Joy!

Some things that have brought me joy today:

-The beautiful flowers sent to me from one of my dearest friends. <3

-The final lunch of the original pre-launch UI team, and the respect, admiration, and love that this team has for each other.

-Playing my game, my obsession, my other self with people who really seem to enjoy it. (and this post at the Waaagh Blog!)

and last but not least...

-Little Big Planet (the beta courtesy of another dear friend), a game which had a team of nine people sitting in a room, crying with joy and laughter. This game is going to change things, big time.

Happy Launch Day!

Though September 18th marks our official launch, today, September 14th marked the official opening of Warhammer Online for the Collector's Edition head start.

For the most part, the first day of launch was peaceful in the office, so I took the opportunity to decorate my team's entire section with streamers and balloons. It does really feel like we have a lot to celebrate.

There's a lot more to come, and still a lot more we need to stay on top of, but there has been quite a catharsis for me seeing the game go out the door. I think we'll have another day or two of celebratory joy (and hopefully maybe even more playing), and then we'll be back into the grind.

I hope everyone, whether you're CE, SE, or joining us on the 18th has an equally pleasant and enjoyable launch.

No more keeping quiet.

For three weeks I've been in the process of writing a post about the game launch, but I kept stopping myself because I think that the people who read this site (whoever you are) will eventually get sick of how much I talk about Warhammer.

So I've been waiting for something else to happen to me, which it hasn't because I'm working 80+ hours a week and completely obsessing about the game. To recap what has happened in the past three weeks:

*Five-part-zomg-this-girl-talks-a-lot interview at Ten Ton Hammer

*We announced our launch day: SEPTEMBER 18TH MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR MY SANITY

*We lifted our NDA today, and the internet appears to have exploded.

*Incredibly edited, amazingly humorous, horrifically embarrassing video interview between Jeff "I <3 Circuit Breakers" Gerstmann and Paul "I EMBARRASS CARRIE FOR A LIVING" Barnett

...and then it happened. Something finally happened to me that didn't involve Warhammer. But it does involve games. This story is just...too...awesome.

Toy maker Hasbro Inc. has updated its classic Clue game for today's tabloid culture to include younger characters, more weapons, and new rooms, including a spa and guest house.

The six characters' last names remain the same, but their first names and bios have been updated. For example, Miss Scarlet is now Kasandra Scarlet, a famous actress often featured in tabloids. And Mr. Green is now Jacob Green, an African-American "with all the ins."

Colonel Mustard is now Jack Mustard, a former football player. The professor? Now Victor Plum, a billionaire video game designer.

Bring it on!

I've missed doing the HotSpot, as I think podcasts are really enjoyable. So when Syp from the Waaagh Blog wrote me and asked if I would subject myself to a podcast all about the Tome, I jumped at the chance. I was interviewed by three very funny fellows, and they've posted it on all their sites (so I feel I must link all three): Snafzg from The Greenskin, Keen from Keen and Graev, and Syp from the Waaagh! blog. I appreciate them allowing me to be a part of their show, and I must say I had a lot of fun.

The interview took place before Mark Jacob's announcement last week, which I really have nothing to say about that he hasn't said better.

I will say though that when Penny Arcade did a comic about the news today, it really surprised me. I really have felt like for such a long time we've been doing our thing and making this little game that we're going to then share with our little community. And when the internets seemed to explode last week, it struck me that there's nothing little about what we're doing. Alright then, bring it on :)

One of the Boys

I have a crush on Katy Perry.

Players don't do what they're told...

I've been doing a lot of thinking about "game design theories" and about how most of them are pretty easy to put into clever little parables and presentations, but can seem totally useless when you actually need to develop them. (Paul is responsible for this. He gave me this huge document he wrote and then went out of town so we couldn't talk about it.)

I think about things like this because I'm a producer and not a designer anymore, and because we're in severe crunch time right now and I'm at work the majority of every day and night.

But I also think about things like this because it seems like, with any game where you give players flexibility and freedom (which is great!), you lose control over what they're actually going to do/like in your game (which is also great! but sometimes feels like poopoo).

This is how I feel about the Tome of Knowledge, where we're trying to make this open ended experience, and I know two weeks into it that players are going to find some crazy new thing to do with it that I didn't think of, which is exciting but also makes the control freak in me a little sad.

This also makes me wonder how Will Wright feels about the Spore Penis Phenomenon. Give em an inch, right Will? (Pun intended...)

35 minutes

Approximate amount of time it took until Snake uttered... "Metal Gear?" in MGS4.

Clearly, that makes me happy.

(Going through old On the Spot episodes looking for the one where I wore my patent pending METAL GEAR? shirt also makes me happy...if not also a little bit sad.)

Edit: How could I have forgotten that the Metal GEAR? sweatshirt is referenced in this classic GS video blog. Thanks to smpb for reminding me!