Blog

We've been without power for about six hours now. The fact that I'm still writing (and posting) is due only to the stored charge of my laptop battery (which is rapidly dwindling) and the kindness of the (not) stranger who loaned me a wireless broadband card.

I feel like a renegade blogger, holed up in a New Orleans office tower with a can of diesel fuel, a generator and a shotgun, waiting for the arrival of FEMA.

The Xfire Debate on game censorship went off without a hitch yesterday. I had the pleasure of debating with California Senator Leeland Yee, ESA CEO Hal Halpin, Gampolitics.com's Dennis McCauley, Matteo Bittanti and Dan Isett from the PTC. All were articulate and very passionate about the issue, as was our moderator, Henry Lowood from Stanford University.

Today's offering from the free and open source grab bag is Tremulous.

"On April 26th, 2007 at 4pm EDT (1pm PDT), Xfire will host the fourth session of the Xfire Debate Club: The Two-Handed Sword with special guests from the worlds of gaming and politics.

At the Xfire Debate club, industry insiders, experts, and hardcore gamers battle for the final say on your favorite gaming topics."

Under the heading "Second Life Loses Luster," Adweeks is currently running a story comparing the gold rush of advertising into Second Life to the net effect and why it's not working. Their conclusion, however, is a bit off. They suggest that marketers are confused, thinking Second Life is a traditional ad channel.

As a big fan of both EVE and White Wolf's World of Darkness, the unlikely marriage of the two was a match made in my gamer Valhalla. But what interested me was how CCP, the people behind what we here affectionately call Internet Spaceships, planned on tackling a giant game famous for its loose gaming system and gothic cover art. As it turns out, they're not.

Sacred is a game you may have never heard of. The over 1 million-selling PC action RPG title was produced in Europe, and sold strongly there, but also made a bit of headway in the US. Enough for developer Ascaron to consider a sequel.

"We're the real developers," said Peterson, calling out companies with buckets of IP and 36 month development cycles. Developers who, through government subsidies and other "advantages" don't have to work quite so hard. Peterson says these guys are living in fantasy land. "[Reviewers] poo poo my Dora games," he says, by way of contrast, "but we've made hundreds of thousands of kids happy. The parents and kids love it."

We've spoken to the guys at Introversion before, but it's always great to look in on them to see what they're cooking up in their labs. Today's "Introversion: One Year after the IGF" gave Mark Morris and Tom Arundel, creators of Uplink, Darwinia and DEFCON a chance to tell their story, as well as show off a bit of what's bubbling away in their cauldron.

Among the assembled personages were game developers, psychotherapists, researchers and academics. People from all walks of life coming to grips with a growing problem plaguing this industry. What good may come of our sharing was unknown, but we had to talk about it. Had to face it.

All of the events described in this story are true. Only the names have been changed. The question? Do game developers know they're creating addicting entertainment?

Oh Lord, where to begin. After yesterday's official business closed up, what many consider the real work began. Parties erupted over downtown San Francisco, clubs filling with a 70-30 mixture of GDC attendants and confused, well-dressed people just out of college. We kicked off our night in Australia.

"I want you to feel something when you play this game," said Peter Molyneux. And if what I've just seen of Fable 2 is any indication, I will.

"Kick his ass and take his name!" A shout from the crowd, directed at Reggie Fils-Aime, moments before the start of Nintendo's keynote.

"Which one?" Asked Reggie, good naturedly. He'd been signing Wiimotes and DS handhelds for a half hour, posing for photographs, sharing smiles with fans, press and ... everyone.

He has a lot to smile about these days. The most recent NPD numbers showed Nintendo in the lead in January, over Microsoft, over Sony. Nintendo, the surprise come from behind kid with the magic box called Wii.

"Which one?" he asked.

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Richard Garriott, for two reasons. First, Ulitma Online was my first, and favorite, MMOG. Second, his brother Robert got JR and me a cab when we were stranded outside the NCsoft Austin offices last September. Good family, good people. So, when we were invited to sit in on a presentation Garriott was giving on his new sci-fi MMOG, Tabula Rasa, it was a no-brainer must-see.

Quick update, just because it's so interesting. I just spoke with a gentleman named Goren Lange, from Pin Interactive, a Swedish company. They create games designed for disabled people and have won an Independent Games Festival award in the past. They've shipped a 3-D game tailored for the blind, and they're working on a game with diabetic children in mind. Lange tells me he's looking to explore more WoW-like games to accomplish their goal of reaching more disabled kids.

What interested me most was his aversion to calling his games part of the serious games genre. Expect something more at length after the show.