No, this was not the reaction I had when informed that we were ready to post another SnarkCast.  If you want to know why this horrible, horrible picture is relevant to this discussion, you’ll just have to listen to the show.

EDIT: Some of us are also playing on Belmont, Defiant side….

-Grim

You may also want to look into booking a room as the Hilton and Sheraton have already made rooms available for next year’s convention.

I’d like to thank the following folks for their extraordinary efforts over the weekend.

First, to my staff.  I am proud to call you all my friends.  I am even prouder that you did such a wonderful job of taking care of our fans, our guests, and of me, for 5 long days. (We started working on Thursday…)

Second, to our track sponsor, Guild Launch, for helping us bring in a record crowd for our track.  Granted, we’re only on our 4th year, but our attendance is significantly higher than any of our previous years.  Stephen and the gang at GL are a genuine pleasure to work with, and a very valuable resource for us.  I look forward to working with you guys for a long time.

Third, to our guests and their handlers.   Wil, Robin, Felicia, and Amy were absolutely delightful to work with, and I am very glad that you all had a good time last weekend.  I’d like to give special thanks to Mitzi for ensuring that I did not get to sleep until nearly 6:00 AM by entertaining me with her stories.  I can’t wait to see you all again.  To Oxhorn and CKKnight, I’m glad you guys came back to see us, and I hope to see you again next year.  Our fans absolutely love you guys, and so do we!

Finally, I’d like to thank all of the hard working folks at Dragon*Con.  The Senior Directors (my boss included) always seemed to be available to help out in a pinch.  Tech Ops were gods among men in doing 7 impossible things before breakfast.  Security was on the job and took good care of our people.  Registration… Volunteers… Guest Services… Con Suite… Walk of Fame… everyone we came in contact with in the course of working during the convention were competent, professional, and made our lives much easier.

There are so many more people who should be mentioned here, but I hear this strange music and have the mental image of some guy waving me off the stage.  It’s back to my day job for me today.

See you all in 359 days.

-Grim

Swag is boxed.

Cooler is… cooling.

Elvis is en route to the building.

Thankya. Thankyaverymuch.

First off, if you are looking for the MMO Track and you are not in Atlanta at Dragon*Con during the weekend of September 2nd through the 5th, the following instructions won’t matter because you are either in the wrong city or here on the wrong weekend. But assuming you are in Atlanta on the proper weekend and are looking for the MMO Track, the majority of the weekend you’ll find us at the Sheraton hotel.

The Five Host Hotels of Dragon*Con

Once you find the Sheraton, finding the MMO Track is easy. Our main room is the Savannah room. If you enter the Sheraton through the main entrance, make an immediate right and head past the shop (or stop at the shop if you want a soda or some gum). Keep going down the hall, you’ll pass several rooms on your right and eventually come to the elevators and bathrooms, make a left here and the Savannah is the first, second and third room on the left.

Additionally, we will be making use of the Piedmont room, which is one floor up from the Savannah. On the same floor is the Grand Ballroom, where several of our larger panels will be – such as The Guild Q&As.

And of course, our biggest events and parties will take place in the Capitol Ballroom, on the bottom floor, one below our regular track room. Of course, you should be familiar with the Capitol Ballroom if you’ve been to Dragon*Con in the last couple of years or even once you attend this year because the Capitol is where Registration is, where you get your badge. Don’t let the possible hours you spend in line there keep you away from our party though. We’ll also be running one event in the Atlanta Ballroom this year, which is right next door to the Capitol.

The Mighty Sheraton!

The one time this weekend you’ll find an MMO Track panel not at the Sheraton will be the WoW Costume Contest, which will be located in the Marriott hotel in rooms A601-A602. It’s a large double room on the restaurant level on the opposite side of the elevators from the bar, near the “other” escalators.

The Marriott lobby is made of people!

So now you know where to find us, and knowing is half the battle (the other half is split between red lasers and blue lasers), there are no more excuses.

Saturday night at 10 PM in the Capitol Ballroom, the MMO Track will be hosting its annual party The Gathering of Heroes. Come as you are, or dressed as your favorite character – the awesome thing about MMOs these days is that in some corner of the Internet there is bound to be one for every interest. We’ll have a bar and music, as well as prizes and other entertainment.

Then on Sunday, we host a party of a different sort. Plucked out of the plethora of MMOs, the Kingdom of Loathing Party is a different beast altogether. Show up for the costume contest, stick around for the nerdy music, games and a chance to meet the developers. Last year we held this party in the track room, but it proved to have grown too big, so this year we’ll be in the Capitol Ballroom starting at 10 PM.

Basically, if you want to come party with us, and you should want to come party with us, just show up to the Capitol Ballroom of the Sheraton at 10 PM on Saturday or Sunday or BOTH!

A frakkin’ Emmy Award, that’s what!

…and just for comparison’s sake, this is how I felt the last time I had to stand in line at registration…

Or perhaps you are more interested in fan made videos… If machinima is your thing, at 8:30 AM on Saturday in the Savannah room, Romily will be running two and a half hours or so of Saturday Morning Cartoons to start off the day. And return to Savannah at 7 PM that night to see a whole lot more Machinima. Then come back on Sunday at 4 PM for a Q&A with Oxhorn, one of the big names in WoW Machinima.

