It’s only 10 days to Halloween, and NCsoft is rolling out some special events for those who want to get into the spirit.

Guild Wars
On Friday, October 24, Mad King Thorn makes his return to Guild Wars in yet another ghoulish Halloween season in Tyria. Players can take on the king and his maniacal mini-games, jokes and riddles at their own risk. But the rewards will be worth the effort. Winners will earn fabulous prizes. Losers will be killed. But like any good Halloween event, you can always come back to try again. Other events for this Halloween season include a costume brawl in a newly designed area of Guild Wars, dreadful Halloween peddlers located in Lion’s Arch and Kamadan who will barter for their creepy items and photo ops where you can take your character’s picture amongst some of the holiday props and settings. More information on all the frightful happenings in Guild Wars can be found here, http://www.guildwars.com/events/ingame/halloween2008/.

City of Heroes
City of Heroes’ annual Halloween event is back again with even more evil twists. This season, gruesome zombies are on the prowl and they’re after all heroes and villains. In addition to fighting off the dead guys, City of Heroes’ Halloween event has a familiar look with Classical Costumes. Badges will be awarded to those who collect the most costumes. But don’t stop there. Wear your costumes and go out trick or treating in Paragon City. Check out http://www.cityofheroes.com/news/archives/2008/10/halloween_event.html for more info.

Lineage II
Lineage II players will be celebrating Halloween along with the launch of the latest update to the game, Gracia – Part 2. On Tuesday, October 28th, the day Gracia – Part 2 launches, all players level 20 and above who go to their warehouse will receive a Pumpkin Transformation Stick which will change the player into a pumpkin ghost. Additionally there will be a surprise gift, but we can’t tell you what this is until next week when the event starts. All the details about Lineage II’s special Halloween Haunt can be found here, http://www.lineage2.com/archive/2008/10/halloween_haunt.html.

Tabula Rasa
For the next two weeks players can participate in special Halloween missions scattered throughout Tabula Rasa’s expansive world. Complete them and you’ll get a trick or treat emote and one of nine masks. If you played trick or treat in Tabula Rasa last year, you may recognize some of the masks but some will be brand new. For more information visit http://www.rgtr.com/news/latest_news/trick_or_treat.html.

Exteel
Starting Wednesday, October 29, Exteel will be celebrating its first Halloween by giving all of its players the opportunity to paint their robotic Mechanaughts orange and black at no extra cost. They’ll also be able to enjoy their new Halloween-themed paint schemes while earning 50% more credits and experience for every match played in the game. Be sure to take advantage of it quickly—Exteeloween ends on November 5! For more information about Exteel go to http://www.exteel.com.

Track Famed Video Game Developer Richard Garriott as He Orbits Earth via www.richardinspace.com

Space Adventures’ Orbital Space Client Is Currently Onboard the International Space Station and Will Return to Earth October 24, 2008

Space Adventures’ sixth orbital client and famed Ultima and Tabula Rasa video game developer Richard Garriott is currently onboard the International Space Station (ISS) orbiting Earth, conducting research and experiments, and helping Stephen Colbert save humanity by depositing his digitized DNA on the “Immortality Drive”

that will serve as a remote offsite backup of the human race. Down on Earth, you can check in on Garriott and track his space mission activities, latest photos and videos, and more by visiting www.richardinspace.com

Garriott is the 1st second generation astronaut and only the sixth private individual in history to go to space. His mission to the ISS is the latest destination in a life defined by adventure and innovation. In recent years, Garriott has conquered incredible quests that span the globe including searching for meteorites on the continent of Antarctica, tracking mountain gorillas in Rwanda, canoeing down the Amazon, deep ocean hydrothermal vent expeditions and dives to the Titanic. While in space, Garriott aims to accomplish numerous efforts including scientific and environmental research, and educational outreach. Always the leader of the pack, Garriott also will host the first-ever zero-gravity art show in space.

All will be chronicled on www.richardinspace.com .

The site is constantly updated with details on Garriott’s adventure and includes rich videos and photos of Garriott throughout his training, launch and current
spaceflight. Visitors to www.richardinspace.com can track his exact location as he orbits Earth; pose questions to Richard , which offers an inside look into what it takes to go to space and back again; and check out awesome video links like Garriott’s ZERO-G weightless training

On Monday, Oct. 20, at 1:20 p.m. EDT, Garriott will be part of the NASA-sponsored videoconference with Expedition Crew 18. The live online video conference with Garriott will be posted on www.richardinspace.com

Poll Results Revealing Humanity’s Greatest Achievements to be Placed on Immortality Drive headed to International Space Station on Sunday

What are the milestones that signify humanity’s most important achievements? From penicillin to George Carlin to The American Civil Rights Movement, thousands have weighed in on an online poll inspired by Tabula Rasa’s Operation Immortality™. Tabula Rasa® is a fast-paced massively multiplayer online (MMO) game that puts you in the middle of an intergalactic fight to save humanity. The results of the polls are among the many digitized items stored on the “Immortality Drive” that will be taken to space by legendary game designer Richard Garriott, who travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct.12.

