Massive Multiplayer Online Games

Again, I'm going to just post-and-run. I'm still learning about the OGDC - Online Game Development Conference, but here's a press release about some of the newest speakers being added. It's really shaping up to look like a decent event from what I've read so far. This week is the final week to get in on pre-registration savings, so if you're up for going, you ought to sign up right away. Check it out:

SEATTLE, WA - February 28, 2007 - Over thirty-five speakers have now been confirmed for the ever-growing Online Game Development Conference 2007 (OGDC). From CEOs to artificial intelligence visionaries, security experts to game producers, in large part because of the diverse and experienced array of speakers lined up OGDC is prepared to be a unique, no-holds-barred conference.

Among these speakers are:

. Kevin Bjorke -- Art & Technology Evangelist for the NVIDIA Corporation

. Ramon Axelrod -- CTO for AIseek

. Bart House -- Development Lead - Windows Server Performance Team for Microsoft

. Robert Mitchell -- Senior Programmer for Sony Online Entertainment

. Mike Goslin -- Vice President, Virtual Reality Studio for Disney Online

. Scott Brown -- President and CEO of NetDevil

. Joseph Ybarra -- Vice President of Product Development Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment

The Online Game Development Conference is also in the FINAL WEEK of offering over 40% off on-site registration rates for this information-packed game industry event. After March 1st, rates will rise from $195 to $345.

OGDC is tailored to offer game developers forward-thinking, in-depth answers to the challenges facing the fast-growing, rapidly evolving online segment of the game development industry. OGDC will be held on May 10-11, 2007 at the elegant Fairmont Olympic in downtown Seattle. Visit the official website http://www.ogdc2007.comfor the latest news and information, including registration, the most current speaker list and agenda and more. Early registration rates for OGDC end on March 2. To be on the fast track to receive updates, join the official conference mailing list.

If you're playing any of the NCsoft online games, there are Halloween events all around. Here's a quick list-o-links of the respective event announcements for each game, all nicely formatted for you:

• Auto Assault
• City of Heroes/City of Villains
• Guild Wars
• Lineage
• Lineage II
  

[update:  I found a link to the Denver Business Journal article posted online. Nice.] 

Ten Ton Hammer posted a recap of the Auto Assault meet & greet held near the home of NetDevil last week.  She talks about several discussions with various members of the team, as well as showing off some photos of the event.  My favorite is the top secret post-launch plans revealed on their whiteboard.  Good stuff.  If you're in the area, you can find a front-page article in the Denver Business Journal interviewing Scott.  I haven't found it online yet, but maybe they'll post it on their site soon-ish.

It was pretty sweet for me to see such a great turnout for them.  They're my friends from several years of gatherings after the monthly Colorado Game Developers Association meetings, of which I've been a part of since something like 1996 or so.  I first met Scott Brown and Ryan Seabury at NetDevil back when they were in beta development on Jumpgate.  It's so much fun to watch their company grow and improve to the levels that they're at now.  Very cool to see Colorado's companies succeed.  There are several other great projects going on around here and I look forward to our game development community growing even more.

I met several of the development team at the event and everyone looked rather healthy.  I'm sure they're tired, but they were very chipper about the occasion and all of them mentioned their excitement about how many people showed up to the party.  It was really nice.  Thanks NetDevil and NCsoft for putting together the event.

The Auto Assault Online Trading Card Game is now open for public beta testing.  You can go sign up to play the game and play for chances to win copies of the Auto Assault MMO game.  Nice.

My car could really use an "auto-repairing hood ornament", but I'm not sure it will really work, considering the massive issues my vehicle already has.  Either way, I'll have to see if I can win one.  Here's a blurb from the full press release:

Starting April 7th, testers will be able to participate in free daily tournaments to win free copies of the Auto Assault massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, which launches commercial service on April 13. From April 10th through April 12th, the prize pool will expand to include copies of the Auto Assault MMO Limited Edition package. The grand prize for the final test tournament on April 12th will be an exclusive Hood Ornament for the MMO - Fist of Vengeance (Auto-Repairing Ornament Mk II, +24 Hit Points)!

The Auto Assault TCG will launch the weekend of April 15th with a series of release tournaments that feature exclusive promo cards for all participants!

