An End to an Embargo, and Fanfiction is still Red-Headed

Well… The Media Embargo is officially ended. IGN is saying that they will be offering regular updates of coverage on the game until the actual launch. Does this mean we are going to get more information? Do we really WANT more information?

Wait a sec… What the HECK am I saying? OF COURSE we want more information! The question is… Do we want more info, or do we want the game? And of course the answer is WE WANT THE GAME! NOW!  But as in all things that humans do, “you can’t always get what you want” – according to the Rolling Stones anyway. So, we should be seeing a veritable blitzkrieg of information coming our way shortly. Some of it is already here, we are seeing more and more interviews, sit downs and talks with people showing up on the updates on SWTOR.com. With the launch date now less than sixty days away, we are likely to be seeing a whole lot more than we have before.

On that note, it should be said that there is remarkably little beta footage available and most of what is available on the internet is fake. Most beta testers either don’t want to face Lucasarts’ legal staff (I don’t blame them one little tiny bit by the way), or they are so enamored with the game that they don’t want to take the chance on not being able to play at launch. I am actually going to go for the second answer there. I have talked with a few people who are in the beta, including my colleague Mark. All of the ones I have talked to have been VERY careful about possible NDA violations. They really, REALLY want to play the full game when it comes out.

We have been raised, many of us, in a world where litigation is second nature. If someone bumps into you on the bus, you can sue them. You probably won’t win, the judge will likely laugh you right out of court, but you CAN sue. It’s not taken for granted, but it isn’t seen as serious. For those of us who have never been in a courtroom anyway (DON’T ask…It’s too embarrassing…) People see the NDA on a game, scroll down to the bottom and click ‘accept’ generally never thinking about it. It’s just not taken very seriously most of the time. Until now.

What is it about this game that is different?

It’s an MMO. There have been so many MMOs recently that few people can keep track of them all. Free to play, subscription, WoW clone, whatever. So many kinds of MMOs are out there now.

It is a Star Wars game. Well, there have been a bunch of those as well, some great, some not so good.

It’s fully voiced. That is new for an MMO.

It’s story-driven. That is not new, but the heights to which Bioware and Lucasarts seem to be taking it are.

All of this adds up to the fact that we have a new type of game coming. A massively multiplayer online role playing game that looks, sounds and plays like single player game. Will it work? I dunno. But I can’t wait to roll a trooper and blast some Sith scum.

Okay, we are going to be seeing a LOT more media on the game now. Good. And we have seen more fan creation recognition as well. But – no mention of the fan fiction section of the forum. I guess people just don’t have time to read all of the good stories that have been posted. It isn’t intentional that the fan fiction writers (including myself) are treated like red headed step children. The community coordination people have only a certain amount of time to find, select and choose which works will be featured in the Fan Fridays. I know this. But it doesn’t make me feel very good to be essentially shoved to the side, even by great artwork.

As was said in the podcast a while back, fan fiction is a lot of work. Admittedly, some of it is not very good. I include my own stuff in that. Many writers are trying out writing for the first time and selecting Star Wars because they like it, or find the framework that George Lucas has created to be easy to write in.  But reading things is time consuming. Even if it is an incredible work, it takes time to read something. Looking at a piece of art is easy. You look at it and say ‘It’s good’ or ‘Eeeew…’. But reading some of the admittedly very good works on the fan fiction forum takes time. Even if it is not my own story arc, which is at 95 chapters and counting, many people simply don’t have the time. I do think Bioware could at least MENTION the fan fiction forums, but then again, if they did that, would they have to spotlight one of the works every time? I don’t know. I won’t pretend that it makes me feel good to be ignored, but I do understand about time constraints. Maybe with the raising of the embargo, more attention will be given to the great works that have been languishing in durance vile in the deepest darkest recesses of the fan fiction section.

Okay, okay… I know… I go off on tangents. So sue me. NO! It was a joke. A joke! No! Don’t call…the…lawyers…*sigh*

Ah well… Maybe by the time the next story is due I will have made bail.

Mad Max beyond Thunderdome Masterblaster via image http://foothillsco.blogspot.com/