Owner: RPG Blog URL:http://www.rpgb.blogspot.com Join Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 09:31:19 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Your guide to Console, PC, Hand-held and Tabletop role-playing games. A source for the latest news, commentary, reviews, previews, screenshots, artwork, industry break-throughs, rumours, hints and tips, with a healthy dose of fantasy/sci-fi pop-culture th Site statistics:Click here
Play MMORPGs? 2007-05-21 01:34:00 Then you need to watch this excerpt of a documentary on the booming (and exploitative) g.old farming industry in China, rife within popular MMORPGs. These 'professional gamers' are paid a pittance to perform repetative tasks within MMORPGs for the in-game g.old/item rewards. These items are then sold to Western gamers for real money.
I've noticed that since I've started posting about WoW this
Good Game + Good Story = Bliss 2007-05-21 01:11:00 Interested in writing for games? PJ's Attic has released an open source white paper on games and story-telling models. RPGs, story-centric as they are, feature heavily throughout the article. Here's an excerpt from what it has to say about RPG classic Ultima VII: The Black Gate:
Ultima VII: The Black Gate contained a central plot line, with each town having its own subplot as well. A dedicated Read more:Bliss
Soccer RPG might be the world's first 2007-05-25 19:26:00 Monumental Games is planning to release an MMORPG in which you control, of all things, a soccer player. The game is Football Superstars, and here's what IGN had to say about its premise:
You control a player and develop his or her career, with the chance to advance from a scrub at the lowest level all the way to stardom. To do so, you must train, develop your talent, learn new skills and employ Read more:Soccer
May 26: Quick News 2007-05-25 19:17:00 IGN test out an upcoming Japanese RPG for the XBOX360, Blue Dragon.NMA-Fallout has confirmed Jeremy Soule did not write the score for Fallout 3.IGN previews the Blademaster and Guardian classes of Hellgate: London.CD Projekt's final piece on the development of The Witcher is up.MMORPG.com has 7 new screens of The Lord of the Rings Online. Read more:Quick
When fans and developers come out to play 2007-05-25 10:12:00 Game developers tend to be secretive, isolated beings - at least when they're working on highly anticipated titles. The people behind Fallout 3, however, seem to be breaking with tradition on this point.
The 'Meet The Devs' topic at the Bethesda Softworks forums has entered its ninth incarnation (each incarnation is closed after reaching 200 posts, so we can estimate there's been over a
Friday Link-tacular 2007-05-25 09:04:00 Think you know video games? Ahuh.
Want to learn more about stocks? Not really. You're turning me off.
The premise of simExchange is ingenious, though. It's a fantasy stock market of sorts, but rather than buying stocks you buy games. Your profits depend on how many titles other gamers buy, and so does the worth of each title. Here's what Dusty Gamer had to say about his experiences so far:
I Read more:Friday
Pokemon Battle Revolution: trailer and screens 2007-05-25 08:15:00 I realize I've neglected covering Wii roleplaying games, and for that I apologize. Perhaps it's jealousy. I don't own a Wii, thus it's unlikely I'll ever be blessed with the opportunity to play these titles. Perhaps it's bias - a bias against games in which small, made-up animals cause grevious bodily harm to each other in new and inventive ways. Perhaps it's because there just aren't that many Read more:Pokemon
, Battle
The Last Remnant: new scans 2007-05-24 22:47:00 JeuxFrance.com is offering 17 scans of Square Enix's new RPG, The Last Remnant. Stylistically, it seems very similar to the Final Fantasy games. Fans of that series will be pleased, those hoping for something a little different might be disappointed.
There's no doubt what Square Enix are thinking: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Speedruns and role-playing games: strange bedfellows 2007-05-24 20:34:00 You probably know what a role-playing game is. If you don't, you're most likely wondering how you got here, what your name is, and where you live.
