Loading... is brought to you today by Dark Messiah: Might And Magic.Want to take a stab at Sareth's
weapons and magic training for yourself? Well, here's your chance, as the singleplayer demo of Dark Messiah is now available.--More good news! Our EVE Online site is open again, thanks to Phil's mad piloting skills. I would like to personally welcome Valerie Massey (formerly of NCSoft) back into the fray as the new EVE Online community representative. It's good to have you back Val.
Some games attempt to make their mark based on the gameplay. World of Warcraft and EVE Online are great examples of this. How many of you can name two or more developers of those games? For a game that has yet to be released it is even more challenging to get the attention of the public. Games in development require hype to attract the eyes of the MMOG masses. Most companies showcase the game itself, giving you tasty
little morsels of what is to come.StarGate Worlds, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, Pirates of the Burning Sea and Chronicles of Spellborn are excellent examples of companies putting the game first.
Other companies prefer to highlight the pedigree of the developers. Some of them give their management team titles like Assistant Manager or "Ass Man" for short. Others have developers who like to stir up the pot, dropping into sites like the super villain "The Penguin" on an uber-hovering umbrella screaming "Waaah...waaah...nyargh..waaaaah...." at the masses who vocally abuse them at every opportunity.
It goes something like this:
The Penguin (or the Ass Man) drops into the Rains of Hell website and exclaims, "Waaah, Nyargh......here are some screenshots. Join my legions....You will become my minions....Waaaah...waaah!"
Rains of Hell members - F-U Ass Man. [CRASH!] Your game sucks and so did the one you made seven year ago. [BAM!] Go away or we'll play March of the Penguins until you do! [POW!]
The Penguin returns (The Sequel?)
and after giving his required super villain gloating speech proclaims, "Here is a video... I knew you all wanted to see it here first... Waaah... Gnarrsh... Waaaah...Waahhh..... Other sites will complain, but I'm The Penguin and none shall sway my way....Wahhh. Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..... Wah. "
Rains of Hell members - F-U Ass Man. [SMASH!] Remember the last time you made a game that anyone played? [KAPOW!] Neither do we. [KABLOOIE!] Back into the closet with Tom Cruise before we rip those stupid fake flippers off of your feet. [BOOM!]
The Penguin Strikes Back - Insert more gloating speeches and then, "I knew you would like that video....Waaaah...waaaah.... I'll be back with more my minions.. Waah... Gnarl... Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Reading the real conversations between Developer A and Community Z is like taking two interview transcripts, taking the interviewer comments from one, the interviewee comments from the other and putting them together in one article.It's funny, but it doesn't make any sense. Uber
guild versus once uber developers. Let us entertain you indeed!
Personally, I enjoy it when the developers are the ones telling me about the game. They slip up and tell me cool stuff that a PR person would never let out of the bag. Developers love their game. If you are ever fortunate enough to talk to Steig Hedlund, now developing Gods and Heroes or David Cook, now developing StarGate Worlds then believe me when I tell you that you have been blessed.
Steig and David are the Babe Ruth/ Wayne Gretzky types of the industry and yet, I'll bet that most of you have never heard of them. Steig was part of the Diablo 2 and Starcraft teams while David was the lead designer of City of Heroes and City of Villains, as well as having an incredibly long and by "incredibly" I mean bloody huge list of pen and paper RPG credits. These guys are two of the innovative minds of the industry. They are also two developers that put the game ahead of their egos and is why we will be opening sites that cover both of their games.
I mentioned the PR types earlier. Please don't get me wrong about the PR folks. I have an excellent rapport with many PR people, but they always give me the "You have to see this, but you can't tell anyone." That's like giving a smoker a cigarette and telling them that it's the best one ever made, but they can't smoke it. I expect this column will elicit a flood of said goodies, just to tease me. Bring it on!
Who is the biggest ego in the MMOG industry?
