Warhammer Online at Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMOG Gamers to the Next Level!

By Josh Drescher, Associate Producer for Warhammer Online

I’m going to open with a bit of Truth here – It’s Monday night in LA and I skipped all of the press conferences today.  All I did was go to the convention center, grab my badge, check our booth and leave.  This is because I’m working on two hours sleep, our flight was delayed twice, my room at the hotel wasn’t ready and it’s too hot here.  So no earth-shattering revelations are forthcoming today.  Furthermore, I’m going to be chained to our booth for the next 72 hours, churning through press like a man possessed, so don’t be surprised if this deteriorates into lunatic rambling over the next couple of days.  I’ll try to maintain a steady hand and an even keel, but we’re in Vampire Country and you never know which way things will break.

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Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in the old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are,
One equal-temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

In case you’re in a huge rush, that’s E3 in a nutshell (it’s Tennyson, by the by).

Many moons ago, E3 began.  It soared to great, excessive heights and then flamed out in a rather grand fashion a couple of years ago.  Nevertheless, the industry’s memory of what E3 once was does much to sustain it to this day.  I come here this week not to bury E3, but to remember her fondly and to hope the New E3 will find some useful – albeit greatly changed – form.

First, to the fond memories:   

Somehow, somewhere, we all got together and agreed to hold an annual, multi-day bacchanal that was aimed squarely at… well… generating “You Won’t BELIEVE What Happened At E3” stories that would help keep us all going throughout the rest of the year.  Sure, making games meant spending countless dark and fearsome nights toiling until dawn to hit a deadline or fix a bug, but it ALSO meant spending a week in LA, trying to sneak into parties, collecting XXXL t-shirts from startled girls in revealing outfits and generally having a great, goofy time.  But most of all, it meant getting to see throngs of fans who’d managed to breach the tissue-thin membrane of security at the “industry only” show and subsequently made their way into the very heart of gaming.

More Truth: Los Angeles and I do not get along.  

I always seem to contract some sort of avian super-flu when I’m out here, the sun is too close to the ground, the locals seem like Martians and everyone is too damn skinny.  99% of the time, if I’m going to LA, I know it’s going to be an Ordeal.  But going to LA for E3 was always an exception because – while it was always a lot of hard work – it was also a great opportunity to reconnect with the people we make games for in the first place.  The jet-lag, pulped-vocal cords and lingering cases of “Convention Crud” were all worth it – year after year – because E3 was a fun time with the fans.

So, if I’m honest, the lack of fans sneaking into the show is probably the thing I worry about the most.  Security has been beefed up significantly – including new badges with photo-ID on them (no more sneaking in with your friend’s badge, kids), so it’s a fair bet that it’ll be a truly “industry only” affair.

Nevertheless, we’re hell-bent on having a good show.  We’ve brought out all of the Big Guns – Barnett, The Hickman and MBJ himself, in addition to your Humble Narrator and a scruffy band of devs who’re ready and able to knock this one out of the park.  So tomorrow, news from the Front!

(Editor's Note: You can read all of Josh's blog posts by clicking here!