Welcome to the 810th Edition of Loading...

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Daily Column

Loading... it's like Disneyland without the entertainment.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we now show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

  1. Age of Conan - 200 BPM
  2. World of Warcraft - 62 BPM
  3. Lord of the Rings Online - 23 BPM
  4. EverQuest 2 - 17 BPM
  5. EVE Online - 14 BPM
  6. Lineage 2 - 14 BPM
  7. Stargate Worlds - 12 BPM
  8. Warhammer Online - 12 BPM
  9. Guild Wars - 12 BPM
  10. Vanguard - 11 BPM

Strap yourself in and refill your coffee mug. There is a lot of MMOG ground to cover today. Thanks to the tsunami of new readers who have mailed me in the last week. I try to respond to everyone, especially if you send a naughty picture, but if I can't please don't be offended or at least send a better picture. I receive 100+ email a day from readers. At even five minutes per response that's over eight hours of time that would be spent on email to readers alone. I do my best, but I can't always write back. Please accept this "thank you" for writing.

Stargate Worlds jumps into the Top 10 with a BPM of 12. Congratulations to the Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment team.

It must have been cosmic consciousness at work as this press release was available this morning.

"MESA, Ariz. – April 17, 2008 – FireSky, a new video game publisher dedicated to improving how gamers play and interact online, announced today that it would publish Stargate Worlds, a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) based on MGM's award-winning Stargate franchise. FireSky will also publish other unannounced titles as it paves the way for SNAP games.

FireSky is pioneering the development and publishing of games for Social Networks At Play™ (SNAPs), a unified theory of online gaming that combines social interaction, economies and game play across a variety of titles. The FireSky team calls this evolution "Project: Ascension." This project – currently under wraps – will bring gamers together in new and unprecedented ways.

"We don't intend to be another garden-variety games publisher," said FireSky CEO Tim Jenson. "We are focused on publishing high quality social gaming experiences online. As the industry moves online, more and more people will be turning to games as a way to spend time with friends. With a few notable exceptions, game developers and publishers haven't done a great job of marrying quality games with social experiences. Project: Ascension and SNAP games will change that dynamic forever."

FireSky Senior Vice President of Product Development, Rod Nakamoto, has launched more than 80 titles over his 25-year career in game development. Mr. Nakamoto leads FireSky's four internal development studios and oversees the progress on Project: Ascension.

"There is a degree of pressure to play a title after the fun factor has gone, simply because the investment is too great," explained Mr. Nakamoto. "Gamers who invest time building characters, making friends and gathering resources typically have no ability to transfer this investment to a new experience. We're working on a new set of ideals that will push online gaming past these barriers and into an era of portability."

Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations Joe Ybarra, a 25-year veteran of the video game industry and one of the founding members of Electronic Arts, is heading up FireSky's publishing operations. Mr. Ybarra has extensive experience publishing products worldwide, handling licensed material and managing business development with third-party developers.

"From a business perspective, publishing is the logical next step for FireSky," said Mr. Ybarra. "We've got the chops to do it and we're assembling a great team here in the desert. I can't wait to get our flagship up and running to show off our operation."

FireSky, a subsidiary of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, currently has four studios working on a variety of interactive titles.

"It's almost time for us to lift the veil and show the world some of the unique projects we're working on in addition to Stargate Worlds," said Mr. Jenson. "Our studios are filled with talented game designers, world builders and engineers and we'll be announcing several products over the course of the summer and fall that will lay the foundation for SNAP games and Project: Ascension. We have projects that span a variety of game genres as well as proven and emerging business models.""

Most of you jumped past the whole wall of text quote, so here are the tasty bits in case you get quizzed about MMOG press releases at work.

  • Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment opened a publishing division
  • In a shocking move they are publishing their own game. Why couldn't they have told me that they have opened a publishing division, but that SOE is publishing SGW? That would get people talking.
  • They are using the acronym "SNAP", which immediately makes me think of SNL skits. I'm not sure that was the intended effect.
  • They are striving to make the MMOG experience portable between games. I'm all for this. How can I help?
  • Joe Ybarra used the word "chops" and "team in the desert" in the same quote. Joe is one of the most entertaining industry legends that you will ever meet.
  • CME (or Firesky) has at least four projects being developed at the moment. Big news, CME is larger than anyone thought and finally I can tell people about it. Do you know how hard it is to keep secrets?

