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The Los Angeles Times' "How I Made It" feature has shined a spotlight on none other than Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig, illuminating the secret of how a 45-year-old woman can conquer the gaming industry and nab Joystiq's Game of the Year with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She started out as a film student back in 1989 and says she had a revelation while working freelance for Atari that gaming "was a more interesting and pioneering medium" than even the movies.

She worked her way up the ladder and took chances when they came along. When the lead designer on the wacky Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City left the project, she stepped up and took the job. And having talent and intelligence can't hurt either -- she says that she puts her whole education into gaming, from English lit to film editing, and while she downplays her place as a woman in gaming ("This is a young enough and progressive enough industry" to avoid most problems with sexism, she says), she does admit that she, erm, moderated the male perspective on breast size with some of her developers. Because somebody's got to, right? Excellent profile of one of gaming's more unlikely stars.

[Thanks, MikeIriye!]

When a free expansion hits for a free-to-play MMO -- in this case, Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons: Eberron Unlimited -- no one is really free to complain (though some no doubt will). Today's drably-titled "Update 3" brings with it a removal of leveling sigils, extending all of the game's items to every player, plus a new Casual Mode for solo players and parties up to the level cap of 20.

More dungeons have also been added, geared toward high-level players, and two live events -- The Traveler's Treasure Hunt and The Risia Ice Games -- are planned to "celebrate DDO's fourth birthday" with prizes (of the physical variety). Most importantly, Ski Lift Hot Cocoa and Candy Cane Ice Skates have been added to the DDO Store. (Finally!)

Are you somewhat satisfied with your Star Trek Online avatar, but wish he or she possessed more unsightly forehead ridges? Perhaps you desire a pair of ears shaped and sized like funnel cakes? Do you wish it looked like your brain was attempting to escape out of the top of your head? Good news -- the Federation Ferengi race can now be downloaded in-game for 80 Cryptic Points, which translates to a shiny half-dollar in real-world funds.

Federation players also have the option to download what we can only assume to be a reformed species of Klingon for 240 Cryptic points, or $1.50. We're still unsure as to why anyone would play Star Trek Online and not make their own race, since we wouldn't find the game so compelling without the adventures of Barbicane, the only surviving Bonerian in the galaxy.

It's going to be a long time before mankind invents Replicator technology. Until then, we're all forced to fill our Geo Metros with dead dinos and drive on down to the Del Taco for sustenance like jerks. But, the usual reward of a scrumptious combination of tortilla, beef and spices won't be the only thing to greet you at the end of your trek: Star Trek Online is teaming up with Del Taco to offer some collectible game cups. You know, the same kind that you got for every other thing that ever launches ever. Oh, you also get a free game trial, but oh man cups with ships on them!

In addition to this megaton news item, we've also got two new Star Trek Online trailers, featuring the Cardassians and the Vigilant Class Starship. Set your mouse to click and you'll find them past the break.

Source - Press release
Source - Del Taco promotion page

The MMO-developing band over at Cryptic has released an absolutely massive update to the Star Trek Online open beta. There are literally pages of fixes and changes, though Cryptic has thankfully distilled the major "headline" changes into a few bullet points:

• The level cap has been removed, which should be music to the ears of the pre-release power levelers out there.
• Cardassian and Romulan space is now accessible to Federation players, too, and there are some changes to bridge officer mechanics.
• Additionally, the update allows players to use the mini-map to scan anomalies. As we all know, anomalies need scanning like nobody's business, so that's good news.

Perhaps most important of all is that Spock himself, Mr. Leonard Nimoy, now offers an "audio journal overview" upon entering a new sector of space. That's great news because, just like bacon, everything's better with Nimoy. Hit the source link for the full patch release notes (be sure to click through the splash page).

We've heard plenty of horror stories over the past week (as have you, we'd wager) of people trying to play the Star Trek Online beta with little success, if they can even get the client to download in the first place. It turns out that Cryptic was not, as Destiny's Child cautioned, ready for this proverbial jelly.

"The actual numbers crushed our predictions," the dev said in a recent update. "So, we tore apart our logs and began doing a lot of extra optimization work even while we stumbled upon some truly bizarre crashes that can only appear with this sort of load."

It sounds like Cryptic needs to boldly go where no man has gone before, and by "where no man has gone before," we mean "the store where they sell servers and stuff." If you'd like to make the developer's life even more difficult, you can grab the client from our sister site Big Download.

