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 Virtual Whirl: Why virtual environments?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/13/the-virtual-whirl-why-virtual-environments/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/13/the-virtual-whirl-why-virtual-environments/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/03/13/the-virtual-whirl-why-virtual-environments/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

This week, in The Virtual Whirl, we're asking "Why virtual environments?" - Not why are they anything specifically, but just why.

Depending on your definition of virtual environments, people have been building them and using them for decades now, since before the Web; since before the advent of the personal computer. To make a virtual space from a real space, or to fabricate an entirely original virtual space from whole cloth - what's driving that and where is that going?

Continue reading The Virtual Whirl: Why virtual environments?

MassivelyThe Virtual Whirl: Why virtual environments? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cognitionculturefeaturedopinionthe-virtual-whirlvirtual-worldsWebSat, 13 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EVE Evolved: Making EVE beautiful]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/12/eve-evolved-making-eve-beautiful/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/12/eve-evolved-making-eve-beautiful/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/12/eve-evolved-making-eve-beautiful/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


When it was released back in 2003, EVE Online was one of the most visually impressive games on the market. Over the coming years, the graphics aged gracefully next to competitors on the market and all seemed well. Nonetheless, CCP were not content to let their flagship game's graphics eventually go out of date. In true CCP style, they developed a long-term staged delivery plan for the complete overhaul of the game's graphics. The first stage of delivery came with the Trinity expansion, in which a premium client was launched with incredible high resolution ship models. This was just the first stage in a plan to keep EVE graphically ahead of any competitors.

In this technical article, I look at the science of making EVE beautiful and examine CCP's plans for the future.

Continue reading EVE Evolved: Making EVE beautiful

MassivelyEVE Evolved: Making EVE beautiful originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>animationapocryphaccpccp-gameseveeve-evolvedeve-onlineexpansionfanfestfeaturedGPUgraphicsjoystiqfeaturesmodelneutralisernosferatuplanetsshadershipspecial effectsSpecialEffectsstasistrinityvisual computingVisualComputingwebSun, 12 Apr 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The digital wilderness]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/the-digital-wilderness/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/the-digital-wilderness/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/29/the-digital-wilderness/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's considered to be a vast expanse of digital territory whose growth far outpaces the number of people actually using it. Huge tracts of it are completely abandoned wastelands, failed venues and disused stores. Parts of it are struggling venues trying to attract visitors. A few places are consistently busy, but they also bring the risk of abusive and disruptive people, who get their jollies from messing things up for others.

Advertising -- often quite intrusive -- is everywhere. At any moment you could be confronted by imagery of penises or of distasteful sexual practices. Committed users are freaks, and successful ones are geeks and enough people tend to choose anonymity that you're never really sure who you're talking to.

Sure there's businesses using it, commerce being done, and plenty of educational institutions who can no longer live without it, but that all seems just a small part of it compared to the time-wasting, boring, and sexual aspects doesn't it?

You all know the place we're talking about, right?

Continue reading The digital wilderness

MassivelyThe digital wilderness originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cultureopinionsecond-lifevirtual-worldswebSat, 29 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Star Wars: The Old Republic goes Web 2.0]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/23/star-wars-the-old-republic-goes-web-2-0/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/23/star-wars-the-old-republic-goes-web-2-0/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/10/23/star-wars-the-old-republic-goes-web-2-0/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

It's never been easier for an MMO to promote itself with the growing prevalence of social networking plaforms. Star Wars: The Old Republic, only officially announced this week, has already established a following on Facebook. It's also on the usual suspect MySpace, and you can follow BioWare's frequent Twitter updates on the game. Star Wars: The Old Republic also has a Flickr photostream up and running. BioWare has stated that even more is on the way, with plans for a YouTube Channel as well as Digg and Delicious integration.

