Fallen Earth celebrated its one-year anniversary this week, and the development team is keeping pretty busy for a game that's set in the wasteland of a post-apocalyptic future. Patch 1.7 is now live, the game's soundtrack has been released, premium features have been added to the game's mobile Companion App, the Customer Rewards Program is under way, and you can still take part in the anniversary events throughout the weekend! Oh, and did I mention an in-game wedding will be held on Sept. 25?

With so much activity going on in the world of Fallen Earth, we decided to sit down with Senior Game Designer Marie Croall and discuss all of these topics. Marie reflects on the past year and gives us some more information on patch 1.7 and beyond. Keep reading after the jump for the details, and be sure to check out our Fallen Earth screenshots gallery for exclusive images of the in-game anniversary event!

With Aion's one-year anniversary happening today and NCsoft hosting the Daeva's Day event to mark the occasion, it's always fun to sit down with the team to discuss the past, present and future of the game. This time around, with Aion's anniversary so close to the launch of their latest expansion, Assault on Balaurea, we've got a lot of new things to look forward to, in addition to hearing Producer Chris Hager's thoughts on some controversial issues. What issues, you ask? How about the PvP Rifting change (take that, geared out level 30s who were ruining my Krom runs!) and the hint that there might be some pets on the way with abilities you've never seen before!

Either way, Happy Anniversary Aion, and the best of wishes in going into this next year! Let's get down to business!

There is a lot happening in the kid-friendly world of Wizard101. The game celebrated its two-year anniversary earlier this month, and a new in-game quest featuring singer and actress Selena Gomez just launched today to promote her new album and pave the way for the release of the game's upcoming Celestia world. We decided to reach out to KingsIsle Entertainment for an update on all of these milestones, and Vice President of Marketing Fred Howard answered the call.

Howard talked with us about all sorts of things, from what it was like working with the star of Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" (see why her cameo in the game is a good fit?) to all of the new content that's coming with the launch of the new Celestia world. The update will include an increased level cap, introduce a brand new story arc, and allow players to swim for the first time.

Howard also tells us what additions we can expect to see in the future for Wizard101. Keep reading for all the details!

The first major expansion for Pirates of the Burning Sea, Power & Prestige, just launched two days ago, but it turns out the team at Flying Lab Software had another major announcement hidden up its collective sleeves. That same night, the team revealed that the pirate-themed MMO will be going free-to-play this fall!

We decided to go straight to the developers to find out exactly what this change means for both current and new players. Design Department Lead Declan O'Connell was kind enough to give us some more details on why Flying Lab is going the free-to-play route, and he explains how the release of Power & Prestige coupled with the F2P tag can be considered a relaunch of the game.

Keep reading after the jump for the full interview! Yarr!

There has been a bunch of updates on external sites lately. Since we're ZAM, it seems strange to cover news on other fan sites. Usually, I'll wait until there's a bunch of stories and mash them together in one post like this. Hopefully it's not too confusing! We've got a lot of content, like MarkeeDragon.com publishing a video interview with Brian Knox (En Masse) @ Gamescon 2010, TERAHispano.com published an interview with Pat Wyatt (En Masse), MMORPG.com published an article about their combat exercise back at E3, and TERA-Welten.de published a video of a Q&A session with Jason Mical (En Masse). If you want to dive right in, be my guest and click the above links. If you're not sure if you're interested, click "Read more..." and preview more content from each link!

p.s. TERAFans.com got an extended version of the Gamescom 2010 trailer originally posted on IGN.com. It has a few more seconds of footage over the original: http://www.terafans.com/topic/4594-exclusive-gamescom-extended-trailer/

Last week we published the first part of ZAM's exclusive Neverwinter Q&A with Cryptic Studios COO Jack Emmert, learning about the direction and overall theme of the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons online multiplayer RPG. In the second part of our interview, Emmert explains why he's the right guy for this job and offers a frank response to some of the criticism he's received in recent interviews after talking about Cryptic's previous two MMOs, Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Read the second half of the Q&A after the jump, or check out the complete interview, now appended with the final part.

The gaming community received exciting news on Monday when Cryptic Studios announced its upcoming Neverwinter online multiplayer RPG, based on the hugely-popular Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the classic Dungeons & Dragons. In the official press release, Cryptic Studios COO Jack Emmert described Neverwinter as an online, cooperative PC-RPG based on the works of best-selling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, a linchpin of Forgotten Realms lore.

Not to be confused as a direct sequel to the original Neverwinter Nights series of MMOs and video games, Cryptic's upcoming title is more like a modern reboot with hybrid gameplay. In interviews earlier this week, Emmert was quick to point out that Neverwinter isn't a traditional MMO, despite sharing some MMO-like features such as persistent zones and group play. In homage of the original series, Cryptic is also developing a set of tools—tentatively dubbed the "Forge" system—that will allow players to build their own adventures and share that user-generated content with others.

