Latest content posted to GameMusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com 2008-09-30T20:16:05+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/images/M_images/rss.png text/html 2007-09-28T20:29:58+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/330/ Just when it appeared that MMO's had reached it saturation point. Enter Shadow of Legend a MMOG which hopes to spread its influence into the realm of Wireless Cell Phones and PDA's everywhere. While the press release was sitting in my inbox for over 2 months I though I would still publish it to show you that MMOG's will be reaching us everywhere. I personally can't wait to see how many additional car accidents will attributed to drivers trying to finish up that one last pull . If you have any thoughts then please add them to the comments section. text/html 2007-08-26T18:05:17+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/329/ In July I posted a blog entry on The Top 10 Biggest MMORPG Busts (content/view/317/1/) . For the most part people either agreed with the list or tried (vainly) to disagree. For the most part the rebuttals were either asinine or juvenile; however, a FEW posters gave articulate reasons for why their game did not deserve to be on the list. While I wasn't moved by their arguments I let the comments stand, as a testament for their opinions. The Top 10 Bust list had long died out and the post was mostly forgotten. Fast Forward to August 26th, when I returned home to see my comment list bombarded by angry (and apparently organized, gotta love 'dedicated' players) WW2OL players. The majority of the posters were not persuasive in their entreaties to change my mind, the bulk of veteran players resorting to the standard name calling, and internet e-peen insults that brought back the warm and fuzzy feelings of my UO PK days. text/html 2007-08-23T10:37:01+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/328/ I have always stated that the Sci-Fi/Cyber Punk MMOG genre has been sorely neglected. Enter Fallen Earth LLC and its pet project Fallen Earth. Fallen Earth plans to place the PC in a plague infested, nuclear wasteland that will combine elements of Mad Max: The Road Warrior (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082694/) with such movies as Cyborg (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097138/) (yes I know it was a horrible movie). Fallen Earth will include a five faction system that combines all the stereotypical post apocalytic roles. While humanity fights to survive and rebuild on the ashes of the old world, new factions struggle for dominance: the stern Enforcers, the spiritual Lightbearers, the nature-loving Vistas, the gadget-happy Techs, the merchant-minded Travelers, and the savage Children of the Apocalypse. The conflicts and alliances between these factions create a dangerous ebb and flow that could make even bleaker the future of the Grand Canyon Province ... and of humanity as a whole. I recently got a chance to chat with Lee Hammock, Lead Game Designer, for Fallen Earth. Let's read what he had to say: text/html 2007-08-22T01:00:00+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/325/ Do you hear what I hear? MMOG's have jumped on the Voice over IP bandwagon. World of Warcraft (http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/32660/118/) is leading the charge and a multitude of MMOG's in development also seem to be incorporating this feature into their releases. It would appear the whole purpose, of this add-on, is to bring added value and voluntarily complete your immersion into their virtual world. The amount of auditory features future MMOG's could offer are limitless. MOBS may be alerted due to the PC's voices or ambient wildlife noises (e.g. birds) may silence themselves when in the presence of a hostile PC gank squad. Such feedback would allow astute PC's to pay more attention to their surroundings and use these auditory clues to their advantage. The online gameplay experience could also be enhanced by giving hohum ambushes and monotonous MOB pulls a new element of danger. Imagine having your loud mouthed adolescent guild member blow your group cover, suddenly your organized dungeon pull turns into a mass MOB nightmare. The technology, as I described, may not be applied in that fashion. However, I would like to think that future generation MMOG's continue the development of interactive audio and voice chat systems to enhance the MMOG experience. text/html 2007-08-19T01:00:00+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/327/ RTS MMO gaming is a new segment in the MMOG market. Saga is a unique submission that will offer the MMORPG and RTS enthusiast an alternative to the standard Fantasy 1st person / 3rd person MMO games that have saturated the market. Produced by the independent studio of Silverlode Interactive, Saga seeks to allow the gamer a persistent world into which