Feed: Broken Toys - AggScore: 75.0

My latest MMORPG.com column is up: this one is on RMT, which I’m sure a few have one or two opinions about. I tend to write these columns with an eye towards a reader that *doesn’t* obsessively read every MMO-focused blog and message board, as opposed to you, Dear Readers, who I assume know far more about MMO-related drama than I do.

Ironically, I've never actually watched any of the CSI shows.

Also, I’m employed! (At least for 3 months – after the end of which we’ll see if I move to full-time from contracting.) I’m a developer attached to NCsoft’s Customer Surveillance Unit (CSU) team, which is being put together to quash RMT, botting, and such in NCsoft’s titles. The irony of not having to ask where to go for the job interview did not escape me.

It’s not a design position – I’m still determining if I want to get back into design at some point in the future or just work on my own garage-band titles. Heading up the design for two large projects roughly one after the other which failed to make it out the door – well, I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been difficult for my ego. We’ll just have to see where things go – in the mean time this new position certainly has some interesting challenges of its own.

No, really, it says it's unique right there and everything.

David Allen responds to criticism that his latest game, World of Alganon, may be just a wee bit derivative.

Players aren’t upset there’s a game that resembles WoW. They’re upset that for the past few years they’ve been bombarded and desensitized by a combination of “weak” games and advertising that sells them on the idea that “similar is bad.” When people say a movie that reminds them of their favorite film, but with a different plot, characters and setting, that means they enjoyed the movie. When you have a meal that reminds you of the home cooking you loved as a kid, that is a great thing. However, for the past few years, every MMOG released has spent millions of dollars trying to convince gamers that “fun doesn’t matter; different is what you want,” and for many gamers, this marketing worked.

Well, that’s certainly an interesting way to defend cloning. “No, really… we totally meant to do that.”

Frequent readers will remember that I get a bit testy about user interface designers that crib liberally from World of Warcraft.

I am never allowed to complain about that, ever again.

My latest column for MMORPG.com is up and it runs when I compiled it!

Yeah, this kind of sucks for a lot of people I know.

From EA’s earning report:

This action will result in the closure of several facilities and a headcount reduction of approximately 1,500 positions, of which 1,300 are included in a restructuring plan. The majority of these actions will be completed by March 31, 2010. This plan will result in annual cost savings of at least $100 million and restructuring charges of $130 to $150 million.

Which is important, given how they just spent $300 million to buy a Facebook game developer!

The axe is already falling everywhere, with Mythic in particular being gutted. No idea on specific numbers, but unofficial reports have “80 people today, which is about 40% of the company and responsible for 90% of the content”. (Source)

Not a good time to be looking for work. Ahem.

Some guy gives advice on interviewing for game design jobs.

Bighead mode in real life

Email to an emailing list set up quickly for the survivors of Monday’s purge: “So let’s all get together tomorrow afternoon and compare notes.”

Me: “OK, if I can get there, since I’m currently sitting in a dentist’s chair and can’t feel my jaw.”

Matthew Weigel: “Pics or it didn’t happen.”

Me: (shrugs) “OK, you asked for it.” (flips iPhone around, takes extremely unflattering self portrait with numbed-open jaw)

Eric Kearns: “I present: Lum the Vlad!”

If I cross my arms, you can't see me.

Jon Jones: “I went with a different approach.”

This should help with my new career as a Vegas lounge singer.

Everyone: “Those are great! You should post those on your blog!”

Me: “Sure, it’s not like I’m looking for work or anything!”

Farethewell, John Deere Tractors Online, we barely knew ye. (John Deere Tractors Online is what we jokingly told people we were working on. Because, hey, tractors.)

So, I’m unemployed today.

Lots of games never ship. I’ve worked on two now. Suffice to say that it is getting old.

I don’t really want to talk too much here about my last project. As a condition of my severance I can’t discuss a great deal, and anything I say here will most likely be picked up by the MMO news sites (wave, wave!). Plus I’m still a bit sore since I think what we were working on was pretty damned cool (if nothing else, it was *nothing* like World of Warcraft) and I’m a sad panda that it won’t make it out the door.

This is also the first time in almost a decade that I don’t have something already queued up and ready to go the day I pick up my severance package. Which, given today’s climate, is KINDA FRIGHTENING, YOU KNOW? I have some possibilities (most of which involve our entire team – having the proven ability to come up with a client/server MMO prototype in 6 months is Kinda A Big Deal) but nothing definite.

Today I get to file for unemployment, for… um… pretty much the first time, ever.

Whee.

So, tomorrow, I’ll get back to snarky Youtube videos, promise.