Archive for the 'Industry' Category
Sunday, October 11th, 2009
Vas Rel Sanct, Hallelujah!
I have seen it all now.
It was about a week or two ago when I was trudging along in Ultima Online, taking the moongate to Luna to check the latest on dyes for a new robe I had acquired when I stumbled upon a rune. Not an unusual thing, typically large vendors will use this method to advertise, merchants trying to market for off-Luna wares at discount prices. But this rune said something that caught my eye.
“Sunday Church Service - 7:00 p.m. EST, come one, come all!”
No way. Being a curious type, I hit the rune. It was coincidentally about 2 minutes after 7. I encountered two structures built like Baptist churches, one was filled to the brim with players. I dismounted my ethereal horse and walked in, finding just one empty bench left in the building. At the front was a woman dressed in white and red, giving a sermon. A Christian sermon. The topic was forgiveness and patience. An ankh punctuated the altar, comprised of white marble with a Fountain of Life (I assume for blessings and holy water). A cross formed of goza mats was emblazoned on the floor of the building, and I realized that the stone on the front of the structure also was in the form of a giant stained glass cross.
I couldn’t help but sit through the sermon. I kept looking at the congregation. Kellen, Grandmaster Mage. CREE DAL, Foe of the Abyss. Shawn, Legendary Tamer with the giant half-dog/half-dragon creature parked outside. The contrast seemed dizzying. Here there was a female pastor espousing the virtues of non-denominational Christian faith in, of all places, Sosaria. West of Trinsic near the Bog of Desolation to be precise.
I felt awkward to be wearing a wizard hat. My spellbook has a gigantic pentagram right on the front. I had just re-trained Necromancy, and I think my title was showing up as “The Ignoble GreyPawn, Elder Necromancer”. I did however thank my lucky stars that I had recently purchased scrolls and had an odd 4,000 or so in loose gold in my pack - tithes should the social pressure mount and the need arise.
Eventually the sermon ended and I left, beating a hasty retreat to my guild’s headquarters. Since that time, I expected to see no more of them, a fluke, fly-by-night and hardly permanent. Instead they have expanded and now conduct midnight sermons on Saturday, as well as a normal service on Sunday.
What does this mean? Ultimately, it means that emergent behavior is not limited to direct expressions of in-game ingeniousness. It means that human experience is pervasive. It means that in the wildest of all imaginations, we are likely going to be witness to what happens when one of the largest world religions finds itself in a fictional universe that has its own set of religions and morality. Can Christianity resolve Virtues and Principles with Beatitudes and Fruits of the Spirit? Is the Avatar going to end up a symbol for Christ, or vice-versa?
As it stands, the Church of UO is a thing, functional, extant and as far as I can tell not going to go away anytime soon. It is wholly maintained within the game, offering services to users who would otherwise not even consider attending church locally. That it exists, and how it got there does make me think of community in new ways, and certainly demonstrates a new paradigm.
I caught up with the pastor and interviewed her a bit, just to pick her brain on what the deal was. What made you decide to start a church in UO? “God led me to it.” What tenets do you follow? “Non-denominational. Come as you are, be as you are. No judgment, just the word of God.” As it turns out, her son has played UO for almost 12 years, and she is an active member of the music ministry in “real life”. I couldn’t help stiffle a laugh later, taking a tour through the church, noticing in the private quarters an arcane circle in bright blue plastered upon the floor. Appropriate decor is probably difficult to come by for the (unofficial) Sosarian non-denominational offshoot of the Assemblies of God. I neglected to ask whether or not banksitting would be considered a sin, and whether or not there is an active outreach program to minister to the reds of Felucca.
Praise Jesus and pass the reagents!
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
Collect Cash, Hire Team, Insert into Dumpster
Tomorrow, a game published by THQ and crafted by Swordfish Studios will come out for the Xbox 360 and Playstaion 3. The name of the game is “50 Cent, Blood on the Sand”. I’m not lying, I wouldn’t do that to you, gentle reader. For confirmation, please visit the following link. http://www.50bloodonthesand.com/us/ Please do not visit that link while you are eating - it may induce projectile vomiting.
