Quantcast
Channel: Engadget RSS Feed
Viewing all 69 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

First WildStar Wednesday dev diary takes fans through creature creation

September 15, 2011, 3:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

Concept Art -- WildStar
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first (of many, we hope) WildStar Wednesday. The magnificent Robert "Robeardo" Land and the fabulous Andy Cotnam from Carbine Studios have collaborated on a short dev diary to kick things off after WildStar's recent official announcement and convention circuit.

The diary focuses on the creation of a WildStar boss by the name of Metal Maw. Metal Maw, for the uninitiated, was conceived at Gamescom during a live drawing session featuring Mr. Cotnam, with the help of some fan input. Now that the creature has been created, Cotnam takes fans through the process of bringing a boss monster from the page to the game. For the full process -- and some lovely concept art, to boot -- head on over to the official dev diary.

MassivelyFirst WildStar Wednesday dev diary takes fans through creature creation originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
Search

WildStar explores its Nexus

September 21, 2011, 12:45 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

WildStar: Planet Nexus
WildStar Wednesday is upon us, again! The team at Carbine Studios intends to give a weekly update for its upcoming MMO WildStar. Before finishing off part two of From Concept to Creature, Senior Community Manager Robert "Robeardo" Land decided to sidestep the creature aspect of the world and concentrate on the history of the WildStar central planet, appropriately named Nexus.

Robeardo had to call on the talents of Narrative Designer Chad Moore to assist him in the developer blog. Moore explains that Nexus was once the home of the Eldan, an ancient, advanced race that disappeared from the galaxy over a thousand years ago, leaving behind all of its technology to rot. Part of the excitement for the player is exploring the planet and unearthing artifacts. Moore explains further:
The rusting wrecks of giant robots lie half-buried in shifting desert sands, and strange and deadly alien creatures prowl in the shadows of extraordinary monolithic machines. And hidden among all of these wonders are the dark secrets of the Eldan themselves, and the answers to why they disappeared from planet Nexus so long ago.
WildStar is locking in the explorer type of MMO player, and we at Massively will keep our eyes out to see if it hopes to hook the social, killer, and achiever types, too.

MassivelyWildStar explores its Nexus originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
↧

WildStar gives players a taste of the sound of the world

September 28, 2011, 6:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle.
It's hard not to find something familiar in WildStar's fusion of the wild west aesthetic with the exploration of an unfamiliar planet in deep space. That having been said, most people anticipating the game would likely find nothing to fault with that combination in terms of visuals. But what will the game sound like? That's what this week's WildStar Wednesday addresses, with a piece by Jeff Kurtenacker about composing the music you'll hear in-game.

As Kurtenacker puts it, the biggest challenge as a composer is to create music that combines the game's diverse thematic points into a unified score, producing the right mixture of wonder, adventure, and a bit of old frontier exploration. But if all the technical discussion of composition is a bit beyond you, the post also includes two sample tracks from the game's soundtrack, a chance for players to get a sense of what to expect from the finished experience. The tracks are brief, but they're certainly the sort of thing that gets you in the mindset of the game -- and that's just what they're there for.

MassivelyWildStar gives players a taste of the sound of the world originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday: The return of Metal Maw

October 5, 2011, 3:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

WildStar -- Metal Maw render
A few weeks ago, the fine folks over at Carbine Studios posted the first WildStar Wednesday dev diary, which took fans through the process of creating a new WildStar creature. Well, it's that time once again, and this WildStar Wednesday features the return of the monstrous Metal Maw. Lead concept artist Andy Cotnam has handed off Metal Maw's design sketch to senior character artist Brandon Dix, who is charged with the task of modeling and texturing the beast.

