Random nerd thread unrelated to orig. topic. Current: Tanks vs Mechs!

[sam, an eggplant]

http://www.rgtr.com/news/latest_news/an_open_letter_from_general_br.html

The game is called "Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa" for chrissakes. Would american mcgee leave "american mcgee's house of american mcgee presents: american, a mcgee, a game in three acts"?

I'm really surprised he's leaving NC outright and not "moving to a more supervisory capacity" involving not coming in to work and playing a lot of golf. Would love to hear the backstory on this one.

And what happens to Robert Garriot and Destination Games?

[Soln]

someone should send Lum a cookie basket

(yes, saw his post already)

[Slyfeind]

Dang, it sounds like he's totally leaving game design. It's kind of a shame. He had a part in creating this industry. I get the feeling he just couldn't keep up with it.

[Nebu]

Dang, it sounds like he's totally leaving game design. It's kind of a shame. He had a part in creating this industry. I get the feeling he just couldn't keep up with it.

It's not a shame at all in my mind.  Yes, he was part of history.  That part is over.  Time for fresh ideas.  Let's hope this is a start... though I'm doubtful. 

[schild]

I'm really surprised he's leaving NC outright and not "moving to a more supervisory capacity" involving not coming in to work and playing a lot of golf. Would love to hear the backstory on this one.

Short backstory: Guy wasted millions. Guy writes letter instead of revealing he was chased out with pitchforks laced with a poison-like memory called nostalgia.

While that may not been what it looks like visibly, if you ran a company would you leave him around in ANY capacity, let alone a supervisory one?

[Yegolev]

I was going to go with an infection from an alien parasite, but yours is more probable.

[Ratman_tf]

I liked RG better when he was coding games in his closet on an Apple II.

[sam, an eggplant]

While that may not been what it looks like visibly, if you ran a company would you leave him around in ANY capacity, let alone a supervisory one?

Assuming that I wanted to stay in the tabula rasa business, yes, I would keep Garriot around as a figurehead. His name is on the game. If I had to force him out for whatever reason, I'd make a positive statement detailing how we're planning to change the game for the better and are committed to TR long-term, talk about new upcoming features and content releases, introduce the new game director, and so on.

Since they did neither of these, my assumption is that TR will be EOL'd in the very near future.

[Yegolev]

I liked RG better when he was coding games in his closet on an Apple II.

So did NCSoft.

[kildorn]

While that may not been what it looks like visibly, if you ran a company would you leave him around in ANY capacity, let alone a supervisory one?

Assuming that I wanted to stay in the tabula rasa business, yes, I would keep Garriot around as a figurehead. His name is on the game. If I had to force him out for whatever reason, I'd make a positive statement detailing how we're planning to change the game for the better and are committed to TR long-term, talk about new upcoming features and content releases, introduce the new game director, and so on.

Since they did neither of these, my assumption is that TR will be EOL'd in the very near future.

Do TR's sub numbers give it any reason to stick around and continue to throw a paycheck at it's figurehead?

It's a life lesson in not putting people's names on a subscription service.

[tazelbain]

Too late to do any good since NCSoft America has already been gutted.

[Righ]

Since they did neither of these, my assumption is that TR will be EOL'd in the very near future.

I suspect they'll leave it alone as long as people are willing to pay for it in sufficient numbers to warrant rebooting the server whenever it hangs. It's NCSoft.

This does mean that they have essentially washed their hands of it and are moving on. That's a good thing, because NCSoft could still be a much more important company in the US than they are.

[Venkman]

Guys, Tom Clancy sold the rights to his entire name (in the digital space) to Ubisoft. Unless ya'all have some actual insider knowledge, there's no connection at all between RG leaving and TR being shut down or just being allowed to persist as it exists right now. I'm quite sure he wasn't allowed to just pack up and leave without riders and contracts and NDAs and continued licensing arrangements etc etc. They could simply remove his name from the loading screen and do business as usual. Heck they'd probably planned that already anyway. Anyone who cared about his name being on the game made the purchase decision long ago at this point.

[Signe]

I'd sell my name in a second.  You would have to ask me twice!

[sam, an eggplant]

I'd sell my name in a second.  You would have to ask me twice!

Sell me your name.
Sell me your name.

This simply wasn't handled in a way that suggests TR is going to be around in the future. I suppose that could be attributed to incompetence on the part of NCsoft.

