Yes, every single MMO nowadays has an array of dancing animations, but BioWare’s venture into the kill-ten-rats arena, Star Wars: The Old Republic, is the only MMO where that simple, intended-to-be-benign dancing animation prevents a whole bunch of damage by consistently interrupting an enemy’s casting. Not working as intended, as you may have guessed, and BioWare was rumored to be handing out bans for those caught abusing the exploit, but BioWare has responded to those claims saying that no, they aren’t banning anyone.

In honor of the release of what BioWare hopes will be the next big MMORPG, Star Wars: The Old Republic, they staged a freeze mob in the middle of Times Square in New York City. The stunt featured some costumed Jedi and Sith, duking it out and freezing in dramatic poses. There’s a surprise twist to the mob that was pretty fun, so you should probably check out the video — along with (hilarious) shots of what we felt were the highlights of the video — after the break.

What BioWare hopes to be the next big thing in MMO land, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has finally received an official release date and price. Announced at the Eurogamer Expo in London, the game will see release on December 20, 2011 in North America, and December 22, 2011 in European launch territories. For those in Australia and New Zealand, those launch dates have not been set as of yet, though BioWare isn’t planning on region locking the game, but players outside of launch territories may experience lag when attempting to play a version of the game that has not officially released in their territory.

Each purchase of SW:TOR will come with 30 free days of subscription time, with a one month subscription costing $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99); pretty standard fare for MMO territory. The game also offers a three month subscription for $13.99 per month, or a one time charge of $41.97 (£25.17/€35.97), and a six month subscription for $12.99 per month, or a one time charge of $77.94 (£46.14/€65.94). Those who pre-ordered the game can head on over to the game’s site and enter in their pre-order code to be eligible for Early Access, which doesn’t yet have a date for when it will begin, though BioWare assures everyone that there will be multiple days of Early Access. So, only a few months until everyone can play the MMO version of Knights of the Old Republic, only one of BioWare’s best games.

(via Massively)

Say what you want about Dragon Age 2, but it’s clear that it isn’t the same kind of game that the original was. There has been many an editorial circulating the web commenting upon this fact, some lamenting and some extolling it. It’s rather astounding just how divisive the game appears to be off the bat with some going so far as to refer to it as “Dragon Effect.”

Yeah, they went there.

But the undercurrent of all the discussion about the game seems to be focusing on Electronic Arts, BioWare and the decision to use something very much like SecuROM but apparently not quite SecuROM. Depending on where you’re coming from, anyway.

It’s all a bit convoluted and intertwined to really be definitive about any one thing. Essentially, there are claims that Electronic Arts included the much-despised form of digital rights management without informing customers. BioWare continues to insist that it isn’t SecuROM, but merely a product from the same company. Whether you believe the party line or not is inconsequential really; whatever it is, it’s still a problem.

Star of The Guild, costar of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, general Joss Whedon go-to guest star and geek dream girl Felicia Day is set to write and star in a six-episode web series based on BioWare’s Dragon Age franchise. The web series, dubbed Dragon Age: Redemption, will follow Day’s character and elvish assassin (of my heart) Tallis, who is in search of a rogue mage in the land of Ferelden, which is the world in which Dragon Age: Origins took place, as well as the world in which the upcoming Dragon Age installment will take place. Day describes her character as headstrong and a dirty fighter with a sarcastic sense of humor, because she “wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.” The series filmed in January, with Peter Winther as director and John Bartley as cinematographer. The series is set to release later this year.

Felicia, I cordially invite you to the Geekosystem offices for a viewing upon the series’ release. I also cordially invite you to the Geekosystem offices for any other thing that happens. Or if nothing happens.

(USA Today via Joystiq)

Posted by YouTube user mcnerdburger, this video showcases how one BioWare developer proposed to another–in Minecraft, a game with a significant lack of conversation trees. Aside from how adorable it is to see a Minecraft proposal, it’s also pretty endearing to see a BioWare developer stray from hundreds of lines of dialogue every now and then.

We are both game devs (Bioware), so that might help explain the extreme nerdliness and “building worlds together” bit.

(via The Escapist)

Ray Larabie has given more thought than most to the question of how to make fonts and video games work together. Formerly an art director at Rockstar Toronto and currently the mastermind behind Typodermic Fonts, you may know Larabie’s font designs from games like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Dragon Age: Origins, and Mass Effect. Geekosystem recently got the chance to talk to Larabie about his favorite retro gaming fonts, why screens make type design harder, and the infernal prevalence of Handel Gothic in every sci-fi game ever:

Today it was announced that Dragon Age II is going to happen, and while people are generally happy, nobody is surprised by that news. But as we get into the specifics of the sequel, there may be some room for astonishment. Nothing is displayed in detail, of course, but it seems like almost every aspect of the game is getting at least a bit of a reboot.

The game’s official website, which has now launched, has some details that go over just how big the changes are going to be between Origins and the upcoming sequel.

Holy moly, it’s the fourth time I’ve seen this trailer and I’m still wetting my pants. With E3 2010 in full swing, the Star Wars franchise continues to astound geeks worldwide with their incredible game cinematic teasers, first for The Force Unleashed II and now for Bioware‘s much anticipated MMORPG The Old Republic.

In what is essentially a five-minute short film, we watch a raucous battle between Republic and Sith forces on the once-beautiful planet of Alderaan unfold. Big friggin’ guns are fired, and of course, lightsabers are swung. It’s time to see the “good guys” strike back for a change (for the ignorant and forgetful ones, the first incredible trailer detailed the absolute destruction of the Jedi Temple at the hands of Sith sabers and bounty hunter wrist-launchers).

Video after the jump.

Legendary Pictures is really justfying its name. With Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and The Hangover under its belt and Inception (giddy dance) coming in July, what could the studio possibly do in the future to make itself even more awesome.

This.

Legendary has obtained the rights to none other than Mass Effect, BioWare’s wildly successful, crazy-awesome franchise surrounding Commander Shepard’s exploits vanquishing evil aliens and protecting the universe.