Massively

When it comes to decision making and managing 140 creative staff members that work on World of Warcraft, Pardo describes an organic and collaborative process. The team is cohesive and there is no dictatorship over creative control as anyone on the team has the power to veto. Pardo admits that this may sound like nothing is accomplished with so many differing perspectives, but the key to content competition is in the team's dynamics, communication and of course compromise. Blizzard also eschews the monolithic design document. Instead Blizzard's creative process is more iterative and chunks of content are scraped but it pushes the whole team to do better with the overall objective to deliver a better product.

The interview covers various other topics including a disagreement in viewpoints with Raph Koster, and why anyone looking to break into game design should second-think their college education choice if majoring in the specialized field.

[Via WoW Insider]

Netdevil is a firm believer that the MMOG genre is missing the galactic action-packed and fluid experiences that compare to Freelancer and Wing Commander. What is not lacking is the marvelous economic system found in EVE Online; however, when it comes to combat in space there's a lot to be desired and growth potential. Netdevil is setting out to fill that void with Jumpgate Evolution. We get a look at its current form in this two part developer with Associate Product Manager, Tim Hodges from E3-2008 courtesy of GameTrailers.com.

Unfortunately, what we loved about earlier builds that showed off the first action cockpit view is absent but not removed. Several landscapes and bases show a sense of scale and some combat aspects from the game. The videos don't reveal much detail, but for being in such an early state of development it looks okay. Jumpgate Evolution is due out sometime in spring 2009, and the alpha is underway and there's no official word on when the beta will start. However, beta signups are live on the official website. The second video is available for viewing after the cut.

We have a date! Not that kind of date, not the awkward first kind. This is a better date, one where Warhammer Online will be released unto the masses. There have been many 'release dates' since the game went into Beta testing, but this one seems like it might have legs. The preliminary launch date is September 23rd. This release date has been updated on several retail sites, but what lends to its credibility is the official EA site was recently updated with the same date.

The developers acknowledged at E3 2008 that Warhammer Online was pretty much done and that the team is in high-polish mode. The guild beta will also be the last beta phase before the open beta starts. Of course, nothing is official until EA and Mythic Entertainment release an official press release or statement but the pieces are falling into place. Aside from any unforeseen circumstances September 23rd is the day that Warhammer: Age of Reckoning will launch. Delay after delay, no longer. There is no denying that WAR is inevitable, and if you need a heads up on what to expect catch-up on all our exclusive WAR coverage.

[Via Nullword]

"What's the real narrative or emotional value? Sometimes it's really interesting when you're in the guild in a massively multiplayer game and you attack the fortress or whatever. Some great things can be told, but it's not guaranteed. The value is not always there."

Wow, that's deep but in all seriousness there is a certain truth to his sentiment. Leveling can be a painfully dull experience and usually MMOG use the same formula and mimic the same rags-to-riches journey. While there is nothing wrong with that, it can become tiresome and insipid if you no longer care for the redundant leveling experience. So maybe developers do need to instill a sense of danger, a sense of importance and meaning to the leveling experience. Fun is most important, and MMOGs should be enjoyed and not an emotional rollercoaster into dystopia.

Check out the above glimpse from Florensia Online's vast dungeons, dark secrets, horrifying monsters, sinister nightmares, and infernal bosses. Oh no, what will you do? Combine efforts and lead your band of cute and merry anime-inspired adventurers to victory of course! If you want to dare the impossible join the open beta that is underway.

In all seriousness, the Japanese import is free-to-play and will sustain development from a micro transaction "itemshop" model. Florensia does feature a somewhat unique leveling twist. The dual battle system gives players the freedom to choose if they want to level at land or at sea, as well as the ability to specialize in both areas of combat. The sea system is more difficult to master, but the catch is that sea based gameplay is unavoidable if you want to visit other islands. There's a new dungeon preview on the official website along with other news updates. If you thought the trailer was a bit cheesy and left you lingering for something like some ship action, there are several other official clips available.

If you're looking to download a copy and check it out, our sister site Big Download has the files waiting for you!