Post a comment at the bottom of this blog. If you are shy (or female and sending in naughty pictures) you can E-Mail me. Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads, secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.Exclusive new TenTonHammer.com Content! Let
us entertain you or at the very least waste some of your time at work.
08.31.2006 Exclusive Content
Dungeons and Dragons Online: RedFang The Unruled Quest Guide"We promised more quest guides, and Ten Ton Hammer delivers on its promises. Tonight's quest may be only Level 3, but it's very tough. It will take the skilled work of a party in sync to succeed at this mission at Level 3. Think glass spiders--lots of glass spiders! That's right; it's Redfang the Unruled! "
EverQuest 2: New And Improved Antonica Guide"Good ole Antonica! Whether you are new to the game and need a little bit of guidance, or you have rolled alt #46892386 and need a refresher course, this great guide (originally written by Ethec) has gotten some updating to keep up with the times. "
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Crafting Guide: The Art Of Pricing"Imagine yourself in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes' world of Telon. Now imagine you've crafted your first batch of cool stuff and you're ready to sell it to the yearning masses. What prices are you going to put on those lovely items? Confused? Just consult Charabis's handy guide to pricing your wares and you'll be prepared when Vanguard launches this winter. "
Vanguard: Saga of Heroes - Weekly Forum Roundup"Yeehaw! It's time for another weekly forum roundup! (Boy, these rodeo metaphors never seem to git old, do they pardner? *cough*) This week Shayalyn takes the reins to round up a bunch of threads from the official Vanguard: Saga of Heroes forums...so you don't have to brave the wild beasts yourself. Come on over to the corral and take a look at dudes who talk like ladies, ladies who look like dudes, German diplomacy (which is a bit incongruous with our rodeo theme, but I digress) and more."
Warhammer Online: Road To 7th Edition"A new series of articles begins for the Warhammer Online site. This article series tells the story of poor Ratboy getting sucked into another Warhammer Fantasy Battles army. Starting with the
all important decision of what he should play, episode #1 looks at the armies of Warhammer Fantasy."
World of Warcraft: 55 New Burning Crusade Screenshots"Want to see a Draenei in Hellfire? eIf you're Horde maybe, yea, but we're really talking about screenshots of Hellfire Peninsula and the rest of the regions and 3 new cities that will make up the Burning Crusade expansion for World of Warcraft this winter! Blizzard has released 55 (mostly) new Burning Crusade screenshots to the online community to coincide with GC 2006 in Leipzig, and now they're at WoW - Ten Ton Hammer! Have a look!"
World of Warcraft: Mage Guide Updated"Our Mage class guide has been updated with the spells that are going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"
World of Warcraft: Rogue Guide Updated"Our Rogue class guide has been updated with the spells that are
going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"
World of Warcraft: Paladin Guide Updated"Our Paladin class guide has been updated with the spells that are going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"
World of Warcraft: Warrior Guide Updated" Our Warrior class guide has been updated with the spells that are going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"
World of Warcraft: Warlock Guide Updated" Our Warlock class guide has been updated with the spells that are going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"
World of Warcraft: Shaman Guide Updated"Our Shaman class guide has been updated with the spells that are going to be added in the Burning Crusade. We also offer some comments on each and how we expect it will effect the class. Watch for more Burning Crusade spells, talents and comments soon!"Vin Diesel Fact of the Day - Ninjas, pirates and robots all agree, Vin
Diesel tops them all.Now from the real world. You can't make this stuff up.
Aussie Brothels Offer Discounts On Gas Bills [Thanks Nicole]Kick the tires, light the fires and fill the tank.
Plane That Crashed Into Mountain Was Flying Too LowBrought to you by the department of the obvious.
Cocks Are Becoming Extinct In BritainA-holes flourishing in Iran.
Preacher Demonstrates How Jesus Walked On WaterAdded the drowning part for dramatic effect.
As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin
Article Source: www.tentonhammer.com.
