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Posts with tag behind-the-scenes

Go behind the scenes with Stargate Worlds at Comic-Con

Filed under: Sci-fi, Video, Events, real-world, New titles, Stargate Worlds


For all of you who have been patiently waiting to see some gameplay from Stargate Worlds, the folks from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment have set up a series of torrents, chock-full of love for you. With the help of the folks from SGWIrc, the Stargate Worlds crew's downloadable coverage boasts not just candid gameplay video like the one above (we love the "run away!" comment) but also pictures of other shenanigans going on at the event. Also, don't forget to head over to the Stargate Worlds blog to check out the convention from their perspective.

We also have our people on the ground at Comic-Con, so be on the lookout for some more upcoming footage of Stargate Worlds, as well as all the other news coming out of San Diego!

[Via GamingToday]

World of Warcraft
Cinemassively: A new appreciation for sound design

Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Video, Cinemassively, Machinima

Next time that you watch a machinima, or even a real movie, think about all of the different elements that go into making the film. Most of the time, we see the video and hear the music, but there are also sound effects that enhance the production. Caruu, the sound designer for Acolyte 1.5, has posted a version of the video without music or dialogue, so that the sound effects stand out.

The result is a surprising amount of work that you probably didn't even realize went into the machinima. When you're done viewing and listening, watch Acolyte 1.5 again, and you'll gain a whole new appreciation!

If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.

Spacetime Studios reveals character development for Blackstar

Filed under: Sci-fi, Galleries, Classes, Game mechanics, New titles, Crafting, Races, Academic, Blackstar

Blackstar is a science fiction-themed MMO currently in development by Spacetime Studios, and it looks fantastic. The latest missive from their blog gives a look into their character development process -- in this case, a look at creating an identifiable, iconic aesthetic for each character class.

According to the blogpost, by locking down the character type visually, it allows for easier apprehension of the elements of that type by both the development team and publishing partners. This, in turn, solidifies its inclusion into the rest of the game earlier on, which makes further progress that much more effective.

Plus, y'know ... it's prettier. We love concept art at Massively, and a look behind the scenes is always welcome. Check out the rest of the article!

Behind the scenes with the LEGO art team

Filed under: Interviews, New titles, LEGO Universe, Kids


There's a couple new Behind the Scenes interviews on the LEGO Universe website for the month of March, focusing specifically on the art and visual style of the game. They go through the ropes with Phillip Atencio, the art director for the game as he explains his thoughts and philosophies underlying the art process. One surprising confession on Atencio's part was that not only does he not play games recreationally, but he finds that their visual quality is still pretty low compared to other mediums. We're not really sure if Atencio has actually played any games in, ya know, the last decade, but that seemed like quite a strange point for an art director on a major gaming project to make.

The second Behind the Scenes interview (or Behind Behind the Scenes, if you like) with Atencio is available only to subscribers of the free newsletter. It only amounts to another three questions, including an interesting one addressing how they plan to maintain continuity in a game with such disparate locales as a modern city and a Black Knight's castle, so it may be worth signing up to the newsletter, just to get the extra goodies.

RuneScape February preview shows off new music, dungeon graphics

Filed under: At a glance, Fantasy, Patches, Runescape, Free-to-play, Browser

The RuneScape site looks ahead to what will be added to the game throughout February. Just as they did back in November, the folks at Jagex lay out the big updates coming to the fantastically popular free-to-play browser-based RPG. This month the two big additions are a brand new music system and a graphics update for the Edgeville Dungeon.

The music system sounds particularly noteworthy, with players able to unlock tracks achievement-style. Netting all 500(!) gives you access to a unique emote. The new graphics for the dungeon, on the other hand, are a follow-up to a brush-up that the overground area of Edgeville previously received. Other additions include a new Construction puzzle, a spring-time event involving rapidly breeding rabbits, and a new farming amulet.

WAR Online Newsletter out, it's elf-tastic!

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, Lore, Warhammer Online

Even though we knew beforehand that the October edition of the Warhammer Online Newsletter was going to be prefaced with bad news, it was still a welcome surprise when it greeted us in our mailboxes this morning. This month's issue (which marks the two year anniversary for the newsletter) focuses on those always-polarizing High Elves, looking down their noses at the world from their marble palaces in Ulthuan. On the list of goodies, players can watch a video on the High Elf Shadow Warrior (or emo elves, as Paul dubs them), take an in-depth look at the High Elf Swordmaster, read the general description of the High Elf army and the Chrace zone in the north of Ulthuan, and peep at a number of other video updates.

As always, the WAR crew does a great job of inundating us with such a quantity of topical and behind-the-scenes content that we almost forget that the game still has a long way to go. While you can find all the information scattered about the WAR site, the easiest way to get it all is to simply subscribe to the newsletter, which we heartily recommend anyway.

Make sure to stay tuned, as we'll have our first-hand impressions of Warhammer Online later this morning.

Podcast looks back at Meridian 59 history

Filed under: Fantasy, Meridian 59, Interviews, MMO industry, PvP


Want to work on your old-school cred? Check out Virgin Worlds' "Online Gamer's Anthology" podcast episode #5 and learn a bit about the history of arguably the first graphical MMO ever, Meridian 59.

The podcast starts out with a somewhat awkward skit which pays homage to Meridian 59's gameplay, but if you skip ahead about 30 minutes you'll get straight to the meat of it -- an in-depth, tell-all interview with developer Brian "Psychochild" Green, who has worked on the game since 1998. He talks about what makes the game unique and relevant, its demise at the hands of 3DO, and its resurrection by his own company, Near Death Studios. Here's a highlight from the interview -- Green explaining why re-launching Meridian 59 was important to him:

If you don't have a good sense of history it's really hard to move forward. Looking at more modern games, you have the level and class based system of EverQuest or World of Warcraft. I think a lot of times people look at only the most recent things and think, "Oh, that's the way it's always been, and that's what we have to follow." I think having a wider range of history -- the Meridian 59s, the Ultima Onlines, even those older games back into the proprietary systems -- knowing more about those can kind of give you a wider perspective.

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