If there’s one thing people can say about Funcom, it’s that they know how to get people excited for their games. Starting with Anarchy Online and moving to Age of Conan, the developers at Funcom have blown people away with their innovative takes on standard MMO systems, from the invention of instancing in AO to the more agile combat system found in Age of Conan. Again, the team is setting its sights high, this time by taking on a genre that hasn’t really seen the light of day in the MMO industry.
Specifically, we’re talking about the modern horror genre, a venue that’s seen more than its fair share of popularity in the last few years. From TV to movies, you can’t seem to flip a channel or take in a movie without seeing a werewolf, zombie, vampire, Cthullu monster or modern magical beasty. Although MMO companies are probably scrambling to put a team together to get a product out the door, Funcom seems to have gotten the timing right and they’re perched at the doorstep to supernatural success with their upcoming MMO, The Secret World.
Thousands of fans all across the world have been scrambling to learn more about Funcom's upcoming modern world horror game, The Secret World. Until now, facts have been relatively slim regarding the mystery shrouded MMO, but at this year's GDC, things have started to become clearer. While we have much more content coming down the pipe soon, we thought we'd start you off with the very first bit of true gameplay footage ever seen from this gruesome game. Sit back and enjoy.
As one of the most heralded science fiction sagas in history - not just gaming - the Mass Effect trilogy has spurred gamers from all over the world to jump into the boots of Commander Shepard and fight to take back the galaxy from all sorts of villainous creatures. We knew that our readers would be interested in the next addition to the Mass Effect series, so we stopped by their suite at GDC 2010 to learn a bit about their upcoming DLC, a new companion character for Shepard's party named Kasumi.
Learn about her and more in our brand new Mass Effect 2 video!
Just a few days before the Game Developers Conference was set to officially open, 38 Studios shook the industry with the announcement that their MMO wouldn’t be the first product that they’d release that’s based in their original world. Instead, their first in-world title will be a single player RPG from the recently acquired Big Huge Games studio, and we sat down with Curt Schilling, R.A. Salvatore and Steve Danuser to talk about the upcoming game and find out what’s next for their in-development MMO.
While we prefer to put these articles into a more standardized, non-transcribed format, the conversation we had with the three 38 Studios leaders was so dynamic that we opted to leave it in its original format for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
The video game industry trade shows are really like great big reunions. Everyone knows everyone and there’s always an interest to hear about what’s been going on with the development of upcoming games. So at GDC 2010, the ZAM staff had a chance to sit down with DC Universe Online’s art director, Mike Daubert, who filled us in on some of the more key elements of DCUO’s art direction and what’s planned for the future.
All that and more awaits after the break, so what are you waiting for? Keep on reading!
Gaming conferences and conventions are full of surprises. Few people know everything there is to know about the gaming industry, and those that are in the inner circle keep tight lips when learning about unannounced upcoming games. One of the biggest surprises at GDC 2010 came in the form of a previously announced but relatively unnoticed game known as Vindictus. While it’s known as Mabinogi Heroes in Korea, the North American branch of the company opted to change the title to give it a bit more separation from its predecessor, and for good reason.
The game is brutal, intense, and sexy. Intrigued yet? Want to learn more? Just keep on reading to find out exactly what Vindictus is all about and why the ZAM staff is so excited.
Ever since Runes of Magic hit the MMO market, it’s been known as one of the highest quality free-to-play games around. Including everything from raid-like instances to a plethora of mounts, Runes of Magic spares no expense for its player base. So we know we were going to see some cool new updates from the developers at this year’s GDC, and we weren’t disappointed. The highlight of the demo was guild-based PvP sieges, but much more is being introduced soon, so make sure you check out the video!
One of the most popular games for the PC during the 90s was the vaunted Need for Speed series. After a brief time on hiatus, the venerated driving series is back and in a MMO format! If you're at all interested in racing games and you're looking for a new, non-typical MMO, Need for Speed World may be your ticket. And boy does it look pretty....
So don't waste any more time, check out the trailer now!
The Game Developers Conference always has companies vying for your attention so they can get their product out to the masses. In the case of Mytheon, it wasn't hard to get me to sit down to find out more about this new MMO.
There are few upcoming MMOs that have generated more hype than BioWare's epic science fiction tale, Star Wars: The Old Republic. From the very beginning, every rumor generated new speculation about the game and what features might be included. So while we were at GDC, the ZAM staff sat down with Daniel Erickson, the lead writer for the title, to find out all we could about this upcoming Star Wars MMO. Check out the entire video after the break!