 Online worlds blog WorldsInMotion.biz, a Game Developer Research related venture, looks at where games, interaction, and multiplayer worlds meet online. Apart from daily reports on the state and future of online worlds, the site hosts the Worlds In Motion Online World Atlas, a growing comprehensive guide to the multitude of online worlds, including descriptions, screenshots, and analysis for each major virtual environment.
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Austin GDC 2007 Live Coverage
European Commission Offers New Games Development Grants [09.12.07]
Officials from the European Commission have announced a new funding mechanism specifically aimed at supporting video game projects, with grants of up to €60,000 ($83,000) available for companies working on console, PC and mobile phone prototypes.
AGDC: Nexon's Min Kim On The Power Of Microtransactions [09.07.07]
In Friday's keynote at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Nexon America’s director of game operations Minho Kim discussed his firm's incredible Korean success with games such as Maple Story and Kart Rider, and explained how the company's microtransaction model adapted to the West.
AGDC: Jacobs, Bethke Tussle For Online's Future [09.07.07]
In an amusingly heated 2007 AGDC match-up, online game execs Raph Koster of Areae, Eric Bethke of GoPets, EA Mythic's Marc Jacobs and SOE Austin head John Blakely convened for a frenzied debate on the biggest online gaming opportunities on the horizon -- and whether Blizzard should sell gold.
AGDC: Koster, James, Ybarra Reveal Startup Lessons [09.07.07]
At a fascinating 2007 Austin GDC panel, Three Rings' Daniel James moderated execs from Cheyenne Mountain (Stargate MMO), Areae, Heatwave, and Conduit Labs, as they discussed the trials and tribulations of forging out on one’s own - detailed advice and suggestions within.
AGDC: BioWare Charts Writing For Mass Effect [09.07.07]
Another key AGDC lecture on Thursday was 'Writing The BioWare Way', with the company's Mike Laidlaw talking alongside Mass Effect lead writer Drew Kapyshyn and managing editor Mac Walters on the Neverwinter Nights creators' approach to story crafting - comments on next-gen projects within...
AGDC: Flagship, Nexon Talk Worldwide MMO Licensing [09.07.07]
This AGDC panel on worldwide licensing addressed localization, contracts and what developers to work with when licensing MMOs, and featured speakers from Nexon, Turbine, K2 Networks, and Flagship Studios. The talk touched on issues such as who's paying the most money, the major stopping blocks in the West, and shifting transaction models.
AGDC: CCP, Codemasters, Icarus and Cheyenne Turn To IBM Servers [09.07.07]
IBM has announced that MMO game companies CCP Games (Eve Online), Codemasters (Colin McRae Rally series), Icarus Studios (Fallen Earth) and Cheyenne Mountain Studios (Stargate Worlds) have chosen IBM's BladeCenter and System x servers for their online games.
AGDC: Marketing Your Indie Game, Guerrilla Style [09.06.07]
At their panel at the Austin GDC, Mode 7's Paul Taylor and Strategery's Jay Moore talked building buzz and promoting independent games, stripping a complicated subject to its essentials: knowing the soul of your game and your company and communicating what sets you apart.
AGDC: 'Engaging and Empowering Community Influencers' [09.06.07]
On the first day of AGDC 2007, a panel of community managers from Blizzard, Sony Online, CCP, and Flying Lab discussed "Identifying, Engaging and Empowering Community Influencers" - pinpointing how game developers can identify and interact with those influencers for the benefit of all.
AGDC: How Square Enix Hunts The Hunters [09.06.07]
Square Enix exec Hiromichi Tanaka and PlayOnline producer Sage Sundi talked in depth about Final Fantasy XI and the constant battle to reduce gold hunters in the game in his Austin GDC keynote, and Gamasutra has the most in-depth write-up, including the revelation that FFXI was originally planned as an Xbox 1 game.
AGDC: Turbine Expands Management Team [09.06.07]
Turbine (Lord of the Rings Online, Asheron's Call) has announced that it has appointed three new executives to its management team: Activision and EA veteran Craig Alexander as VP of product development, Jerome Lalin as VP of marketing and T.J. Marchetti as VP of community and social media.
AGDC: Haro On Making Habbo A Success [09.06.07]
Sulka Haro's keynote speech on Web-based teen hangout Habbo Hotel, which kicked off the second day of the Austin Game Developers Conference, delivered a lot of wry commentary and useful information on the building of successful online worlds, from McDonalds roleplaying to Spider-Pig - many details within.
AGDC: The Warren Spector Interview [09.06.07]
Are Disney and Warren Spector's recently acquired Junction Point studio a match made in cartoon heaven? Probably more than you might think, and in this exclusive interview, Deus Ex creator Spector tells Gamasutra all about his extensive history in the cartoon world, and hints on plans for the newly formed partnership.
