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.

I recently had the chance to attend the DC University press event at Sony Online Entertainment's Austin studio to learn more about DC Universe Online. After the class, I was able to get some additional insight from Creative Director Jens Andersen on why the game was delayed until early 2011 and what sets it apart from other MMOs and action games.

Andersen goes into detail about the planned update schedule for DC Universe Online and confirms that the secret identity system is currently on the back burner. He does shed some light on the team's original secret identity plans, which included an offline component that would make you the secret identity for your character! Keep reading after the jump for more information on the game straight from the creative director.

Back in February, Perfect World Entertainment’s Kung Foo! was in the second phase of its closed beta when the company decided to postpone the launch and revamp the game. The MMO recently popped back up on the gaming radar, renamed Legend of Martial Arts and with its developers boasting improved graphics and overhauled content. The closed beta is already scheduled to begin on Nov. 24, so we decided to get some more details on the game's relaunch from Director of Marketing Jon Belliss.

Just two days ago, we dropped a nicely laden info-bomb on all of you TERA fans out there with our exclusive in-depth look at TERA's Lancer class, so it seems necessary to follow that up with... even more information! After getting the inside scoop on this ultra-tanky class, we also managed to Q&A it up with En Masse Entertainment's Lead Writer, David Noonan about some more specifics of the Lancer. For this interview in particular, we focused on some of the key roles the Lancer will play in PvP and PvE encounters, as well as that ever dreaded problem of balancing tank classes when taking a magical beating.

In other words, if you were intrigued by our initial exclusive in-depth reveal, then you'll really want to check out the rest of our interview!

It's always great to hear of developers who dare to be bold and, in doing so, find a level of success they wouldn't have normally seen by staying on the well-worn path. Take Turbine, for example; when every fantasy MMORPG was pushing to compete in the industry, Turbine decided to place their faith in the strength of their product by making the shift from the standard subscription-based revenue model to the free-to-play system they have made famous.

Fast forward to a little over a year now, and not only has Dungeons & Dragons Online experienced monumental growth since its F2P shift (not to mention dramatic increase in updates, as demonstrated by ZAM's in-game tour of DDO's Update 7) but last month, Turbine also decided to try out this revenue model change with Lord of the Rings Online. The results of making LOTRO free-to-play were in the numbers. A few weeks back at GDC Online, Executive Prodicer Kate Paiz stated that LOTRO has since doubled its revenue and has added a million new accounts since adopting the F2P model.

Senior News Editor Chris "Pwyff" Tom decided to catch up with Kate Paiz after GDC Online to talk to her a little bit more about LOTRO's newfound success, how the game has changed since its F2P launch and Turbine's future plans for the MMO. Read on!

It's always great to hear about new class reveals straight from the development team, as nothing gives players a better idea of the future development of the class, and the potential it will have, than by speaking to the people responsible for balancing it. So when En Masse gave us an exclusive in-depth look at TERA's Slayer class, you can bet that we also took the opportunity to sit down with Senior Producer Brian Knox to find out even more about this heavy-swingin', back-stabbin' rogue/warrior hybrid. Read on for the revealing interview!

Game Developers Conference Online  kicks off today at the Austin Convention Center, which makes it the perfect time to publish the second part of our interview with Gordon Walton, the vice president and co-studio general manager of Bioware Austin, and Matt Firor, the president of ZeniMax Online Studios. We sat down with these two members of the convention's advisory board to talk about the themes that will be featured throughout the week at GDC Online.

Be sure to read the first part of the interview, and then head back here to find out what these two industry veterans are most looking forward to at GDC Online this week. You're also welcome to watch live streaming coverage of GDC Online featuring ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony! It's the next best thing to actually attending the convention.

Many of you may be familiar with Game Developers Conference Austin, a major game trade show that's been predominantly themed around online gaming during its 8-year run. This spring, GDC Austin was renamed GDC Online to reflect its focus on online game development. MMO fans rejoice!

Of course, online gaming has taken many different forms over the years. From triple-A MMOs like World of Warcraft to Zynga's social games on Facebook, the Internet keeps all players connected. GDC Online will cover this theme and more during its run from Oct. 5-8 at the Austin Convention Center, so we decided to sit down with two members of the convention's advisory board to talk about all the topics that will be discussed at the conference.

We got the chance to talk with Gordon Walton, the vice president and co-studio general manager of Bioware Austin, and Matt Firor, the president of ZeniMax Online Studios, about the past, present and future of online gaming. These two veterans of the industry had so much to say that we're splitting the interview into two pieces. Enjoy the first part today, and then come back to ZAM.com tomorrow for the second half to celebrate the first day of GDC Online! Also, be sure to check out live streaming coverage of the convention featuring ZAM's Mike B. aka Fony. (Update: The second half of the interview has been posted.)

When it comes to upcoming triple-A MMOs, one highly entertaining activity is to sit back and imagine what your particular character would be like. Before an MMO is really ready to launch, a significant amount of the interest it can generate is dependent on those fine people working on the game's lore. After all, without some interesting races (with interesting backgrounds!) to choose from, how will players ever be able to "see" themselves in the game?

When it comes to creating unique races with rich stories behind them, Rift: Planes of Telara is definitely a game that has this topic covered. Whether it be the physically daunting Bahmi, the resourceful and highly intelligent Eth or the steadfast Mathosians, Rift's various races are definitely unique, and they each bring a believable history that you don't see too often in an MMO. That's why when Trion Worlds recently announced the addition of the fiery, passionate Kelari race, we knew we needed to find out more, as both lore enthusiasts and MMO fans. So without further ado, read on as Defiant Lore Lead Morgan Lockheart talk about the Kelari and other races in Rift: Planes of Telara!

If you're an Aion player, you've probably interacted with former North American Community Manager Andrew "Tamat" Beegle on one level or another. You may have read his posts on the official Aion site, followed his notices on Twitter, or even chatted with him in the forums. Well, Sept. 24 marked Tamat's last day at NCsoft, so we sat down to chat with him about his experiences with the company and the Aion community as a whole. Community Coordinator Kate "Trine" Field was also kind enough to chime in about the current state of the game!

ZAM users may also recognize Tamat's name as a member of our own community. Tamat is a former ZAM employee, so be sure to check out the interview to see what he's been up to at NCsoft and beyond. Best of luck, Tamat!