We know that CCP Games, creators of EVE Online, is going to announce a new project at GDC Europe in August. As CCP acquired White Wolf, creators of pen-and-paper RPG titles like Vampire, Mage, and Werewolf (the World of Darkness setting), we've known for some time that a World of Darkness MMO is in the works. Unfortunately, beyond the fact that the project exists at some stage of development, we know very little. But this mystery project announcement might not be about WoD at all. We're also aware that CCP Games has plans to release a first person shooter based on the EVE Online IP, which they hinted at during EVE Fanfest 2008.

The latest info we've found about a new project at CCP Games (via @crazykinux) is a job listing at CCP for a Senior Game Engineer. The successful applicant "will join a seasoned team based in Shanghai, China where they will work on original IP for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3." The listing also mentions development on the Unreal Engine.

Regardless of whether they're planning to unveil World of Darkness Online or an EVE Online first person shooter, you don't need to be an EVE player to appreciate how cool either of these releases could be. What game do you think CCP is going to announce at GDC Europe?

Last time The Secret World was announced, a conspiracy swept through the alternate reality gaming community. One telling of secrets and sanctuaries, of dark days and demons. The conspiracy was quelled after a period, and the puzzles fell into depths of time.

But now, with the latest unveiling, the conspiracy returns. "A Friend" is back to stalking The Secret World forums, removing answers and doing his best to "protect" the community while odd videos and websites are beginning to come up.

While the MMORPG may not be done, the viral marketing "conspiracy" is beginning to start up again for all of the new people intrigued by the story behind TSW. What lies as a reward for those who crack the puzzles and get to the depths of the sanctuary? Well, we're not at liberty to say. Too many eyes are on us already, and we already risk our lives getting you this information. We've embedded the video after the break, but that's all we can do! They're watching us!

So, with expansions, you said that you'll be starting out with New York, London, and Seoul, right?

Yes. Those will be the first cities, the hub cities, available at the start of the game.

Now, the gameplay takes you beyond that, yes?

Oh yeah, absolutely. We're not doing all New York, or all of London, or all of Seoul. We are actually doing very tight and very constrained neighborhoods there. That's where you'll start your gameplay, but they won't be the large, huge open zones where you have tons of gameplay or tons of monsters. That will be left to areas like Egypt and New England, which will be more expansive and include more open-world mechanics and other things that we're not revealing quite yet. We will also be including more instanced and team-based areas as well.

Regarding expansion packs, yeah, we're going to expand beyond what we already will include. It's not like we're going to run out of content, the world is a big place.

Yes, I was going to ask if it will expand into more locations and cities throughout the world.

Yes, it certainly will, but it won't be limited to just that. We have more interesting locations but they won't be limited to just our world. We will be including locations throughout time and space itself.

I want to emphasize that this won't be something like Grand Theft Auto with magic, with a focus on huge, huge open cities. They are reasonably small places where you will start out and take the adventure from there. But one very important thing to note is that this sounds like a very fragmented world. London, New York, Seoul, those cities are a long way away from each other. But we are creating, or at least trying to create, a pretty seamless world. This means there are ways of getting from London to New York very quickly, and we are focusing on that. You won't be just walking up to a plane, clicking on it, and getting a red line that quickly points to where you're going and boom, you're there. You will be moving in real-time from London to New York, just a lot quicker.

There's alot of traditional MMO components that are around now. We're kinda in a new generation of MMO, and people are tired of World of Warcraft model and they're looking for something new. This is certainly in that realm. Are you guys trying to get away from traditional models, like crafting, and moving to something new?

Ah, I can't really talk about crafting right now. What I can say is that while combat is a core focus, we really want other non-combat stuff in the game. We're just not going to be talking about them as of yet. But there will be gameplay that isn't all about fighting monsters or exploring. There will be other things that you will be able to do.

Like you said earlier, like mysteries?

That, yes, that also and there will be other ways for people to play in the game, to participate in the game, that isn't about traveling around the world. Exactly what that is, I can't say as of yet.

Now, will there be a player driven economy?

Well, I can't speak much about that now, but there will be ways for players to take part in the economy. Sorry for being so cryptic, but trying to keep this very focused and very narrow for now.

And player guilds?

Ah, we are going to have cabals, yes. There will be a point to making cabals, and it will play a very large role in the game, but exactly what that is I'm not going to say as of now.

We are a game and we are focusing on the social aspects of the game. We are, in some aspects, a story driven game and alot of it you can play solo, but we really want to emphasize that it is an MMO. There will be stuff that will require you to team up with people in small groups and also in larger teams, without me going into deeper detail.

I hate having to keep saying I can't talk about this stuff.

Oh, so what about in-game factions?

...and I can't talk about that. *laughs*

Ok, so what about the range between hardcore and casual?

