Filed under: Horror

ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain opens new studio

by Rubi Bayer Nov 23rd 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, New titles, News items

Remember Jeff Strain? His August departure from ArenaNet was big news, and we haven't heard a lot from him lately. We found out today what he's been up to, and we couldn't be happier.

Jeff Strain has a shiny (slimy?) new project just officially announced today. Undead Labs is his new studio, which is already at work planning a zombie MMO -- more specifically, a zombie-console-MMO. To quote the Undead Labs site, "Zombie MMO! Hell yeah!" Of course, we already have a million questions, but he was kind enough to answer many of them well in advance. (Points to him for anticipating them and spelling it out right up front, and for making us laugh.)

It's early days yet so we don't have a laundry list of specific details and screenshots, but the site already shows a departure from the traditional way of doing things when it comes to MMO development. A look around Undead Labs sets the tone right off, beginning with the aforementioned answers to questions, and continuing with a fairly amusing etiquette guide. Strain and Undead Labs look to be off to a running start with things, and we are going to be keeping a close eye on the impending zombie apocalypse.

Subscribe to Age of Conan and receive The Secret World beta access

by Brooke Pilley Nov 11th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: Fantasy, Horror, Age of Conan, News items, The Secret World

Funcom recently announced their plans to get older players back into Age of Conan and boost multi-month subscription rates. Players with inactive subscriptions are invited to retry the game for two weeks and receive a double experience bonus. Those who sign up for multi-month subscriptions will receive these additional bonuses:

3-month sub: Beta access to The Secret World
6-month sub: Beta access + in-game helmet that boosts experience gain by 10%
12-month sub: Beta access + helmet + a free copy of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer

Age of Conan has received many updates in the year and a half since its release. However, MMO players can be an unforgiving bunch, so these incentives to give the game another shot are quite necessary. And it's extra-smart given all the excitement around The Secret World. Considering how many players would be willing to pay for beta access, a subscription to a vastly improved AoC is just icing on the cake.

For those interested in catching up on AoC, check out the most recent game director's letter, new content, and revised subscription options. Have a burning question for Funcom about this or anything else? Ask it here.

Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!

GameX 2009: Massively talks with Lee Hammock on what's next for Fallen Earth

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 28th 2009 at 4:30PM

Filed under: Horror, Video, Fallen Earth, Game mechanics, Interviews, MMO industry, Massively Interviews, Massively Event Coverage

Content, community, and epic beards ahead fair readers! When lead game designer Lee Hammock walked into the media room at GameX 2009, we immediately tackled him into a chair and demanded he answer our many questions on what's coming up for Fallen Earth. What we got (after he figured out that we wanted to interview him and not kidnap him) were answers on the upcoming "social" patch for Fallen Earth, a look at the brand new crafting skill, construction, and the camps that will be added to the game, what lies beyond Sector 3 (hint: it's Sector 4) and how much the team loves their community.

So if you're interested in Fallen Earth, or are looking for a reason to get into the game, look no further than the interview that lies beyond the break! Unfortunately though, we must make a slight correction to what Lee says in the interview. Fallen Earth did send us 2,000 trial keys, but thanks to an overwhelming response, we're out of keys! This makes us sad pandas, but you can still enjoy what Lee has to say about the game, and be amazed by the hypnotic beard.

Ragnar Tørnquist on what sets The Secret World apart

by James Egan Oct 23rd 2009 at 11:00AM

Filed under: Horror, Game mechanics, Interviews, Lore, New titles, The Secret World

One of the games we've seen a lot of reader interest in at Massively is The Secret World, in development at Funcom. One of the key people behind the upcoming horror MMO is Ragnar Tørnquist, Producer and Director of The Secret World. Tørnquist recently sat down for an interview with Vladimir "Evoker" Georgiev from UGDB.com to discuss what will set The Secret World apart from other MMOs we've played.

One of the refreshing aspects of the game is there are no levels or classes in TSW. Tørnquist tells UGDB, "Our goal is to make sure that players can sit down and play this game and enjoy themselves from the very beginning. You don't start out fighting rats with a rusty sword. You get cool firearms, black magic, occult weapons from the outset -- and you're fighting demons and the undead, not wild boar or petty criminals."

Requiem updates to "Memento Mori"

by Seraphina Brennan Oct 1st 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Horror, Expansions, Patches, News items, Requiem: Bloodymare

Requiem, the free-to-play MMO that insists on making sure that all living creatures squirt out 20 gallons of blood upon their deaths, has recently updated the game with a new expansion -- Memento Mori.

Memento Mori, the Latin phrase meaning "Remember you will die," is a great description for the expansion that focuses on integrating learned skills and DNA directly into the character as they level. Previously, players would have to visit a trainer to learn skills, or assemble DNA strands with a DNA scientist in order to equip DNA mutations.

Now these two aspects of character development have been placed into the game as talent-esque windows, which allow you to spread your points amongst new upgrades the moment you level. It's almost like you're "remembering" your skills and DNA abilities instead of learning them. We appreciate that.

