Talking Project Lore: Alex Albrecht

Screen Savers. Diggnation. Totally Rad Show. Project Lore? Alex Albrecht has been in the entertainment business for quite some time but his newest project, a niche World of Warcraft show for the web, is likely the most interesting. At least it is for us! The Project was setup to bring five guys, four camera men and one World, of Warcraft, together to create the best multimedia MMORPG game guides. Project Lore successfully captivates their audience on a weekly basis with their awesome chemistry, entertaining rapport, and coming together to show the progress of a group of level 70 players who love beer and pizza and loathe Fel Orcs.

In the coming weeks I'll be sitting down with all five of the guys to talk about their characters, opinions and lives, in and outside the World of Warcraft. Enjoy the interview and if you haven't already been watching, make sure to visit the Project Lore website to see what you've been missing!

Tamat : Thanks for taking a break from your busy life to sit down and talk with us about your latest show “Project Lore”. How is everything going?

Alex :  No problem! Glad to do it.  Everything’s going great.  We’ve been blown away by the response to the show and to the site.

Evolution of EverQuest II

Last week I had the opportunity to talk with EverQuest II's Producer, Bruce Ferguson, about all the different ways that EverQuest II has evolved over the years. With "The Shadow Odyssey " right around the corner, I found this to be a great topic to share with the community. In the Interview, Bruce shares his thoughts on class balance, tradeskills and how the team continues to keep the game fresh for players. Enjoy the interview and stay tuned for our exclusive expansion coverage, later in the week.

Allakhazam : Hey Bruce, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to sit down with us to talk about the Evolution of EverQuest II. I know everyone on the team is frantically putting the finishing touches on The Shadow Odyssey, so we appreciate it all the more.

Bruce : It's honestly a pleasure. We certainly enjoy the support we get from you guys, and it seems like many of our players do as well!

Allakhazam : It’s been nearly four years since EverQuest II launched. The game has changed a lot. What are some of the most important changes or evolutions to EverQuest II in your mind?

World of Upper Deck

Growing up, I cut my teeth on interactive table top games like Hero's Quest and Dungeons and Dragons. I remember begging my younger brothers to try all the games so I would have someone to play with. As I got older I found it increasingly difficult to find anyone to join me. Eventually I discovered MMORPGs and, naturally, my gaming focus shifted gears.

Recently I was introduced to a new game that incorporates both my current infatuation with MMOs and my lifelong love for table top gaming. Who would do such a thing you ask? Someone you may know all too well if you grew up collecting baseball cards -- Upper Deck Entertainment. I sat down for a game of their new 'World of WarCraft: Miniatures Game' with Anna Maria Mannino from Upper Deck's marketing division.

Upper Deck is, once again, pushing the World of WarCraft franchise adding to their already popular Trading Card Game with this new offering.  In my opinion, they're onto something big! Expected to hit store shelves on November 11th this quality product is everything you would expect from a box that says Blizzard and Upper Deck!

Allakhazam Sets Phasers to Interview

If you're an MMO enthusiast -- which you likely are considering your current choice of reading material, chances are you've heard of a game in development called "Star Trek Online". Though the game has changed hands a few times over the years, it certainly looks that it's on the right track and in the right place. We had the chance to find that out first hand when we spoke to Executive Producer, Craig Zinkievich.

During the interview we manged to get Craig to divulge information about Tricorders, The Prime Directive and we even got his "solution" for the Kobayashi Maru. If you're a Star Trek fan or looking forward to the game, our Interview is a MUST read.


Tamat: Thank you for agreeing to talk with us about Star Trek Online Craig! Let's start with a question that the community would really like to know. Are there any plans to include the Borg as a playable faction in future expansions?

Craig : We’ve thought about it. There are some daunting design problems, one of which would be how to deal with Borg PCs being part of the Collective. That being said, we’ve had some creative and cool conversations about what it might be like to play as the Borg – so maybe there will be something in the future!

Tamat: Most MMO's include a "loot reward" system in which the player upgrades their character with currency and items obtained from defeated monsters.  However, Federation captains aren't known for their graverobbing, so how does STO handle this?

Allakhazam Interviews 'The Guild'

Allakhazam Editor-in-Chief Andrew "Tamat" Beegle had the opportunity at BlizzCon to speak exclusively with the cast of the hit webisode sitcom “The Guild,” which follows the lives of the group’s members both online and off.

Before you read any further, head on over to www.watchtheguild.com and watch an episode or two (or go crazy and watch all 10) of season one. That way, you’ll truly understand the cast’s excitement for season two, which, according to creator Felicia Day, is scheduled to launch in mid-November.

Are you all caught up? Good. Andrew spoke with Felicia Day (Codex, healer), Vincent Caso (Bladezz, rogue/thief), Robin Thorsen (Clara, mage), and Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo, warlock) about the upcoming season, their impressions of BlizzCon and their other projects, all while discovering that the cast has a great sense of humor.

The video of the interview can be found after the jump.

Jumpgate Evolves -- Allakhazam Adapts

Recently we were given the opportunity to sit down with Nicole "Awen" Hamlett, Community Manager for Jumpgate Evolution to talk about the games past, present and future. During the Interview we touched on PvP, the differences between the three playable nations as well as the ins & outs of character progression.


Allakhazam: Hello Nicole! Thank you for sitting down with us to talk about Jumpgate Evolution. The game looks absolutely amazing!

Nicole Hamlett: Thank you! The team is working very hard to ensure that not only does it look gorgeous, but that it also functions well. I'm glad that you like what you see so far. I definitely can't wait for all of you to get into the game and see more.

Allakhazam: Jumpgate has long been an innovator for space-themed MMOs. Can you give us some background information about the franchise?