One month.
That's how long it's been (to the day) since I felt moved to write here. That's a long time. Now, I have been busy with work, so that means travel. Travel takes it out of you once you have done it for a while, but I digress.
The reason that I haven't been writing is that I haven't found much to be writing about. Sure I could do all kinds of theoretical babbling about games and what people want in game design. I'm probably not qualified to do that and so I'll leave that to the Ryan Schwaders (it's not babbling when he does it) of the world (Nerfbat.) I can speak with authority from the user's viewpoint. That is where the wicket gets sticky.
Here is where I am right now, and I have to believe that some of you are here with me. I currently have 4 MMO's installed on my gaming rig. Five if you include a particular beta which I can't talk about so for the sake of this discussion doesn't exist. The other 4 are EQ (yeah, yeah, I know,) WoW, LOTRO, and Vanguard. I have let my EQ2 sub lapse, but it's still installed.
Branyanu has been missing EQ so we reinstalled it and started playing it again. We quit not too long after the level cap was raised above 60, so I had a barely 61 Druid (Genda) and she has her 58 'chanter. After an evening wrestling with the damn game to get it to run without CTD on her system, we sat down to play. Our 2 hours resulted in a level change. Genda is now 60. It was also a stark reminder for me that you can't go home again. As much as we loved EQ at the time, everywhere we could hunt at that level was a ghost town, and there isn't much going on that we could see.
I'd probably enjoy getting going with WoW again. Once again, we had quit soon after the level cap was raised, so my 60 Orc Resto Shaman (Akhan) and her 60 Troll Hunter (Tarkheena) are behind the times. She's had enough of WoW, and I've learned not to press my duo partner too hard, lest I not have one. It's still just another fantasy MMO, although I do appreciate the "amusement park" style of design.
Vanguard. It's problems are well-documented. Programming-wise, it's still a mess. Maybe the server merges (from 13 servers down to 4) will help spur the community there and make it easier to find a group.
LOTRO. See WoW.
I've seen a little on the upcoming games in the pipeline, and there isn't anything revolutionary out there. Tabula Rasa looks like Guild Wars or DDO. AOC looks like a refined version of Lineage ][. WAR is like a cross between WoW (questing) and DAOC RvR.)
I am starting to think that the genre is at a standstill, and really has been since WoW. As a matter of fact, I am starting to believe that WoW killed PC gaming. Just go have a look at the PC games out there on the shelves, and tell me 10 good titles that have shipped since WoW that aren't ports to or from consoles. I rest my case.
I'm hoping that we see some new developments soon, although with what it costs to fund and develop one of these monsters, the irony may be that no one is willing to take a risk that big. And by not taking a risk, we aren't getting the benefit as gamers.
Hmm, I hear that UO just got a graphical face lift.
Naaaaa.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
38 Studios Enumerates Their Vision
Over at Ten Ton Hammer, they have a set of videos from the guys over at 38 Studios. I'd encourage you to head over and have a look.
There are a few things that struck me about the videos and the "Vision."
First of all, this vision is a lot different than the infamous Sigil "Vision (tm)." These guys remind me a lot of some of my friends that have been professional athletes. Supremely confident, focusing on the positive, and focused as hell.
This attitude, which is very evident in the videos, is indicative of one or many of these things.
1. Incredible hubris. These guys haven't done anything in the gaming industry, other than Brett Close, and he doesn't have any hands-on MMO credentials. Now, their rank-and-file development team is shaping up to have a lot of experience, but the leads don't.
2. Confidence in their ideas. I can see why this is, as they have ALL been incredibly successful in their chosen fields. Curt Schilling has had an amazing MLB career, R.A. Salvatore has been one of the most visible and read fantasy authors of our generation, and Todd McFarlane has made an empire of comics, figures, and custom illustration. Even though I am not personally a big comic reader I have been aware of Todd's work for some time. I've been collecting his Dragons figures for a while now. It's easy to see why they are confident that they can contribute to a really amazing new IP.
3. Confidence in their ability to execute their plan. Lots of other have been down this road. It remains to be seen if this part of their plan can be pulled off. A lot of people with more industry experience have churned out mediocre projects, or even projects that never got shipped. I think there are a lot of land mines on this road. I like their chances based on the collectives' refusal to accept anything but the best. I think this may possibly be the tie-breaker in their ability to do this, although it's SO easy to find yourself 3 years down the road and over budget and behind schedule.
I'd be interested to hear when you readers think about this. What do you like about 38's team? Their chances to do what they are saying they are going to do? Are they going to achieve "World Domination Through Gaming?"
Head over to TTH and see the videos. It's our first real taste of what these guys have in store.
There are a few things that struck me about the videos and the "Vision."
First of all, this vision is a lot different than the infamous Sigil "Vision (tm)." These guys remind me a lot of some of my friends that have been professional athletes. Supremely confident, focusing on the positive, and focused as hell.
This attitude, which is very evident in the videos, is indicative of one or many of these things.
1. Incredible hubris. These guys haven't done anything in the gaming industry, other than Brett Close, and he doesn't have any hands-on MMO credentials. Now, their rank-and-file development team is shaping up to have a lot of experience, but the leads don't.
2. Confidence in their ideas. I can see why this is, as they have ALL been incredibly successful in their chosen fields. Curt Schilling has had an amazing MLB career, R.A. Salvatore has been one of the most visible and read fantasy authors of our generation, and Todd McFarlane has made an empire of comics, figures, and custom illustration. Even though I am not personally a big comic reader I have been aware of Todd's work for some time. I've been collecting his Dragons figures for a while now. It's easy to see why they are confident that they can contribute to a really amazing new IP.