Yeah, well, we always say we're going to cover all of it, but the fact is that you can't the game for everybody. So I think we're leaning towards... *sighs* I wouldn't say the casual, because when you talk about MMOs and casual you usually end up at Club Penguin or something like that, and we're really not there. We're somewhere between halfway, I think. There's tons of stuff for the hardcore MMO players, like the whole skill based system and the tweaking that you do to those types of systems with numbers and all the items we'll have, and that will be a hardcore player's dream. But I think in terms of time investment and what's required of you, we're leaning towards the middle ground. It will be fun for MMO players, but it will be equally fun for someone who just likes the idea of a world that has a bunch of other people in it, is completely open, you can play it online, and you can chat, but doesn't feel so unfriendly and unwelcoming as other MMOs.

So, would your target audience be someone who has played MMOs?

I think a large part of our target audience is who are playing or have played MMOs. We want it to be different enough for them to come back or a game that is different enough to have them come to play it with their friends. In addition to action/adventure gamers who play games like Fable 2 for the Xbox 360 and just want to try their hand at something that's online and not feel completely eliminated and have something that's recognizable to them.

We'd like to thank Ragnar for meeting with us at the GDC, and we're looking forward to more information on The Secret World!

If you're unaware of Funcom's newest project, The Secret World, it's about time you knew that the secret is about to be unveiled. Forget the stigma associated with Funcom and Age of Conan, and consider the fact that The Secret World comes to us from Ragnar Tørnquist, the man behind The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. The unraveling of clues that lead up to this game's reveal is impressive, but not as impressive as the fact that The Secret World's community is comprised of some of the most intelligent gamers you'll find this side of EVE. We have games that are hardcore for strategists, games that are hardcore for economists, games that are hardcore for the combat-savvy, but with The Secret World, we will finally get an MMO that was made for the hardcore conspiracy theorists, history buffs and puzzle solvers out there.

Case in point, a recent teaser video was released showing certain decipherable codes that led to a new Alternate Reality Game website called Sanctuary of Secrets. Leave it up to the TSW community to crack the codes and discover the hidden secrets. Of course Funcom has not officially commented on their involvement with this site, but it goes to show the passion brewing in the people anticipating this game. Ever since our demo at GDC last month, we've been itching to let our readers know what's in store. Tomorrow the embargo will lift and everything we know will be revealed, so stay tuned!

There's clearly an imbalance in the genres represented in massively multiplayer online games in the current market climate. Fantasy reigns supreme, but fans of sci-fi are going to see more MMO titles geared towards their interests in the coming years. One genre that's still underrepresented, though, is horror. The Secret World is a horror MMO in development at Funcom that we've heard precious little of. That is, until now.

Reporting for ShackNews, Chris Faylor writes that Funcom's Ragnar Tørnquist, game director for The Secret World, will present at the Game Developers Conference later this month. We're hoping his presentation will explain more of the game's premise. Presently, it's rumored to have secret society and Cthulu-esque elements to it, but we're excited that we'll finally be able to hear more about The Secret World when we cover GDC later this month.

Horror hasn't been a widely explored genre in massively multiplayer online games thus far, but there seems to be a shift in focus in the industry away from fantasy titles. Darren over at The Common Sense Gamer came across an interesting bit of information regarding World of Darkness -- the next massively multiplayer online game from CCP Games, creators of EVE Online. Horror fans eager to find details about the upcoming title turned up a business document (dated July 2008) from CCP Games that states World of Darkness is scheduled to launch in 2010.

Darren also makes a good point in his post -- there are a number of people who like the idea of EVE, but haven't been able to get immersed in the game. Given that the World of Darkness setting already has earned quite a number of RPG fans over the years, it seems the title is in a position to have a decent-sized following right off the bat. Or, at the very least, is likely to garner a number of people willing to try it out.

This was the point where things got interesting for me. One lasting memory of the event I have is a one-line message I saw in the Trade channel while in Ironforge. It read simply, "Stay out of Stormwind, it's infected." I did the only thing a sane person would do in that situation and hopped on the first Gryphon to Stormwind. It was like a dream come true. Zombies were thronging the streets, attacking anyone they could get their hands on, vomiting on those they couldn't, and blowing themselves up when all else failed. Nowhere was safe. I could barely see the floor of the Auction House for all the skeletons there; the Bank was similarly decorated and my FPS dropped sharply from the shimmery green glow the infection gave off.

So let's be clear here – I loves me some zombies. A childhood brush with Ray Harryhausen means that I still get chills when I think abut armoured skeletons eviscerating hapless Argonauts. Later encounters, first with ridiculously over-wrought Victorian Gothic Horror literature, and later with the genius of one Mr. Romero sealed my fate.

