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is the premier daily MMOG newsletter, only from Ten
Ton Hammer!

Welcome
to the 1,367th
edition
of Loading...

Mini-games have long been
a part of the MMOG scene to varying degrees. While most tend to remain
in the realm of interesting diversions from the core focus of combat,
plenty of others offer wholly separate forms of character advancement.
Some titles, such as SOE's wildly popular href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/287">Free
Realms

have
taken the mini-game concept and applied it to nearly all aspects of
gameplay to great success. As it turns out, mini-games (or Activities
as ArenaNet has chosen to call them) are also
one of the latest features revealed
for upcoming href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">Guild
Wars 2
.
We'll take a closer look at the
awesome power of the pint-sized gameplay package today in
Loading... Massively Mini.

cellspacing="0" width="100%">

href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010"> src="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/e32010.gif"
alt="E3 2010"
longdesc="http://images.tentonhammer.com/misc/Loading/e32010.gif"
height="90" width="210">

The
Pulse

You vote with what you
view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the
result
is the Ten Ton Pulse ( href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/thepulse/">What
is The Pulse?).

Today's
top 5 Pulse results this week:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow">World
    of Warcraft
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eq2">EverQuest II
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/aoc">Age of Conan
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve">EVE Online
  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/ddo">Dungeons
    and Dragons Online

Biggest
movers today
:

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
    of Heroes

    -
    UP 14 to #13
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest

    UP
    11 to #11
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/287">Free
    Realms

    - UP
    10 to
    #19
size="-1">Recent Releases
  • size="-1">5/1
    - href="http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/game_updates/issue_17/issue_17_overview.html?utm_source=COHemail&utm_medium=US&utm_campaign=banner"
    target="_blank">City
    of Heroes - Issue 17: Dark Mirror
    (content
    update)
  • size="-1">5/11
    - Age
    of Conan: Rise of the Godslayer
    size="-1">
    (expansion)
  • size="-1">5/26
    - EVE
    Online: Tyrannis
    size="-1">
    (expansion)
  • size="-1">5/27
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2422">Craft
    of Gods size="-1">
    (release)
  • size="-1">6/9
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1004">Mortal
    Online size="-1">
    (release)
  • size="-1">June
    29,
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/998"
    target="_blank">APB
    (US release- July 2 in UK, EU)

size="-1">Upcoming
Releases



  • size="-1">July
    13, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/1801"
    target="_blank">Mytheon
    (release)

  • size="-1">July
    20,
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2461"
    target="_blank">Need
    for Speed World (release)
  • size="-1">August
    17, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/140">City
    of Heroes: Going Rogue (release)
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">October 26, 2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/170">LEGO
    Universe (release)

  • size="-1">TBA
    2010
    - href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/2079"
    target="_blank">Final
    Fantasy XIV size="-1">



size="-1">Upcoming
Events

  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">7/22 -
    7/25 - href="http://www.comic-con.org/" target="_blank">Comic-Con
    International
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">8/5 -
    8/8 - href="http://events.station.sony.com/fanfaire/" target="_blank">SOE
    Fan Faire 2010
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">8/18 -
    8/22 - href="http://www.gamescom-cologne.com/en/gamescom/home/index.php"
    target="_blank">Gamescom 2010
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/5 - href="http://www.paxsite.com/paxprime/index.php" target="_blank">PAX
    Prime
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">9/3 -
    9/6 - href="http://www.dragoncon.org/" target="_blank">DragonCon
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;">10/22 -
    10/23 - href="http://us.blizzard.com/blizzcon/?rhtml=y" target="_blank">BlizzCon
  • size="-1"> style="font-weight: bold;"> 3/24
    -
    3/26 (2011) - href="http://fanfest.eveonline.com/" target="_blank">CCP
    FanFest



Loading... Daily

Long ago in a Norrath far,
far away, there was a little game called Gems that I used to play once
my necro finished up his task of summoning corpses and rezzing clerics
after a raid wipe. You see, back then getting a full raid of people
rezzed, rebuffed and regrouped to take a second crack at our target was
a long and arduous process. Once my role of getting all the corpses
gathered in a massive pile was complete all I really had to do until
the raid was up and running again was act as a mana battery for one of
the clerics which amounted to sitting on my butt and casting a spell
every minute or two. I remember being thankful that there was this
silly little mini-game I could muck around with in the meantime, and
I've been a fan of mini-games in massively multiplayer worlds
ever since.

Over the years, we've seen any
number of oddball activities
pop up in popular titles which, much like typing /gems in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/38">EverQuest,
have no real consequence on anything relating to character advancement.
More than a few of them are pretty stumpy while others such as the
playable instruments in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/lotro">Lord
of the Rings Online

can help provide a much more immersive
overall experience for players. Some developers have even attempted to
bring the mini-game into the realm of core gameplay features such as
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/vanguard">Vanguard's
crafting and diplomacy systems. And
let's not forget href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/287">Free
Realms

which is essentially just a
massive mini-game buffet that lets you pick and choose which gameplay
flavor you enjoy best.

It's no secret which MMO
mini-game is my absolute favorite
of all time though. I'm speaking of course about the awesome
high-speed insect action known as Rollerbeetle Racing in the original
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/taxonomy/term/47">Guild
Wars
.
While many Americans will be having cookouts and shooting
off illegal fireworks this weekend to celebrate Independence Day, I
will be whiling away the hours zipping around the track during the
latest href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/86324">Dragon
Festival which runs from today
until this coming Sunday.
I'll mostly likely be dusting off one of my older characters,
the mighty Sardu X for the event so if you see me racing around the
rollerbeetle track this weekend be sure to say hello!

