Video Game recipes
New D&D MMO Rumored as Cryptic Teases A New Announcement Later This Year
Cryptic, developers of the recent Champions Online and Star Trek Online, will be announcing a new property later this year, according to Cryptic’s Chief Creative Officer, Bill Roper. While he didn’t go into details, rumors are already flying around that the developer is going to try their hand at a Dungeons & Dragons MMO, maybe even one based on BioWare’s Neverwinter Nights.
In an interview with MMORPG, Roper dropped a few cryptic clues:
“I can’t speak to the specifics of what we’re doing, but it’s true that we have another game in the works. We won’t be making an announcement until late summer, and we’re still a ways off from launch. I can say that this is a game and a franchise we’re very excited about. I think people are going to pleased and a bit surprised with what we’re doing in terms of the game, how we make it, and even how we sell and support it. The game is being developed around new design principles merged with Cryptic’s community-first approach to ongoing development.”
PAX East 2010: Duels of the Planeswalkers’ Second Expansion Packs Avatar Awards
During the Penny-Arcade Expo, I had a chance to play a little of the second expansion pack for Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalker. As you might expect, it felt very similar to the core game, to the point where it’s hard to accurately point out differences. That’s because most of the changes come in the form of new decks and cards, and I doubt any of you have memorized the cards that were in the first game to begin with. There were some other elements, however, that did stand out, and are worth getting excited for. Namely, the avatar rewards, which might drive some people to pick up the game and expansion solely to get the gear. Learn more »
PAX East 2010: Half-Orcs and Guild Housing Coming to Dungeons & Dragons Online
“Didn’t Dungeons & Dragon: Online gain a million new accounts since going free-to-play?” I asked the producer of Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, Erik Boyer.
“Yeah, we’re now in the millions, but get this: since going free, we’ve doubled our subscriber-base. Two times as many people are paying to play DDO now that you don’t have to.”
“I knew that would happen,” I replied with a smile. One of the largest problems with DDO was the dwindling community, and it made sense to me that an influx of players would bring old subscribers back.
“I wish you would have told us. We would have loved to have known that.”
Since the release of Ebberon Unlimited, Dungeons & Dragons: Online has grown quite a bit. The game itself has changed to adapt to the new pricing model, and both new and old fans seem to be taking to it fairly well. In order to continue the success, Turbine has big plans for future updates to the game. It started off with Update 3, which came out in February, and added free high level content, a “casual” difficulty type to instances, and removed leveling sigils, which prevented free-to-play players from progressing without eventually spending money. Now, it’s possible to go through the entire game without dropping a dime, though it’s still obviously beneficial to visit the DDO Store from time to time. Learn more »
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited Surpasses One Million New Accounts
A few months ago, Turbine revamped Dungeons & Dragons Online, re-branded under the name DDO Unlimited, to be one of the first large MMORPGs to offer a free-to-play side to an already established subscription model. Previous users could, essentially, continue playing without hindrance, while new players could jump into a limited version of the game with pay-to-play barriers that could be hurdled with either microtransactions, a subscription, or a massive amount of play. Hopes were that it would bring more traffic to the dedicated, albeit somewhat desolate community. According to a press release sent out earlier today, it has done just that, reaching over 1 million new users since the update.
“The response from players to DDO Unlimited has been nothing short of phenomenal,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “We’ve known all along how great this game is and by implementing an innovative new model that put the players in charge of how they pay and play DDO Unlimited, we’ve successfully expanded our reach and injected new energy into the game. Without a doubt, DDO Unlimited is a hit!”
This is great news for Turbine and the game’s community, which I was actually a part of for some time. I likely spent more time exploring Ebberon than I did in nearly any other MMOG I’ve played, and am happy to hear of the game’s success. Now if they can only get the rumored console port pushed to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, we’ll have a real contendor on our hands. Come on, guys, you can do it, shatter that wall.