AGDC: Matt Costello on 'Developing Story and Gameplay Together' [09.06.07]
At the 2007 Austin Game Developers Conference, Polar Productions game designer and writer Matt Costello gave a presentation entitled, "One World: Developing Story and Gameplay Together," offering his ideas on structuring story around a game's interactive elements, and how to build in suspense.
AGDC: BioWare's Walton On Making MMOs Post-World of Warcraft [09.06.07]
Making an MMO in a post-World Of Warcraft world is tough, but BioWare Austin's Gordon Walton was inspired by the hugely successful game, presenting a twelve-point talk with lessons to learn in an engaging and popular GDC Austin speech.
AGDC: OGSi and BitTorrent Partner to Manage Gaming Content Delivery [09.06.07]
Online Game Services and Internet file delivery service BitTorrent have announced at the Austin Game Developers Conference a partnership to develop a download solution for online gaming, augmenting OGSi's games hosting and transport offering with BitTorrent's peer-assisted content delivery service to enable game companies to handle traffic spikes.
AGDC: Denis Dyack - 'The Media Is The Massage' [09.06.07]
In his AGDC talk, Denis Dyack touched on Silicon Knights' methods for story, and warned that the media of games will often overpower the message you're trying to tell - he also dropped a few hints about Too Human along the way.
AGDC: Star Wars Galaxies In-Game Event Raises Money For Charity [09.06.07]
At Sony Online Entertainment's industry reception at this year's AGDC, SOE is set to provide Austin Habitat For Humanity with a donation, the result of a Star Wars Galaxies in-game land reclamation event in which SOE committed charitable donations to the organization for each abandoned house SWG players demolished.
AGDC: Emergent Announces Emergent Platform Beta, HP Partnership [09.06.07]
Emergent Game Technologies has announced its new Emergent Platform, a comprehensive online game platform, also announcing a deal with HP's Flexible Computing Services to enable game companies to use a scalable infrastructure on a "pay-as-you-go" basis.
AGDC: Korean MMO Developers Using 3ds Max in Upcoming Titles [09.06.07]
Autodesk has announced that developers NCSoft, Webzen and Gravity are using Autodesk's 3D modeling, animation and rendering software in the development of their upcoming MMO titles -- AION, Huxley and Ragnarok Online II, respectively.
AGDC: Simutronics' HeroEngine Adds Streambase, SL Partnerships [09.06.07]
At the Austin Game Developers Conference in Texas, HeroEngine creator Simutronics announced two new technology partners: Complex Event Processing provider StreamBase Systems, and SL Corporation, provider of real-time monitoring, analytics, and visualization solutions.
AGDC: Raph Koster On Designing For Everywhere [09.05.07]
Areae president Raph Koster, designer of Ultima Online and previous CCO of SOE, gave his talk at GDC Austin in front of a full-capacity crowd, all of whom were eager to catch a shred of what he’s been talking about for the last year or so: how the web is destroying games in terms of revenue and access.
AGDC: Audiokinetic Announces New Licensing For WWise [09.05.07]
In what it says is an effort to make Wwise, its audio pipeline solution, as easily and widely accessible as possible, Audiokinetic has unveiled a new pricing and licensing plan for Wwise, with varying price points for each platform and distribution channel.
AGDC: IO Interactive Integrates Morpheme Into Pipeline [09.05.07]
NaturalMotion, developer of the euphoria and endorphin 3D animation technologies, has announced that IO Interactive (Hitman series) is integrating morpheme into its game development pipeline and will be using it to design assets for an upcoming undisclosed next-generation game title.
AGDC: Blizzard's Morhaime On Overcoming 'Myth' With WoW [09.05.07]
Think every aspect of your game play has to be customized for regional players? Blizzard disagrees, citing the "myth of regional taste" and Gamasutra has president Mike Morhaime's full comments on the history of his company and his approach to World Of Warcraft from the Austin GDC keynote.
AGDC: Pixel Mine To Use Vivox's Voice Services [09.05.07]
Online gaming voice services provider Vivox and newly-launched independent developer and publisher Pixel Mine have jointly announced that Pixel Mine's upcoming multiplayer shooter, FireTeam: Reloaded will use Vivox's voice services integration, and a custom-branded desktop communications client from Vivox.
AGDC: Xfire Announces Hellgate: London Voice Chat Deal [09.05.07]
Game-related chat and community service Xfire has announced that its proprietary voice chat application will be used in Flagship Studios’ upcoming online title Hellgate: London - comments from Xfire's Adam Boyden about the MTV-owned service's plans within.
AGDC: Havok Debuts Havok 5 Toolset [09.05.07]
At this year's Game Developers Conference in Austin, film and game design software developer Havok announced the release of Havok 5, adding "major new features" in this latest edition of its modular suite of run-time technology and artists' tools.
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