Not every game launched is a success, and even the best successes have their missteps and bungled moments. Come and Join Krystalle and Kevin, Friday at 10 AM in the Savannah room, as they snark their way through a history of embarrassing moments in the MMO universe in Epic Fails and Flops.

Juggling your desire to game and your desire to keep your significant other around can be like tap dancing through a minefield. Kevin Stallard and SOE’s Linda Carlson are here to help you out with How to Avoid ‘Spouse Aggro’ on Friday at 2:30 PM in the Piedmont.

We’ll be hosting our annual Ask the Experts: MMO Roundtable on Friday at 4 PM in the Piedmont. Come and pick the brains of industry professionals Brian Green, Michelle Menard, Richard Garriott, and Linda Carlson with your burning questions about the MMO business. Ask thought provoking questions about design! Ask intelligent questions about business! Ask intriguing questions about the future of the market! Or just come and ask any random question that pops into your head.

We couldn’t get the guys from Rift to come this year, but we’ll be having a little Rift Fan Meetup at 8:30 PM Friday in the Savannah room. It’ll be a short Q&A on all things Rift followed by a chance to mingle with your fellow Rift players.

Our panel of experts Stephen Johnston, Andrew Patton, Adam Trzonkowski, and Mike McGreevy will illustrate, through their own painful experiences how best to avoid the drama that is all but inevitable in MMORPG guilds. Guild Management – Taming the Drama Llama will be held in the Savannah on Sunday at 10 AM.

Our own Snarkcast isn’t the only MMO-related podcast out there. Shawn Schuster and Ness Creighton will highlight some of the other hidden gems out there in MMO Podcasting at 1 PM Sunday in the Savannah.

And last but most certainly not least, don’t forget to come for out MMORPG Trivia Contest. The 4th Annual Quest For the Bling Gnome is here. If you want to be immortalized on a statue of a Gnome that poops gold coins, this is your chance. Sunday at 7 PM in the Savannah, be there.

The Dragon*Con iPhone App has hit the iTunes store and is available for download.

The app contains:

• A personalized event schedule with the ability to add your own unofficial events.
• The official Dragon*Con schedule, kept updated by the lovely folks at the Daily Dragon. (Yes, you can find out about cancellations before you show up to the panel)
• A list of guests and their bios.
• The official Dragon*Con Twitter feed
• The Daily Dragon!

No, I didn’t copypasta this from anywhere, this is just what I’ve found after playing with the app for a few minutes.  I believe the Android version is also ready, but since I don’t have an Android phone, I’ll defer to Larry on that.

And yes… it is free.

-Grim

Making its first appearance this year (and possibly its last if it doesn’t go well) is Defending Your Game. Starting at 1 PM in the Savannah room, this is where you can make a case for your favorite game that we left off the schedule. Come and tell us why some game we didn’t feature with a panel of its own deserves one next year.

Once we’ve got the games out of the way, at 2:30 PM in the same room we’ll move on into comments on the panels we did run with the Post MMOrtem Survivor’s Gathering. Too long? Too short? Too boring? Too fast? This is where you can air your grievances about what you saw over the weekend, and while we may not agree with you, we will listen to what you have to say. We’ll even hear you out on suggestions for how to keep the track interesting all year long. Plus, this is a great time to actually have a chance to gab with the staff unlike the rest of the weekend where we are often busy running stuff.

I Can Haz Form Nao? (Click me)

We’ll be doing two The Guild Q&A sessions with the cast this year. The first is on Friday at 1 PM in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton hotel, with Robin, Amy and Wil doing the question answering. Saturday’s 2:30 PM session, also in the Grand Ballroom, will feature Robin, Amy and Felicia.

On Sunday, in the Atlanta Ballroom room, starting at 10 PM and going until we are finished (and then maybe starting over again from the beginning), we’ll be screening entire seasons of The Guild in our Watch The Guild Marathon. Come and see them again, or see what you’ve been missing as we watch Cyd Sherman and the Knights of Good deal with life both in and out of game.

If you love the lore of the World of Warcraft or if you just like stories, songs and laughter, then you won’t want to miss Chad and Megan Tindale of Lessons In Lore (and members of our very own staff) lay down the beats. It begins on Friday the 2nd at 11:30 AM in the Savannah room of the Sheraton hotel with WoW Lore 101, an irreverent look at the history of the world (of Warcraft). Return on Saturday the 3rd to the Savannah room at 1 PM for the History of the Alliance as our loremasters present the tale told with the fairness and balance that you would expect from the mighty Horde. And on Sunday the 4th, still in the Savannah room at 2:30 PM, hear the Tales from the Horde, courtesy of the Alliance News Network. Trust me, you won’t want to miss any one of these three panels.

Have you been playing WoW with all the wrong addons? Do you even know what the right addons are? Addons? What are those? Luckily for you, we’ve got a panel with experts ckknight and Chad Tindale just salivating waiting to impress you with their knowledge of all the things you need to have that Blizzard refuses to add into the default interface. Come and see what all the fuss is about in All About Addons in the Savannah room on Sunday the 4th at 11:30 AM.

Now that you’ve got your addons squared away, maybe it’s time you learned how to chew bubble gum and kick ass. Monday the 5th in the Savannah room at 11:30 AM Andrew Patton is all out of bubble gum, so he’s left with showing you how to do the other part, or at least showing you the tools that can help. He wants to help you with Setting Yourself Up to Win. Be there!

But perhaps celebrating WoW isn’t your style. Perhaps you would rather lambaste it instead. Well, come to the Savannah room on Friday the 2nd at 7 PM and join in on What’s Wrong With WoW! You play, you know you do, and clearly you know better how to fix every thing broken in the game better than Blizzard, so come and put your mouth where you money is and be heard (by people with absolutely no influence over the game what so ever)!

Enough about the game… what about the socializing? Saturday is a big day for WoW on the MMO Track, beyond other panels listed above, the afternoon kicks into high gear with the World of Warcraft Costume Contest at 4 PM in the Marriott hotel, rooms A601-A602 (on the same level as the bar – I’m sure you know where THAT is, right?). Sure, Dragon*Con is full of costumes, everywhere, and there are easily a half dozen costume contests, but this one is just for WoW. Come and see people show off their Azerothian Finery for our celebrity judges and win prizes! ckknight, Oxhorn, and The Guild’s Robin Thorsen & Amy Okuda will preside. Once the winners have been crowned, hightail it over to the Capitol Ballroom in the Sheraton for our World of Warcraft Meet and Greet: The Darkmoon Faire! Come and play carnival-style games for fun and prizes, and enjoy live entertainment from ckknight, Oxhorn, and the MMO Track staff. The faire begins at 7 PM and runs for two and half hours, but the fun doesn’t end there. We might be packing up our games, and opening out doors to the rest of the MMOs that aren’t made by Blizzard, but the prizes won’t stop as we slide right into the Gathering of Heroes track party. From 10 PM until they shut us down we’ll be spinning and oontzing into the wee hours.

Of course this is just the WoW-centric parts of the track, and we are so much more than WoW. Be sure to check out all our programming and stop by our party on Saturday night. See you there!

Artix Entertainment kicks off the weekend on Friday at 2:30 PM in the Savannah room of the Sheraton. The AQ Worlds Meet and Greet is full of goodies, sing-alongs and more. It promises to be a blast.

At 5:30 PM on Friday, also in Savannah, Zack “Jick” Johnson, Josh “Mr. Skullhead” Nite and Kevin Simmons will be on hand to talk about their journey from hobby to profession with their home-grown satirical browser-based MMO at the Kingdom of Loathing Q&A. An adventure is you!

Over in the Piedmont room, at 7 PM Friday, Sony Online Entertainment takes over to talk with you for the DC Universe Online Meet and Greet. Linda “Brasse” Carlson, Tony “RadarX” Jones and Ted “Mepps” Stone will share the secrets of being a superhero and other information about the game. At 8:30 PM, they’ll open the floor for all of SOE’s stable of games for a Sony Online Entertainment Meet and Greet. EverQuest, EQ II, Vanguard, Planetside, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Free Realms and more. Come and see what they have to say about all the worlds they run.

Atlanta locals Hi-Rez studios will be here as well. First on Saturday at 1 PM in the Piedmont for a little Global Agenda Meet and Greet. On Sunday, they’ll return to the Piedmont room at 1 PM as Hi-Rez Studios Presents their upcoming releases. Come and see the preview.

On Saturday at 4 PM in the Savannah room, CCP will be hosting a CCP Games Meet and Greet where you can speak with the Ned Coker and Oscar Garza about EVE Online, the forthcoming Dust 514, and the eagerly anticipated World of Darkness MMO.

Also on Saturday in the Savannah room at 5:40 PM will be the Star Wars Combine Meet and Greet. Come and talk about one of the longest running Star Wars MMO’s out there. Sure, BioWare might have a game on the horizon, and these people aren’t technically a game studio, but this one is made for fans, by fans. Come and share in the love.

This schedule is unofficial until Dragon*Con releases the official track schedule.   What does that mean to you?  It means that this schedule can (and in at least one instance, probably will) change.  As of this moment, this is the schedule that is in Dragon*Con’s database.

Since the pocket program only allows Twitter-sized (150 characters or less) descriptions of our panels, here is a little more information on some of our events that isn’t self-explanitory from the title of the panel.

• 2 “The Guild” Q&A Sessions.  Due to scheduling, it was easier to get one panel with Felicia and one with Wil than it was to get both at the same time.  You might have a hard time believing this, but both Felicia and Wil are in extremely high demand at Dragon*Con.   *insert feigned shocked expression*

• World of Warcraft Costume Contest!  We haven’t yet confirmed where we will be having this.  We’re trying to get in the Hilton or Marriott for this so that all of our costumers won’t have to schlep down to the Sheraton in costume.

• World of Warcraft – Darkmoon Faire.  We have made a slight change to the WoW Meet and Greet of years past.  This time around we have actually set up a themed event with carnival games, mini quests and other forms of entertainment.

• MMO Gathering of Heroes.  Our track party is back and bigger and better than last year.  We think you’re really going to enjoy this.

and finally…

• Defend Your Game.  There are so many MMOs out there these days that there is just no room on our schedule to represent even a significant portion of them all. (For instance, this year, we have no programming on Guild Wars 2, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Black Prophecy, Champions Online, City of Heroes, Star Trek Online, or any one of a bunch of really good games out there…)  There are a bunch of reasons why, but first and foremost is that we need someone to run the event who is passionate about the game and is willing to get up in front of our fans and lead a panel.    This is your chance to make a case that your favorite game belongs on our schedule.  As of this year, 10 of our 35 events were initially suggested and run by fans, not staff or game studios.

If you’re not already stoked about Dragon*Con this year, check your pulse.

1)  I like torturing you guys and making you wait.

2) I’m still putting together the iCal and Google Calendars with our schedule and would like to include links to those in our announcement.

Some highlights and factoids:

• Not one, but TWO Q&A sessions for The Guild.
• CCP, SOE, Kingdom of Loathing, Global Agenda, DC Universe Online, AQ Worlds, Rift, and World of Warcraft are all on the schedule.
• Speaking of KOL, their party is a bit… bigger, this time around. =)  The KOL development team will be there to help us keep the party going.
• We have 10 panels on “General” topics such as Guild Management, PVP, and Working in the Gaming Industry
• We have a WoW Costume Contest this year
• Battle & Brew will be back to run MMO Trivia
• oh yeah… one more thing.

Those of you who have come to see us in previous years know that our WoW Meet and Greet can be a bit… chaotic at times.  This year, we’re trying something a bit different.  The DC*MMO staff has worked to put together an actual “Darkmoon Faire” style event for the WoW M&G.  Carnival Games, Prizes, Live Entertainment… The works.

Yes, we will still have our punting Gnomes and WoW Family Feud going on, but we wanted to have some things that everyone could play and win prizes for.   My thanks to Chad, Megan, and the rest of the DC*MMO staff who have busted serious hump to make this happen.  We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Lastly, but definitely not least, the DC*MMO gang would like to thank our track sponsor for this year, Guild Launch.  Stephen and the guys at Guild Launch are really going all out to help us put on our best year ever.

2 months to go…

If you want to find out, you gotta come to Dragon*Con.

So TAKE THE DAMNED SURVEY, PEOPLE!!!

A while back, Clare McBride from The Literary Omnivore asked for submissions for a “Dragon*Con 25th Anniversary” anthology.  I whipped up a short little essay called “How The Frak Did I End Up Here?” and sent it in, figuring that I’d get a nice “Thanks, but no thanks”.   I’m no author, and I drive editors insane with the shortest of submissions. (Right, Krys?)

Imagine my surprise when Clare told me that she was going to include my little story in her anthology!

This week, her anthology, Hic Sunt Dracones was published (electronic format only… and it’s free).

So what’s it all about?

This is a collection of 25 years of stories from Dragon*Con.  There are stories about “My First Dragon*Con” both as a fan and as an author/guest of the convention.  There are stories about relationships forming at Dragon*Con that continued long after all of the fans went home.  Least of all, there’s my story.  It is, more or less, a tale of how one smart-assed loudmouth in the audience wound up directing the MMORPG track and the incredible string of coincidences that occurred along the way.

I did not say as much in my story, but since Trevor and Krystalle are mentioned prominently, I would like to thank some of the other folks who played a bigger part in this story than they may have realized.  Jay and Ian (The “Hey Kevin, you need to come and see this…” guys) are not mentioned by name, but without their help, none of this would be happening. (Additional credit should go to Jay’s wife, Sheryl, for keeping all of us relatively sane during those first couple of years)

There are so many examples of moments which, in retrospect, make me think “Holy crap! Is this really happening?” and there are so many people responsible for those moments that I do not think it is possible to thank them all.  So fi you’ve had anything to do with the MMO Track over the last few years, thank you!

2002 – Trevor pulls a smartass out of the audience during an EverQuest panel and hands him a mic.   That smartass (or dumbass, depending on how you prefer to look at it) turns out to be Grim, thus setting this whole ball of wax into motion.

2003 – Trevor, Grim, and friends host another EQ panel and make plans to do it again the following year.

2004- Predictably, Grim screws up those plans and no-shows the EQ panel. (…and there was much rejoicing.)

2005 – Grim and Trevor decide to do a panel on World of Warcraft at the Hilton.  The room is packed, but still reasonable.

2006 – Grim and Trevor do another WoW panel, and show a demo of Neverwinter Nights 2 to a packed house.

2007 – Trevor and Grim move over to “Game Programming” from the EFF track and run panels on World of Warcraft and Age of Conan to packed rooms with lines running all the way into the lobby of the Marriott and around the elevators.  This is also the first year that the folks from WoW Insider show up to help out.

2008 – DC*MMO is born as it becomes a new track hosted in the Sheraton.  SOE, Funcom, CCP and others join in the festivities.  The WoW Meet and Greet is moved to a ballroom to hold all of the people.

2009 – DC*MMO adds Artix Entertainment and Hi-Rez Studios join in the fun.  Felicia Day shows up to talk about “The Guild”

2010 – The first Gathering of Heroes Party is held and Sandeep Parikh proposes to 500 women at once.

2011 – ????

However, today, we are very pleased to announce that Guild Launch will be sponsoring the DC*MMO track this year.  Thanks to Stephen and the guys over at Guild Launch, we’re going to have more fun stuff to give away at Dragon*Con this year in addition to all of the new events (and parties… Yes, the Gathering of Heroes will be back this year.) we already have planned.

The guys at Guild Launch have already been involved in helping us out for this year, and thanks to their help, we’ve got some big surprises in store for everyone.  I’d give you more details… but it’s a surprise!

As part of our official welcome to Guild Launch, I thought it would be appropriate to throw a little Snark their way.  Snarkito Ergo Sum.

As part of the sponsorship deal, I have promised…

1. Not to say “Brought to you by Carl’s Jr.” after every sentence I utter into a microphone.
2. Not to roll my eyes every time I mention the sponsor’s name.
3. Not to give the “You can stop paying attention for a few minutes” speech before mentioning the sponsor.
4. Not to make shadow puppets using the projector while our sponsor is talking to our fans.
5. Not to make rabbit ears behind our sponsor’s representatives during promotional photo opportunities.
6. Not to wear a custom t-shirt with “SELL OUT!” written across the back.
7. Not to hide our sponsor’s banner behind the projection screen in the ballroom. (“It said ‘display’… It did NOT say where!”)
8. Not to wear apparel from our sponsor’s competition during Dragon*Con.
9. To take lots of cough drops so that my cough does not sound like the word “SUCKS” at inopportune moments.
10. Not to keep all of the swag provided by the sponsor and use various bits of debris found in my garage for contest prizes.

* No, I haven’t actually done any of these things… But since we ARE the Home of the Snarkcast…

On a purely personal note, having met the guys from Guild Launch last year and having worked with them on some of our early preparations for this year’s convention, we are absolutely thrilled to be working with Guild Launch this year.  We are expecting our biggest year ever this year (snark:  Ya think?  I mean.. it’s not the 25th anniversary con or anything…) and are exciting to be working with a sponsor who truly understands our convention and our fans.

We are getting into the “nitty gritty” of our preparation for this year, so to give everyone a small taste of what’s coming:

1. After all of the positive feedback from our “WoW Lore” panels last year, we’re going to have quite a bit more this time around.
2. Felicia, Robin, and Amy… Oh my!
3. WoW Costume Contest (we’re working with the Costuming track on this one, so get your popcorn/costumes ready!)
4. Gathering of Heroes Party
5. Kingdom of Loathing Party
6. MMO Trivia Contest (complete w/Bling Gnome!)
7. Saturday Morning Cartoons (MMO Style)

and, as always… a whole lot more.

Back by popular demand, the Official “Unofficial” DC-MMO Georgia Renaissance Festival Gathering is coming soon! We’re aiming for mid-May to give people a chance to check their schedules and make arrangements. There will be a photo hunt so bring your camera and the soon-to-be-made picture target list. Costumes are optional (but strongly encouraged) so dust off that sword, lace up your boots, and check back for more details.

In other news…

Our friends at Battle & Brew have been busy as ever hosting movie nights, gaming tournaments, and themed trivia.  I can neither confirm nor deny that there are events being planned that involve that location…

Stay tuned!

(Oh, and one little note from Uncle Grimmy… Guess who’s coming to Dragon*Con this year? You’re welcome.)

• Starting with our next Snarkcast, we will be going to a shorter, daily update format.  A daily Snarkcast covering 1 or 2 short stories will be more informative than our more traditional, regular, long-format Snarkcasts.
• Felicia Day, Amy Okuda, and Robin Thorsen have all had to cancel their appearances at Dragon*Con due to their participation in Joss Whedon’s new project, tentatively titled “Firefly: The Next Generation”
• Blizzard will be making a very special announcement at Dragon*Con about World of Warcraft going “Free-to-play”
• In order to make more of our programming accessible for our fans, we will be spreading our panels among all 5 convention hotels this year.
• Our music for the MMO Gathering of Heroes will be provided by The Schmenge Brothers Polka Band
• Due to the recent accident at the Georgia Aquarium, the “Night at the Georgia Aquarium” event has been canceled.
• We are pleased to announce a special “All-you-can-eat” Seafood Buffet as part of Dragon*Con this year.
• We will be substituting Ian’s normal “Wake the Hell Up” coffee at Dragon*Con with Folger’s Crystals.
• Axe Body Spray and Glade are proud to be the official sponsors of the Dragon*Con Gaming Room at the Hilton.
• Bob and Carl have been replaced by cheaper immigrant labor.

As you can see, change is afoot at Dragon*Con.  We’ll be sure to keep you updated (daily) on the latest goings on and I hope that you and yours stay safe during today’s holiday.

-Grim

This week we touch on a series of MMO highlights and news stories from both GDC and PAX East. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ve added some links and videos behind the break for those who want more information on the games we’re talking about this week!

SW:TOR Trailer:

The Secret World GDC writeup & trailer:

UFO Online: Fight for Earth:

Grimlands:

You can check out all this news and more over on Massively!

Music used:

• Opening: “Yellow Cake (Healflouride) by Ministry
• Bed: Tavern music from WoW (sampled and looped)
• Ending: “Я очень рад, ведь я, наконец, возвращаюсь домой” by Eduard Khil

Questions? Comments? Hatemail? Contact us at podcast [AT] dc [DASH] mmo [DOT] org or catch up with Krystalle & Kevin on Twitter

It shouldn’t have too much impact on Dragon*Con since most of our hotel rooms are sold out already.   A memo to our football fans who have stumbled across this… We will be checking badges at the hotel entrances this time around.  No badge or roomkey?  No entrance.  Not even to “people watch”.

