Massively

RIFT kicks off service in Korea

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Launches, MMO industry, News items, RIFT

MMOs generally don't sojourn too far from home. Outside of launches in the US and Europe, it's rare for a western game to be adapted to the Korean or Chinese market; far more often games from those markets get shipped here. But it does happen every so often, and such is the case with RIFT. As of today, the game has officially started its full commercial service in Korea under the guidance of NetMarble.

The game is also launching with several of the usual launch events such as promotional giveaways, although they're of limited utility if you don't read or speak Korean. It's an unusual export, but with several Korean games making major promotional pushes in the US (such as Aion and TERA), it might be the time to see if cross-cultural appeal works in the other direction. And if you're familiar with the language and want to see how the game plays when adapted, now's the time.

RIFT kicks off service in Korea originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lord of the Rings Online still not available in China

Jef Reahard — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Lord of the Rings Online, MMO industry, News items, Free-to-play, Miscellaneous

When it comes to mammoth western themepark MMOs and the Chinese gaming market, apparently there can be only one. And that one isn't named Lord of the Rings Online (or Highlander Online, sadly).

CDC Corporation initially entered into an agreement to distribute Turbine's Tolkien-inspired MMORPG to Chinese gamers in 2006. Five years later, the game still has not seen the light of day, and Turbine has pulled the plug on the arrangement as a result. CDC spent approximately $10 million on "licensing, development, and other costs," but has nothing to show for the expenditures.

Don't cry too hard for Turbine, though, as the Boston-based developer pocketed the $4 million non-refundable licensing fee.

Lord of the Rings Online still not available in China originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Age of Wulin interview translation hints at user-created martial arts

Jef Reahard — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, MMO industry, New titles, News items, Free-to-play

Curious about Age of Wulin, the free-to-play martial arts sandpark that's been in the news a bit lately? We were too, and as such we read with interest the translation of an interview with Snail Games CEO Shi Hai that recently went down on Weibo.

What's Weibo? It's basically a Chinese Twitter analog, and the interview touches on game basics including character slots (one per account), PKing opportunities, and brief blurbs on the game's unique auto-pathing and user-created martial arts systems.

These last two didn't merit more than a mention in this particular interview, but rest assured that we'll be bringing you all the latest Age of Wulin news as it happens.

Age of Wulin interview translation hints at user-created martial arts originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ArcheAge dev diary talks housing, questing, and spreading diseases

Jef Reahard — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, News items, Dev Diaries, ArcheAge

XL Games' ArcheAge is starting to pick up a bit of a following here in the West, and that can only be a good thing for starving fans of the sandbox subgenre. Jake Song's fantasy opus is currently undergoing closed beta testing in its native Korea, and as XL's devs post Q&A features on the game's website, dutiful fans translate them into English.

The latest set comes to our attention courtesy of ArchAge Online.com, and covers a wide range of topics including questing (both local and regional variants), player housing, the game's achievement system, and player and NPC illnesses. "If you wander into a town that's full of infected characters, you'll probably catch something yourself! Then again, you could get sick on purpose and then pay a visit to someone you don't really like, but that's risky in it's own way," the dev diary explains.

ArcheAge dev diary talks housing, questing, and spreading diseases originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Guild Wars, Business models, Culture, Events, real-world, MMO industry, Legal, Miscellaneous

Ask the average Guild Wars player what makes the game so enduring, and "localization" is probably not on the top of the list. But the game is truly a masterpiece of blending players across an international community, with a single multilingual client supporting a wide range of communities across the entire world. ArenaNet's Adam Vance hosted a panel on the localization process for the game at GDC, discussing the many trials and tribulations the game faces from both a business standpoint and a cultural standpoint.

It certainly doesn't seem like a difficult task from a conceptual standpoint -- even just running a block of text through secondhand solutions such as BabelFish can produce something that looks somewhat translated. But as Vance explained, simply changing the text from one language to another is an issue, and linguistics only scratches the barest element of what's needed for adapting a game. "Localization should be as much a science as an art," as he put it during the panel. While the focus remained on localizing Guild Wars from a business standpoint, players will still find interesting facts within the discussion.

Continue reading GDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars

GDC 2011: ArenaNet's Adam Vance talks localization for Guild Wars originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Open beta en route for Mythos Europe

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, News items, Mythos, Free-to-play

If there's been a single unifying thread for our last several beta giveaways for Mythos Europe, it's been a wail of anguish that the keys have vanished quickly. (Like cheap beer on a college campus, if you'd like an analogy.) But while we can't conjure new keys out of thin air, we can console those unable to get one with the news that the open beta is on its way. On April 12th, the servers open to everyone for testing and enjoyment.

