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Star Citizen just reached an impressive crowd-funding milestone of $9 million. We take a look at some of the ways its unique development process might be good for games and gamers, as well as some of the challenges Cloud Imperium Games faces.
Opinions
Thu, May 02, 2013
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Indie game developers are increasingly turning to crowd funding as a revenue source. Star Citizen leads the pack. What are the advantages, and potential pitfalls, of this rapidly growing trend?
Opinions
Tue, Apr 16, 2013
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If you're confused by the weapons and salvaging system in Defiance, you're in good company. We've sorted out some of the basic
principles of weapons and crafting to help get you on your way to hunting arkfall like a fully-kitted pro.
Crafting Guides, Guides
Wed, Apr 03, 2013
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Trion Worlds unleashed Defiance today. Getting started as an ark hunter can be a little daunting. Fortunately, our new player guide is here to smooth the learning curve.
Basics, Guides
Tue, Apr 02, 2013
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Are you all for the freedom or skill-based MMO gaming, or do you prefer the structure and consistency of levels? It all comes down to whether you're a gaming capitalist, a gaming socialist, or a little in between.
Opinions
Mon, Mar 18, 2013
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One of the defining characteristics of The Elder Scrolls RPG franchise has been its skill-based system, but Zenimax has put forth a hybrid, class-based formula for The Elder Scrolls Online. Will it work?
Opinions
Tue, Mar 05, 2013
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Josh Hackney, Senior Producer for PlanetSide 2, stepped away from the Ultimate Empire Showdown last week to talk with Ten Ton Hammer about SOE’s Major League Gaming partnership for PlanetSide 2, and how we can expect e-sports to impact the game.
Interviews
Wed, Jan 30, 2013
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We sat down with composer Jeff Broadbent to learn more about his work on PlanetSide 2's iconic score, and what it's like to write music for the gaming industry.
Interviews
Fri, Dec 14, 2012
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In the past decade or so, there’s no question that games have gotten easier. Is it because today’s kids view losing as unfair, rather than as a natural consequence of sucking?
Opinions
Thu, Dec 06, 2012
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PlanetSide 2 launched this week, and Ten Ton Hammer's resident PS2 expert has assembled a quick-start guide to get you on your way to kicking ass in no time.
Basics, Guides
Wed, Nov 21, 2012
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Well, I guess I should point out that I've been in beta for... I'm not sure. It's been several months, though. So I'm not reviewing it as someone who just dropped in. I'm looking at it who's seen the progress over the last several months, and should point out that it is true, Piranha has come a long way with the game.
I also enjoy playing the game quite a bit, enough that I bought the $120 founders package the day they put it up. I'm a fan of the franchise, so I even enjoyed Mech Commander. But I'm not here to write about how much I like the game, I'm here to write about how much you will enjoy the game and whether it's on the right track to be worth the cash investment to you. In doing that, I can't hype dream-ware. No matter how cool it sounds, it doesn't exist yet.
But I'm tickled to see so many folks commenting. That means there's a strong community for the game, and that hopefully will drive continued development. Personally, I'd love to see that.
Anytime, mate. =) Us lovers of freedom got to stick together. =P
I disagree, though I do completely empathize with you. MMOs are getting dumbed down because that's what happens when any medium gets marketed to the masses. Look at TV and the swath of reality shows all over the place. They're approachable by the widest audience, thus they get the widest attention, but sometimes you get those gems like Big Bang Theory that just breaks away from the pack to show that while good will always get you by, intelligent script writing and clever story-telling will always be the path to true success.
MMOs are the same way. The scalability of interactions hasn't ruined MMOs. In fact, I'd submit in that in a way it's refined them. You have to think about the player experience so much more deeply than you used to. At one time, you could just make an interesting world, rough out some mechanics, and let the players have at it. These days it takes much more depth and more impact per second to be competitive. The question is how do you build that impact? Games like CoD do it through random rewards and bright flashy lights, but games like Skyrim build it through rich story-telling.
Adults just don't have the time to invest in games that we once did, so that time invested has to have some significance to it. The days of camping EC and hawking random loot in EQ are gone. It's what'll be next that excites me. The awesome isn't gone. They just haven't figured out how to concentrate it and deliver it in a way that doesn't kill the user yet. =)
Check out Planetside 2 when it releases. I think you'll be happy with how well the game will likely fit into your lifestyle. I went through a similar transition when I joined the Army years ago, and the original PS was the game that worked for me then. The new one should fill that nich even better. There'll be mobile apps that allow you to be involved and stay updated on how things are going even when you're not around your computer, and it'll be one of those games where you invest as little or as much time as you want. More time just means more flexibility, so newer or less experienced players are still competitive. They just don't have the flexibility that other players might.
Great write-up, Jeff! That'll be handy.