38 Studios, an entertainment and original IP creation company, today announced the acquisition of Big Huge Games from publisher THQ Inc. The acquisition is a critical step in 38 Studios’ strategy to deliver a broad range of entertainment products centered on its original fantasy IP, codenamed Copernicus. The purchase of Big Huge Games includes all of the company’s proprietary IP, tools, technology, assets, and works-in-progress. Find out more!

How much quest direction do you like being given? Do you prefer for the only indication about where to go to be within the text (“to the west…”)? Do you like being told exactly where you need to go to update the quest (X marks the spot)? Or do you prefer something somewhere in-between the two (a general area highlighted on the map)? I tend to favor the following: Show the player exactly how much information the character knows. If the character is told that there’s an orc camp about a mile east, highlight that general area. If the character knows his objective is exactly 100 paces east and 100 paces north, put a fat X on the map.

Without the risk of failure there is no risk of success. You need a balance of positive reinforcement and negative punishment–too much in one direction is a bad thing. For the most significant feelings of accomplishment, there must be significant risks and significant punishment for failure (not that I’m necessarily recommending significant punishment, but the more significant the punishment for failure, the more significant the psychological reward for success).

Are you an experienced and passionate game designer who is interested in working on a crafting system for 38 Studios’ massively multiplayer game, codenamed “Copernicus?” Then we want to talk to you! You can find out more about the latest game design position on the 38 Studios website. Now’s your chance to work with R.A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, Curt Schilling, and the rest of the awesome team here at 38.

They keep stealing great ideas from MMOs, like character advancement and avatar customization. It sucks! I’m tired of them taking many of the things that make me really love playing MMORPGs and putting them in games that I can play in short stints. How am I to control myself if I can have fun and feel satisfied with my play experience both short term and long term in an FPS? Back in the old days, I had FPSes for a quick fix of fun, and MMORPGs for longer term character development. Now FPSes have both! BAH! And MMOs are getting the short term fun too… NOOOooooo!