The greatest background story of our entire PAX East trip had to undoubtedly belong to Taitale Studios' Novus Aeterno and its CEO, Nick Talmers Nieuwoudt. Having gone through a change of environment due to violence at a mere 16 years of age, he began a journey that lead him in the direction of the ultimate gamer's fantasy; to create his own title.

As incredible and inspiring as that story is, Novus Aeterno itself has a great deal of ambition behind it. It's a Sci-Fi MMO-RTS, a genre which has barely been dabbled with due to the fact that practically every title unabashedly fails. It's ballsy to even consider crafting a game in this kind of genre, but from the way it looks, Novus Aeterno could be what we've needed all along.

Novus Aeterno interview

Besides experimenting with a forbidden genre formula, Taitale Studios is bringing its fans into the fold like no company has before it. The fans will be the testing department for Novus Aeterno, playing and making suggestions to the developers based on what they're doing and what they'd like to see. The more you commit to making the game better, the greater your thoughts will be considered. Taitale even said that they will be hiring for new positions directly from this testing group. They're calling it the Infiltrator program and you can sign up for it on the official website. Now that's impressive.

If you're like me, you probably have a million questions about the mechanics of the game and how it'll all be able to work. In my interview, Nick explained to me that you're going to be able to design your own ships, the armor and even the weaponry on each individual ship. I was curious as to the balancing issues with this type of design and Nick was refreshingly candid. He explained that it's impossible to balance anything like Novus Aeterno. They're certainly going to try, but their response is positioning and strategic movement.



Unlike games such as Homeworld, Novus Aeterno will not implement the Z-axis. This means that the game is on one dimension, much like StarCraft. It may seem like an odd choice, but with how expansive the game is and the systems in place, it actually makes sense to keep it more simple. If you've ever played Homeworld or Sins of a Solar Empire, in moments of panic usually people just select everything, send them all to a central point and hope for the best, like Nick states in the interview. Keeping the combat on one dimension employs better thought processes and keeps you in control of your fleet without flipping your lid.

One of the coolest features Novus Aeterno brings to light is the use of ammunition. It doesn't matter how ridiculous your fleet is, if you can't resupply them during an offensive move then you're as good as dead. Every single cannon in the game requires ammo to shoot and they all require some form of reloading. An RTS with reloading mechanics? You better believe it.

Since the game is an MMO through and through, players will be happy to know that you can go literally anywhere, capture a planet and set up shop. There are multiple servers, but Novus Aeterno deals with them in a unique way (which seems to be their motif at this point). Each star system is a server, so if your buddy is standing by across the galaxy you simply have to fast-travel to their location and you're good to go.

Novus Aeterno is expected to be fully ready to go by PAX Prime in six months. It's unique take on development and strategy certainly has me excited. I can't wait to play more of it.

Labels: Andrew Whipple III, MMO, MMORTS, Novus Aeterno, PAX East, PC, Taitale Studios

Massively multiplayer online games are a dime a dozen these days. As exciting as a game may seem, it's incredibly tough for me to get excited about the next up and coming MMO.

You could probably blame it on the genre's inability to expand beyond what it knows, refusing to evolve in ways that we're seeing in contemporary games. However, there are some titles out there that are trying new systems and taking risks to reinvigorate the genre; Neverwinter is one of them.

Neverwinter interview

You might be aware of other games set in the Neverwinter region, but you shouldn't compare them to Cryptic Studios and Perfect World's title. Neverwinter Nights was pretty good, sure, but Neverwinter is a full-fledged MMO experience that will not allow you to pause combat whenever you wish (A pause whenever you wish MMO? The trouble we could have avoided if it were true). Having spoke to the enthusiastic developers about their game at PAX East 2012, Neverwinter is an attempt to meld the fast-paced, skillful play of an action title with the addictive longevity of a true MMO in a Dungeons and Dragons universe. It sounds ambitious, but from what we got to see, it looks to be coming along nicely.

As far as setting goes, Neverwinter will follow a 100 year advancement in its own timeline. The region was hit by something called the 'Spell Plague' which literally ripped continents apart. It's going to be your job, along with your fellow role-players to jump into this desolate land to try and piece back together what was once considered one of the most prestigious locations around, the Jewel of the North.

I failed to mention how incredible the environments look.

Perhaps the most exciting feature located within the code of Neverwinter is the emphasis on combat. The first thing we noticed during our session was how we actually had a cross-hair in the middle of the screen. We were scared at first and it's true that the best way to describe the gameplay is that Neverwinter plays like a traditional third-person shooter. However, for a MMO you'd be surprised how liberating it feels. While moving about, you actually have to target individual monsters if you plan on doing anything. No more of this, sit back and wait as you auto-attack the vicious orc-beast to death. Cryptic wants you to get right in there and fully waste your opposition.

