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The Daily Grind: Do you prefer historical settings?

Brianna Royce — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, Lore, MMO industry, Opinion, The Daily Grind, Miscellaneous

This week, Massively's Karen Bryan attended a GDC talk by Charles Cecil, the creator of Broken Sword, on the topic of writing games that employ history and historical themes. Cecil wisely noted that historical themes tap in to the audience's shared mythology to generate a compelling game and to serve as the foundation for accessible puzzles relevant to the storyline. And yet strict historical themes in MMOs, even when not diluted with more fantastic elements, can also betray immersion -- would it really make sense for a game about the American Revolution to allow female characters to become military generals?

Dark Age of Camelot certainly saw its share of success pairing real-world European legend and modern 20th-century fantasy, while its cousin Imperator, set in a futuristic Roman Empire, was canceled in favor of another Mythic game. World of Tanks thrives off historical realism, whereas the upcoming The Secret World is making an art-form of layering myth over mundane. Still, history-flavored games are very much in the minority, perhaps because they allow studios much less freedom of lore design. What do you think -- do historical (or pseudo-historical) MMOs work for you? Do you prefer pure escapism, or would you rather play in a "home-turf" setting whose real-world backstory is your own?

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!

The Daily Grind: Do you prefer historical settings? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wargaming.net releases new World of Warplanes screens

Jef Reahard — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Real life, Galleries, Screenshots, MMO industry, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous, World of Warplanes

The latest salvo in the battle between forthcoming free-to-play aviation MMOs has been fired by Wargaming.net. The company has released a fresh batch of screenshots detailing its new World of Warplanes title, which is the second in a trilogy of World War II-based action games that includes World of Tanks and World of Battleships.

The screenshots show a small cross section of classic aircraft slipping the surly bonds of earth and engaging in various maneuvers designed to fill enemies full of hot lead. Wargaming.net's press release says that "every plane will feature multiple variations of ammo types, engines, and other crucial modules," and players will be able to guide their pilot avatars through a virtual career that begins in 1930s biplanes and culminates in the cockpit of Korean War-era jets.

See the sights in the gallery below, and check out our exclusive interview with project manager Alexander Zezulin for more details on World of Warplanes' features and mechanics.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Gallery: World of Warplanes

Wargaming.net releases new World of Warplanes screens originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission

Jef Reahard — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Interviews, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Kids, Family, Miscellaneous

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond has been in the news a lot lately, but just who are the folks behind the educational MMO from NASA and Project Whitecard? A new piece at Gamasutra sheds a bit of light on that as well as a few more details about the project as a whole.

"I'm originally a developer," says Project Whitecard CEO Khal Shariff. "I thought, 'oh, I could be a developer for the rest of my life, or I could start my own company.'" That company has some pretty lofty goals for its first MMO, including reaching out to millions of kids worldwide and getting them interested in STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

"We are dedicated to using game technology to do things that, when somebody interacts with the game, it maybe leaves the world better or leaves somebody smarter," Shariff says.

Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond developer talks educational mission originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ethnologist researches the development of social skills in World of Warcraft

Eliot Lefebvre — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, News items, Virtual worlds

A lot of players probably think that World of Warcraft breeds social skills, to the extent that contempt for one's fellow human beings can be considered a social skill. But according to Peter Stenberg of Umea University in Sweden, there are some actual developments taking place when you play. Stenberg has just released a thesis detailing the social developments he observed during his 250-day stint in the game, discussing the ways in which the virtual environment begins to blend into the real world and develop complex social structures.

As Stenberg puts it, the overall atmosphere of the game forms a collective and developed society apart from the real world, something he claims "challenges the rather persistent view of the computer game enthusiast as a lone figure with only a flickering screen for company." Of course, veteran players of MMOs have no doubt noticed a wide variety of social structures that develop within a game, but Stenberg's work is interesting if for no other reason than it's meant as a serious examination of the phenomenon.

Ethnologist researches the development of social skills in World of Warcraft originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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World of Tanks rolls on to release day

Jef Reahard — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Historical, Real life, Launches, New titles, News items, War, Free-to-play, World of Tanks

How's about we strap ourselves inside 60 tons of steel, form up with a company of like-minded comrades, and steam-roll those unfortunate chaps rolling along in the enemy tank brigade on the other side of the map? If you answered hooaahh, World of Tanks is probably an MMO that you'll want to check out (and even if you didn't, the game is free-to-play, so you've got nothing to lose).

So grab your buddies, your extra ammo, and a cup of that engine degreaser that passes for coffee and avail yourself of video tutorials, interviews with Victor Kislyi, and clan wars discussions -- all courtesy of the best World of Tanks coverage on the web. That's right, release day for Wargaming.net's action/strategy MMO is finally here, and Massively's got your mission-critical intel briefing just after the cut.

