Interviews

Some of the most impressive and innovative developers at GDC do not directly make MMOs, but instead operate behind the scenes to make games better. Every year, these companies seem to fill two booths for every one that has a game in it. This year, we took the time to see a few of these companies and present a round-up of some of the more noteworthy stories we heard.

In the first part, we look at VOIP providers Vivox, MMO importers CDC Games, the novel PlayXpert and a riddle from Scott Foe of Nokia:

PlayXpert is a non-obtrusive user interface overlay that can be used in any PC game to control essential windows programs without changing screens. That's a fancy way of saying it lets people bring their instant messengers, media players, web browsers and other key programs into their favorite MMO. And, of course, they have a deal with Vivox to be their default VOIP provider.

According to CEO Charles Manning, PlayXpert has been carefully designed to play well with both in-game EULAs and system resources. While the explanation got quite technical, the basic idea is that the program insinuates itself over the game at such an early level that game operators do not mind and PlayXpert have worked with developers to make sure all is on the level.

Read more after the jump.

At the Game Developers Conference, WarCry had the chance to sit down and talk with SOE CEO John Smedley. The conversation revolved around their deal with Vivox and what it could do to the way gamers VOIP, as well as some tidbits on business models, DC Universe and The Agency.

SOE's software will support huge numbers of people in a single channel and frills like telephone call-in support (which likely won't incur long distance thanks to a network of local call-in numbers), and voice fonts. It will not require a fee, nor any bulky hosting software and it will be high quality Vivox sound.

SOE has not worked out all the details that hardcore VOIP gamers will need to know, but if they keep on their current path, this has the potential to be an extremely user friendly, multi-game application that could put a serious dent in Ventrilo's business. The win for SOE is that every user will be a single click away from any of SOE's many games, which reduces the barrier to entry and potentially makes them more money.

Read more after the jump.

Earlier today, news broke that SOE had partnered with Live Gamer to replace their existing Station Exchange service in EverQuest II. This company specializes in a platform that facilitates the exchange of virtual items for real world currency.

In this article, we hear from SOE CEO John Smedley on what this deal does for their gold farming, fraud and secondary market problems and from Live Gamer President Andrew Schneider on what their service provides.

What's more, as these claims accumulate, the company must pay penalties. "We have been fined; just the fines alone are over a million dollars, and a lot of those are from Station Exchange," said Smedley.

In response to these problems, SOE announced today that they have partnered with Live Gamer, a company that specializes in the integration of secondary market solutions into existing MMOs. The company, founded by veterans of gaming and financial services, operates a single platform, which they hope will extend across multiple games and companies.

Read more after the leap.

In our latest Warhammer Online Q&A;, we talk to Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic about preparation for the latest Beta phase, whether they'll shut down again, careers and - of course - RvR.

WarCry: When you sack an enemy city, what type of bonuses and rewards will you get for doing so, and are these only for those who sacked the city?

EA Mythic: To get to the benefits of capturing an enemy city requires a tremendous effort from your entire Realm. We're still working on the exact rewards you get for capturing an enemy city, but expect to see buffs and items you can only get through siege and events that help to encourage Realm pride in all players.

Read it all after the jump.

Masthead Studios announced Earthrise earlier this week, a skill-based, PvP focused science-fiction MMO slated for launch in 2009. We spoke to CEO Atanas Atanasov about the game, why he believes they'll deliver on their ambitious design and more.

WarCry: For those unfamiliar with the project, give us a basic overview of who you are, the origins of Masthead and what Earthrise is all about.

Atanas Atanasov: Masthead Studios was founded in 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Our goal was to create a top quality game development studio, consisting of the best graphic artists and programmers in our region. There are a lot of IT specialists and graphic artists in our country who are involved in outsourcing; all we had to do was to pick the right people for the right job.

Being a MMORPG fan since Ultima Online and knowing that virtual worlds are the future of PC gaming, it was an easy decision for us to focus on the realization of Masthead's first project - Earthrise.