In the post, Dix takes fans through the process of creating a (virtually) living, breathing model of the new creature, from rough sculpture to rendered model. To take a look at the fascinating process for yourself, head on over to the WildStar Wednesday blog post at the game's official site.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday: The return of Metal Maw originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday tackles the sandbox vs. themepark debate

November 3, 2011, 3:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , ,

Screenshot -- WildStar
Sandbox or themepark? It's a never-ending debate around these parts of the internet. Carbine Studios knows both sides of the argument all too well, and it shows. Which side of the argument does WildStar fall on, though? If today's WildStar Wednesday dev diary is to be believed, the game straddles the fence between the two.

WildStar's Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney points out that "developer-directed game play isn't always at odds with the player-directed experience" and notes that sometimes leaning too heavily in either direction can be detrimental to the overall gameplay. As such, the developers are attempting to hit the sweet spot between sandbox and themepark gameplay. If you're interested in finding out how they plan to do that, head on over to the dev diary at WildStar's official site.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday tackles the sandbox vs. themepark debate originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
↧

WildStar discusses the exotic and alien human race

February 1, 2012, 6:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , ,

Try and read the entry out loud without trying to fit in the word 'shiny' or 'verse' a couple times.
Humans are the standard basis for comparison in games that feature non-human races, almost as if said games were being made by humans for other humans. But there's still a distinct flavor to the human race depending on the setting. Case in point, the latest WildStar "interview" with one of the three lore characters from the cinematic trailer gives players a peek at a typical human, and he's a bit different than what you might have been expecting.

While the other major characters identify a specific world as "home," humans are portrayed as being a bit more free-forming, having roamed out in space for so long that they're really not bound to a location. The entry also discusses some of the lore behind being an Explorer and some of the perils associated with intentionally venturing into the unknown (it involves lots of things that try to eat you, if you need the short version). If you've been enjoying the flavor of the world Carbine Studios is slowly building, you'll probably enjoy this latest look as well.

MassivelyWildStar discusses the exotic and alien human race originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday talks about the game's narrative design

February 8, 2012, 6:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

This is your captain speaking. We're having a little problem with our entry sequence, so we'll be experiencing some turbulence followed by... exploding.
Unless you were at PAX Prime last year, about all you've seen of WildStar in action has been the game's cinematic trailer. While it didn't give much of an idea of how the game played, said video certainly had a lot of style. According to the latest WildStar Wednesday community blog post, that style was a big part of the game's narrative design, which is seen as one of the main points of development -- making a game that feels large, engrossing, and epic.

As lead designer Chad Moore explains it, the narrative design team is responsible for outlining the world of Nexus, which was in part created to serve as a perfect locus for a variety of different adventures. While this design team isn't particularly concerned with mechanics, it is concerned with ensuring that every part of the game has the same degree of personality as the first cinematic trailer. If you're one of the many people anticipating the game heavily, take a look behind the scenes to see how it produces its feel.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday talks about the game's narrative design originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday examines redundancies in quest text

February 29, 2012, 4:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , ,

I've been in a firefight before... well, in a fire. Actually, I got fired.
Can you really produce a meaningful set of quests while keeping each snippet of text down to 140 characters? The team developing WildStar certainly thinks so. In a previous installment of the regular WildStar Wednesday feature, fans were introduced to the concept, but this week's developer diary is all about explaining how you keep all of the flavor of a quest while trimming it down to the bare minimum necessary. It's not about stripping out flavor -- it's about exactly the opposite.

Senior narrative designer Cory Herndon explains by example that a lot of quest text winds up repeating unnecessary facts or stating something that should be immediately clear. Herndon starts with a longer example of quest text and steadily pares it down to the most important bits of information, keeping all of the flavor while posting each bit of communication in quick and comprehensible bursts. Combined with the discussion of adding further bits of quest dialogue after important objectives are completed, the diary shows just how you can get a lot of flavor into the quests without quite as many fancy words.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday examines redundancies in quest text originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
Search

