Joystiq's fearless leader Chris Grant recently caught up with 38 Studios CEO Brett Close to discuss their recent acquisition of Big Huge Games, and what this might mean for the "Copernicus" MMO. Massively has mentioned Copernicus at a few points in the past, but unfortunately in terms more vague than we'd like. We know it's a fantasy MMO project that draws upon notables like R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane, but Joystiq turned up some more info about Copernicus.

Close stresses that Copernicus is an IP that will exist in several channels; there will be books, graphic novels, and of course an MMO that draws upon these elements. "Rather than drilling into details about why this is going to give people something they have never experienced before... what I will tell you is that it's simply based on that talent [R.A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane] and based on our approach and our experience in building these products. There's nothing like it out there right now. And I don't believe there's anybody working on anything like this right now."

Have artistic talent? Code talent? More properly, do you have that, some industry experience, and the desire to build an awesome MMO? If you can answer yes to those questions and the idea of working with people like Curt Schilling, R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane and other really cool people like Ryan Shwayder from Nerfbat makes you happy, then you'll want to check out the job postings over on the 38 Studios site. It appears they're looking for some more people to join them on their MMO dream team!

Currently, the spots open are:

• Graphics Engineer
• Senior Character Artist
• Technical Director
• Senior Environment Artist

Hopefully once all the positions are filled up we'll start hearing more about 38's upcoming super-secret MMO project, codenamed 'Copernicus.' Good luck to anyone who applies, and if you get hired, be sure to tell them to keep us in mind for that eventual Copernicus alpha test. We'd appreciate it!

Ryan Shwayder, a game designer for 38 Studios, recently put in his two cents on the official vs. unofficial forums argument. He originally called official forums a necessary evil but when prompted by Warhammer Alliance forum administrator, Garthilk, to name three things official forums could do that unofficial forums couldn't, he changed his tune a bit.

In a response post, Blackguard (aka Ryan Shwayder), commented that both forum-types were necessary and neither actually evil. He then listed off three things official forums could do that unofficial forums couldn't. To bring some balance, he also listed three pros of unofficial forums. Ryan believes official forums have a leg up on developer-to-player communication, ownership (the forums won't close if admins lose interest), and integration with official web tools and in-game features. Alternatively, unofficial forums have a leg up with less restrictive codes of conduct, a stronger focus on micro-communities, and feature innovation through creativity. Some of the commenters on his post shared a sentiment that they would like to see official forums focus more on developer-to-player communication and technical support, while the unofficial forums focus more on class forums and creative discussion. What are your thoughts?

We recently had a chance to interview both WHA and IGN regarding Mythic's official forum announcement and we will share that with you early next week.

Not surprisingly, when a complete list of videogame companies and developers on Twitter is compiled, MMO devs and companies take up a large chunk of the list. We would expect nothing less from such online socially-orientated companies.

The list -- created by Sam "QforQ" Houston, community manager GamerDNA -- is a great resource for anyone looking to keep up to date with companies like SOE, BioWare, NCsoft, 38 Studios, ArenaNet, Blizzard, Carbine Studios, FunCom, CCP Games, Flying Lab Software, Mythic Entertainment and many more. It's an impressive list, although being Massively meant we had to double-check it for missing links. As such, we found that there was no Cryptic Studios love in there. So, for the sake of completion, we've gone ahead and provided the link for any fans of Champions Online or Star Trek Online.

After a recent Game Power Panel at this year's CES, GameCyte caught up with a few MMO big-wigs to ask the burning question: can the MMO experience extend to mobile phones? From Turbine to Gaia Online, the companies' CEOs all had differing views.

Dr. Lars Buttler of Trion World Network, and Jim Crowley of Turbine both agreed that the mobile phone is not really the place for a full-blown multiplayer experience. Although they did essentially agree with others like Brett Close of 38 Studios in the thinking that there are certainly extensions of an MMO that can be achieved through a cell. Checking the auction house, training skills or even reading quest text could all be done on-the-go. Check out the entire post over at GameCyte for some more opinions on mobile MMOs.

