VirginWorlds MMORPG News Host: Brent VirginWorlds is a weekly news podcast covering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Eve Online, Vanguard, Lord of the Rings Online and many many more. The VirginWorlds MMORPG Podcast is the flagship podcast of the VirginWorlds MMO Podcast Collective found at http://www.virginworlds.com
This Podcast Sponsored by: Michael Cuppycake
Help the Collective. Become a supporter or sponsor on the Support Page.
VirginWorlds Podcast #51 - SOE SummitThu, 8 Feb 2007 06:13:00 GMT [download/play]
SOE Community Summit. A big weekend in San Diego for me. I had the pleasure of attending the Sony Online Entertainment Community Summit and I know you want to hear all about it.
VirginWorlds is a weekly news podcast covering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Eve Online, Vanguard, and many many more. The main site can be found at http://www.VirginWorlds.com
'Sounded like a great trip.' by sifo Submitted on 2007-02-08 08:22:08 CST Sounded like an interesting trip. I just had to comment on something you mentioned very briefly. The thought that SOE may have made a mistake by naming Everquest 2 , Everquest 2 was something I had not considered before. It makes sense to me though... MMOs definitely do not need sequels and I don't think many people who play EQ or EQ2 consider it that way. But folks who have not played EQ2 probably do see it as just a sequel and more of the same. Anyway, I can see that it may have been a barrier for some new subscribers back during the launch.
As always, great show.
'Perfect' by darrenl Submitted on 2007-02-08 09:50:24 CST Great show Brent...
It was really good to hear your discussions with Smedly...very interesting. I'm dying to know what other tidbits you have under that NDA hat of yours.
...anyways, glad to hear you had a good time bud.
Cheers,
Darren
'I admit nothing' by valarious Submitted on 2007-02-08 10:55:04 CST So I watched the video I took and lets just say hollywood isn't going to be calling anytime soon. I am sending the video to Cyan to get edited...heavily edited then we will see what is left. The Oakly party was pretty funny. They really didn;t like me. You can hear some girl saying, "excuse me...excuse me...this is a private party" HA HA...got that a couple times.
'Thief online?' by Rotacidare Submitted on 2007-02-08 11:20:26 CST Did you gank my pics?
:)
'Good recap' by Rotacidare Submitted on 2007-02-08 12:25:21 CST Just finished listening, nice podcast. I loved all the California themed songs :) Just one correction, that was me outside talking with you and Saveedra, not Val. Val was the one inside taking every tequila shot he could get his hands on. Was good to meet you in person, hopefully we will meet again....
'No Love' by valarious Submitted on 2007-02-08 12:46:39 CST What is this? Bash Val day? I was only doing the shots Smed was providing me. Are you one to turn down John Smedley when he is offering you tequila?
'Great Show!' by Wilhelm2451 Submitted on 2007-02-08 13:48:28 CST Glad to hear somebody else bringing up RSS feeds to SOE for news distribution! I have posted in the past on the SOE forums about this, pointing at the big RSS icon that used to be on the front page of the Vanguard site before it got shifted to SOE control, as an example to follow. (The old Vanguard RSS feed still delivers news, it just isn't featured anywhere.)
It sounds like it was a great event an I am extremely jealous. (I am also bummed that I will be in Tahoe during the Fan Faire this year.)
Now should we move on to a discussion of all of the possible ways we could define MMO generations? =)
'Don't do it...' by darrenl Submitted on 2007-02-08 13:52:59 CST Oh dear gawd Wil....don't encourage us on this you pot stirring blogger :)
You know what...Brent should host a podcast/blogger show-down in which we put to bed the "generation" and "sandbox" questions for good.
I'll bring the punch and pie...
'Rot was outside' by Brent Submitted on 2007-02-08 14:03:10 CST Yeah, Rot, I knew it was you outside I must have just said the wrong name. My bad. That was a great conversation we had with Steve. And yes, I totally heisted your pics. Shame on me!
'Let them eat steak!' by Bman Submitted on 2007-02-08 17:52:24 CST Even though I was only able to be there for the meet and greet at the hotel on Thursday, I had a hell of a time. Shoutouts and comments follow:
Rot and Val: Even more awesome in person than on their show.
Yivvits and Mr Bubble: Should have flown in on Thursday so I could meet them. F**kers.
Kendricke: One funny f**king guy.
Dan "The Walrus": The coolest cat you'd ever want to hang out with. I could talk MMOs with him for hours. He should be a regular on the SOE podcast.
Momochi, Japanese community rep for EQ2: I promise I'll start a character on the Japanese server. Soon (tm).
Josh, senior programmer on EQ2: One smart motherf**ker who does it ALL.
Julie the intern: Is tall and beautiful. And has more level 70's than I have alts of ANY level.
Ashlanne: Is too damned nice.
Brenlo: Is cool b/c he let me stay for the official reception, to which I wasn't actually invited.
The filet mignon: Was unbelievable.
The guy who cooked the filet mignon: Deserves a raise.
All the Minnesota people: Wondered why all the locals were wearing jackets.
