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[1UP thinks the Force is with the BioWare MMO (again)]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/1up-thinks-the-force-is-with-the-bioware-mmo-again/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/1up-thinks-the-force-is-with-the-bioware-mmo-again/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/07/1up-thinks-the-force-is-with-the-bioware-mmo-again/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

We cannot foresee the details of BioWare's MMO; shrouded in mystery they are. The biggest rumor has always been that it's based on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic IP. And what a ride that rumor has been. Just since the beginning of this year it's already been falsely confirmed once and denied twice.

It's the most popular nonexistent game in the known universe, but is it really nonexistent after all? Oh no, here we go again! As our own Mike Schramm commented after the most recent denial: "If you strike this rumor down, it will only come back more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Prophetic words, those.

A tipster sent 1UP an excerpt from an MMO script, allegedly from within BioWare. The script doesn't sound very MMO-like, but according to 1UP's Steve Watts, it resembles dialogue in previous BioWare works, and it's "set in the historical past of the Star Wars universe." Sounds like KotOR to us! 1UP poked LucasArts for a comment, and basically got the "no comment" comment.

Massively1UP thinks the Force is with the BioWare MMO (again) originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1upaustinbiowareknights-of-the-old-republickotorkotoroleaklucasartsrumorrumorsscriptstar-warsswtorFri, 07 Mar 2008 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Cutting down the noise in online situations]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/cutting-down-the-noise-in-online-situations/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/cutting-down-the-noise-in-online-situations/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/15/cutting-down-the-noise-in-online-situations/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Technically, the idea that Randall Munroe (author of XKCD, one of the funniest and definitely the geekiest of the comics on the web) had wasn't really about MMOs, but I think there is an application to the communities that we're all gaming in. His problem was that, whenever a community reaches a certain number of people, connections weaken, and it becomes an ever-increasing struggle of signal versus noise. And while his interest in that problem has to do with the IRC channel associated with the comic, it will surely sound familiar to those of us who've spent any amount of time in an online gaming environment.

So what's his plan to fix things? His theory is that a lack of meaningful communication is directly tied to the originality of the statements contained therein-- ie. get rid of the Chuck Norris comments and the older-than-dirt memes and jokes, and you'll have meaningful communication. So he created a script to sit in the channel (#xkcd-signal on irc.foonetic.net) with logs of the past two years of chatting, and if you say anything that's already been said, you'll get muted.

Continue reading Cutting down the noise in online situations

MassivelyCutting down the noise in online situations originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chatchuck-norrisenvironmentsgamingircjokesmemesmmonoiseratioscriptsignalTue, 15 Jan 2008 20:30:00 EST