If, like me, you are seeking a break from your Wrath of the Lich King addiction, join me for another weekly installment of Ask Massively. If you are one of the two people on the Internet who play something other than World of Warcraft, feel free to look in as well. It is only a matter of time before you decide to join us in Azeroth/Outland/Northrend.

(note: Please read this with a heavy helping of tolerance for snark and sarcasm. If you think replying to this with "HEY! THERE ARE OTHER GAMES BESIDES WoW, YOU KNOW!" is a good idea, You should pay more attention.)

Our question this week comes from someone who has reached a state of profound ennui.

Dear Ask Massively,

I can't seem to find a game I want to play anymore. Call it boredom, or getting a life or even getting old... But the fact remains, I am losing interest in mmo games. It isn't that I don't want to play games, I just don't seem to get the thrill I used to from them. I think we all remember some special moment when we felt that welling up of pride, or an audible "wow" escaped our lips when we saw something that amazed us.

I don't have those feelings anymore, every game I play seems to be a copy of a copy of a copy.. The only thing that changes is the landscape and the names of the mobs..

I was hoping that you could give some suggestions as to a MMORPG that have something different to offer. Something beyond fedexing the 10 rats I just killed so I can be told to kill this guy back where I started for 80 levels.

Tharkis

College students in the United States and Canada with an interest in entering the MMO industry, this one is for you. 38 Studios -- creators of the forthcoming 'Copernicus' MMO -- are inviting aspiring game artists, designers, and programmers to enter their contest, the 2nd Annual Massachusetts Game Challenge. The contest announcement states: "If you are enrolled in college you can win thousands of dollars in prizes by developing a compelling video game featuring our company mascot, Munch. Roll solo or pool your talents into groups of two or three for ultimate game creation results." First prize in the contest brings $1500 per team member, while second prize earns $1000 per team member. Third prize winners get $500 per team member.

Beyond the prize money, the 38 Studios game challenge is a chance to get your work recognized by people in the industry. See the FAQ for the 2nd Annual Massachusetts Game Challenge for more details and take a look at last year's winning submissions for a better idea of what 38 Studios is looking for. If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out the announcement page for the 38 Studios game challenge. The submission deadline is March 2, 2009.

Massively has been watching what's happening with 38 Studios and their upcoming MMO codenamed 'Copernicus' -- and the most recent bit of info we turned up comes through today's interview at Gamasutra by Christian Nutt. Gamasutra has interviewed 38 Studios Executive Art Director Todd McFarlane, well-known to most of us for his work in the comics industry and for the numerous offerings of McFarlane Toys.

Indeed, a fair amount of the Gamasutra interview focuses on McFarlane Toys and its success in the action figure industry, but McFarlane spoke a bit about 38 Studios and its MMO project as well. He touched upon how 38 Studios hopes to differentiate their game from what's presently offered: "But the question is, can we make ours feel better than the other guys? And the stuff that I'm seeing relative to what's out there in the open market, the answer is absolutely, right now." While McFarlane doesn't exactly spill details on what we can really expect from Copernicus, he does offer up some hints as to what 38 Studios is doing, and more importantly, why they're taking a different approach to the MMO space than some of their competitors. For more info on Copernicus, or just to read up on what a comics legend is doing these days, check out the full interview with Todd McFarlane over at Gamasutra.

Never let it be said that Ask Massively doesn't give everyone a chance to be heard. We believe that everyone should have a voice, and it is in the interest of providing that voice that we bring you the following question.

Dear Massively

I am SO SICK of all of the coverage of Wrath of the Lich King! I demand that someone at Massively write about something that isn't World of Warcraft related this week. Non-WoW players aren't interested in an expansion for a game that they don't even play. Someone throw me a freakin' bone here!

Sarah P.

Someone hasn't been paying attention, have they...