Continue reading World of Tanks rolls on to release day

World of Tanks rolls on to release day originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan's earthquake having aftershocks in the MMO world

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events, real-world, MMO industry, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV, Miscellaneous

Unless you've deliberately avoiding learning about what's going on in the world, you've doubtlessly heard of the massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday. Our thoughts and good wishes go to any and all of our readers, and their friends and families, directly affected by the disaster. But it hits people in many ways, and it's even reaching into the MMO sphere, with both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV shutting down completely for at least a week of service.

While the servers for both games had been kept running briefly after the disaster, the massive power failures across Japan resulted in widespread shortages. The service is expected to be down for at least a week from today, and players will receive no bills for the month due to the interruption. Sony Online Entertainment has no games based out of the island nation, but it has also suspended billing for all players in the region and has pointed players to disaster relief centers. We can only hope that other companies follow suit where possible, as a tragedy of this scale demands a response.

Japan's earthquake having aftershocks in the MMO world originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey

Justin Olivetti — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, MMO industry, Miscellaneous

Angry at being lumped in with the stereotype of a gaming loser who can't make a friend for all the effort in the world? It turns out you probably have a right to be upset. According to a survey by Bigpoint, most gamers are actually balanced, social and fairly good-looking -- a far cry from the antisocial nerd who cannot understand this thing called "women."

The Bigpoint Gamer Survey covered 6,663 gamers across the globe in its research before coming to this startling (or not-so-startling, depending on your perspective) conclusion. The survey also showed that gamers are just as active with their online friendships as those in real life. Yes, 55% of players under 20 years old said they had more online friends than offline, and a quarter of gamers mashed the two social spheres together -- 28% of those surveyed said that they eventually met their online friends in the real world.

Bigpoint's Janine Griffel thinks that this survey paints a very positive picture for the gaming community: "Our study shows that online gamers are attractive individuals with healthy and active social lives. Social and casual games are very popular among our users for the reason that they emphasize being social. The trend's definitely moving away from single-player games to social-based experiences."

You can read more about this fascinating survey at Game Politics.

Gamers buck stereotypes in a recent survey originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Sick of high fantasy yet?

Samuel Axon — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Opinion, The Daily Grind

Alright, we get it. The high fantasy genre is popular. It became massively popular with J.R.R. Tolkien's massively popular The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books, which then became massively popular, massively expensive movies, and now all that has turned into a slightly less massively popular but still impressive massively multiplayer game called The Lord of the Rings Online.

Of course, before LotRO there were already lots of high fantasy MMOs. Like, almost all of them, including Ultima Online, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI, and World of Warcraft. Now there's Warhammer Online. If we're gonna be technical, Warhammer precedes all of these except for The Lord of the Rings and Ultima, but let's at least try to stay grounded here. Point is, developers and publishers keep doing high fantasy MMOs, and players keep buying them.

There are a few samples from other genres on the way -- Star Trek Online and The Agency, for example. But non-fantasy MMOs have had a difficult history. The only very succesful ones have been City of Heroes and EVE Online. Maybe Star Wars Galaxies or Anarchy Online, but that's being awfully generous. So really, ya'll; are you sick of this fantasy thing yet? Are you ready to give Sci-Fi another chance, or even something based on (prepare to gasp) the real world?

The Daily Grind: Sick of high fantasy yet? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Are you playing too much?

Michael Zenke — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Events, real-world, Opinion, The Daily Grind

It's always good to keep things in perspective, right? These game are, after all, not the end-all-be-all of existence. They're fun social tools, wonderful hobbies, and can even be engaging stories in and of themselves. But they're not everything. So in that frame of mind, we ask: are you playing too much? We know that we certainly play a bit too much sometimes, and wanted to touch base with you.

Maybe you're not even playing too much - maybe you're just following upcoming releases too closely. Are you constantly refreshing WoW Insider to get that Lich King news? Or are waiting with bated breath for Warhammer Online? Why not sound off here, and admit that maybe (possibly) it might be worth it to take a little step back? Are you playing too much?

The Daily Grind: Are you playing too much? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The beauty of MMO fashion shows

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:30:00 EST

Filed under: Galleries, Screenshots, Contests, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Forums, Roleplaying

As our MMOs get more immersive in regards to graphical environments and especially character models, it is an inevitable progression to introduce fan-driven beauty contests into the mix. Fansites and forums are always finding new ways to boost the community in our MMOs, and competition is a natural element of our favorite games anyway, so why not combine the two? This type of community-based event showcasing the beauty of in-game graphics tends to be something that can most effectively be done in an MMO, and works quite well as a distraction from the typical killing, looting and questing.

So are these in-game character beauty contests an extension of roleplaying, or are they focused more on the competitive aspect? Do you think they're trying to over-compensate for real-world qualities as a form of escapism? Are they simply good-natured fun, and a way to pass the time? Regardless of the reason, they're becoming more popular with each new MMO. In fact, we anticipate one of these in Age of Conan very soon.

