In one of the first editions of Your Next, I wrote about the importance of new media for the success of new online games. I argued that companies could do a lot more to support streamers and content creators as the net benefits far outweighs the cost. I think we're at a point where it's difficult to argue that's not the case, but some companies stick to tried and tested methods of getting their message out to the community. SOE has been fantastic so far in promoting and supporting community created content, and is going above and beyond in terms of giving streamers the tools they need to become centres for the community. From promotion on the Landmark homepage, to donating keys for in-game items, even going as far as inviting local streamer Aradiah onto the official weekly Landmark show.

As I'm sure many of you are aware, EverQuest Next Landmark began its closed beta phase this week, and had a little name change to celebrate. Now it's just Landmark; SOE really wants people to know it has two games coming out, not just EverQuest Next. As time and development move on this will become increasingly apparent, Landmark is about to start coming into its own.

As everyone who bought a Trailblazer Founder's Pack should now have four beta keys to give away (keys that now grant unlimited closed beta access), giveaways are everywhere and anyone can hop in for $20, we can expect a large influx of new players. What can they expect to find?

Well, Landmark is in beta, and it shows. The system is more solid and the game features are becoming more robust, but we're still far from the finished product. 'The tip of the iceberg' was how Lead Designer Darrin McPherson put it, while Technical Director and Hero of Alpha Steve Klug said we'd 'barely scratched the surface' of what Landmark will offer.

As the whole development team have been remarkably transparent throughout the development process so far, I'm inclined to believe them. Just how deep the rabbit hole goes is still up for debate, and the topic of rampant speculation, but we can be sure there is still a long way to go.

So while the team is eager to spread the message that Landmark is its own game, they also want us to be acutely aware that it's not finished, it's still being made and the players are driving the development of the game. The day after closed beta launched, Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani and Darrin McPherson appeared live with popular streamer CohhCarnage to talk about what we can expect in the future. You can watch the hour-long interview here.

Alpha participants created some amazing things in a short time, creating techniques and wonderfully creative builds that the Landmark team didn't even know were possible. We're going to see more and more as new crafting and building possibilities are introduced, and it'll be amazing, but I'm ready for the new opportunities that will reshape Landmark entirely.

This evening Sony Online Entertainment transitioned Landmark into closed beta. During the alpha, which had started back in early February, the game saw quite a bit of development and stability worked into each build. Players discovered new techniques to make the most of the voxel-based world, giving them their own names such as "micro voxel" and "zero voxel".

SOE took the to forums yesterday, not only to share the list of starting islands you'll be able to stake your claim on, but also with a warning for Alpha players: what you think you know about progression, you don't.

Another mildly surprising thing happened today: the game's name has been shortened from EverQuest Next Landmark to simply Landmark, and the official website has changed to http://www.LandmarkTheGame.com.

Last night SOE announced that the four shareable beta keys that all purchasers of the EverQuest Next Landmark Trailblazer Founder's Pack will receive have been upgraded from one-week time-limited duration to unlimited duration!

ZAM is at GDC this week and had the opportunity to chat with the EverQuest franchise Director of Development Dave Georgeson about the near future of EverQuest Next Landmark. Some of the highlights, including the closed beta date annoncement, are:

We're seeing a lot of love for EverQuest Next Landmark from its early adopters, as you would expect. The criticism has been thin on the ground, the game is solid for an alpha, development is gaining momentum and you can't dismiss it as a 'WoW-Clone'. So far, so good. In a few weeks the game will be in closed beta, guest keys will abound, and we'll see how the game stands up to scrutiny from those less invested in the innovative sandbox.

There is, however, one major criticism already out there that has seen some people take up SOE President John Smedley's offer of a no quibble refund: Landmark is too much like a game.

When seeing the power of the building tools in Landmark for the first time, most people were simply blown away and the possibilities seemed unreal. As a result of this, some players were disappointed that there was anything else to the game at all.

This is certainly an issue that will turn some off Landmark. Unlike the super-successful sandbox builder Minecraft, Landmark has no creative mode, the building tools and materials are only accessible through the game itself, and there is even crafting progression required to get all of the building tools.

This issue is only going to become more pronounced as development moves on. New tools and workbenches are already making their way into the game, risk and danger are just around the corner, and exploration will become increasingly important. As new features are added, Landmark will become less like a virtual sandbox and more like a sandbox MMO. Sometimes the distinctions we make when discussing this game seem strange, but Landmark is such a strange and unique beast that a conventional perspective just doesn't fit.

