A peek at 38 Studios 'Copernicus' Concept Art

from the It's not ready for Primetime dept.

Nothing 'in-game' yet, but a short review with Thom Ang - Director of Art for 38 Studios by the team at Allakhazam.

"Thom, who was very recently hired and thrown into the 38 Studios frying pan, took charge from early on and made it clear that he wanted to talk about the concept art that they had to show us. One of the first topics of our conversation was "Idealized Reality", which is going to be the official art standard or rather ‘calling card' of 38 studios. The vision is that a game enthusiast will be able to look at a screenshot or video and be able to tell that it's a 38 Studios game. They certainly seem as if they all have a very clear idea about the direction of the art: this game is going to be visually stunning."

38 Studios is helmed by Brett Close and based in Boston, Mass.

Gamezone interviews Interzone on Futebol

from the Boys from Brazil dept.

In a nice little review of some of the development issues related to making a Massive Soccer title like Futebol, Gamezone talks with the Interzone team :

"Question: Soccer, or football, is a rapidly moving game that requires instant field recognition and reaction from the players. Any sort of lag can adversely affect the game conditions. How do you plan on reducing that potential game-killer?

Jeff: This is a terrific question to start off with Michael! This is actually one of the earliest obstacles we faced when developing our MMO Interzone Futebol. As you said, this can be a potential game-killer and I humbly suspect that it is the main reason that true massively multiplayer online sports games have not been developed.

The first measure we took against lag was choosing the right engine. We believed this problem would be significantly reduced if we were to use a mature and well-developed engine. After reviewing different engines, we decided to use the BigWorld engine. We have developers that are experienced with it and BigWorld is very responsive and supportive toward us."

Interzone is putting the finishing touches on their online sports title, Futebol, which is being released for testing in Brazil later this year.

Meteor Games' Donna Williams talks to Twin Skies Navigator

from the Music to our Ears dept.

Donna Williams stepped down from her sky throne to talk with Twin Skies Navigator yesterday about the Meteor Games 'in development' BigWorld powered title.

Donna Williams : "The original plan changed quite dramatically from our rather humble initial ideas. We always wanted to make an MMO crossed with a community, but we didn’t think we could pull off 3D. Originally we were aiming to make something in flash, like Dofus, but after looking around at the other free to play and subscription games out there it became pretty apparent that flash just wasn’t going to cut it. We were so impressed with the BigWorld engine, it really opened up so many new opportunities for us and the guys are great to work with. When we started we didn’t think we would be growing so fast, we now have 49 staff and are still hiring. That’s pretty insane for a company that has been around for less than a year! It’s a bit nerve wracking, but so much fun to see everything really come together."

Donna Williams and Adam Powell were the seed talents behind Neopets which remains today one of the largest population-driven web titles ever developed. Head on over to Twin Skies Navigator to check out the full article.

INTERVIEW : Interzone Futebol

from the Can we Play it yet? dept.

Jeff Lyndon, Interzone's VP of China Operations, steps up to the plate at an interview over at IncGamers. Or maybe not a plate - maybe a goal line. Or takes position at a corner.

"Any other activities in-game that don't have a connection to soccer?

Yes, although the world is centered on futebol we want players to be able to enjoy the game world even if they don’t play futebol. Most features will link back to futebol in some way, but you can just be a fan and enjoy yourself in the social world without ever entering a stadium.

What are the MMO aspects of your game? A persistent universe, character?

Interzone Futebol is a full multiplayer online game with persistent characters, progression and a full 3D world for you to explore. Outside the stadium you’ll find dance clubs, cafes, and shops to explore and have fun in. We are even putting lots of little secrets things for you to discover as you explore and party in the beach side neighborhood of Ipanema."

More of the interview here.

Stargate Worlds Combat preview

from the It's all happening at Comic Con dept.

Jon Wood - managing editor over at MMORPG.com gives a short narration of the Stargate Worlds combat experience he had today over at Comic Con (also, a video). Stargate Worlds is trying something a bit novel for MMOs - a hybrid, cover based tactical combat system, a generation or so past the rock/ paper/ scissors combat sequencing of other MMOs. Comic Con is the place to be with your IP, and this will be a noisy week of follow-up for a lot of previously-under-wraps titles.

Tutorial and UI first-look for Stargate Worlds over at Ten Ton

from the I can't believe its not Butter dept.