If you had to compare it to any game out there right now, it would be En Masse Entertainment's TERA, but there's a few problems with that comparison. While both games share a dynamic combat system, TERA still follows the traditional million-skills and tabs game. Neverwinter focuses the amount of keys you need to press down to an agreeable number. According to Craig Zinkievich of Cryptic, they know how confusing it can be when you have a ton of skills. They wanted to lower the amount taken into each battle, not to dumb down the experience, but to make fighting more inviting and explosive.

One way the combat becomes involving is the use of dodge mechanics. Being an avid twitch game player (Ninja Gaiden, Bayonetta, Dark Souls) finding ways to evade strikes is rather important to me. I never liked just taking hits because I'd just regenerate it later. By pressing the shift key, you can jump out of the way of an incoming strike in a flourishing fashion. No more hit boxes the size of small buildings. Oh, and regenerating health? It definitely doesn't exist in this game. That means potions, healing spells and the cognitive capacity to avoid damage is paramount to your success. Sounds interesting, no?

Involving combat is the key to victory. Just don't use water elements against a water elemental, alright?

One of the playable classes we got to see was the Control Wizard. This particular class excels at keeping enemies out of the fight by disabling them in a variety of ways. Let's say a pack of 10 goblins comes running at you. Assessing the situation, by moving your mouse over specific targets, you can lift the more threatening targets off of the ground, effectively terminating their damage while you focus on the other cretins. Remember the whole tab targeting thing? That's starting to become a thing of the past real quick.

I should also mention that there is absolutely zero mana in this game. Abilities rely solely on cooldowns and your normal click-attacks. Craig quickly reminded me that skills will be carried out manually, meaning if you're a rogue you absolutely must get close and behind a monster to backstab them, not from 10 yards away. Each class also has a special daily ability that replenishes as you defeat enemies. This move is unparalleled and can save you from insurmountable odds, which also means it takes a long time to get back. The Control Wizard's daily took all surrounding enemy weapons, clumped them into a sphere of death and propelled them back at the targets. What was cool about this move (besides killing everything) was that if the enemy didn't die from the attack, the weapon was actually taken from their hand and destroyed. Attention to detail my friends, Cryptic is no slouch in that department.

Neverwinter will also feature a feat system that works much like you'd expect it to. We didn't get to see much of it, but you can bet the typical D&D skills such as cleave and finesse will be in full use. Cryptic was also mum on a full class and race list, but they did tell us Humans, Elves, Dwarfs and Drow will be in the game. We also didn't get too much information about the end-game content, but there will be instances of all sorts. Right now Cryptic said the usual instance will be five man groups. Once we know more, we'll be sure to deliver the information.

Neverwinter is certainly a surprise, especially for a free-to-play MMO. I haven't had much luck in that department, but I can definitely say that when this one hits I'll be exploring it in full force. Expect Neverwinter to drop sometime later this year.

Labels: Andrew Whipple III, Cryptic Studios, MMO, Neverwinter, PAX East, PC, Perfect World

With the market for free, massively-multiplayer online games booming, competition is huge and the market becoming increasingly saturated. Jacques Hulme reviews just one of the MMOs taking a stab at success in the difficult industry. Reviewed on Microsoft Windows PC.

Grabbing a bargain is great. Getting a freebie is even better, and the free-to-play games market is constantly expanding, with new titles entering the fray on a regular basis. Many incorporate themselves into the highly successful MMO genre, with fluctuating success. As the selection of titles has grown, competition has become more and more fierce, and for newcomers to the market it can be difficult to grab the attention of gamers, partly due to the oversaturated market and partly thanks to the increased quality in both graphics and game writing displayed by such titles.

World of Tanks, from Wargaming.net, offers a fresh experience to players, one which focusses on something slightly different than the usual offering of swords and shields. The game allows players to face enemy heavy armour, armed to the teeth with one of a selection of World War tanks. It's a new idea, pitting two teams of tanks against each other over a surprisingly large selection of maps. At the moment, tanks from the Russian, German and American armies are offered right from the outset, where you are given a light tank from each country to earn experience point with. As you gain XP, you are able to buy tank upgrades or entirely new tanks altogether. The amount of variety offered, considering World of Tanks is a free game, is tremendous; each country has a 'tech tree' of tanks, with all shapes and sizes of vehicles, and you even have the ability to select tanks which are suited to specific battle situations, be that wide and open terrain (best-suited to artillery and heavy tanks) or smaller maps in built-up areas (where light and medium armour tends to work best).