What becomes even more fascinating though is the conversion from in-game character beauty contests to real-world costume contests. Many players are willing to take it that extra mile for the love of their game, and this certainly isn't a new phenomenon. We've seen this for decades with Star Trek and Star Wars conventions, but are MMOs replacing this type of event?

Check out the gallery below for a walk down the runway of MMO fashion shows.

Gallery: MMO Beauty Contests

The beauty of MMO fashion shows originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 May 2008 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Are MMO communities growing beyond the game?

Shawn Schuster — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry

The whole concept of community within an MMO is constantly being redefined and improved upon, but in a recent article, we take a glimpse into the jobs of a few community liaisons for NCSoft Europe. They talk mainly about some of the exciting experiences they've had during their time with NCSoft. Most of these involve real-world events such as fan meet-ups and contests thrown by the community managers. Martin Kerstein, community team lead on Guild Wars relays a story of a player who brought shortbread villains and heroes for the CoX team during an event. Community manager Jen Bolton describes her appreciation for the high-quality fan art and fan fiction they see from players on a regular basis.

A main point of this article addresses the fact that MMO players aren't always those you think of, locked away in their parents' basements, turning transparent from the lack of sunlight. A growing number of people who come to these events are outgoing socialites dressed as Boba Fett or a blood elf, just there for a good time with like-minded people. Just as any event should be.

Are MMO communities growing beyond the game? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NCSoft's Ultimate Heroic Weekend

Shawn Schuster — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Real life, Sci-fi, Super-hero, City of Heroes, City of Villains, Events, real-world, Tabula Rasa

This last weekend, John over at Tabula Blogger was fortunate enough to attend NCSoft's Ultimate Heroic Weekend. Originally created as a CoH/CoV event, there was also a fair representation by Tabula Rasa players and devs as well.

Held at Birmingham, UK's Omega Sektor, this "minicon" was great fun for all, with Task Force events, TR Bootcamp, meet-ups and races. NCSoft's European Community Coordinator Tia "Avatea" was on hand to dish out the prizes for this gigantic LAN party. John was even able to get his TR character drawn by the great Andie Tong for the Draw the World Together charity. Be sure to check out more on John's experience as well as a few great pics over at Tabula Blogger.

NCSoft's Ultimate Heroic Weekend originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC talks to EVE's economist

Mike Schramm — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sci-fi, EVE Online, Business models, Culture, Economy, Game mechanics

The good folks over at the BBC have a writeup centered around EVE Online's very own economist, Dr. Eyjo Guðmundsson, also known as the guy CCP has hired to keep an eye on EVE's economy and to make parallels between money movements in the real and virtual worlds. There's not too much new information in there -- the good Doctor talks a little bit about the player council that will soon be introduced in EVE, and lets us in on some of academic ties to his work in the virtual universe, but as an overview of why EVE's economy is so special (even for players playing other games), it's a good read.

And it should also relay just how important it is to have someone watch what's happening in the economy of a virtual world. Innovations like the new "Gross User Product" statistic that Dr. Guðmundsson and his colleagues are working on in EVE will not only help other developers learn a lot more about how to stimulate and develop virtual economies, but could very well have applications in real-world economies as well. Could a recession be avoided because of a market tweak that's experimented on in worlds like EVE? Perhaps, and if so, Dr. Guðmundsson will likely be the one to find out.

BBC talks to EVE's economist originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ron Paul march in Azeroth

Mike Schramm — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Culture, Events, real-world, Events, in-game, Raiding, News items, Virtual worlds

Here's video via Gamepolitics.com of the march that took place last night in Azeroth (a.k.a. the World of Warcraft) to support Ron Paul, a Republican candidate for the president of the United States. We originally reported on this topic over at WoW Insider (which, if I may say so, was one of the reasons so many people showed up), and we'll have more coverage of the march last night there soon.

But while Gamepolitics gives a good man-on-the-scene writeup, they also avoid the real question here: does real-world politics belong in a world like Azeroth at all? No one questions it when politicians show up in Second Life-- in fact, the few Second Lifers I know take it as a badge of honor that their world is important enough to host those folks. And certainly there are places where politics don't belong-- on WoW's roleplaying servers, discussion of the real-world is a no-no.

But let's not forget that we players aren't just avatars in a game- we're real people with opinions of our own to express, whether they be political or otherwise. Whether they should have or not (and many players on Whisperwind, where the rally took place, where extremely unhappy with the queues and congestion on their server last night), they expressed those opinons last night.

Update: Looks like Paul also wins the presidential naming race.

Ron Paul march in Azeroth originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you know Jack?

Kevin Stallard — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Opinion, Legal

Jack Thompson

Unless you've been living under a rock, you probably recognize this name. Thompson is a self-appointed crusader against violence and sexuality in video games. While he has relatively little to do with MMORPG's yet, it is only a matter of time before he, or others like him, decides to turn his attention to our favorite pastime. Thompson has been at his game for several years now, but it appears that the industry, as well as Florida's Bar Association, is starting to fight back.

Continue reading Do you know Jack?

Do you know Jack? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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