The Daily Grind: What are your expectations of The Secret World?

by James Egan Sep 7th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Horror, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, The Daily Grind, The Secret World

Massively was on the ground at the Penny Arcade Expo over the weekend, and one of the games we saw that really has some promise is The Secret World. It's quite a departure from the fantasy genre in MMOs, with elements of horror, mysteries and conspiracies, hidden knowledge sought by secret societies... ok, we can say no more. But it's killing us that we can't talk about it quite yet. We've seen the gameplay but Funcom will unleash unspeakable occult forces upon us, like lawyers, if we spill what we know. Of course we'll have a feature story on The Secret World up on Massively soon -- but in the meantime, we want to ask what you think about the impending arrival of horror to the MMO scene.

Funcom is clearly trying to set the tone for the game with their latest trailer, which might have given us clues about the kinds of things we'll see in TSW. But as we all know, a cinematic isn't always the best representation of a game title. So do you think The Secret World will be a dark, mature title? Or will it be Cthulhu-lite? Sound off and let us know about your expectations of The Secret World!

The Secret World reveals new game trailer, factions

by James Egan Sep 3rd 2009 at 1:45PM

Filed under: Horror, Video, MMO industry, New titles, The Secret World

The Secret World is Funcom's next MMO that they've kept under lock and key for quite a while now. Despite all the secrecy, we know it's a modern day setting with heavy overtones of the occult and mysticism. Past images released for The Secret World have shown shambling, twisted corpses walking through a town. There was also a Cthulu-esque scene of a thing-that-cannot-be-named obliterating city streets, a lone woman wielding a katana facing off against it. They've told us that players will form cabals to uncover mysteries and deal with supernatural threats. Still, there hasn't been much to go on.

What Funcom reveals about The Secret World at PAX in the coming days will be "the biggest thing on TSW yet", but apparently secrets just want to be set free. We came across a YouTube video of The Secret World's second trailer (embedded below), with a shotgun toting girl tracking some monstrosity that can scatter its form into a murder of crows. You can also see the trailer in high res that's part of an exclusive on the Norwegian site Dagbladet.no. Plus, they've got eleven new screenshots and bits of concept art up on their site as well.

One Shots: All we wanna do is eat your brains

by Krystalle Voecks Sep 2nd 2009 at 2:00PM

Filed under: Horror, Screenshots, One Shots, Requiem: Bloodymare

We haven't heard too much from the folks over at Gravity Interactive since they launched their monster-and-blood filled Requiem: Bloodymare. That said, it seems things are going well, as they've just wrapped up a contest to let players build monsters even more nightmarish than this guy. Today's One Shots comes to us from sgamer, who decided to go toe to toe with this towering pile of fug in Requiem: Bloodymare and writes in to tell us a bit more about it. Here, I was fighting the big Ancient Ghoul outside of the Ruins of Lament. [He's] a big, fun mob to solo with my Rogue. He looks pretty hungry to us.

If you've got a picture of a game we don't often see - or perhaps yourself running around in skimpy armor like sgamer here - we want to see it! Just email it to us at oneshots AT massively DOT com along with your name, the name of the game, and a quick description. Please try to turn off or minimize UI elements, too. Yours could be next.

Gallery: One Shots

Fallen Earth's special pre-order ATV goes vroom vroom

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 28th 2009 at 5:00PM

Filed under: Horror, Fallen Earth, Business models, MMO industry, New titles

Remember when we mentioned that if you pre-order Fallen Earth over at Direct2Drive that you would get a special horsey known as the Wasteland Runner? Yes, of course you remember, because we just gave you the link to the story so you would remember.

But, apparently, there's a second pre-order gift in town now. A gift that goes by the title of the Fallen Earth ATV. Pre-ordering the game straight from the developer will get you this nifty vehicle that comes with more hitpoints, a larger gas tank, better fuel efficiency, more storage, and a special Fallen Earth paint job. Plus, you get the ability to tell anyone you kill that they can "stick it in your tailpipe and smoke it." Horse riders just don't get that social ability.

So, if you're pre-ordering Fallen Earth, it looks like you have a decision to make. Horse or ATV? It's up to you!

Fallen Earth moves into open beta on August 17th

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 12th 2009 at 4:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Horror, Fallen Earth, Business models, Launches, New titles, News items

Yes, that's right, the apocalypse opens up its doors to all on August 17th. If you're really eager for the apocalypse, however, then we suggest you hurry on over to Fileplanet and sign up for an account, as they're going to be the ones handing out access to Fallen Earth. Fileplanet will be making the Fallen Earth beta accessible for download on Friday, August 14th, for all of you who want to get that download rolling early.

If you're really excited for Fallen Earth's launch on September 9th, then you can also hop over to Direct2Drive and grab yourself a pre-order of the game. Pre-orders not only get guaranteed access to the beta, but they also get the exclusive in-game mount, the Wasteland Runner. The special mount has four more points of defensive skills, 2500 extra stamina, and six more pack slots over other horses.