When you hear about a game that promises to be the best thing since World of Warcraft, do you die a little bit inside? When you hear about the newest superpower developer hired by Curt Schilling for his Copernicus project at 38 Studios, do you find yourself screaming at your RSS feed? You may not be alone.

Often times, over-hyping a game can easily become its downfall. Yesterday's The Daily Grind touched on this very subject in regards to one of the most widely-hyped games in recent years: Warhammer Online. While the hype certainly didn't hurt the highly successful launch of WAR, the hype backlash may have come back to sting the game a month after launch, according to some recent polls. So where's that happy medium? Developers need to inform and advertise to get any respectable retail sales figures, but with MMOs it's much more than selling that box. You want to make sure your customers are satisfied with your product for a long time. Tell us some examples of games that you think reached that happy medium between a successful advertising campaign and delivery of promised game features.

The long list of exceptional talent at 38 Studios continues to grow as Curt Schilling's masterpiece comes together. The two most recent additions include Director of Audio Aubrey Hodges and Senior UI Designer Irena Pereira.

Hodges is best known for his work on King's Quest and is credited as among the first to use MIDI in a video game and the first to use sound effects in an online game. Pereira comes from Blizzard, where she mainly worked on the interface design and development for WoW's The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. 38 Studios President and CEO, Brett Close, comments on the acquisition, "38 Studios has been able to attract phenomenal talent, and these hires continue that trend. Smart interface design and rich audio are key components of the 38 Studios product vision, and Irena and Aubrey have extensive records of exceptional success in these areas."

Tomorrow is election day here in the United States. On the eve of the candidates' final battle, Senator McCain is making some of his last appearances on the campaign trail with well-known former Red Sox player Curt Schilling. Well known as a phenomenal pitcher, Schilling is best known to those of us in the MMO world as an enthusiastic World of Warcraft player and head of the 38 Studios development house. Schilling is also a supporter of the Republic party generally, a fact we noted in a story about MMO-industry political contributions back in early October.

Schilling has even been known to get into verbal debates with fellow players over political issues in forums like that run by the Fires of Heaven guild. As reported by the Boston Globe, Schilling provided a sort of centrist voice at his campaign appearances. Casting aside some of the more serious accusations made against Senator Obama over the last few months, Schilling primarily stated he had questions about the Illinois politician's judgement. You can check out the Globe piece for full details.

Regardless of your political affiliations, even MMO players have to vote. Make sure to hit the polls tomorrow, gamers.

[Via GamePolitics]

38 Studios, the Boston-based MMO development company started by Curt Schilling, is working on a brand new, highly-publicized MMO project, code-named Copernicus. What does this have to do with World of Warcraft and the Azeroth Advisor newsletter? That's what we're trying to figure out.

In a recent interview with WoW Insider, the company's CEO, Brett Close, discussed the reasoning behind 38 Studios' purchase of the Azeroth Advisor and how they plan to use it in the future. According to Close, it's not an elaborate scheme to close down their competition by buying out their fansites and tools, but instead, they realize that in order to let the genre thrive, they need to work together. WoW's success ultimately means 38 Studios' success, and the success of other MMO developers. Plus, they plan to use the proprietary technology behind the Azeroth Advisor for other unnamed future projects.

As time moves on, we're slowly getting more information about MMO developer 38 Studios and their plans. 38 Studios, which brings together Red Sox pitcher (and MMO fan) Curt Schilling, comic book creator Todd McFarlane, and author R.A. Salvatore, is known to be developing a fantasy-MMO codenamed "Copernicus."

When it comes to news regarding this game studio, we're primarily interested in Copernicus here at Massively, but our sister site WoW Insider turned up something else interesting involving 38 Studios. It turns out that they've acquired Mentor Media, creators of a custom World of Warcraft newsletter called Azeroth Advisor, which offers personalized information about WoW as it pertains to your own character. Could this be a sign of what's to come with Copernicus, and would you appreciate a customized newsletter offered in tandem with your MMO of choice?