[HaemishM]

If you've played TR, you don't have to wonder whether it will be around in the future or not. Because like Tom Cruise, you'll JUST KNOW.

[Lantyssa]

I'm guessing the head honchos wants to give the new game director a blank slate instead of having Garriot hanging over them.

[Rasix]

I'm guessing the head honchos wants to give the new game director a blank slate instead of having Garriot hanging over them.

 

[shiznitz]

Dick Garriott is a shiny douche. Oh well. At least he can afford to be vinegar.

[Sir T]

If you've played TR, you don't have to wonder whether it will be around in the future or not. Because like Tom Cruise, you'll JUST KNOW.

I play TR and I don't see any particular reason it will be shut down. Its a good game, better than WOW in many respects and all it needs is some kind of end game. There are 2 full updates planned that I know about. After those even if it was left there it would still attract custom.

RG stopped having a direct involvement with the game 6 months ago. To be honest i am inclined to believe his statement. He had a life transforming experience in fulfilling his life's dream, he realized he has been involved in the game industry for most of his life, and he decided to move on. Life is too short for regrets.

[tmp]

The game is called "Richard Garriot's Tabula Rasa" for chrissakes.

For a game with his name on it, that letter couldn't make him sound any more disinterested and detached from it if he tried.

[Slyfeind]

Yeah, we can speculate all we want, but it's likely a combination of things; life-changing space voyage, an industry he doesn't quite fit into anymore...and of course Wrath of the Lich King launching in two days. 

[Sir T]

The movies were called "Ian Flemming's James Bond" long after Flemming had stopped having any input into them too.

Yeah, we can speculate all we want, but it's likely a combination of things; life-changing space voyage, an industry he doesn't quite fit into anymore...and of course Wrath of the Lich King launching in two days. 

Actually that was not mentioned once in general chat and I was online in TR for a lot of today.

[schild]

Actually that was not mentioned once in general chat and I was online in TR for a lot of today.

You do know you were talking to NPCs right?

[Sir T]

NPCs don't talk about other games and Star trek Online, for one thing

[dusematic]

If you've played TR, you don't have to wonder whether it will be around in the future or not. Because like Tom Cruise, you'll JUST KNOW.

Huh?

[Venkman]

RG stopped having a direct involvement with the game 6 months ago when they redesigned it.

They'd ask him to come out every so often to do some PR, but let's face it, this stopped being the sort of game people expected from RG the moment they tossed the first game. I can easily see why middle management thought adding his name would help (recognizable IP vs unrecognizable one), but that only worked for the subset of people that'd by anything with RG on it regardless of the game. And nowadays whoever's playing couldn't care any less whether he's involved with the project.

This in no way means the end of TR. It just means they can no longer lie about whatever thin thread of connection he had with the game that is.

[Oban]

I would have fired him while he was in space.

[schild]

I can easily see why middle management thought adding his name would help (recognizable IP vs unrecognizable one)

I like your reasoning. But I'm still on the "because they didn't know better" side of the fence.

I would have fired him while he was in space.

They probably could've saved money at the offset by firing him into space instead of hiring him.

[Soln]

I would have fired him while he was in space.

They probably could've saved money at the offset by firing him into space instead of hiring him.

bravo, so many levels in that one

[damijin]

I'm glad to see him leave the industry. I hope he's able to do something more constructive with his time. His design days have been over for a long time.

[Slyfeind]

Yeah, we can speculate all we want, but it's likely a combination of things; life-changing space voyage, an industry he doesn't quite fit into anymore...and of course Wrath of the Lich King launching in two days. 

Actually that was not mentioned once in general chat and I was online in TR for a lot of today.

I meant like Garriott quit so he would have more time to play. He's gotta get to 80 too like everyone else! Um ok, so explaining the joke just ruined it and now I am sad.

[Yegolev]

I got the joke.  If I had his money and taste, I'd probably be getting ready to catass WoW, too.  I have to say everything I need to say to Killjoy in the next couple of days because he won't be available for a month after WotLK.  Today he was pushing Ninja Town very hard... I didn't know he even liked tower defense games.

[UnSub]

I'm not surprised. He'd been pretty distant from the game for a long time, it could have been called Starr Long's Tabula Rasa for all the good the dev name did and after it flopped there have been a lot of rumours about how unhappy NCsoft have been with the Garriott boys.

The big question is: what is RG qualified to do outside of develop games?

[LK]

Well, he does have astronaut on his resume.