World Of Warcraft Lead Moves To Blizzard's Next Online Game

Reposted from Kotaku

World of Warcraft lead designer Jeffery Kaplan has announced that he is leaving the team behind the popular massively-multiplayer online game in order to work on Blizzard's next massively-multiplayer project.

In a post on the official World of Warcraft forums, Kaplan, who goes by the forum handle Tigole, thanked the fans and the development team behind the game for their support over the years, frustratingly without revealing any new info about what exactly Blizzard's next massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game would be.

"When all is said and done, WoW is still my favorite game. I play it every day. None of that passion is gone. If anything, it fuels the challenge of making our next MMO even better. We know we have some big shoes to fill. So thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the years, and likewise, thanks to those who have given us pointed feedback on all areas of the game. Without all of the feedback and participation, WoW would not be the game that it has grown to be. Azeroth truly belongs to you and we're lucky to have shared in your journey."

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/hx_ZWThOTN4/world-of-warcraft-lead-moves-to-blizzards-next-online-game

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Global Agenda - The Georgia-Grown Action MMO [Hands On]

[reposted from Kotaku]

Living in Georgia, getting some hands-on time with a game still at a relatively early point in development generally means packing my bags, finding someone to watch the cats, assigning a backup person to check on that person, and plenty of time eating bad airport food. Not so for Global Agenda, a fast-paced action MMO being developed by the Atlanta-based Hi-Rez Studios (http://www.hirezstudios.com/). All that took was a quick shower, an application of some mostly clean clothing, and a fifteen-minute drive north. That kind of convenience is addictive. We need more developers in Georgia if only to keep me from running down the street every afternoon to stare into Hi-Rez's windows to see what they're doing - most likely testing out the gameplay in Global Agenda, which is exactly what they were doing when I showed up at their offices last week. See? Convenient.

So what is Global Agenda? Let's quote the official press information: "GLOBAL AGENDA is a fast-paced action MMO using Unreal® Engine 3 set in Earth's near future, a spy-fi world of advanced technology and player-driven conflict." The game is set in the 22nd century following a severe global disaster. Players created factions fight and scheme against each other while going up against totalitarian world government hell-bent on completely dominating the populace. Full scale wars have been replaced with covert operations taking place all over the planet between rival factions.

It's important to note that the game is at an extremely early state. Hi-Rez has been focusing completely on nailing the combat portion of the game above all else, and through the use of both random focus groups and a regular team of weekly testers are continuing to hone the experience. Factors such as world economy, social gathering spots, and the more persistent side of a persistent world game are still in the works.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/403109136/global-agenda-+-the-georgia+grown-action-mmo

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Sugar Rush Arena in Closed Beta

[from Kotaku]

Nexon has revealed its very first North American-developed game (for the North American market), Sugar Rush Arena, which is now in closed beta. The game is a casual MMOG like other Nexon titles, but was developed in Vancouver as opposed to South Korea. Like Nexon's other titles, the game is free to play, but will offer virtual items and upgrades for purchase:

The title will allow players to fight against each other while trying to collect virtual coins ....

The development team working on Sugar Rush Arena is based in Vancouver, Canada and includes former Electronic Arts Worldwide Studios Group vice president and creative director Steve Rechtschaffner, as well as studio Klei Entertainment.

Headed by Jamie Cheng, Klei Entertainment previously developed and published Eets, a 2D puzzle game for PCs which was later revamped for Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

I presume if this is a successful move, we can expect to see more games targeted at the Western market being developed in the West; perhaps this is heralding a new trend?

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/316993690/nexons-sugar-rush-arena-in-closed-beta

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