As I was sitting in my office, brooding and contemplating as evil geniuses are wont to do, it occurred to me that there are a handful of “milestones” on the road to Dragon*Con each year.  Here are some of mine.

• Richard Hatch is announced as a guest.  *CHECK*

Richard has been coming to Dragon*Con for as long as I can remember, and he is usually one of the first guests announced.  Rather than becoming “Old News”, this puts a smile on my face as he is one of the nicest and most positive people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at Dragon*Con.  He’s one of the people who makes this convention what it is, and if you have a chance to catch him on a panel, or even speak to him in person, I highly recommend it.  Even if you aren’t particularly a fan of Battlestar Galactica. (You heathen!)

• The first badge price increase.  *CHECK*

The effects of this are a little more evident if you follow #dragoncon on Twitter.  There is always a flurry of “I just got my badge! WOO HOO!” type tweets just befote one of these deadlines. (Today, if you’re curious)

• The first staff meeting. (Coming soon…)

I finally get to leave my fortress of solitude. (When I grow a cape and can fly, I’ll capitalize that term.)  The staff meetings aren’t always the most productive affairs, but the first one is a clear sign that “Dragon*Con is coming.”

• Voltaire and The Cruxshadows are announced (TBA)

It always seems to pop up on the main Dragon*Con page when the inevitable “Why aren’t Volataire/The Cruxshadows coming to Dragon*Con this year?” posts on the LiveJournal community.  Since Voltaire has agreed to play the MMORPG Track Party this year, I’m reasonably confident that he’s planning on coming back to Dragon*Con.  I can’t speak for Rogue and crew (or Crux, if you’re Francophone), but I’d be seriously shocked if they aren’t returning as well.

The last “signpost” on the road to Dragon*Con each year is when tracks start publishing their schedules online.  Truthfully, I could publish our preliminary schedule today as I don’t see it changing much between now and the convention, depending on which guests return. Of course, just as truthfully, there are always last minute surprises and changes that render any amount of planning done by me or my staff as utterly useless.

At any rate, ’tis the season to start ramping up for next year.  Dragon*Con 25 Season is officially open.

Our schedule for next year is pretty much done.  There are a few variables left to figure out, and we still need to lock down our guests for next year.  We have a pretty good idea of who they will be, but there might be a last minute surprise addition, you never know.

We also have a pretty good idea of who is interested in sponsoring our track for next year. (More to come on that once it is official.)

So basically, the only things left to do is figure out how many staff we’ll need and bring them up to speed.  We also need to get our signage designed for next year as well as come up with our trivia and other contests.  Since this is November, and we usually don’t start that stuff until July or August, I’m thinking it’s going to be a fairly quiet year for the DC*MMO staff.

That means we’ll have more time to actually PLAY MMOs!!!

Got my 25-man Icecrown Citadel drake this week.

Downed Heroic Sindragosa and Heroic Professor Putricide last week.  Next stop, Heroic Lich King!

By the way, my guild is still recruiting. =)  Drop me a line if you’re interested.

Happy Hunting!

Don’t wait to make reservations folks.  This isn’t Comic-Con where you can make a room reservation the week before the convention.

This is our chance to remedy that.  If you’ve got something to say, then feel free to register and post on our shiny new forums! (Psst.  You can also get there from the main menu at the top of the page.)  We’re fairly tolerant on what you can and can’t say, but we do ask that you do your best to refrain from egregious asshattery.

Cheers!

-Grim

Enjoy!

Pirates of the Burning Sea will be going Free-to-Play.  Now be this the most current of news?  Nay, say I.  However, it be appropriate to mention on this most glorious of holidays.

I’ll be watchin’ me favorite movie with Mrs. Grim and Little Grimmette, but for those of ye who may not have said movie available, here’s a wee bit o’ entertainment in honor of the occasion.

That’s all the poetry you get from me for at least 3 weeks.  As of this post, I’m declaring a 3 week moratorium on any use of the word Dragon*Con. (My staff bet me I couldn’t do it… 3 weeks without doing anything for Dragon*Con? That’s just crazy talk?)

That is not to say that I will not snark on things.  Oh yes, the Snark must continue to flow.  However, if I say the words “Dragon*Con” anytime between 9/11/2010 and 10/2/2010, (and get caught… if nobody hears it, it doesn’t count) I lose.

To tide you all over for the next 3 weeks, I’m going to show you guys some videos that didn’t have the chance to be shown during our Machinima panels this year.  Thanks again to Romily for hooking us up with some Grade-A eye candy!

Don’t Make Me Get My Main

Halo, reminxed!

I’m on a Mount!

Sadly, none of the audio from the weekend’s recordings made it (we think whatever weird thing that made Grimmy’s PC play music at chipmunk speed is the same thing that caused the audio to be unusable) but hey – learning experience for next year, when we’ll show you a real snarkcast.

Not me.

I’ll be putting together after action reports and compiling the multiple gigabytes of pictures and videos from this year.  Once that’s done, I’m going to see how long I can go without mentioning Dragon*Con.  My staff thinks I won’t make it a day before kicking around ideas for next year.  I think I can make it 3 weeks.

If you guys want to start a betting pool…

Thanks for a wonderful Dragon*Con 2010, and I’m looking forward to doing this again next year.   I hope you are too, but most of all, I wish you all the contented sleep of a newborn, I won’t be far behind you.

360 days and counting.

As a special “Pre-Convention” gift to you guys,  the folks over at The Unique Geek did an interview as part of their “40 Days of Dragon*Con” with someone who’s voice you might recognize, but you’ll have a hard time placing it with the lack of Snark on hand.  Thanks to the folks over there for having me on as a guest, and I look forward to seeing everyone down there… later today. (yikes… where does the time go?)

As a special bonus to our loyal readers (both of you!)  I’m presenting a list of “Top 10 Craziest Questions Grim Has Been Asked About Dragon*Con This Week.”   These are actual questions that have found their way into Grim’s mailbox. ***

10.  Hey.  This is <redacted> from <deleted name of Game Developer>.  I know it’s only a week before the convention, but is it too late for us to buy a booth and do some panels?

Our exhibitor space is 90%+ sold out by the end of the previous convention.  If you want to participate at Dragon*Con, you’d be well advised to get in touch with us now about next year.  One week before the convention is way too late.

9.  Why won’t you invite Blizzard to come to Dragon*Con?

Yes, they’re not coming to Dragon*Con because we forgot to invite them.  How careless of us.  Truth be told, we’ve been in touch with them for the past 3 years, and we’re still trying.  If you want to help, step right up and let us know.  Every little bit helps.

8. Hi.  I’m an independent game developer who hasn’t published a single title yet, but I’m working on it.   I’d like to come to Dragon*Con and promote my game.  Can you provide transportation and accommodations for the weekend? (oh, and I’ll need badges for 10 of my co-workers)

If you are going to try and scam your way into a free weekend at Dragon*Con, please be a LITTLE more creative in your scam. If you are serious about promoting your upcoming game, we’d love to help, but you’re on your own for getting here and finding a place to stay once you get here.

7. We would like to come to your convention and promote our convention.  Can you give us free passes so that we can do that?

We get lots of requests for cross-promotion, and for the most part, we’re happy to work with you.  However, 3 days before the con starts is a bad time to ask for anything “free”.

6. Why won’t you talk about <obscure Asian grinder MMO that nobody else in North America plays… you know, like Aion>?

If we covered every MMO out there, we would need a bigger convention to hold it all.  Last year, for example, we had nearly 50 panels covering a wide range of games, and the list of games we did NOT cover includes games such as Warhammer Online, Star Trek Online, and many other big name titles.  From year to year, our priorities are, in no particular order:

• Companies that come to Dragon*Con and work with us to promote their games. (e.g. Funcom, Sony Online, Hi Rez Studios)
  
• Games where fan interest is very high (e.g. World of Warcraft, City of Heroes)
• Games where we have a subject matter expert available to run the panel, either on staff, a fan at the convention, or even a member of the press. (e.g. Guild Wars)
• After that, we try to come up with as much programming as we can which will be of interest across a broad spectrum of MMO games (e.g. Legal Issues, Free and Freemium, or New MMO Showcase)

If your favorite game isn’t on our schedule this year, feel free to contact us about running a panel for it next year.  How do you think WE got this gig?

5. Why won’t you talk about <Insert game that hasn’t come out yet.>?

This is actually not a stupid question, just one that I get a lot.  We’re a fan convention.  We’re not a trade show.  We made the mistake of trying to promote/do panels on games that haven’t been released yet, and it was an hour long snorefest of trailers that you can watch on the Internet for free without having to buy a badge to a convention.  Once the game comes out, and there actually is a fanbase for that game?  We’d be happy to have a panel or event for it as long as we have someone who plays the game on hand to run it.  We have the “New MMO Showcase” for a reason.  That’s where we talk about ALL of the upcoming games without having to fill an hour’s worth of Q&A on a single game that is still in development.

4.  Are you allowed to talk about <insert game here> since the studio won’t be there?

The great thing about being a Fan Convention is that we can talk about any darn thing we want to.  We choose to support the studios who come to Dragon*Con by providing them with a place to meet and greet their fans.  Any other games we decide to cover are our choice, time and space permitting.

3. <Insert Popular Game Here> is lame!  Why do you spend so much time covering that game and not covering my favorite game?

Well, Sparky.   With 40,000 people at the convention, two things are certain.

1) Someone else at the convention is going to like the same things you like.

2) Not everybody at the convention is going to like the same things you like.

It’s our job to find/provide things that will appeal to as many people as possible.  I know this might be a shock to you, but at fan conventions, popular things are… POPULAR!

2.  Will you introduce me to <Random celebrity appearing at Dragon*Con>?

Sure.  I won’t be busy at all during the weekend, and I’ll have PLENTY of time to play “Fanboy/FanGirl Tourguide” for you all weekend.  Plus, I know every single one of our 400+ guests that are coming to Dragon*Con this year.  I’m yer hookup, baby!

And the number 1 craziest question appearing in Grim’s inbox this week?

1.  Do you have anything planned for this weekend?

*sound of Grim’s head exploding*

*** Ok, so I may have taken creative license with a few of these…

By this time, 4 days from now, the DC*MMO crew will be descending upon an unsuspecting Sheraton hotel.   If you’re not there, it’s your loss.

In other news, the folks over at The Unique Geek will be interviewing Grim on Monday night as part of their excellent “40 Days of Dragon*Con” series.  Those of you “jonesing” for a SnarkCast fix will have to wait until after the convention.   Or… You could show up at the Sheraton’s Savannah Room at 10:00 AM on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday and catch Krystalle and Grim in the act LIVE at Dragon*Con.

Anyone want to lay odds on whether or not Krystalle can keep Grim in line while recording in front of a live audience?

Shall we upgrade the degree of difficulty a bit?  Let’s have some guests show up while we’re at it! (Psst:  We have Oxhorn on Friday and Jeff Lewis from The Guild on Saturday!)

Saturday night in the Sheraton’s Capitol Ballroom (10:00), we’ll be holding our first ever “Gathering of Heroes”.

Come as you are, or come dressed as your favorite hero from an MMO.

MMO heroes limited to… *deep breath*

Stormtroopers, Jedi, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, Knights, Ninjas, Pirates, Rogues, Thieves, Buccaneers, Snipers, Scouts, Rangers, Strangers, Hunters, Wizards, Lich Kings, Dragons, Dwarves, Gnomes, Elves, Pilots, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Necromancers, Shamans, Priests, Demons, Barbarians, Conquerors, Enchanters, Federation Officers, Redshirts, Spellslingers, Post-Apocalyptic Wanderers, Road Warriors, Corsairs, Privateers, Smugglers, Mad Scientists, Tinkerers, Drow, Monks, Medics, Healers, Brewmasters, Tanks, Dragon Riders, Warriors, Superheroes, Supervillains, Lions, Tigers, Bears (oh my!), Ravens, Hawks, Tauren, Orcs, Trolls, Goblins, Worgen, Werewolves, Vampires, Zombies, Elementals, Kobolds, Cylons, Colonials,  Gods, Gunslingers. Pandas, Ostragoths, Visigoths, Plain Jane Goths, Corporate Goths, Oh-my-goths, Picts, Celts, Nemedians, Stygians, Cimmerians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Trojans, Khitans, Martians, Venusians, Jovians, Minmatar, Caldari, Amarr, Gallente, Undead, Forsaken, Draenei, Horde, Alliance, Sarnak, Drakken, Dark Elves, Wood Elves, High Elves, Erudites, Fae, Frogloks, Halflings, Hobbits, Kerra, Iksar, Ratonga, Mutants, Humans, Twi’lek, Zabrak, Trandoshans, Mon Calamari, Bothans, Sullustans, Ithorians, Wookiees (ESPECIALLY Wookiees), Bounty Hunters, Space Troopers, Super Troopers, Orions, Elysea, Asmodae, White Mages, Black Mages, Red Mages, Blue Mages, Life Mages, Death Mages, Samurai, Dragoons, Corsairs, Dancers, Prancers, more Necromancers, Paladins, Beastmasters, Puppet Masters, Gypsies, Tramps (and Thieves), Berserkers, Dragon Slayers, Vampire Slayers, Assassins, Scholars, Templars, Guardians, Demonologists, Conquerors, Captains, Champions, Minstrels, Burglars, Wardens, Rune-Keepers, and Death Knights.

If, somehow, I missed your particular brand of MMO hero, rest assured.  If you can think of it, chances are it’s in an MMO somewhere.  Show up anyway!  Our friends at Artix Enterainment, Sony Online Entertainment, and Comcast will be on hand to give away goodies and have been gracious enough to sponsor our entertainment and “refreshements” for the evening.  We’ll have 2 DJ’s spinning dance tunes until the wee hours of the morning.

There’s only one “First Time”, so don’t miss what promises to be a unique Dragon*Con tradition.

Grim and Krystalle discuss the schedule of events on the DC*MMO track for this year and give some exclusive information about the track that won’t appear in the program guide or pocket schedule. If you want the real inside scoop on what we’ll be up to this year, we’ve got the podcast for you. (or you can wait until con and read about it in the Daily Dragon…)

-Grim

Our “Morning Coffee and Snarkcast” on Saturday morning will feature an interview with Jeff “Vork” Lewis.

I’ll give you some hints for some of our other surprises, but you’ll need to check the Daily Dragon to find out for sure.

Hint #1: ROFLMAO
Hint #2: He lost more than his heart in that cantina, and likes to show up at one of our panels unannounced.

More to come… =)

-Grim

The good news for us is that he is coming back to Dragon*Con this year to talk about addons, he will also be participating in our World of Warcraft Q&A where we’ll give you some inside info on the upcoming release of Cataclysm!

If you’re into Warhammer Online or Runes of Magic, you’ll even have a chance to ask him about addons for those games.

You can drop down from “Dragon*Con Calendar” in the list of links above, or you can go here to see our schedule. Yes, we have included iCal and XML formats so you can upload the schedule into your phone. We aren’t complete Luddites, you know.

Less than 60 days until Dragon*Con!

Thanks to the DC*TV guys for this image…

Before there was RPG’s, computer gaming, and the Internet, there were comic books. Please join me in welcoming the creator of Marvel Comics, Stan The Man Lee. I can remember going to Comic Con’s in the early 80′s hoping to get his signature on some of collections. So, all of you former and current collectors bring your comics and stand in line.

And as always please remember to donate blood.