Read more after the jump.

Joshua Drescher, Adam Gershowitz and James Nichols of EA Mythic team up to answer the latest set of questions on Warhammer Online: age of Reckoning. Population balance, respecs and other topics get their attention in this twice-a-month series.

WarCry: What tools will be available to help guilds manage their teams?

EA Mythic: We have an extremely robust set of Guild tools that will allow leaders and officers to efficiently manage and coordinate their members. These tools include a Calendar system, news feed, and an in-depth roster feature. These, plus the addition of the living guild system (your guild actually gains levels and benefits), make guilds an integral and rewarding part of the game.

Read more after the click.

In his latest column, Jonathan Steinhauer continues his look at what he calls "The Killing Experience". He began two weeks ago in part one and today looks at more recent examples of this trend. It's all about RPGs and how they use killing as the primary form of advancement, or experience.

A second, much more recent, example is with Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series, particularly Oblivion. In this game which follows the standard RPG model, there is no experience gain from killing. In fact, there is no experience at all. Instead, character growth is built on an array of skills specific to a particular class. As those skills are used over an over again, proficiency grows. Once there are ten threshold increases in the class skills, a new level is gained. At that point health, stamina, magicka, and prime stats also improve.

Read more after the click.

Recently, WarCry took the chance to interview the people behind the Dragonlance animated movie, which comes to DVD on January 15th. The interview gave us the chance to hear from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, the famed authors and creators of the Dragonlance series. We also heard from the film's Co-Executive Producer John Frank Rosenblum and Paramount Pictures Product Manager Chris Dreyer.

In addition, we also have an exclusive clip from the film that features Sturm Brightblade.

WarCry: You two did not directly write the script, but as the authors of the original works can you talk a bit about how it turned out and why you believe it is a good representation of your work?

Tracy Hickman: Adaptation of a novel into a screenplay is a tough act especially when you're dealing with fans of a well-know work. It isn't a question of simply portraying scenes from the novel - as I think most people assume - but rather of capturing the emotional core of the original work and being able to portray that in a new medium. Both Margaret and I were granted an unprecedented level of input on the script but in the end it was hardly needed: George Strayton's magnificent screenplay captured the essence of our vision beautifully realized in a new medium.

Read it all and check out a short trailer after the jump.

Recently, WarCry had the chance to talk to Acclaim CEO Howard Marks. We received an update on his company's quest to bring the Eastern MMO business model to Western shores and got a peek at how 2Moons, 9Dragons, BOTS!! and Dance! Online have fared on the open market.

9Dragons

What "free-to-play" really means is that all Acclaim's games are free to download and can be played without the player ever laying down a dime. In 2Moons, for example, the company makes money through in-game advertising that appears in the user interface. In 9Dragons, players can play for free, but also can buy upgrades and customization items securely through Acclaim.

Marks emphasized through that the company is committed to actual free-to-play. One common consumer complaint with the model is that while some games advertise their games as such, many build in an artificial gameplay wall where a player basically is forced to buy items or coin to progress in the game. He says that none of Acclaim's games do this, nor will there ever be any artificial walls.

Read more after the leap.

Fury launched in October and hoped to capture an audience through fast-action, PvP combat in a free-to-play/subscription hybrid model MMO. It has not gone quite to plan and last week the company was forced to layoff many of its developers. We caught up with Auran CEO Tony Hilliam and Lead Designer Adam Carpenter to find out how they got to this point and how they hope to turn it around.

WarCry: Layoffs cannot be spun as good news and shake player confidence. Why should someone who sees Fury in a store feel confident that the game they purchase will still exist in a few months?

Auran: The primary reason is that the smaller core team staff allocated to Fury means the project is now operating at the break even point in terms of salaries and overheads. The Director's decision to cut back on staff ensures that even without significant increases in player populations, the game can be maintained and improved.

Read more after the jump.