A million, billion, Gazillion (ahem) possibilities
Published October 16, 2009
Today was my last official day working for Trion World Network. On Monday, I start a new job as Community Director for Gazillion Entertainment.
Yes, that Gazillion Entertainment; the company I called ‘the new 800lb gorilla‘ when they de-cloaked back in March, and who are working on a variety of MMOGs, including two based on Marvel Comics.
Not so surprised now, are ya?
Yes, I’ll admit that when Gazillion’s acquisition of the Marvel licence was announced, my interest was very definitely piqued, if that wasn’t obvious. What really got me intrigued was that they had acquired NetDevil, a development team who I’ve been a fan of since we worked together on Auto Assault. I made some enquiries, heard some pleasing noises, and six months later… here we are. Continue reading →
The last eight months… and the next few
Published June 25, 2009
I’ve been pretty quiet over the last eight months, particularly when compared to most of last year. I had two good reasons.
One, I secured a job with Trion World Network, which was still in ‘stealth mode’ when I got the job, meaning I couldn’t talk about… well anything, really. Not the company, not the job, not the game(s)… so I just kept my big mouth shut.
Two, I was going through the time-consuming, tedious and nerve-wracking process of getting my US immigration visa. This would have been a tough enough process at any time, but considering it was connected directly to me taking up the job, I felt in some way I should just keep quiet. Didn’t want to jinx things. I only broke silence when the internal mental pressure began to get so much that even endless games of Civilization IV weren’t enough to keep The Voices in check, and I had to vent somewhere.
Well, now I’ve officially got The Job, and I sure as hell have The Visa. So I can talk. A bit.Trion’s an exciting company to be part of. With three games in active production (Heroes of Telara; the MMORTS project… Continue reading →
The last eight months… and the next few
Published June 25, 2009
I’ve been pretty quiet over the last eight months, particularly when compared to most of last year. I had two good reasons.
One, I secured a job with Trion World Network, which was still in ‘stealth mode’ when I got the job, meaning I couldn’t talk about… well anything, really. Not the company, not the job, not the game(s)… so I just kept my big mouth shut.
Two, I was going through the time-consuming, tedious and nerve-wracking process of getting my US immigration visa. This would have been a tough enough process at any time, but considering it was connected directly to me taking up the job, I felt in some way I should just keep quiet. Didn’t want to jinx things. I only broke silence when the internal mental pressure began to get so much that even endless games of Civilization IV weren’t enough to keep The Voices in check, and I had to vent somewhere.
Well, now I’ve officially got The Job, and I sure as hell have The Visa. So I can talk. A bit.Trion’s an exciting company to be part of. With three games in active production (Heroes of Telara; the MMORTS project with Petroglyph, and the MMOARPG being made in collaboration with Sci-Fi/SyFy) there’s a hell of a lot to do, and lots of exciting possibilities down the road. I’ll admit it; before I found the job opportunity last year, I didn’t know much about Trion. I’d read the odd press release, but it was only when I started to really do my research, by reading every single scrap of info and interview I could find, that I got excited about what I might be getting into. Continue reading →
Oooh, what a giveaway
Published June 3, 2009
“Bum!”
I’d hoped to have a post primed and ready to rock, but given general secrecy and my rapid departure from the UK, that wasn’t to be.
More details soon, no doubt, but for now you might have a few questions, like: Continue reading →
Quest for GC: Behind the Scenes, Part 5
Published September 3, 2008
When I originally started writing these, I thought I’d be finished in this part. Clearly I can’t count: at a rate of two episodes per part, with eleven episodes to talk about, I won’t be finished until part six.
The fact that I can’t do simple division won’t be a surprise to my mother, but it is a continuing source of disappointment to my secondary school maths teacher, Mr Chenery. Sorry, sir. Continue reading →
Posted in Community, Jobsworth, MMO-related, Rockjaw | Tagged behind the scenes, Community, Quest for GC, video
Quest for GC: Behind the Scenes, Part 3
Published August 30, 2008
Now this is where it gets complicated. Why? Because we started to shoot out of sequence, that’s why…
Episode 5: Looking forward to…
This was supposed to be an easy episode. In fact, it was supposed to be the throwaway, edited quickly, filler episode between other episodes – hell, it was practically supposed to be a clip show. (Hmm. Could I do a clip show? Very possibly….)
Brief was simple; loads of people who are going to the Games Convention telling us what they’re most looking forward to. In one word. Or one sentence. Or one paragraph just please don’t monopolise the camera as there are others who need to be part of this thing thank you.
So I gave the camera to Spaff and off he went. On his first pass, when I downloaded the footage, I couldn’t help but notice something.
“Why… is Volker on the toilet?” Continue reading →
Posted in Community, Jobsworth, MMO-related | Tagged behind the scenes, Community, Quest for GC, video
Quest for GC: Behind the Scenes, Part 1
Published August 26, 2008
Right now, despite what this post is telling you, it’s July 22nd where I am. The Games Convention in Leipzig is just under a month away, and we just released Quest for GC – Episode 3: Languages.
If all goes according to plan, by the time you read this, we’ll have released all fourteen episodes.
Of course, I just need to make the other eleven, first….
A note on chronology
It might seem a bit strange to you, from your privileged position in the future, to read me talking here in the past about stuff I haven’t done yet. Hell, it is to me, and I’m writing it. However, I figured it was smarter to talk about this stuff while it’s happening, or just happened, as opposed to waiting until it’s all over and I can’t recall the salient details.
Besides, between here and where you are, there’s the Games Convention itself. That’ll obliterate any memory before it.
So, forgive me as over the next few posts – which I’ll be writing in my future – I talk about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. In your past. My future.
No wonder paradoxes happen. Continue reading →
Search
Recent Articles
- Three GC pics of, well, me (and others)
- A thing of power
- More roleplaying games you should play: Marvel Super Heroes, and…
- Comic-Con 2010 talks to Comic-Con 2003
- Get ready to Hero Up!
- Predicting 2010
- Scoring 2009
- A million, billion, Gazillion (ahem) possibilities
- Tagline is back, baby.
- Everything old is new again… how very dull