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EVE Online, what an odd game.  My only character was made in 2006 and had probably only been played for around ten hours before she went into permanent hibernation.  I found EVE incredibly dull when I first played it all those years ago.  Some might argue that that is a demonstration of the skill ceiling …

I may occasionally bitch about the IGDA, but I am lucky and proud to be a member. The Detroit Chapter has struggled mightily to maintain itself on account of a vast geographical area – we don’t want to splinter into an Ann Arbor Chapter, a Lansing Chapter, an EAST Lansing Chapter, a Grand Rapids Chapter, etc etc etc – and is currently amidst a new period of growth and energy. At our monthly social meetings you get to drink and meet the wonderful game development community of southern Michigan. And thus it was that I met Jacob Elert, who stated without a hint of irony that most people called him Bear. If you ever meet Bear, you will see why. Bear is a big fella; but he’s not a “Gorilla” or an “Elephant,” he’s definitely bearlike. In addition to being bearlike, Bear is a passionate new entry to the game development world, and I enjoyed chatting with him so much that I suggested he toss me an article for Tap. And he did! Today you’ll be getting a bear’s view of what MMOs have meant to the game experience as well as just the market. I think you’ll find it well worth your time. Take it away, Bear!

— S

Those damned humans, with their… revolutioning. Why they gotta be all up in our business with their revolutions? And… their… human… ness? You may not know this, but Tap-Repeatedly has a YouTube Channel. It’s currently quite sparse. And what you’ll find below doesn’t do much to enrich it, to be honest, but as I mention …

If you don’t regularly visit Alliance of Awesome member Bits ‘n’ Bytes Gaming (we need to record a new podcast soon!), you should, at the very least, head on over there to check out Armand K’s interview with Almost Human, a new indie developer toiling away on Legend of Grimrock, a delightfully Dungeon Master-looking CRPG …

One of the big movements in gaming these days, albeit one that’s only occasionally talked about, is toward user-generated content.  Gone are the days when mission editors were arcane tools only the most dedicated could learn to comprehend, much less use.  And so I present my own recent adventures in user-generated content, courtesy of Sucker …

Sylvari week has ended and for those of you who haven’t yet delved into the delights offered by ArenaNet, I suggest you head on over to the blog for a five day feast of information covering the design and lore, plus  some delicious wallpapers. The redesign has been well received by both press and fans …

I first met Amanda Lange about two years ago – until quite recently, she taught Game Design at the International Academy of Design & Technology in Detroit, Michigan, and I had the honor of being invited to speak with one of her classes. I don’t think Amanda expected me to ramble on for an hour and a half, but then again… she didn’t know me at the time. Now she does and is correspondingly more wary.

A longtime member of the International Game Developers Association and supporter of many local efforts and endeavors, Amanda’s moving to a new state soon on account of getting relocated, so we’ll miss her at the Detroit IGDA meetings. In the interim, though, she kindly offered to put together a Celebrity Guest Editorial on a subject that I think many Tap readers have pondered over the years. Take it away, Amanda!

—S

Of the few forums I follow with fervor, I happened to be at the Maniaplanet Forums at exactly the right time when one of the devs started playing the dev-titled “stupid games” to give out beta keys to test Trackmania²: Canyon (“Canyon”). It was really a fluke, and as I entered the first beta round I …

Still on the fence over whether to buy Bethesda and Splash Damage’s team based shooter Brink? If so, there’s no better time to get your SMART on and pay a well overdue visit to The Ark. Starting right now on Steam and for three days only, it will cost you zero of the currency of …

When me and my brother were little we used to play ‘army’ a lot. It turned out that other kids called it ‘war’. We had a grandad with a shed full of wood-working tools and it wasn’t unusual for him to kit us out with wooden guns, swords and shields to act out our pretend …