Some of you might not know what a speedrun is. Those that do, skip to the next paragraph. Those that don't, here's what you need to know: dedicated/crazed gamer beats a game in the shortest time possible, records the experience on video, then uploads
Quick News 2007-05-24 20:15:00 WorthPlaying has 16 new screens of Twilight: After the Fall - a post-apocalyptic MMORPG.
The Fable 2 video diary is available at WorthDownloading. You can grab the trailer there too - if you haven't already seen it.
The second Q & A session with Obsidian is up at RPG Vault. The topic? Neverwinter Nights 2.
Chance Thomas, who composed the soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings Online, has been Read more:Quick
From Interplay to Bethesda 2007-05-23 20:10:00 Michael Zenke has written a feature on the history of the Fallout series for The Escapist Magazine. Avid fans will notice that his attribution is not quite right: though Black Isle was the development studio for the original Fallout games it was a sub-branch of publisher Interplay.
It doesn't really make sense to refer to the development branch rather than the publisher (Black Isle) and then to Read more:Bethesda
Quick News 2007-05-23 19:37:00 Indie RPG pioneer Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software chats to IGN Vault about his upcoming title Nethergate: Resurrection.
Craig Mullins, Fallout 3 concept artist, speaks about the use of pre-existing images in creating concept art. (Source: NMA Fallout)
Worthplaying offers a trailer and ten new screens of FPS/RPG hybrid Hellgate: London.
Hellgate: London developer Bill Roper interviewed at Read more:Quick
New Mass Effect screens, interview 2007-05-28 18:31:00 Its been a good day for those following Mass Effect with the release of four new screenshots and a piece of concept art over at Worthplaying. BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk have also been interview
ed at CVG, just a few days after reps from the website were treated to an eyes-on preview of the game.
Here's a snippet of what Ray Muzyka had to say about the game:
In Mass Effect
Quick News 2007-05-28 18:23:00 Age of Conan's site has a new preview of the Dark Templar class.The trailer for Loki has been released, available at Worthplaying.Rumours that Hellgate: London will be released for the 360.Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart talks to Eurogamer about NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer.
Sources (in order): RPG Planet, Worthplaying, Kotaku, RPG Watch. Read more:Quick
Impending re-design 2007-05-28 18:19:00 Yeah, I'm already working on another layout for the site. I know, what, we've had this one for like... 2 minutes? But it looks special. If all goes to plan, things should look brand spanking new tomorrow night. Read more:design
People are talking 2007-05-27 20:44:00 Some interesting roleplaying games analysis from around the web:
PVP and the Honorable Enemy @ Got Game?
Gaming academic Andrew Phelps discusses honor (or the lack thereof) in World of Warcraft.
Dialoging @ Frog Blast the Vent Core
Suibhne places Mass Effect's cinematic dialogue system beneath his analytical microscope.
MMORPGs Dead; Pheonix Arise! @ Gamers With Jobs
H. P. Lovesauce proclaims
Deus Ex vs. BioShock: the moral question of children in games 2007-05-27 18:14:00 Kotaku has tapped into an interesting debate around the presence of Little Sisters in FPS/RPG/Adventure/+ more hybrid BioShock. In the game, the Little Sisters look like (or are) little girls who run around stealing the life essence (Adam) from dead bodies. This life essence is useful to your character, and the game will give you the opportunity to claim it from the Little Sisters.
While you
Mass Effect Revelation: the book review? 2007-05-27 17:52:00 There are those looking forward to BioWare's upcoming sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect
. Then there are those dedicated enough to buy its prequel book, Mass Effect: Revelation
s, written by the game's lead writer, Drew Karpyshyn.
