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DC-MMO Update – March 30, 2009

Grim — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:28:00 +0000

Welcome to the first weekly installment of the DC-MMO Update. Now that we’re about 5 months away from Dragon*Con, and preparations are underway in earnest, it makes sense for us to keep everyone up to date on where we are.

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!.

Richard Knaak @ Dragon*Con

Grim — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:54:48 +0000

Mr. Knaak and the D*C Guest Committee are working out the final details now, but it looks like Richard Knaak will be coming to Dragon*Con this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with his work, Richard Knaak has written several novels on Dragonlance, Diablo, Dragonrealm, and (most importantly to us) World of Warcraft. It is our intention to pair Richard Knaak with Keith R.A. DeCandido for a panel on the Lore of Warcraft. Who better to learn Warcraft’s back story from than the two gentlemen who (literally) wrote the book on the subject? We will provide additional details on the Lore panel as things develop.

News from World of Warcraft

Grim — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:41:43 +0000

Oh dear lord, it hurts… I finally managed to complete this -> http://www.wowwiki.com/The_Loremaster today.

In the interest of getting folks talking a little bit, tell us about the games you’re playing. What is keeping you busy in between Dragon*Con’s?

-Grim

DC*MMO – February Update

Grim — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:36:41 +0000

There are only a couple of interesting items for February.

1) We are going to have a “Kickoff Event” on Friday evening where folks can play some games, win some prizes, have some fun, but most importantly, get the latest and greatest information on all of the stuff we’ll be doing all weekend.

2) Penny Arcade Expo is scheduled on the same weekend as Dragon*Con again this year. So far, most of the companies that we have talked to are planning on coming to both events, but of course that can change.

3) Keith R.A. DeCandido is confirmed as a guest for Dragon*Con this year. Since he has written a novel set in the World of Warcraft universe (Cycle of Hatred), we are trying to get him to host a panel on Lore in World of Warcraft.

4) We are re-working our t-shirt site and should have some new and interesting designs for you soon.

5) We may have a volunteer staff opening for this year, so if you’re interested, you may want to get in touch with us before the general staff meeting in March.

If you have ideas or suggestions for panels or events that we should run at D*C this year, let us know! We are starting to get in touch with some of the companies that were unable to participate last year, and by next month, we anticipate being able to give you some better ideas of who is coming this year.

-Grim

Keith R.A. DeCandido is coming to Dragon*Con

Grim — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:33:58 +0000

The first batch of guests has been posted on the main D*C Website and Keith R.A. DeCandido is coming to Dragon*Con.

Mr. DeCandido, among other novels, has written the World of Warcraft novel Cycle of Hatred and we are making plans to have him participate in a “Lore of World of Warcraft” panel for this year’s convention.

The early word for Dragon*Con 2009

Grim — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:31:00 +0000

Some early news, obviously this can change in the next 9 months…

We’re going to be back in the Sheraton next year. Main registration and a lot of the “behind the scenes” Dragon*Con stuff will be moving there as well. Pat, Dave, and the gang met with the Sheraton folks and they’ve really bent over backwards for us and have learned their lessons from last year.

Sony has already expressed their intention to come back next year, as has Funcom. (obviously, not etched in stone yet…)

We’re going to have 2 trivia sessions next time around, one for “hardcore MMO players” and one that is for WoW players only.

Quest Givers will have their own party on Sunday as well as a lot more support from our staff during the weekend.

There will be a lot more WoW stuff going on. (theorycrafting, raid management, lore, newbie panels, etc)

Even at this stage in the game, we only have 6 panel slots left to fill. That’s assuming that we have 1 big room and 1 small room. We may add on another small room for more stuff depending on how many new games get announced early next year.

We have a lot of other stuff in the early planning stages, but too early to announce yet.

Gnome Punting (and throwing) will return next year.

-Grim