Eliot Lefebvre — Sat, 08 May 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Game mechanics, Ryzom, Opinion, The Daily Grind

For a game long known for its emphasis on player-created content, mods, and even skills, the big Ryzom announcement perhaps should have been expected. But the revelation that the game was going into the murky waters of open source, albeit with a few omissions such as height maps and sound files, is a far-reaching one for almost any game not wholly built around user generation (a la Second Life).

And it naturally leads to the question: what other games would be nice to have access to from the source code up. It opens a huge number of doors, everything from private servers to full-on rewrites of the game as a single-player experience. For knowledgable coders, it turns every single patch and design decision into something that can be modified by the players. The breadth of options is almost overwhelming.

Of course, Ryzom is a niche title with a strong emphasis on these kinds of innovations, so in a way it's to be expected. But it's the closest we've seen to a mainstream game going this route -- so what would you like to see? An older game that could benefit from the publicity? A newer game you feel could be improved? Or a sadly-cancelled game whose source code could be used as a resurrection?

The Daily Grind: What game would you like to see go open source? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 08 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Second Life script limitations to prejudice against Mono?

Tateru Nino — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Economy, Opinion, Second Life, Virtual worlds

In a sense, script memory limitations aren't coming to Second Life; they already exist.

What's going on is the process of Linden Lab making those limits predictable, and setting things up in such a way that script memory usage doesn't cause simulator processes to thrash madly (from paging memory to and from disk).

There's some interesting side-effects emerging from the overall prototype implementation, however. Mono (and, eventually C# when or if it becomes implemented as a scripting language) look like the losers.

Continue reading Second Life script limitations to prejudice against Mono?

Second Life script limitations to prejudice against Mono? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nexon iNitiative launching contest for new games

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Contests, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items

Having a great idea for a video game goes hand-in-hand with playing them, and it goes double for MMOs. (Admit it, you have at least two that you keep locked up tight in your mind on the chance that Blizzard or Turbine or NCsoft come calling. It's okay.) But more often than not, those of us who specialize in playing and talking about making games never get beyond the idea stage. Making these things costs quite a bit of money, after all, and one lone game fan ranting about ideas isn't usually going to attract venture capital.

Nexon America wants to make life just a little bit easier for the indie game developers and aspiring developers out there. They've just launched the Nexon iNitiative to bring funding to smaller studios and independent games, with an open contest for submissions. The best idea gets a cool million dollars of invested money, as well as a chance at a Nexon publishing contract. So while it's not quite a private design studio to make your great MMO idea come to fruition, it's a great chance for small developers to get a big leg up. If you think you've got what it takes, check out the submission guidelines and get cracking!

Nexon iNitiative launching contest for new games originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2

Brendan Drain — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST

Continue reading MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2

MMOrigins: Life's funny like that, page 2 originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MMOrigins: Life's funny like that

Brendan Drain — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Opinion, Virtual worlds, MMOrigins

We all got started gaming somewhere. For a lot of people, it was the Sega Mega-drive, the Atari 2600 or the NES that signaled their first steps into gaming. For me, it was the Commodore Amiga, a machine that was more a complete home computer than a games console. It was on the Amiga that groups like Team 17, Ocean, Electronic Arts and Blizzard first really made their mark on gaming and it was a great time of innovation in the industry. I recall long nights spent playing Frontier: Elite II, scooping hydrogen fuel from the corona of a star or wormholing into deep space. Another favourite that I still play occasionally was K240, an early space 4x game and still one of the best I've ever played.

It was the public domain market on the Amiga that really caught my attention. It's one thing to play a game, but here was the opportunity to make one and sell it via a page in CU Amiga magazine or a PD order disk. I've always been more interested in making games than playing them but being young with no programming experience, I was limited in what I could do. I tooled endlessly with the "Shoot 'em up Construction Kit" and "Reality Game Creator" packages, making countless primitive prototype games that only I ever played.

Continue reading MMOrigins: Life's funny like that

MMOrigins: Life's funny like that originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Champions Online dev discusses how to become a game designer

Akela Talamasca — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, MMO industry, Opinion, Academic, Champions Online

'Heretic' on the Champions Online developer blog, has posted a short piece on how to "break the wall" and become a game designer. The factors involved are fairly obvious once given consideration, but it's always worth going over them again, to refresh one's memory.