WildStar Wednesday: Shiny hover bikes

March 14, 2012, 7:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , ,

Yes shiny is a Firefly reference. No I do not confuse the two universes.
Everybody's favorite extraterrestrial bunnyfolk make an appearance in this week's WildStar Wednesday. While the blog is light on text, it makes up for that with some lovely shots of a female Aurin tooling around on the hover bike we've all come to know and envy from WildStar's first cinematic. A couple of the shots show off the game's lovely scenery while the Aurin performs what would be a wheelie if the bike ever had two wheels on the ground to begin with. Dreaming of the day that you, too, can nab a joyride on this beast of a hover bike? Hop on over to the blog page to check out all the shots, or browse our WildStar gallery to get an eyeful.

Gallery: WildStar

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday: Shiny hover bikes originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
↧

WildStar Wednesday highlights the deadly denizens of planet Nexus

March 22, 2012, 4:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , ,

Screenshot -- WildStar
WildStar's planet Nexus is a wild, untamed place full of various flora and fauna. It just so happens that a good chunk of said flora and fauna wants to eat your face. Thankfully, the fine folks over at Carbine Studios have decided to give players a leg-up on the competition by providing them with a bit of insight on some of the savage creatures they'll encounter in the dark corners of the planet.

The spotlight today is on three species of things-you-don't-want-to-meet-in-a-dark-alley. First off, we have masses of sentient fungus known as rootbrutes, and if their name doesn't tell you everything you need to know about 'em, then we're not sure how to help you. If that's not enough to make you think twice about your next vacay to planet Nexus, maybe the Girrok will give you pause. These huge, stocky quadripeds are known to rip boulders from the earth for a rousing game of bowling, except players are their pins. To top it all off, we have the "barely sentient" Skeech. Despite their near complete lack of intellect, the Skeech are apparently accomplished cooks... of people. So if a Skeech says it wants to have you for dinner, it doesn't mean a dinner party.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday highlights the deadly denizens of planet Nexus originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday tours Algoroc

April 12, 2012, 10:00 am
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , , ,

WildStar
Who doesn't fancy a trip to the wild and lawless frontier to try to strike it rich? Blue crystal fever has spread in Carbine Studios' sci-fi title WildStar, and galactic prospectors will have the opportunity to stake their claims in the new land of Algoroc. Complete with boomtowns, murders, slave-traders, rampaging killer security bots, and ancient ruins, this place sounds perfect, right?

Shake off those civilized shackles and prepare for a gritty adventure. Adventurous types can head toward Tremor Ridge, a small mining camp in the western part of the land. Though the area was dangerous before, recent attacks by space pirates make the stay there just that much more exciting. Fancy a trip to a boomtown? Head east to Gallow, where the the peace needs to be kept after the local lawman was brutally murdered. Or if you prefer ancient civilizations to current ones, an Eldan facility is being excavated in the western mountains -- just watch out for the security system that the archaeologists accidentally triggered!

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday tours Algoroc originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday showcases a rogue's gallery full of rogues

April 18, 2012, 9:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

Shiny. Let's be bad guys.
WildStar is shaping up to be a lot of things, but "peaceful" isn't one of them. Players watching the various previews already have an idea of what the more natural threats in the game world will look like. This week's installment of WildStar Wednesday focuses on a much more human element, however: three different criminal organizations that all have a decided interest in the region of Algoroc. As if the wildlife wasn't bad enough, you have to contend with all manner of criminals as well.

Marauders are intergalactic pirates, the Darkspur Cartel is essentially an interstellar mafia, and the Crowe Gang is a group of smugglers and moonshine brewers. But all of them have an interest in Algoroc, and none of them are open to outsiders or anything law-abiding in the area. That means players are going to have to face off against all three, and from the looks of the preview, none of these groups will go down easily.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday showcases a rogue's gallery full of rogues originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday discusses quality of life

May 10, 2012, 3:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

WildStar
Mobility is key when you're adventuring on an exciting frontier planet. Taking this to heart, WildStar developer Carbine Studios is building in some quality of life improvements to speed Settlers along their way.

