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[The Daily Grind: What is the unofficial soundtrack to your favorite MMO?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/the-daily-grind-what-is-the-unofficial-soundtrack-to-your-favor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/the-daily-grind-what-is-the-unofficial-soundtrack-to-your-favor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/the-daily-grind-what-is-the-unofficial-soundtrack-to-your-favor/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Testament
Official soundtracks are great; don't get me wrong. But sometimes I like to just throw on some of my own music to better mimic my mood at the time of playing. There are still albums from the late '80s that remind me of Wasteland or Pool of Radiance every time I listen to them -- almost 25 years later!

As talented as our favorite game theme composers are, we don't always want to listen to the default soundtrack every time. So what gets you through your game of choice? Do you enjoy some metal? Classical? Country? Oldies? Dubstep... or whatever the kids listen to these days? Let us know!

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 is the unofficial soundtrack to your favorite MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 May 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>daily-grindmusicopinionsoundtrackstdgtestamentthe-daily-grindthemeFri, 18 May 2012 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part two)]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/26/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-two/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/26/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-two/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/26/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-two/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Perfect Ten
The last time on the Perfect Ten, disaster struck the good ship Poseidon and the surviving readers were running out of air as they tried to escape the flipped-over vessel. Also, we were counting down the top 20 MMO themes, but that's of small consolation to the soon-to-be bereaved friends and families, don't you think?

Because we play these games extensively, it's not uncommon for MMO music -- and themes -- to become vilified by the sheer number of times we've heard them. That's a little unfair to a three-minute piece of soundtrack that slaves every day to feed his wife and kids, doing the best he can in a trying situation. So perhaps we can put aside melodic oversaturation to look at these tracks anew, shall we?

With half of them out of the way, it's time to look into the elite of the elite: the 10 best MMO themes of all time. According to me. A guy you don't know. You've got goosebumps, don't you?

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part two)

MassivelyThe Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part two) originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acallodsallods-onlineasherons-calleqeq2everquesteverquest-2everquest-iifeaturedgranado-espadaguild-warsguild-wars-2gwgw2jeremy-soulelistmusicperfect-tenromrunes-of-magicscorestar-trek-onlinestosword-of-the-new-worldthe-perfect-tenthemetheme-musictitle-themeturbineultima-onlineuoworld-of-warcraftwowThu, 26 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part one)]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-one/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-one/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/the-perfect-ten-best-mmo-theme-songs-part-one/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Perfect Ten
As I've well established both here on Massively and elsewhere, I'm somewhat of a nut for video game music. Whereas others might collect vintage hair metal tracks or the latest Justin Bieber opus, I'm always digging through obscure (and not-so-obscure) official soundtracks to games like Wipeout and Kirby. Video game scores can be right up there with the best that the film industry puts out, and the fact that they tie into personal experiences that we've played through can lend them sentimental weight.

So for the next two Perfect Tens, I scoured all the MMO theme songs that I could get ahold of in an attempt to formulate a list of the very best. It was originally slated to be just one list, but after an hour or so of listening to tracks and having friends and fellow staffers weigh in on the subject, I knew it was impossible to keep it there.

Two important things to note for this list. First, I wanted to keep to just the title/login screen tracks so that I wouldn't be working on this for the next 2.5 years. Second, unlike most past Perfect Tens where there's no significance to the order of the list, in this case we're going to have a genuine countdown to the best MMO theme song of all time. And I expect to take no flak about it, do you hear me? Good. Let's begin.

Continue reading The Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part one)

MassivelyThe Perfect Ten: Best MMO theme songs (part one) originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanbiowareblade-and-souldarkfalldarkfall-onlinefeaturedffxifinal-fantasy-xiharry-potterlistmabinogimusicNobuo-Uematsuperfect-10perfect-tenpiratespirates-of-the-burning-searunescapescorestar-wars-the-old-republicswtorthe-perfect-10the-perfect-tenthemetheme-musictitle-musictop-10top-20transformerstwilightwizard101wurm-onlineThu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lost Pages of Taborea: An interview with Dynamedion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/lost-pages-of-taborea-an-interview-with-dynamedion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/lost-pages-of-taborea-an-interview-with-dynamedion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/02/21/lost-pages-of-taborea-an-interview-with-dynamedion/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

A lot of people like music in video games, and for good reason. Today there are some amazing tracks being recorded by professionals and artists for us to listen to as we own noobs, take down mighty dragons, and explore serene vistas. The world of video game composing even has its own fanbase filled with players who pay close attention to who is making the musical score to tomorrow's buzz-worthy game. I have personally clawed around in the dark for months looking for scraps of information on Runes of Magic's soundtrack. Some fragments have been unearthed here and there, but I was finally able to get in touch with the source.

Dynamedion is the music production company behind many of the tracks in RoM. It has a number of games listed on its resume, including Halo Legends, Alan Wake, Call of Duty 4 and many more. I nabbed an interview with some of the lead composers to try to get some more information about the music in RoM. Where did the inspiration for these tracks come from? Who worked on them? Did they steal all the music from Bardy Woods? Set your metronome to epic fantasy and click to read on.

Continue reading Lost Pages of Taborea: An interview with Dynamedion

MassivelyLost Pages of Taborea: An interview with Dynamedion originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audiocomposercomposersdynamedionfeaturedfrogsterfrogster-americafrogster-interactivejeremy-strattonlost-pages-of-taboreamusicromrunes-of-magicrunewakerrunewaker-entertainmentscoresongsongssoundtrackthemetheme-songtilman-sillescuMon, 21 Feb 2011 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Winter screenshot contest for Champions Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/12/winter-screenshot-contest-for-champions-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/12/winter-screenshot-contest-for-champions-online/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/12/winter-screenshot-contest-for-champions-online/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


We're approaching the winter solstice yet again, known in some parts of the world as "that time when it gets so cold your eyes frost over." In order to take at least some of the sting off the weather, Champions Online is offering players a reason to get in the mood of dressing in seven layers of clothing and turning the heat up high enough to melt plastic. After all, even heroes can get cold on occasion, and being able to project beams of force from your eyes doesn't necessarily help you drive through a whirling blizzard, so it's high time for the game's first winter screenshot contest.

The contest runs until 11:59 PST on December 20th, and to enter, all that one must do is post a screenshot with a winter theme to this thread on the official boards. It could be a costume that's suited to the chilly weather, a hero traipsing about in a winter wonderland, or whatever else you can come up with that fits the theme. The winners will receive an in-game Retro Destroyer action figure for their efforts, which won't help keep you warm, but might help keep you smiling anyway as you scrape seventeen inches of ice off the front windshield of your car.

MassivelyWinter screenshot contest for Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>champions-onlinecocoldcold-weathercontestfreezingscreenshotscreenshotsthemewinterwinter-contestwinter-weatherSat, 12 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: We put the no in innovation]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/12/anti-aliased-we-put-the-no-in-innovation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/12/anti-aliased-we-put-the-no-in-innovation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/11/12/anti-aliased-we-put-the-no-in-innovation/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


So, yesterday I was browsing our site, and I was happy to see that our community interview with David Allen had gone up, as I didn't get the chance to read it. We had lots of great questions sent in, and I think the ones that Shawn chose were really some hard, direct questions, that I felt someone really had to ask.

Reading David's answers left me thinking, however. David is a person who I certainly admire, as he was the brain behind Istaria, and he really presented some very innovative gameplay mechanics in that game. Alganon, however, is not innovative nor is it cutting edge. It is, quite frankly, another World of Warcraft. Something that, in my opinion, this genre does not need another of.

David's rationale as to why Alganon looks and plays like Warcraft is the part of the interview where I was left in thought. While I understand he wanted to make a game that players could easily adapt to... did it have to resonate of Warcraft so strongly? Furthermore, are we, as a genre, stuck in a rut?

Editor's Note: (As always, if you wish to comment on this edition of Anti-Aliased, please do so on page two of the column. Thank you!)

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: We put the no in innovation

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: We put the no in innovation originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alganonanti-aliasedartcreativitydavid-allendesignfeaturedinnovationmmofpsopinionthemeuser-interfaceworld-of-warcraftThu, 12 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[E3 2009: Bill Roper on character themes and customization in Champions Online]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/05/e3-2009-bill-roper-on-character-themes-and-customization-in-cha/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/05/e3-2009-bill-roper-on-character-themes-and-customization-in-cha/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/06/05/e3-2009-bill-roper-on-character-themes-and-customization-in-cha/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


The superhero MMO genre has been ruled by one game and one game alone for the past five years: City of Heroes. NCsoft's title being quite literally the only game in town for superhero fans is about to change, with competitors like DC Universe Online and Champions Online on the way. We have a good idea of what to expect with DCUO given the recognizable characters the game incorporates, but what of Champions Online which is based upon the Champions pen and paper RPG?

We've wondered what Cryptic Studios will do to differentiate Champions Online from the competition; Massively had a chance to sit down with Bill Roper, the game's executive producer, to discuss that question at E3 2009.

Gallery: Champions Online Main Gallery

Continue reading E3 2009: Bill Roper on character themes and customization in Champions Online

MassivelyE3 2009: Bill Roper on character themes and customization in Champions Online originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>acrobaticsbill-roperchampions-onlinecryptic-studioscustomizatione3-2009executive-producerfeaturedmassively-event-coveragemassively-interviewspower-replacesuper-heroteleportthemethemesFri, 05 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST