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Daily Column

9 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 79 so far in December!

Have you ever had friends who didn't get along? They quarrel, call each other names and sometimes it may even come to blows. It's an uncomfortable situation when friends bicker, although with my close friends it always makes me laugh as prod them into considerably more theatrics, especially if we are in public. "Are you going to take that from him you pansy?"

In my position as lead evangelist and toilet scrubber at TTH these fights among friends are significantly less amusing and substantially more uncomfortable, because although it's a laugh riot to see my chums pour beer all over one another in a pub, I don't have a duty to tell the world about it (although there was this one time on Craigslist...). As a person you look to (is there really nobody else?) for the industry gospel I am obligated to disclose what I know. Here it comes...

Some of you may remember Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising. It was a title that I was enthusiastic about. I eagerly awaited its arrival like Oprah awaits a chance to look like Goody Two-Shoes. The title won awards. At E3 2007 it sat right inside the door at the SOE suite for all to see, and then...it was gone. The title was canceled and put on the shelf.

Rumours immediately began to swirl like so many cartoony MMOG vultures over not only the carcass of GnH, but the other intellectual property in Perpetual's hands, Star Trek Online. Had Perpetual sold the IP? Would they continue to develop it with new funding? There were many questions, but few answers. Then Shacknews discovered that Gravity Co. Ltd, which had invested $9 million in Perpetual filed that it presumed its investment was lost. The SEC filing can be read here.

Fast-forward to today when we became privy to the knowledge that Kohnke Communications Inc. was suing Perpetual.

"According to documents received last Friday in California's Superior Court for the County of San Francisco, public relations firm Kohnke Communications, Inc. – best known for promoting the efforts of numerous MMORPG developers like EA Mythic, Red 5, Turbine, and NetDevil – is suing Perpetual Entertainment, Inc. for breach of contract, fraudulent transfer, fraud, and various other charges for damages between $80,000 and $290,000, perhaps much more in terms of punitive or exemplary damages.

The complaints stem from allegations that Perpetual sold valuable assets like the Star Trek Online (STO) license to P2 Entertainment, Inc., a thinly veiled yet separate corporate entity, before executing the Perpetual ABC or "Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors" (a liquidation mechanism allowed by states like California as a less expensive alternative to the extensive litigation surrounding bankruptcy). The case could have drastic implications for future of the pre-alpha Star Trek Online title."

Jeff has eloquently distilled what can be made of the court documents into an article titled, Kohnke v. Perpetual - The Opening Round. I'm sure the message thread will be lively.

I really and truly like the folks at Kohnke and I feel the same about the team at Perpetual. I can see both sides of the story. I cannot express in words how disappointed I am that it has come to this. I'll be off doing some interpretive dance if anyone needs me.

In happier news....

We're opening a new site! TenTonIndustryFights.com! (just kidding)

This time around we are taking a slightly different track. Most notably, the site is geared to children and not the more mature, sophisticated types that read Loading...

"The creative forces of a new division of Ten Ton Hammer, a network devoted to coverage of massively multi-player online games (MMOG’s), are now .... hamster-powered! TenTonHammer.com is excited to announce the beta launch of their newest network of game-based sites, specifically dedicated to the most popular children’s' MMOGs. This novel new site is primarily targeted to kids between the ages of six and fourteen and has been aptly named Ten Ton Hamster (www.tentonhamster.com).

In the three years since its launch, www.tentonhammer.com has become one of the leading news sources on the Internet about all things MMOG. Built on this highly successful foundation, Ten Ton Hamster features news, reviews, previews, game guides and interviews surrounding kids’ MMOGs and Online Social Networks. The new site is designed to be kid-friendly and features the tagline “Your Games. Your Friends. Your Worlds”. Ten Ton Hamster has been designed to be a site where children can easily go to learn more about there current favorite games, make new friends and to learn about and explore the new worlds of games they may not have played. This children’s’ site is designed to be educational, interactive and, most importantly, FUN! Ten Ton Hamster will feature community-building tools like well-monitored forums, character pages and trophy rooms, as well as video hosting, polls, and guild/club support."

Strangely, though I've often been told to "stop being a child" I play an inconsequential part in this new endeavour. If you have kids that play or wish to play MMOGs then TenTonHamster.com is their safe harbour in a sea of MMOG vulgarity. The site will cover all MMOGs geared to kids and is launching with a Club Penguin Premium Community. Expect a Webkinz Premium Community to follow shortly.

Comments, questions or naughty pictures? Hit the forum or hit my mailbox. --Boomjack

New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today

• Kohnke Communications Sues Perpetual Entertainment
• --
• Blog: Perpetual v. Kohnke
• Fury: Age of the Chosen Developer Interview
• Lord of the Rings Online: Minstrel Skill List
• Lord of the Rings Online: Lore-master Skill List
• Tabula Rasa: Happy Seasonal Holiday Observance
• Vanguard: Monster Project - Sloggerosh
• World of Warcraft: Editorial - Asking For Help
• World of Warcraft: Weekly Report

Hot Content - Or, what I took a fancy to.

1. Kohnke Communications Sues Perpetual Entertainment
2. Fury: Age of the Chosen Developer Interview
3. Age of Conan: Class Interview #4 - The Assassin

Real World News

• Christmas Lights - Now With More Lead!
  Those of you allowing your children to suck on Christmas lights have bigger problems than the lead.
• Atlanta School Board Unanimously Bans Saggy Pants
  A brief statement was issued.
• Homosexuality Turned On and Off in Fruit Flies
  Making them just flies.

Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team