The press release is below, and if you haven’t already, download DDO Unlimited. It’s free, for Gond’s sake. You’ve no excuse not to. Learn more »
Preview: Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising
“So, who here has played Dawn of War II before?” asked Jeff Lydell, one of the producers of Dawn of War II: Chaos Rising, the stand-alone expansion to Gamervision’s 2009 Strategy Game of the Year. My hand shot up as I scanned the room proudly, feeling like one of the only kids in class to complete a homework assignment. I hadn’t just played Dawn of War II, I’d loved it, and spent dozens of night staring at the computer screen, clicking my units across the map, fighting back the Tyranid swarm. Whatever the follow-up to the developer’s question was, I was prepared, and I noticed I was one of the few in the room who had played the original. “Great, you’ll be playing against each other in multiplayer when we start the demos.” My enthusiasm was shattered: many of the other writers attending the event had exhaustive experience with Dawn of War II’s multiplayer. I’d played it. I’d played it a lot. But I hadn’t played it in months, and certainly wasn’t at a competitive level. As I walked over to the section of computers that were put aside for the “experienced players” I began to wish I had kept my hand down, but eagerly anticipated getting a hands-on with the expansion. Luckily, before diving into the multiplayer, we were given a brief rundown of the changes, and a chance to play a few select levels of the single player campaign to see what the Blood Ravens are dealing with post-Tyranid invasion. The answer? Chaos.
BioShock Miniatures Perfect for Your Rapture Campaign
Besides gaming, another passion of mine is Dungeons & Dragons. Because of this, I get extra excited whenever tabletop gaming and video games cross paths, which is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. These miniatures inspired by BioShock are a prime example of the mediums meeting head on.
The creator, Robert Sakaluk, made them for a pirate themed campaign. On his website there are another few angles of the characters and a shot of the entire crew together. In the past, I had thought of running an RPG set in a Rapture-inspired city, but I never actually went through with it. If Robert ever put these minis up for sale, though, I think I’d have to reconsider. A few more images are below, including one showing off a Little Sister. She doesn’t look as impressive as the Big Daddy does, though I’d still love to add her to a campaign. That needle is so creepy.
Would you enjoy playing in a Dungeons & Dragons or tabletop game with a BioShock theme? Learn more »
Dragon Age Being Turned into a Pen and Paper RPG
In a move that screams irony, BioWare is turning to Green Ronin Publisher to adapt their upcoming RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, into a tabletop pen and paper RPG. BioWare, for those who don’t know, broke into gaming with Neverwinter Nights, a title based on Dungeons & Dragons, so it’s interesting to see the company grow to the point where they’re effectively launching competition on the tabletop scene. Talk about the tables…turning…
It’s set to launch this summer, giving gamers plenty of time to become immersed in the world of Dragon Age before the game hits store shelves in the winter. Fans of pen and paper RPGs likely know Green Ronin from their work with Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and Mutants & Masterminds, both of which have been followed with critical acclaim from fans of the genre. Hopefully Dragon Age will follow suit, fleshing out the already exciting universe BioWare has created.
The press release is below, and stick around for more news on both versions of Dragon Age as their release approaches.
Learn more »
Tiny Review: Dungeons & Dragons Tiny Adventures
I was more than a little confused when Wizards of the Coast sent me a link to a page on Facebook, and even more confused when I saw the starting page to Dungeons & Dragons Tiny Adventures. The concept is simple: create a D&D character and send them off to adventure, while collecting items and leveling up, with each adventure broken up into different parts that update every twelve minutes. This allows you to track your character’s progress and feed them potions along the way as they defeat enemies and receive items, gold, and experience.
Sadly, none of this is tradable or even gift-able, and you’re not able to do anything with the amazing loot you find if you can’t use it other than selling it. It brings a tear to my eye each time I scrap a powerful wand for pocket change instead of being able to send it to Wolfbane, Sean’s Wizard.
Hit the jump for a little more of this Tiny Review of Dungeons & Dragons Tiny Adventures.
Gamervision’s E3 Coverage!
This year, Gamervision.com will be covering E3 from the show floor. The Somethingcast crew will be attending the major press conferences and interviewing some of the bigger developers at E3, reporting all of the information on Gamervision.com and trying our best to do nightly podcasts, wrapping up all of the events that we took part in during the day. All of this will be posted at Gamervision’s E3 2008 Page, which will be updated nonstop during the show. Be sure to check out Gamervision as much as possible next week for your look into the convention that is sure to rock the gaming world.
Because of this, don’t expect too many Pen and Paper Portal Updates, but if there is anything remotely RPG related I’ll be sure to post it here as well.
Beholders in Spore
Yeah, I’m on a Beholder-video binge, what of it?
Was made using just the Trial edition of Spore Creature Creator, I will pick up the full version tomorrow and see if I can create any other fun Pen and Paper goodies. Next task? Cthulhu.
