‘Star Wars’ Online Game is 4-Millennium Rewind
From MSNBC.com:
LOS ANGELES – “Star Wars” is hyperspeeding to an even longer time ago. The next chapter in George Lucas’ ever-expanding franchise will be “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” a massively multiplayer online game set thousands of years before Darth Vader was born. The game is being developed by BioWare, the Electronic Arts-owned studio responsible 
for the first “Knights of the Old Republic” role-playing game in 2003. “People have asked us why we’re not making ‘Knights of the Old Republic III,’” said BioWare senior content producer Dallas Dickinson about the much-rumored-about game. “Our response is that we’re actually making ‘Knights of the Old Republic III’ through ‘Knights of the Old Republic X’ — and we’re releasing them all at once.”
In the game, players can customize their own characters, align with the Jedi Order or Sith Lords and participate in adventures with other players on virtual worlds, such as Korriban and Tython. “The Old Republic” developers said they’re focusing on storytelling and promise that Cold War-type events in the game would lay the groundwork for future lore. “In an MMO, you usually do what you’re told, whether it’s go kill 10 dudes or find this artifact or whatever,” said BioWare creative director James Ohlen. “You never get to make meaningful choices that are tough to make. That’s something we’re going to have in our game because ‘Star Wars’ is all about the struggle between good and evil, light and dark.” The game will feature multiple companion characters — think: Wookie sidekick Chewbacca and beeping droid R2-D2 from the films — that players can interact with during their adventures. Ohlen said the companion characters can be romanced, befriended or offended and will have a significant affect on the way players progress throughout the game…
News and Updates
Filed under: Big Robot News, Console Gaming, Magic/Card Gaming, PC Gaming
New Games for in-store play: Warhammer – Age of Reckoning (PCs 9 and 10), Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)
New Games in Stock for Sale: Fable 2
New Products: We now carry an extensive selection of Monsterpocalypse Starters and Boosters. We also have the entire Magic the Gathering: Shards of Alara release set.
Sale: A large selection of older Xbox games are $3.99 each or 3 for $10. Manga is half price, as are our selection of paperbacks. On sale until they’re all gone!
Events: Don’t miss out on our HALLOWEEN ALL-NIGHTER! Play all night October 25th for $25 ($20 before Saturday). Get in here and play all the latest games free from 11pm to 8am!
Rumors of New Star Wars Galaxies Expansion Most Likely False
From Massively Online:
We received a tip from a reader named Lateris, pointing the way over to a discussion on MMORPG.com about a possible new expansion for Star Wars Galaxies. A video originally posted to YouTube purports to show footage of new content coming to the game, and labels the expansion “City of the Skies”. The expansion would supposedly allow players to explore the Tibanna Gas Mines of Bespin, introduce two new player races, and raise the game’s level cap to 100…
Gamer Juggles Over 30 Warcraft Characters
Meet the mad king of Azeroth. Think you play too much World of Warcraft? Compared to “Prepared,” you don’t. In a case of game addiction gone officially bananas, gaming blog Joystiq reports on what is surely the biggest Warcraft fan of them all. Known only under the moniker “Prepared,” the gamer plays a stunning 36 World of Warcraft accounts on 11 different computers…simultaneously.
7 Upcoming Holiday Blockbusters featuring “Intense Violence”
From the What They Play website by Zoe Flower, October 7th, 2008
Big Robot Note: We will not be carrying all of the games listed in this article…I’ve posted this so folks can get more in-depth information on some of the upcoming titles being released between now and Christmas.
“Holiday shopping is just over the horizon and October often demarks the beginning of gaming’s busy season. As early as October 14, some of the biggest games of the year start rearing their M-rated heads. Parents are likely going to see one or two games below that their kids are begging for, so we’ve compiled the dirty details to make sure you know what should be on your naughty list. All of the games below are going to be “must haves” for the holidays. Something else they all have in common? Every single one has the ESRB’s citation for “Blood and Gore” as well as “Intense Violence…”
Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers
CARLSBAD, Calif.— When PJ Haarsma wrote his first book, a science fiction novel for preteenagers, he didn’t think just about how to describe Orbis, the planetary system where the story takes place. He also thought about how it should look and feel in a video game.
The online game that Mr. Haarsma designed not only extends the fictional world of the novel, it also allows readers to play in it. At the same time, Mr. Haarsma very calculatedly gave gamers who might not otherwise pick up a book a clear incentive to read: one way that players advance is by answering questions with information from the novel.
“You can’t just make a book anymore,” said Mr. Haarsma, a former advertising consultant. Pairing a video game with a novel for young readers, he added, “brings the book into their world, as opposed to going the other way around.”
Mr. Haarsma is not the only one using video games to spark an interest in books. Increasingly, authors, teachers, librarians and publishers are embracing this fast-paced, image-laden world in the hope that the games will draw children to reading.
Spurred by arguments that video games also may teach a kind of digital literacy that is becoming as important as proficiency in print, libraries are hosting gaming tournaments, while schools are exploring how to incorporate video games in the classroom. In New York, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is supporting efforts to create a proposed public school that will use principles of game design like instant feedback and graphic imagery to promote learning…
Pew Internet: Teens, Video Games and Civics
Pew Internet: Teens, Video Games and Civics
Teens, Video Games and Civics: Teens’ gaming experiences are diverse and include significant social interaction and civic engagement
9/16/2008 | MemoReport | Amanda Lenhart Joseph Kahne Ellen Middaugh Alexandra Rankin Macgill Chris Evans Jessica Vitak
The first national survey of its kind finds that virtually all American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games and that the gaming experience is rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement. The survey was conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, an initiative of the Pew Research Center and was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The primary findings in the survey of 1,102 youth ages 12-17 include –
Game playing is universal, with almost all teens playing games and at least half playing games on a given day. Game playing experiences are diverse, with the most popular games falling into the racing, puzzle, sports, action and adventure categories.
Game playing is also social, with most teens playing games with others at least some of the time and can incorporate many aspects of civic and political life.
Another major findings is that game playing sometimes involves exposure to mature content, with almost a third of teens playing games that are listed as appropriate only for people older than they are.
A GAME CAFE? WHAT’S THAT?
Big Robot Game Cafe offers PC and video gaming in our state-of-the-art gaming center. Pay just $5 per hour to enjoy the latest game titles in a relaxed, coffee-house atmosphere. Exclusive to the Dayton area, Big Robot Game Cafe offers the latest and greatest in video gaming, PC gaming, and trendy food and drinks without taking a huge bite out of your wallet. Want to play all the latest video and PC games but can’t afford it? Drop by our place instead - it’s only $5 per hour!
Location: We're located at 114 East Main Street, Tipp City, OH 45371 (MAP), four doors down from Harrison's and across from Grounds for Pleasure
Hours: Monday to Thursday 3pm - 9pm, Friday 3pm - midnight, Saturday 11am - midnight, and Sunday 11am - 5pm. CLOSED MONDAYS and TUESDAYS
Phone: 506-8808 (during business hours) or try us at our NEW number 654-2109 (for messages).
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