Honestly, I had little to do with this bit of awesomeness: the SW:TOR E3 Cinematic Trailer.
I do, however, make an appearance in this here developer’s diary.
But really, go watch the trailer.
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Don’t look now, but Eve has 300K subscribers. This number puts it above the peak of several luminaries, including UO, SWG, DAoC, and LOTRO (and closing in fast in EQ2). Not bad for a game where even it’s hardcore players admit its kind of like playing a spreadsheet.
One thing that’s always been striking about Eve’s success is how different it’s growth curve looks compared to the other games. UO, EQ2, etc all had big early peaks, followed by long, slow declines. By comparison, Eve started small, then grew very gradually, with that pace slowly accelerating. Continue reading
On the UO2 team, we used to joke that Ultima: Ascension was taking as long to ship as Duke Nukem Forever. Of course, in that time, Richard not only shipped Ascension, but then took a year off, shipped Tabula Rasa and took a side jaunt into space.
Of course, now all such comparisons are moot, as 3D Realms has closed and Duke Nukem Forever will apparently never see the light of day.
The best eulogy is, of course, the list. (Scroll to the end of the page)
I often spout the wisdom to log everything, data mine everything, and have metrics on everything you possibly can. You never know what the information will be useful for.
Here is an application I hadn’t considered: Using the information to see how much a given reviewer actually played the game. Of course, if you do so, you might want to be sure the data is correct.
As an ‘official’ part of the ‘media’, I get press releases. You guys don’t hear about most of them, because, well, most of them are crap. And not crap in a good way. Things like remote controls for internet-wired microwaves.
The press announcement for the Black College Football Experience caught my eye, though, because it implicitly asks a central question: How do you compete with EA football products like Madden? Answer: Rockband-style gameplay for the halftime drumline show. Continue reading
A co-worker pointed me to Imaginary Cogs, an MMO Dev blog that focuses on the side you don’t see very often, that of purchasing rack space and setting up the servers. I promise that it is, in fact, very cool.
For most game designers, the excitement of making an MMO for the under twelve set is quashed by the idea of having to make game design decisions aimed at reducing the odds your game becomes a pedophile’s wet dream.
One person’s design problem is another person’s business opportunity. From the New York Times: Continue reading
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