Dungeon crawler role playing games. The genre name can evoke many feelings: tedium from the endless grind, fear of the mandatory giant spiders, excitement while wondering what’s right around the bend. The name on most people’s lips right now is Diablo III; and in the frantic rush of its opening week many might have overlooked Torchlight II beta, which closed on May 24th. I had the opportunity to play through the open areas of the game and hit the cap before it closed, so I'll be breaking down my experience, piece by piece, to show you how Torchlight stands up against its stiff competition – read on for more!
In this five-part miniseries, we sat down with the developers behind the highly anticipated MechWarrior Online to talk about everything you want to know about this upcoming action title. Be sure to check out our previous interviews in the series:
- Brian Ekman, Creative Director
- Russ Bullock, President
- Paul Inouye, Lead Designer
- Matthew Craig, Technical Director
- Dennis de Koning, Art Director
Sorry for the delay in our interview mini-series! We should now be back on track with an interview with Piranha Games' Technical Director, Matthew Craig, and boy does he have a lot to say! Read on for Matthew's thoughts on the future of MechWarrior Online (as well as his technical aspirations), as well as his inspirations and details on MechWarrior Online's launch day features.
Traversing Telara is an exclusive series of articles from Trion Worlds that explores Rift's lore and gameplay mechanics through the eyes of one intrepid adventurer. It's a great read and a fantastic introduction to the world of Telara. Even if you're a veteran of Rift, you might enjoy hearing about the game from another perspective! Read on for Traversing Telara #10: Hylas and Orphiel!
Catch up on all the past issues of Traversing Telara here!
It seems like only yesterday when we were back in London, enjoying life without a care in the world. Since then we’ve been inducted into an ancient order, waded knee-deep through undead and dealt with myths and legends brought to life. And things are about to get much, much worse.
In Part One of our tour of Solomon Island, we arrived at the zombie infested town of Kingsmouth. With Part Two we ventured forth into The Savage Coast, tackled haunted amusement parks and investigated Illuminati academies. Our final look at the fog-enveloped isle takes us from government agencies to Indian reservations in search of answers. We also embark on our first dungeon crawl, stepping into Hell Rising.
While this draws an end to our time on Solomon Island, we’ll be keeping you up-to-date on The Secret World as the beta evolves. Make sure you also try out the new missions, as The Secret War ends and a new alternate-reality game begins!
The first play test just ended for Trion's newest open-world PvP content, and the next test begins this Thursday. Hal Halin (Design Producer), Bill Fisher (Lead Game Designer) and Chris Junior (Senior Systems Designer) chatted with ZAM about what this huge new PvP format will hold... and the trials and tribulations of balancing such a a major undertaking. Read on to learn more!
A month back during PAX East, I got the opportunity to interview Turbine's Fernando Paiz on Dungeons & Dragons Online's Menace of the Underdark (MotU) expansion, set to launch June 25th, 2012. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance for some hands-on experience with the content so, when guided developer tours were being set up, I made sure to get in line. Joining me for this particular tour was DDO's Senior Producer Eric Boyer, as well as Design Director Ian Currie, so read on for my first experiences with DDO's Menace of the Underdark!
UPDATE May 21, 2012: We are sad to inform everyone that Ribbitribbit passed away at 10:30pm EDT on Sunday, May 20. His mother stated that he "went peacefully in his sleep" at the age of 6. The original article continues below.
The community we have on EverQuest II never ceases to amaze me.
We have our differences in many ways and we have our good times and bad. Shortly after the initial forum post by Ribbitribbitt's mother, just a mere four days ago, many in the community put all of that aside and banded together for a greater cause. Raiders, decorators, soloers and crafters worked side-by-side to create beautifully decorated homes for a special child to play in. Earlier today their work was completed and Ribbitribbitt's party went off wonderfully.
It took just 65 hours for the hard-working members of Lillipad Jungle on the Guk server to level the guild from 1 to 70 so that they could obtain a Tier 3 hall for Ribbitribbitt. They continued to work throughout the following day to bring it to 77 so that they could add a pirate ship to the hall and reached that goal as well. Thousands of platinum and status was donated by hundreds of players.
Language, server, and even game, had no barriers. Players who didn't speak any English were contributing to the effort. Players from other EQ2 servers and SOE games came by for the event. GMs and Volunteer Guides were there to show their support and entertain all involved.
I was touring while some of the final touches in decorating were still going on throughout the four houses and guild hall and was simply amazed at how much had been done in such a short time. The decorating community dove in and created epic playgrounds, ponds, menageries and much more for Ribbitribbitt.
While on the Guk server today I admit I did something I haven't done in years--I cried. I'm crying again as I write this. Sometimes it's nice to be reminded that we're all human.
I thank the EQ2 community for showing what wonderful people you all are. Most of all, to Ribbitribbitt and family: thank you for giving us this opportunity to be a part of your lives.
-Cyliena
Check out Part I of our ongoing beta coverage of The Secret World!
Solomon Island, New England. Enshrouded by fog and home to a long history of evil events, it’s little wonder that the darkness threatening The Secret World chose this place to emerge. While our initial tour of Kingsmouth saw us beating back sea monsters and zombies, our journey through the Savage Coast experienced haunted carnival rides and demons from Hell.
In order to take on these tougher challenges, we had to tighten our skills and build some better gear. We also ended up tweaking our inventory so that drinks and buffs were just a click away. All the junk we accumulated went to good use, feeding our insatiable appetite for upgrades.
Later on, we’ll finish our tour of Solomon Island with a visit to Blue Mountain. We’ll also pay a visit to one or two of the early instances available. For now, sit back and enjoy the roller coaster ride through The Savage Coast.
Freakin’ sweet! Seth MacFarlane and the Family Guy cast take their show into the world of MMOLOLs… the new genre coined by Family Guy Online (FGO). Does it live up to the promise of the shows, or the MMO genre at all? Beta is still coming out with updates, but we have the first look at this humor-based online game!
Sony Online Entertainment has launched Facebook quests for it's EverQuest and EverQuest II communities! Throughout the summer (May – September) there will be monthly quests issued to the EverQuest and EverQuest II communities on Facebook. At the end of each quest players of both games will be rewarded for successfully completed quests, earning in-game rewards for every active member of that game!
May's quest is pretty easy: increase Facebook followers for EverQuest or EverQuest II respectively by 1,000. Starting on May 17, 2012 (at 10:00 am PST), we'll record the number of followers for each page. If, by June 17, 2012, your game's Facebook community has achieved the goal of 1,000 additional followers, SOE will award every player who has logged into that game since it went free-to-play with 500 Station Cash!
Future months' quests will follow a similar format, with a different reward each month. The final month will be an all out battle between the EverQuest and EverQuest II communities! Whichever community has generated the most likes (proportionally to their Facebook followers at the start of the quests) between now and SOE Live (on Oct. 18, 2012) will be crowned the winner and receive a double experience weekend! Will you step up and help your community win?
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