First off. Let’s get the obvious out of the way. There are no strip clubs in the Middle East. Second, we have seen these graphics and gameplay before. It is called Call of Duty. Third, Saints Row does gang-related action far better. Fourth, it usually takes a great deal to offend my sensibilities, I’m made of tough stuff, I have to be. But the towel-head slaughterfest that this game is really doesn’t sit well with me. No one is a bigger critic of “my own people”, with half my lineage in the country we’ll likely be invading under Palin/Wurzelbacher 2012. There is literally a screenshot on the site of a guy with his face and head covered in a burka type thing, but he isn’t wearing a shirt. Rather, he is wearing a crossed “X” strap of bullets on his naked chest.
If you have the stomache to endure the trailer videos, you see “Fitty” is attempting to get his prized diamond encrusted pimp skull back from the towelheads that stole it. In Grand Theft Auto fashion, he interacts in cut scenes with unscrupulous semi-urban towelheads to find out which towelheads took it, and where they are so he can go blast a cap in their sandy asses. And blast a cap he does. In effects stolen wholesale from practically every other FPS since Counterstrike, Fifty Cent goes on a rampage piling up a body count of Middle-Easterners that would make General Petreaus blush. It is interspersed with random lines of dialogue like “I wants mah skull back!” and “You have whats mine!”.
The levels, if they can be called that, are revisits to the classic “Middle Eastern war-torn village” that you’ve already explored nine THOUSAND FREAKING TIMES in every other FPS set in the mideast. You know that biege building with the rocket launcher in it? Yeah, that’s there. And the cart with the baskets and rolled up persian carpets? Yup, it makes a guest appearance. And the bombed out mosque - all of our old favorites! Oh gosh, I hope the marine helicopter can show up, that way they won’t have to waste any polygons or storyboarding from pointless frikken game to pointless frikken game.
Rest assured there are towelheads that run at your character screaming “FALAFEL!” and “Halamachhgahaghgaaa!” weilding both rocks and fully automatic weapons invariably.
I think the thing that quite possibly burns the most is that the development studio actually got millions of dollars to serve up this steaming pile of cliche’-ridden excrement. Someone actually went to a pitch meeting, saw the design for this thing and gave it the green light. They said, “YES, ABSOLUTELY. I will give you freaks millions of dollars, probably more than 10, to fashion this abortion of a game from the ether.” Millions of dollars, an entire development team, with hundreds of man hours invested to power the machine that would give birth to this abomination. Someone tell me, is Paris Hilton in need of a Real-Time Strategy game with her name on it? Because if this is the sort of tripe that gets studios going, I’m completely willing to sell my soul to the lords of mediocrity that give these things a solid thumbs up.
Shadowrun Online remains to be made. There are no plans for a Harry Potter MMO. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines isn’t likely to see a sequel, ever.
Friday, February 20th, 2009
Darkfall Beta
Got into the Darkfall beta.
There is no tutorial.
*logs out*
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
UO’s Aging Population
It is remarkably telling that at current, on one of the most populated shards in Ultima Online, a 1st Year Veteran reward is equivalent to an 8th Year Veteran reward in cost.
Meaning, the average account age falls roughly within a 5-6 year mark. So few new accounts exist that it makes selection of a 1st year veteran award prohibitive for marketability, reducing supply and increasing demand.
Saturday, November 8th, 2008
Ultima Online: Resurrection
Ultima Online bore me and several of my fellow Community Managers. As the first MMO and the grand-daddy of virtual worlds, it spawned a generation of personae communitatus that affect practically every MMO in existence.
For nearly ten years, I have played Ultima Online in some form. I have known many greats, players who themselves moved on or even joined the gaming industry because of their experiences in UO. Rainbow King, Grishnak, Navrip, Nikademus, Aleph Aeirs, Azalin, Perianwyr, Dragons, Dayel, Kieron, Talanithus.