Among the important issues are getting experience in a related, or "parallel" line of work, such as programming or art; noting that there are few available design positions available, and these are typically filled from within the company; and remembering professionalism, courtesy, responsibility, confidence and diplomacy as important assets for any employee.

Continue reading Champions Online dev discusses how to become a game designer

Champions Online dev discusses how to become a game designer originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Raph Koster answers a letter from a 12-year-old

Mike Schramm — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Academic, Education

Pretty darn cool of Raph Koster to answer this letter from a 12-year-old kid on his blog. And though we've heard the guy talk before, it's fun to see him boil down exactly what he's doing into language a younger kid would understand. It's one thing to talk about "complex server cluster architectures," but it's another to hear Koster explain what an "Integrated Development Environment" is in simple terms.

And I like his characterization of programming, too -- I've always told someone I'm trying to teach to use a computer that they "don't do what you want them to do, only what you tell them to do." That's the crux of a good programmer -- he or she knows how to tell the computer do to the right things.

Definitely a good read for insight into the mind of an MMO maker, whether you're 12 or 112.

Raph Koster answers a letter from a 12-year-old originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC08: When Love came to town

Barb Dybwad — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:35:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Galleries, Video, Business models, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Previews, MMOFPS, Massively Interviews, Massively Hands-on, Massively Event Coverage, Love

Every once in a while you have one of those unique experiences where you catch a glimpse of inspirational human intelligence. We were lucky enough to have such an experience at GDC in the hour we spent with Eskil Steenberg, the gifted programmer behind the fledgling one-man MMO project, Love. Once you get past the stage of incredulity at the idea that anyone would even attempt to create a massive game as a solo effort in the age of WoW-sized development and content teams, you start to get a window into exactly why this work in progress is unusual, preciously unique and extremely exciting.

Starting with a caveat: Love is not yet in production (indeed, there's no solid guarantee it ever will be), nor is it glossy and polished like most of the blockbuster AAA titles we feature in our list of core titles -- but the latter tends to work in its favor. It's not like any MMO you've ever seen; what we saw shimmering and dancing on Steenberg's laptop was otherworldly, breathing, and dreamy -- more reminiscent of a Van Gogh painting or of Waking Life than of any massive game we've ever played. The video embedded after the break is somewhat crude, having been shot off a laptop display (and occasionally featuring a reflection of Eskil himself, which you can decide for yourself whether it enhances or detracts from the experience), but captures the essence of the strange world in motion with its breathtaking landscape and day/night cycling as you wander about the planet.

Gallery: GDC08: Love by Eskil Steenberg

Continue reading GDC08: When Love came to town

GDC08: When Love came to town originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dungeon Runners releases characters in XML

Mike Schramm — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Dungeon Runners, MMO industry, Tips and tricks, Free-to-play

This isn't quite the idea of MMO-to-go yet, but it's the first step towards something really huge in MMO gaming: a character API. An API is an Application Programming Interface-- basically a document or method of how to get computers to talk to each other through different applications. Facebook apps are made with the Facebook API, applications that hook into iTunes use the iTunes API, and so on. With an API, programmers can take information from one source, and do almost anything they want with it in other programs. Players have already done some amazing things with World of Warcraft's Armory (even without an actual API-- I'm pretty sure most of that is just HTML scraping), but now NCSoft's Dungeon Runners has upped the ante-- they've made all the character data in the game available to anyone as an XML file. With just a URL, you can access info on any player in the game, already marked up in XML.

What does this mean to you as a player? It means that programmers can create any number of applications using this data-- they can display your DR character's info almost anywhere at any time. And a skilled programmer could even track the info over time-- tell you how fast you leveled, how often you change your armor or gear, or how fast you've earned gold in the last day. And who knows what else people could come up with-- the best part about opening up information like this is that it gets used in all sorts of ways that no one could ever predict.

Jeff Freeman's exactly right: "This is really cool... just in case you don't get that." We're just scratching the surface of this stuff, but eventually you'll be able to do things like get text messages on your phone when your WoW auctions sell, or be able to monitor your guild's bank or your PvP team's wins via RSS (which itself can then plug into almost anything) When developers break out data like this for players, the possibilities are endless.

Dungeon Runners releases characters in XML originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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