The guys over at Ten Ton Hammer have yet another exclusive look at the Stargate property coming out of Arizona from the Firesky guys - Stargate Worlds. In this video, Dan Elggren shows off some of the early in-game tutorial and UI customization available to players of the game. With a 2009 release mentioned, this is one of the higher-profile Bigworld games in the US for next year.

摩根士丹利：网易还有50％以上的上涨空间 / Morgan Stanley believes Netease shares undervalued

From http://tech.163.com/08/0722/19/4HFT9J53000915BF.html dept.

Quick Comment: Morgan Stanley Research "50%+ share price upside potential""We believe NetEase is undervalued: We reiterate our OW-V rating on NetEase, with a DCF-based fair value of US$34.8, implying 50%+ share price upside potential."



网易科技讯 北京时间7月22日消息 大摩今日发表报告称，网易推出的在线游戏《天下贰》可能成为又一部惊人之作。
在经过一年的重新开发后，6月网易再次推出了免费网游《天下贰》，2个月内服务器数量将从最初的15台增加到23台。该游戏的最高同时在线用户数已经达到9万-10万（据我们估计，通常每台服务器只能容纳约4000-4500人）。
值得注意的是，搜狐在发布《天龙八部》后股价上涨了近2倍，而巨人网络只运营了2款游戏，市值将达到30亿美元。网易与这些公司相比，有以下几点优势：首先，《天下贰》采用了免费模式，每用户收入（ARPU）不受限制，降低了用户流失率；其次，4月《梦幻西游》的最高同时在线用户数曾达到创记录的210万，而第一季度最高同时在线用户数这有167万，要知道该游戏已经运营了4年多；第三，网易的净现金储备达到5亿美元，据我们观察，该公司正在积极寻求提供游戏授权的机会；第四，过去2年里网易已经4次回购股票。请注意，中国网络公司一旦回购了股票，他们的股价往往会大涨。
因此我们认为，网易股票价值被低估。我们重申对该股的“增持”评级，基于DCF（贴现现金流）计算的公平价值在34.8美元，意味着该股有50%以上的上升空间。
理由是：首先，基于我们对网易08年利润的预期，该股市盈率低于10倍；第二，与其他部门相比，中国网络游戏部门具有反周期性，能抵御经济的低迷。例如，领先的韩国网络游戏公司（NCSoft和NHN）的收入，并未受到韩国市场低迷的影响。

Greetings from the expanded presence

A quick note to say hello from the Japan / Korea expanded presence - this is James H., pleased to be on board. We'll be posting stuff periodically to keep you updated with happenings here in Japan and Korea, and other choice anecdotes that should be of interest to the BigWorld community. For now, hello, we're please to be here, and looking forward to growing these markets in collaboration with our partners and customers.

ChinaJoy试玩新游[峥嵘天下] / Evaluating Zhengrong Tianxia at Chinajoy

From the http://game.21cn.com/online/activity/2008/07/17/4960949.shtml dept.

2008年7月17日，第六届ChinaJoy游戏展会正式开幕。
以下是杭州五花马网络科技有限公司《峥嵘天下》展台：

游戏介绍：
《峥嵘天下》是一款即时制大型多人网络全3DMMORPG游戏。游戏的设计将遵循Easy&Fun的设计原则，强调“成长与体验”的乐趣并辅以丰富而艺术的特效。
整个游戏以我们原创的东方架空世界为游戏背景。以充满东方文化气息的“仙侠”为内容主体表现和玩家操控对象。以强调游戏战术策略为设计思想核心。

《峥嵘天下》的画面表现采用了Full3D技术，通过此技术将更好的体现角色与场景的丰富与差异。逼真写实的画面效果，以及源自电影技法的镜头运用，将使整个游戏过程充满了动感和临场感。
《峥嵘天下》将是一款包括——战斗，收集（装备、秘籍），养成（法宝、神器、神兽培养），经营（帮会建设/个人商会），策略（大型互动阵营对抗/战场），探险（中小型多人合作副本）等多方面游戏模式的综合型MMORPG。
游戏的主要玩法将仍然是玩家所广为接受的第三人称角度，控制单一角色行动的方式来作为基础游戏模式。上述的各种游戏模式将贯穿整个游戏过程。
《峥嵘天下》使用了集群式的服务器技术进行开发，可以满足十万人同时在线，最多可以承受3-10万人同一服务器进行帮派战。

BigWorld Announces Direct Local Presence in Japan and South Korea

BigWorld Announces Direct Local Presence in Japan and South Korea

17th July 2008

For Immediate Release

(Canberra, Australia): BigWorld has recently expanded its presence in both the Japanese and South Korean markets. Gavin Longhurst, BigWorld VP for Business Development, announced that this move bolsters BigWorld’s ability to provide direct sales and support to the increasing number of game developers using the BigWorld MMO engine in the region. Longhurst said that BigWorld has appointed James Hursthouse, formerly founder and CEO of Online Game Services Inc. (OGSi), as Director, Business Development and Yoshikazu Furuhata as Account Executive.

