Month: May 2007

“Not as Black as the Black Temple”

May 29, 2007 / Damion Schubert

This fellow would like to be a WoW developer.

Note: if you found this funny, you’re probably playing too much World of Warcraft. I found it hilarious.

Who Wants to Watch a Movie About Cleaning Toilets?

May 25, 2007 / Damion Schubert

We now interrupt this episode of “The Luddites Strike Back: VoiceChat Sucks!” to point out this story, saying that Fox has bought the movie rights to the Sims. Which implies the unthinkable, which is that someone thought this was a good idea.

For the first time ever, I wish Uwe Boll was the director of an announced film.

So what would YOU put in a Sims movie?

Voice Chat Ready To Come Of Age?

May 17, 2007 / Damion Schubert

World of Warcraft is implementing integrated Voice Chat soon.

MMO devs have been contemplating the jump to voice for a long time. I realize now it’s been very nearly four years since Richard Bartle wrote his opinions on the subject (hint: they’re titled “Not Yet, You Fools”). Many designers were rather doom and gloom on the subject (including, I might add, myself). Continue reading

One Hell of a Vanguard Read

May 16, 2007 / Damion Schubert

I won’t comment beyond the linkage, but everyone who is following the Sigil Saga should take the time to read this interview with an anonymous ex-Sigil employee. Readers should keep in mind that this is one employee’s opinion – and appears to be the opinion of one of the ones who wasn’t offered a gig by Sony.

My heart goes out to those who lost their jobs, especially after poring years of time and hard work into the project. I know numerous studios in Austin are looking for people, including us at Bioware. If I can help, let me know.

Memories of Boy Scout Camping

May 14, 2007 / Damion Schubert

I’ve spent the last week or so on vacation in Washington, D.C., which is my high school stomping grounds. The wife and I spent three days there, seeing the sites. You could spend a year in D.C. vacationing and still not see everything there is to see, but we crammed a lot of Smithsonians, memorials, and dodging whiny field trip groups (really, school is still in session?) into three days.

The real meat was a Boy Scout Troop reunion. I’m an Eagle from a troop in Northern Virginia that dissolved sometime in the mid 90’s. Our troop was a solid outdoorsy group, that went on High Adventure (12+ day) trips all across the country, including one 87 mile trek through California that remains one of the fondest memories of my life. The image below is of Mount Whitney, the peak of that trip. Continue reading

Big Brother Keeping An Eye On Second Life

May 8, 2007 / Damion Schubert

Not long ago, I wrote my opinion that the two core visions of Second Life are on a collision course.

Scott writes that he can see where the train tracks cross.

Short form: what happens when you tell an audience of idealistic libertarian technocrats they need to register with a site that is, among other things ‘Patriot Act compliant’?