Backle Has Nothing to Say

New-fangled Blog

2007-07-09T23:02:00.000-04:00

Yes, I didn't get anything out to you all today, but I have been experimenting with Wordpress. After being informed by Adele that it was the latest thing, I naturally had to check it out and now I'm hooked.

You can find me now at http://backle.wordpress.com/

We Pirates Be Having a Little Delay

2007-07-08T17:43:00.000-04:00

Four years ago, Flying Lab Software’s MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea, was supposed to launch. This coming fall, Pirates of the Burning Sea is supposed to launch. What am I talking about? The game has been delayed for four years.

In January of 2003, Flying Lab Software announced they would be making an online RPG called Pirates of the Burning Sea.

Reaction: Yay! I can’t wait!!

Time passes with countless delays and sorrows. Beta begins in 2005.

This June, they announced they would not be releasing in June, but they had signed a contract deal with SOE.

Reaction: Yay! I can’t wait!! They have a publisher now, how can this go wrong?!

Oh wait, does that sound familiar?

I’m not knocking Flying Lab Software for the delays. I am actually quite happy they delayed the game because it will result a much, much better game. But even then, after they changed the direction of the game—that’s a mighty long time to misjudge your release date.

But beyond that, there’s an important lesson to be learned in this scenario. More game developers need to follow Flying Lab Software’s lead. The big problem is that developers set out with just enough money to squeeze by (read: Sigil). If you can’t pay the rent for your apartment, then don’t try to build a mansion (yes, I just made that up, thank you very much).

But of course, let us not forget the *cough*evil*cough* publishers. That is where the big lesson needs to be learned. Flying Lab Software held off for all this time to avoid a traditional publisher relationship. In fact, they could have gone into a traditional publisher relationship and had their MMO out ages ago, but they didn’t. What’s more interesting is that they actually got what they wanted. This is something that they could have never have dreamed of doing if they were not financially stable. So it really all boils down to the money, just like everything else. I doubt there’s any surprises there.

I can only hope that more developers begin to look at the example Flying Lab Software has set. If they do, I’m expecting a bright future for the MMO genre.

Today's Your Lucky Day

2007-07-07T13:58:00.000-04:00

A world record has been set and it’s been set right here! Backle Has Nothing to Say has reached an all-time high of 22 unique visitors and 27 page loads. The record was set yesterday, so thanks for visiting! If you keep coming, I'll keep writing.

Of course, there is a reason for the sudden burst in traffic. My appreciation goes to Adele Caelia from Inside the Mind of Adele Caelia for her support from the very beginning of my blogging venture. I also give my special thanks to Cuppycake at Cuppytalk and Brandon at MMO Gaming for featuring me on their homepage. I would also like to thank, once again, Adele from Inside the Mind of Adele Caelia, Cuppycake at Cuppytalk, Brandon at MMO Gaming, Keen and Graev's Gaming Blog, and Kill Ten Rats for adding me to their blogrolls.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here you have it...

To you bloggers who get 300,000 page loads a month, you may laugh your head off now at my 27 page loads, but you be darn sure to know I'm proud of those 27.

A World Without Noise

2007-07-06T12:27:00.000-04:00

Have you ever tried playing your favorite game without sound? I’m sure all of us at one point have turned our sound off for one reason or another while playing a game. It doesn’t take long before your immersion is annihilated.

The sound of games is probably one of the most overlooked elements included in games. There’s a simple reason for that—immersion. I, personally, love to get immersed in all games I play and stunning graphics makes it all that easier. But the truth is, no matter how great the graphics are, you cannot get that same immersion without sound. The forest does not breathe and the city does not rumble. Nothing seems the same, and rightfully so.

The sound of games, of course, has multiple aspects to it as well. Ambience is one, as discussed earlier, but there is another equally important facet. The music of games is that side. The music sets the mood; it can be an inspirational overture or a brooding melody.

What would a world of games without the clack of your horse's hooves and the swoosh of your dagger be like?

Going Where No Dev Has Gone Before

2007-07-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Out in Seattle there’s a rowdy group of sea-dogs who work under the name of Flying Lab Software. Most people will probably recognize that name due to their recent publicity with their latest MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea. Beyond being the first to make a 1720's Caribbean MMO, they are unique in several other ways.

That chief way would be their developers. Let me emphasize that for you…

Now that we’ve established that, let me tell you a dirty little not-so-secret secret; FLS has triple-A developers on the public scheme of things. Why is that, you may ask? They communicate with their community and it is as simple as that. If there was one thing that would have made my opinion of SOE higher, it would have been communicating developers. One could argue that listening to the wrong people led to the NGE, but that's a story for another time. Needless to say, there is an assuring atmosphere you receive towards a company when their developers communicate freely with its players.