Full release here.

Twinity rolls out a chunk of Berlin

from the Walk in the Park dept.

Virtual Economic Forum reports that Metaversum has implemented outdoor spaces on its BigWorld engine founded Virtual World, Twinity. The area on show now to cruisers of the Twinity world is Berlin's Hackescher Markt and surrounds. You can sign up to take a peek at what's going on inside this world over at www.Twinity.com.

Twinity is a socially oriented virtual world that focuses on recreating personal and public spaces inspired by real world locales - the first of which is the city of Berlin.

So real in fact, I was just talking to an avatar - 'Neva' (in world) who claimed to have been so lost in the realistically modeled streets of Twinity/Berlin that she had to alt-tab back to the desktop so she could Google map her way out. Thank God she had internet access, right?

Right.

《霸道》结束技术性封测 / 'Badao' finished the first Closed Beta

From the http://www.badaogame.com/ dept.

Quick comment: As the first 3D title of Lenzgame and after 9 months long development,'Badao' finished the first Closed Beta yesterday.

2008年7月16日，《霸道》结束首次技术性封测，开发商灵智伟业将不会保留此次测试的玩家数据。
《霸道》作为灵智伟业首款自主研发的3D网络游戏，从游戏故事背景、画面设计、动作捕捉、音效配乐等一整套环节均是出自中国人之手，灵智伟业经验丰富的开发人员更了解、熟悉中国玩家的喜好，这款“中国制造”的网络游戏可以说是为国人打造十二分的亲切与体贴。
《霸道》在“中国文化特色”上得到充分的展现。《霸道》的故事背景依附于中国古代奇书《山海经》，多变的游戏中将会演绎《山海经》书中多彩的神话传说。

《霸道》采用先进的BigWorld引擎研发，整个研发活动自2007年10月份开始，目前项目进展顺利。

龚峤：创世将超越天下贰 / 'Chuangshi OL' will beyond Tianxia

From the http://news.duowan.com/0807/80235462563.html dept.

在2008届上海Chinajoy现场，多玩游戏网专访了光宇华夏副总经理龚峤，龚峤向多玩记者透露，光宇华夏已经制定了年度目标，一是将问道的最高在线人数提高至100万，二是在年底推出十款新品。
　　结缘《西游Q传》 光宇华夏再度出击回合制市场
　　此次Chinajoy，光宇华夏的重头戏是宣布代理火石开发的《西游Q传》，龚峤表示，火石非常赞赏光宇在回合制网游方面的运营经验，因此非常放心地将《西游Q传》交给光宇。火石上一个获得成功的回合制产品是《水浒Q传》，由金山代理。
　　多玩记者向龚峤问及《问道》成功的原因，龚峤表示，除了产品本身的因素以及与吉比特的愉快合作之外，公司对《问道》的集中投入是成功最关键的原因之一，而光宇华夏自主研发的项目亦不会选择回合制方向，这样与研发商的合作会更为畅通。
　　自主研发瞄准3D MMORPG 第一阶段目标是十万人在线
　　由光宇华夏深圳分部进行研发的《创世》，则是光宇华夏今年寄予厚望的3D MMORPG。《创世》采用了与《天下贰》相同的Bigworld引擎，龚峤表示，作为一款比《天下贰》后上市的产品，《创世》有信心在游戏品质上超越《天下贰》。而针对丁磊16日表示将在一年之内将《天下贰》的在线人数达到100万的言论，龚峤则表示，光宇不希望于在第一款产品上走得太急，十万人在线已经是不错的答卷，而在期间积累的经验以及对引擎潜力的挖掘，光宇会在后续产品中将积累的实力逐渐发挥出来。
　　下半年光宇推出十款新品 看好网页游戏
　　除了《西游Q传》与《创世》，光宇下半年亦有十款新品的上市计划，其中包括了一款网页游戏。针对目前网页游戏生命周期较短的问题，龚峤认为，《猫游记》等游戏已经证明网页游戏的生命周期并不低，光宇自主研发的网页游戏也会拥有较长的生命周期。
　　明年再谈上市 等候网游股利好大环境
　　上季度营收超过3亿的光宇华夏为何极少提及上市计划呢？龚峤向多玩记者表示，最近网游股的大环境并不算好，市盈率普遍低迷，光宇更愿意等待利好环境的出现，再考虑上市的计划。至于时间点，龚峤认为明年或许会公布相关的计划。

丁磊称天下2要在1年内做到100万人在线 / Netease: Tianxia II PCU to Reach 1 M

From the http://news.duowan.com/0807/80152940636.html dept.