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Renowned physicist to participate in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality, hoping to raise awareness of how disease can be better managed, cured and prevented through fully sequencing the human genome

Stephen Hawking, best selling author of “A Brief History of Time” and the children’s book “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” written along with his daughter Lucy, will be sending his digitized DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s® <http://www.plaync.com/> Operation Immortality™. Lucy Hawking is also participating in the project. Together, the father and daughter are hoping the project will raise awareness of the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, a competition that will award $10 million to the first person or team that can sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days or less.

Operation Immortality <http://www.operationimmortality.com/> is a project intended to collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished by sending a digital time capsule of the human race, including messages from people around the world and DNA samples from some of our brightest minds, musicians, athletes and video game players.

Hawking’s DNA will be transported into space by celebrated video game developer and longtime member of the X PRIZE Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Richard Garriott <http://www.richardinspace.com/> , who is traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) in October. Garriott, whose most recent video game project, Tabula Rasa® <http://www.rgtr.com/> , depicts the destruction of mankind by an alien invasion, will take Hawking’s digitized DNA as well as an electronic copy of “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” on a storage device called the Immortality Drive where it will be placed on the ISS.

This is not the first time Hawking and Garriott have teamed up for high-flying adventures. In 2007, Garriott hosted Hawking aboard a zero gravity flight where Hawking was able to experience a weightless environment.

“Richard and I share the same dream of traveling into space,” said Stephen Hawking. “And we both realize the incredible importance of DNA to life in the universe.”

In actuality, Hawking would like to have sent his completely sequenced genome into space. Current science however, is not yet capable of producing low-cost, fully sequenced genomes. By participating in this project, Hawking hopes to highlight the need for inexpensive, fully sequenced human genomes so that scientists and doctors can begin to better understand ways to identify, treat and prevent disease.

Richard Garriott said, “This is simply one of the most exciting honors of my life. To have Stephen Hawking participate in my space flight project is incredible and it makes this once-in-a-lifetime experience even more meaningful and exciting. If our world did meet an early end, anyone who finds the Immortality Drive will certainly find the best that humanity has to offer.”

The “Immortality Drive,” is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Players in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa, will also have their character information downloaded onto the drive.

Mankind is encouraged to submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, and leave their immortalized message for future generations. A select few may also have their DNA chosen to join Garriott, Hawking and other icons on an out-of-this-world experience, and possibly become the future of mankind.

The Hawking’s book, “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” takes young readers on a rollercoaster ride through the vastness of space. In the midst of this exciting adventure, the book shows the mysteries of physics, science and the Universe with George, his friends next door, and a super-intelligent computer called Cosmos, which can take them to the edge of a black hole and back again. For more information on “George’s Secret Key to the Universe” and Stephen Hawking, go to:
www.hawking.org.uk

DNA To Be Digitized And Sent To The International Space Station (ISS) With
Famed Game Designer Richard Garriott In October

Stephen Colbert continues to make late-night television space history.  On “The Colbert Report” in May, he was the first host in late-night to interview an astronaut, Garrett Reisman, in space.  Now, Colbert plans to save humanity when he has his DNA digitized and sent to the International Space Station (ISS) with famed game designer Richard Garriott.  

“I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my life-long dream of being the baby at the end of 2001,” said Colbert.

“In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert’s DNA,” said Garriott. “Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?”

In October, Garriott will travel to the ISS and deposit the “Immortality Drive,” a time capsule which will include human DNA and records of humanity’s greatest accomplishments.  This collection of data including Colbert’s DNA and accomplishments, along with personal messages left by visitors at www.OperationImmortality.com, will serve as a remote offsite backup of the human race.
“The Colbert Report” airs regularly Monday-Thursday at 11:30 p.m. following “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”  Repeat episodes air Monday-Thursday at 1:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Friday at 8:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (all times ET/PT). 

“The Colbert Report” is produced by Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions, Inc. in association with Spartina Productions, Inc.  Stewart, Colbert and Allison Silverman are the executive producers with Meredith Bennett and Richard Dahm as co-executive producers.  Jim Hoskinson is the director.  Lou Wallach and Dan Powell are the executives in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL. 