For the open testing phase, the level cap is being raised to 50, giving players the opportunity to explore new abilities and new zones. The game's third major area, Umbral Peaks, will be accessible in the last testing phase with the raised cap. Current beta players are also in luck, as servers have been added for several languages, including English, French, and Turkish. Mythos is getting closer and closer to launch, and starting April 12th, everyone gets to take part in putting on the final pre-launch testing polish.

[Thanks to Blake Linton Wilfong for the tip!]

Open beta en route for Mythos Europe originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TERA interview attempts to decipher "westernization"

Jef Reahard — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, News items, TERA

Uh oh, it's time for the W-word again. Last week's entry in the TERA Race and Class series purported to explain En Masse Entertainment's definition of westernization. The vaguely worded nature of the press release raised more questions than answers, though, and the folks over at ZAM recently caught up with En Masse producer Brian Knox in an attempt to put some meat on the westernization bones. Knox's insights steered clear of specifics, instead focusing on a general definition as En Masse sees it.

"Westernization refers to our process of adapting a game to fit the Western market. In some cases, text localization and new marketing assets are all that are needed. Other times, specific game mechanics and features require tweaking for the market," he says.

So what exactly does that mean for TERA? It's anyone's guess at this point, and it could be as simple as text translations or as complex as class differences or a softened XP grind. We'll keep our eyes peeled for more details.

TERA interview attempts to decipher "westernization" originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Post-beta for Final Fantasy XIV and the coming launch

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, Interviews, Launches, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

With the hours slowly ticking by until the launch of Final Fantasy XIV, hopeful players will be happy to know that the Lodestone site for players is already open. (Technically, the servers even open this evening, but that doesn't give you the actual client to log in.) It's the time for reflection as well as preparation, and a recent translated interview from GAME Watch sheds some light on the overall process of testing as well as the vision of the game in the near future.

Among the several pieces of interesting information from the interview is the analogy used for guildleves, addressing the question of whether or not they're the main content of the game. Guildleves are compared to a staple food such as rice or bread -- useful and filling, but not the complete meal by itself. Other topics of discussion are regular quests, with the main story quests described as being only the tip of the iceberg. It sounds as if the amount of content available to players of Final Fantasy XIV will be greater than anyone would expect, so players should keep their eyes open to enjoy the post-beta environment.

Post-beta for Final Fantasy XIV and the coming launch originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Devil in the details for Final Fantasy XIV's fatigue

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Game mechanics, News items, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

When the news broke yesterday regarding the fatigue system in Final Fantasy XIV, it made virtually no one happy. Even the system's defenders generally had an attitude of "it's not all that bad," and most players were up in arms over the very idea. But a day can make a lot of difference, and as it turns out, we didn't quite have the clear picture of the fatigue system that we thought we did. The official translation from Square-Enix covers most of the same ground, but adds several important facts.

The two most salient points are the fact that the limiting factors are not time-based but value-based, and the fact that the "cooldown" on fatigue sets in as soon as a player starts doing something that won't grant skill or experience points. There's no word on whether or not this will be the case during time spent logged off, but it means that the much-loathed figures about how much time would be productive are not altogether correct. Take a look at the official translation, which should provide a much-needed balm for several angry Final Fantasy XIV fans.

[Thanks to John for the tip!]

Devil in the details for Final Fantasy XIV's fatigue originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Dengeki translations highlight the experience of playing Final Fantasy XIV

Eliot Lefebvre — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Culture, Previews, News items, Opinion, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

If you've been following the leadup to Final Fantasy XIV's release faithfully, you can no doubt rattle off a surprising amount of information regarding the systems and the world's lore. But unless you're lucky enough to be in the alpha, you can't say much about what the experience of actually playing the game is like. While there are certainly plenty of us in the same boat, the most recent alpha test article from Dengeki seems aimed at precisely that -- rather than focusing on the facts of the game, the editors have focused on the actual feel of playing in the game's world.

Translated by FFXIVCore, the newest information gives some facts we hadn't heard before, such as the specifics of setting the difficulty on Guildleves based on party strength and the time limits involved. For the most part, though, it's focused on the actual moment-to-moment experience of taking part in gameplay, and the overall impression seems to be a positive one. There's no real antidote for not yet being involved in the testing of Final Fantasy XIV, but reading the translations does help take the edge off.

New Dengeki translations highlight the experience of playing Final Fantasy XIV originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lengthy Aion 2.0 patch notes translated

Jef Reahard — Tue, 04 May 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Patches, News items

Aion's near-mythical 2.0 update went live on the Korean test servers last week, and the lengthy English translation is finally available for your reading enjoyment at the official site. Despite the fact that it will likely be months before the update makes its way to America, it's exciting to see some of the upcoming tweaks.

