The GameShadow Blog

Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures have announced that Sam Raimi is to direct the upcoming World of Warcraft movie.

Raimi’s previous movies include the Spider-Man trilogy.

No concrete release date has been set for the movie yet.

Develop Magazine has released its annual Top 100 Game Studios list.

Blizzard Entertainment (creators of World of Warcraft) rules at the top, with the likes of Epic Games, Capcom and Infinity Ward in the Top 10.

The full list is available on the official Develop 100 website.

Blizzard Entertainment has revealed the anticipated release date for World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King.

The second World of Warcraft expansion pack will be released on November 13th, and will aim to achieve the success of the first expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, that sold a record number of copies on release day in 2007.

Update: Also confirmed that the Barbarian will be the only returning class in Diablo III.

MTV is carrying word from Lead Diablo Designer Jay Wilson that Blizzard has more planned in the Diablo series after Diablo III - no more decade long waits.

“It’s not just ‘Diablo III’ — we’ve got plans beyond,” said Wilson. “Diablo III” ends the trilogy, [but] fans needn’t worry — it’s not the final curtain for Diablo.”

Well, colour me shocked.

As an upshot of the Diablo III unveiling last weekend, Blizzard let slip a whole load of juicy goss on the subject of their other projects. To be honest, Blizzard isn’t the most exciting developer in the world - the emphasis is firmly on polish and evolution rather than on actually coming up with ideas of their own - butthey’re a talented team all the same.

First up, we’ve got Starcraft II screens, one of which you can see above, courtesy of Gamespot. Word has it the game’s still a significant way off - the singleplayer campaign’s 1/3 complete, so you won’t be seeing much more before Christmas, in time for a 2009 release.

Next there’s a rather interesting report from VG247 regarding Diablo III coming to consoles, and the power struggle between Blizzard and new owner Activision.

“Blizzard will face immense pressure to produce a console version of Diablo III. If Kotick says, ‘We can sell 10 million units of a console version’ - and he will, because they can - it’s an obvious situation. Money talks. You could be looking at nearly half a billion dollars in revenue.”

“That said [Blizzard is] in a unique position. Very few people have any sway over them at all.”

Blizzard seems dedicated to the PC audience - which makes a nice change in today’s climate - but time will tell.

Finally, Blizzard boss Rob Pardo has confirmed that the company still has one further project under raps, in addition to WoW: Lich King, Starcraft II and Diablo III. It’s almost certainly an MMO, and clever money says it’s Starcraft - Blizzard’s hardly known for running risks.

In a recent Eurogamer interview with Gaute Godager of Funcom fame, the Conan Director has… not slammed… but had a cheeky dig at genre competitor WoW.

“But you know… I’m going to be a bit cheeky now, but if you’ve been to McDonalds for four or five years, and had your burger and your coke, sometimes it’s great to just have a great steak and a glass of good wine. I think that’s what we’re trying to do. [Age of Conan is] more expensive, it’s not for everyone and perhaps it’s not as easily accessible as WOW is. But it could be more meaty. [laughs]”

It’s nice to see MMO competitors taking the odd pound of flesh, rather than skirting round the fact that Blizzard well and truly rule the roost.

Of course, non-MMO developers are probably looking at the entire genre in the same way - and rightly so.

WoWInsider is running a whole shed load of Lich King details, fresh from the Blizzard event in Paris over the weekend.

Check it out here.

Doesn’t really do it for me, but then elves aren’t really my bag.

So, the big news is that Diablo III’s definitely on the way, and is a good way into its dev cycle. The surprising news is that Blizzard released a lot of details of the weekend.

You can grab a huge 20 min gameplay trailer right here, while there’s a flashier but less informative cinematic trailer here.

There’s info all over the place, so rather than completely rehash it here, I’ll point you to some of the best spots. Essentially, however…

- It’s definitely still Diablo

- It’s 3D, and sports a brand new engine, but is viewed from the same top down perspective

- In the context of today’s co-op infatuated climate, Blizzard is building on the hugely successful online modes of the previous games to make co-op the core experience

- It’s set 20 years after the last game, and story telling will be a stronger element

- It’s around the same length as Diablo II

- The same level of one-click approachability is promised

- Five classes will be present, both new and old, including the Barbarian and Witch Doctor

You can check a swift preview over at 1up, there’s a more in depth piece on the game design at Joystiq, and IGN has a decent interview with Rob Pardo.

Edit: Loads of game details here.

Edit: This just in, it’s been confirmed. That really was the world’s worst kept secret.

GamesIndustry.biz is running a story around Blizzard’s big event in Paris this weekend, reporting that the mega-dev is to announce a major new project.

If it’s not Diablo III I’ll eat my hat. And, as if that weren’t confident enough a claim, other sites are claiming industry insiders have tipped the wink on the announcement already.

So there you go. Confirmation this weekend.

As a point of fact, it’s worth noting that Diablo was originally an external project at Condor, an independent studio. The company was bought by Blizzard shortly before Diablo’s release, and renamed Blizzard North, the game going on to define the company. However, following Diablo II’s release, relations ebtween Blizzard North and parent company Vivendi turned sour, and the best part of thirty staff, including the franchise creators, left to form other studios (including Flagship, developer of Diablo-esque Hellgate: London). The studio was closed down soon after.

So what that means is that Diablo III could turn out to be a very different game, and the complications and loss of the original series team must have played a large part in the third game’s delay. It’ll be an interesting one.

Finally. It had to happen.