SF Signal has posted a review
of the book, saying that as a stand-alone science fiction novel it was fairly run-of-the-mill, but its use increased when consumed as background
This Week's Highlights 2007-05-27 08:33:00 Another week draws to a close. Here are the best posts from this week at RPG Blog:
Are you addicted?I want an Orc on my VisaThe Last Remnant official site confirms Japanese RPG's characters will be effeminate, have strange hair-stylesSpeed-runs and roleplaying games: strange bedfellowsYou know it's true: Charisma is a dump stat Read more:Highlights
Blizzard files lawsuit against gold-seller 2007-05-27 00:34:00 A statement from Eyonix, an official Blizzard
Poster in the WoW forums:
Blizzard has filed a federal lawsuit against
the operators of Peons4hire, a popular gold-selling organization which many of you have no doubt seen advertised. As part of the lawsuit, the operators of Peons4hire have been asked to immediately cease all in-game spamming efforts by all entities and websites under their control. Read more:files
, lawsuit against
You know it's true: Charisma is a dump stat 2007-05-26 23:32:00 When was the last time you made a character with Charisma as their highest attribute? Never, that's when. Why? Here are a few reasons.
It's generally the last attribute to fill in on the character stats screen.Most people aren't quite sure what Charisma is, exactly.Those that do know it's a combination of how likeable your character is, and their looks.It's hard to see how this might be of any
The Mass Effect Game Hub is live 2007-05-26 21:48:00 The Mass Effect Game Hub contains links to a synopsis of the game's premise, screenshots, concept art, previews, videos, and useful links for those interested in the game. If you're not an expert on BioWare's upcoming Sci-Fi RPG, you will be after visiting its game hub.
The above video is a trailer of the game from the X06 event last year. There's nothing like a bit of footage to get a
Eternal Sonata: trailer no. 2 2007-05-26 19:29:00 Eternal Sonata
(formerly Trusty Bell) is a unique Japanese RPG with a beautiful premise. The second trailer for the game was released yesterday, and you can watch it above. For those unfamiliar with the game, here's a little bit about its story:
The story takes place in a dream world which centers around the piano composer Frédéric Chopin, who died at the age of 39 due to tuberculosis. The Read more:Eternal
Today's News Round-up 2007-05-26 19:28:00 Worthplaying has posted a review of Dawn of Mana for the PS2. The verdict? Below average.Wesp has released an unofficial v3.6 patch for VtM: Bloodlines.Michael Madej, on the dev team for The Witcher, has been interviewed at GamingHeaven.Sources: Worthplaying, RPG Watch. Read more:Today
Mass Effect Game Hub 2007-05-26 19:27:00 Mass Effect is a Sci-Fi action-RPG under development by BioWare (Jade Empire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) exclusively for the XBOX 360. No release date has been announced as yet.
Find Posts / Premise / Screenshots / Concept Art / Previews / Videos / Useful Links
Find Posts:
Find all articles and news items at RPG Blog relating to Mass Effect by clicking this link.
Premise:
As one Read more:Mass Effect
Eye Candy: Bloodlines concept art 2007-05-31 21:40:00 Today marks the start of a (hopefully) daily feature called Eye Candy
. The eye candy will either be concept art (like today's impression of Chinatown in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines), or a screenshot, or some other game-related prettyness. As long as it's role-playing, as long as it's visual, you'll find it here.
Click the above image to view it full size. Read more:Eye Candy
Dungeon Runners: play for free MMORPGs - a trend we hope continues 2007-05-31 20:57:00 NCsoft has launched its first free title, DungeonRunners
, a light-hearted fantasy MMORPG available for complete download at the game's website.
Free users will be able to play the game in its entirety. For $4.99 a month, however, members will receive log-in queue priority and access to the highest tiers of loot - not available to free players.
It will be interesting to see whether this Read more:Dungeon Runners
New Fury trailer and screens 2007-05-31 20:48:00 Details are pouring out about Auran's new MMORPG, Fury, with a new trailer and screens released today. Watch the trailer above, then check out 11 new screens at Worthplaying.
New weekly MMO[RPG] column 2007-05-31 20:33:00 Michael Zenke's started a new column over at 1UP called 'Massive Update', a freaking huge news round-up of what's been happening in the world of MMOs.
This week's feature has the low-down on the EVE Online scandal and Blizzard's lawsuit against Peons4Hire, plus a whole lot of other info.
It looks to be worth keeping an eye on. Let's hope the formatting is fixed up next week, though, or that eye
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