Kevin Rose, Robert Scoble and Tim Draper to participate in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality, joining gamers, musicians, athletes and other luminaries

NCsoft’s® Operation Immortality™ has added three of Silicon Valley’s most celebrated minds to the growing list of notable names who are sending their digitized DNA into space. Kevin Rose, creator of the social-bookmarking website Digg, Robert Scoble, one of the world’s most popular tech bloggers and Tim Draper, founder of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, have agreed to send their DNA to orbit along with celebrated game designer Richard Garriott, who is traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 12.

Operation Immortality will collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished by storing a digital time capsule of the human race on the ISS. This includes messages from people around the world along with the digitized DNA samples from some of Earth’s brightest minds, musicians, and athletes. Garriott, who is most famous as the creator of the Ultima® and Tabula Rasa® video games, will transport the time capsule to the ISS on a storage device called the “Immortality Drive.” Garriott will be the world’s sixth private citizen and America’s first second generation astronaut when he makes his voyage in October.

“It is exciting to have Kevin, Tim and Robert join this project and be a part of preserving their accomplishments which have changed our world,” said Garriott. “These three individuals are some of the most creative and innovative minds in Silicon Valley and we are honored to include them as part of our snapshot of humanity in the 21st Century.”

Rose first became well known as an on-air talent and later as a co-host working on TechTV’s popular show The Screen Savers (which later became Attack of the Show! on G4TV). Rose is also well known for his Internet start-ups that he co-founded: Revision3, Pownce and most notably the social-bookmarking website Digg.

Scoble runs FastCompany.tv and interviews tech and business innovators around the world. He is one of the most popular tech bloggers at http://scobleizer.com, which came to prominence during his tenure as a technical evangelist at Microsoft.

Draper is the founder and a managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson.  His original suggestion to use “viral marketing” in web-based e-mail to geometrically spread an Internet product to its market was instrumental to the successes of Hotmail and YahooMail, and has been adopted as a standard marketing technique by hundreds of businesses.  His venture capital successes include Skype, Baidu, Glam, Hotmail, Overture and Parametric Technology. He created the DFJ Network with partner venture capital firms to spread entrepreneurship around the globe.

“My hope is that aliens get a hold of my DNA so my clones can spread entrepreneurship to galaxies throughout the universe,” says Mr. Draper.

The “Immortality Drive” is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Everyone on Earth is encouraged to submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, and leave their immortalized message for future generations. A select few may also have their DNA chosen to join Garriott, Rose, Scoble, Draper and other notables on an out-of-this-world experience.

Starr Long, the Producer of Tabula Rasa® at NCsoft® North America, talks about the newest changes to the game with Deployment 11 and the impact of Operation Immortality™.

We’ve seen a lot of attention focused on Tabula Rasa® within the last few months, culminating with the release of Deployment 11 last week and the launch of Operation Immortality™ in July. The influx of new players from our promotions has been great, and with the monthly updates we’re continually keeping our veteran players happy with new and interesting content. While we push forward with continuing to develop and promote Tabula Rasa, it’s important to examine how we’re accomplishing this and there’s no better example than Deployment 11.

starr_long.JPGWith all these new players coming into the game, we knew we had to look at our new user experience and make sure it was the best we could possibly have. We engaged in video-taped usability sessions and other metrics to determine what new players were doing and what we could do better. Then we re-examined the course of the game, as well as the storyline, to see how we could integrate new players better into our universe. When a new player finishes watching the intro trailer to Tabula Rasa, their first moments afterwards should be a continuation of that story. The new player experience needed to convey that Tabula Rasa is a science fiction game, and you’re put into the meat of the drama almost immediately. We also wanted to manage the tutorial system better, as well as the context and delivery of the gameplay tips. Our incoming players and even the veterans who have gone through the new player experience agree: it’s awesome.

Speaking of the veterans, we can’t just concentrate on the new players. Our community and support teams do a terrific job supporting a constant slew of activities for everyone to participate in, many of which the community creates themselves. There are plenty of fun events and feature exclusive content on the public test server (PTS), like the Friday Night Fights boxing matches—including a bout you might have heard about, featuring General British trading blows with Jesus Chavez. We have a player vs. player (PvP) wargame map and even something else that’s very current to the times, a Tabula Rasa-themed Olympics created by the PlanetTR fansite staff. (more…)

Scott Johnson, Olympic gold medalist, three time National Champion, and 2006 Olympic Hall of Fame inductee, has been invited to send his DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s Operation Immortality

Operation Immortality™, a project intended to collect and archive the very best of what humanity has accomplished, is creating a digital time capsule of the human race, including messages from people around the world and DNA samples from some of our brightest minds and most accomplished athletes. Scott Johnson, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, three-time National Champion and 2006 USA Olympic Hall of Fame inductee, now stands among those who have been asked to participate in Operation Immortality’s mission to preserve the most talented and influential people of our time, and has submitted his DNA to be added to the capsule.

