Let me preface this by saying I am a huge Joss Whedon fan. I think he’s one of the best character/dialogue writers in the business, and I have admired his work since the first days of Buffy. He’s also a great comic book author, bringing back Buffy and Angel, breathing new life into the X-Men, and much more.

So I was very interested when I heard about his plans to launch a web-only musical extravaganza called Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. I must admit, though, I was a bit put off as the hype started to build. There was a bit of a Snakes on a Plane vibe to the whole thing, with even non-browncoats talking about how great it was going to be.

Released last week, the three episodes featured a great cast, catchy songs, and some big laughs–but I think the ending totally missed the mark. Spoilers after the break. Continue Reading »

Later this week I will be making my first trip to San Diego since leaving SOE. I’m heading out with a few other people from 38 Studios to attend Comic-Con 2008.

No, we won’t be spilling any beans on Copernicus (our MMO project), so those of you anxious to hear about the game will have to wait. If you get a chance to swing by and say hello, we’ll be around the McFarlane booth. Photos and autographs with me are only $10 each!

Aside from cool toy exclusives, the thing I’m most excited about is being able to buy good Mexican food again. Carne asada overload, here I come!

My only concern is how I’m going to fit this in my suitcase on the flight back from San Diego.

Also, I’m going to need to figure out how to install a red LED that goes back and forth.

Warhammer Online’s creative director, one Mr. Paul Barnett, is currently taking some heat for comments made in a Rock, Paper, Shotgun interview in which he explained why he doesn’t attend GDC. You’ll notice that some of the harshest backlash toward Paul is coming from industry press, which benefits from positive buzz for GDC and other shows like it, while independent outlets are a bit more sympathetic to what Barnett has to say.

Some headlines are taking Barnett’s comments out of context. He’s not attacking the show outright (he said some people say things that are stupid, not condemning the entire conference), rather that it isn’t something he sees personal benefit from attending. I think what Barnett is getting at is that shows like GDC have become far more focused on networking, looking for jobs, peddling middleware, and raising money than on innovative thinking–something he believes more prominent at shows like LIFT.

But as we’ve seen lately, those who question industry icons–regardless of intent–tend to ruffle feathers and make themselves targets. With all the floundering since the loss of its flagship expo, the video games business remains a bit protective of its institutions. Barnett is just the latest to take heat for questioning the status quo.

It saddened me not a little this week to read that Star Trek the Experience, a museum/theme ride that has been in the Las Vegas Hilton for over a decade, will be closing this September.

I am sorry to see it go, not only because I am a lifelong Trek fan (however dated some of the multimedia stuff was, the collection of memorabilia was first rate) but because of the countless Fanfaire memories forever associated with the place. I’ve attended many SOE gatherings at the Hilton, and Quark’s Bar was always the epicenter where fans and devs could hang out together. Many a Warp Core Breach has been consumed while discussing the latest patch or sharing war stories of a raid gone wrong.

There are hints that the Experience may be reopened elsewhere. Certainly if the franchise relaunch film is a hit, you can expect to see all kinds of updated Trek in the media. But for us diehards, the original STE will be remembered fondly as a Mecca to which we could make our nerd pilgrimage, a place where we could share our fandom and not feel so alone in the galaxy. It was a place of hope and dreams, and we need more of those in this life, not fewer of them.

It’s not often that a single post can be articulate, nerdy, informative, funny, and fascinating all at once, but James Wallis manages to hit every one of those marks in an article analyzing the virtual world of Azeroth from a scholarly perspective.

As someone who designs the geography of game worlds, I enjoyed the data gathering aspects of this article. And as a writer who appreciates a tongue-in-cheek approach while sounding very serious, the post made me chuckle.

You can also check out a video of Wallis’ live presentation here.

(Note: The title for this article is drawn from one of the most fabulous posts ever made on the EQ2 forums, which sadly no longer seems to exist. In it, the author was ranting about something and cited a bunch of crazy crap to back up his claims, adding the classic phrase “Also, I am a scientist.” Which is brilliant on so many levels, and still makes Shwayder and me chuckle to this day.)

Those of you holding your breath for the next episode of Massive Guys on Massive Games are… well, you died a few weeks back. For the rest of you, Episode 3 is finally available!

Listen to this masterpiece of modern podcasting by clicking the audio doodad (assuming I get it working).

Or, you can do one or more of the following:

• Download it here.
• Subscribe to the podcast feed.
• If you like it and want to give us money, find out how.

Because we care about our listeners, we have once again kept the rambling to a mere ten minutes. C’mon people, you spend longer than that in the john each day. Listening to Shwayder and I is at least as productive, if somewhat less satisfying.

Lots of attention lately has been focused on the quality of writing in MMOs and other games, so I imagine that a number of would-be writers would see this as a great time to jump into the industry. Over on F13’s game dev board, I responded to a thread started by a poster confused about the term “narrative designer” and how that differs from a writer. In the interest of thrift and the desire for relevant blog topics that don’t have to do with Richard Bartle, I thought I’d present an updated version of my thoughts here.

Here’s the thing. There’s a huge push right now for telling better stories in MMOs, so naturally most people assume that means hiring really good writers.

But I would point out an important distinction. I think it’s even more crucial to hire really good storytellers. There’s a difference. Continue Reading »

A bit of a nerd fight erupted in the blogosphere recently as a Richard Bartle interview on Massively caused eyebrows to crinkle, and when some folks raised questions about Bartle’s current relevance, such discussion was met with rebuttal or backlash.

What this boils down to is that you have the Old Guard protecting their sacred cows, and the New Guard (many of whom have World of Warcraft as their primary or sole point of reference) questioning their elders. This pattern should sound familiar, because it happens in every generational shift around pretty much every art form. Congratulations to the MMO industry for finally being old enough to have a generational gap!

The Old Guard must come to terms with the fact that this is the natural order of things, and they need to stop getting pissy about it. Youth questions its elders; that’s how progress happens. People should stop feeling like they need to pounce on anyone who dares question Bartle’s position in history, for as he himself noted in a response to this mess, he’s relevant for as long as people think he is and are willing to pay him for his input. That seems fair to me.

While I’m at it, there are two other old school truisms I’d like to take some shots at. Hey, I’m on a roll, so why not? Continue Reading »

George Carlin, one of the funniest men ever to walk the earth, has passed. Here’s one of his many great moments.

If you have to ask whether this is safe for work, you don’t know Carlin.