I consider myself a custodian of sorts, last of the storied ancients who made their home amongst the shards of Sosaria. In distant, but paternal measure, I login as GreyPawn and futz about with the new features or items periodically added, always a good quarter-shy of being a relic. I bandy words with my guildmates in the Moonglow Town Council, taking a mild passing interest in the affairs of guild management I long ago retired from. Anyone who knew GreyPawn the character would laugh at the concept of a retired Mayor keeping his words and advice unless called upon for them.
I’ll be here until they turn out the lights. I’ll probably be here until after that, too. The UO community holds too much sentimentality for me to ever leave it - I’ve given it too much and it has given too much to me. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been so heartened about the latest revelations coming from EA/Mythic.
Firstly, they’ve added a new Designer, Sakkarah. I knew her as a shrewd merchant on my home shard, and I patronized her venue frequently for plants. As a player, I always categorized her as one of those “bulk order book types”, the meticulous crafting kind that know the systems intricately. That they have made a person who knows Sosaria so intimately is magnificent, and a heaping wealth of grand new items and features has already been introduced with her signature.
If she can continue to burn the candle at both ends without jading or catching tunnel-visionitis as a whole host of UO designers who have walked before in her footsteps have, Ultima will reap tremendous benefits.
The second of the two miraculous points leading to a potential resurrection (or resurgence at least) of a vibrant community is the reinstitution of the Event Moderator program. I cannot overstate the massive importance of live events to the growth and sustainability of a virtual world. The Event Moderator program, if set up correctly and given appropriate lattitude, can breathe life into an otherwise stagnant game.
By careful and surgical application of unknown, random, invisible forces in a game world, the stasis of anticipated results on the part of the player is suspended. Immersion jumps up from the grave of the grind and thrives like a wild thing in the presence of the classically defined Interest.
By appointing Event Moderators, what the game is essentially doing is assigning the power of Storyteller, the TRUE and RIGHTFUL title of Gamemaster, as Lord of the Lore and possessor of the universal powers of creation, destruction and plotline, not simple customer service rep. Each EM begins to weave his own tales, thrust wholly onto players yearning for a break in the monotony.
I’m looking forward to what the near future has to bring for ol’ UO. Should be intriguing!
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
Warhammer, I Reckon
So I picked up Warhammer with the s/o. It reminds me a great deal of The Lord of the Rings Online in that it is a fully realized WoW clone with a completely solid storyline. The mechanics are familiar to anyone accustomed to WoW or similar styles, with some variations on a theme such as dark magic accrual (for my Dark Elf Sorcerer). It is going to take me a bit to figure out whether or not I actually like the game, probably another 7 levels or so before things eek out of the protective shell of “accelerated start newb” phase and into “real game”.
Some neat features so far are the public quests. Transitions to and from them seem incredibly smoother than in WoW, almost painless pickup groups. I haven’t actually found a use for merchants yet, other than to sell my trash loot to, so I’m waiting on actually seeing something I can buy worth my noob silver on one of these NPCs. I’ve been picking up a lot of seeds, which apparently are used in some form of crafting, but the game refuses to tell me about it, so I just turn around and sell them as junk.
The Dark Elves have a thick, rich history that I’m discovering and I have to admit, it is a little alluring. I get almost a Necromonger sense from them, and I’m doubly glad I chose them as a race to start.
I am not a fan of unskippable intro cinematics, nor do I enjoy acknowledging the terms of service on a scroll & click before every login, but these are minor gripes. And again, EA scores “tard points” for EDS in the digital distribution of Warhammer. The game runs smooth, and is thus far a welcome addition to the family of online worlds that reside on my desktop. I’m looking forward to experiencing the PvP aspects, for which I understand Warhammer really excels with. More to come as such is discovered.
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
EA Suffers from EDS
Despite rumors to the contrary, Electronic Arts remains mostly retarded.
I’ve been waiting with baited breath for Spore to come out. Ever since hearing about it, it has tingled all ninety-eight of my god complexes that I prune and tend to like a delicate garden of ego-centricity. Spore, if it lives up to even half of its hype, is going to bake bread and cure cancer as far as games go. I’m honestly hoping it will replace Portal for me as best all-time game.