Cryptic has announced some special Star Trek Online subscription options for anyone planning to sink some serious time into the game. The company is selling a lifetime subscription to the game for $239.99, which will last however long the game does. Also included with the lifetime subscription is a playable Borg character and two extra character slots. If you're not quite that devoted, you can opt for a 12-month subscription for $119.99, which also includes two extra character slots.

Big Download notes that regular subscriptions range from $14.99 per month, $41.97 for three months or $77.94 for six months, so the 12-month subscription is substantially cheaper than the $155.88 it would cost for two six-month subscriptions. Remember that the 12-month and lifetime subscriptions are available only for pre-orders, so you'll have to put some money down if you want to save money in the future.

As for whether you'll actually still be playing it in the future, you'll just have to wait and see. Or you could use a tachyon pulse. That works too.

This is Project Runway ... and it looks like a Sims expansion pack. Releasing on March 2, this initial footage of the cash-in doesn't appear to have anything that'll keep fans of the show on pins and needles. The trailer doesn't even include the virtual representations of show staples Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Nina Garcia or (top American fashion designer) Michael Kors; who are all apparently featured in the game.

Not to mention, the way the model avatars strut makes us want to call Ms. J from America's Next Top Model to supply some walking lessons. Looks like the game could have used some guidance from Tim Gunn and encouragement to "make it work."

There are no words spoken in the Star Trek Online trailer you see above -- not that any words are really required. You can easily get the gist from the moving pictures, which give a brief look at the Klingon Empire's homeworld, its floating armadas, and somewhere in the vicinity of 17,000 laser discharges. Forget the fact the game isn't even out yet -- we feel confident calling it the "Most Lasered Game of 2010."

If that sounds like something you want to be a part of, it's not too late to find an entry key for the open beta!

Attention Starfleet cadets, this is a reminder that the Star Trek Online open beta testing program begins today, January 12, 2010 (stardate 63497.4). Those cadets wishing to participate will need to acquire a client and a beta access key. A client may be obtained from the Big Download database located here. Massively.com has a cache of 10,000 beta access keys that will be granted to cadets on a first come, first serve basis. Please visit Massively to obtain your access key as soon as possible.

Also, we would like to remind students that transporter pads in transporter room three are still malfunctioning. Anyone not wishing to have their good and evil halves split between two physically identical bodies should avoid transporter room three if at all possible.

That is all.

MESSAGE ENDS

[Image source: Alex Piskun]

These are some clips from Star Trek Online. Its mission: to make you buy the game; to seek out new subscribers and revenue sources; to boldly make money, like no MMO has done before ... except World of Warcraft.

To learn more about Star Trek Online before you beam aboard, check out Massively's coverage of the first few levels of the 25th-century simulator.

Our brief time with Star Trek Online at PAX 2009 offered us a glimpse of the Starfleet's glossy spacecrafts and some player vs. environment gameplay. Recently, our MMO-loving sister site Massively got a chance to see how the other half lives. That is to say, the wrinkle-headed half, and the competitive half. That is to say, Klingons (the eeeeevil faction) and player vs. player combat.

Check out Massively's write-up to get more gooey, insider baseball-filled details about the Klingons' impressive arsenal, and to find out how PvP skirmishes unfold.

Cryptic is giving future Star Trek Online cadets the opportunity to name three different classes of starship in the game's universe. The gallery below features the three as-yet-unnamed classes. From left to right, they represent an escort type, science ship and cruiser. We suggest:

• Plot device class
• Eventual ghost ship class (alternative: Red Shirt class)
• Youessess class (as in: the U.S.S. Distress Beacon Responder is a Youessess class starship)

Make sure to read the full details regarding submissions [PDF link] before submitting ideas, which are due by January 8, 2010. Winners will receive a copy of the game and poster depicting their named class, which they can then fly when the game launches on Stardate 63554.5 (February 2, 2010).

[Via Big Download]

Last week, we received word that Zachary Quinto, who provided the fresh face for Spock in this past summer's Star Trek relaunch, would do the voice of Star Trek Online's "Emergency Medical Hologram tutorial." Today, we received further Spock-based news for the title: According to an Atari press release, Leonard Nimoy will narrate the game's introduction, and can also be heard during cut scenes and other events throughout the game. For instance, he'll offer a brief congratulation when your first Seaman egg hatches.

Of course, this announcement has caused fans of the series anticipate the in-game appearance of "old Spock" -- just as Quinto's involvement brought murmurs of a "new Spock" cameo. The somewhat creepier fans began prophesying hot, hot Spock on Spock action. We generally try not to associate with this latter group, for obvious reasons.