All players traveling on roads in WildStar will benefit from a speed boost, whether they're on a noble steed or going afoot. Executive Producer Jeremy Gaffney mentions that, more than just cutting down on travel time, this allows developers to plan on players running into each other as they travel through the world as well as aiding in the design of exploration-driven content and proper timing of encounters. If players are really gung-ho about speed and being (profitable) good Samaritans, they'll have opportunities to add new taxi points to remote areas, pitch a vendor stall to sell mounts to lowbies, and set up speed-boosting machines at outposts, among other player-driven additions. Hopefully, this means that the more folks are in an area, the more luxuries are available -- or you can be the pilgrim running out into the wilds to spur on the advance of civilization.

Speaking of running out into the wilds, we know no one likes doing that only to get called in 15 minutes later to pick up a new quest. Players' communicators are a big part of the accessibility of the world in WildStar. Many quests can be picked up and turned in via comm call, freeing players from the drudgery of having to actually track people down. To sum up, Gaffney listed the goals of this design approach. "Focus on the fun parts of the game. Eliminate tedium. Keep the challenge in there for advanced gamers. Overall, let you play the way you want to play."

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday discusses quality of life originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 May 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
↧

WildStar Thursday brings the Metal Maw action

May 17, 2012, 2:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

WildStar Metal Maw
Metal Maw, the brain child of a live drawing session conceived at last year's Gamescom, is featured once again in this week's WildStar "Wednesday" -- and this time he's not just some concept art or a 3-D model but a fully animated death-bringer! Along with a test video featuring the big guy in action, this week's blog post has some information about the team's considerations in bringing him to life.

This destructive blue hulk is designed for about 15 level 6 players to fight at once and should give them about a three-minute battle. His abilities are designed so that things get steadily more interesting as the fight progresses. Now that the team's happy with the way he fights, Metal Maw's been put in a crate and shipped on over to the animation and effects team to get his final beauty polish before being totally ready for players in-game.

Skip below the cut to see the big guy in action!

Continue reading WildStar Thursday brings the Metal Maw action

MassivelyWildStar Thursday brings the Metal Maw action originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 17 May 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday shows off Eldan technology

May 23, 2012, 5:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

This has a name! I call her Vera!
Players might be exploring the world of Nexus in WildStar, but it's not their world. It belonged to the Eldan, and while the race itself might not be present, its technology is still everywhere. The newest installment of WildStar Wednesday takes a look at some of the automated robots left behind by the Eldan. They're not directly malicious, but they're also not particularly friendly, pursuing ancient objectives and antiquated functions with single-minded devotion.

While Probes are primarily meant for gathering information and surveillance, the floating eyes are equipped with shielding and directed-energy weapons to keep themselves safe. Protectors have a more direct combat function; the lumbering humanoid robots found gathered around important scientific sites. Last but not least, the Augmentors are rare but potent machines capable of injecting nanomachines into a subject to start a process of mechanical integration known as augmentation. Take a look at all of the machines on this week's installment of the preview column -- even if you don't necessarily want to blow these gadgets up, they don't have any such compunctions about you.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday shows off Eldan technology originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 23 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
Search

WildStar shows off footage from friends and family testing

June 13, 2012, 4:30 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , , ,

I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar.
Has your enthusiasm wavered at all for WildStar? The game has been a no-show at the most recent conventions, and with not much new to see, it's easy to start wondering if anything's been happening with the game. Fear not; the newest installment of WildStar Wednesday produces quite a bit for fans to watch and speculate upon -- it's four minutes of a guided tour of the content and mechanics currently in friends and family testing.

One of the bigger elements being shown off is the evolving action mechanics of the game. The video explains how the more freeform targeting system is working and how players can interact with the environment to change up the battlefield. The Scientist and Settler paths are also displayed in working order, adding on to the previously seen Soldier and Explorer paths. And there are new areas, new monsters, and hints of more footage to come. So by all means, jump on past the break and watch the game strut its stuff for a while.