It seems that most in-development MMOs are seizing onto the fact that Web 2.0 and all that it brings are crucial to making gamers aware of what they're doing. Is it overkill? You decide. But it should be interesting to see how MMOs leverage social networks as time goes on. A good example of what's possible may very well be what's happening right now in Superstruct, a multiplayer game played out almost entirely over social networks and the web. Interesting times.
Star Wars: The Old Republic BioWare has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details -- from liveblogging the announcement to screenshot galleries and more. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!

MassivelyStar Wars: The Old Republic goes Web 2.0 originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biowaredeliciousdiggfacebookflickrmyspacesocial-networkingstar-warsstar-wars-the-old-republicsuperstructswtortwitterviralviral-marketingwebweb-2.0youtubeThu, 23 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[AGDC08: Devs on why MMOs have a web-based future]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/agdc08-devs-on-why-mmos-have-a-web-based-future/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/agdc08-devs-on-why-mmos-have-a-web-based-future/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/25/agdc08-devs-on-why-mmos-have-a-web-based-future/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

A write-up at Gamasutra of an AGDC panel featuring MMO developers who have begun working on web-based projects gives us an opportunity to explore the new (some would say it's actually the old) frontier of massively multiplayer gaming.

There are many MMOs that are experienced via a web interface (such as Sherwood), but traditional gamers have largely shunned the trend. Why, then, did some of the most hardcore MMO developers (including Dan Ogles, Raph Koster, and Scott Hartsman) abandon the traditional MMO in favor of this new frontier? Some of their work, like Ogles' Loudcrowd, is barely recognizable to traditional gamers.

They offered some answers on the panel. For example, Koster (originally of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies fame, now working on the creative platform MetaPlace) said that game devs have more to learn from web devs than vice versa. Ogles talked about using Adobe Flash so anyone can embed elements of the game anywhere on the web they like. It's worth a read if you're able to work through some pretty technical development speech.

MassivelyAGDC08: Devs on why MMOs have a web-based future originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>agdcagdc-2008agdc08areaebrowsercasualconduit-labsdan-oglesdevelopmentflashindustryloudcrowdmetaplacepanelraph-kosterscott-hartsmansherwoodstar-wars-galaxiesswgultima-onlineuowebThu, 25 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[E308: Social networking and web-games in Free Realms]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/e308-social-networking-and-web-games-in-free-realms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/e308-social-networking-and-web-games-in-free-realms/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/07/20/e308-social-networking-and-web-games-in-free-realms/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


For a game that's not actually browser-based (though it will only require a small download and stream content in the background, Free Realms is a client-based game), Free Realms will have an unprecedented amount of browser-based content. Free Realms will have all of the web content you would expect from a modern MMO... and some of the web content you would expect to see in a social networking application like Facebook. Each player will have an online player profile listing all of their in-game friends (with links that will launch the game client and take you right to your friends' location) and newsfeeds that give you information about what's going on with your character. Not even Free Realms' game elements are restricted to the client. Many mini-games will also be playable via the web -- and give you in-game benefits for doing so (as long as you're logged on). So if you played the Bejeweled-esque mini-game via the web during your lunch break, your character in-game would gain ore and experience.

In-game, characters will connect through a non-traditional guild system. When we asked Lead Designer Laralyn McWilliams about guilds at E3, she informed us that SOE is "exploring other kinds of social arrangements, like different types of friends. So you could have your BFFs, your regular friends, and your family." They're also exploring a "club" system. McWilliams said, "Guilds are exclusive -- so we'd like to really recognize the fact that someone might want to be in the gardening club and the dog-lover's club and the ninja club. Those would all have collections associated with them because Free Realms is ultimately a collection. There's a collection of jobs, a collection of clubs... we're all about letting you collect things in the game and show off your achievements."

Gallery: E308: Free Realms


Gallery: E308: Free Realms new footage



Free Realms at E3 2008 Interested in Free Realms? Then check out all of our E3 coverage of SOE's latest free-to-play online game!

