Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Loading... is the premier daily MMOG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.

Welcome to the 1,343rd edition of Loading...

What if the concept of a "theme park" MMOG were to cross over into being a real world attraction? That's exactly what Game Nation has proposed with the announcement of the "world's first experiential video game theme park and resort". Yes, you read that correctly. We'll take a closer look at one of the most bizarre new concepts to hit the wide world of gaming in recent years today in Loading... Welcome to LARPland.

The Pulse You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?). Here are today's top 5 Pulse results: World of Warcraft EverQuest II Age of Conan Dungeons and Dragons Online EVE Online Biggest movers this week: Guild Wars 2 (UP 10 to #17) Guild Wars (UP 5 to #16) Free Realms (Down 2 to #15)	Recent Releases 2/16 - EverQuest 2: Sentinel's Fate (expansion) 2/16 - LotRO: Oath of the Rangers (content update) 4/5 - Pocket Legends (iMMOG - release date) 5/1 - City of Heroes - Issue 17: Dark Mirror (content update) 5/11 - Age of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer (expansion) 5/26 - EVE Online: Tyrannis (expansion) 5/27 - Craft of Gods (release)
	Upcoming Releases June 9, 2010 - Mortal Online (release) June 29, 2010 - APB (US - July 2 in EU) Q2 2010 - Mytheon TBA 2010 - Final Fantasy XIV
	Upcoming Events 6/15 - 6/17 - E3 Expo 6/25 - 6/27 - Looking for Group Expo 7/22 - 7/25 - Comic-Con International 8/5 - 8/8 - SOE Fan Faire 2010 9/3 - 9/6 - DragonCon 10/22 - 10/23 - BlizzCon 3/24 - 3/26 (2011)- CCP FanFest
Win an EverQuest II Prowler Mount Last week new mounts were added to the Marketplace store in EverQuest II. This week, get a chance to win one of them FREE! Simply send an email to ben@tentonhammer.com with the subject line "Gimme a Prowler!" for your chance to win. Additionally tune into Ten Ton Hammer Live this Saturday at 7pm EDT for another chance to win one of these cool new mounts. Participants will need to be in the podcast's live IRC chat for to enter the contest. Winners of the Loading... mount giveaway will be announced Friday, May 28, 2010. Winners of the podcast mount giveaway will be notified during the show.

Loading... Daily

At one point or another, we've all heard of MMOGs referred to as either a "sandbox" or "theme park". The differentiating characteristics between the two being that the former tends to be somewhat open ended but gives players the tools to create their own experience such as EVE Online's Tyrannis expansion which launched yesterday. The latter tends to provide players specific points of interest and more often than not leads them by the nose to get there through various means as popularized for the masses by World of Warcraft.

Now, on any given day I come up with plenty of wacky ideas that I realize should never be made public. But even at their wackiest, I don't think I've ever sat down and said to myself, "Gee, I wish there were a real world MMOG theme park where piles of gamers could LARP the day away and then settle in for the night with a relaxing massage given by a team of ninjas." But when I first read about Game Nation, that's exactly what I pictured. Or more specifically, I pictured a cross between this video, DragonCon cosplay contests and Fantasy Island. And to be honest I don't know whether I should be highly amused at the thought, or very, very scared.

Described as the world's first Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort, Game Nation claims, "Visitors will become players as their dreams and fantasies come to life in adventures yet to be told. You will become anything you like and live out the character you create. But this is no game. It's real!"

Apparently we still have plenty of time to ponder whether to be amused or scared by the thought of what Game Nation is proposing, as the official website states that a location for the theme park will be decided sometime in the next 12 months. The 'What is Game Nation?' portion of the site is similarly cryptic, upping the bizarro factor by 10 with a long winded description of setting out on grand adventures or talk of majestic relics and whimsical hardware rather than explaining what in the world this place is supposed to be.

Regardless, I have to admit a morbid curiosity to see what ultimately comes of this. For all I know it might not be the LARPland train wreck waiting to happen that I imagine it to be, but then again all signs point to a giant case of WTF? whenever I think about it for too long.

Do you think the world is prepared for the coming of LARPland? Do other, even more bizarre things spring to mind when you contemplate the idea of stepping into a real world MMOG? Don your favorite +10 Cape of Conversing and share your thoughts in the Loading... forum!

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Shayalyn's Epic Thread of the Day

From our Guild Wars 2 General Discussion forum

What features will set this game apart?

When it comes to Guild Wars 2, Blackmyst thinks it "COULD be the one" for him. His post asks other members for their input on what will make Guild Wars 2 stand out from a pack of promising upcoming MMOGs. What do you think? Discuss!

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Awesome Quotes from the Epic Thread

"I'd have to list story and potentially game play, but I'm especially excited for the new soundtrack theme's. In my opinion GW has some of the best music to fit the game situations and story I've seen in an MMO and I hope Jeremy gets to pull it off again."

- Fatemaster
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Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell us!

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New and Exclusive Content Today at Ten Ton Hammer

3 new Ten Ton Hammer articles today! 100 Ten Ton Hammer features in May! 571 in 2010!

FEATURED REVIEW

Review: Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
http://www.tentonhammer.com/reviews/red-dead-redemption

Rockstar Games, developer of Grand Theft Auto, has been developing Red Dead Redemption for over 6 years now. Was it worth the wait? Is this a new game in a unique refreshing setting, or simply GTA reskinned with horses instead of cars? Mattlow takes the game through its paces to see if it deserves all the attention it’s getting.

FEATURES & GUIDES

Planetary Interaction in EVE Online: Preliminary Trip Report
http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/politics/planetary_trip

The countdown to being able to loot planetary resources begins now. Ten Ton Hammer Contributing Writer, Space Junkie, takes us on a tour of how to be ready to begin our own personal resource plunder projects when the final parts of Tyrannis are released on June 8th.

The Impact of Story Pt. 1 - Guild Wars 2 Gets Personal
http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/editorials/personal-story

The latest update at the official site for upcoming Guild Wars 2 offers plenty of fresh insights into how story will play a leading role in the game. In this first of a two part look at the impact of story in Guild Wars 2, Ten Ton Hammer dives right into the latest details on how ArenaNet intends to give players plenty of tools to weave a highly individual storyline within the overarching tale of the Elder Dragons.

Today's Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

1. Dev Talk: Top MMOG Devs Weigh in on User-Generated Content
2. Ten Ton Hammer Live Ep. 8 - Neil Kaplan Man of Many Voices
3. The Many Reasons to Return to Guild Wars
4. Guild Wars: The War in Kryta Guide
5. The War in Kryta Advances - GW2 Weekly Report
6. Win a Guild Wars 2 Art Book
7. Ten Ton Hammer's Guild Wars 2 Community Site Launches!
8. Review: Dragon Age: Origins-”The Darkspawn Chronicles” (PC)
9. Ultimate Gold Making Guide for World of Warcraft
   
10. Forsaken World Closed Beta Key Giveaway

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Thanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Reuben "Sardu" Waters and the Ten Ton Hammer team