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

At the very end of every December we gather together to usher in a brand new year with champagne, noisemakers, fireworks and, if we're lucky, the traditional New Year's kiss. While the turn of the year may represent nothing more than a shiny new calendar and a different set of numbers to write on our checks (that is, if we used checks these days), there's still something about the clean slate before us that seems worth celebrating. The new year offers a time to reflect on what went wrong with the old one, and to set things right where we can, or chalk our experiences up to lessons learned when we can't. And so we make promises to ourselves--we resolve to do things differently. We promise to quit smoking, eath healthier, exercise more, or save more money.

Studies show that few resolutions survive past January 31. Of course, perhaps that's because we resolve to do things that we think we should do, but maybe not things that we're passionate about doing.  Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, has tracked 700 people who made New Year’s resolutions. Only about 12% managed to stick to what they had resolved. In his recently released book, 59 Seconds, Wiseman sets out the things people can do to make success more likely. For starters, he advises us to tell others about our resolutions--the pressure to succeed makes us more likely to keep them. He also suggests that we should avoid going with the crowd and making the usual resolutions (that famous "lose 10 pounds") and, instead, make resolutions that deeply matter to us.

In that spirit, we asked some of our developer friends and Ten Ton Hammer staff members to share their personal resolutions as MMOG developers, gamers and writers. Some of them are clever or funny, others are sincere, but all of them give us food for thought as we ponder what 2010 will bring to the gaming world. Read on!

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Champions Online

Our friend Bill Roper, Executive Producer of Champions Online, has one simple resolution in mind--to play more games. Of course, that simple promise may involve some serious multitasking.

An image from the superhero MMOG Champions Online

"This year, I resolve to play more games. Now, that’s saying a lot because I play a ton of games on PC, console, and on tabletops. But there are just so many games across so many genres, I feel that I need to step it up to stay current. I know this means a level of sacrifice on my part. I’ll be spending less time watching DVDs, or hanging out at the local watering hole. But I figure that I can also improve my multitasking abilities in 2010.

"So this year I’ll be combining my gaming, drinking, and movie watching into meta-events. I foresee adult beverage-fueled raids while watching District 9. I predict massive Madden 10 upsets while enjoying a frosty brew with The Blind Side playing on a second TV. Oh, this year I’m going to do it all, and I’ll be the more complete gamer for it."

- Bill Roper, Executive Producer

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Alganon

The fine crew at Quest Online, developers of  the fantasy-based MMOG Alganon,  took a much more practical (and collaborative) approach. We'll be looking forward to seeing them deliver!

1) Fix all of the bugs affecting gameplay with focus on Connection, Crash, and Quest Issues.

A peaceful scene in Alganon.

2) Refine and expand the game focusing on the enhancement of the Starter experience and Lore integration.

3) Increase the visibility of Alganon among all gamers.  

- David Allen, Quest Online President & Co-founder

4) Expand the lore of Alganon to include our players as key figures in the world.

- Hue Henry, Alganon Director of Design

5) Continue working with our community members to strengthen and grow the best new MMORPG community around.

- Jim "Tork" Younkin, Alganon Community Manager and Evangelist

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38 Studios

What will 38 Studios deliver in 2010? We can't wait to find out.

As yet, we haven't heard much from 38 Studios, the development studio founded by Todd McFarlane, Bob Salvatore, and Curt Schilling. And yet their project, codenamed Copernicus, stayed on the periphery and held our interest throughout 2009. What will 2010 bring for 38 Studios? It's difficult to predict. But CEO Curt Schilling had plenty to say about building a great team.

"My New Year’s resolution is to insure that at the end of 2010 38 Studios is more transparent and more engaged in providing a lifelong home for employees wishing and wanting to remain with one company. You don’t build great teams, great companies by changing team composition on a monthly or yearly basis.

"Providing a stable and consistent culture is one piece, along with benefits and compensation that is the ‘show don’t tell’ part of investing in your people I want this company to provide an awesome place to live and work now, but also to present endless possibilities for career advancement to anyone wishing to push themselves and their work to levels other companies don’t offer.

"I think we can do that by tapping into the immense potential the education environment the New England area presents for current and future members of 38 Studios. From MIT, to Harvard, to RISD and beyond there are endless possibilities to live, learn and grow in this industry, right here at home and I think that providing our people avenues to explore those options while remaining a part of this company will result in the ultimate win/win for the people, and the company."

- Curt Schilling, CEO/Founder

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There's more from Runes of Magic, Fallen Earth, CCP, Sleepy Giant, and the Ten Ton Hammer team. Read on!

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