goodbye
Latest
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is passing the baton
Apologies for the lack of updates recently, folks, as I've been in a persistent battle with our weekend guerrilla team, who managed to whittle me down and is now taking over full control of the Weekly Webcomic Wrapup. I made a deal that would keep the McElroy Empire out of here forever ... but then they altered the deal. I can only pray they don't alter it further.I've been given the opportunity to make a final statement, which I intend to do so with bullet points: In the world of webcomics, this is more often than not true. For better and for worse. Is it Funny Today? is worth checking out to see what the Internet Hivemind finds The 2008 Webcomic Holiday Postcard Fundraiser is now live and worth your consideration. Proceeds go to Child's Play Charity. Favorite webcomic? I love Digital Unrest and its geeky science jokes. It's been a great 3 years, 2 months and 6 days, thanks to everyone who has been supportive of this. Griffin will take over next week, so for one last time: Here are our picks for the week's best game-related webcomics, be sure to vote for your favorite! (Poling after the break.)Ball and Stick (Digital Unrest)Unavoidable Square tax (MNC)A Penetrating Look (Penny Arcade)Town Folks (Brawl in the Family)Of bar bets and pub puns (Sidescroller)Is that a tear? (GameMarks)Crossover (CAD)Who Reviews the Reviewers? (2P Start)Burn me once, shame ... (Dueling Analogs) Gallery: Weekly Webcomic Wrapup logo designs
AO designer says adieu, moves on to The Secret World
Anarchy Online content designer Nina "Aythem" Sund has been writing developer journal entries over at Ten Ton Hammer for several months, sharing game design wisdom and insider anecdotes with players. Her latest entry had a different tone, though. She used the medium to bid farewell to AO players as she moves on to work on Funcom's next MMO, The Secret World.As a parting gift, she spent the rest of her entry telling fans how they too can become game designers. Hers is good advice if that's an aspiration for you. Unfortunately, she didn't slip out any news or information on The Secret World, which as so far been very, well ... secret. Ten Ton Hammer attached two bits of concept art, though, so savor that!We hope Funcom will continue to support AO even though it now has Age of Conan and The Secret World to worry about, too. Sund was a popular quest designer at AO; we're glad she'll be adding her touch to TSW, but poor AO!
The Restoration Engineers say goodbye to Uru Live
It's official: Myst Online: Uru Live is dead. It was a complex, beautiful world and those who had the opportunity to experience it have come away all the richer. This blogger didn't, but has always been a fan of the Cyan Worlds aesthetic, and regrets not jumping into it when the opportunity arose.As a final farewell to its explorers, the Restoration Engineers (Uru Live's version of Greeters) have recorded their thoughts on what it was like to work for the community every day, and how much fun the whole thing was. When it came time to say goodbye, one of them was obviously too moved to say more than 'thank you', and that was enough. Here's hoping that the creative minds behind it all find something new to put their hands to -- in a world filled with knockoffs and retreads, the universe of Myst was a true original.
/silly: Arturis's farewell
Well, it was fun while it lasted. Due to personal reasons I can not and will not discuss here, I will no longer be drawing the weekly /silly comic for WoW Insider. I am thankful to you, the thriving mass of WoW Insider readers, for taking the time to view my strip for the past 11 weeks. To those that commented with support and praise, I offer an even larger helping of the Thank You pie. You are the reason I stayed up those late Monday nights, forcing myself to draw out the twisted images in my head in order to share them with the world. I sought your approval, and I received it in spades. Will there be a future for /silly, after I am gone? That is up to the higher-ups at WoW Insider to decide. If they do replace me and continue on with the series, I hope you all will show the new artist the respect and support that you gave to me. And I hope that the comics will make me laugh as much as mine made you.As for my future, do not worry. I have more passion for gaming than most people you will ever meet, burning deep within my soul like a warlock DoT that will never expire; like the Light that drives a paladin to battle against overwhelming odds. I will find another way to be a part of the industry that I love, and with a little luck, you will see the name Arturis again.Arthur E. "Arturis" Orneck
Saying goodbye to a deleted character
Timekeeper on WoW LJ had to say goodbye to a friend recently. After 70 levels, countless instances, gear upgrades, and raids, circumstances lead him to decide that his mage should no longer exist, and so he typed "DELETE," and sent her to the big graveyard in the sky.I can't bear to do it, myself-- I think I've deleted maybe one or two characters for space ever, and even then, though they were only level 5 or so (about 20 minutes of leveling, probably), I still cleaned out their bags and sold off and mailed away their gear. Like most people, I couldn't imagine deleting one of my 70s on purpose-- even if I don't ever play them again, I couldn't be the one to wipe out all of those accomplishments (virtual as they are) forever.Have you ever killed a character past level 60 before? Did you just delete them, gear and all (like a bandaid), or did you strip them down and send the parts to your other toons? And do you regret it at all? We should all keep in mind that these are just characters in a game, of course, but having your progress wiped in anything you do is always a loss that can be felt.
Three stories I hope will go away in 2007
Soon 2006 will be but a memory in our collective. There were many highlights, and we'll be focusing on them soon enough, however I would like to take some time to point out a few stories that I hope I will no longer have to read about in 2007: The iPod phone, nee iPhone: This product hasn't been released, and there is a chance it will never be released, and I'm already sick of it. Will it have buttons, will it just be an iPod with wireless, will it run a light version of OS X? I'm sick of the speculation, and this will be the last I have to say about it until Apple announces it (or Macworld 2007 comes to a close, whichever happens first). Gimmicky Marketing: My Dream App, Mac App A Day, MacZot, and MacHeist all captured plenty of headlines this year. Some developers loved them, some developers hated them, and most Mac users were just happy to get cheap (or free) software. Let's just move on people, these sites are simple marketing tactics. There is nothing nefarious about them, nor is there anything particularly inventive about them. If you enjoy participating in them, continue to do them. If you dislike them with the red hot passion of a thousand suns, that's cool. Can everyone just please agree to stop chattering about them? Zune/Vista bashing: Microsoft bashing is something of a staple on the Mac web, but I tire of it. I have been using Vista as one of my primary OSes since Vista Enterprise became available, and you know what? I like it. Do I like it as much as OS X? No, but it is the best version of Windows I have ever used (a title previously held by Windows 2003). As for the Zune, I have yet to see one in person but I hope that it succeeds. Apple could use a strong rival in the MP3 player space, because competition fosters innovation. Let's face it, the iPod of today is pretty much the iPod of 2 years ago with a color screen and more storage. Let's see how Apple can crush the Zune with innovation.
Overheard at E3: A trumpet fade out
At approximately 3:59PM PST (7:00PM EST), a noise entered the show floor that trumped all other soundwave. It was a trumpet, signaling the end of E3. A woman's voice comes on, telling us to exit the premises and to come back next year.We're gone, it's over, but we still have much to write up. Stay tuned over the weekend and next week as we continue to post our impressions and experiences at E3, and give you our picks for the best of show.
Say Goodbye to the 17 inch iMac G5
It's official, there are no more 17 inch iMacs in the Apple Store as of today. After the price reduction on the 20 inch models a few days ago, Apple has removed the 17 inch model completely.This means, however, that you can still purchase refurbished 17 inch iMac G5's if they come up in Apple's discount section. Other retailers have cut prices on the iMac G5 17 inch as well in a last ditch attempt to clear out stock.[via Engadget]