Additions include the Balaur homeland zone featuring new fortresses and artifacts for both Elyos and Asmodians, as well as new flight/gliding options including windstreams, updrafts, and geysers. Six new dungeon instances have also been introduced, and the level cap has been raised to 55. Additionally, a plethora of new and upgraded skills have been added to each class. Crafting now features a Mastery level (549), and harvesting vitality in certain areas of the new Balaur zone may result in the acquisition of a unique weapon.

Finally, several quests have been tweaked for difficulty, and many new quests have been added, along with a robust pet system.

Whew.

Check out all the details at the official site.

Lengthy Aion 2.0 patch notes translated originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 04 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Final Fantasy XIV interview highlights breadth of feedback

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 03 May 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Interviews, New titles, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

While testing for Final Fantasy XIV has continued, the huge gush of news that we got at the beginning has slowed to more of a trickle. That's to be expected to an extent -- after all, we knew that not everything would be equally accessible from the start. Still, there are player questions about both the login issues plaguing the test and the necessary wonder about how much the developers are actually listening. A recently-translated Famitsu interview with Hiromichi Tanaka and Nobuaki Komoto goes into detail about the login issues as well as the feedback from various regions of testing.

The latter is pretty surprising, as Tanaka claims that there were roughly 50,000 reports submitted via Japanese testers compared to 250,000 by American testers -- despite both groups having the same number of players. Some of the reports are about new issues, but some of them also address elements the design team had misgivings about in the first place. They apparently underestimated the interest in testing as well, contributing to some of the login and stability problems. Take a look at the full interview for more looks at the development process of Final Fantasy XIV from behind the stage.

Final Fantasy XIV interview highlights breadth of feedback originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 03 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Why it takes a while for Aion to patch

Eliot Lefebvre — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, Culture, Patches

With the recent announcement of an ETA for Aion's anticipated 1.9 patch, the players are excited... but, on another level, just a wee bit frustrated. After all, it's not like the game's home country has just received the patch -- it's been extensively documented and fairly well-known to the community for some time. So there's the obvious question: what's the holdup? In the most recent Eye On Community, the team does their best to answer the question and give some insight into the process.

Almost everyone knows, of course, that translating text from one language to another is rarely as easy as just feeding in words and pressing a button. (Well, not if you want an intelligible translation.) But not only do names have to be translated, scripts have to be rewritten -- and then translated again into French and German, at which point the actual stress testing of the patch can start. Of course, since this is the Eye On Community feature, the article also includes a few highlights from the game's forums. It's an interesting look at how Aion handles their patching system, especially in comparison to games that launch patches worldwide more-or-less simultaneously (such as Final Fantasy XI).

Why it takes a while for Aion to patch originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intimate apparel among Final Fantasy XIV equipment

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Game mechanics, New titles, Previews, Consoles, Final Fantasy XIV

When character creation previews started emerging for Final Fantasy XIV, one of the oft-heard bits of speculation was that there would be some way to customize your character's undergarments. Of course, the idea is on its face rather ridiculous, except for one thing: according to the most recent test article released by Famitsu, you can do precisely that. One of the points discussed from this latest bout with the game are the equipment slots available, twelve in total and including one's underclothes. While we shudder at the thought of farming a boss for underwear, it's most likely a cosmetic option.

The remainder of the article, helpfully translated by FFXIVCore, goes into more details on the game's menus and emotes. The emotes are apparently quite detailed, even including shifting facial expressions. Most of the menu discussion will likely be familiar to Final Fantasy XI players, but even veterans are encouraged to take a look at the full translation. After all, lately it's rarer to not have new Final Fantasy XIV info to digest, and even little things like being able to move windows around the UI are welcome changes.

Intimate apparel among Final Fantasy XIV equipment originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gamepot Partners with Square-Enix for Fantasy Earth Zero

Eliot Lefebvre — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, New titles, News items, Free-to-play, Fantasy Earth Zero

Apparently, Square-Enix isn't satisfied with just launching the highly-anticipated Final Fantasy XIV this year. In partnership with Gamepot USA, they're also going to be rolling out Fantasy Earth Zero, a new game for this side of the pond. The game promises PvPvE elements a la Aion, will be free to play, and should be available early this year.

Sound like a remarkably short turnaround? That's because the game isn't actually new, having launched in Japan in 2006. Square-Enix had initially put quite a bit of promotion behind the game, but it very nearly died in its home country soon thereafter. Gamepot saved the game from a swift death, uncoupled it from the rather ill-fated PlayOnline Viewer, and moved to a free-to-play model that's been working out quite well for the game ever since.

