If you were at Dragon*Con this year, and if you attended the World of Warcraft Addons panel, you’ll know that we ran out of time to cover everything. And if you weren’t there or didn’t attend, well, now you know. But Chad was nice enough to run through the entire thing all over again once he got home and recorded it. So, without further ado, but below the fold, presented in four parts, the Dragon*Con MMORPG World of Warcraft Addons panel! Continue reading »
Sep 252011
Aug 302011
Did you visit the MMO Track room last year at Dragon*Con? Good, then you pretty much know where to find us since we’ll (mostly) be in the same place again this year: Savannah 1-3 in the Sheraton. In addition to our main track room, we will also be in a couple or three ballrooms (also at the Sheraton) and a small track room (again, in the Sheraton) and one costume contest over in the Marriott (also in the Sheraton… umm… no, in the Marriott). Since Dragon*Con is in FIVE host hotels, we thought it would be good to provide a few maps with some directions on how to find us.
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.
Aug 262011
Dragon*Con is a convention by fans, for fans. It has dozens of tracks full of interesting panels on almost any subject imaginable. Just walking around the con you’ll see a wide variety of people in all sorts of costumes, some purchased, some exquisitely handmade, some almost horrifically homemade, and everything in between. But everyone knows that the parties at Dragon*Con are a large part of the draw.
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!
Aug 232011
Would you like to see the latest trailers produced by studios for their upcoming MMO games? We’ve got a Coming Attractions panel on Saturday at 11:30 AM in the Savannah room.
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.
Aug 192011
As with everything at Dragon*Con, the MMO Track is for fans, by fans. We volunteer for this! And while we make all the decisions, we can’t always guarantee the we make the right ones. Monday is the last day of the con, and as the dealer’s rooms and exhibitor’s halls close and people are looking to exit their hotels, we use the afternoon to ask you what we can do better.
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.