Everyone: Got to drink except for me.
There was also some guy wandering around claiming to be a vegetarian, but I saw him eating the filet mignon, so I think he's full of s**t.
'Good rundown of the weekend' by CelApok Submitted on 2007-02-09 11:22:38 CST Brent, great rundown of the weekend's events... and Dick's Last Resort has some of the best Buffalo wing sauce.
Also, a quick nod to Rot and Val for their interview with Grimwell. Good job guys.
Julie (the intern) posted her review of the weekend's events. For those who haven't read it yet, you can find it at...
(no idea if Brent has this set up to accept html, so you'll have to copy and paste)
'The filet' by Brent Submitted on 2007-02-09 13:44:38 CST ...was worthy of my quarterly exception. Very worthy in fact.
' /sigh' by darrenl Submitted on 2007-02-09 13:46:46 CST ...I like Julie...
...so concludes Darren's random thought of the day...
:)
'Great work' by Grimwell Submitted on 2007-02-11 14:06:20 CST As always, a good listen. You did a fine job of covering it all!
'Excellent' by Loral Submitted on 2007-02-11 18:00:21 CST Thank you for keeping such good track of the event. It was good to hear what was going on and I was very interested in your discussions with Smed. I haven't had a chance to talk to him beyond a handshake and a hail.
Excellent work and an excellent podcast.
Loral Ciriclight
http://mobhunter.com
'Sequels' by scytale2 Submitted on 2007-02-12 19:35:07 CST I don't think it is as clear cut as you indicate, nor is the guy you spoke to at SOE necessarily right in his analysis.
You need to consider the pattern of play for MMOs. True enough, some people play one MMO for years and a sequel may cause their community to fracture. However, those who know a game (such as EQ) and liked the overall concept, but just found it all to "old hat" or graphically uninspiring after 12 months or so, might well choose to play EQ2 at some later date. If it was called something completely different, some people may not return to it.
There is also the issue of utilisation of previous intellectual property. One would imagine it helps a bit in game design to have actually mapped out the place before, perhaps not a vast amount, but enough. One would imagine too that designers would relish realising their ideas with a newer and more powerful graphics engine than they had before.
If I didn't play pretty much every MMO (for at least a week), then I can see myself not trying a totally new game, but I am almost certain to try a sequel for a previously successful game. I don't represent everyone, but probably a large chunk.
What they really ought to have done with EQ2 is allow characters to port between EQ1 and EQ2. It may not be immediately obvious how to do this, but clearly a workable solution exists for this. This "character crossover" is the way forward anyway - how long can it be before we only ever have one character and we use it in every single MMO on the market...
'All that drinking and still a great show!' by Jarod Submitted on 2007-02-16 06:08:54 CST Excellent coverage of the SOE Summit. What with all the distractions you still managed to report on and allow us to hear what went off at the summit.
'Sounded like a great trip.' by sifo
Submitted on 2007-02-08 08:22:08 CST
Sounded like an interesting trip. I just had to comment on something you mentioned very briefly. The thought that SOE may have made a mistake by naming Everquest 2 , Everquest 2 was something I had not considered before. It makes sense to me though... MMOs definitely do not need sequels and I don't think many people who play EQ or EQ2 consider it that way. But folks who have not played EQ2 probably do see it as just a sequel and more of the same. Anyway, I can see that it may have been a barrier for some new subscribers back during the launch.
As always, great show.
'Perfect' by darrenl
Submitted on 2007-02-08 09:50:24 CST
Great show Brent...
It was really good to hear your discussions with Smedly...very interesting. I'm dying to know what other tidbits you have under that NDA hat of yours.
...anyways, glad to hear you had a good time bud.
Cheers,
Darren
'I admit nothing' by valarious
Submitted on 2007-02-08 10:55:04 CST
So I watched the video I took and lets just say hollywood isn't going to be calling anytime soon. I am sending the video to Cyan to get edited...heavily edited then we will see what is left. The Oakly party was pretty funny. They really didn;t like me. You can hear some girl saying, "excuse me...excuse me...this is a private party" HA HA...got that a couple times.
'Thief online?' by Rotacidare
Submitted on 2007-02-08 11:20:26 CST
Did you gank my pics?
:)
'Good recap' by Rotacidare
Submitted on 2007-02-08 12:25:21 CST
Just finished listening, nice podcast. I loved all the California themed songs :) Just one correction, that was me outside talking with you and Saveedra, not Val. Val was the one inside taking every tequila shot he could get his hands on. Was good to meet you in person, hopefully we will meet again....
'No Love' by valarious
Submitted on 2007-02-08 12:46:39 CST
What is this? Bash Val day? I was only doing the shots Smed was providing me. Are you one to turn down John Smedley when he is offering you tequila?
'Great Show!' by Wilhelm2451
Submitted on 2007-02-08 13:48:28 CST
Glad to hear somebody else bringing up RSS feeds to SOE for news distribution! I have posted in the past on the SOE forums about this, pointing at the big RSS icon that used to be on the front page of the Vanguard site before it got shifted to SOE control, as an example to follow. (The old Vanguard RSS feed still delivers news, it just isn't featured anywhere.)
