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Are you looking for the latest industry headlines? Look no further.

1. Daily Column
2. New MMOG Articles at TenTonHammer Today
3. Hot Content
4. Real World News - You Can't Make This Up

1. Daily Column

Big news today, but first...

I wasn't very clear in the column yesterday. That's a real shocker I know. Apparently I touched on a hot subject though, as I received no less than 80 e-mail telling me I was either brilliant or a good selection for a permanent dunce cap.

I did not mean to insinuate that level 1 MOBs should be incredibly difficult to defeat. I was simply trying to say, in my normal awkward, hard to understand way, that we don't need to kill 20 rats at level 1. Let me start out fighting something that is "perceived" to be more powerful. Let me be a hero from level 1 on. Let me start the game defending my homeland from towering titans or armies of minotaurs. Let me feel heroic from the moment that I begin the game and not an insignificant peon who is sent out to wrest rat's fangs from their long dead mouths.

The titans and minotaurs don't need to be incredibly difficult to dispatch. It's all perception. I perceive that I am more important, more heroic if you will, if I am battling an army of minotaurs than if I am sent out to knock wolves on the head with a "rough club".

I was remiss to mention that there is a game that in many ways takes the very road that I am wishing to travel. Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising, a title by Perpetual Entertainment looks like it will break the cycle. I have played the game in Perpetual's San Francisco offices. What we were able to see and play through was a new and exciting experience. I am not in the beta, so I cannot comment on what is seen outside of "closed doors", but what I was able to experience was superb.

Now to the more important news...

Before you read it... please note that our interview with Alan Crosby was done at OGDC, before the news below was public. Alan likely had no idea that this was coming.

As reported by F13, Sigil has flushed their staff.

"...at approximately 4:30PM today, Sigil employees were told to meet outside. At which point they were terminated. On the spot. By whom? Doesn't seem to have been Brad McQuaid, if it was, nobody is talking."

The sky is falling! Well, maybe it is and maybe it isn't. It depends on who you are. The real question is, "Why is this a surprise to so many people?"

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was released too early, because as Brad McQuaid has stated, Sigil did not have enough money to take it to completion. Fair enough.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) stepped in and took over the project.

Sigil now doesn't have money OR a project to work on.

Why would Sigil need employees?

The company that needs employees who understand the underpinnings of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes is SOE.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

It is not uncommon for a company (in this case SOE) to hire many of the employees who worked on a project that they have bought-out. It only makes sense to bring in the people that understand the code, though in this case perhaps not the community itself. This mass "execution" sounds horrific and the way that it was done seems strange, but I hold hope for the good folks at Sigil. We will know more today when the official announcement is made.

Nearly every Sigil employee that I have been fortunate to meet or work with has been over-the-top fantastic. I wish them all the best and if SOE is where they want to be I hope that they get their wish.

A copper for your thoughts...

Vote, rank, share, comment or email me directly.

2. New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• OGDC: Interview - SOE's Alan Crosby on Community and Vanguard
  "Shayalyn sat down with Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, Director of Global Community Relations for Sony Online Entertainment, to learn his thoughts on managing expectations, dealing honestly with players, and fansite communities. They also discussed Vanguard: Saga of Heroes--the MMORPG that SOE co-published and launched in partnership with its developers, Sigil Games Online--and the stories and rumors circulating around claims that SOE is about to become “more involved” with the forward progress of Vanguard."
• OGDC: BigWorld And The Massively Multiplayer Console Game
  "In part 2 of our interview with Gavin Longhurst, Director of Business Development at BigWorld Technologies, gives us the scoop on MMO development for consoles. The benefits are clear, more market reach with less design niggles, so why aren't more MMO developers out for the console buck? It turns out that between the PC and the consoles, playstyle differences are more than skin deep."
• OGDC: The New Online Game Payment Model
  "It isn't everyday that you're given the opportunity to sit in a room with the president of a company that engages in gold advertising, the founder of a free-to-play gaming network, and the marketing director of a gaming company fervently against the sale of online items, without seeing them break into a fist fight. But that was exactly the situation that I was placed in when I poked into my last OGDC panel of the week. The topic was the New Online Game Payment Model, and the stage was set for antics from each of the various camps."
• OGDC: The Four Emotions of Game Design
  "In our current massively multiplayer online gaming space, emotions are often subdued, only emerging when players achieve victory in an intensely difficult raid or facing certain death in a Leeroy Jenkins-sque group wipe. However, they do exist in these games, and this was the topic discussed in Nicole Lazzaro's presentation on the "Four Most Important Emotions of Game Design" where she presented the key "emotions" necessary to create an award-winning, revenue-generating game. Throughout the rest of this article, we'll discuss the four "emotions" she covered in her lecture and what MMO developers could or should do to integrate these emotions into their titles."
• Dungeons and Dragons Online: The Dervish
  "The dervishes of the Menechtarun are experts of survival and mortal foes of the deadly enemies that live there. Find out how to make one with Darkgolem's new custom build: The Dervish!"
• Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising - Soldier Preview
  "Beta Journal #6 is now out, and the mystery tester tells us why this one was delayed, and what recent developments there are with the game! I've also finished another episode of "Search for Strange and Wonderous Creatures of the Gaming World." This episode takes aim at the Soldier, and gathers all the information on them that's fit to print!"
• Lord of the Rings Online: Minstrel Skill List
  "Looking at a Minstrel, you might think someone who runs around with instruments is kind of wussy or even crazy. Nothing could be further from the truth. This class has dozens of abilities and you'll get more utility out of them than a Jack Thompson dartboard. Ten Ton Hammer has your full list of Minstrel abilities available so take a look."
• World of Warcraft: Horde Leveling Guide 60-70
  "Today we continue our Horde 60-70 leveling guide with the exploration of the southern areas of Netherstorm and level 68. So if your looking for the fastest way to level, check it out."
• World of Warcraft: Target Selection And Marking
  "Each week we feature an amazing new hot tip (or other randomly named tip) that helps you get things done quicker, faster, and/or easier in the World of Warcraft. This week's tip is all about target selection and marking in a group.

3. Hot Content

• OGDC: Interview - SOE's Alan Crosby on Community and Vanguard
• OGDC: Stargate Worlds Interview With Joe Ybarra
• OGDC: Interview - Gavin Longhurst of BigWorld Technology
• OGDC: AISeek And Smarter NPCs in Dynamic Worlds
• OGDC: Collaborative Art and MMOs? Markus Weichselbaum Interviewed
• OGDC: Marvel Universe Interview With Victor Wachter and Shayne Herrera
• OGDC: Marvel Universe Animation Rig - Video
• SOE Gamer Day: Community Builds Tools
• SOE Gamer Day: Gods and Heroes
• SOE Gamer Day: Vanguard
  
• EverQuest 2: Expansion Revealed at SOE Gamer Day
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online: Video Preview
• Colony Studios: Interview With Mike Wallis, CEO

4. Real World News

• How Not To Ship A Plasma TV
  ...or what to watch Rosie on.
• Bike Helmet Crushed, But Head Fine
  Helmets will now be required to wear heads.
• Massive Denial of Service Attack Targets Estonia
  Both computers were taken offline for extended periods of time with overheated modems.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

John "Boomjack" Hoskin