Massively^™

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!

The closed beta test of Gaia Online's much-anticipated MMO has officially begun. Here's the kicker: it has a name! And that name is zOMG!. No, really. The name of the MMO is actually zOMG!. Previously, it was called Gaia Battle. That was rather generic, so this is probably a step up.

The name was chosen out of hundreds of submissions from Gaia regulars. Said Senior Producer Dave Georgeson to Wired: "it captures the spirit of our users." Those users are mostly teens. Until now, Gaia Online has simply been a casual games portal and forum community. zOMG! is an MMO built on that foundation.

If you're not familiar with Gaia Battle -- err, we mean zOMG! -- it's a browser-based game that will run on any computer that plays nice with Flash. Gameplay involves combat -- which centers around upgradable magic ring items -- and minigames. Social networking type stuff is laced in as well.

We had the opportunity to take a look at Gaia Online's upcoming MMO, and it looks like some serious fun! Take a look through the Gallery embedded below -- some of these come directly from the studio, others were screenshots of the quick tour we took; it should be obvious which are which.

A couple of tidbits: the entire game is Flash based, much like Dofus; they've done away with the need for wearable armor; and there's an intriguing methodology in place for dealing with player overcrowding that can be summed up in one word: landshark. All this and more once the game launches near the end of Summer. We'll keep you apprised!

The Mini-Show of Krys is an animated Flash series based on gaming humor. It sports an engaging aesthetic and players will recognize their own experiences mirrored in the antics of the protagonists.

Currently, there are six episodes translated into English from the original French, with eight more awaiting the same treatment. Episodes 4, 5, and 6 are connected, and concern themselves with World of Warcraft. If you find that you're bothered by having to read subtitled English, you can watch the original episodes instead.

[Thanks, Krys!]

Animax Entertainment is a full-service creative studio that specializes in character-driven digital content. Animax is the company behind TyGirlz.com and Beanie Babies 2.0, virtual worlds that accompany lines of plush toys, and has new ventures in the pipeline for the virtual space. In preparation for its new projects, Animax has appointed Sabri Sansoy to the position of Chief Technology Officer, where he will spearhead Animax's expansion into MMOs and virtual worlds.

Sansoy, formerly the vice president of interactive entertainment technology at GSN (Game Show Network), was chosen by Animax for his past experience with convergent media. (And presumably not for his attempt to fly around the world in a hot air balloon!) "Animax is a leader in building cutting edge interactive applications with a robust portfolio of innovation, exceptional talent, and exciting business opportunities in the pipeline. I am very honored and excited to contribute to the growth and success of this company," Sansoy said of his appointment. If the new offerings from Animax Entertainment are anything like what they've produced in the past, we're likely to see 'play' with more lines of toys extending into the virtual realm through interactive narratives, that place where toys and games meet.

With all the hullabaloo over the last several months speculating about the elimination or possible convergence of traditional single player experiences into the new massively multiplayer model, the last thing we expected to turn up in our daily lap around the web is one of the most beloved MMOs to date transmogrified into a single player platformer/RPG. While it's hardly the robust single player experience of a commercial product, the aptly named WTF?! takes a look at what would happen if World of Warcraft were condensed into two dimensions.

You can play either a Blood Elf Priest or a Gnome Rogue, both of which play slightly differently even within the confines of two dimensions. The game is a little buggy (make sure you get the trinket from Hegemon before you try and take down Mary Daly!) and slightly misogynistic, but it's got a certain flare that is hard to not find endearing. Maybe it's the humor or maybe it's the Mario sound effects, it's hard to pin down. In any case, if you're bored at work this week but don't have the machine for WoW, check it out.

[Via Broken Toys]

Have you got Flash player 9,0,115,0 or earlier? Check. No, really, do it now. These versions are apparently vulnerable to an exploit that can put malicious software on your system, including keyloggers that are set to swipe MMO passwords and credentials, like your World of Warcraft account. This is happening right now, according to Symantec.

The latest update, version 9,0,124,0 is apparently not vulnerable to the exploit according to Adobe. You should probably get that version now, if you trust Adobe's information. If you trust Symantec's alert, only versions 115 and 124 are vulnerable, and this is a new exploit, and not the one that Adobe is talking about. If you want to play it safe, go plug the No-Script add-on or Flashblock into your Firefox browser, and breathe a huge sigh of relief until everyone gets their story straight (but check your system for malware first, okay?)

[via Macnn]

Update: Symantec and Adobe agree that 124 is not vulnerable. If you have any other version, you should upgrade.

Dizzywood is a Flash-based virtual world for kids, with a wide variety of environments to explore, ranging from Mayan-themed jungles to skateparks. Worlds in Motion took at in-depth look at Dizzywood and weighed in on how Dizzywood innovates, and how it flounders. The game is developed by Rocket Paper Scissors, who have been getting some love by the media in recent weeks. It's clear to see why; the relatively new company has a simple, compelling vision:

Our aim is to create a website for kids that inspires a sense of imagination, discovery, exploration, and most of all, fun. Frankly, when we took a good look at what was already out there, we felt that kids deserved a lot better. Our hope is that through a commitment to quality storytelling, creative vision, and technological innovation, Dizzywood will deliver an outstanding entertainment experience for young people that inspires the imagination in a safe environment. Our goal is to be the most popular web destination for kids in the 8-12 age range. It's a lofty goal, to be sure, but we're all about dreaming big.

Dizzywood runs in a web browser, with no additional install beyond Flash required. Rocket Paper Scissors has billed the title as free-to-play, but there are pay options to unlock new clothing, items, emotes and powers, as well as avatar customization. The games in Dizzywood are solo-friendly, but encourage cooperative play and socializing in order to solve mysteries. The excellent Online World Atlas over at Worlds in Motion put Dizzywood through its paces, ultimately finding some flaws in the virtual world, yet praising it as one of the 'tween worlds to watch.