I could go on for a good long time about why I am convinced that making your MMOG experience portable is a license to print money. I could write an even longer piece on why it is an incredibly difficult task, on par with the invasion of Normandy or getting Oprah to make a statement about anything without jumping up and down like she won a $20 billion powerball lottery.

In the beginning, MMOG players were transient, roaming from one game (Everquest) to the next (Everquest). Let's face it, they were transients without a place to go. They were hobos, stumbling from one guild to another or one server to another looking for the perfect fit that never came. In essence they were homeless gamers with no migration path.

As we have been blessed with more choice in which games that we play the common bonds that keeps gamers playing are the relationships that they create in-game. Guilds like The Syndicate and the community guilds at Ten Ton Hammer have formed that allow gamers to move from one game to another knowing that they will have like-minded people to enjoy the game with. The personal bond is currently portable, but not the other investment channels like character levels, assets, etc.

I don't yet know what CME has in mind, but Cody and Garrett are on the case. By tomorrow this whole thing will be blown wide open, Cody and Garrett will be sitting on the rim of the smoking crater and you will be better informed than you are today. What could go wrong?

Travis McGeathy, the lead designer of Everquest posted his farewell to the community yesterday,

"It's amazing how fast time can pass. It feels like just a few days ago when I first walked through the doors here but now, more than 5 years later, it's time for me to move on. I'll be leaving SOE at the end of the month and wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you, the EverQuest players, for your dedication and friendship over the years.

Looking back over everything that EverQuest has done in the last 5 years is enough to make my head swim, but the one constant throughout that time has always been the fans. Between fan faires, community summits, and the forums, I've met more dedicated and knowledgeable players than I could ever count and many of you have become good friends. That level of interaction with players is something you don't often get to experience in this industry and I'm certainly going to miss it.

EverQuest has always been a pioneer in the MMO industry and it has been a distinct honor to be part of that legacy and work with the wonderful team behind the game. I leave EverQuest in the very capable hands of Ryan "Rytan" Barker and I have no doubt that he'll continue its success long into the future.

Thanks you all for the great memories and I hope to run into everyone again in the future.

Travis "Rashere" McGeathy
Lead Designer
EverQuest"

Good luck in your next project, whatever that may be!

Good luck to Blizzard on dealing with the aftermath of having an employee bypass the character transfer mechanisms and move one of his (or her) buddies to another server to join everyone's favourite vocal minority, The Fires of Heaven Guild. The problem was that it was a move from PvE to a PvP server which is a no-no in Blizzardland. It's probably just coincidence, but Furor, who goes by the nickname Alex Afrasiabi in real life was the outspoken guild leader of FoH back in the Everquest era. When word got out, this statement hit the forums,

"This transfer was based on an internal request that bypassed our checks and balances dictating how such transfers occur. Since the transfer violates our character-transfer policy, the character in question is being moved back to its originating realm, and we have imposed some additional measures to help avoid such situations in the future. We made this correction as soon as we became aware of the oversight; we appreciate everyone’s attention and input on the matter."

Well done Blizzard. Now start naming names so the forum denizens can start arguing over whether the starter zones are spread out in a democratic fashion or whether troll tusks are a millimeter too long.

Long in the tooth? Nah, but a little bird told me that today might be Phil White's birthday. Phil has worked on several games, the most recent of which was Fury. Happy Birthday Phil!

NCSoft gave birth to NCCoin yesterday, their very own micro-transactions system.

"AUSTIN, Texas - (Business Wire) NCsoft® Corporation, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, unveiled today the details of a new micro-transaction system called NCcoin™. This system will allow customers to use real-world money to purchase in-game items and upgrades.

NCcoin, debuting in the action-packed game Exteel™, was designed so that each dollar spent (US$1) equates to 100 NCcoin, which can be used to acquire in-game items and for upgrade purchases. NCcoin is part of NCsoft’s continuing efforts to offer a variety of business models while giving customers easier access to NCsoft games." - [The full press release can be read here.]

I was a F2P, micro-transaction snob, but I'm trying to change.

F2P, Blizz plays favourites and CME snaps. You must have opinions! The The Loading... forums await you.

Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

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13 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 152 in April! 904 in 2008!

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About The Author

Dissecting and distilling the game industry since 1994. Lover of family time, youth hockey, eSports, and the game industry in general.

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