Even more importantly, pre-order customers will be getting a five day head start in the game. Yes, that's right, five days! This means the pre-order customers will be jumping into the game on September 4th, while everyone else will get to experience the Grand Canyon on the 9th.

Don't forget about the Fallen Earth Dev Hunt!

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 5th 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Horror, Sci-fi, Fallen Earth, Contests, Events, in-game, PvP, News items

Just a friendly reminder to all of those interested in shooting some Fallen Earth developers -- the developer hunt contest is this weekend! Yes, remember that Saturday, August 8th will be filled with developer chasing action! You can even win some nice prizes, as we've said before!

Plus, even if you aren't a beta tester, you still have time to actually register your interest for the contest! Go to the Fallen Earth website and fill out the registration form before tomorrow, August 6th. Once you do that, you'll be registered for the contest and good to go. But it's only open until tomorrow, so you better act fast if you want to have a taste of the apocalypse mixed with the blood of developers!

CCP Games trademark filing hints at new game: DUST 514

by James Egan Aug 4th 2009 at 3:30PM

Filed under: Horror, Sci-fi, EVE Online, MMO industry, New titles, Opinion, Rumors

What does "DUST 514" have to do with EVE Online? That's something we're very curious to know at Massively. A recent trademark filing from CCP Games for DUST 514, submitted by Atlanta-based attorney Steven M. Kushner, is described as providing 'entertainment services' and an 'on-line computer game'.

If you look at the logo of a gas mask above a striped pattern, it bears more than a passing resemblance to the EVE Online logo. The trademark filing description reads: "The mark consists of a masked face with white sunken eyes and a round opening at the mouth. There are two parallel thick lines on either side of the jaw of the face which are a parallel to a third line which runs across the bottom of the face and dips into a V at the center." Definitely not a coincidence.

Fallen Earth's "Three Bs of the Apocalpyse" trailer now showing

by Seraphina Brennan Aug 3rd 2009 at 8:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Betas, Horror, Sci-fi, Trailers, Video, Fallen Earth, News items

B is one of those letters that you never think of when you're doing lists. Yet the team over at Fallen Earth has put together a few reasons why B is a great letter, especially for the apocalypse. Their newest trailer for their upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO focuses in on all of the blood, beasts and... er... babes?

While we're pretty sure that the game has enough blood and beasts to keep the average rabid gamer hungry, babes might be a little harder to come by. But it is the apocalypse and we guess that the human race does need babes to survive. Very important for the race to continue onwards and what not.

The video is being shown over at IGN's video site if you want to take a look at it, but you do need to input your birthday to see it. Lastly, if you ask us, the last babe that they show off at around 0:20 is truly the hottest of them all. She's a bit heavy set, and her skin is a little on the grey side, but we see a heart of gold in there.

Beat Fallen Earth developers at their own game for sweet, sweet prizes

by Seraphina Brennan Jul 31st 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Betas, Horror, Fallen Earth, Contests, News items

It's not very often that you get the chance to beat developers at their own game. It's even rarer when you get the chance to beat developers at their own game and win prizes for it. If you want our advice, take the Fallen Earth team up on their current beta contest -- Dev Hunt.

Beta testers are going to get the chance to hunt down the Fallen Earth developers and kill them in-game for a shot at some nice prizes, including an Nvidia GTX 260 video card, Logitech G11 keyboard, Razer DeathAdder gaming mice, and Fallen Earth swag. If you're a beta tester, all you need to do is log into the Grand Canyon Province on August 8th at 12 PM EDT (GMT-4 for those who need time conversions) and start hunting a developer that's around your level. You get points for being logged in and points if you're present when a developer dies. The event will last until 3 PM EDT.

Not a beta tester? Not to worry! Fill out the registration form and you can still get in on the developer destruction! Just make sure to register before August 6th, or no developer hunting for you!

Funcom and Stray Bullet license Allegorithmic's Substance Air platform for their MMOs

by Seraphina Brennan Jul 16th 2009 at 1:00PM

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Horror, Business models, News items, The Secret World

Two developers have simultaneously turned to a brand new texturing solution for their future MMOs, according to Gamasutra. Both Funcom and Stray Bullet have licensed Allegorithmic's "Substance Air" middleware package, a new set of programs that lets developers keep high resolution textures as extremely small files and even let users modify textures for in-game customization options.

Funcom is almost a given for which game this would apply to, as The Secret World is the only game currently on their radar. Stray Bullet, best known as the creators of Shadowbane, is a bit trickier when it comes to saying how it will impact on their new MMO offering.

Simply known as the "future fantasy MMO," Stray Bullet has also licensed Simutronics's HeroEngine, the same engine that's currently powering Star Wars: The Old Republic. What they're up to is anyone's guess, but the presence of the extremely versatile HeroEngine and the addition of Substance Air could be pointing to a nice level of user-customization and/or "on-the-fly" developing coming with their latest unannounced fantasy offering.