Of course the developers talk on the forums, but they go even further as to communicate freely in real-time in an IRC chat room. Such a thing was extremely awkward to me at first, but now it's almost surreal as I talk freely with developers each day. That’s quite unheard of in the MMOs I come from.

However, there is a problem—a very large problem, actually. There is one developer in particular who is quite a shady fellow. His name is Troy “Aether” Hewitt!

Few things are known about the man due to the fact that he keeps his personal life quite secret. However, many instances of his other-worldly behavior have been documented at the FLS offices.

He has been known to have random outbursts. One of these outbursts was recorded by a security camera shown below.

An FLS employee who wished to remain anonymous lamented, "Things used to be great around here. You know, we would get work done, and everybody would be happy. But then that Troy guy showed up and everything changed. I'm telling you; I can't go thirty minutes without being hit by a a note from Troy asking if I've seen his dolls."

Some have reported strange sounds coming from the FLS offices at night. One FLS employee encountered what he said was the Vampaether. That unlucky soul recounted their experience with the Vampaether, "Well, I was working late and as I turned off my computer to go home, I heard a maniacal laugh. I turned around and I still can't believe that I saw what I did. I saw this 'thing' standing there with a Keira Knightley doll in his hand! He slowly arose when he noticed me and I was so scared I ran without saying anything!"

An elaborate plan to capture the Vampaether failed, but it did yield this photograph.

The man has also repeatedly been found drawing disturbing images on his lunch break.

Russel "Rusty" Williams, the company's CEO, was not immediately available for comment about the employee.

Now let us have a moment of silence for the brave souls who work with Troy "Aether" Hewitt.

...

Aether aside, if this developer-to-player interaction is any taste of what’s to come, you can expect great things in the future from Flying Lab Software and their MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea.

It's a good thing Aether doesn't know where I live!

P.S. - Aether, you know I'm your biggest fan; it's all in good fun!

Fireworks!

2007-07-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Fourth of July to all of the United States residents out there!

A new blog entry will be coming soon enough and it will feature this shady character from Flying Lab Software.

Mac: The New Gaming Machine?

2007-07-03T15:29:00.000-04:00

I know someone who has a mouse pad that says “Mac > PC”. Hah, I had a good chuckle at that one. I was contemplating writing “DirectX > OpenGL” on that mouse pad. I didn’t though and escaped with my life.

Needless to say, the PC has remained the dominant gaming PC for years and that’s just a part of life. But is the Mac finally ready to become a gaming machine?

Heck yeah it is!

/sarcasm off

I love a good Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump type fight just as much as the next guy, but come on, the Mac is going to become a gaming machine? It is, of course, a nice proposition and, Microsoft fanboism aside, I see no reason why Apple should not pursue such a wonderful thought.

But first of all, does anybody remember the iMac G3 years ago (1998)? Ah yes, the “Mac was set for a gaming revolution”. The iMac G3 would be the new gaming super-power! As you can see, that did not happen.

Well, recently, EA announced they would be supporting the Mac again. Their titles to be released on the Mac include Command & Conquer 3, Battlefield 2142, Need for Speed: Carbon, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Madden NFL 2008, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. That’s a fairly nice line up of titles for those Mac gamers still left.

Unfortunately, something tells me that history is bound to repeat itself. But who knows? For all I know, I may be playing the next blockbuster game on a Mac sooner than I know.

MMOs: Moving on Up

2007-07-02T12:45:00.000-04:00

I doubt it’s of any surprise to anybody that the MMO market is ready to move up. The MMO market is ready for something new. The number of people frustrated with cookie-cutter MMOs are increasing. All of these WoW-weary adventurers need somewhere to go.

I like the way Moorgard seperates the two in his blog. There are two different types of MMOs. There are MMO games and MMO virtual worlds. Apparently, Vanguard was supposed to be a next-gen game. Well, excuse me, but I didn’t happen to see anything all that great about it that justified the “next-gen” title. Everything these days is labeled “next-gen”. You want to know what I think? Nothing these days is next-gen.

To see next-gen, we must look back in time to a little game called Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided or the more commonly abbreviated version, “SWG”. Yes, well I’m not going to discuss the NGE or changes that SOE made to the game. They screwed up and they know it; it’s time to move on. If you aren’t familiar with SWG and would like to get an idea of the true immense innovation it offered, I suggest that you read Adele’s blog entry, “SWG – Perhaps the Best MMO Ever?".

SWG offered variety like no other. In my opinion, it was the best MMO to ever be released and I still hold to that very opinion to this day. Mind you, I am referring strictly to the pre-CU SWG. SWG was a living, breathing world. You could make choices, you could socialize; you felt like you were in a world. Your purpose was not to mindlessly run after a number beside your avatar’s name. As I mentioned, I recommend you read Adele’s blog entry if you don’t know what I’m referring to.

