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Digital Physics

Our own Red Thomas dons his science cap and attempts to explore our digital universe through the application of astrophysical models in an effort to explain the lifecycles of video games.


Jaws of Hakkon Review - In the Footsteps of the Last Inquisitor

Dragon Age: Inquistion is an endless well of discussions. Benevolently received by the press, fiercely defended by its fans and disappointedly condemned by all of those who wanted the game to be something else - opinions couldn’t be more diverse. And now Bioware delivered us the first DLC, Jaws of Hakkon, and all those buried emotions are resurrected, as we get more of exactly those parts which have been the critiques' main target.


An Exclusive Look at the Cloth Classes

Over the next four weeks, the ESTsoft folks are partnering up with us to dive deep into Cabal 2’s six unique classes. This week, we’re focusing on the finger-waggling cloth-wearers of the MMO sequel: the Wizard and the Priest.


Jagex: A Not-So-Brief History of Not-RuneScape

Earlier this year I wrote an article about Jagex in which I gave my hopes that, following the shutdown of Transformers Universe, the company wouldn't be too eager to announce another new MMO. Just a month or so out of that closure, we learned through a job placement announcement that yet another MMO is in the oven.


GDC 2015 Recap

As is appropriate for a convention with the name “Game Developers Conference,” GDC seems to be becoming more and more developer-centric and less a space for press reveals and previews. At GDC 2015 this past week, there was a noticeable trend towards showing off new tech, such as Nvidia’s Shield and Valve’s SteamVR, along with a host of new (or new versions of) indie games.


The Pros & Cons of Free-to-Play

The traditional “pay wall” (pay a single price and play forever) or subscription (pay an up-front cost plus a monthly maintenance fee) models are every bit as valid and stable as free-to-play, but there are plusses and minuses to each of the models. To compare them, let’s outline the pros and cons for free-to-play and discuss the others as we go.


Dave Georgeson on Creating New Worlds

All games are hard to make. But when ranking my own personal experiences as a dev, I’d say that single-player games are the most straightforward and predictable of projects (relatively, of course), rescuing failing projects is vastly more complicated, but building MMOs from scratch is the most challenging of all.


Duty of Heroes: A Barely-There Boobilicious MMO

Duty of Heroes is a light RPG and barely there MMO set in a generic fantasy world complete with Merlin, beautiful boobilicious elves, barely dressed female characters, orcs, undead and cherry-on-topped with poor localization. It is a port of a free to play FaceBook type time management game with an RPG theme.


The Mass RNG Effect

World of Warcraft is much like walking into a Las Vegas casino; each zone, dungeon, or battleground being its own pocket dimension divorced from reality and filled with scenic grandeur and the promise of wealth. Except for when such promises are at the mercy of pitiless random-number-generators (RNG).


Voxel Farm and the Destruction of Worlds

Earlier this week, Artcraft announced that they’ve signed a deal with Voxel Farm to use their technology to power the worlds of Crowfall. Some may immediately think, “oh great, more voxels”. But put down the pitchforks. In Crowfall, voxels are not about building random things in the world but rather destroying the very ground you walk upon and tearing down the castles of your enemies.


NCSoft Earnings: Not Everyone's Drinking Champagne in the Executive Suite

NCSoft today released their earnings report for the 2014 fiscal year. While the company as a whole grew across the board, not everyone is presently drinking champagne and wearing silly hats at the NCSoft executive suite.


MMORPG.com Reacts to SOE Going Independent

Yesterday, the MMO space was surprised to learn that Sony Online Entertainment had been bought out by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm. What this means in both the long- and short-term remains to be seen. We have a few thoughts to share on the subject and invite you to reply with your own.


Tamriel Goes Unlimited on St. Patrick’s Day

The rumors can end now, folks. It’s official, as of this moment in time. Elder Scrolls Online is ditching its subscription model in favor of a model more akin to Guild Wars 2. Simply buy the base game, gain access to all of its content, and never pay another dime. In addition, the PS4 and XBOX One Editions will be launching officially on June 9th. It’s all coming up Tamriel this year, it seems. However, that’s not quite all she wrote. Read on for the full details.


World Championship Wrap Report

Recently I had the opportunity to cover the Smite World Championship, held at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi-Rez invited the top two teams from four regions; North America, European Union, China and Latin and South America, to battle it out for the title of 2015 Smite World Champions.


Warhammer Quest Review – How Not to Port a Mobile Game

Warhammer Quest is the perfect example of what’s wrong with the gaming industry in 2015. Rather than creating new experiences that people want to play, developers and publishers are shoving these types of quick, cash-grab games out by the truckload. Let me give you a bit of a history lesson on Warhammer Quest and why you should stay far away.