Not since SimEarth has Wil Wright seemingly been as involved in the holistic design of a game, and I’m jonesing to grip this creative masterpiece of his and squeeze it for every last drop of intellectual entertainment. Unfortunately, EA is there to provide a fanciful barrier to my enjoyment.
I heard recently that one could actually pre-order the game and in fact pre-download 99% of the thing before the September 7th release date. A digital distribution, with a pre-load feature? Brilliant! That means that the intensity of downloaders is spread out over a wider period of time, reducing the ungodly strain on release day! What a marvelous concept! Oh goodness, only five days to go! I should go ahead and get that puppy started, so on release day for Spore all I have to do is download that last 1% and I’m ready to go with the install.
I arrive at the checkout screen at the EA store, after spot-checking other distributors for potential cross-promotions or freebies. Nothing enticing. Oh. Wait. Where’d that come from?
“Extended Download Service” $5.99
Weird. I didn’t add that. Ahh, there’s a little “What’s This?” next to it. Clickypoo.
What is the Extended Download Service?
Think of this as your digital safety net for those unexpected occurrences - like your hard drive frying or a virus infection. EDS means that with the purchase of your digital product, we’ll keep a copy of your file for two full years, so you don’t have to. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing that we have your program stored and ready for you to download again at your convenience.
A little extra protection on your order to keep your products safe? Why not!
Waitasec. Why would you be keeping “my” file “safe” for “me”? I’m buying the game from you. I’m paying the same amount that it would cost me to get it off the shelf, where you, the publisher, pay premiums for shelf space, packaging, stocking, shipping, and other fun. Standard purchase is only 6 months. So, if I get a new computer in 6 months, I have to buy another copy of the game? 6 months is all you are willing to keep “GREYPAWN BOUGHT THIS GAME” in a text file on your servers for? Is there a hard drive space issue at EA that I’m not aware of? Doesn’t “EDS” stand for Erectile Dysfunction Syndrome”?
And if I give you the six dollars, you will keep it for me for TWO WHOLE years? A vast 24 whole actual months of like, cognizance that I did indeed buy and register my game with you, and spared you, the publisher, the expense of a hard copy version by downloading it through my own broadband connection?
On the 7th, Sunday, I will be headed to Gamestop to pick up my physical copy of Spore. Someone at EA should set someone else down and load up a little digital distribution program called “Steam” and show it to them. Gamersgate, Direct2Drive, and even the nickel and diming of Xbox Markeplace don’t compare to this level of downright stupidity on the part of EA.
In other news, Warhammer Online will also be available as a pre-loaded direct download. As a special bonus for when you pre-order, Mark Jacobs himself will come to your house and kick you in the genitals before killing your cat and having sex with your mother.
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
Thompson Gets Jacked
Denigrate lawyer slime Jack Thompson has been targetted by a South Florida judge for permanent disbarment for his whacky courtroom antics. Reading over the whopper of a pdf of the filings, the bastard actually ARGUED with the judge in her own courtroom.
It’s more revealing that that though!
- He sent sex lube to judges and other lawyers, claiming they had been sent to him to harrass him.
- He called the game Bully a “Columbine simulator” and wondered how the judge missed all the “gay sex” in it.
- Many of his e-mails and faxes take on Doomsday scenario tones, ending with “Just wait.” or “Watch what happens next.”
- He walked out of his own misconduct hearing.
- In one of his letters to a judge, he attached a photo of the judge from “My Cousin Vinny”.
Most likely, the Bar Association of Florida will disbar him. If they are even remotely sane. Shamed and disgraced, malaise will likely take Jack Thompson as it often consumes so many of the “champions of morality” whose own unremitting demons force them to see darkness where there is none.
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Friday in LA
I have been given 550,000 humans to play with. Hopefully I can channel their efforts into something glorious and productive. More to come soon!
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
VMK Gone Away
I keep rewriting this post, and I keep failing at it.
I want to tell you about VMK’s closing. I want to tell you about the dark lessons watching a community die can teach. I want to tell you about Madison Reed. Maybe next week.