Tortured history aside, players can expect Fantasy Earth Zero to deliver a very active PvP experience with large-scale battles, as well as the usual high production values associated with a Square game. Take a look at the official teaser site to see about entering the local beta, and keep an eye open for more details about the game become available in the likely very near future.

Gamepot Partners with Square-Enix for Fantasy Earth Zero originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Massively interview with Aion's new community manager

Kyle Horner — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Aion, News items, Massively Interviews

Aion is easily one of the biggest MMOs of the year, so when a new North American community manager took over recently we decided it was the perfect time for an interview with the new team member, Andrew Beegle -- known as Tamat to community members.

We asked Tamat about new methods of community interaction, the hotly anticipated experience boost patch and even some personal questions about our new community manager. You can never really know enough about the person serving as the conduit to your main MMO -- at least that's what we tell them!

Continue reading Massively interview with Aion's new community manager

Massively interview with Aion's new community manager originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese magazines give more Final Fantasy XIV glimpses

Eliot Lefebvre — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Classes, Game mechanics, Crafting, Final Fantasy XIV

It's hard to tell how far along Final Fantasy XIV is in development -- there have been rumors that it's aiming for a beta late this year, and the pictures we've seen already have a metric ton of polish, but there are a lot of questions unanswered. Luckily, the intrepid fans at Final Fantasy XIV Core have been hard at work combing not just the official American information releases, but the plethora of Japanese magazines covering the title. Recent translations of features in both Dengeki Playstation magazine and Famitsu have shed some more light on features and intents regarding the game's overall direction. Although some of the information has been stated elsewhere, such as some of the general attributes of the Discipline system, there are some interesting tidbits.

One of the more noteworthy features is the promise that there will be an "optimal distance" for attacks not just for archers (a feature it has in common with its predecessor), but for lancers as well. Lancers are also slated to be gaining the option of using javelins as thrown weapons. We're told nothing regarding having multiple jobs, but rather that leveling one job will also level attributes useful for several different jobs -- possibly indicating a more holistic approach to levelling in multiple fields. If you're even remotely interested in Final Fantasy XIV (and who isn't by this point), take a look at both translations for more nuggets about the game, including some of the game's slated music and several high-quality scans.

Japanese magazines give more Final Fantasy XIV glimpses originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So that's how they localize a game...

Seraphina Brennan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Business models, Culture, MMO industry

If you thought localization was just a developer running everything through an auto-translator and shoving the game out the door, you're pretty far off according to Atlus U.S.A. The team over at the company that produces some of the best game localizations in the business have written a very insightful post into why game localization takes so long.

Atlus doesn't just take a game and throw it through a quick translation process. There's the weeks of the translators playing the original game to get a feel for it, then the weeks of the actual translation, the weeks of re-programming to make the new text, voice-overs, and graphics line up. Then you have the weeks of testing to remove bugs and finally the packaging and shipping process. On a good game release, you're looking at around three and a half months for the localization. For MMOs, you're looking at something much more intensive thanks to the amount of text involved.

Interested in the full process? Check out Atlus's production diary number 12 for the full rundown.

So that's how they localize a game... originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVE Online extending reach into Russia and Japan

James Egan — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST

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

The sci-fi massively multiplayer online title EVE Online is very much a game of galactic conquest. In that spirit of world domination, CCP Games has been working on establishing the title's presence in both Russia and Japan. EVE developer CCP Caedmon is part of the company's localization team, and has written a dev blog titled "Machine Translation's Bad, M'kay?", dealing with CCP's efforts to reach out to Russian and Japanese gamers.

Both Japanese and Russian localizations of the EVE client are now up on the Singularity test server. By all indications, the Russian client's localization is further along, as CCP Games opened up the client for public testing in 2008. However, they're interested in pushing ahead with Japanese localization as well. CCP Caedmon writes, "We know there is a highly dedicated community of Japanese players out there who have been with EVE since the early days and we are excited to hear your feedback."

For more on the status of EVE Online as it applies to other markets, see CCP Caedmon's "Machine Translation's Bad, M'kay?".

EVE Online extending reach into Russia and Japan originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Translation issues delay AoC patch notes; community starts their own

William Dobson — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:45:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Age of Conan, Patches, News items

Those waiting anxiously for today's Age of Conan patch notes have been left wanting for the last few hours, as the Update Notes forum shows no signs of stirring. An official response was dug up on the German forums, and later confirmed by US community manager "Famine" -- apparently, the cause of the delay is to do with the translation of the patch notes, which must be released in all languages at the same time.