Regardless of the source, my love affair with the Undead has been long-standing. And no, I don't mean that kind of love affair. Freak. After I finished reading The Zombie Survival Guide for the first time, I carried it in my bag for a month afterwards. Not because I thought Zombie might be real, but because the book was awesome. And don't get me started on World War Z – Massively is not the place for a 3000-word Max Brooks love-fest.

The Hellgate: London IP saga continues. While we had some dire news that the servers will go dark at the end of January, we also know that development for the title is still being done in Redbana's California office... just not for which region. The latest word we've received on this seems to indicate the continuity of Hellgate: London, but to date this is only confirmed for service in Asia -- so we cannot (yet) offer a definitive, "Yes, HG:L will continue for North America and EU." That being said, Gamasutra has picked up on company blog posts by HanbitSoft's Global PR Manager, Janelle. One is a definitive announcement that HanbitSoft owns both the Hellgate: London and Mythos IP, while the other is more telling.

Janelle republished an email sent from Hellgate: London's Product Manager about the future of the title.The message in its entirety, as shown on the Game Espresso site for HanbitSoft, is reprinted below the cut.

Massively multiplayer online games can be a difficult industry to break into and succeed. For every Blizzard or Sony Online Entertainment, there are several smaller companies brimming with ideas about how to inject change into the MMO market. Some succeed by breaking from the World of Warcraft paradigm. Most do not.

Writer James Matson writes about these titles that begin full of promise but ultimately meet a chilly reception by MMO gamers, in an article at Atomic. He touches on the fact that the sometimes high price of the box sale paired with monthly MMO fees, sustained over some months, leads to some serious disappointment when the MMO fails and the servers go dark. Matson specifically cites the examples of Auran's Fury and (what is currently Namco-Bandai's) Hellgate: London. "This would appear to the be the first tendrils of a new kind of gaming plague that's arrived with MMOs, games that can be rendered useless due to mismanagement, poor sales or just bad luck," Matson writes.

There have been so many twists and turns with the future of Hellgate: London (and Mythos) that it's hard to know what will happen next. We've heard on a few occasions that Hellgate: London was about to face its demise, only to be saved. Adding to the confusion was the dispute over who even owned Hellgate: London, Flagship Studios or HanbitSoft. After Flagship folded, HanbitSoft's claims seemed to be genuine, and the IP was left in the hands of T3 Entertainment. Subscriptions, however, were then suspended. Shortly afterwards Namco-Bandai swept in, prominently featured HG: L on its site... and subsequently removed it. Despite this, the game has been kept running ever since, although Namco-Bandai's stated that the servers will shut down at the end of January, 2009.

Gaming site HellForge has picked up on what we're not ready to call anything more than 'rumor' at this point, but something that perhaps bodes well for the future of the game. Another company name has been thrown into the mix: Redbana (based in Taiwan, connected with the aforementioned T3 Entertainment). HellForge writes: "Further research leads to findings of a new San Francisco office for the company, which is where Hellgate offices were located previously." This seems to be in line with what we reported about the future of both titles in August. While we hope this information could be a positive sign for Hellgate: London and perhaps Mythos as well, at this point it's still largely conjecture.

[Via Blue's News]

Are avatars that you create for the 2D experience be able to step into the 3D version of the game?

CB: That's exactly what we're planning for. We're showing it a little bit at this show, we'll be able to show you some of it in Austin at AGDC. We really want to make sure to show this game to people. One thing that I worry about is backlash from Firefly. We announced that so long ago, and people are going "crap, guys, where is it?" It was really important to us that we not announce Buffy before we were already working on it. Once bitten, twice shy.

Believe me, nobody could beat us up that we beat ourselves up about this. We're not at fault, but there are a lot of dashed hopes here. I wanted us to be in a public beta of Firefly here by now!

Yesterday we brought you word that the folks at Multiverse (the developers of the MMO middleware) are in development on an MMO based on Buffy the Vampire slayer. At the same time, news came out the Firefly MMO will now be delayed considerably while they focus their efforts that other IP from writing dynamo Joss Whedon. Yesterday evening we had the chance to speak with Mr. Corey Bridges, Co-founder, Executive Producer and Marketing Director for the company. Mr. Bridges took some time out of his busy schedule at the Virtual Worlds Expo to explain a bit more about the Buffy/Firefly MMO hoopla.

Most interesting, it sounds as though (despite the lack of any announcements about it) there has actually been some forward movement on the Firefly MMO! Mr. Bridges could say almost nothing about it because of contractual obligations with Fox (the owners of the Firefly IP), but what he could say left us with the tantalizing impression we may actually see that Firefly game someday. Read on for all of that discussion, plus tidbits on why they're working on a Buffy title, a bit on what the game will be like, and the interactions between the 2D and 3D game spaces.