So here’s the deal: I’m a godless, soulless, technocratic transhumanist. Comments I’ve made in previous posts may have hinted at my love for technology. I like fantasy fine, yeah. It’d double coded, magic is all wonderful; I love World of Warcraft. All these things are fine.

Ultimately, though, my love has been for science fiction since I was a wee tot. Heinlein, Aasimov, Clarke, Stephenson, Gibson … these are the folks that I think of when I go to my happy reading place. As has been noted many times by NPD sales, developers, and money-men, I’m in the minority. Apparently the idea of surgically implanting a stainless steel port into your skull, in order more easily connect with a computer, is something not everyone enjoys. In space no one can hear you scream, and it’s hard to love a robot.

I’m tired of it. The Sci-fi ‘niche’ is a fantastic venue for creative thinking, and it’s an incredibly evocative milieu for gaming. Here are my five reasons why science fiction makes for a better setting than fantasy …

Update: Welcome io9 readers! Make sure to check out Grimwell’s fantasy-oriented response to this post, and my podcast followup to get the full discussion.

Read more

It’s been an amazing year in MMOGs. I think 2008 is going to be just as big a deal, though … and in some ways maybe even bigger. As I did last year (relatively well, I might add) I’m going to try to call some shots. Again, I’m just a guy and this is all in good fun. But I’ll keep myself honest: we’ll see how I did this time next year.

So then:

1. Is It Cold In Here or Is It Just Me? - Wrath of the Lich King won’t come out in 2008. We’ll have a firm release date (of early 2009) for the expansion by late summer, and there are as-yet-unannounced features slated for the content update. Blizzard has Hydralisks to fry this year.
2. Nickel and Dime - The concept of RMT and microtransactions will continue to gain acceptance with North American gamers. This will be reflected commercially by further successes for MapleStory and Nexon’s other games in the US. Other companies will begin to consider alternatives to the flat subscription fee, even if outright RMT/microtransactions aren’t yet on the table. At least one newly announced game this year will feature a non-subscription schema.
3. Call Me Agent Smith - The Agency is going to go over like gangbusters. A flat box fee with only microtransactions for further goodies is going to make a big impression … if it can make it out this year. Sometime mid-to-late summer would be perfect. This could even be one of the killer apps for the PS3 this year. Which is good, because it needs it. FreeRealms, on the other hand, is going to have a rough go of it. Without clear player understanding of what exactly this humor/fantasy MMOG thingie is, it’s going to take some time for it to take off.
4. WAAAAUGH For the Win - Warhammer is also going to be a big hit … though it perhaps won’t be everything that EA is hoping for. Long-term MMOG fans are going to fall in love all over again just the same. By the end of the year the house that Jacobs built is going to be very happy for all the extra hard work they put in. Conan will be a much less resounding success. It’s not going to fail, but Funcom is going to end 2008 more than a little bit frustrated.
5. Sunglasses At Night - The CCP/White Wolf game is going to be big news this year, as they announce the scope of the world. It’s not going to be everything that World of Darkness fans would have hoped for, but there will still be a lot of happy gothsicles.
6. Out of Left Field - One of the newbie studios (Carbine, Red 5) is going to announce a project that will really excite and surprise Massive fans. 38 Studios will announce what they’re doing, and it won’t surprise anyone … but it will be somewhat interesting.
7. Pushback - There’s going to be yet another major AAA title whose release date is pushed back to late in the year. One of the big games that we think is going to come out in 2008, won’t.
8. The Age Gets Darker - WAR’s release will be a very dark day for the already dimly-lit Ages of Camelot. Their emulation of Mythic’s older game’s defining feature, coupled with a better PvE experience in essentially every way, will see a lot of players heading for the hills.
9. The Legacy of McQuaid - At some point, Vanguard players are going to get tired of waiting around for ‘the good’ to show up in their game. Expect to see some of Vanguard’s best features showing up in EverQuest 2.
10. With the Brim Pulled Way Down Low - We’re going to see another live game close up shop this year, and an in-development title will slip into the unseen depths as well.
11. Way To Cast - Another MMO dev or publisher will join Blizzard and SOE in making an official podcast.
12. Coming of Age - Tabula Rasa is going to maintain a steady playerbase throughout the year as folks enjoy the new and exciting flavour. Turbine will continue to not report LOTRO’s subscription numbers, for a reason.
13. Okay For Serious This Time - BioWare will announce what they’re making in Austin. For reals, guys. C’mon! :)

2008’s Winners: Warhammer Online, The Agency, MapleStory, New Studios

2008’s Losers: Dark Age of Camelot, Vanguard, Age of Conan

I find it somewhat ironical that despite having spent about twice as much time playing TR as I had when I wrote my initial thoughts piece here, my actual ‘review’ of the game (which I’ve left scoreless and labeled as ‘Launch Impressions’) is nowhere near as detailed because of Slashdot’s broader audience.