Quick comment: Netease (Nasdaq: NTES) CEO William Ding recently said that the company expected concurrent player counts of 3D MMORPG Tianxia II to reach 1 mln within the year. Ding also said that he saw no particular advantage to "community" online games, as online games already satisfy players' needs for social interaction.

7月16日消息，第六届中国国际数码互动娱乐产品及技术应用展览会ChinaJoy将于7月16日至19日在上海国际博览中心举行。丁磊今日在接受多玩游戏、网易科技等少数媒体专访时透露：天下2要在1年内做到100万人在线。
　 盛赞《天下贰》 希望成为游戏业的《功夫熊猫》
　　丁磊在接受专访时不时对《天下贰》赞不绝口，同时他认为这款游戏符合了绿色游戏的标准。他认为，从市场的检验角度来看，大话西游和梦幻西游可以称为他心目中的功夫熊猫，同时他更希望《天下贰》能够成为游戏行业的功夫熊猫。
　　“中国传统好的文化价值都融合在这款游戏里面，例如游戏中的草药都是现实中药的名字。还有打斗的玩法，有个角色是医生，这个职业的一个法术就叫做“润脉”，《天下贰》中的角色技能都是来自中国古文化中的一段。”丁磊介绍说。《天下贰》能做好的是，一个非常大的舞台，有很好的内容要去挖掘。”
　　此外，丁磊也不赞同游戏的快速贬值，他认为这对玩家而言不负责任。“玩家花了2万元玩一个游戏，拿到交易市场可能2千元都卖不到，而大话西游的玩家，花费了5千元的成本，在交易市场依然可以卖5千元。”
　　游戏不同于电影 应该避开浮躁
　　丁磊称，他对一个游戏公司的产品作出评价，不是从媒体处去了解信息，而是通过玩家得到反馈。对于网易而言，对游戏的把关标准就是尽量少犯错误。
　　“电影看了不好，观众没地方抱怨，但是游戏如果玩家觉得不好，很快就可以选择不玩。”丁磊认为，国内的游戏公司应该学习功夫熊猫的导演，他研究中国功夫用了20年的时间，才拍摄出功夫熊猫。丁磊表示，他希望游戏公司能够通过作品来传达积极向上的勤奋价值观，并避开浮躁的潮流。业内一些公司喜欢抓住潮流，但是在游戏本身的品质上却花费的时间不多。
　　对于网易而言，丁磊称未来也会选择代理游戏的道路，但是会有几个选择标准，首先代理游戏不能和网易自己研发的游戏冲突，在整个行业内，游戏作品有回合制、即时战略制、休闲制等，网易如果选择代理，应该是代理哪些网易研发线不具研发能力的作品。
　　就网易与暴雪的合作问题，丁磊表示目前尚没有进一步消息对外披露，如果双方的合作有新进展，将第一时间对外披露。
　　成人游戏也应有基本道德观
　　对于今早史玉柱在游戏高峰论坛上关于巨人只做成人游戏的观点，丁磊提出了自己的不同看法。丁磊认为，成人游戏也应具备自己的价值观。他反对拿着成人游戏当作幌子，把很多不好的东西往产品放到游戏产品中。丁磊称这种走捷径的方式最终伤害的还是自己和消费者。在丁磊看来，国内有相当比例的公司都将一些不好的内容放到了游戏产品中，但是很多人却不敢公开承认。
　　网易仍是互联网公司
　　丁磊强调网易拥有2.5亿注册邮箱用户，每个月的活跃用户达到6000万，因此网易仍是一个互联网公司。
　　“游戏产品容易产生良性的商业模式，电子邮箱的全球范围竞争性比较难带来大量的用户，如果免费邮箱每个人收5元，收入早就超过了游戏。”丁磊表示，对一家公司的判断是游戏公司还是网络公司，不单要看收入，还要看它的主流产品。网易邮箱的影响远远大过游戏。

Exclusive screenshot for upcoming Meteor Games MMO

From the If you Write it They will Come dept.

