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Cody “Micajah” Bye here again. I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I’m going to be here all week. John’s got bigger fish to fry down in Scottsdale, Ariz. Hopefully his delicate Canadian skin doesn’t get roasted by the harsh desert sun…just kidding, John. Please don’t fire me.

Yesterday I pointed all of you towards Fool’s Gold by Verse Studios, a little game where you take up the role of a Gold Farmer trying to outrun the nefarious Blizzards. I played through the content of the game in about fifteen minutes last afternoon. That’s about all the time you’ll need. The guys at Verse Studios even say so, when they talk about how they can’t understand why people continue to download the game.

Often, people are just drawn to crap. I mean, how the hell does Sanjaya from American Idol keep coming back if people don’t just adore crap? I’m no American Idol fan, but even I have heard the news on this character.

Back to Fool’s Gold, my favorite (or should I say un-favorite) moments in the game were when you ran into the “Newbs” and started saying “Gold doesn’t grow on trees y’know”. In reality (or the reality of the land of Goldman), it grows on small corn-like plants. The developers also included hotkeys that don’t actually do anything, which was another golden touch.

Some other priceless instances included picking “gold” off the “gold plants” and having your character say: “Pick.” Another sound effect achievement was made when the Blizzard starts stealing your gold and it says – with a distinct amount of monotony – “Snatch. Snatch. Snatch.”

To paraphrase Strong Bad, I give it a zero-out-of-crap. And that's exactly the sort of review the Verse guys are looking for.

In other news, today we’re featuring an interview that I had recently with White Wolf Publishing’s President, Mike Tinney, and Kelley Barnes-Herrmann, the company’s Marketing Director. Last year, CCP Games and White Wolf Publishing merged, and the companies announced that they are working on a new MMO based on White Wolf’s World of Darkness pen-and-paper RPG. The game is going to be produced using CCP’s technology and White Wolf’s storytelling skills. With the game in pre-production, I thought it best to do a general interview with the White Wolf team before they get too busy with the development cycle.

If you’re at all interested in MMOs that are beyond the typical Sci-Fi/Fantasy mold…the new World of Darkness MMO may just be the fit for you. The World of Darkness is a real-world/horror based product, so it certainly is going to make for an interesting MMO venue. Make sure you check out the interview!
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Exclusive TenTonHammer.com Content!

04.03.2007

• The World of Darkness Online: An Interview with White Wolf Publishing
  "On November 11, 2006, the gaming industry was grabbed by its lapels and given a hearty shake as an announcement of monstrous proportions hit the 'net: CCP Games and White Wolf Publishing had merged. To add jet fuel to the already ferocious fire the announcement also included a little statement saying, "White Wolf will leverage CCP's industry-leading technologies to bring its offline role-playing titles online." In an effort to gain some more perspective on the entire situation, I tracked down White Wolf President Mike Tinney and Marketing Director Kelley Barnes-Herrmann and asked them to fill in some of the background details that occurred before the deal was made and just how work on the World of Darkness MMO is progressing."
• Lord of the Rings Online: Exclusive Images from the End of Testing
  "Recently, Micajah ran an article detailing the events thrown by Turbine in the last night of the Lord of the Rings Online closed beta. While his flight from Bree to Trestle Bridge to Rivendell is well-documented with pictures, he was unable to get any shots of the actual drakes that were attacking the elven city. With help from his friend Elizabeth (thanks!), we now have several images of the drakes that were attacking the town where the Fellowship of the Ring banded together for their trip across Middle Earth."
  
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - UI Repository Update
  "The sleek GlassUI is now up to version 1.9. Be sure to download the latest rendition today! And remember, you don't have to register to download our UI mods!"
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Blog Update
  "In his latest blog, Ralsu takes a look at the hurdles Vanguard has had to overcome to get him to commit and comes to an important conclusion."
• Dungeons and Dragons Online: Enhancement Guide - The Warriors of
  the Wild
  "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you... The Barbarian is a hard class to make well in DDO, and Darkgolem's guide to Barbarian Enhancements in the new 3.3 enhancement system will help. Read the whole guide, Warriors of the Wild!"
• World of Warcraft: Is the New Expansion Worth It?
  "The Topic of the Week takes a good look at whether the expansion was "worth it", both in price and time. Maegwynn starts things off with a very interesting and thought provoking look at if the expansion is truly worth it. Afterwards, it's up to you to vote and tell your thoughts on this issue!"
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Understanding Equipment Expertise
  "What is equipment expertise in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes? How does it determine what your character can and can't wear or wield? This week's Tuesday's Tip answers your questions."
• Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Video: Player Housing
  "Sony Online Entertainment and Sigil Games Online released new footage from Vanguard: Saga of Heroes that showcases player housing. The video, narrated by designer Kurt Wagner, takes viewers through the purchase of land and construction of a house on both Qalia and Kojan. Vanguard allows players to build houses big and small and provides very open floor plans, leaving the décor up to each individual player."
• World of Warcraft: Warlock Instance Guide
  "Our Warlock guide gets another brand new page added to it today! The "Warlock Instance Guide" goes over many helpful tips in playing a Warlock inside of an instance. Avoid embarrassment, be more prepared, and get further with our latest addition to our Warlock Guide!"
• Blog Update - Market Saturation?
  "Micajah discusses the concept of market saturation in his blog and argues against looking at the past to determine the current saturation of today's MMO marketplace."
  

Hot Content

• The Chronicles of Spellborn: Interview with Marco van Haren
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• Fury: Interview With C.E.O., Tony Hilliam
• Lord of the Rings Online: Beta Recap
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Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

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  We'll miss you, old friend.
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  One more idiot goes to prison.
• 101 Year Old Man Passes Driving Test
  And I failed my driving test twice when I was 16.
• Teens Attempt to Poison Teacher
  A can of fabric freshner a day...

Vin Diesel Fact: Spirits go on vision quests to see Vin Diesel.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- Cody "Micajah" Bye