Massively^™

Win up to L$100,000 courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Marvel comics by creating Iron Man fan-art in Second Life. We don't think our little attempt above will win the prize, honestly.

You can create still images or machinima -- you just have to use the official avatar which is available free with an optional (also free) animation overrider at Silverscreen Island, where finalists will also be displayed.

Entries need to be emailed in no later than 7PM US Pacific time on Wednesday, 7 May. First prize takes L$100,000 (more than US$370), and second place takes a not unattractive L$25,000. Check out the full contest details at theppc.com.

PC Gamer drops a few new details on the in-development Warhammer 40,000 MMO that was announced in March 2007. This MMO will play more like an RPG than an FPS, even though there will be extensive gunplay elements, such as flanking, suppressive fire, and cover.

Additionally, fans of the franchise will be happy to know that their favorite race, no matter what that might be, will find a home in-game. "All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented", says creative director Joe Madureira, formerly of Marvel Comics. He adds that there will be "Tons of stuff hanging off your character, weapons, scrolls ... we are going to have the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever. Once we begin releasing images, feel free to call me on that." That's tempting fate, like saying 'At least it's not raining'. But given that it sounds as though THQ's taking their time in developing this game, it could very well be true. We'll keep up to date with further news as it arises.

[Via computerandvideogames]

Yet another 'Meet the Team' article has gone up on the Champions Online official website. This time around we meet the man responsible for making the the story for Cryptic's upcoming superhero MMO -- John Layman. The most important thing to know about Mr. Layman is other than being able to weep ultra-luminous tears he's also an bonafide comic book writer. His works include Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness and House of M: Fantastic Four, which were both great reads. We're expecting some very entertaining writing in Champions Online, especially from a guy who got to write a character like Ash.

When Jack Emmert said that Cryptic wanted to push the importance of story and character in CO, he wasn't exaggerating. The act of hiring John Layman speaks a lot for what we can expect from the sure-to-be-crazy world of Champions Online.

He wrote a scene with a zombie Howard the Duck chomping the brains out of Ash for crying out loud -- we mean, come on! This game had better have a great story.

Here's a question I haven't heard anyone ask. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Marvel Comics geek; I know what both MODOK and AIM stand for; I remember Wolverine from when he wore those silly little eye-wings and whiskers on his mask; heck, I recall Nick Fury heading up the Howling Commandos. So I was pretty excited to hear about the Marvel Universe MMO. I had fantasies of playing as my favorite character (Adam Warlock, in case anyone's interested) until I realized that the game couldn't possibly work that way.

Think on it for a second: how many players would want to be Gambit, or the Hulk, or the Punisher? If even just two people, then there's a problem with identity. Even if you were to get around the problem with a suffix, i.e., Punisher213, then the brand has been diluted, and it no longer means anything. So, how would this MMO have worked?

These days, if you don't keep your head down, a rumor about Cryptic Studios is bound to hit you in the face. In fact, quite a few of them probably already have at this point. It all started with a letter to the community. After that plural hit, it wasn't just Marvel Universe Online that people were chattering about, but upcoming "projects" from Cryptic Studios as well. Ever since they managed to take one of my favorite things in the world -- superheroes -- and turn that world into a fun and successful massively game, I've loved the people at Cryptic.

So it was with plenty of excitement that I discovered Cryptic would be handling the Marvel Comics license for their next massively game. Unfortunately for all of us excited fans -- of Cryptic, Marvel or both -- the entire operation went into super-secret-silent mode. Aside from CoX news, (which came from a different team at Cryptic, now NCsoft NorCal) we haven't heard even a faint murmur of information. After a while, this leads to lots of speculation about whether or not Marvel Universe Online is canceled. So far, there still hasn't been any additional official information on the game and all we are left to is pure speculation.

What could be in the future for Cryptic Studios? Nobody knows except them, but that shouldn't stop anyone from guessing.

Saying goodbye is the hardest part. At least that's what the song by Coko tells us.

Cryptic Studios, the original developers of the dynamic City of Heroes & City of Villains universe, recently announced that they're shutting down. Well... they're shutting down their forums and blogs. Why? "As work on Cryptic Studios' upcoming projects progresses, we have reached a point where we must focus all of our energies toward ensuring that our presentations of those projects are the absolute best work we can do."

Makes total sense since at least one of those aforementioned projects (and undoubtedly the biggest one they got brewing) is the beyond-eagerly anticipated Marvel Universe Online, the MMO that will at long last let players "explore exotic locations and encounter their favorite characters from Marvel comics in a massively multiplayer environment."

But is that all there is to it? The good folks at A Ding World ask: are they hiding something? Does it have something to do with the rumors of MUO's demise? Or perhaps they're trying to avoid the "loose lips sink ships" motto by prohibiting their employees from posting. Check out their line of reasoning for the complete conspiracy theory rundown.

What cryptic things are really going? As tight lipped as the players involved in the MUO project have been to this point, accidental leakage likely won't occur until Cryptic and/or Marvel is good and ready to spill the proverbial beans. But that won't stop us - or you - from speculating, right? Excelsior, True Believers!