In a surprising newsletter this evening, Storybricks announced that it will be closing its doors.

Mostly known for their recent work on EverQuest Next's AI with Sony Online Entertainment, the studio cites that the decision was their own and "Sony Online Entertainment (now Daybreak Games) bears no fault for it. Sony Online Entertainment had been up for sale for a long time so our exit had no connection with the Columbus Nova acquisition."

The collaboration between SOE and Storybricks to create a new way of telling stories in MMOs is probably the most highly anticipated of all the promised features of EverQuest Next.

When you get right down to it, a new way of delivering story means a new way of delivering content, fundamentally changing the way players interact with the world. Players have been asking for an end to content that more closely resembles a box-checking exercise than an adventure for years, and Storybricks is confident it can deliver.

Another week in the development of EverQuest Next and Landmark goes by. Some nice new additions to Landmark keep the slavering horde at bay until SOE Live, the culmination of the Dark Elf Workshop and the Kerran winning the vote – leaving the Dwarves sidelined once again. Progress is being made, even in this lull before the information overload we can expect from SOE Live.

Just when you thought it was safe to coast along with the weekly updates, a partner of SOE has been making waves elsewhere.

With the announcement that Storybricks will be joining SOE in breathing life into EverQuest Next, time has come for the prognostication to recommence.

We expect that we will have some more concrete information revealed at SOE Live this year, but there are some snippets that are certainly making me a little rabid with anticipation.

The involvement of the Storybricks team itself is exciting, in that it reveals SOE is looking to add levels of player interaction with the world that will have some interesting AI and choices under the hood.

For a better idea of what we can anticipate from Namaste Entertainment’s involvement, check out this enlightening interview by David Souza, formerly of RepublicTrooper.com and now one of our marvelous new writers at ZAM (keep an eye out for his excellent first editorial on PvP, coming soon).

Storybricks is a game that defies being categorized. In the struggle to describe it, Namaste Entertainment's debut game has been compared to NeverWinter Nights, Minecraft, The Sims and a whole range of other popular titles. Yet none of these come close to creating an accurate picture of what Storybricks is or what Namaste hope to offer to us.

To help me in my quest to find the right words for this game, I sat down with Namaste's MMO architect Brian "Psychochild" Green and community manager Kelly Heckman. As we walked through the early alpha build of Storybricks, I discovered what drove the team to create this unusual title and why they've turned to KickStarter for help to develop it further.

Let’s face it, we’ve all fancied ourselves as a quest designer at one time or another. After being asked for the umpteenth time to kill ten more rats, kobolds or space weevils, we’ve been known to cry out at the screen just begging for a little variation. If Namaste Entertainment’s debut MMO is anything to go by, we may soon get that wish.

Last time we checked on Storybricks, the fledgling MMO was very much in "proof of concept" mode. Since then, the game that promises us the opportunity to create "deep, engaging stories of [our] own" has been undergoing a transformation of its own. In what’s billed as a “pre pre-alpha version” of the game, Namaste CEO Rodolfo Rosini takes us through the latest updates in an exclusive peek at their Developer Diary.

During the 8 minute walkthrough, Rosini demonstrates how to create simple stories from within the game client, creating NPCs and giving then basic motivations and desires. He then goes on to show us how those motivations and desires play out within the game. It’s interesting to see a nobleman, frozen with fear from being poisoned, become cheerful and lively once cured. There’s also a little Easter egg at the end, as the entire cast of NPCs is slowly transformed into zombies with a singular desire… for brains!

You can follow the development of Storybricks at its glitzy new website. They’re also taking signups for their closed alpha and embracing your suggestions in their revamped forums. So if you fancy yourself as a bit of an MMO Dungeon Master or the next Terry Pratchett, head along over there and show them what you’ve got!