Modifying player behavior in League of Legends with Honor

Modifying player behavior in League of Legends with Honor:
What does a developer do when its players have a reputation for being insufferable jerks? It hires a team of psychologists to tackle complex behavior modification problems with one of the oldest tricks in the book. ...

A Game That's Nothing But A Never-Ending Boss Fight

A Game That's Nothing But A Never-Ending Boss Fight:

This sounds about as fun as being stuck in an endless loop of rainy Monday mornings, but there's at least merit in the idea: Endless Boss Fight is a game that is, quite literally, an endless boss fight. More »

Review Candidate: Asta

Asta by NHN Hangame:
http://asta.hangame.com/micro/index.nhn?lang=en

Pros:

• Unique Eastern/Asian setting: may be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on the country.
• PVP features are focused on large-scale combat.

Cons:

• Unique Eastern/Asian setting: may be an advantage or disadvantage, depending on the country.
• Traditional combat targeting system.
• Adheres too closely to the MMO standards used by World of Warcraft - not very innovative when it comes to gameplay.
• ArcheAge seems to be a superior game overall.

Reviews/Previews:
http://massively.joystiq.com/tag/asta/
http://www.mmoculture.com/tag/asta/

Previous News:
http://luidailynews.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-11-asta-closed-beta-set-for.html
http://luidailynews.blogspot.com/2013/01/asta-kr-sign-up-for-first-closed-beta.html

Requiem Releases Altar of Sacrifice Update

Requiem Releases Altar of Sacrifice Update:

Gravity Interactive has announced the Altar Of Sacrifice update for Requiem: Memento Mori with a new raid zone, a new level 90 experience cap, and additional skill points!

Continue reading Requiem Releases Altar of Sacrifice Update.

Aeria Games Releases Full Website and Dynamic New Character Trailer for Scarlet Blade

Aeria Games Releases Full Website and Dynamic New Character Trailer for Scarlet Blade:

Scarlet Blade has been on many gamers’ minds since it was first announced, and now there is plenty more to whet their appetites. Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, has unveiled the full website for the mature massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), in addition to an action-packed trailer highlighting the playable lovely and lethal ladies in the game.

Continue reading Aeria Games Releases Full Website and Dynamic New Character Trailer for Scarlet Blade.

Disney City Girl combines the Disney brand with the lasting appeal of social fashion games

Disney City Girl combines the Disney brand with the lasting appeal of social fashion games:
Last week, Playdom’s Disney City Girl officially launched on Facebook, following a few weeks of it appearing on our weekly lists of emerging games. The game was developed by Playdom’s studio in Eugene, Oregon, and is the first official Disney game the developer’s put out. Inside Social Games sat down to chat with Product Manager Rachel Nordquist, Senior Producer Alex Swanson and Lead Designer Martha Sapeta about the game and Playdom’s upcoming plans for it.

Microsoft releasing Surface Pro on Feb 9

Microsoft releasing Surface Pro on Feb 9: Microsoft next shot in the tablet wars is coming next month

Path of Exile explains its open beta transition

Path of Exile explains its open beta transition:
Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Launches, Patches, News items, Free-to-play

If you're looking forward to Path of Exile's open beta (possibly in the wake of our own first impressions), you don't have much longer to wait. The testing will start shortly, giving everyone a chance to get in on all of the clicking and looting. For everyone looking forward to the next step, old hands and new players alike, the development team has provided a handy walkthrough of what will take place as the game's gates creak open.



All characters will be returned to level 1 and all items will be removed outside of special promotions, but this will be the last character reset the game will undergo. Players with existing closed beta clients will be able to download the open beta patch directly, but the game's servers will go down for about two hours before the changeover happens. The post also warns everyone to expect that there may be login queues or latency issues given the game's popularity, so consider yourself fairly warned.

Path of Exile explains its open beta transition originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: How the open beta launch will work

Elder Scrolls Online: Paul Sage Talks Beta, Crafting, and Progression

Elder Scrolls Online: Paul Sage Talks Beta, Crafting, and Progression:

Our own Bill Murphy caught up with Elder Scrolls Online's Creative Director, Paul Sage, to talk about all things TESO. From the beta process to the progression, guilds, and even some never-before revealed details on crafting, this interview was chock full of goodies about the upcoming MMORPG.

And The Xbox Game With The Most Users In 2012 Was... Call of Duty (Of Course)

And The Xbox Game With The Most Users In 2012 Was... Call of Duty (Of Course):

Call of Duty earned both the first and second spot of Major Nelson's annual Xbox rankings, which is a pretty impressive (if totally unsurprising) achievement for Activision's popular military shooter franchise. More »

I've Been Smitten By This Hauntingly Sweet Pixel People Trailer

I've Been Smitten By This Hauntingly Sweet Pixel People Trailer:

I'd not heard a single word about LambdaMu's Pixel People until Chillingo sent word that the game was coming soon to iOS this afternoon. Now I'm completely charmed. More »

Sky Ocean review

Sky Ocean review:
Sky Ocean is a Facebook game from Tyler Projects — though the game is still listed under its old name Battle Stations on the developer’s website. The game has been around in one form or another since 2007, when it was apparently the first game on Facebook to include fully-animated battle sequences, but it is now in its third major version.

