In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at the standard D&D concept of alignment, how it works in roleplaying, and how it's applied to MMORPGs.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time focusing on defeat and "life after death" in online worlds.

This week in RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at ways for roleplayers to deal with the Fairer Tongue of Elvish.

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his application of the writings of Carl Clausewitz to MMOGs, this time looking at what happens when victory is yours.

Realtime Worlds, developers of the upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin (APB), is looking for community officers. The job is based in Scotland and the press release can be read by clicking "read more".

This time on RoleCraft, Jim Moreno wants to hear from you roleplayers out there.

In this installment of RoleCraft, Jim Moreno looks at an interesting idea from WoW RP Realms: Full Immersion Roleplaying (FIRP).

Jonathan Steinhauer continues his study of Clausewitz and examines the art of the kill.

Real Time Worlds has released two pieces of concept art as well as announced the new community manager for All Points Bulletin. To check it all out, click 'read more'.

Just in case you may not be aware, RoleCraft isn't the only place where you can find roleplaying related info on the interwebs. Of course you know that, and I'm only joking. During the course of my day, I am given and locating sites which are directly related to or merely referencing some aspect of roleplaying, and I consider it part of my duty to help keep you, my fellow roleplayers, informed as much as possible.

Since we are dealing with computer-generated cyber worlds that are more than likely not our own creations, there are certainly roadblocks and speed bumps in these games that challenge roleplayers to improvise and adapt. These game mechanics come with the nature of the beast, and many are very necessary to the operation of the games, and are often so obvious as to threaten to pull a roleplayer out of character. While they may not be pleasant to experience during roleplay, their effect in-game can be at least lessened through the lens of imaginative roleplaying.

As game worlds become more and more advanced, they also grow larger and larger. The by-product of this improvement is the long distances that must be traveled between locations. For some reason, with this increase in world size, there is not a corresponding improvement in traveling systems. Indeed, there seems to be almost a perverse joy in sending players on quests that involve running back and forth between two distant points with no other objective but carrying a bickering message between a pair of NPCs.

Games Radar is featuring a preview of Real Time Worlds' upcoming release, All Points Bulletin. It's a fairly short preview but sports a couple of nice screens. Here's a snip:

Personalisation is the key to APB; your reward won't come in the form of an ever-increasing number or the chance to take on even bigger and more tedious monsters, but in new costumes, weapons, haircuts and accessories for your in-game avatar. APB's character creation is more flexible than that of any EA game or wrestling title. Characters can be unique without looking ridiculous, and characters can be given unique shirt designs and tattoos using a system similar to Forza 2's editor. Whether criminal or Enforcer, you'll build your look from scratch and earn better gear as you play. You'll look pretty good rolling up to hoodlums in your Miami Vice suit when APB releases.

Take some time to head to Games Radar and read the rest.

Jim Moreno tackles the difficult task of roleplaying a merchant in this edition of RoleCraft: "Even roleplayers are known to struggle with this cookie cutter gameplay, and with keeping their characters from looking and acting just like every other character in game. What to do? One sure way to avoid the pitfalls of routine is to realize that there are many other classes in game besides adventurer. It's time to become a professional roleplayer!"

Sean Bulger's periodic community column today looks at the concept of Open PvP (player vs. player) and what it does to games and their communities.

A while back we talked about conflict between players and what sort of a role that it can play in a game and for communities. During this, it was noted that player competition can be implemented in numerous different ways. This week, I would like to revisit this discussion and talk about one of those particular methods: the open PvP world.

Open PvP is one of the more controversial topics in MMO circles and plenty of people have fairly strong opinions one way or the other on the subject. That said, I would like to explore both the positive impacts and negative ones on the player community. Open PvP has the potential to help bond a community fairly tightly, but it also has the potential to truly tear it apart as well.

Read more after the leap.

Last week, Jonathan Steinhauer's column looked at the design of outdoor areas in The Dangerous Wilderness, Part 1. In Part 2, he continues his thoughts on the basic challenge most every MMO faces.

The easiest solution, though it avoids the root of the problem, is to disperse the ground spawns to a more realistic population level. There are areas where one would expect to encounter monsters, and that is where the heavy concentrations should be. Hard core hunting should occur in the fortresses and camps of the various villains, monsters, and animals that are the bane of the adventurer, not every time you step off the path. This opens up the wilderness for travel and casual hunting while giving players the kind of combat that exist in epic stories: battle in the lairs.

Read more after the leap.

It's been a big couple weeks for Realtime Worlds. First they secured $50 million in financing, then they used it to reclaim all rights to All Points Bulletin. Now, we they get to talk to WarCry! We interviewed Realtime Worlds Senior VP of Business Development Walter Kong about the business moves, the company and, of course, All Points Bulletin.

APB is an upcoming cops vs. robbers MMO from the brain of Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones.

"I think another area where the team is really pushing the envelope is the concept of using players as content." He explained that most games are either player vs. environment (PvE) or some kind of eternal player vs. player (PvP) battle. In APB, they bring these two concepts together.

"What we're trying to achieve is really to take the PvP experience and craft missions around it," he said. In this way, players have missions and goals - which is to say a directed experience - but their enemies are real human players, not just AI enemies. In effect, players can create content for each other, and it all naturally fits within the context of the criminal vs. law enforcement premise of the game.

Read more after the leap.

Real Time Worlds has regained control of the publishing rights for All Points Bulletin now that they have all that financing to play with. Produced by David Jones - the creator of Grand Theft Auto - APB lets players take that style of game into the MMO sphere. It had previously been set to be published by Webzen.

Press release to follow.

For this week's newsletter discussion we ask:

Grand Theft Auto IV promises some interesting, fifteen person multiplayer meayhem, while the creator of the original Grand Theft Auto is hard at work on his own MMO version called All Points Bulletin. Which one would you rather be playing this weekend?

Let's hear it!

Jim Moreno looks at the biggest question for the modern MMO roleplayer: how do you keep in character in an instance? They're here to stay, so it's time to learn how to deal with them.

Hear me now and believe me later, there is no reason why roleplayers cannot and should not engage in the same high quality RP within an instance as without. Personally, I'm not at all knowledgeable as to where the notion started from, but I absolutely aim to crush it here and henceforth. More than that, I want to share with fellow roleplayers why I think instances are the best places for RP, and provide some tips on how to take on these adventures with RP in mind. I hope they help!

Read more after the leap.

In a new editorial, columnist Jonathan Steinhauer embarks into "The Dangerous Wilderness". He looks at the concept of pf the wild and how it's presented in MMOs.

As I've wandered through the wilds of various games, I've been stunned by the panoramic vistas that have opened out before me. Trees sway in the light breeze, their leaves rustling softly through my speakers. A stream trickles by, the sunlight gleaming of the whorls and eddies of the current while in the distance, purple mountains capped with white glaciers scrape the billowing clouds. The imagery is so detailed, I could almost believe it is real.

Read more after the leap.

Realtime Worlds, the developer behind the upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin has brought in $50 million USD in Series B funding from Maverick Capital. This studio is run by David Jones, the creator of Grand Theft Auto, and APB obviously has a few things in common with his original monster hit.

Read the details after the leap.