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[Column] General: PWNED - A Novel Idea
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
This week, Lisa Jonte takes a look at a project that is technically an independent one, though more about a book about an MMO. Find out more about PWNED. Have you ever had a novel idea about the gaming world? Let us know in the comments.
First, a little background information. Once upon a time where was a lovely group of people known as The Dead Gentlemen, and eventually another group of pretty much the same people known as Zombie Orpheus, (two companies with the might of one!) It was their wish to create fine, gamer-friendly entertainment, and that’s exactly what they did. First, with the low-budget cinematic epic, The Gamers, then with the slightly higher budget (yet equally epic) movie, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising. Surveying their work and calling it good, the Dead Gentlemen went on to create the most excellent web series, Journey Quest. As it happens, these same fine people are also in the middle of producing a third Gamers movie, Hands of Fate.* That’s where all this novel talk began. That is to say, I donated to the Kickstarter campaign for HoF. From there, I heard about PWNED.
Read more of Lisa Jonte's Independency: PWNED - A Novel Idea.
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Their passions knew no bounds, but Bella497 wondered, was it truly she whom Noob_Scragger loved? Or was his unbridled lust really for her level 80 raid gear?**
Comments
Consider the popularity of non-MMO's compared to MMO's and how popular they are in culture. Think about it? Geekdom is geekdom and it doesn't extend outward beyond a few movies, novels, and a t-shirt occasionally. Even geeks don't always get excited about the crossover of games to other mediums of entertainment. It seems like an unnecessary blend when you consider that novels and cinema arguably are capable of telling stories better already. Then pile on all of the legal yadayada of using an MMO in your story. Novels and cinema impact us in big ways. I suppose it isn't impossible to expand further into our culture without them but I don't think it will happen. MMO's need them but they don't need MMO's.
First and foremost, Dead Gentlemen ftw! I don't even know how many times I quoted Gamers or Dorkness Rising in here too...
Will the world of MMOs and MMO players eventually be co-opted into the larger social and pop culture? I don't think so. Maybe gaming culture in a whole could make its presence... but as Dean wrote above me, no mmo is mainstream enough to "infiltrate" this much into pop culture as you wrote.
Just look at Wow, with its history and massive playerbase it was unable to do it... The most it could get a South Park episode, and some TBBT references. The wow film is still in production since years.
(I know it has books, youtube channels, etc. but those are for the players mostly. Outside that gamer circle even wow is just one of the many online games where people waste their lifes
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There's a chance for games based on an IP with a massive fanbase, like in Trek cons there's STO as well, with non-gamers usually aware of the game. But even if STO is reaching the mainstream of Trek, that's not a solution either, because this bigger circle has its own borders... maybe even tougher than the original. (I guess to the public trekkies are still the biggest geeks
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Steam: Neph
Boy: Why can't I talk to Him?
Mom: We don't talk to Priests.
As if it could exist, without being payed for.
F2P means you get what you paid for. Pay nothing, get nothing.
Even telemarketers wouldn't think that.
It costs money to play. Therefore P2W.
Will it be arriving at Argentina? Or at least in PDF so I can read it.
Great news!
"Can you imagine a spate of Summer blockbusters wherein not one, but ALL the plots take place in or around MMOs?"
No.
Considering, gaming itself has become pretty mainstream as something people do, yet we have never seen the above scenario come true. I mean sure you might have somebody walk by a kid playing an MMO on a computer in movies more often, and you might have the occassional movie that doesn't suck that is somewhat MMO related, but that is about as far as it goes. It might become as common as movies about movies, or movies about music.
I don't think it has to do with the fact that people don't know what MMOs are, a lot of people in hollywood play online games. I think it is simply that it isn't sexy, and harder to sell and merchandise than something like Avengers.
Cunfushus says "Only through wasting time do we realize that time should not be wasted."
Even though it is based in a dystopian future - "Ready Player One" I think is amazing at handling integrating both gaming & sandboxing into a novel....
Will mmo gaming become mainstream, sure it's probably close to that anyway. Will a lot of blockbusters have mmo type plots - I just don't think there is enough of a range for that to happen. Plus I'd really hate to see an in-game Twilight....
Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Thomas Jefferson