Speaking of the developers of
my favorite mini-game of all time, in a recent interview ArenaNet
discussed some of it's plans for Activities in href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2">Guild
Wars 2
 which
are various mini-games
you'll be able to play in each of the game's major
cities. I'm actually pretty hyped
that, rather than being
linked to the holiday events like they are in the original, activities
in Guild Wars 2
sound as though they'll be available to
players all year round. I've always loved taking part in things like
the above mentioned rollerbeetle races or the PvP snowball
fights during the Wintersday event in GW, so you can bet that I'll
be first in line to get in on the action once the GW2 mothership has
landed.

Do you have any favorite MMO
mini-games that you can't get
enough of? Are you as excited as I am to see that they'll be
a staple in the cities of Guild
Wars 2
? Race your favorite
rollerbeetle
over to the Loading... forum and let us know!


Shayalyn's
Epic Thread of
the Day



From our href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6">Articles,
News & Events Discussion



href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52133">Criminals
and Enforcers Take to the Streets with APB Launch




We all played cops and robbers as kids. Now we can play cops and
criminals in a virtual world designed strictly for that purpose...and
for our amusement. APB has launched, and players are flooding into the
mean streets to make things happen. Whether you're upholding the law or
breaking it, we want to know how you're liking APB. Join the others in
this thread href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showthread.php?t=52133">discussing the
MMOG world's latest launch.



==============================

Awesome Quotes from the
Epic Thread




"I've
bought the game and have
had a blast so far. The game isn't without its faults, but it's
honestly the most fun I've had playing an MMO in a long time. I love
the Grand Theft Auto series though, so if you don't, then this game
might not be for you.
"



- href="http://forums.tentonhammer.com/showpost.php?p=435413&postcount=6">Randem

==============================



Have you spotted an Epic Thread on our forums? Tell
us!


New
and Exclusive Content
Today at Ten Ton Hammer

4 Ten Ton Hammer
features
today! 4 Ten Ton Hammer
features
in July! 722
in 2010!

FEATURES
& GUIDES




APB:
Spotlight on the Symbol Designer


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/apb/symbol-designer">http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/apb/symbol-designer



One
of the best parts of APB, the new urban shooter MMOG from Realtime
Worlds, is the vast amount of customization possibilities in the way
characters look and dress, and the cars they drive. The crown jewel at
the heart of this robust, multilayered customization system is the
Symbol Designer, a surprisingly powerful in-game utility for creating
logos and custom symbols. Art created in the symbol designer can then
be used for tattoos, vehicle decals, and even graffiti. Mattlow
presents a tutorial on how to use this robust in game tool.



Suicide
Ganking The Primae In EVE Online


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/combat/ganking_primae">http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/combat/ganking_primae



The
Primae sure is a pretty class of ship. Too bad each player only got
one, per account. Too bad Ten Ton Hammer Contributing Writer, Space
Junkie, wrote this guide about how to suicide gank them in
high-security space.



The
Races of Guild Wars 2: Humans


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/humans">http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/humans




Humans
are an integral part to most RPG stories and the Guild Wars universe is
no exception. Humans will be playing a big part in Guild Wars 2 even
though other races have moved onto the main stage. What happens to the
Human race in Guild Wars 2? Our look at Humanity in Guild Wars
2 answers this question and many more.



style="font-weight: bold;">WoW Gold through Gathering


href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/gold/gathering">http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/gold/gathering




You've
got your startup gold, epic flying, and if need be a steady stream of
gold through daily quests. It's not enough, you want more. The next
step up the gold making ladder is the resource gatherer. These players
pick up tradeskills like Herbalism, Mining, and less commonly Skinning
and traverse the world picking up items that are useful to other
tradeskills.

Today's
Hottest Articles, Guides, and Features

  1. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/dcuo/yanagi-interview">Sock!
    Pow! Bam! DC
    Universe
    Online
    – An
    Interview with Senior Producer Wes Yanagi
  2. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/previews/humans">The
    Races of Guild Wars 2:
    Humans
  3. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/podcasts/live/13"> style="font-weight: bold;">DC Universe Online's Senior
    Producer Wes Yanagi on Ten Ton Hammer Live Episode 13 href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/giveaways/nfsw">
  4. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/apb/symbol-designer">APB:
    Spotlight on the Symbol Designer
  5. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sherwood-dungeon/interview">Exclusive
    Interview With Creator of style="font-weight: bold;">
    Sherwood Dungeon href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/sherwood-dungeon/interview">

  6. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">Introducing
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">Company
    of Heroes Online
    href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/company-of-heroes-interview">
    - A Video Q&A with Producer Greg Wilson
  7. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/wow/guides/instances/ruby-sanctum"> style="font-weight: bold;">WoW Ruby
    Sanctum
    Guide
  8. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/guides/apb/10-tips-for-noobs"> style="font-weight: bold;">APB for
    Dummies
    - 10 Tips & Tricks to Help Get You Started
  9. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2010/swtor-ohlen-interview"> style="font-weight: bold;">Star Wars: The Old Republic
    - Q&A with James Ohlen
  10. href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/gw2/features/interviews/traits">Exclusive
    Guild Wars 2
    Warrior and Traits
    Q&A with Lead Designer Eric Flannum

Thanks
for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!

- Reuben "Sardu" Waters and the Ten Ton Hammer Team.


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Reuben "Sardu" Waters has been writing professionally about the MMOG industry for eight years, and is the current Editor-in-Chief and Director of Development for Ten Ton Hammer.

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