The level of detail boasted by World of Tanks is extremely impressive. From the design of the tanks to the damage system, it's clear that the title has every ability to compete with 'proper' retail games. Damage dealt to your tanks comes in a variety of areas, you can lose crew members, you can experience damage to you armour or even be unable to drive altogether, if a shot is lucky enough to land on your engine or tracks. Not only is the damage mechanic substantial, but you are also able to control where, and at what angle, a shell strikes its target, allowing you to become more and more adept with your vehicle as you move through the game. Of course, it's also important to utilise the cover spots offered by each map, as most boulders are able to withstand the impact force of an enemy shell much more adeptly than a tank can.

Of course, there are elements of World of Tanks which are exclusive only to premium members. For example, it is impossible to join friends in the same game unless you have the party feature, which is unlocked through the premium subscription. This also gives you the chance to earn more experience and cash from each battle than you normally would, meaning progression can be made much faster through the usage of a premium account. There are even a few premium tanks that one can purchase, which are unavailable to free players and can offer a big advantage to any battle. Perhaps these enhancements can be seen as unfair in some situations, but if you're willing to pay out hard-earnt cash, surely you should get something extra?


It is extremely difficult to find any reason why you shouldn't give World of Tanks a go. It's free, for a start, and offers a wide variety of options to players without asking for anything but your time. Whether you prefer sitting at the back of a map to shell foes using longer range vehicles, or move through small streets taking short, sharp shots, World of Tanks covers all the different avenues and caters for every sort of player type. There are more planned features which seem to be very interesting, such as the European clan battles, for example, which take place over many countries and aim to see hundreds of different clans playing against one another. If you're bored of war games focussed solely on action between footsoldiers, and want to get behind the wheel of something a little more meaty, World of Tanks would be a perfect place to start.

7/10 [?]

Labels: 2011, Free-to-play, Jacques Hulme, Microsoft Windows, MMO, PC, Review, Wargaming.net, World of Tanks

Manly, a cappella background music.

The month of May is a busy one for the staff here at Gamer's Guide to Life.com. Some of us are bribing our landlords to renew leases, others are studying until their retinas crack for finals, and still more are putting in a final month's training with their leather-skinned, one-eyed archery coach, Ogedai, to prepare their bodies and souls for battle at the famous Nadaam festival, before flying to Ulanbaatar to vie for triumph on the international stage by competing in Mongolia's 'Three Manly Skills'^[1] , all in order to fulfil a promise made to a dying father to taste victory and be dubbed 'An Invincible Titan to be remembered by all'. Everyone's got something on their plate.

Amazingly, amidst all that chaos, we still find time in our evil staff room of evil to have important, potentially world-shaking discussions about gaming around the water cooler. The conversation recorded in this article between myself and SystemLink PlayStation Editor, Alex Wozniak, (with occassional interjection from GGTL Lead Editor, Linford Butler) begins as comical banter about the political danger of using Pokémon labour as a foundation for a specifically human bourgeois, but evolves into an interesting wish-list of features for a potential Pokémon-themed massively-multiplayer online game. We discuss gameplay, aesthetics, professions, items, settings, character creation, release console, and overall feasibility. It's a smooth, fun read for anybody who has played and loved a Pokémon title at any point in their lives.

Pull over most comfortable lounge chair, plop an oversized bowl of rare candy onto your lap, don your Pokémon Trainer cap, pour yourself a glass of that 1994 port that you've been saving, and read on, internet strangers, letting your imagination paint a picture of a socialist utopia wherein Pokémon take all of society's difficult jobs, providing a life of whimsy and relaxation for the human classes...