If the question is whether Tabula Rasa is worth $15 a month, my answer is yes … for about two months. At the moment TR feels like all flash and little burn, with enough niggling details left unpolished that you’ll eventually get bored. It’s well worth giving a try, and if you have a friend with the game they’re currently running a ‘referral program’ that might get you some free playtime. Either way, taking the fight to the Bane is a fun and altogether different experience from your average Massive experience. The MMO field continues to fill with feisty contenders, and I have high hopes that the team at Destination Games will keep the sci-fi dream alive.

My beta impressions post of Richard Garriott’s game is still one of the more popular posts here on the site. (Especially with Foton’s recent love; thanks, man.) That said, the game has changed quite a bit since July. There’s a lot more polish on almost every single system. Since this is launch weekend, I decided I’d take some time to catalog the good and the bad of this first weekend of retail.

I’ve put in about eight hours of gameplay since Friday evening, and have reached the ripe old age of level 12. Obviously this is nowhere near ‘high end’ content, but I’ve already gotten a lot of mileage out of the game.

I have much the same overall impressions as I did back in July. “In short: Tabula Rasa is a fun, fluid, and un-samey take on the Massive genre. There are a ton of familiar signposts for the Massive gamer, but they’re couched in ways that are going to feel just different ‘enough’ that people are going to take notice. … I’m particularly concerned about the game from a business standpoint. Just the same, the short time I’ve had with this title has convinced me there are going to be a lot of people who will really enjoy this.”

Oh, and I still don’t think this game is worth $15 a month … but it might be worth $10.

Read more

This is a truly epic week for Massive games … and in a good way , for flipping once! Hellgate, Tabula Rasa, Pirates of the Caribbean, EVE Fan Fest, and FFXI Fan Fest are all packed into these seven days. Go MMOGdom.

This week was a great one for MMOGs, as not one but three online games went live. Probably the highest profile is the much-awaited sci-fi experience from Richard Garriott, Tabula Rasa. General British has a thank you to everyone who has played the Beta so far. Last Friday, players got a chance to try to kill him (in-game, of course) and there’s a lengthy write up of the end-of-beta event at IGN. Next Generation has an interview with the man himself on what it took to get TR released.

“Tabula Rasa was very different from how I approached Ultima. In Ultima I came up with a series of virtues and tried to explore those. I wasn’t aiming for a system that was “the truth” or the truth of ultimate reality (though I think they make pretty good guides to live by) but they allowed for exploration and that was the key. So (when making Tabula Rasa) I took a step back and said to myself, ‘what was the point of that system, why did I do it in the first place?’.”

Meanwhile, Producer Starr Long has chat with Gamespot that tackles what the future might hold for the game.

“We plan to do yearly large expansions with other planets and all the creatures, missions, etc., associated with that. Between those times, we will be adding content to existing systems, like player-versus-player and military surplus every few months.”

Lead Designer Paul Sage has a few words about the game’s development from a more technical standpoint.

October 19th.

Richard Garriot’s Tabula Rasa is going to be launching in a little more than a month. I’ve been playing in the Beta for some time now, and …

I guess I can see it? I guess. It certainly doesn’t make me clutch my head in horror, like the concept of Gods and Heroes launching at the end of this month does. I’ll stick with it to the end to feel out its launchability prior to the 19th. We’ll see how it goes.

Cut from the press release after the jump

Read more

1 comment

The NDA on Tabula Rasa has been lowered for press-folks when it comes to impressions. I can’t share screens or specifics on missions, but I can give you an earful on the overall experience. As always, I want to preface this with a note that this is a game still in Beta. Lots of things can change before launch, and I’m just one guy with a very particular slant on Massive gaming. Your Mileage May Vary.

In short: Tabula Rasa is a fun, fluid, and un-samey take on the Massive genre. There are a ton of familiar signposts for the Massive gamer, but they’re couched in ways that are going to feel just different ‘enough’ that people are going to take notice. As I mentioned in the VW podcast over the weekend, I have reservations about this title’s impact on the industry as a whole. I’m particularly concerned about the game from a business standpoint. Just the same, the short time I’ve had with this title has convinced me there are going to be a lot of people who will really enjoy this.

Read on for the immediate highlights and concerns brought about by a week’s worth of playing Tabula Rasa.

Read more