News has come out that nine people have been laid off from Paragon Studios, including fan favourite / big forum presence Christopher Bruce, who posted under the name Back Alley Brawler (or BABs). BABs, along with Floyd Grubb aka Castle, had been among the most visible Paragon Studio developers on the forums. CoH/V forumite players … Continue reading
Filed under Drama …
My Nomination For Best Dev Quote of 2010
Not sure who made it – assuming it is Matt Mihaly – but it is awesome: “Our ISP pulled the plug for non-payment, which was expected. I wasn’t able to give you any warning, unfortunately, because I was at Burning Man and completely out of reach for the week that it went down.” Ahhhh! Professionalism!
Blizzard Has Sent You A Friend Request
Blizzard recently implemented its own social network application called RealID, which launched as a totally optional adjunct to World of Warcraft. Two weeks later and the indication is that “totally optional” actually meant “compulsory with the launch of the Cataclysm expansion“. The reaction to this move hasn’t been positive, with a lot of the criticism … Continue reading
Two Quick Points
Point 1: E3 is soon and Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to receive nothing but good press, probably even a few ‘Game of E3’ or equivalent titles. It’s BioWare, it’s EA, it’s Star Wars, it’s a hugely expensive title and no video game reviewing organisation wants to be left in the cold by … Continue reading
Did UbiSoft’s DRM System Work?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a controversial issue, with hyperbole on both the pro- and anti-sides. Stripped of rhetoric, it’s actually a cost-vs-benefit issue: how many PC players are developers willing to irritate (cost) in exchange for reducing day 1 piracy (benefit)? what benefits do the PC gamers get in exchange for having to meet … Continue reading
As Always, The Controversy Around The Logies More Interesting Than The Logies Itself
So, the Logies came and went last week. I almost missed it entirely, but there was news about someone having a nipple slip and then swearing about it. But that was about it. The Logies are a TV awards show held together by several free-to-air TV stations who don’t really trust each other but desperately … Continue reading
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things, Even If It Is Second Life
One frequent request in MMO circles is to not railroad the player into linear tasks, but to let them have greater freedom. “I’m tired of the level grind and an environment where nothing changes – let me shape the very face of the world!” is asked for at various times. In the file marked “Never … Continue reading
No Flowers Here
Dave Allen, formerly known in MMO-terms for Horizons (which later became Istaria), is fired from Alganon Online and replaced by Derek Smart, known for Battlecruiser and for fighting a one-man war on forums everywhere. Then they let Derek Smart post. It’s a helluva world, folks. A helluva world.
We Do It To Ourselves, We Do – Why MMOs Are as They Are
Psychochild made an interesting post recently – why haven’t MMOs lived up to their early potential? Why hasn’t the early potential of games like Ultima Online or Meridian 59 with all their freedom and player-driven worlds been built on? Why have more controlled experiences like Everquest 2 or World of Warcraft dominated the genre? Some … Continue reading
Truisms in Game Development: Someone Always Loves The Status Quo
Chris Bruce, Senior Lead Animator/Visual FX artist on City of Heroes / Villains and frequent forum poster made this observation the other day: “And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in the time I’ve been here it’s that any change will be perceived by some people as a good change, others as a bad change, … Continue reading
World Class Villains 