Greg:
If only we lived in that world. Pokémon taking all our bad jobs and looking after our every uncomfortable cultural need... Pokaridise.
Alex:
It would indeed be a better world - no need for electricity companies when there are Voltorbs and Zapdos', no need for gas firms when we train Charmanders to heat our homes.
Greg:
But what happens when that world is rocked by the demands of the Pokéunions?
Alex:
What, Team Rocket? They're a dastardly bunch who try to seduce us with talks of unionisation, and saving the Pokémon, when in fact all they do is enjoy a nice, expensive Slowpoke tail with tartare sauce in Giovanni’s mansion.
Linford:
Or the Pokélybians rise up? It could knock the Pokémiddleeast into chaos.
Alex:
Would the Amish have Pokémon? Would they be considered 'modern' technology?
Greg:
They'd only use basic Pokéballs. None of the Devil's fancy Masterballs.
Alex:
Lucifer haveth Masterballs? Damn him. Damn him to hell! ...again.
Greg:
Him and his psychic Pokémon... Only the Lord should be able to speak directly to the human brain. To steal His great power art a sin worthy of eternal punishment. (Tough luck, Alakazam).
Alex:
Is Mewtwo on the Devil’s side? I can't imagine Mew hanging out with the horned beast.
Greg:
Maybe Mew is basically the Virgin Mary, and Mewtwo is some sort of Pokémon antichrist... I want the dark, futuristic Pokémon game, wherein the Pokémon have turned the tables on humanity and enslaved them with their own Pokéball technology. You play an impressionable, conflicted Squirtle living after the Pokérevolution, who feels that what's being done to the now-enslaved human populace is as wrong as the sins brought down upon Pokémanity centuries before.
Alex:
Is he part of the Squirtle Squad? Because those bad boys knew how to give it to humanity.
Greg:
Yep. A corrupted, overweight Squirtle Squad that now does nothing but hang out in the local opium den and get friendly with human concubines.


Alex:
I want a Pokémon MMO - that would be pretty darn cool.
Greg:
Yeah, a Pokémon MMO has all the needed pieces for a great game.
Linford:
I see an article idea here... Discuss.
Greg:
Aye, aye. The Pokémon MMO:

642(ish) Pokémon, myriad zones, competition everywhere you look without needing set factions. Every player could just be a member of Pokémon society in the same way the original City of Heroes had all players on the same side, for one faction. That said, the ability for trainers to challenge other trainers offers a huge PvP environment. And if it's as balanced as handheld Pokémon tournament play, endgame PvP becomes more about skill and Pokémon selection than gear or stats, eliminating most typical MMO endgame problems...

Obtaining new outfits for both your trainers and your Pokémon could add an aspect of creative individualisation that MMO players crave as well. "Which Pikachu does Jimmy Random have?" "The one with the viking helmet and the tattoos of a human skull being torn apart by lightning on each cheek. He's a beast."
Alex:
A proper tournament league with Elite Four, and one Champion per realm would be pretty cool. It could still have the stats that a lot of MMO people want as well, by equipping Pokémon with various 'berries' or other fruits depending on what is relevant at that season.
Greg:
I like the idea of beating the Elite Four for each zone once a week in order to receive an invitation to a grand zone tournament with a unique aesthetic reward. Maybe the winner of that grand Pokémon weekly tournament gets to fly a giant noticeable plane for a week, gets a cool title, and an awesome costume to wear for the rest of his life. The gameplay model would likely support the idea of cultivating only one character, without alts.

If developers wanted to avoid that, they could add "Elite Aesthetic" (I'm big on those) differences for your character. Once you win the tournament, for example, your account unlocks a noticeably different trainer model to be used when creating a new trainer, and when beating the tournament (or maybe just the Elite Four) with that trainer, another model becomes available. So without making their Pokémon teams unbeatable (and therefore breaking the game's endgame balance), a player could show off his or her prowess by playing as a trainer model that only becomes attainable after doing so many things.


Alex:
People could take up different skills alongside their Pokémon. For example, crafting new Pokéballs, or becoming an expert breeder. Trainers could become professional explorers - by following ancient ruins and texts to find legendary Pokémon and Pokémon artifacts that could provide unique abilities to their team members.
Greg:
I like those profession ideas. Pokémon archaeology and exploration, ballcrafting, candy making, cooking - all of it could be useful. Maybe even a profession that focuses on creating unique modes of transportation (like bikes or jetskis, cars, hot-air balloons, et cetera).
Alex:
Guilds could work quite easily as well, I think, by having groups of trainers forming 'Teams' that could compete in competitions.
Greg:
Yeah, Teams would work really well here. Team Rocket, or Ash's group-style.
Alex:
It'd be quite an easy game to keep adding content to as well - new Pokémon, newly discovered areas, new Gym leaders, new moves.
Greg:
Seriously. The inevitable question that would have to be addressed would be how combat would play out... whether it's turn-based or some strange brand of live-action. Or maybe even a little of both. Maybe your trainer could "coach" difficult moves, causing the player to need to input combo keys (or buttons, if it's console) to help their Pokémon through it.
Alex:
I think it would be a mix of Pokémon and WoW, in that you send out your Pokémon, and its moves are on your Hotbar. You choose which abilities it uses, and it would only able to use a single move at a time, and each move has a cooldown.
Greg:
I’m not a huge fan of the WoW hotbar-and-cooldown gameplay style. It works, but it’s stale. Especially if the game was set on a console (and I'd guess Nintendo would be partial to that), it would need something a bit more unique. A lot would probably depend on whatever controls are given to the Super Nintendo Wii, whenever that comes out.
Alex:
Ah, I don't think it would work as well on a console. There's hardly any really successful console MMOs, and I just think the whole thing would be a lot smoother on PC. For one thing it will give the game longevity as you'd never have to upgrade your console to continue playing.