Levels were the worst things to ever be added to MMORPGs. With levels, the game becomes a constant grind. The only goal is to reach that certain level, for when that level is reached lies great treasures. Well, what I’ve found is that when you reach that level, you do not find great treasures. Rather, you often find yourself quitting the game. That works mighty fine for companies, though. Levels capitalize on the addictive aspects of MMORPGs. What is their fix for people quitting the game when they reach the level cap? Easy—they add a few things called expansions. Once someone has quit the game, these expansions lure the person back into the game with promises of new lands to adventure in, new features, new mounts, and not to mention a level cap raise. So it is, gamer Bob is enticed to return to that game and that company once again has gamer Bob’s money.

World of Warcraft changed the MMORPG world for the worse. It annihilated an innovative market and replaced it with dozens of cookie-cutter MMOs attempting to duplicate WoW’s epic success. It ruined the best MMO, SWG. Of course it didn’t ruin it directly, but in-directly is another story.

Companies are capitalizing on all the twelve-year olds coming into the MMO market. The MMO market is rapidly expanding and newcomers to the genre are flocking to cookie-cutter MMOs. But excuse me, there is another demographic here! There is a completely different demographic that is sick and tired of cookie-cutter MMOs! That is the demographic that needs to be tended to!

SWG is the perfect example of how the floods of newcomers wanting a cookie-cutter MMO have ruined an MMORPG. What’s more sickening now is games are beginning to not even be called MMORPGs anymore. Now they’re “MMOGs” and such; it’s disgusting.

The MMO world is ready for something new. Some developers have realized that, such as Flying Lab Software and their Pirates of the Burning Sea MMO. Perhaps PotBS will be the next innovation in the MMO market or perhaps the next MMORPG the equivalent of SWG is yet to come. That is something that remains to be seen.

Apple vs. Microsoft: The Job Interview Face-off

2007-07-01T00:06:00.000-04:00

No, I don’t mean “Apple vs. Microsoft” in the usual sense. I, of course, mean a job interview. I’m sure we’re all plenty familiar with the clever Apple commercials featuring a laid-back man in casual clothing and a decent man in a suite. So, pretend you are a prominent person in a large corporation and you are handling two job interviews.

You sit at your desk and await the first person to come in. The door slowly swings open and in saunters a young man dressed like a bum off the street. He seats himself, ignoring your extended hand. In fact, you’re amazed he isn’t a bum when he tells you he lives with a roommate. The interview proceeds as normal and the “bum” leaves.

It is not long before the door opens once again. This time, an older, wiser man strolls in. This man conducts himself in a professional manner and is dressed in a suit. He immediately shakes your hand with a smile upon his face.

The point I’m attempting to make is that I’m a Microsoft “fanboi”. But beyond that, Microsoft is light-years beyond Apple in presentation. Apple’s figurehead is a casual, laid-back, bum (for lack of a better term). How can you take that as a serious proposition? Have you ever noticed Microsoft’s advertisements? Microsoft presents itself in a serious, inspirational manner. I have proof to back up that statement about Microsoft's advertisements, too.

Well, Ballmer is... different. In all seriousness, all I’m trying to say is that Apple presents itself as too laid back to be taken seriously.

My big question, however, is what does Apple do that Microsoft doesn’t do? Sure, maybe they’re a bit ahead of Microsoft in terms of release dates. But, when the playing field levels out, why not go with Microsoft?

I rest my biased case. I assure you, you’ll have better content tomorrow.

Welcome to my Blog: An Introduction

2007-06-30T21:14:00.000-04:00

Would I pique your interest if I said I could change your conception of reality? What if, by some inconceivable manner, boredom was fun and fun was boredom? I welcome you to my blog, “Backle Has Nothing to Say”.

This is a blog about how I have nothing to say. What is there to say about having nothing to say? There’s so much to say about having nothing to say that it would take a lifetime to write it all down. If you’re intrigued by this fascinating concept, read on.

I’d imagine most people think this blog is downright stupid. How could you make a blog about nothing? Well, this blog exists, does it not? But then again, you could theorize that this blog does not exist. It’s like the times when I think a box is red, but in reality it’s green. According to Criss Angel, if I think hard enough and believe that box is red, it’ll be red. I’m still waiting for that box to turn red. Thanks, Crissy, ‘ol pal!

Sometimes I want to say something, but I don’t. Oh no, it’s not because I’m incapable of doing such, it’s merely because I don’t have anything to say. Isn’t that ironic? I’m sure it can’t be any more ironic than this blog.

I look forward to you joining me on my adventures of nothing. Meanwhile, I’ll be right here changing your conception of reality!