In this week’s show, we snarkify (otherwise known as “show notes”):

• E3
  • Booth Babes
  • Underwear as Swag
  • A “Stripper Game”
  • News from Sony Online Entertainment
    • Free Realms
    • The Agency
    • Hong Kong Shuffle
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic
  • Global Agenda
    • Bogus “Awards” given at E3
    • DC*MMO takes a studio tour
    • “Open All Night” demo at Dragon*Con
• Sony Fan Faire
  • Star Wars Galaxies
    • Zombies
    • User-created content
    • The Gungan Gun
  • SOE’s big party at Dragon*Con
• Blizzard
  • No LAN play for Starcraft II
  • What’s Wrong With WoW?
  • Special Interview w/Dr. Tran
  • WoW Faction changes
  • WoW may be an MMO with training wheels, but it serves an important purpose.
• EVE Online
  • Yet another bank scam
  • BoB is dead
• Age of Conan
  • Huge upcoming patch
  • “Fixing” stats and itemization
  • Problems with questing in AoC
• Warhammer Online
  • How to “Kill 10 rats” correctly
  • Public quests
  • Mark Jacobs leaving Mythic
  • Mythic is now part of Bioware
  • How will Bioware change WAR?
• City of Heroes
  • Issue 15 is coming
  • The 5th Column is back!
  • New costumes and facial options
  • Is it better to look good? or have uber stats on gear?
• Dragon*Con stuff
  • Schedule is done!
  • 50 panels and events scheduled on MMO track
  • WoW trivia event being combined into Hardcore MMO Trivia contest
  • 5 different parties planned on the MMO track this year.
• Closing Music and gag reel.

(Opening music, courtesy of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, “Isis Unveiled”)

Now you may be wondering why I’d be bringing him up in a post on the Dragon*Con MMORPG track site.  Or you may be wondering what you’re going to have for lunch.  I don’t know.  I’m not you.

Anyway, where was I?  Oh, yeah.  Right.  Anthony Daniels.  Star Wars. Ok.  A good number of you that have come to our panels in the past are fans of Sony’s Star Wars Galaxies, and we’ve also heard a lot of buzz about the upcoming Star Wars : The Old Republic from Bioware.  A lot of Star Wars fans like to joke that C-3PO is the “gay robot” from the Star Wars mythos (although in the interest of full disclosure I understand Mr. Daniels has gotten quite friendly with some of the ladies in the Dawn lookalike contest in the past, so the actor himself likely isn’t gay…just British).

How does all of this tie together?  Well, according to at least one community moderator over on the Bioware site not only was C-3PO a confirmed homosexual but the terms “homosexual,” “lesbian,” and “gay” are “terms that do not exist in Star Wars.”

Somebody needs to tell Voltaire this.  Stat.

In all fairness to Bioware they reversed their position on this yesterday by re-opening threads with titles like “GBLT Discrimination in Forums?”  Not only that, but one poster on their forums made the very valid case that, at least in the Star Wars gaming universe, there is already an established incident of at least one homosexual character (Juhani from the original Knights of the Old Republic).   It appears, at least at this point, that Bioware isn’t going to have a hard line stance against references to homosexuality in their upcoming game.

This situation opens up a larger question for me, personally, though.  Is it really necessary for sexual preference to be an issue when you’re playing an MMORPG?

I jump around to so many different stances on this particular issue I make myself dizzy.  From a Role-Playing perspective I think it’s perfectly valid that a character in an MMORPG could be a homosexual, and I think that a person who chooses to play a character in that manner should be allowed to do so.  I also, however, have a real problem with the fact that, in a game not marketed as adults-only, sexuality comes into play at all.

This fact alone has kept me off of Role-Playing servers in games like World of Warcraft.  I’ve been a role-player since I was 12 years old, but if I walk into an inn in Goldshire I want to encounter other young adventurers – not naked night elves giving lap dances to dwarves.  I’ve encountered the same thing on several occasions in City of Heroes, and it always bothers me whenever it happens.  I understand that people might want to get their virtual freak on, but in an environment where putting on your robe and wizard hat might happen in front of a 13 year old kid (or, even worse, WITH a 13 year old kid) I just don’t think it’s appropriate.

I sure hope saying that does not make me a prude (and considering some of the stuff I’ve done at previous cons I’d hate to see what a pervert did if I was), but as a parent it’s always something that has been a concern of mine.  The whole topic of sex and sexuality is a touchy one, but as a parent my first inclination is to say that unless it’s being marketed to adults it really not one that belongs in our video games.

So, with no further ado, here’s where we stand.

We will definitely be back in the Sheraton this year, specifically in the Athens and Augusta rooms.

The following companies have already confirmed that they will be participating in Dragon*Con this year:
Sony (EQ, EQ2, Star Wars Galaxies, DC Universe Online, Free Realms, The Agency)
Funcom (Age of Conan, Secret World, Anarchy Online)
CCP (EVE Online)
Adventure Quest (AQ Worlds)
Gaia Interactive (Gaia Online)
Wardog Studios (Force of Arms)
Cartoon Network (FusionFall)

We are still in talks with the following companies:
NCSoft (City of Heroes, Guild Wars)
EA/Mythic (Warhammer Online)
Cryptic Studios (Star Trek Online, Champions Online)
Bioware (Star Wars: The Old Republic)
Blizzard (DUHHHHHH)
38 Studios (Copernicus)
Frogster Interactive (Runes of Magic)

We are planning additional panels on topics such as
Guild Management
Dead MMO’s
Free MMO’s
WoW Lore (with authors Richard A. Knaak and Keith R.A. DeCandido)
The state of MMO gaming (with representatives from several MMO companies)
The Guild, starring Felicia Day (not nailed down yet, but we’re working on it)

Of course, we are also planning a series of parties/events for our night time sessions…
Quest Givers (yes, we’re doing the weekend-long live action quests again!)
Kickoff Party on Friday Night
World of Warcraft Trivia Contest
Hardcore MMO Trivia Contest (all games)
WoW Olympics (Gnome Tossing, Dodgeball, Dance Contest, Emote Contest, etc)
Kingdom of Loathing Party
Sony Party (EQ, EQ2, SWG, etc)

We are also working on getting all of the MMO games that we will be discussing included in the computer gaming lab in the Hilton so that you guys can try out some of these games on your own time.  As with all convention preparations, things can (and often do) change at the last minute, but this is a snapshot of where we are as of right now.  We have our 12th, and final, staff member on board for this year and we plan on moving very quickly to finalize our plans for this year so that you guys will have plenty of opportunity to get ready for an outstanding Dragon*Con this year.

If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, please contact us and let us know about it.  If you’d like to buy a shirt to help us out, that would be great too!.