We give em' two big thumbs-up, and we hope you don't think super-hero and villain MMOs are overplayed. One very cool thing about Champions Online is that Hero Games will develop a tabletop version in tandem with the MMOG. The pen and paper ruleset will borrow heavily from the design-direction in Champions Online. You won't make any throw-away character sheets. Whatever character you play in the MMOG will be available to create and play in the pen and paper arena. But enough about the roll hacks.

That's long ways down the road, and our sister site Big Download is slowing it down for those looking to catch up. Their Champions Online feature, is a retrospect that details how it all came about: In it they delve into the mastermind and find out why Jack Emmert and Cryptic Studios decided to develop the comic property. Emmert's candidness might surprise you. The feature also details the bios and back stories behind some of the caped and masked crusaders from the Champions Online Universe.

Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw is the naughty charismatic pontificating stallion behind Zero Punctuation, the hilarious weekly videogame review web program. It's not often Croshaw will review an MMORPG, so it is apropos to share the latest Zero Punctuation with the new roast target being Age of Conan. The review itself contains naughty words making it: NSFW.

Reviewing MMORPGs isn't an easy endeavor. The MMORPG is a beast, various systems, game mechanics, and time sinks to wade through to get from beginning to the end. To give an honest and fair shake it takes hundreds hours of investment for the reviewer to familiarize and formulate a real knowledgeable opinion. MMORPGs aren't fair in that regard, and reviews aren't very sticky since most MMOs are undergoing constant development. But come on, it's Zero Punctuation!

If you are a casual or even the most dedicated DC Comics aficionado the news surrounding DC Universe Online, a MMOG that brings the iconic property and thousands of beloved super heroes, villains, and settings to virtual life is spine-tingling. If you can't wait to play, Comic-Con is the place to see DCUO in action. Players will encounter a special scenario with super villain Brainiac which will be playable on both the PS3 and PC platforms. This event held in San Diego, California is where the comic world, games, and 125,000 geeks will collide together for four days running through July 24-27th. Unfortunately, the event is sold out, but there's the SOE block-party you can hit up. If you can't attend either, new details surrounding DCUO already started trickling out at E3-2008.

Gaming website, Crispy Gamer was able to expose a few additional DCUO details in there top-five DCUO must know list. We've already covered a few things on their list in our own exclusive DCUO coverage. Heroes and Villains don't get along, so don't expect to be paired together in the same guilds. Speaking of guilds, how about being part of the Justice League of America as a reserve member with the chance to rise in rank? Hell yea, and whatever you pick between crime-fighter or criminal, your actions will matter as special DC characters like Batman and the Green Lantern take notice. As for your own super power abilities, you can either use a power set of an already existing DC character or create your own ability combinations. But to use them on other players it'll be consensual or on PvP servers. Also, be sure to check out some new DCUO screen grabs.

[Thanks to Massively Tipster, Haggs!]

There's full support, and compatibility with DirectX 10 and 10.1 hardware, and this support extends too new DirectX 11 hardware. A new compute shader technology will open a GPU's capabilities to coincide as a parallel processor. More optimized power as multi-threaded resource handling will increase performance on multi-core machines. That's great since 8-core processors are not far-off from market sale. The last technical DirectX 11 feat announced is support for tessellation, a big fancy term that more or less makes your graphics smoother and prettier when viewed close-up. It could be a year or more before a MMOG takes full advantage of DirectX 11's capabilities. For example early DX10 adopters that play MMOGs are still waiting for Age of Conan's DX10 client.

Do you dislike character creation systems with limited customization? Clicking through the options there's not many hair styles to pick from and very limited facial choices. It lacks, the character creation system lacks everything. Or worse, there are a zillion facial sliders to adjust your eyebrows and ears, but once you log into the game all the tedious detail you worked on didn't really customize your character's facial traits at all. The only genuine difference amidst the throng of doppelgangers at the local market is newbie grab and high-end shiny equipment.

As US Aion fans wait to play the game, let's look at Aion's mind-blowing character creation system. From the looks of the above video finding your doppelganger won't happen often in Aion: The Tower of Eternity. The character creation system looks to be a remarkable accomplishment considering Aion only features two playable races with the same origins, the Elyos and the Asmodians. As for Aion's current status, it wrapped up its latest closed Korean beta test yesterday. The patch notes from the Korean beta were translated to English recently, which added new content, balance changes, and lots more. One more bonus video is available for viewing after the cut.