News

Jim Moreno shares his list of the five most crucial tools for any MMORPG to support roleplaying.

Jim Moreno finishes his look at how to RP using magic with some handy links from around the web.

Good crafters love their...er...craft. It's never a question of time-consuming. It's a matter of the tedium involved. Earthrise players have an answer to the crafter's concern in the latest Question of the Week. Keep reading!

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the actual act of casting the spell itself.

In this week's RoleCraft, we'll look at how a spellcaster puts their magic to good use in the world of roleplay.

The developers of Earthrise release last week a fresh batch of screenshots and artwork showcasing Nathura, Hatchery, Boneyard and the Cascade Mountains zones. Plus, several new armor suit and robot concepts were thrown in there as well. Check them after the jump!

Masthead Studios'CEO Atanas Atanasov, the creators of Bulgarian MMO Earthrise, talked about mechas and their operation in a new interview at GameSNAFU, plus touching on topics like the role of environments in PvP and PvE. Read the rest here.

This week in RoleCraft, we look at how players can work the mystical arts of magic into their RP.

Jim Moreno looks at how roleplayers can create a character who is in the military.

Felicia Day's MMOG-focused comedy series is great at getting laughs, but can it also teach us things about roleplaying in online worlds?

A collection of the finest RP links from around the Internet.

Morale is a very real aspect of warfare. Historical battles are as often won through moral superiority as physical strength. Rules that account for morale loss (and less frequently, morale gain) are very common in military computer, miniature, and board games yet have been largely neglected for games where a player controls a single avatar.

As long as player action sequences are the driving force behind special maneuvers, MMOs will be nothing but a numbers game. The key to break this cycle is to focus on responses to the enemy's actions.

This week's Earthrise "Question of the Week" features an explanation of the teleport system. Click below to find out more about long- and short-distance teleporting.

How much of an MMO is button smashing and how much involves actual skill? This installment is an investigation of how armor choices and shield employment can yield more combat decisions.

The Earthrise team has sent out a very newsy letter packed with information about the game, various media interviews and screenshot links. Check out what's up for summer by clicking below.

Masthead Studios' latest Question of the Week feature discussed Earthrise's skill advancement and its impact on gameplay. Read it after the jump.

I like stats as much as the next person (probably more), but when warfare is boiled down to raw probabilities, battlefield skill disappears. The building of the best stat base becomes much more important than any sort of tactical competency. Instead of seeking a skill based work-around, games come up with new statistical probabilities.

In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer looks at the last MMO class archetypes, the Healer, and why this role at least is solidly developed.

The archetypal concept of the tank assumes that PvE opponents have the mental capacity of cattle. Instead of a monster intelligently attacking what would make his enemy most vulnerable (the Healer) or what is the greatest actual threat (the DPS), it attacks the one opponent that isthe smallest real threat and the hardest to kill: the Rodeo Clown... er Tank.

Earthrise developer, Masthead Studios, released the first in-game footage at the Game Developers' Conference held in San Francisco a few weeks ago. It's a great look at the game so click below and prepare your eyes for a feast!

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the issue of player housing in MMOGs and how it can shape one's roleplay experience.

Starting a new series on the archetypal MMO classes, Jonathan Steinhauer begins by looking at DPS and the issue of hitting versus damaging.

This week on RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks into how roleplayers can prepare for an adventure - Research, Plan, Go!

In this edition of RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders about a crucial element in tabletop gaming missing from the MMO - the Dungeon-Master.

In this installment, Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at the weapons of fantasy MMOs and how they have all become identical.

This month's Earthrise newsletter has a terrific feature included in which several of the developers write about their favorite parts of or features in the game. It's always nice to hear about developer love. See what strikes a developer's fancy by clicking 'read more'.

On this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wonders how exactly one can define roleplaying in an MMO due to the absence of a key player in tabletop RPing - the Dungeon Master.

Jonathan Steinhauer takes a look at roleplaying and why he has such a hard time fitting it into the MMO genre.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tries his hand at role-writing, telling the story of one particular Blood Elf in the World of Warcraft.

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tackles Blizzard's recent debacle with the RP-PvE realm, Wyrmrest Accord.

Game designers face many challenges, and one of the largest of these is balance. Yet curiously, one facet that seems to garner a much smaller degree is the economy. That isn't to say MMO economics don't get a great deal of attention but as they stand the balance is more reminiscent of a band-aid than any real resolution.

This week in RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks back at the RP scene in one of the very first MMOs: Ultima Online

Earthrise beta sign ups have officially started and in celebration, devs have posted a nifty little updated FAQ on the official forum. Check out all you need to know by clicking 'read more'.

In many of my recent articles, I've proceeded from the assumption that real life comparisons with games are a logical and natural concept. Apparently, I am mistaken. I have been told that the game is fantasy or sci-fi and that means it's not supposed to be real. Yet one of the great strengths of the genres is their link with the human experience.