VirginWorlds Podcast #132

As presented by Robotic Brent.--- Podcast 132 This is VirginWorlds Podcast #132 for October 19th, 2008. I am your host, Robotic Brent, and this is the Massively Multiplayer Gaming news for the past week. --- First, you are probably saying, "Hey, that's not Brent, that's a robot voice." You are correct. Brent seems to have contracted a deadly throat slaying ailment on his recent trip to London, and while he doesn't sound all that bad, he can barely get two words out without coughing up a lung, and so, instead you have me, Robotic Brent. Interesting isn't it that I have nearly as much emotion in my delivery as Brent does. Ha Ha Ha. Yes, Brent flew into the UK this past week for work. And aside from enjoying Boddingtons Pub Ale on tap and close to its home, he sampled very little of London or the surrounding area. It was one of those in and out work trips and he didn't get a chance to get away and meet any of the UK podcast crew. Brent sucks. He was particularly taken aback by that whole, left side of the road thing. Sure, seems obvious, but when he climbed into the taxi at the airport, it was strange seeing the steering wheel on the other side, and he had to admit, every car trip was a white knuckle adventure because it seemed like every turn would surely result in death and destruction. Somehow, he made it. Also of note, not every woman that sounds like Elizabeth Hurley, looks like Elizabeth Hurley. This was a horrible horrible realization that may take many months to recover from. All in all, it looks pretty much like home, aside from that whole left-side-of-the-road thing and the peculiar controls on his hotel room shower, which took quite a while to figure out. At the top of the show, not much else to say. No new podcasts have joined the Collective this week, though there is one in the hopper that Brent needs to add. He needs to work harder. But I'll give him a break. He isn't a robot, like me, after all. My ability to process new data is far superior to his, he is but a one hundred and sixty pound bag of water, while I am a fine tuned machine. Also, no new VirginWorlds supporters have been added this week. We are still hovering just under the mark for goal #2. And now, here is the M M O news for the week. Adventure Quest Worlds. Artix Entertainment, creators of online, browser-based, role-playing games written for Macromedia Flash, today announced the release of AdventureQuest Worlds, its first 100% browser-based MMORPG. You may remember that Brent intereviewed the crew from Artix a few months ago, and they talked at length about their single player browser based games ... and they hinted at a possible MMO in the works. It has now arrived. The crew at Artix uses Flash to build eye catching battle-centric titles. Their previous work includes the Free to play titles, Adventure Quest, Mech Quest and Dragon Fable, which have had over sixty million players over the past 5 years. Now they have announced Adventure Quest Worlds, an MMO based on their most popular title, Adventure Quest. Daniel Vasile, Business Development Manager of Artix Entertainment said: "Our Beta testers' positive responses indicate our move into MMOs was the right decision. We're especially excited that AdventureQuest Worlds may be the first MMO developed by a small, family-owned game development studio. Our project shows MMO developers and players worldwide that a small, truly dedicated team can create a quality browser-based MMOG without spending millions of dollars." The game play will, of course, involve battling armies of monsters in real time combat, performing quests, meeting thousands (nay, millions) of other players and donning customizable armors, capes, helms and weapons. Character classes exist, but in the spirit of casual play, the player can change amongst the different classes at any time and can level those class up independently, unlocking new skills and gear as they go. Artix is commited to weekly updates of new content, just as they have...