3. Confidence in their ability to execute their plan. Lots of other have been down this road. It remains to be seen if this part of their plan can be pulled off. A lot of people with more industry experience have churned out mediocre projects, or even projects that never got shipped. I think there are a lot of land mines on this road. I like their chances based on the collectives' refusal to accept anything but the best. I think this may possibly be the tie-breaker in their ability to do this, although it's SO easy to find yourself 3 years down the road and over budget and behind schedule.
I'd be interested to hear when you readers think about this. What do you like about 38's team? Their chances to do what they are saying they are going to do? Are they going to achieve "World Domination Through Gaming?"
Head over to TTH and see the videos. It's our first real taste of what these guys have in store.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
SOE Continues to Not Get It
So this is probably just a minor thing, but I wanted to share with you all why I want to continue to distance myself from SOE and it's products.
The links on VGPlayers to my forums have been broken for months. I had requested quite a while ago that they get fixed, and they didn't. It's understandable, as Sigil was in the process of imploding. Today, when Michelle Butler, the "community manager" for SOE/Sigil had requested on the fansite forum that we update our links, I again requested that the links get repaired. Here is the reply;
"I am told the links are difficult to modify and so they are staying like they are."
OK
1. If this is so, why did you ask us to check them?
2. What's so fucking hard about updating a link in your Dreamweaver page?
This is just another example of how SOE keeps it's "community" at arm's length, and has done NOTHING to repair the rift that was created by their dismissive dismissal (yes, I did that on purpose) of the Affiliate Program at the time of their takeover. There has been no communication from SOE to us other than requests for us to do tasks for them. No offers of help, no offers of support, no offers of content or anything of the like.
That's all fine. They aren't beholden to us. They are missing an opportunity for the community to help them repair their damaged reputation, and instead once again they go the opposite way.
We've all spent lots of time supporting their lousy game, and they can't even be bothered to fix a link page.
This is why SOE will never be World Class.
The links on VGPlayers to my forums have been broken for months. I had requested quite a while ago that they get fixed, and they didn't. It's understandable, as Sigil was in the process of imploding. Today, when Michelle Butler, the "community manager" for SOE/Sigil had requested on the fansite forum that we update our links, I again requested that the links get repaired. Here is the reply;
"I am told the links are difficult to modify and so they are staying like they are."
OK
1. If this is so, why did you ask us to check them?
2. What's so fucking hard about updating a link in your Dreamweaver page?
This is just another example of how SOE keeps it's "community" at arm's length, and has done NOTHING to repair the rift that was created by their dismissive dismissal (yes, I did that on purpose) of the Affiliate Program at the time of their takeover. There has been no communication from SOE to us other than requests for us to do tasks for them. No offers of help, no offers of support, no offers of content or anything of the like.
That's all fine. They aren't beholden to us. They are missing an opportunity for the community to help them repair their damaged reputation, and instead once again they go the opposite way.
We've all spent lots of time supporting their lousy game, and they can't even be bothered to fix a link page.
This is why SOE will never be World Class.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Change of Direction Here
As I've started to blog, I've noticed that in the blogosphere, the blogs I enjoy most are the ones that are written from the perspective of the industry in general, then specifics within the industry, then about specific games. In that order.
So what I've decided to do is to follow my interests a little more broadly, and make sure that this blog isn't just going to be about Sigil, SOE, and Vanguard. I'd like for the blog to be read, although that isn't the only reason I write here. The process is cathartic for me as well.
Going forward, I'm hoping to comment on the industry in general, community relations, community management, and the "next generation" of games in the pipeline. I'm most interested to see what becomes of Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, and whatever the guys over at 38 Studios (formerly Green Monster Games) are up to.
Thanks to all of you who have put this extremely humble blog on the map, even if it's only a pin-sized mark so far. I hope to earn your interest and participation as we go along.
As an aside, I have had the opportunity to visit London this week on a business trip, and I had a little slack time to enjoy the city. If you haven't visited the UK, or London in particular, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's expensive (it makes Manhattan and Disney World seem like a bargain) but it's an amazing and vibrant city. Of the cities in the world that I have visited, it's horned it's way closest to my heart and I can't wait until my next visit.
Here is a picture I took today, just one of many but I thought this was beautiful. It's a crest that is on the gate at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's London residence. The city is full of amazing history and art. I'm starting to ramble, but if you ever get the chance, visit London and the UK.
So what I've decided to do is to follow my interests a little more broadly, and make sure that this blog isn't just going to be about Sigil, SOE, and Vanguard. I'd like for the blog to be read, although that isn't the only reason I write here. The process is cathartic for me as well.
Going forward, I'm hoping to comment on the industry in general, community relations, community management, and the "next generation" of games in the pipeline. I'm most interested to see what becomes of Warhammer Online, Age of Conan, and whatever the guys over at 38 Studios (formerly Green Monster Games) are up to.
Thanks to all of you who have put this extremely humble blog on the map, even if it's only a pin-sized mark so far. I hope to earn your interest and participation as we go along.
As an aside, I have had the opportunity to visit London this week on a business trip, and I had a little slack time to enjoy the city. If you haven't visited the UK, or London in particular, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's expensive (it makes Manhattan and Disney World seem like a bargain) but it's an amazing and vibrant city. Of the cities in the world that I have visited, it's horned it's way closest to my heart and I can't wait until my next visit.
Here is a picture I took today, just one of many but I thought this was beautiful. It's a crest that is on the gate at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's London residence. The city is full of amazing history and art. I'm starting to ramble, but if you ever get the chance, visit London and the UK.
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