Greg:
Well, there comes our first hiccup... First of all, I'm of the camp that thinks a console MMOs will be huge (especially next generation, now that the current generation has normalised casual online console play) once designers see them as more than just ports from the PC. All it really requires is a unique, dedicated development philosophy tailored to a specific console (which Nintendo is famous for) and an intellectual property heavy enough to draw in millions of players, which Pokémon most definitely is. All that aside, any Nintendo product on the PC is little more than wishful thinking, be that unfortunate or not. They hold their intellectual property family tightly to their own hardware.
Alex:
I agree that there is potential for a console MMO to work, however, it'll have to be done extremely well to be able to sustain itself against WoW.
Greg:
I disagree again... I'm one of those who think that WoW is finally passing, like an ancient, rotting Sequoya barely able to stand upright but still towering over the rest of the forest, or a dying star. Cataclysm did a lot to hurt its cause. And, though I myself loved it for half a decade, twelve million people have been playing - and getting bored of - its model since 2004, which inversely means that there is an MMORPG playing demographic out there who would feasibly be very interested in jumping into a fresh AAA MMO title with a new style of play.
Alex:
Yet it [World of Warcraft] still has record number of players. The problem is that a lot of them are comfortable with WoW, too comfortable maybe, and it's going to take something huge to draw them away from something they've invested so much time in.
Greg:
People say that WoW has been given real competition since its foundation via Guild Wars, City of Heroes, and others, but I disagree. I don’t think it’s ever really been tested. To compete with Activision Blizzard, a gigantic, hard-hitting company and intellectual property need to enter the ring. Nintendo and Pokémon are one of the few combinations that could actually trump the Blizzard-Warcraft dreamteam of corporate star power, and it’s stylistically different enough that people might even play both - especially if a Pokémon MMO was free. There are plenty of people who own either an Xbox 360 or PS3 as well as a Wii. I think it could work in a very similar way.


Alex:
If it were free, it would have to be supported by ads, and I'm not sure how people would feel about it. If they could make it cheaper than WoW, then that would be good. What about a handheld Pokémon MMO? The set up is all there already on DS, they need only make it a consistent world.
Greg:
If it drove up console sales and people just paid for patches, I think Nintendo might be able to sustain it free of charge. Nintendo is large enough to front the money needed to sustain an MMO’s overhead and update costs while providing minimal company-wide financial strain, and the benefits of luring players over to their console's faction with a uniquely innovative blockbuster title like a Pokémon MMO would be appealing. The handheld MMO also makes a lot of sense, especially with how much focus the DS series has placed on Wi-Fi. I'm not sure the technology is there yet, but it just sounds like something Nintendo would do.
Alex:
Question is, though: would a Pokémon MMO replace the traditional single player games?
Greg:
Wow... that's a huge question. Unless they figured out a way to bring the two together (like they have with tournament living room console games using handheld hookups), I think they'd have to.
Alex:
I'm not so sure. You could have them exist in separate worlds. The MMO would be one world, with ever-newly discovered lands and Pokémon, with an emphasis on battling other players, and team battles, whilst the single player games would be where new mechanics were brought in, which after a while would migrate to the MMO, and provide more of a focus on story.
Greg:
That makes sense. If they did produce two separate worlds (MMO and continuation of the regular series via single-player), I think it would work more fluidly for the Nintendo brain trust to keep them on separate consoles.
Alex:
Huh. That might work.
Greg:
Alright, I need to find food. I'll save this conversation so we can unleash it on the world later.
Alex:
Be careful of wild Pokémon who may attempt to steal it.
Greg:
Lin: steal my Pokémon conversation and I'll... umm... be very angry. And miffed.


A new Super Nintendo Wii (Project Café) is coming out soon with enhanced multiplayer capabilities, HD graphics, and a vast, echoing hard drive. Just sayin'...