To help us understand the scope and direction of Neverwinter, ZAM got in touch with Cryptic this week and spoke with Emmert in a phone interview. We asked him to describe the co-op gameplay and "persistent" aspects in more detail, as well as the capability and function of the "Forge" system and user-generated content. In today's first installment of our two-part Neverwinter interview, we start with game mechanics. Does the system finally bring the real Dungeon Master experience to the realm of video games? Is the 4th edition D&D rule set a good thing in Neverwinter? How tactical will real-time, group combat be? Finally, in part two, Emmert explains why he's the right guy for this job and offers a frank response to some of the criticism he's received in recent interviews after talking about Cryptic's previous two MMOs, Champions Online and Star Trek Online. Sit back, relax and read today's first installment after the jump. Keep an eye out for the second part of our Neverwinter Q&A later this weekend!

When Turbine announced that Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO) would be going free to play, the general feeling among gamers was one of cautious optimism. While, yes, a move like this certainly felt right, coming from the team that virtually redefined success in the free-to-play market with Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO), there is the obvious fact that Lord of the Rings Online is an entirely different MMO, and so its approach to Turbine's free-to-play revenue model will need to be different as well. But how do these changes stack up to Turbine's original success with DDO, and what, exactly, does free-to-play really mean in Lord of the Rings Online? Thus, it was with these questions in mind that we decided to snag ourselves an account for LOTRO's F2P closed beta to see for ourselves what free-to-play players can expect in Middle-Earth.

Some of the fine folks over at MMORPG.com were able to sit down and have a nice talk with Brian Knox, the Senior Producer over at En Masse Entertainment. The topics? Bread and butter topics like solo play, PvP, and class playstyles. Here's a little teaser of what you can see in the interview:

MMORPG.com:

Is the Priest the only healing class? Will other classes get boosts of healing to support themselves if the Priest goes down in a fight?

Brian Knox:

Mystics are also healers, so they can assist priests and even serve as the main healer for a party. Every class has the ability to use a few "get out of jail" cards or even some potions that can restore health up to 50 percent, so there are definitely ways for the other classes to stay alive if the party's healer is taken out. When comparing TERA to other MMOs, the healing system is radically different. Healers in TERA need to move and remain active, and they must always be aware of not only their allies’ health but of their location on the battlefield.

MMORPG.com:

You have mentioned before about keeping a strong singular focus in TERA, an issue with many MMOs. Can you tell us maybe what you feel is the focus of the game?

Brian Knox:

TERA started with a single vision in mind: to keep players focused on the middle of the screen. Our action-combat system evolved directly from that vision. From there we strengthened the game with core RPG and MMO elements that users expect from a top quality game. As a startup developer, you only have so many resources at your disposal, so keeping this focus has really kept us from straying from our vision both with the game and as a company. 

Looks like some juicy data to drool over for a while! It's mentioned that En Masse is planning on rolling out many more updates as we all get closer to the TERA's release date. While this is staple for almost all game releases, there are certain to be a lot more in-depth information coming due to the aggressively competitive nature of the game's combat system. When we catch wind of it, we'll let you know. If you have questions or thoughts about what you read in the interview, feel free to come back to ZAM and leave a comment!

MMORPG.com Interview Link: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/477/feature/4442/page/1

Tera Official News Thread: http://www.tera-online.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8752

By now, most Star Trek Online players know that Craig Zinkievich—the man who faithfully served as the MMO's executive producer since its infancy—decided to resign last month, passing the torch to Cryptic Studios' Daniel Stahl. Zinkievich explained that he needed a break to spend more time with his family, and reassured the community that STO couldn't be in better hands. Stahl was formerly one of STO's high-level producers and author of Cryptic's "Engineering Reports" before he officially claimed the throne as the MMO's new executive producer last month. "He's got the love of Star Trek [...], he’s got passion for games, he's got his finger on the pulse of the community and if you guys ever thought I was excited about the potential of what Star Trek Online can become when you saw my interviews, just wait until you get a load of Dan," Zinkievich wrote, praising Stahl. "It's scary sometimes. Really."

ZAM decided to catch up with Stahl last week to talk about his new position and what it means for the MMO, the community and the future of STO's development. We learn about his love for message boards and community interaction, as well as his philosophy on hot topics like the C-Store (Cryptic's micro-transaction revenue model) and the possibility of STO adopting certain "free-to-play" trial options. ZAM also asks about the new content released in Season 2 last month, such as the popular "weekly episodes" and the neutral Deferi race. Check out the full interview after the jump, and visit ZAM's Star Trek Online portal site for more news and game information.