Donna Williams and Adam Powell were kind enough to shunt across the image seen here for their upcoming MMO. The image depicts their Priest class for their upcoming BigWorld-based title being built at their hip studios in West Hollywood, California. Details on the game are thin at the moment - even the title of the game is a closely guarded secret.

What can we infer from this image? From the likely feature set of this class?

1. If the image is life-sized, Priests are likely be very, very small indeed. They could be up to a maximum of only an inch or three tall (or so - estimates vary). This could be a problem in raids - with the primary healers being crushed underfoot in the chaos of battle by their own comrades. Clearly, Meteor Games have yet to think this through and I can already hear the outcry from the as yet un-massed tribes of players demanding balance and redress from this short-sighted feature.
2. Again, from this image, we can infer that priests live in hilly, mountainous areas as shown by the constant cascades of rocks tumbling over their heads. Of course, if the previous assessment of their tiny scale is correct, these 'rocks' could also be grains of sand. Or dust motes.
3. Priests don't appear to have any legs, which means they probably float or levitate in their surroundings. Or if tiny in size as the image indicates, perhaps they are simply blown about by ground effect eddies from the movement of other players. Although there are no posts from early adopters of the class about control issues, we can readily see this becoming an irksome piloting class, akin to a helming a massive re-fuelling tanker aircraft as it lumbers through the night skies - in this case though, one tiny in size, more agile and set in a Fantasy World in a dress.
   
4. Priests have three horns on their head, presumably to offset their lack of legs. Again, details on these are sketchy at best, but a likely feature if they are - as we suspect - miniature healers that fly around the map in tiny gnat-like swarms - is the ability to latch onto other characters like a thorn or barb, fixing securely to them with their heads. Healing can then be applied to the target character without fear of drifting away or being flattened as unsuspecting characters sit down to polish their armour.

Check out http://www.meteorgames.com/ for more coverage on this intriguing title from the team that brought you Neopets.

Meteor strike hits

from the What's that in the sky? dept.

Meteor Games of Los Angeles today announced that they are building their upcoming MMO on BigWorld Technology. The title is in development in their stylish West Hollywood studio in California. Donna Williams and Adam Powell of Meteor Games are also the visionaries behind the Neopets franchise which sold for like, a squillion dollars a few years ago to MTV Networks/Viacom.

"BigWorld's technology provides us with an extremely powerful and highly flexible game engine, which can be tailored to the specific needs of our upcoming MMO," said Adam Powell, CEO and creative director, Meteor Games. "More importantly, BigWorld's game engine allows us to focus on game design, gameplay innovation and overall creativity rather than core technology development, thus ensuring our new MMO delivers an experience unlike any other."

The title of the game is under wraps right now - check back soon

TenTon Hammer Exclusive Interview with Futebol creators, Interzone

from the Kick them where they live dept.

Those steely eyed web vultures at TenTon Hammer have swooped on yet another exclusive in the BigWorld licensee space. Interzone's Jeff Lyndon lets loose some inside gossip on the currently beta soccer title.

Ten Ton Hammer: Opting to introduce Interzone Futebol in Brazil first is a tremendously different approach compared to the tact most MMOG companies take. Why did you decide to enter the Brazilian market first rather than Europe or North America? What sort of opportunities do you see there that aren’t available in those other markets?

An exclusive screenshot from Interzone Futebol.

Lyndon: When we decided to create the game we thought a lot about the people who would play it. We talked about futebol fans and places in the world where futebol was most popular. This all lead naturally to Brazil where “Futebol is Life.” We even went down to Rio and Sao Paulo to experience that culture first hand. It’s an amazing place and their appreciation and enthusiasm for the sport is not only unmatched, it’s infectious. Going to a World Cup game in Brazil is something everybody should do at least once in their life. It’s just… wow!

All this and more over at TenTon Hammer.

BigWorld releases v1.9

from the Of course you read it here dept.

The update contains new features such as an advanced terrain engine that enables support for unlimited texture layers, higher level of detail, and configurable height/shadow/normal/texture map resolution. In addition, the suite includes optimizations and improvements to patrol paths, web integration, skybox and weather systems, and its support for SpeedTree and Umbra partner technologies.

BigWorld Technology 1.9 also comes with support for Perforce, SVN, and CVS control systems. Both Mandarin and English languages are supported in the development tools user interface and art pipeline... [release]

Stargate Worlds Gameplay video on G4

from the So that is what it looks like dept.

Props to G4 for interviewing Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and Firesky on the upcoming sci-fi epic MMO Stargate Worlds. In-game footage from the early-on friends and family build can be seen below.