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 being set so high, yet I think much of it was simply due to being lonely. Space is a …
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
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 and it was unquestionably brave of ArenaNet to redesign an entire race so deep into the development cycle. And yet …
I’ve not posted anything about Star Wars The Old Republic in a while. There is a reason for that and it’s mostly because it still doesn’t look any better. For a game that has reportedly had several hundred million spent on it, I would have thought Bioware would have been able to hire an animator of reasonable skill. As for the combat, well that still looks incredibly un-star-warsy. The coolest thing about the trailer …
It has been a busy few hours over on the ArenaNet blog, as the first details of Guild Wars 2’s underwater combat have begun to surface (sorry), as well as some details of the game’s dungeons. Unlike other MMOGs, it seems ArenaNet want the underwater elements of Guild Wars 2 be as prominent as that above, so have introduced specific weapons that can only be used underwater, such as spears, tridents and harpoon guns, with …
Joined by Jon Peters, Jonathan Sharp (with a little input from Chris Lye; someone’s got to control the situation!) sat down with Tap to chat about Guild Wars 2’s professions: their inception, strategy, and design choices; whilst also taking the time to answer a good handful of questions solicited from the Guild Wars 2 Guru community. Hit the jump to find out how we got on.
Star Wars: the Old Republic is just not working for me and besides Baldur’s Gate, I’ve never really found any Bioware games of interest. The latest trailer released demonstrates very sandy gameplay footage of Tatooine, where we follow a Sith sorcerer as he quests grumpily around the desert. The most striking thing for me is the horrendous HUD, a skill bar that’s jam packed (yet he only ever uses one lightning based skill) and a horrendous speeder that …
A great deal has been said about the final Guild Wars 2 class reveal. Undoubtedly the Mesmer, it is a class synonymous with Guild Wars and one of the most original within an MMOG…
There has been some grumbling going on within the MMOG community at the reveal of Guild Wars 2’s Engineer. Protests from fans that it’s a joke or a wind-up, mixed with moans of “Grenades?! Turrets?! Ugh…” are seemingly common place at the moment, as the prospect of a technologically advanced class slips into a fantasy heavy setting…
I just need to compose myself before I write this post… …. …… ……..OK. That should do it. I’m in control of my squeal reflex.
I’m about to unleash the geek. It doesn’t happen very often, but here we go… OH MY F*CKING GOD IT LOOKS A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!11111111111 *Ahem* That would roughly be translated as ArenaNet, over on their official YouTube channel, have just released a video tour of Guild Wars 2’s Lions Arch. Despite reading Guild Wars 2’s books, my knowledge of Guild Wars lore is limited. I do know however that it was once the main city of the Kingdom …
RIFT seems to be doing well of late and it just goes to show that producing and releasing a polished product, especially within online universes, goes a long way in pleasing a prospective player base. It’s no surprise then, that Trion Worlds have today announced two new programs designed to give gamers a free taste of the popular MMOG. The first is a 7-day Free Trial which lets players experience the game for a full week at no cost, and …
After my latest Guild Wars 2 article, “Vocal Coaching”, ArenaNet’s lead writer Bobby Stein got in touch, and put some time aside to discuss Guild Wars 2’s voice acting, its dialogue and the audition process. Here’s how we got on…
In the third and final installment of our three part (Part 1, Part 2) exclusive interview, ArenaNet’s Creative Director Daniel Dociu discusses Guild Wars 2’s marketing campaign, aspiring concept artists, and the games he plays. Then he tantalizes us with a little hint about the sylvari redesign…
In the second of our three part exclusive interview (Part 1 here, Part 3 here), ArenaNet’s Creative Director Daniel Dociu discusses his artistic preferences, Guild Wars 2’s interface, alongside his relationship with ArenaNet’s 3D artists and remaining personal ambitions…