It sounds like it was a great event an I am extremely jealous. (I am also bummed that I will be in Tahoe during the Fan Faire this year.)
Now should we move on to a discussion of all of the possible ways we could define MMO generations? =)
'Don't do it...' by darrenl
Submitted on 2007-02-08 13:52:59 CST
Oh dear gawd Wil....don't encourage us on this you pot stirring blogger :)
You know what...Brent should host a podcast/blogger show-down in which we put to bed the "generation" and "sandbox" questions for good.
I'll bring the punch and pie...
'Rot was outside' by Brent
Submitted on 2007-02-08 14:03:10 CST
Yeah, Rot, I knew it was you outside I must have just said the wrong name. My bad. That was a great conversation we had with Steve. And yes, I totally heisted your pics. Shame on me!
'Let them eat steak!' by Bman
Submitted on 2007-02-08 17:52:24 CST
Even though I was only able to be there for the meet and greet at the hotel on Thursday, I had a hell of a time. Shoutouts and comments follow:
Rot and Val: Even more awesome in person than on their show.
Yivvits and Mr Bubble: Should have flown in on Thursday so I could meet them. F**kers.
Kendricke: One funny f**king guy.
Dan "The Walrus": The coolest cat you'd ever want to hang out with. I could talk MMOs with him for hours. He should be a regular on the SOE podcast.
Momochi, Japanese community rep for EQ2: I promise I'll start a character on the Japanese server. Soon (tm).
Josh, senior programmer on EQ2: One smart motherf**ker who does it ALL.
Julie the intern: Is tall and beautiful. And has more level 70's than I have alts of ANY level.
Ashlanne: Is too damned nice.
Brenlo: Is cool b/c he let me stay for the official reception, to which I wasn't actually invited.
The filet mignon: Was unbelievable.
The guy who cooked the filet mignon: Deserves a raise.
All the Minnesota people: Wondered why all the locals were wearing jackets.
Everyone: Got to drink except for me.
There was also some guy wandering around claiming to be a vegetarian, but I saw him eating the filet mignon, so I think he's full of s**t.
'Good rundown of the weekend' by CelApok
Submitted on 2007-02-09 11:22:38 CST
Brent, great rundown of the weekend's events... and Dick's Last Resort has some of the best Buffalo wing sauce.
Also, a quick nod to Rot and Val for their interview with Grimwell. Good job guys.
Julie (the intern) posted her review of the weekend's events. For those who haven't read it yet, you can find it at...
http://eq2players.station.sony.com/news_archive.vm?id=1048§ion=Community
(no idea if Brent has this set up to accept html, so you'll have to copy and paste)
'The filet' by Brent
Submitted on 2007-02-09 13:44:38 CST
...was worthy of my quarterly exception. Very worthy in fact.
' /sigh' by darrenl
Submitted on 2007-02-09 13:46:46 CST
...I like Julie...
...so concludes Darren's random thought of the day...
:)
'Great work' by Grimwell
Submitted on 2007-02-11 14:06:20 CST
As always, a good listen. You did a fine job of covering it all!
'Excellent' by Loral
Submitted on 2007-02-11 18:00:21 CST
Thank you for keeping such good track of the event. It was good to hear what was going on and I was very interested in your discussions with Smed. I haven't had a chance to talk to him beyond a handshake and a hail.
Excellent work and an excellent podcast.
Loral Ciriclight
http://mobhunter.com
'Sequels' by scytale2
Submitted on 2007-02-12 19:35:07 CST
I don't think it is as clear cut as you indicate, nor is the guy you spoke to at SOE necessarily right in his analysis.
You need to consider the pattern of play for MMOs. True enough, some people play one MMO for years and a sequel may cause their community to fracture. However, those who know a game (such as EQ) and liked the overall concept, but just found it all to "old hat" or graphically uninspiring after 12 months or so, might well choose to play EQ2 at some later date. If it was called something completely different, some people may not return to it.
There is also the issue of utilisation of previous intellectual property. One would imagine it helps a bit in game design to have actually mapped out the place before, perhaps not a vast amount, but enough. One would imagine too that designers would relish realising their ideas with a newer and more powerful graphics engine than they had before.
If I didn't play pretty much every MMO (for at least a week), then I can see myself not trying a totally new game, but I am almost certain to try a sequel for a previously successful game. I don't represent everyone, but probably a large chunk.
What they really ought to have done with EQ2 is allow characters to port between EQ1 and EQ2. It may not be immediately obvious how to do this, but clearly a workable solution exists for this. This "character crossover" is the way forward anyway - how long can it be before we only ever have one character and we use it in every single MMO on the market...
'All that drinking and still a great show!' by Jarod
Submitted on 2007-02-16 06:08:54 CST
Excellent coverage of the SOE Summit. What with all the distractions you still managed to report on and allow us to hear what went off at the summit.
Thanks!