Category: Columns

Red Thomas takes a second look at crowdfunding. He’s explored some of the problems with games using the crowd-funded model, now he looks at some of the reasons why it might be good for games and consumers.

When I first reported on Shining Resonance Refrain over at Gamespace.com, it was something of a revelation to me. The hype that so many of my friends and colleagues had built up around the game seemed well placed after I got hands on the Nintendo Switch demo. Now, we can finally follow Kirita, Sonia, and Yuma on the rest of their journey as Shining Resonance refrain launches on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Another new movie, another new tie-in. I know that sounds like I’m unexcited, but I’m pretty much always excited for new MSF content. Truth be told, I don’t particularly care about Ant-Man or the Wasp as characters (though the Ant-Man movie was enjoyable and I look forward to the sequel), but their kits sound absolutely terrifying so I’ll be collecting both for sure.

Trion Worlds recently purchased Gazillion Entertainment and are now taking major steps that could offer a viable path to market for indie projects. Red Thomas weighs in on the business move and what it might mean for the industry moving forward.

The MMO has come a long way. There have been many iterations over the years and there is no denying the huge influence our genre has had on the industry as a whole. In the early days of trying to build out games like Star Wars Galaxies and City of Heroes we laid the groundwork for the idea that every game will eventually be an MMO. These talks were given as far back as 2006 or 2007. Now here we are in 2018 and E3 showed us that all games will be MMOs… in some way or another.

When it comes to game development, there are few who have devoted their entire careers to crafting virtual worlds. With a professional life spanning the early days of MUDs to modern-era MMORPGs, Raph Koster has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience, ranging from content creation to mechanic design and even leadership.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced “gaming disorder” as a new mental health condition. (Who’s on first?) We of the MMORPG tribe have long joked about Evercrack, Warcrack and the even newer Crocaine but what classifies our fanish love with toxic addiction? According to WHO (don’t you mean whom…wait…) three main factors.

Let’s be honest, the majority of people have at least seen the first Jurassic Park and thought, I could do better. Dinosaurs for a lot of us were quite a big thing when we were younger and Jurassic Park helped to take us one step closer to our dinosaur filled dreams. Jurassic World Evolution seeks to give you that chance to live out your dreams of being the person behind the scenes making all the important decisions that will make your park a great success or chaos personified.

During the PC Gaming Show last night, we finally got a look at the Improbable-powered Battle Royale, Mavericks: Proving Grounds. Before your eyes roll so far back into your head from the idea of another BR game, take note – Mavericks: Proving Grounds is the first step in what will become a bold new MMO shooter from Automaton. The Battle Royale is just the beginning…

It’s that time of the year, again! E3 2018 is upon us and for once I’m pretty damn excited. There’s so much to look forward to this year and that’s just from stuff I expect to see, never mind whatever surprises we may find. Let’s go down the list.