Shawn Schuster
- http://www.massively.com/shawn-schuster
Shawn has been gaming since the Atari 2600 and online gaming since Legend of the Red Dragon on a local BBS. He holds a special passion for podcasting, having created and hosted six in the last five years.
by Shawn Schuster 
May 18th 2012 (2 days ago)
Official soundtracks are great; don't get me wrong. But sometimes I like to just throw on some of my own music to better mimic my mood at the time of playing. There are still albums from the late '80s that remind me of
Wasteland or
Pool of Radiance every time I listen to them -- almost 25 years later!
As talented as
our favorite game theme composers are, we don't always want to listen to the default soundtrack every time. So what gets you through your game of choice? Do you enjoy some metal? Classical? Country? Oldies? Dubstep... or whatever the kids listen to these days? Let us know!
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!by Shawn Schuster May 17th 2012 (3 days ago)
Fallen Earth is a post-apocalyptic MMO that always seems to be on that short list of games that everyone means to try out one day. And when people try it,
positive praise usually follows.
To help celebrate the
upcoming 2.4 patch, we're giving you a chance to play the game as a
top-tier premium member for one day, complete with massive XP, crafting, and PvP currency buffs, the Commander's Aura stackable buff that allows you to spread the benefits among your party members, a 20% marketplace discount, and more. In addition, we're giving you the Light Slugthrower, an advanced version of the starter rifle, which features higher damage output than its little brother.
There's no giveaway page and no key codes on this one; if you want to grab this nifty one-day package for yourself, simply enter the promo code "
MASSIVEEARTH" either in-game or by clicking the Redeem Code button on the
Fallen Earth website. To access the Marketplace in-game, click on the "$" button on the bottom of your minimap. The code expires on June 1st.
Have fun!
by Shawn Schuster May 14th 2012 (6 days ago)
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on
Massively TV.
Every week, the Massively Stream Team logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises each week, so you'll find a variety of titles to watch. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, or simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)
Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule, and let us know if there's a specific game you'd like to see streamed next week!
by Shawn Schuster May 11th 2012 (9 days ago)
NCsoft
To celebrate the eighth Anniversary of
Lineage II,
NCsoft and Massively have teamed up to bring you a special in-game item to give away. The item is the two-slot head accessory known as the Warrior's Helmet (pictured above), complete with the Vampiric Rage skill, which increases attack speed by 33% and bestows the ability to recover as HP 9% of the physical damage inflicted upon the enemy for one hour. Reuse delay is four hours, and this item is seven-day use only.
If you'd like to grab one of these special items for your
Lineage II character, head on over to our
giveaway page to grab a code. And be sure to visit the
item redemption page for complete instructions on how to add the code to your account!
by Shawn Schuster May 11th 2012 (9 days ago)
Are you one of those MMO players who always seems to idle out while tending to real-life issues? I know I am, and it usually results in my finding something else to do once I discover that I've been logged out.
I certainly understand why the developers add that feature, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that idling all day in
TERA not only is allowed but also grants me the
Full Time Job achievement, which tickled me to no end.
So what's your opinion on idling out? Should you be allowed to be AFK as long as you'd like, or should idlers always be disconnected after a certain amount of time? How much time should be allowed? Let us know in the comments!
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!by Shawn Schuster May 9th 2012 (11 days ago)
Tom Purdue, admired owner and operator of
The Friendly Necromancer blog and
Wizard101 fansite, has announced today that he will be
KingsIsle Entertainment's new community manager for the upcoming
Pirate101 MMO.
As that transition from fan to employee is always a fascinating transformation, we recognize that it's not an easy decision. Massively itself has raised a handful of
MMO community managers, so
this news is particularly of interest to us. For that reason, we tracked Tom down and asked him some questions about his new role at KingsIsle. Follow along below for the complete interview.
by Shawn Schuster May 7th 2012 (13 days ago)
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on
Massively TV.
Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)
Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
by Shawn Schuster May 4th 2012 (16 days ago)
I don't know why, but sometimes I get discouraged when a random person sends me a party invite while I'm in the middle of questing. I know it sounds odd, but when I'm not playing with my regular group of friends or guildies, I like to just play alone. When someone whispers me to ask if he can join me, I usually turn him down (politely!), but if I get a random party invite without so much as a hello, I simply ignore it.
My own antisocial issues aside, I want to know how you feel about this topic. Do you think a random invite is a healthy way to find companions and possibly friends, or do you see it as an invasion of privacy while you're trying to quest?
Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!by Shawn Schuster Apr 30th 2012 (20 days ago)
NCsoft
Lion's Arch was a staple city in the original
Guild Wars, so its presence 250 years later in
Guild Wars 2 excites many hardcore fans of the lore. In this last weekend's beta event for
Guild Wars 2, participants got to see the new Lion's Arch for the first time, answering several questions about its appearance and function in this more modern Tyria.
Our own
Richie Procopio ventured into Lion's Arch to grab some video footage for those who didn't get a chance to see the city during the crazy weekend. The video shows a walk-through of the major features, including some amazing bird's-eye views and even a bit of the city at night. Click past the cut to watch the entire video.
by Shawn Schuster Apr 30th 2012 (20 days ago)
MV Guide is a weekly rundown of the MMO gaming events planned on
Massively TV.
Every week, the Massively staff logs in to play various MMOs live and in person, and we'd love for you to drop by the channel and visit. We have a combination of regular weekly games and new surprises, so you'll find a variety of titles to take a look at. During our streamed events, you can participate in the live chat, ask questions to learn about the game, and simply spend some time with Massively staff and readers. (Of course, streaming is subject to the whims of outside forces like server-side gremlins once in a while.)
Follow along after the jump to see what's on this week's schedule!
