Revenge Of The Comic-Con

Written by Child Tuesday, 19 August 2008 19:14

It's time again folks! Just when you thought you had finally finished seeing or reading about the big 'ol Comic-Con '08. We goblins are here to present you with some more inside pictures! Yes, that's right, after an epic battle with my camera in which I almost decided to drown it in my toilet, I finally gathered the tools needed to steal the pictures from the insides of my camera to share with you all. Sometimes technology deserves to be punished!

So yes, behold and gather around for another pretty picture show! It's hard to get enough of looking at awesome movie props, nerds in nerd-gear, amazing toys, and huge movie-posters. So be sure too check out more after the jump!

 

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WotLK: New Mount Extravaganza

Written by Elvyra Tuesday, 19 August 2008 07:43

Okay, so you're too poor to afford a Harley Davidson in real life, probably because you spend all your money on playing MMORPGs and cool computers.  Well, you don't have to ride solo on your old War Kodo beater anymore. Now you can ride in style on "The Hog", one of the mounts that will become available to you when the new World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, releases.

There's been no official word about "The Hog" from the Blizzard bigwigs, but rumor has it that it will be available to anyone who meets the level requirements.  Of course, this is all apt to change as it's only just been introduced on the beta servers.

Here's what MMO Champion has found out for us:

Let's hope that nothing changes in regards to "The Hog" as it's the coolest thing since fried peanut butter and banana (and sometimes bacon) sandwiches....mmmmmmm.   Elvis may have been The King, but he sure did have the weirdest appetite.  Who puts bacon on a peanut butter sandwich?!

[source and pic]

The World's Longest Interview with Bill Roper

Written by Pig Tuesday, 19 August 2008 06:44

Flagship Studios recent problems - you know, little things like their main game failing and their studio closing - have been well documented here, as well as elsewhere.  Just days ago, several of the founders have spoken out about the failure of Hellgate, and the last days at Flagship.  But the one person everyone wants to hear from - CEO Bill Roper - has remained silent.  Now, suddenly, that's changed, and Bill is talking.

Now Bill is a popular guy - he's been the brains behind some of the greatest games in history, he's funny, and he's a genuinely nice guy - so this interview should be a major event in gaming.  I mean, he's a genuine icon in the industry, whose studio died an agonizing death.  And yet....the interview isn't a typical Roper affair.  It's a pretty straightforward writeup and Bill, for once in his life, doesn't have anything particularly insightful, witty, or humorous to say.  This is understandable, as losing your studio is generally considered to be a bit emotionally draining.  Consider these epic insights into what went wrong:

Hellgate came out, and it wasn't as good as it should have been

But the development demands far outstripped the revenues. There just wasn't a good contemplation early on of how [paying for everything] would work.

We didn't have unlimited money, and we had to ship when we had to ship

Hit the jump for more quotes, more of Bill's depressed, burned-out insights, and even a (somewhat) relevant and funny song-and-dance video.

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Conan? Pffft. I Know 415,000 Guys Just Like Him...

Written by Pig Monday, 18 August 2008 09:50

An MMO launch is a funny thing: it may look great, or it may go very badly, but the final success of the game won't be known for months after the launch has occurred.  Because of the nature of MMOs, a game's ability to get and keep subscribers simply isn't reflected in sales figures alone.  Consider Tabula Rasa - although the launch was a big deal, the game has struggled, like a fat inebriated dwarf thrown into the deep end of the pool, to keep it's head above water ever since. 

And that's where Age of Conan comes in: it had a very solid launch, there was a lot of excitement about the game, and the initial numbers looked excellent. Somewhere around 800,000 copies were sold, which was extremely promising, though some players were very critical of the game.  Speculation about its overall survival was rampant.

Now, it seems, the numbers are in, and they're pretty good:  415,000 subscribers.  That's more than solid; functionally, it means that AoC and LOTRO are struggling over the number 2 spot in MMO gaming.  (Why does this call to mind pictures of Conan wrestling with hobbits?  Oh, never mind...)  Of course, WoW is still number one, with (ahem) 10 million subscribers.  

What does this mean?  Well, it means that for every person playing AoC or LOTRO, there are 20 people playing WoW.  All snark aside, it also means that AoC has an opportunity to grow; WoW started with a similar subscription base, too, and grew to epic proportions.  If Funcom can continue to build on what they have now, AoC may yet become a powerhouse worthy of its Cimmerian namesake.    

[Source] 

Not The Hero?

Written by Pig Monday, 18 August 2008 09:34

Zubon over at Kill Ten Rats has a great rant write-up about his adventures in LOTRO.  His focus is squarely on the unusual reminders that Turbine throws your way, repeatedly, as you play the game: this story isn't really about you. 

