'Officially Licenced Product'
January 2005. The offices of publisher Vivendi Universal. In a back room on an unimportant floor, three marketing executives are gathered around a table. They're tasked with emulating the Q4 2004 success of Fight Club: a beat ‘em up that, despite having little to do with the film and leaving critics underwhelmed, was a commercial success.
We join them as their meeting has just started.
Lucius 'Luke' Johnting (LJ. 45 YO. Divorced twice. Likes ice cream and little league.): “...such a hit the board have asked other for film-game conversion ideas.”
Dong Godown (DG. 40 YO. Studied dance at MIT. Held record for longest time spent waiting for a post-concert Kenny G. autograph.): “So do we get to choose our own films or what?”
LJ: “No, no we don’t. The guys in Income Targeting and Audience Captureisation threw together a list of titles. We just need to think about the films, what type of games they'd make and something about special about them.”
Toney Knoflicek (TK. 47 YO. Unsure about gender of his personal assistant.): ”Like innovative gameplay models? Something that captures the film's essence but melds it to the game with great mechanics and an immersive storyline?”
LJ: “Uh, Yeah. But if you can’t think of anything don’t sweat it.”
IDgaf on 08.26.04 @ 03:57 PM GMT [link]
I'm in the Doom for love, simply because it's nearly.
Doom 3 (D3) is about to launch. I've watched anticipation for the game grow on Gamers With Jobs and I've seen it eagerly talked about on other websites. Of course as is wont with the Internet, most 'talking' ends up nothing more than a series of shrieks and grunts - especially if someone claims to have got the game before launch.
Right now, across the United States, gamers who got D3 early are having their honesty contested as they try to convince other games-forum posters that, yes, the pictures of the game's box next to their computer are indeed real.
On average it will take 10 pages of embittered and jealous flame war for other people to believe them. That belief carries a heavy, heavy price.
IDgaf on 08.14.04 @ 02:02 AM GMT [link]
I want to be alone.
When I was little I got the ninja/spy game 'Saboteur' on the ZX Spectrum as a birthday party present. (The Spectrum was a 1980s computer that needed a tape player to load games and had 48k of memory. As the games loaded the machine made a sound like train wreck arguing with a dial-up modem.)
Saboteur was the hit of the evening. The ZX was hooked up to a portable TV and my friends and I took turns playing. They were having a great time with a great game. Actually, the game was so good that I told my friends I'd wished they'd all go home so I could play it by myself.
It was a remarkably bratty thing to do. With hindsight I can only blame my immaturity on my age. Thankfully I've grown up in the intervening years. If I were then what I am now, I'd act differently. This time I wouldn't announce anything. I'd just swat my friends away from the game knowing they'd be too small to fight back.
I'm IDgaf and I'm an anti-social gamer.
IDgaf on 08.06.04 @ 03:30 PM GMT [link]
