Now that South Korea's G-Star gaming event has drawn to a close and the press releases have calmed down, ZAM decided to give you a recap on the news and information it provided. Be sure to read through to the end of the article on page 3 to check out the newest TERA trailer!

Quests

First off, it was announced that a much broader range of quests, along with a higher volume of them, would be included in the game.  These quests follow players from their humble beginnings through their role of hero and savior of the world of TERA.

Will we keep hearing from Hiromichi Tanaka, Nobuaki Komoto and co.?

Communication was never Square Enix's strong suit during the heyday of Final Fantasy XI -- but could Final Fantasy XIV be different?

We've been hearing from the development team quite often since the launch of Final Fantasy XIV. In addition to the "Ask the Devs" articles on the Lodestone Web site, the development team has been unusually vocal in interviews with various gaming magazines and media outlets. We've even heard directly from FFXIV Director Nobuaki Komoto about the incomplete state of the game. This is in stark contrast to Final Fantasy XI, when the development team spoke to its playerbase about as often as the Queen of England calls play-by-play at sporting events.

What gives?

Discuss this in the ZAM forums!

Have you been eager to get a glimpse of Telara and want to lend a hand? Now is the time to prove your mettle!

ZAM is giving away VIP keys that will grant you access to the upcoking Rift closed beta events starting Dec. 3. These keys will allow you to attend the starting event on Dec. 3-6 and all VIP events going forward from that weekend. These keys aren't just a chance at getting in - they are your own reserved seat to this ever-changing world!

How do you get one? Visit us at http://rift.zam.com, become a registered member of our forums and help us create some buzz! We will select winners based on their activity in our brand new Rift forums, their Rift@ZAM story comments, and our overall impressions of them as a participant on the Rift@ZAM website. Remember that these keys are actual VIP keys, not just "extra chances to be selected for the beta." This contest will continue until we're out of keys, so make sure you're checking your private messages and being as active as possible to improve your chances at winning a key!

Will you heed the call to become one of the Ascended? Join us on the Rift@ZAM forums!

The Heroes' Festival, an annual live event first introduced in 2009, will make its return on Friday, November 19th. Freeport and Qeynos will be filled with festivities to celebrate the 6th anniversary of EverQuest II.

Centered primarily in North Qeynos and West Freeport, players are able to participate in several event quests. Returning this year is the Dream Hero series, as well as Gandy's mission to light the Festive Flames. Mysterious disappearing decorations threaten to put a damper on the celebration. A new appearance by the Heroes' Festival band sends players off on a mission to save the day so that the show can go on.

The Heroes' Festival will run from 12:01am PST on November 19th through 11:59pm PST on November 30th.

Trion Worlds just announced that the first closed beta event for Rift: Planes of Telara will be held the weekend of Dec. 3-6, which makes it the perfect time to share my hands-on experiences with the fantasy MMO at last week's Gamer Day event. Trion invited a group of journalists and fans to its Redwood City, CA office to try out the alpha build, and it turns out the team has made numerous improvements to the game in preparation for the closed beta launch. One of the most noteworthy changes is the addition of completely revamped starting areas for the Guardians and Defiant, which beta testers will be able to see for themselves in a couple weeks.

Trion Worlds just announced some major news for Rift: Planes of Telara fans. The first closed beta event for the game is officially scheduled to be held the weekend of Dec. 3-6! This milestone means that many players will finally get their chance to enter the world of Telara.

There are a few different ways to get a key. The main method is to register for an account on the official Rift site, which will enter you in a pool for a chance to earn a beta key. You can also keep an eye on the game's Facebook, Twitter, and official forums for regular chances to earn VIP keys that will give you access to every weekend beta event.

The beta event will let players try out the first 20 levels of gameplay. For more details, check out the full press release after the jump. Also, be sure to read our hands-on account of Rift at Trion's recent Gamer Day event, as well as the fan Q&A with members of the Trion team.

Trion Worlds just released details about the Plane of Air in Rift: Planes of Telara, and it looks like players will have a lot to deal with if they stumble into an Air Rift. Between the turbulent storms and violent creatures that pour out of the rift, adventurers will have their work cut out for them whenever the Plane of Air slips through the cracks into Telara.

Keep reading after the jump for details on the lore and a video of the Plane of Air in action. You can also view some new screenshots of the plane in our gallery.

The staff here at ZAM is happy to announce a new feature for our registered members: FFXIV signature banners! By utilizing our easy-to-use Signature Generator, members can generate a banner customized to their character, listing name, server, linkshell, city-state, physical level, ranks, guardian, and profile image. While future perks are planned for premium members, current subscribers can set the order for their skills to display.

ArenaNet has been a little quiet for the last few weeks, leaving Guild Wars 2 fans all over the internet starved for news. Accepting the fact that they weren't ready to break new ground quite yet we decided to revisit a plethora of older topics with Eric Flannum, the Guild Wars 2 design lead.

We cover a lot of familiar ground with WvW, dynamic events, boss fights, and potions, but there's also some very interesting information on a subject we've not heard much about at all: Stealth!

Last week, Trion Worlds hosted its Gamer Day event to give members of the press and some lucky fans the opportunity to get their hands on Rift: Planes of Telara. A handful of official forum members were given figurative golden tickets to tour Trion's office in Redwood City, CA and meet the the team behind the upcoming MMO.

After playing Rift's alpha client for hours, the community members got the chance to have many of their questions answered by some high-ranking Trion team members: Trion Worlds CCO and Rift Executive Producer Scott Hartsman, Vice President of Development Russ Brown and Guardian Lore Lead Nicholas Taylor McDowell. The discussion covered a wide variety of topics, and you can find them all after the jump.

Be sure to check back with ZAM throughout the week for more news from the event, including detailed information on the new Guardian and Defiant starting areas, the Deepstrike Mines instance, and PvP.