micro forte

See You Later Kwari!

10:30AM Logan Booker | Oh Kwari, where did you go wrong? Was it the unpronounceable name? The awful graphics? The boring gameplay? One of these, all of these – it doesn’t matter now. The Micro Forte-developed online title, which tried to tempt players with its “cash for kills” design, is no more. Owner Kwari Limited has gone into receivership, which we can only assume means Kwari didn’t do so well. Can we stop with the woeful game ideas based around even crappier business models? It really doesn’t help the local industry. Kwari Shuts Down [Gamesindustry.biz, via Sumea] More »

BigWorld Beds GNi

2:00PM Logan Booker | In the industry of MMO middleware, the Australian-owned, Micro Forte-spun BigWorld has quite a reputation. While its clients have been limited in the past to the boutique, but highly profitable, Chinese market, it wasn’t long ago (mid-2006) that the software was picked up by Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment for Stargate Worlds, an MMO of the sci-fi show that’s currently in development. Now BigWorld (the company is actually named after the middleware) has entered into a “strategic partnership” with Global Netoptex Inc (GNi). GNi is, in essence, a hosting business, and the plan is that BigWorld will sell the software while GNi provides the hardware – making the two combined a one-stop shop for MMO developers. It’d be interesting to find out the pros and cons of buying pre-baked MMO server/client software, considering most developers seem content with making their own. Sounds like an interview in the making… You can read the full release after the jump. More »