oh, WOE...the Ides of March continue

So, here I am, in the same boat as everyone else, wondering what's going on with the game we've all been anticipating for the past 3 centuries. After all, it was 4 centuries ago that most all of us were in another world that had excitment, flare and good, old-fashioned originality and content! And those who weren't there were still getting report cards from their kindergarten teachers.

The gamers' world has become huge and (mostly) educated in what it takes to be a great game, right? We have people like Bartle who have broken down gamers into catagories. We have sites like GameCritics.com who claim to be the "definitive source of intelligent videogame reviews" and if you're lucky, you can get a job as a game reviewer or even....*gasp* CRITIC!! After all, doesn't everyone want to be "right" and bless the world with their opinions? And the pay is lousey, so say people like Rhett Anderson, who has pages of references if you google for them! But then, all gamers need is cold pizza and their drink of choice, right?

So, why does everyone want to be a critic? And why do people get "creeped out" by someone spouting off volumns of misinformation about, well, ANYthing!?! And, who is going to be the one(s) to say it is "mis"information? What about just plain, regular "information"? There are a lot of people who don't like that, either!

And by now you're all sitting there about to close the window cuz, "There she goes again!" But WAIT! There's more!

You've seen the NDA leakers on the Sigil boards, haven't you? Poor Glip has no chance of letting those gnome legs grow, as fast as he has to scoot around watching for them! Ozuri watches for the need of damage control and Aradune lets fly with the firey swords that are so famous with the intent to keep things on the straight and narrow! Vladmiir just...runs! And they ought to be applauded! It's not easy, but the leaks and the malcontents just keep coming!

WHY???

Vanguard:Saga of Heroes has been in the works now for more than 3 years and has been one of the most anticipated games of the...decade? Century? There are some huge shoes to fill, and fortunately, the feet in them are the ones that stretched them out that far! But that doesn't mean it's an easy job! Trying to cater to a more educated player base has got to be tough, and, that's why they make the statements that Sigil is making a game that they all want to play! All very educated in many ways, and all very passionate about what they are doing.

It's scaring the < insert your favorite descriptive noun > out of a lot of people!

Remember those reviewers and critics? Remember how many games are on the shelves with new ones popping up all the time? Who is going to take, and keep, a healthy slice of the market, and how do they intend to do it? It takes up to $100 million to develop a game, and if that's not an absolute gamble, then nothing is! Just Friday, there was the announcment of another game company in the news!

Now, back to my original idea: NDA leakers and Malcontents.

Something has to shake the faith of the nearly 62k members of the OVF! Not all of those people can stay faithful or hopeful, and they certainly can't retain their confidence level in Brad and Crew! Other game companies haven't had this huge of a following years before their game was released, and, while they may say, "It's ok. Just wait until our game comes out! They'll see!", it's just not that easy! So, while they may keep some of that bravado, new companies, and old alike, need to see what's going on. How to do that?

*ponder*

Dear Jimjoebobphooey,
It has come to our attention that you are in beta of Sigil's game. We want some information, and we're willing to pay you for it. Are you interested?"

...or...

HEY, D00d3s! I got n2 bet4 and wanna kn0w if you n33d nE info. I can r3411y m3ss th1ng5 up gud! Want m3 2 st4rt 50m3 rum0rs and 5tuff?

So, take your own slant on the scenerios. There are dozens of them, all meant to discredit a monster of a game in beta2! What they want is to take advantage of the more "quiet" times when people are hungry for information! It's prime time! And, if you can get someone in beta that shakes up the system...ohhhh....even better!! And mob mentality is so easy to play with! It only takes one person to start a rumor or pick on a weak link before there are dozens more jumping on the band wagon!

According to some of them, VSoH isn't in beta! It's a game people are trying to pay for to play! Buy a beta account? Sure! What's the chances of them finding out? It's free gametime afterwards!

"But this game sux! The thing keeps crashing and it's not fun and...." blah, blah, blah...fill in anything you've heard and you get the idea.

Anyone remember the other game's betas? How about early releases?? Better yet, how about releasing just to shut up the fans and start raking in the money? (shades of IBM!!) NOW you're talking about griping and NDA leaks and all sorts of things, but again, the player base is more educated on what makes a game "fun" and will hold their interest. The most many companies can hope for is that there will always be new folks starting up and sticking around for a while so they can pay their backers!

Not only the player base is more educated, but so are the smart companies throwing their money and talant into something like this. Take MicroSoft, for instance. I hear they're involved with some game somewhere! Unlike Big Blue, MS has had the time to learn a bit from the market. They have gotten a bit smarter than they were back in the 80's when I told their rep to take a hike. I firmly believe that they will listen to Sigil and wait until this game is ready for launch! I firmly believe that they will allow them to take the time in beta to tweek, twist, debug, test, debug, test again, tweek and turn this world into one enormously successful game! Until then, tho, we are going to have people who are "plants" who will continue to try and sway people away from the forums with posts of gloom and despair! It's inevitable, unfortunately.

So, to all of you who want to "play" VSoH now....don't! We don't want to hear about how crummy it is. We don't want to see posts from people in OR out of beta who want to cast dispersions on a world not yet fully created, or the people working on it!

To the game companies who are encouraging such behavior....SHAME on you (whoever you are, and remember, this is just an "educated" guess!)!

And to the truly "educated" of you out there who are standing up for Sigil's wanting to take their time, thank you, on behalf of all true gamers everywhere! It will make Glip's legs grow longer and the Affiliate sites' lives a little easier. We feel badly when we can't bring you the "latest and greatest," but we know that we'll be remembering these quiet times fondly some day soon!