It's an unusual approach in MMO gaming, in which players are typically told what great heroes they are, how epic their adventures are, and how their personal legend is growing.  LOTRO sends a different message: the NPC heroes were written by ol' JRR Tolkien himself, are already established and beloved, and you're just helping them out.  These quests you're on?  Those are just side-quests.  The monsters you are slaying?  Well, you're simply contributing to the larger mission.  Without you, brave player, everything would be just fine anyway.

It's a funny look at the game overall, and the unusual way LOTRO players are consistently reminded how utterly unimportant they are.  Catch it, with Zubon's many examples and illustrations, right here. 

Gaming Good For The Brain...It's Been Proven

Written by Elvyra Monday, 18 August 2008 07:55

We always knew that gamers were smarter than the average human, despite all the whacko Jackos and anti-gaming "psychologists" telling the world different.  According to them we're all moronic idiots, capable of drooling and only speaking in paraphrase. Well, it's just not so. 

There's been a bit more research done that proves that playing computer games actually increases peoples' capability to solve problems in Math and Science, amongst other things.  The findings were announced at the APA (American Phsychological Association) Convention in Boston this last week.  Some things that were said was that World of Warcraft can actually improve scientific thinking, among many other things.

“There are some very compelling cases that video-game playing leads to advanced problem-solving in math, science, and spatial skills,” said Fordham University psychologist Fran C. Blumberg. “I do think it has benefits.”

Who knew? Well, maybe gamers did and now actual scientists are listening. Consider this little tidbit of surprising information:

Laparoscopic surgeons who play video games are 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors than non-gamers.

WHAT?!  You mean to tell me that the guys who remove tumors using tiny cameras that look inside the human body through tiny holes so that there's less bleeding, are BETTER if they play video games? That's amazing! The next time I ever have to go to a surgeon, my first question will be, "Hey doc. Before you open me up and pull out my insides, do you by chance play EVE Online or Warhammer? How about a little WoW?...You do? Great! Open me up!"

Fifteen years of research on video-game playing among high school and college students compiled by Douglas A. Gentile, PhD, of Iowa State University’s Media Research Lab, point to several dimensions of video-game play that may have effects on learning and skill development...In fact, Gentile noted, a surgeon’s frequency of video-game play seems to be a better predictor of suturing skills than their years of medical training or the number of surgeries they’ve performed.

This is actually really good news and we should hope that more research will go into the beneficial effects of PC and video gaming. To read more on the effects of gaming and surgery, check out this article, it's really quite interesting and not full of all that medical mumbo jumbo.

[source 1, source 2, source 3, pic]

Star Trek MMO Complications.

Written by Child Saturday, 16 August 2008 21:53

Hello! It's that time again! Well, I guess it's really not a consecutive thing, YET... But, here's a little Saturday night web cartoonage to crack a smile at. Yes, it was only a matter of time since the announcement of Star Trek Online that penny arcade would be there to point out some sillyness. Check it out below.

 

[source]

Ninja Of The Night

Written by Elvyra Saturday, 16 August 2008 18:28

I was down in the dungeon today and happened upon a dusty old trunk with this little gem in it.  Thought it might be appreciated in some circles....not all circles....but some. Gotta love those rogues, especially the ones that go to Ninja Tech School.

 

 

Richard Bartle: Still Displeased

Written by Stinkerbelle Saturday, 16 August 2008 18:11

Richard Bartle is famous for two things: he created the first MUD (which he creatively entitled MUD) in 1978, and he's criticized every other mud/mmo/online RPG ever made. 

We're not sure why anyone even cares what Bartle thinks. Muds were interesting, but intrinsically limited (they were basically multiplayer text adventures).  Despite this, a lot of people who design or write about games really, really care what Richard Bartle thinks.  Asking Bartle to critique a modern MMO is like asking the guy who designed DigDug to offer his insights on the design of BioShock.  What's more, it's not at all clear that Bartle has worked on a single title since MUD; his sole role in gaming has been to be the fatherly negative-Nancy toward the whole MMORPG industry. 

And that's why a new article over at Gamasutra isn't at all surprising.  Bartle offers his insights (i.e., criticisms) of the UK education system as it pertains to gaming.  Game design as a major is not innovative enough, it 's going in all the wrong directions, and - shockingly - the system over-analyzes games, instead of focusing on making good ones.  But really, why stop there?  Bartle has other criticisms as well.  He can seemingly go on all day.  

So, in a nutshell, if you'd like to read a really negative article by a really negative guy, who other game designers think is important (but really isn't), this is the article you've been waiting for! 

Weekend Getaway to SF Ruined by the Empire

Written by Pig Saturday, 16 August 2008 14:48

Darned Empire ruins everything.