Right now we only have building, so the game feels like a building tool with grindy gathering and progression, not what you would call an optimal experience. As features and creation tools are added to the game it will start to feel more like a way to build whole mods and gamemodes, all inside a persistent online world that makes it easy to find collaborators and guinea pigs for your work. The idea is that as the game matures it will become a smorgasbord of creativity—not just a builder, but a platform for all kinds of collaborative content against the backdrop of a persistent world filled with opportunities for emergent gameplay.

In the short term, it may seem like SOE is missing out by not allowing players to go as big as they can from the start, but I have to wonder, would we still be playing that game five years down the line? If the history of online gaming has taught us anything, it's that reskinning a popular game is unlikely to bring great success.

This information is from the alpha build of Landmark and is subject to change.

The advanced building tools in EverQuest Next Landmark are designed to put power at your fingertips, allowing you to reshape and manipulate voxels in amazing ways. In this edition of Making Our Mark we'll take a look at the Line Tool!

By this point we've covered everything you'll need to create your Selection Tool, as well as the Paint and Smoothing tools. The Line Tool is currently the final tool in our aresenal and will require a lot more crafting stations, picks and resources, building on where you leave off with the Paint and Smooth tools.

First, let's take a brief look at what the Line Tool can do.

With a torrent of news and announcements about EverQuest Next Landmark this week I was spoiled for choice when it came to choosing a topic to discuss, though one stood out as a foundation of the game's potential success.

This week, Minecraft passed 100 million registered users, with over 14 million paid accounts, so it's safe to say there is a market for voxel based sandbox games.

Minecraft caused a seismic shift in the gaming industry; it totally changed the landscape of how games are made and viewed. Many games have seen great success that may not have even been possible without the foundation laid down by Marcus 'Notch' Persson and Mojang, but the question remains whether SOE can build on these foundations with EverQuest Next Landmark or if it will fall into the traps set for the Free-to-Play developer.

Director of Development Dave Georgeson took to the official forums to give us a first look at what to expect from the business model for EverQuest Next Landmark, causing an emotional rollercoaster worthy of an Oscar nominated film. At least, that's what you'd think reading the comments. With the exception of a few standouts and hints at features to come, it's pretty standard fare, the good and bad of what we expect from a current Free-to-Play title. So read on for the ups and downs of the post, keep your hands and arms inside the column and remember that this is subject to change.

Very soon we'll see the beginning of the long term monetization strategy for Landmark. By the end of March, SOE is planning to give us the most and least controversial items on our future shopping lists.

Item 1: Outfits

Cosmetic outfits were a given, really. With Landmark being a canvas for players to paint with their creativity, it makes perfect sense that we should be able to dress our characters as we see fit. Hopefully in the future we'll see additions from the Player Studio to complement SOE's catalogue.

Item 2: Resources

Buying resources is certainly the hot button issue at the moment—it’s even been called Pay-to-Win. Exactly what you win is yet to be seen, but with the possibility of making real money from the Player Studio every hint of an advantage is bound to be scrutinized. Dave Georgeson did his best to smooth any potentially ruffled feathers by reiterating the point that the final model for progression will not be focussed on amassing large volumes of resources, and hinted at an achievement based progression system that could be rather interesting. This has been more interesting than a debate about how much a game needs to resemble a Skinner Box before it can satisfy the compulsive behavior of certain 'hardcore' players, at any rate.

This information is from the alpha build of Landmark and is subject to change.

The advanced building tools in EverQuest Next Landmark are designed to put power at your fingertips, allowing you to reshape and manipulate voxels in amazing ways. This week we'll take a look at the Smooth and Paint tools!

To make both the Smooth and Paint tools, you'll need a Marble Forge and a Tungsten Pick. If you followed along with creating a Selection Tool last week, you should already be up to an Iron Pick. So let's start off from there!

At the time of writing, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has raised a little over half of its target on Kickstarter with only 24 hours remaining. After a well managed and well publicized campaign, over 3000 backers (including myself) will be disappointed by the result. Of course, that pales in comparison to the feelings of Brad McQuaid and the team at Visionary Realms. All is not lost, however, as the team is committed to seeing their vision come to life. Perhaps Rise of the Fallen will turn out to be an apt name indeed.

So how did we end up in this situation? After the success of Kickstarter campaigns for other MMOs with old-school flavor, one helmed by a titan of the genre like McQuaid seemed to be a sure thing. Maybe that was the problem, perhaps potential backers are just burnt out, unwilling to shell out with so little tangible game to show, or maybe the star billing had the opposite effect on some.

Maybe, just maybe, there aren't that many people who are desperate to play a new game that is just like EverQuest.