We may be seeing the start of a new trend in console gaming: MMOs. Studios such as NCsoft and Blueside have already announced their intention of releasing console games in that genre, and now Codemasters is ready to get right down and dirty in the ring.

The June 16 patch for Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is now up and running, much to the delight of many subscribers. Like most patches for MMORPGs, there are a number of undocumented changes that were also applied to the game.

Magic in the land of Hyboria is a reflection of that world - and not something to be taken lightly. Like the power of mundane technology, the power of the ancient gods, if not handled skillfully, can turn upon those who presume to wield it (insert diabolical laughter here)...

A couple of days ago during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007, it was reported that Funcom is working on a yet another Xbox 360-PC MMO project. Immediately, speculations regarding Dreamfall: Chapters ran rampant, especially now that Funcom just received a grant from the Norwegian Film Fund for the said project.

If you're like some of us here at QJ.NET anxiously awaiting Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, then here's a deluge of screenshots, artwork, the latest logo, and the European packshot. It's enough for any barbarian to want to go out and start pillaging some villages in glee.

Following up our previous post on the Age of Conan design team, lead designer Ole Herbjonsen expounds more on what the other people on the design team do. This time he's putting the microscope over the item, special effects, quest, and system designers.