Via Gamasutra

There must be something in the (virtual) air. If this year doesn't see everyone moving en masse to Flash-based, personal virtual worlds cum social spaces, then it certainly isn't for lack of trying. SmallWorlds joins Whirled and Metaplace as virtual worlds you can embed in your own blog, forum, home page or what have you. Need a place to watch "The Guild" with your friends between rousing games of Chinese Checkers? You got it. SmallWorlds can bring YouTubes, Twitters, Flickrs, games and more into your little isometric 3D corner of the web. Avatars are fully customizable, and so are their pets (!!!).

SmallWorlds is going into open beta June 2 after eighteen months of development. They'll be letting the first thousand people who sign up for the beta in a week early. If you're at all interested in seeing what you can build with their tools and how many friends you can crowd into your little virtual cabana, why not visit their site and sign up for the beta?

Ankama Games has announced the development of Dofus 2.0, an upgrade to their popular 2D MMO. Far from letting their first game go to seed in favor of the upcoming Wakfu, Ankama has rewritten the Flash-based game in Action Script 3, promising faster, better responsiveness to player commands.

Additionally, over 2,000 animations and 10,000 maps are being entirely redrawn, leading to what will feel like a revitalization of the same-old, same-old haunts you've known for so long. We can't wait to see what it will all look like once the dust has settled, with a beta planned for September.

[Thanks, Sergio!]

Do you like cuteness? Do you like monsters? Do you like puzzles?

If you said yes to all three, then do we have the multiplayer game for you! As we reported earlier, Mind Candy, the crazy developers behind the super-huge alternate reality game Perplex City, have been working on something for the children. Their result is Moshi Monsters, a cross between a Tamagotchi, Brain Age, and sheer attitude.

The picture to the right is Smigglesnuff. Smigglesnuff likes two things: the word "miasma" and choptastic moves. Oh, sure, she enjoys the tickles I give her, but don't mess with her unless you want your face re-arranged. Go visit her if you want to find out for yourself.

NCsoft has created two sites to help new players in navigating the respective worlds of Lineage 2 and Guild Wars. DiscoverLineage2.com and DiscoverGuildWars.com are Flash-enabled sites that introduce these MMOs to people who might not have heard of them, or have started playing and want to get more into the lore. The two sites are well-produced, with great use of interactivity that resembles what you'd find in an early educational book for kids (We're hoping that's not an editorial comment on the maturity of new users).

The Lineage 2 site in particular is really fun to play with, featuring pull-tabs and wheels to spin that advance the content at the same time as providing a look into the systems of play that game features. We're not ashamed to say it made us want to try the actual game out! (At least, those of us who haven't already) More MMOs should do this -- heck, more products in general should.

[Source]

Got a small or medium sized community forum? Want to add YouTubes, mini-games, customizable avatars and heck -- a whole world all your own (why not?) -- in it? Then Areae wants to talk with you. Their Metaplace minigames for the masses / virtual world portal needs beta testers who wouldn't mind giving their new tech a trial run in their forums. You will probably need to paste some PHP code here and there -- but if you know what that entails, are comfortable doing it and want to give your community members reasons to spend more time on your forum, then head over to Metaplace for more details.

This could be your chance to get in on the ground floor of the Next Best Thing. Give it a shot, and if it works out for you, tell us about it!

Here at Massively, we're slowly becoming bigger and bigger fans of Lila Dreams, a tiny little MMO with some big ideas so far. The latest post over at the dev blog talks about how they made the best use of things that would normally be thought of as limitations in MMO design, and actually came out of it with more creativity than if they'd used more traditional MMO technology. The game is built in Java and Flash and is only 2D, but instead of settling for cheap animation, the designers actually used the drawback as a benefit, and designed a 2D scheme that lays down a set of bones, which can then be customized with any art that the designer wants to put in. What that means for players is customization -- the animation is designed around movement, not specific art, so lots of clothing or items or shapes can be put in their places, and the animation will still work.

It also means, they say, that anyone can be designing animation, since instead of drawing frames or creating movement, you're just dragging keyframes around until they look right. The idea itself isn't necessarily new (lots of designers have used this "paper doll" philosophy, and of course letting anyone do animation doesn't guarantee that Lila Dreams will be anything special), but it's a good sign of the creativity of the Lila Dreams team that they took what most MMO developers would see as a negative (the limitations of Java and Flash), and made something interesting out of it. Can't wait to see they game they're cooking up.

Are casual, social games the wave of the future? In years to come, will we lovers of the swinging sword, the flashing fireball and the gigantic gun be left reminiscing about the "good old days" as we sign on for another evening of massively multiplayer bingo? The makers of Mytopia took a look into their crystal ball, saw the success of MySpace and Facebook and casual-game havens like Popcap, Yahoo! and Neopets and said, "These great tastes... would taste great together!"

Thus was born Mytopia, a Flash-based virtual world where you can create your own super-deformed avatar (like Wii's Miis) and play popular board and card games with people from around the world, build friends lists, send email, and gamble away virtual money challenging other players to backgammon, chess, Sudoku and several other similar games. It works not only as a standalone web site, but also as an application you can install in Facebook, MySpace or Bebo. No matter how you arrive in Mytopia, though, you'll be able to play with everyone else -- there's only one game world shared by all.

Mytopia has a cheerful art style, bouncy music, and well-rendered board games. What it does not have, though, is bloody avatar fights in the Battledome. Come on. Even Neopets has that.

[Via Techcrunch]