Games Journalism 2018: We're taking it back!

MrTibbs · 2018-12-05T22:38:46.138Z

YOU MEAN HONORABLE DEFENDER OF GAMERS’ RIGHTS! #NotAllGamers #HeatedGamingMoment

JonRowe · 2018-12-05T22:39:14.143Z

MrTibbs:

Thanks for the link, Jon. The Ringer’s 1998 retrospective series is terrific. I never played much of the original Tribes back in the day (or any multiplayer-centric game besides UT 1999), but I remember enjoying Irrational’s strange sequel in the mid-2000s. The idea of an FPS with jetpacks, vehicles, and massive levels would’ve been pretty novel back in the day.

I played so much Tribes in the day. It is the game that got me into PC gaming.

Jason_McMaster · 2018-12-05T22:39:34.687Z

hahahahahah, yes. Gaming Pope!

Rod_Humble · 2018-12-05T22:40:33.345Z

What a colossal waste of money.

Nesrie · 2018-12-05T22:42:53.764Z

Rod_Humble:

What a colossal waste of money.

It’s what you did in the days when not everything could glow random neon colors all the time, apparently. heh.

Jason_McMaster · 2018-12-05T22:46:18.818Z

It’s also a fantastic way to get fired, if I remember correctly!

Nesrie · 2018-12-05T22:48:43.164Z

Jason_McMaster:

It’s also a fantastic way to get fired, if I remember correctly!

Seriously? They fired him? I assume it was a him.

lostcawz · 2018-12-05T22:49:35.767Z

I joined IGN just to play with the clan/team/whatever for the original Tribes. On a dial up connection! So so bad and unplayable. But I stayed on those boards a while until one of their mergers or changes or something. It was a nice group on the TV/Sci-Fi section. But not nearly as good a place as here. Now if I can remember why I joined here…

Rod_Humble · 2018-12-05T22:52:10.186Z

Yeah the “worst marketing ideas in gaming” hall of fame is VERY crowded :)

Jason_McMaster · 2018-12-05T22:54:10.166Z

Oh yes, it was very much a him. Mark Kerns. Big GG supporter.

LMN8R · 2018-12-05T23:11:55.989Z

Relevant:

This is why Mark Kern was removed as CEO by Red 5 • /r/Games

Why bother with this post (it's probably more of an incoherent rant, really)? Hopefully by the time I've finished it, I will know that myself....

Nesrie · 2018-12-05T23:23:42.897Z

Jason_McMaster:

Oh yes, it was very much a him. Mark Kerns. Big GG supporter.

3 million dollar bus collecting dust… but that wasn’t the only thing he did. Okay. I apparently missed this little tidbit drama in 2013 when it happened. I was just thinking some poor employee was told to go get a “super cool” bus, did it, and got fired for it as if no one ever saw the invoice or knew the cost. This guy, well it’s not the only thing he did and he was no average employee. That video and that bus… errr, yeah not a total surprise on the GG thing either.

Jason_McMaster · 2018-12-05T23:24:21.466Z

Yeah, that whole thing is nuts. He was ex-Blizzard that worked on WoW, I think.

Rod_Humble · 2018-12-05T23:39:01.375Z

Wow I just checked some of his tweets yeah he is a loony.

inactive_user · 2018-12-06T00:22:32.980Z

Oh man, the FireFall thing was nuts. At the time everyone was still looking for the crossover WoW-CoD Omegagame that was going to make all the money forever, so weirdos like Kern got an insane amount of leash.

FF itself was a pretty okay game (that didn’t really figure out its core gameplay until way too late, when the money was gone and oh shit we need content now) that was ahead of its time. Could have been interesting if they hadn’t been so far in debt that they went with increasingly awful pay models (in open beta, no less) in an effort to prove to prospective investors that no look, we make money! We’re monetizing! Don’t just let the Chinese come in and buy us for pennies on the dollar!

Narrator: They were bought for pennies on the dollar.

LMN8R · 2018-12-06T04:04:23.752Z

On the bright side, Firefall’s booth at PAX always had super comfy carpet to stand on!