1UP has a great article on Starbreeze, game studio behind titles like The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Some may read it as evidence of publishers interfering with game studios (which it is) but in broader terms I saw it pointing to the difficulty of developing games. Despite points on the … Continue reading
Filed under Game Design …
Extra Credits: A Credit For Your Thoughts
Extra Credits bugs me. I don’t watch it that often, but when I do I’m left unsatisfied by the end of it. It’s like bad pizza – I like the idea, would love it when done well, pick it up when it’s there but end up regretting the decision to sit down with it. Probably … Continue reading
Gazillion’s Marvel MMO: As Written by Bendis?
An event of mixed importance is happening on Thursday: Gazillion and Marvel are going to announce the main writer of Gazillion’s Marvel MMO project (which I’ll call Marvel Universe Online, or MUO, for simplicity). Hints are being given out if you are subscribed to the right twitter account (which I wasn’t), but the early favourite … Continue reading
The Very, Very Late 2010 MMO Recap: Here Comes the New Stuff, Same As the Old Stuff
(All you have is my word that I haven’t made any substantive revisions to this document since January 30, 2011. Trust me. I’m a blogger. For a point-by-point recap of 2010, see either the January to June or the July to December articles.) 2010 was an interesting year for the MMO industry in that it … Continue reading
IP Less-Than-Freely: MMOs Based on Licensed Properties
With the news that Jagex and Hasbro have signed a deal to do a Transformers MMO (guess all that Mech-based development wasn’t a waste then, Jagex) I was reminded of all the other MMOs based on popular nerd properties that have been indicated as “in development” but have had varying levels of success. And by … Continue reading
DCUO: Economics Trumps Cosmetics
A lot of MMO developers don’t get in-game economies. They put them in the game, sure, but they don’t seem to spend a lot of time thinking about what that in-game impact is going to be. This is probably because: Doing in-game economies properly is hard, where most MMOs implement in-game economic frameworks like auction … Continue reading
Five Reasons Why SWOR Is A High Risk MMO: #5 BioWare Doesn’t Do Great Game Mechanics
It was announced recently that Eric Brown, EA’s CFO, finds that blogs about the cost of Star Wars: The Old Republic “bring a chuckle” to his day. Glad to bring a smile to your face, Eric – here’s hoping the following brings some belly laughs. Back when I started this series, I said there were … Continue reading
World Class Villains 