Lucky Nunber 13!

For sure guaranteed…this is my worst column yet.  Save yourself from a long, drawn-out, painful experience and just walk away now…. It’s as easy as clicking here.

If you’re still here then you’re a trooper. 

As always, if you’re looking for grammar or facts, you’ve come to the wrong place.  You might want to try this column or this one.

On with the show.

Really, onward!

Great Event – But Was It A Success?

ESL ran an incredible event over the weekend and I almost guarantee that most of you didn’t even know it was happening.  Amidst the overpowering cacophony and from PAX, DragonCon the Intel Extreme Masters tournament at Fan Expo in Toronto was a whisper in the howling winds of hype this weekend.

Most Starcraft 2 fans probably knew that the event was happening, but the current community is already hopelessly and madly in love with the game and rightfully so.  It is a beautiful game, much like CS:GO is a beautiful game.  They have nuances and aspects that transcend not only the subtleties of their own gameplay, but those of their entire genres. 

Unfortunately, the community is getting smaller, not because they aren’t one of the best groups in gaming, but because the game that they love isn’t recruiting as many new players as it is losing. 

New blood is needed and it appears that without an expansion that isn’t going to happen.   Cries of “Daed Gaem” have echoed for over a year, but the crowd in Toronto proved that the title is far from dead.  That said, it’s stagnant and in my humble opinion it would be a great shame to see it slowly fade away.  

The community is doing an exceptional job and they are welcoming to new players, but will we see Starcraft II tournaments as well viewed as what ESL just delivered?  I’m going to sugges that other than BlizzCon it will continue to become more and more infrequent and unlikely.

Who cares and what does this have to do with Star Citizen Boomjack?

What a great question…, but first,

Vin Diesel Fact: People with amnesia still remember Vin Diesel.  

Hype and Hope

What Starcraft II lacks in hype, Star Citizen has in spades.    A recent opinion column by David Piner caused an uproar from The Cult of Star Citizen and brought out the best and worst in some of our readers.

Where Starcraft II is a mature game with a mature (and by mature I mean long standing) audience, Star Citizen isn’t a game yet.  For the most part, it’s still a twinkle in Chris Roberts’ eye.  A cloud of ideas, continue to coalesce into something that resembles a plan that may or may not become a game.   On those promises and with hope in their hearts, the Cult of Star Citizen (as David calls the backers) continues to throw money at the project.  

Throwing bags of money at charities, crowd-funded ideas or other projects is a win if the expectations are met.   It always comes down to the expectations and where those of the Starcraft II community seem realistic (an expansion, a rejuvenated game and then another slow decline), the expectations of the Star Citizen community are so high that I don’t believe they can be met. 

I truly hope that the Hype and the Hope balance out, but I currently have my doubt.   

The team at Roberts Industries has done a stellar job hyping the game and convincing gamers that it will be everything that they can imagine.  That said, managing those expectations is impossible.  It can’t be done.  They have simply run so wild that not even a bucket of ice water poured over the community’s head will cool them off.  

Good on you Roberts’ Industries.   I hope you deliver, because if you do then everyone wins.

Did you contribute?  I did, and then I have completely turned my eyes in other directions.   At this point I can’t even tell you what I bought.   I backed Chris and that was good enough for me.  Then I walked away.

Now on to something more entertaining.  First, out headline… then a sensational one, like you might find on oh… Kotaku for instance.

• Megaservers coming to WildStar – WildStar Servers Closing!!!!!
• What Does Hardcore Mean To You? --- Hardcore Players – You Won’t Believe This!!!!!
• Talking Terran With Liquid Bunny – Team Liquid’s Bunny Tells All!!!!!!

And because the real world is usually more humorous than the virtual one.   Here are some real world stories to put a smile on your face.

• From the I’ve-Got-A-Beef-With-You-Dept. – Calf Kills Austrian Farmer
• From the I’m-A-Cop-Dammit-Dept. – Constable Interrupts HS Football Game
• From the Putting-The-Dash-In-Dashcam-Dept. – Thanks YouTube
• From the Challenge-Pie-In-Face-Challenge-Dept. – Cancer To The Face Challenge

If you received even an iota of enjoyment from this then please support me and TenTonHammer (but mostly me) by doing one of more of the following:

• Follow me on Twitter (@BoomjackTTH)
• Comment below (even a “this sucks” will do)

 Thanks again.  I appreciate your support.   Who’s awesome?  You’re awesome!