The Auto Assault TCG will hold monthly tournaments that feature prizes of exclusive gear for the MMO, as well as a robust, organized play system in its own right. Check in at AutoAssaultTCG.com for upcoming news about the Auto Assault TCG World Championships at Gen Con (featuring a $5,000 prize pool!) and The Road to Gen Con monthly qualifiers. 

The good folks at NetDevil are getting nearer to the launch of Auto Assault.  The game has been announced to have "gone gold", which really means there's a final CD being pressed as we speak, but you know how these fancy online games are... you can expect a patch to download when you log in with your freshly-pressed CD.  You'll be able to pick up a copy on shelves around April 13th, but why don't you help both of us out now and go buy a preorder of AA now?!?  You'll get some exclusive in-game loot as well as access to the game 4 days before launch for the rest of the bums who didn't follow my link and buy it early.

 I got to briefly play the game before I went off to GDC, but I didn't get my fill yet.  I hope to play it more soon.  It's looking pretty sweet.  If you're heading to their meet & greet, maybe I'll see you there.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with the NetDevil folks when they're not totally stressed out and over-worked!  I'm sure they'll be plenty tired, but maybe going gold helps to ease some stress.

You can play Auto Assault's beta right now, if you'd like.  Just go sign up and you can play until Tuesday, March 21.  After that, you will need to have a preorder of Auto Assault to keep playing the beta until the game goes live.

 Also, if you're around Colorado, or you want to make the trip for this, there's a "meet & greet" coming up in Superior, CO (just north of Denver) that you may want to check out.  I know I'll be there!

Auto Assault Meet & Greet April 5 in Colorado

Join members of the Auto Assault team for a Meet & Greet in Superior, Colorado, on April 5, 2006. Win a door prize, try your hand at the trivia contest or just kick back and enjoy getting acquainted with the developers and members of the community.

Here’s the important stuff:
Date: April 5, 2006
Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Location:
Buffalo Wild Wings (http://www.buffalowildwings.com/)
404 Marshall Road
Superior, Colorado 80027
(303) 497- 9464

Can’t make it out for the event? Not a problem! We have another event that you can enjoy from the comfort of your own home, no matter where you are. It’s our Worldwide Beta Event and it’s underway now. Visit http://www.autoassault.com/promo/beta.html to get a key to enter the Central Wastelands this weekend.

Auto Assault by NetDevil & NCsoft is a fast-action MMORPGi centered around heavily-armed vehicles... really heavily armed vehicles.  Mass destruction is the big trademark of this game, where their big push is the use of the Havok 2 physics engine to make almost everything in the environment fragment and fly apart upon explosion. 

If you're not familiar with Havok yet (you haven't played Half-Life 2 yet?!?), just think about thousands of individual 3D objects/parts reacting to gravity and explosions... tell ya what: go grab a box of toothpicks and fling them across the room and watch what happens.  That's what I'm talkin' about here.  Now, please forget it was me that told you to do that as you go pick up that mess.

Auto Assault lets you play as one of three different factions/classes (Biomek, Human and Mutant, if that matters).  Your virual life in this game is spent collecting, crafting and customizing a more lethal vehicle.  Here are the key points about the game from the mouth of the marketing folks:

• Destruction: The only MMORPG to make use of the Havok™ 2 physics engine. Destroy buildings, level towns, send enemy foot-soldiers flying through the air
• Speed: Other MMORPGs are left in the dust! Combat, travel, finding a group…everything is designed to get you into action fast
• Customization: Choose your vehicle and swap out weapons, armor and more for looks and performance; paint jobs and ornaments make your vehicle your own
• Power: Choose incredible skills and powers as you level up and become a member of the road warrior elite
• Combat: Take on other players – skirmish on the highways, group together for massive outpost raids or enter the Arena: find out who’s the best on the arena ranking page of autoassault.com
• Loot: No two loot items are the same! You’ll always be on the hunt for that perfect gun, engine, armor and more to add to your unique vehicle
• Create: Repair and back-engineer guns, engines and more to equip your own vehicle or sell to others. Be the only person on your server to know how to make an incredible engine or powerful weapon

That's your basic rundown, so if you're interested in more, here's what you need to know: