Want more of Dexter, the Powerpuff Girls and Ben10? Over the weekend at New York Comic Con, I spoke with the developers of the new Cartoon Network MMOG "FusionFall," and they hinted that one day we might see the game on other devices. Read more...

With real bloodshed intensifying in the Gaza Strip as I write this, those playing "Second Life" are also waging war on virtual Israel. "Second Life" blog New World Notes reported from the front lines of "Second Life Israel," where throngs of pro-Palestinian avatars staged heated protests. Read more...

With the news today that the "World of Warcraft" expansion "Wrath of the Lich King" sold 2.8 million copies within its first 24 hours of release, we can only wonder what's next for Blizzard's flagship franchise.

At the New York City launch event last week, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime did tell me to expect another expansion in about a year, and executive VP of product development Frank Pearce gave an update on the "World of Warcraft" movie currently in development. Read more...

Is there any stopping the behemoth that is "World of Warcraft"?

Despite the success of competitors like EA's "Warhammer Online," the MMORPG doesn't seem to be slowing down. The game recently reached 11 million subscribers worldwide and opened up servers in Russia and Latin America.

Last week, during the midnight launch of the "World of Warcraft" expansion "Wrath of the Lich King," I spoke with Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime. We talked about the business model of Blizzard and "World of Warcraft," and what we can expect next. Read more...

Want to start playing "World of Warcraft" and the new "Wrath of the Lich King" expansion, but don't know what to do?

We've come up with a few things you should know about the game -- both in the game and outside of it -- if you're thinking about joining the 11 million other people around the globe who've logged on.

Take a look at our 13 tips and see if you're ready to begin your adventures in Azeroth... Read more...

When Christian-themed "Guitar Hero" spin-off "Guitar Praise: Solid Rock" came out earlier this year, the game had its fair share of skeptics.

But the developers at Fremont, California-based Digital Praise told MTV Multiplayer this week that "sales are exceeding inventory of guitars on hand," and that the company is focusing on providing stock to Christian retailers so that customers will be able to find the game in time for Christmas.

We unboxed and tested the game ourselves and spoke with Digital Praise CEO Tom Bean about why we needed a religious guitar game in the first place.

"We were getting e-mails and letters mailed to us asking to create a guitar controller-based game using Christian music," he said. "Some of them told us that they attempted to communicate [the idea for the game] to some of the other makers but they were not getting any indication that anything was going to be done... We think that there's an opportunity that no one else has either seen it or felt compelled to try to address in the marketplace, so we have."

He also explained that the "mainstream" guitar games had things in them that their customers found offensive. Read more...

I recently got a copy of Fremont, California-based Digital Praise's "Guitar Praise" and unboxed it for all the world to see.

Made for the PC/Mac, the game is a Christian-oriented version of Activision's "Guitar Hero" that aims to combine the gameplay of the popular music franchise with Christian values.

I got a chance to play the game to see how it compares to its secular predecessors. A Christian message may be behind it, but does the gameplay and guitar peripheral hold up? Read more...

What platforms is the new "Puzzle Quest" game coming out on?

Earlier this week, I wrote that "Puzzle Quest: Galactrix," the sequel to "Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords," would be released on PC, DS, Xbox Live Arcade as well as the PSP and "possibly Apple Mac," all according to the official website. However, when I checked the next day, on Tuesday, February 26, the PSP and "possibly Apple Mac" versions were removed.

I put in a request to D3 Publisher of America to ask them why. Would there be a PSP version on the way, since "Challenge of the Warlords" on PSP was one of the first platforms released alongside the DS? And would we ever see an Apple Mac version? (Last year, we also learned that the ESRB rated the PS3 and Mac versions of "Challenge of the Warlords," but we have yet to see them.)

Here's the response I got from D3 Publisher of America:

"The Infinite Interactive site is maintained by the developer, separate from D3 Publisher. They were likely updating game details (posted intermittently since March 2007) to align with details announced during the first look last week. At present, 'Puzzle Quest: Galactrix' is confirmed by D3PA and Infinite Interactive for DS systems, PC and XBLA. There is the possibility that more SKUs will be announced. We'll keep you updated as new details about the game are revealed."

What other platforms would you like to see "Puzzle Quest: Galactrix" made for?

Nine times out of 10, developers get along with one another at the Game Developers Conference. That wasn't the case at this morning's "The Future of Story in Game Design" panel.

Though five members of the industry were featured, the fireworks were clearly between two in particular. Denis Dyack, President of Silicon Knights and Director of "Too Human," and Matthew Karch, Co-owner and Game Designer at "TimeShift" developer Saber 3D, were visibly and verbally butting heads over the importance of story in video games in the future.

The two split on basic philosophies of game development. Dyack, always the passionate visionary, said developers need to stop designing games based upon a gameplay mechanic. "Too Human," he said, came from a desire to comment on the continued melding of humans and technology. Karch, however, said gameplay is king and any story elements acts as a support for that gameplay, a motivating factor to keep going.

Karch pointed to some of the best selling games of last year, "Call of Duty 4" and "Halo 3," suggesting that their phenomenal sales had little to do with the narrative. "Yeah, there's stories [in these games], but I don't think people played those games for the stories," said Karch, who believes the visuals and visceral gameplay of both games were the main draw. "We can pretend that we want to elevate games to the level of Shakespeare, but the reality is, the audience that we're dealing with today wants that [gameplay focus]."

You might guess that Dyack vehemently disagreed with Karch's assessment. Read on to find out his reactions (one of many) to Karch during the panel's hour-long debate.

Read more...

They were showing "Spore" in Manhattan this week, in the back of a club called Branch.

And the rumor I heard was that they'd let you play it.

I did play it -- for maybe 20 seconds -- and also sat for an informative presentation by the game's lead designer, Alex Hutchinson.

I had seen "Spore" before. I had read the saturation coverage on N'Gai Croal's blog, my mind blown by Will Wright's explanation of the Flickr and Facebook touches incorporated into this already-ambitious game.

I thought I knew it all about "Spore."

I was wrong.

Hutchinson was already showing the game to other reporters when I wandered over last night. He was sitting on a semi-circle couch, driving the game's creature editor on a Windows PC. I had used the creature editor before -- two E3s ago -- and made some creatures, poking and prodding bulbous aliens to life. Hutchinson was doing that too, every few seconds shaping them with the ease of plopping pieces of Play-Doh together.

"I expect a portion of our audience to never play the game," he said as he clicked an icon to make one of his creatures walk. "They will make stuff, share stuff, and send it around."

I realized I had walked into a demo by a designer who was eager to show that his game wasn't really just a game. In fact, from what he kept on saying, hardcore gamers should really think clearly about what they want to get out of '"Spore." They won't be getting hardcore gaming thrills.

The developers at Maxis have thrived making games that have broad and casual appeal. This -- to an extent -- is one of them.

So to find out who this game is for, whether Maxis expects the graphics to turn off middle-aged "Sims" fans, to learn a lot of small details, and to find out what you can do if you see a giant phallus walking through a world in your copy of "Spore," read on.

Read more...