How do you make a combat sandwich? For Carbine, you start off with some freshly baked Movement bread, add a couple of slices of Aiming meat and some delicious Crowd Control cheese. But a signature dish isn’t complete without special sauce, and in WildStar that’s Ability Mechanics. Although it’s still an MMO sandwich, it’s vital…
Month: September 2013
WildStar: Ship Shape with Shiphands
If you think that dungeons and raids are the only instances you’ll find in WildStar, prepare to be corrected. A few weeks ago, WildStar content designer and zone lead Kristen “Caydiem” DeMeza posted on the WildStar Central forums about a previously unknown form of content. Described as quick experiences for 1 to 5 players, ‘Shiphand…
A Ticket to Los Santos
If there’s one videogame that’s demanded attention recently, it’s Grand Theft Auto V. Whether you love Rockstar’s exploration of the criminal underworld, or loathe the fictional world they created, it’s undeniably been the catalyst for a massive amount of opinion. Whether you’re interested in game design, interactive narrative or just games as art, GTA V…
Crafting and CREDD
Have you ever heard of the tale about the everlasting fan belt? The story starts with a small inventor who became frustrated at high garage bills for maintaining his car. Every time he visited for a seemingly minor problem, the sparkplugs or fan belt needed replacing. After one expensive visit too many, he decided enough…
Powering a Million Idiot March
Raiding is serious business. For the hardcore guilds at the bleeding edge they’re an all-consuming endeavour. But what if, every month or so, they became a chaotic lemming-fest? That’s the thought behind WildStar’s Million Idiot March, a ‘special weekend’ idea currently being kicked around. When I interviewed Carbine executive producer Jeremy Gaffney, the idea sounded…
Fork in the Road
Some big changes are afoot. After nearly two years of writing features, conducting interviews and reporting news, I’m leaving ZAM at the end of the week. There are a handful of interviews from Gamescom to wrap up beforehand though, so keep your eyes peeled for them! So what gives? Writing professionally about video games has…
Marking Cards: A First Look at Hearthstone
When I was a kid, I used to play Magic: The Gathering. Every weekend, dad would drive my brother and I to a local tournament, where we’d duel other players from across the county. Sometimes I’d do well, sometimes I’d be weeping into my deck, but I’d constantly be collecting cards and refining strategies. That…