In the meantime, in a similar vein to previous weeks, the community has started up an undocumented patch thread in the forums (from European players who are already playing the new patch since their servers have gone online). However, this week everything is undocumented for now; the OP has promised to sort the thread later on when the official notes come out, removing things that are listed there. If there are enough things that are unique to the community thread at that point, we may revisit it for discussion. Even now, there are some very interesting points in that thread that we would love to bring up, but we'll leave it for you to browse for the time being, and get back to you when the real notes are released.

Update: Patch notes are now available! Dissection coming up.

Translation issues delay AoC patch notes; community starts their own originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Entropia Universe learns three new languages

Samuel Axon — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Entropia Universe, MMO industry, News items, Virtual worlds

Microtransaction-based Entropia Universe is set to expand into new markets, as developer/publisher MindArk has announced the completion of translations of the Entropia client into three new languages -- German, French, and Spanish. Previously, the virtual world was only accessible to English-speakers.

The translations were performed by a company called Lionbridge. MindArk rep Frank Campbell said his company made the move to increase market penetration, address users' needs, and increase the company's credibility.

Entropia is a Sci-Fi-themed virtual world. It's an unusual combination of MMO-style combat and crafting, and Second Life-esque e-commerce. MindArk suggests to potential users that they can make money -- or even a living -- within the virtual world. Unsurprisingly, though, a substantial investment of real funds and time is required to become competitive.

Entropia Universe learns three new languages originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 31 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A look at METAbolt -- a non-graphical Second Life viewer

Brenda Holloway — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: At a glance, Reviews, Second Life, Virtual worlds

Ever log in to Second Life, run around awhile, and then shake your head and think, "this place is nothing but a glorified chat room! And that's what I like! I don't care about all this graphics stuff!" Well, frustrated, graphics-hating Second Life user, METAbolt has what you crave. When we heard someone had written a text-based Second Life client for computers that just couldn't hack the graphics, we were sort of expecting something like a regular graphical client, except where all the images were made of tiny little text characters... like the picture above, which is not from METAbolt, alas. (It's Second Life on Linux run through the aalib graphics-to-text library)

As a chat room, though, METAbolt has some good points and some not so good points. For one, every time you log in, you are placed in the Welcome area. While this may be the fastest way to put you with potential chat-mates, it's not really the sort of thing you expect. Gone were all saved landmarks as well. You will arrive in the Welcome Area, and you will enjoy your time there.

Continue reading A look at METAbolt -- a non-graphical Second Life viewer

A look at METAbolt -- a non-graphical Second Life viewer originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 May 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Daily Grind: Would you read an MMO novelization?

Akela Talamasca — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Sci-fi, EVE Online, Culture, Lore, Opinion, Hellgate: London, The Daily Grind

The funny thing about translating a game to a novel is that it's a tightrope walk between sticking to canon, and inventing something new that feels canonical. Balancing between just writing up the events of the game, and trying to expose action lying just outside of view. Stray too far, and you'll alienate the fanbase; hew too closely, no one will feel the need to read it.

A game like World of Warcraft, though, has a fairly extensive lore, with lots of unexplored nooks and crannies just begging for attention. We can see a great deal of promise in books based on the Hellgate: London title, and can imagine the complexity of EVE Online fiction. What's a good way to turn a game into a novel, and which worlds deserve the treatment?

The Daily Grind: Would you read an MMO novelization? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WAR Europe's Orcaniser teaches players to talk the talk

Chris Chester — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Warhammer Online, News items, Humor

One of the most difficult aspects of covering the media build-up to Warhammer Online's release is the need to rewrite any post involving Greenskins to include the infamous Orc-speak that fans of the fluff are so fond of. To the casual observer, it might appear like a simple matter of changing verb tense and throwing in a few zeds here and there. Not true! It's an extensive scholarly process that takes years to learn, and decades to master. To put it frankly, it's not as easy as it looks.

Well imagine our delight then to find that WAR Europe guys have gone to the trouble of putting together the Orcaniser! It operates like an Orcy version of babelfish, giving fans the ability to translate normal human speech into authentic Orc dialect. And it works in five languages! Obviously, there's always a little bit lost in translation, and it doesn't automatically account for the Orcy need to talk about smashing heads once every couple sentences, but it's good as we're liable to do. See for yourself:

To be or not to be, dat is da question;
Whetha 'tis nobla in da mind to suffa
Da slingz an' arrowz of outrageouz fortune,
Or to take armz against a sea of troublez,
An' by opposin', end dem.

[Via WHA]

WAR Europe's Orcaniser teaches players to talk the talk originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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