Footnotes

[1] Pony-wrasslin', snorkeling, and stealing brides from neighbouring China under the cover of darkness. [^]

Labels: 2011, 3DS, Alex Wozniak, Fireside Chat, Gaming Conversation, Greg Mengel, Linford Butler, MMO, Nintendo, Pokemon, The Pokemon Company, Wii

Greg Mengel takes his own personal perspective on games and gaming culture in his column, State of the Union. State of the Union is published twice monthly on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

I have a few recurring dreams. In one, I enter REM to find myself a roving, staff-wielding adventurer in an arid post-apocalyptic wasteland. Various friends pulled from the memories of various stages of my life are always with me - together we make up a tattered band of survivors with one goal: to make an exodus to some mythical safe place, perhaps a mountain aerie or an island somewhere, where we can finally be free of the massive undead horde that is always chasing us. Unfortunately, we usually don't quite make it, which means that more often than not, my first instinct after waking up is to check frantically for any chunks of flesh or skin removed by zombie bite. In another dream, I am one of the birds from Planet Earth who migrates with his flock over the Himalayas. This one is sort of like Watership Down, in that it involves talking animals undertaking some sort of adventure. My bird friends and I either get lost, or are attacked by hunters, and must lead ourselves and our fellow feathery migrators to safety. In yet another dream, I'm Franklin D. Roosevelt playing the part of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. Ever imagined Leia and FDR swinging over that gap in the Death Star on FDR's wheelchair? I have: many times, in detail.

My most recent recurring dream, however, is (barring the release of the rage virus and an imminent Book of Revelations style nuclear meltdown) the most possible fantasy of the bunch. In it, I'm relaxing, reclining on the most comfortable couch in my living room next to Thor, a bikini-clad albino grizzly bear holding a unicycle, and the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Together, we are enjoying a superhero-themed MMORPG on the PlayStation 3. Suddenly, I refuse to share the controller and give the bear a turn, so she (or he: it's a kinky animal kingdom out there) throws the unicycle directly at my forehead, injuring my pride and knocking me unconscious. That's when I wake up.

I believe that this dream, with or without the sexy bears and ethereal dead presidents, will come to fruition sooner rather than later. Like many in the gaming community, I am a firm believer that MMORPGs have huge potential to be successful on the console screen. This was not always so. Once, I could point to five main reasons supporting the theory that console MMOs would all end in a fireworks show of failure and defeat.

Communication
How will people interact with one another? USB Keyboard? Headset? Webcam? Telepathy?

Interface/layout/general gameplay
Try imagining an MMO style of gameplay that doesn't rely on pointing and clicking with a mouse. It takes work.

Home improvement
Updates, patches, expansions - that's a lot to store on one console's hard drive.

Culture shock
Going from PC to console, or from traditional console game to console MMO? For hardcore gamers, making that change will be like moving from Cleveland to the Orion Nebula.

Fees
Divvying up per-month costs with parent companies like Microsoft is tough work.

A few years ago, these reasons seemed as sound to me as Gospel. Now, however, my opinion has turned 180. The first reason? Consoles have become dramatically more experienced at providing online support in the last few years. If I had been a game developer considering adopting a console MMORPG project in 2007, I would have been wary as to whether or not a console could handle the server and manpower stresses of a popular, massive online role-playing game. Now that the PS3 and 360 have proven that they can handle staggering numbers of online gamers at one time, that worry has, for a large part, been proven wrong. Consoles have proven that they can handle the humongous number of players expected to be online at once in any decently popular MMO.

The second reason is that design-wise, I've begun to move past thinking of MMORPGs only in their traditional point-and-click, menu-interface-based sense. To be an MMO, a game doesn't have to play like the love child of Dungeons and Dragons and Everquest; it only has to allow players to enter a massively interactive online world as a unique playable character. That's it for the requirements of the genre. The gameplay can be whatever it wants to be, as long as the interaction is there and players are given the chance to explore their setting by taking on the role of characters who are not themselves. On that note, creating a console MMO is only infeasible when developers focus on transporting a PC MMO style of gameplay to the console, rather than creating a unique console MMO design from the ground up. For a console MMORPG to truly succeed, it has to be its own unique creation, not the glorified mod of a PC game that already exists. It has to follow leads like this.

So the question now becomes, why haven't designers been focusing on creating unique console MMO experiences already? If these console-specific game designs already exist, why aren't they being produced? The answer is simple: money. Unfortunately, making games is a business, and World of Warcraft was - and is - a legendary business success. It was so successful, in fact, that nearly every greedy game producer in the industry wants to breed (and eventually milk) their own cash cow by imitating it. So instead of funding the production of new game concepts (such as console MMOs made as console MMOs), they put their financial support behind what they consider to be a sure thing, dropping their money directly in the face of game design progress.

This brings me to my final concern - divvying up profits from subscription fees (which, as I stated above, World of Warcraft proved MMOs can produce in amounts that would make Lex Luthor cry tears of happiness). This is the last thing holding back studios like Cryptic, whose arguments with Microsoft over the distribution of profits have led them back out on early declarations that their superhero and Star Trek themed MMOs (Champions Online and Star Trek Online respectively) were being developed for console play on the Xbox 360. This happened twice in the last year. Thus far, console parent companies have made it abundantly clear that they want to share a slice of the profits accumulated by any game being played on their system, a notion which is hard for developers - who, as far as I know, never had to give a percentage of their monthly fees to Microsoft or Apple when making MMORPGs for the PC) - to get behind.

So why am I so sure that popular console MMOs are on their way, given the fact that imitative game producers and companies like Microsoft are blocking them at every turn, demanding toll fees on the road to console MMO greatness? The answer is simple: because there's too much money to be lost for console parent companies by not supporting a great massively multiplayer role-playing game, playable only on their system; a sort of franchise MMO. If it succeeded, a game like that would keep people attached to a console not just for months, but for years, just as MMOs like World of Warcraft have kept people attached to their keyboards and monitors throughout an otherwise grim dark age for game sales on the PC. Someday soon - perhaps at the genesis of the next console generation - Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft will realise that they have too much to lose by refusing to put a large quantity of their eggs in the console MMO basket.

Time to put on my prophesying pants. Now I don't know, as I'm not a doctor, but here's my bold claim - on this day in May 2010, I hereby predict that we're two to three years away from playing a hugely anticipated, extremely well-funded, console-exclusive massively multiplayer online role-playing game. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Your thoughts? Is the gaming industry really headed controller-first into a console MMO era? If so, is that a good thing? Does the idea of playing a franchise console MMO make you happy? Angry? Sad? Hungry? Should I see a psychologist to work through these disturbing dreams I've been having? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

That's it for this installment. Come back in just under two weeks for yet another dose of pure, unadulterated State of the Union, or a bikini-clad bear will throw a unicycle at you, and you'll be haunted by Abraham Lincoln's ghost. That shit happens.

Greg

Labels: Columns, Greg Mengel, MMO, MMORPG, Psychologically disturbing dreams, State of the Union

I really want to be a superhero. I mean, really. If it were fashionable, I would go to work wearing tights and a cape. Part of me is now, and will always be, indignant at the American education system for not supporting Masked Vigilantism as an acceptable college major. So I'm obviously attracted to any games that allow me to live my fantasy, if through the fourth wall.

I've only been playing for two days, but so far Champions Online is the closest I've come to actually being a superhero, even if it is in a game. Once, in real life, I chased a mouse out of my basement with a broadsword. That was as close as I've ever actually come. Champions comes close to that. It's almost mouse worthy.

The game came out on the 1st September here in the States, and hits your European shelves on the 4th September (tomorrow!). If you've played City of Heroes, you'll have a basic idea of the gameplay in Champions. Just consider it City of Heroes, evolved. Powers are clicked or hotkeyed into use, as with most MMORPGs. Some, like the block button, must be held down during combat. It's an interesting system, simple in theory but more difficult in practice than you'd think, especially when compared to games with purely click-and-watch-what-happens systems, like World of Warcraft. The difference is crisp and refreshing.

The aesthetics of the game already have me feeling like my purchase was worthwhile. The moves are zany, the music is sweepingly epic, and the costumes are a case study in the creativity of the human brain. I constantly feel like I took a wrong turn and winded up in some kind of video game superhero-based Narnia.

So it seems amazing - but that's only after two days of play. All is usually not well in paradise. Already, I can see the possibility of repetitiveness and boredom in certain elements of the gameplay and level design. It is, after all, an MMORPG, and that's a genre famous for driving people in circles until the Ragnarok.

That being said, I'm going to wait at least a week before I post a full review on Champions. That'll give me all the time I need to give you readers a confident, well-rounded opinion. It's an MMO - you want a full review.

If you're just dying to hear more from me about the game now, just pester me with comments on this post and I'll respond. Use lots of caps lock to get my attention. It's the internet equivalent of making loud noises or shining bright, flashy lights at my pupils when I'm trying to sleep. It'll get my attention.

Greg

Labels: Champions Online, First impressions, Greg Mengel, MMO, MMORPG

Heatwave Interactive, a newbie game design company working out of Austin, Texas, recently struck a deal with rapper T.I to make a massive multiplayer game in which players will strive to "experience the fantasy of reaching the top of their game and becoming a superstar" in the competitive world of hip-hop, according to Heatwave's website.

The game, called Platinum Life, will give what I can only imagine is a realistic portrayal of moving up the hip-hop latter, yet, having never sold a platinum record or phat beat myself, or done cocaine on a personal jet, I can't be entirely certain.