MassivelyE308: Social networking and web-games in Free Realms originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>browserbrowser-basede3e308featuredfrfree-realmsfree-realms-e308soewebweb-basedSun, 20 Jul 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Hobbits will enjoy the new Mines of Moria web game]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/hobbits-will-enjoy-the-new-mines-of-moria-web-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/hobbits-will-enjoy-the-new-mines-of-moria-web-game/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/hobbits-will-enjoy-the-new-mines-of-moria-web-game/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Turbine has been rolling out web-based games to promote The Lord of the Rings Online's upcoming expansion, The Mines of Moria. The first two games -- King Under the Mountain and Swig and Toss -- had a Dwarven theme. Now, a brand new, Hobbit-themed game called Eleventy Seven Morsels has been unveiled.

Eleventy Seven Morsels is sweet for its simplicity; all you do for the most part is pick up a morsel from the board -- simple, right? Well, there's a bit of strategy involved. Morsels you pick up are distributed around the board with a certain pattern, and you have to try to distribute them in your favor instead of your opponent's. If you visit the website, you can read the rules to see exactly what all that means.

As was the case with the previous two games, avid players will receive a little something -- a poster featuring art from the expansion, in this case.

MassivelyHobbits will enjoy the new Mines of Moria web game originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boardcasualeleventy-seven-morselshobbitslord-of-the-rings-onlinelotromines-of-moriaminigamepromotionalpuzzleturbineunlock-the-mines-of-moriawebFri, 30 May 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMO 2.0 and the next generation of online gaming]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/mmo-2-0-and-the-next-generation-of-online-gaming/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/mmo-2-0-and-the-next-generation-of-online-gaming/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/30/mmo-2-0-and-the-next-generation-of-online-gaming/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Geoff at MMOCrunch wrote an interesting piece on the 'next gen' in online gaming. Specifically, why there is no next gen. He comments on some of the recent successes in the MMO space, namely the subscription numbers of the Big Five MMO's and the smooth release of Age of Conan. He also hails EVE Online's break from typical MMO archetypes as a kind of successful deviance, but one that hasn't truly changed how we play.

The forward momentum in the online gaming industry has brought a great deal of fanfare but little true innovation, Geoff asserts. Sure, some MMO's are successful, but it seems they're all a re-hash of what's been done before. A little more polish, a few more features... he laments the fact that "there seems to be very little that is truly pushing the genre towards the next step." He looks to how the web has changed, improved exponentially, while online gaming hasn't kept pace.

Continue reading MMO 2.0 and the next generation of online gaming

MassivelyMMO 2.0 and the next generation of online gaming originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 May 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanarchetypedeviancedevianteve-onlinefacebookiminnovationmmocrunchmyspacesocial-networkingsuccesssuccessfultwitterwebweb-2.0Fri, 30 May 2008 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[PMOG beta opens up for passively multiplayer fun]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/pmog-beta-opens-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/pmog-beta-opens-up/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/11/pmog-beta-opens-up/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

PMOG, the "passively multiplayer MMO," has been seeing some action around the virtual Massively office lately -- the game is basically a Firefox extension that sits in your browser, and lets you deploy mines, leave goodies, and create quests out of the actual webpages that you visit, and since we visit lots of pages around here, we're some pretty good players.

And now, after a showing at SXSW this week (which we should hear about soon), PMOG has opened its doors to the beta -- if you haven't started playing yet, you can sign up on their main page. In fact, here's an even better deal: I'm working on an achievement in game for inviting people, so you want an invite, leave a comment below, and I'll send you one myself.

It remains to be seen how the folks behind PMOG are going to fund this thing, but while it's in beta, things are ad-free and passively fun. The virtual landscape is still a little empty (most geek sites are pretty much plotted out, but some of the farther reaches of the net are completely quiet), but the more people that get in the beta, the more fun this game promises to be.

MassivelyPMOG beta opens up for passively multiplayer fun originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>armorfirefoxfuninternetmassivelyminespassively-multi-playerpmogsxswvirtual-landscapewebwebpagesTue, 11 Mar 2008 14:30:00 EST