Johnson, represented by 4U Management in Orlando, Florida, is most commonly known for leading the U.S. Men’s Olympic gymnastics team to victory in 1984 in Los Angeles, when he emerged out of nowhere to win the title and help the U.S. win its first gymnastics team medal since the early 1930’s. He then went on to captain the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team in the 1988 games, before retiring later that year.

Now, twenty years later, Scott is once again being recognized by being invited to add his DNA to the “Immortality Drive” and have it placed upon the International Space Station (ISS) when video gaming luminary Richard Garriott makes the exhilarating journey to the ISS on Oct. 12, 2008.
“Participating in Operation Immortality is an incredible privilege,” says Johnson. “Knowing that my DNA will be immortalized for all time and that I have been chosen as one of mankind’s most “accomplished athletes” is truly an honor.”

The “Immortality Drive,” is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Players in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa®, will also have their character information downloaded onto the drive.

“This is your chance to leave your mark,” says Garriott. “I’m thrilled to have Scott Johnson on board with me.”

Mankind is encouraged to submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, and leave their immortalized message for future generations. A select few may also have their DNA chosen to join Garriott, Johnson and other icons on an out-of-this-world experience, and possibly become the future of mankind.

Highest bidder to have digitized DNA stored on International Space Station; Proceeds to benefit Planet Make-Over

NCsoft® announced today that it will auction an opportunity for one person to send their digitized DNA into space on a special Operation Immortality sale on the popular Internet auction site, eBay. The news comes just days after the company announced that an Immortality Drive, a time capsule with the digitized DNA of select video gamers and space aficionados, and a collection of humankind’s greatest achievements, will be carried to the International Space Station (ISS) by famed game designer Richard Garriott on October 12.

The auction can be accessed at the Operation Immortality auction site located at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250282465825. There are two items up for bidding in the auction. The first is a DNA swab kit, which allows users to swab the inside of their cheek and send the sample to a certified testing lab, which will provide a digitized version of the purchaser’s DNA to be placed on the special Immortality Drive. Garriott will leave the drive on the ISS prior to his return to Earth.

Players can be immortalized in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa® with the second item in the auction package, a character in Tabula Rasa to be named after the winner. Anyone who isn’t already playing the game can access a free trial at http://www.rgtr.com/trial.

The auction is currently open and will close on August 20.
The proceeds from the auction will benefit Planet Make-Over’s non-profit Arts Endowment via the Nobelity Project. Planet Make-Over is company based in Austin, Texas with a mission to reverse the effects of global warming. The funds will provide financial support and guidance to performing artists who evangelize Planet Make-Over’s efforts to reverse global warming. On August 12, NCsoft announced that recording artists Eric Johnson, Patrice Pike, and musical director Stephen Bruton in association with Planet Make-Over will be participating in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality and sending their DNA into space via the Immortality Drive.

For information about Operation Immortality, including full terms and conditions, go to http://www.OperationImmortality.com. For information on Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa go to http://www.rgtr.com.

Tracy Hickman, famed author of the best-selling fantasy fiction series Dragonlance plans to send his DNA into space as part of NCsoft’s Operation Immortality.

Operation Importality

(click to enlarge)

Operation Immortality, the project to create a digital time capsule of the human race, has joined forces with famed author and game designer Tracy Hickman.  Hickman is best known for his work on the Dragonlance novels and the innovative Ravenloft module of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game system. As part of Operation Immortality’s mission to preserve the most talented and influential people of our time, Tracy Hickman will be sending his digitized DNA into space with video gaming luminary Richard Garriott as he travels to the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 12, 2008.

Hickman will not only be adding his digitized DNA to the “Immortality Drive,” excerpts of his writings will also be included on the storage device Garriott will store on the ISS as part of Operation Immortality.  The Immortality Drive is currently in the process of being loaded with information from people all over the world at the OperationImmortality.com website. Hickman will be talking about the project as he addresses crowds at the Gen Con gaming convention today in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Visitors to the website can submit their suggestions for humanity’s greatest achievements, leave their immortalized message for future generations, and may even have their DNA selected to join Garriott and other luminaries on an out of this world trip to possibly become the future of mankind.

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