Just about every way I think about it, I'm intrigued by this game. It's a cornucopia of possibilities. Will players record and show off their own tracks, like an interactive Youtube, or will a track list be provided, a la Rock Band or Guitar Hero? Will there be a mix of both? Will it be set in a specific city, or across the rap hubs of the world? Could that world be fictional?

Not much has been released about Platinum Life yet, but Anthony Castoro, the founder of the youngling Heatwave studios, has made it clear that he wants to provide a game that caters to the hardcore of the hip-hop community as well as the neophytes. In a statement released recently regarding the game, he revealed that "Our online game experience allows top-level artists to share their music, video and lifestyle with their huge fan bases in a personal and innovative way." That could mean so many things, but for fans of the hip-hop genre, it's got to look good.

It has also been revealed by Heatwave that the collector's edition of the game will come with a gold-chain, a life-size poster of T.I. to put on the ceiling above your bed, and a free handgun.

That last part about the collector's edition is obviously bull***t, but the rest is true. Overall, the game looks like a crazy new idea, and an interesting challenger for an MMO genre that has been dominated for the last few years by games with fantasy themes, like City of Heroes, or World of Warcraft.

Greg

PS - For those of you like me, who don't know who T.I. is, here's a video of him doing what he does best. The video opens with T.I. on the phone, counseling a friend who has just gotten a midget pregnant. I'm not kidding. Technically, the preferred term is little person, but T.I. used midget, so I'm going to use that here too.

Labels: Greg Mengel, MMO, Platinum Life

An official website for upcoming MMO ‘Massive Action Game’ has been revealed on Sony PlayStation US’ Twitter account. The site, found here, isn’t really very interesting – it’s more a teaser site than anything.

Although, one thing that’s interesting about the site is the mouse hover. The circle, seen in the picture above, only highlights whilst over central Europe and the very top-left part of North America. When these highlighted areas are clicked for the first time, a picture of some sort flashes up for less than a second, before disappearing. Could this be a hint at where the game will take place? Could it be a hint at which factions will be involved in the game? We don’t know.

Take a look and see what you can find. If you find anything we haven’t, or have any theories as to what the mystic site might mean, comment and let us know.

Linford

Labels: MAG, Massive Action Game, MMO

It’s the game that’s been on everyone’s lips but not quite in the ‘hypescape’ for a while now. Since it was first announced at E3 last year, details on Zipper Interactive’s ‘Massive Action Game’ or MAG have been pretty thin on the ground. That is, until there’s a massive leak of images on Flickr.

That’s right; famous image-hosting site has played host to some of the screenshots which every gamer this side of Christendom has been searching for. Like gold dust, leaked shots always turn up in the least likely of places. And, like gold dust, they always cause a bit of a stir (understatement, much?).

Here’s the gist of it. MAG is an MMO shooter from Zipper, the same lovely people who brought you the SOCOM series. Squad and faction based, MAG will play host to – wait for it – 256-player, ongoing online matches, which is sure to make for some manic Saturday-night matches. “256-player deathmatch, anyone?”.

I have it on good confidence (in other words, extensive late-night forum browsing, screenshot hunting and general rumour gathering) that the gameplay will be the classic FPS genre. Players will be divided up into 8-player squads, many of which make up the three factions which will be at conflict in the game. Each squad will be led (yep, a full command structure) by a player who has advanced through the game’s ranking structure. Each basic battle will make up part of an ongoing campaign mode for each of the three factions.

For those fond of polygons, MAG is shaping up to be a rather sleek and stylish production. From leaked screenshots, textures seem very realistic, weaponry is shiny enough to pass as looking nice, and cloud and smoke effects are gorgeous. My only criticism is in the bullet trails – they just look like lines. However, I’m sure that, by the time MAG releases late this year, they’ll have the graphics absolutely spot on.

Online is bound to be epic. With a full command system, matches will have some sort of feeling of organisation and tactic to them. Furthermore, 8-player squads will make organising offences much easier to handle for those in charge.

If the original E3 trailer is anything to go by, MAG will feature huge landscapes, vehicles (apparently there’ll be tanks, APCs and planes) and parachute troops. Also, it has been said that the game will feature many classes for players to specialise in, from demolitions experts to field medics.

MAG is currently slated to hit shelves late this year.

Linford

Editor’s Note: Please bear in mind that screenshots shown here are not only very early alpha testing shots, but are also leaked shots. As such, they may not be in any way representative of the finished product. You can find the full Flickr screenshots set here.

Labels: Hype Train, MAG, Massive Action Game, MMO