Continue reading WildStar shows off footage from friends and family testing

MassivelyWildStar shows off footage from friends and family testing originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday showcases group combat

June 27, 2012, 5:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

WildStar
It's Wednesday, so you know what that means: another glimpse into the development and world of WildStar. In response to complaints that group combat hasn't been highlighted enough, this week's WildStar Wednesday features a video of a team of settlers working together to duke it out with robots and make their way to a dungeon entrance. Lead Combat Designer Chris Lynch narrates the video and talks about the way that freeform targeting, which was highlighted in last week's installment of WildStar Wednesday, comes into play for group dynamics and positioning. There's some serious laser action going on, so be sure to jump past the break to catch all the excitement.

Continue reading WildStar Wednesday showcases group combat

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday showcases group combat originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 27 Jun 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
↧

WildStar Wednesday sheds light on the game's social design

August 8, 2012, 5:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

You're on my crew. Why are we still talking about this?
WildStar, like every other MMO, wants players to enjoy the company of other players. The team behind the game wants players invested in the community and in participating with one another. Victoria Dollbaum, the Social Systems Designer for the game and the writer of this week's WildStar Wednesday, explains that the team wants to create the sort of community feel of older games without including the same sort of brutal systems that made constant community involvement a necessity.

Dollbaum explains that the main goal of social design is creating incentives for players to group up rather than punishing them for playing solo. Housing is a prime example, as the game's housing system rewards players of all types: raiders can collect raid trophies, crafters can grow and harvest resources, and roleplayers can run events in their houses along a set theme. Or players can completely ignore the system if they'd prefer. It's a design all about letting the players do what they want and offering the appropriate carrots, and housing is just the tip of a carrot-flavored iceberg.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday sheds light on the game's social design originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar Wednesday discusses the importance of items

August 15, 2012, 2:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , , ,

This here's my very best gun.
WildStar's developer dispatches all have a theme: "Play the way you enjoy playing." That's borne out in the latest installment of WildStar Wednesday, in which Economy team leader Jeremy Wood discusses the ins and outs of the game's reward system. Wood explains that his team is responsible for making sure that players have the rewards needed to keep them playing, and in a game focused so heavily on differing player paths, that can be a tall order.

WildStar will allow players a hefty amount of customization for items, including a dye system and modifications to existing equipment. Players can also expect to receive rewards of attractive and useful gear through every path rather than to be limited to one or two endgame pursuits. Even once you reach the top tier of items, there won't be a single "best" piece; the game will offer several different items for different playstyles. Take a look at the full article to get a broader picture of what the game will offer players to keep them invested to the endgame and beyond.

MassivelyWildStar Wednesday discusses the importance of items originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧

WildStar catalogues lore in its Galactic Archives

September 26, 2012, 2:00 pm
$
0
0

Filed under: , , ,

WildStar catalogues lore in its Galactic Archives
Senior Narrative Designer Cory Herndon is all about the lore of WildStar, which is why he's equally excited about the methods to relay it to the player. In the most recent WildStar Wednesday, Herndon unveils the game's Galactic Archives, which will do just that.

The Galactic Archives will seem familiar to codices in other MMOs and RPGs. Entries are categorized into locations, creatures, sentient species, notable individuals, plants, minerals, technology, lore, enemies, and allies. Players will naturally unlock Archive sections as they play, expanding each individual article as more is discovered in-game.

Herndon points out that while the Galactic Archives aren't the only method of relaying story, they are a crucial tool in gathering everything the player's experienced into one handy location. He also says that players pursuing the scientist path will enjoy expanded and additional selections beyond what others experience.

MassivelyWildStar catalogues lore in its Galactic Archives originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
↧
Viewing all 69 articles
Browse latest View live
Search