they can build a massive empire. Saga is currently in open-beta and thus Jason Faller took the time to answer some questions concerning the ongoing development and progress of Saga. Let's read what he had to say: text/html 2007-07-28T01:00:00+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/323/ Another day, another round of Dos Equis (http://www.dosxx.com) (the writer's brew) and of course another Top 10 list. I spent some time delving into the history of MMORPG's using the ever reliable (heh) wiki and its associated list of companion websites. I took a hard look at the forefathers of the modern day MMOG and decided that the deeds of yore should get their due Musketeer respect. The majority of MMO history was already known to me. Consequently, reading about Dungeons and Dragons stamp of influence, mainframe terminal sessions and private MUD servers came as no surprise. My astonishment came in all of the back-end information I overlooked. For example, I knew NSFNET jammed up public Internet usage, due to its omnipresent applicable usage polices, but I never keyed in on its indirect effect on MMO development and distribution. Thus, after some research into MMO lore and a bit of pontification, I subjectively chose the influences and technical achievements I considered to be the most pertinent in guiding the history of MMORPG development. Here is my list for your reading pleasure: text/html 2007-07-24T08:12:53+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/322/ The Grand Daddy of all CCG and Pen and Paper RPG Conventions is entering into the digital age. This interesting merger of disparate interest should also help expand Gen Con's already sizeable base. And for the Electronic Gaming giants there is no question that the allure of adding hardcore RPG gamers to their digital game rosters would be a financial boon. The question is: Can Pen and Paper RP Gamers and Digital Age RP MMO players live together in harmony? text/html 2007-07-21T13:29:07+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/321/ In my search for the next hidden MMORPG gem, I came across War Dog Studios (http://www.wardogstudios.com) and their hidden mechanized raison d'etre Force of Arms (http://www.forceofarms.com). Being a long time follower of FASA's Battletech miniature game and Activision's PC based Mechwarrior and MW: Mercenaries franchise, FoA has stroked that flame of mecha based MMO warfare that has lain dormant for so long. Utilizing an ultra realistic combat engine and promising a plethora of game design innovations and features which will appeal to those players looking to harken back to those days of yore when the Mechwarrior series was at the apex of popularity. I recently got a chance to chat with Jeff Newcomb of War Dog Studio's to discuss the creation and guiding forces governing the development of Force of Arms. Lets read what he had to say: text/html 2007-07-16T01:00:00+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/318/ Leave it to the guys at Wife Aggro (http://www.wife-aggro.com/podcast) to ask a thought provoking question. This weeks gem is: What do you think is a good way for game companies to eliminate 3rd party gold and equipment selling? Personally I believe MMO developers are fighting a pointless, losing battle against the Gold Farmers of the MMORPG world. By default people are press for time and in the MMORPG environment time is as precious as any +50 Flaming Pig-sticker of Doom. Paying a marginal fee saves a resource rich MMOG player valuable time. I wager to bet there are many middle and/or upper middle class earning MMO players will cough up the necessary money to acquire goods that would otherwise require a massive amount of personal time. Why? It's basic economics, time equals money. While profit margins may be shrinking (http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9733747-7.html) due to off-shore markets, the fact is this is a multi-million dollar industry. Are there any practical solutions for to resolve this? The short answer is no, however, I will discuss two possible theories that could lead to a functional solution of gold farming. text/html 2007-07-06T11:35:59+01:00 http://www.gamemusketeers.com http://www.gamemusketeers.com/content/view/317/ It has been a LONG while since I have generated a Top 10 list. Thus I put on my pimp hat and sat down to ponder a worthy list to publish. Reviewing the MMO vendor list for this years E3 I thought to myself, one or more of these games are going to bomb. Thus I based my list on the MMO Games that failed to live up to their hype or deliver on promised 'feature' list. In the end my list took an especially brutal view on SOE. Which wasn't my intial intention, my list was just 'made that way'. Thus I present my list of the Top 10 Biggest MMORPG Busts of ALL-TIME! Plenty of time and Dos Equis (http://www.dosxx.com) (the writers brew) went into generating this list.