Launched this Autumn, the WoW Miniatures Game - snappy title - will feature Leeroy Jenkins, some dwarves, probably some elves and other things with weird ears. Maybe a Half-Giraffe or soemthing. I don’t know.

Anyway, find the mini-site here.

No, this doesn’t meen I like MMOs now. I just know you do. That’s commitment, that is.

A Chinese partner involved with Blizzard’s new MMO project has let slip the details: it’s Starcraft Online.

A report on Tradingmarkets.com has revealed that NetEase - a Chinese online game operator - will be running Starcraft Online for Blizzard.

Blizzard itself has not confirmed the game, but has been advertising for staff to work on a new MMO.

Excited? Disappointed? Vent your spleens right here.

A German gamer has reached the wealth limit imposed in World of Warcraft. He now stands at 217, 748 gold, 36 silver and 48 copper.

The player is said to be the leader of the largest guild on his server, and one of the top ten guilds in the world. This position of authority grants him the ability to power level high paying characters, as well as countless other revenue streams.

Recent market valuations place his stash at some $6,500.

Now, I have a distinct distaste for most things MMO - I like to play games, not statistics - however, the online economics have always fascinated me. What happens when inflation sets in? What happens when a virus wipes out the entire server? Can people really make livings out of online worlds?

The thing is, $6,500 doesn’t sound like an awful lot to me. Sure, perhaps these players are routinely selling off their hoardings, but then reaching the wealth cap seems something of a big deal. Imagine how much time and effort has gone into getting this character to where he is now - the head of one of the leading guilds - and then compare that to the measly £3,000 that’s been netted. Consider the number of working weeks that must have gone into the character - 20, 30, 40?

We hear a lot of tales of MMO wealth, but if this is the pinnacle, it’s really quite underwhelming.

Has an MMO made you any money?

Fed up with being ripped off by gold farmers? Want a trustworthy way of buying your way to the best equipment in Everquest?

Well it looks like your prayers are answered. Yesterday, Live Gamer announced that it had raised $24 million to build a “legitimate market for virtual trading”. Think of it as an ebay for virtual items, with an auction system and Buy It Now functionality.

The main angle is that Live Gamer will only work with the blessing of the publishers and they’ve signed up with Sony Online (Everquest), Funcom (Anarchy Online, Age of Conan) and a handful of other publishers. The publishers will take 10% of the transaction, and the benefit for gamers is that the transactions are run by a reputable company: an end to gold-farmers who take your money and don’t hand over the goods; a trading platform integrated into the game world and supported by the publishers themselves.

I can imagine that the publishers who are giving away free MMOs and expect to rely on in-game purchases would welcome this move, as a marketplace gets exponentially more successful as its membership grows. But they are not signed up with World of Warcraft, and it seems unlikely that Activision Blizzard are going to join the program. Plus trading platforms like ige.com already exist.

So its an interesting proposition, but with a big hole. It could become a massive new revenue stream for MMO publishers, and a secure way for gamers to trade items in-game. But if it doesn’t reach critical mass, it could be a tumbleweed town of empty store fronts and disappointed traders.

Job postings on the Blizzard website have indicated a new MMO is underway at the genre-defining developer.

The company is looking for experienced staff to work on a next-gen MMO - not just another expansion to World of Warcraft.

Blizzard later confirmed speculation by stating, “No, it is an unannounced Next-Gen MMO. And that doesn’t mean an expansion for World of Warcraft either.”

WoW 2? Diablo Online? A new IP?

Whatever it is, odds on it’ll take over the world. Click the image for the high res job posting.

At his Montreal Game Summit keynote, Jonathon Blow (the one man band behind 2008’s time-warping platformer, Braid) has railed at the McDonalds-esque game design in MMOs and in Bioshock.

“MMOs have empty gameplay, but keep players hooked with constant fake rewards,” said Blow. His concern is that, like fast food, MMOs are empty, and ‘nutritionally’ bereft - they’re a shallow, meaningless experience that nonetheless becomes addictive, resulting in a poor quality of life for its players.

He pointed out how McDonalds has faced criticism from commentators, and that World of Warcraft’s method of teaching players about routine was similar and “akin to advertising”.

And he’s completely right. MMOs have no soul. They thrive on just two things: social networking (something Facebook does better), and constant reward. Few players ever take the time to realise how empty these rewards are. What value does the +3 sword have in the real world? The difference between game design in MMORPGs and traditional RPGs is vast - Knights of the Old Republic 2 has strongly tactical combat, and a rich, meaningful storyline. WoW has XP grind and not much more - just enough to keep players playing.

I take issue with MMORPGs for a different reason to Braid, though. He’s concerned about the social impact of these games on their players - but if players really want to waste their lives, then so be it. I’m just more worried that if designers can get away with bland gameplay like this - and come out with one of the most successful games of all time - then what future is there for games with genuine depth?

Blow also took issue with the hype surrounding Bioshock, claiming that despite wide praise, the game “sucks” and that “the designers of this game are trying to manipulate your emotions in a clumsy way. BioShock claims to be about altruism and humanity but what it really teaches you is how to headshot someone from as far away as possible. It’s a very weird game that we couldn’t proffer as an example to normal humans.”

I don’t know how he does it, but he’s bang on again. Yes Bioshock is pretty, yes it’s partly inspired by an obscure Russian-American philosopher, no, it’s not really doing anything all that special. And the twist was average in the extreme.

I don’t know if Braid will be the game to reverse these trends - while it looks great, it doesn’t look all that unique to me - next year will tell.