Gazillion's quest: A killer Lego online game, World of Warcraft-style

Gazillion's quest: A killer Lego online game, World of Warcraft-style
9:00 PM, March 16, 2009
The Lego Universe game, by Gazillion Entertainment, due in 2010
Lego Universe online game. Credit: Gazillion Entertainment



Nirvana for the video game industry looks a lot like World of Warcraft, except without the arcane rules that mystify the average player.

That vision is the driving force behind Lego Universe, a new online game based on the building bricks franchise that's scheduled for release in 2010. Developed by a San Mateo company called Gazillion Entertainment, the game is designed so even your 5-year-old and his grandfather can play together. Gazillion, which has been operating in stealth since 2005, is also working on an online superhero game based on its license with Marvel Entertainment.

The goal is to make virtual world games that anyone can play. It's a financially hazardous terrain, previously explored by many companies before Gazillion, including NC Soft, whose Tabula Rasa game, designed by Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott, shut down March 1. These types of games are difficult and expensive to build. They're even more arduous to maintain once tens of thousands of players pile in, uncovering and exploiting every bug in the game.

The potential payoff is a glittering pot of gold. Consider World of Warcraft, a game ...

... developed by Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine. It has 11.5 million subscribers, each paying about $15 a month to play. That's $172.5 million a month, more than $2 billion a year, in fees alone. The game disc, which makes a regular appearance on the weekly list of top-10 best-selling PC games, brings in another $20 a copy. Not bad for a title that's more than 4 years old.

It's no surprise that the game genre, known as Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, is a hotbed of development. MMORPG.com lists 253 such games, many of which are in development. With such a crowded field, one way to cut through the noise is a well-known license. Both LEGO and Marvel fit that bill, said Ted Pollak, senior analyst with Jon Peddie Research in San Francisco.

"I think there is a big opportunity for mass-market MMO’s, especially when they are connected to recognized brands," Pollak said. But, he warned, "the quality of the game must be top notch, which is not an easy undertaking."

Gazillion Chief Executive Rob Hutter said his company has recruited 300 developers, many of whom have worked for Sony Online Entertainment, Blizzard, NC Soft, Walt Disney and other seasoned MMO studios.

"We worked hard to create a game experience that is easy to learn, but also offers depth for even the hardest-core players," said Hutter, who said his developers spent some time figuring out why Nintendo's Mario franchise continues to pull in new players while maintaining its base of serious gamers.

Among the changes Gazillion made: shorter game sessions so players can jump in and out in five or 10 minutes, easier ways to move around the virtual world, more intuitive menus and fun ways for old-timers to interact with newbies.

"When you look at World of Warcraft, it's largely a hard-core gamer phenomenon," Hutter said. "We think there's an enormous opportunity for an MMO that can penetrate the mass market."

A worthy quest.

-- Alex Pham

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/03/lego-mmo-game.html

Wow! That looks like a cool thing to do! I can't wait to see what it will be like!

Wooah, I don't play war games but this looks fun!

LU is going to be PWNsome!

This is LU...

Cant wait. I hope i have the money to play LU.

LU cost mony? I wonder how much

Im hoping no more than 5$ a month. I like the graphics of that picture... It looks different then other video games.

Wow, that sounds really neat. But I don't own any game consoles.

designerdude101 wrote:Wow, that sounds really neat. But I don't own any game consoles.

It's for PC.

Hopefully it will come to other game consoles

O_O This looks fun. And war games are my favourite type of games to, so I'm going to be looking forward to this.

TheBrick wrote:This is LU...

But LU is being made by NetDevil and the LEGO Company, not by Gazillion.

Bricknave wrote:

TheBrick wrote:This is LU...

But LU is being made by NetDevil and the LEGO Company, not by Gazillion.

LEGO Universe is being published by Gazillion Enterainment and is developed by NetDevil (a company owned by Gazillion).

TheBrick wrote:

Bricknave wrote:

TheBrick wrote:This is LU...

But LU is being made by NetDevil and the LEGO Company, not by Gazillion.

LEGO Universe is being published by Gazillion Enterainment and is developed by NetDevil (a company owned by Gazillion).

Oh thanks! I didn't realize that Gazillion was publishing LEGO Universe and that NetDevil was owned by Gazillion.

Something just hit me... World of Warcraft style? Fighting? Hmm

BioK wrote:Something just hit me... World of Warcraft style? Fighting? Hmm

Maybe when they say "WoW Style", they mean good graphics and third person view?

Perhaps. I'd still like to see/play it tho

BioK wrote:Something just hit me... World of Warcraft style? Fighting? Hmm

They said there will be no PVP fighting but I'm pretty sure there will be fighting computer players because there was a battle scene in the trailer.

Like Runescape? I don't care now... It's just so kewl!

BioK wrote:Like Runescape? I don't care now... It's just so kewl!

The graphics definitely look better. Anyway, in Runescape you can fight other players in special spots, while this will have none.
This will be a program that you install and runescape is a browser game.

So you buy the program?

BioK wrote:So you buy the program?

I think so. It says the program will be available for download or you can order it on a DVD.

I wonder if it will be a wave style game... Like you start and you fight, once you beat everyone you go onto a new wave.

Kinda unfair, Gir, i think it'll be like an RPG

Bugefun wrote:

BioK wrote:Something just hit me... World of Warcraft style? Fighting? Hmm

They said there will be no PVP fighting but I'm pretty sure there will be fighting computer players because there was a battle scene in the trailer.

In the FAQS it said that it isn't going to be designed as a PvP-centric game, but there will be some friendly competitions between players. I'm guessing that there will be some PvP battle mini-games, but it would only make up an 8th of LU.

Then it is an RPG like game

Sounds soooooo cool, I can't wait! I think there will also be tons of "quests" along with battles, and when they say it's "easy enough for a five-year old" I hope they don't mean it's too simple..........

I want to play it REALLY bad now! XD