Feed Starving Children and Build Them a Place to Play in Safari Challenge

Feed Starving Children and Build Them a Place to Play in Safari Challenge:

Launched this week by Desert River Games, Safari Challenge is an example of the sort of Facebook games I admire the most, one that harnesses the actions of gamers sitting at computers in their comfortable homes to create a living charity engine. I feel much better building a virtual village when I know my lazy clicking could help feed hungry children in Africa or build them a playground. More »

Scott Hartsman leaving Trion Worlds

Scott Hartsman leaving Trion Worlds:
Filed under: Fantasy, MMO industry, Free-to-play, RIFT

According to a recent post on the RIFT forum, Executive Producer Scott Hartsman has announced his resignation from Trion Worlds.



"It's been an amazing time," Hartsman writes, "Working with some of the best developers anywhere, getting the company's first game off the ground, taking it all the way through a multitude of amazing updates, then to Storm Legion, and even a little bit beyond."



Lead Game Designer Bill "Daglar" Fisher will be continuing with the State of the Game update starting tomorrow, but no word yet if he'll be taking over the Executive Producer role.



[Thanks to Kirk for the tip!]

Scott Hartsman leaving Trion Worlds originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google announces strong Q4 revenue

Google announces strong Q4 revenue: Company hits $50 billion in annual revenue

If Donkey Kong Country Were an Endless Runner, It Would Look Something Like This

If Donkey Kong Country Were an Endless Runner, It Would Look Something Like This:

With Temple Run 2 whipping endless runner fans into a inevitably doomed frenzy, FDG Entertainment gets ready to release Banana Kong, game that's just a Nintendo license away from being a Donkey Kong Country spin-off. More »

ShootMania Storm release delayed until April

ShootMania Storm release delayed until April: Ubisoft has delayed the launch of its online multiplayer first-person shooter, ShootMania Storm, until April...

Minecraft series sales hit 20 million

Minecraft series sales hit 20 million:
Fueled by 9 million life-to-date copies of PC/Mac version, total franchise sales reach new milestone.

Minecraft for PC and Mac has now sold 9 million copies, per sales data published on the official Minecraft website. According to a tweet from Mojang's Jens Bergensten, total franchise sales now sit around 20 million copies. This is up from 17.5 million in the middle of December.

New sales data for Minecraft: Pocket Edition and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was not divulged.

Mojang announced earlier this month that it sold more than 15 million Minecraft games in 2012, with the Pocket Edition outpacing all the rest, selling 5.9 million copies during the year.

A version of Minecraft for the Raspberry Pi credit-card-sized computer is also in development.

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"Minecraft series sales hit 20 million" was posted by Eddie Makuch on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 06:59:36 -0800

The Secret World working on account-wide shop unlocks and a veteran system

The Secret World working on account-wide shop unlocks and a veteran system:
Filed under: Horror, Real life, Sci-fi, Culture, News items, The Secret World

Cash shops can be the bane of an altoholic, but The Secret World is aiming to ensure that your alts get all of the benefits your main already enjoys. Starting today, pets you unlock via the store will be unlocked for your account rather than one character, with the development team planning to move this functionality to outfits as well. That means that if you buy some cosmetic frippery once, it's yours forever on all your characters.



The game is also going to be putting together a veteran rewards program for subscribers. Each month of subscription provides Veteran Points, awarded at the same time that the subscription awards bonus cash shop points. Veterans can then spend the points on a variety of items, including new consumables, outfits, pets, and training dummies. It's always nice to have some extra benefits to being a long-term fan of a game, so if you're already enjoying deciphering conspiracy, there's extra incentive to keep at it.



[Thanks to Elania for the tip!]

The Secret World working on account-wide shop unlocks and a veteran system originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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• Source: Shop Changes and Veteran System

Target Sits Out Super Bowl Again; Launches Mobile Game Instead

Target Sits Out Super Bowl Again; Launches Mobile Game Instead:

Rather than spend exorbitant sums on a Super Bowl ad, Target is buying into the big game with a little game of its own--a mobile app called Snack Bowl.

Everyone loves the Bud Bowl and the Puppy Bowl, but what about the Snack Bowl?
This year, an epic contest between game day treats will light up the second screen for fans of the Target brand, in a game called Snack Bowl. Rather than sink millions of dollars into an ad that would air during the Super Bowl, Target is sinking its football-based investment into the period leading up to the big game--perhaps so shoppers will remember to do some of their party planning you-know-where.
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Computer game devs can now sell in-game purchases on Amazon.com

Computer game devs can now sell in-game purchases on Amazon.com:
Amazon's In-App Purchasing program has been expanded from its initial Android-only offering to now include Windows, Mac and web-based games, easing your player's checkout process and providing more exposure. ...