I tried to post a fake announcement...

[maximus]

...but I got suspended for two weeks instead.

[jeff061]

I think you made some enemies.

[maximus]

I think you made some enemies.


:(
:)

[KWhit]

:rolleyes:

[maximus]

:rolleyes:

Oh yeah!

[Eaglesfan27]

Seriously, you wonder why sometimes people think you are trolling?

[maximus]

Seriously, you wonder why sometimes people think you are trolling?

Oh give it up. You see, someone posts a lame-ass song basically putting down another member and you say nothing - until I called you out on it. And when you do finally say something you say "I admit I thought Antmeister's song was funny. I think this jbmagic bashing is going too far now" but when Maximus posts something he may think is a joke it is considered "trolling". nad I din't even offend anyone!!! This is why I have a hard ass timed believing you are a doctor because I can not see a doctor being so piss-assed uptight about everything.

I'm sure you're a good guy EaglesFan27 but you haven't proven that to me.

[kcchief19]

You would think this guy would have learned his lessons about acting like a tool (screw trolling -- this is just being a jackass).

I hope SkyDog bans him for his own sake -- he's going to get the wrath jbmagic has received times twelve.

[Eaglesfan27]

Oh give it up. You see, someone posts a lame-ass song basically putting down another member and you say nothing - until I called you out on it. And when you do finally say something you say "I admit I thought Antmeister's song was funny. I think this jbmagic bashing is going too far now" but when Maximus posts something he may think is a joke it is considered "trolling". nad I din't even offend anyone!!! This is why I have a hard ass timed believing you are a doctor because I can not see a doctor being so piss-assed uptight about everything.

I'm sure you're a good guy EaglesFan27 but you haven't proven that to me.
I didn't respond til I got home, because I couldn't listen to it at work since my work computer doesn't have speakers. So get off your high horse, asshat.

This was trolling. This was not funny.

[jeff061]

I hate it when people speak about themselves in the third person.

[kcchief19]

I hate it when people speak about themselves in the third person. I would have preferred that he refer to himself as Vulcan.

[maximus]

You would think this guy would have learned his lessons about acting like a tool (screw trolling -- this is just being a jackass).

I hope SkyDog bans him for his own sake -- he's going to get the wrath jbmagic has received times twelve.


again, the elite members protect their own. You guys will laugh when someone is put down but when a member who has not been here since the boards conception posts a joke you find it being a troll (or tool). Why? Why are you people like this? Thats just being uptight. What do you have to be uptight about?

[jeff061]

Don't forget Asshat.

I always feel a twinge of joy when that gem is used.

[maximus]

I hate it when people speak about themselves in the third person.


Well, I do that because I am trying to make a point. The point being that long time members can make a joke (even VERY insulting ones) but when someone like myself does it - it is considered trolling.

Hell, THs jbmagic post should have gotten TH banned but you want me to be banned over this post!?!!!!!!! Crazy! Just crazy. :rolleyes:

[Eaglesfan27]

again, the elite members protect their own. You guys will laugh when someone is put down but when a member who has not been here since the boards conception posts a joke you find it being a troll (or tool). Why? Why are you people like this? Thats just being uptight. What do you have to be uptight about?
Jbmagic, said he thought Antmeister's song was funny. I agree with him. Look at my history of posts. I've always been friendly towards jbmagic.

As far as why this is messed up: People are anxious for a new game to come out from Solecismic and a few signs point towards a new release in the near future. You are an an asshat to play like you don't understand that and this was just a harmless joke. You are smarter than that Maximus or whatever you want to call yourself.

[maximus]

Jbmagic, said he thought Antmeister's song was funny. I agree with him. Look at my history of posts. I've always been friendly towards jbmagic.

As far as why this is messed up: People are anxious for a new game to come out from Solecismic and a few signs point towards a new release in the near future. You are an an asshat to play like you don't understand that and this was just a harmless joke. You are smarter than that Maximus or whatever you want to call yourself.
OK, I see your point. Really. EaglesFan27, I am very much looking forward to Jims next game. Hell, I think I have posted more posts about it in the last month than I can count. I simply made a joke. So you don't think it's funny - sorry. I don't ever mean any type of harm to anyone with my posts. I don't want to have enemies. Who in their right mind does? Come'on, why would I try to troll? Seriously? I want to have access on this board as much as I can because when Jims game does finally come out I want to ask questions and help out as much as I can. I do not want to lose that privilege.

I was just sitting here playing FOF2K4 starting up my new career and I thought to myself "man, I just wish Jim would release his new sim". Thats when I decided to mess around a bit.

[Senator]

Thou shall not make false FOF updates.

[maximus]

Thou shall not make false FOF updates.


See, I like responses like this.
:D

[KWhit]

I hate it when people speak about themselves in the third person.
KWhit hates it too.

[gottimd]

Thou shall not make false FOF updates.
I am still awaiting the new updated product from FOF (http://www.fabricairducts.com/).

[kcchief19]

again, the elite members protect their own. You guys will laugh when someone is put down but when a member who has not been here since the boards conception posts a joke you find it being a troll (or tool). Why? Why are you people like this? Thats just being uptight. What do you have to be uptight about? Tell me where I ever put jbmagic down or laugh at the others who are? Don't put words in my mouth.

You're trying to make this into a Vulcanmaximus against the world and it's just not that case. You want to be the martyr. I think that's sad. You've always done that. You have a history of starting fires here and drawing attention to yourself and then playing the hapless victim. It's an act that grows old in a hurry.

The fact that your argument is that the "FOFC elite" -- whoever the hell that is -- is too uptight about your funny, funny jokes just goes to show that you never meant to be funny. You were purposely trying to tick off people that you think have wronged you in someway.

I think you've crossed the troll line a long time ago. You're just a tool now. You've been given second chances that a lot of people have never been given. And you reward that generosity by doing the same things over again.
Here's the thing; I'll post this message and forget about it. You'll be all caught up in the drama you've tried to create all day long. Now who's uptight?

[KWhit]

See, I like responses like this.
:D
Thou shalt not be an asshat.


How about that one?

[maximus]

Tell me where I ever put jbmagic down or laugh at the others who are? Don't put words in my mouth.

You're trying to make this into a Vulcanmaximus against the world and it's just not that case. You want to be the martyr. I think that's sad. You've always done that. You have a history of starting fires here and drawing attention to yourself and then playing the hapless victim. It's an act that grows old in a hurry.

The fact that your argument is that the "FOFC elite" -- whoever the hell that is -- is too uptight about your funny, funny jokes just goes to show that you never meant to be funny. You were purposely trying to tick off people that you think have wronged you in someway.

I think you've crossed the troll line a long time ago. You're just a tool now. You've been given second chances that a lot of people have never been given. And you reward that generosity by doing the same things over again.
Here's the thing; I'll post this message and forget about it. You'll be all caught up in the drama you've tried to create all day long. Now who's uptight?

OK KC. You don't want me to put words into your mouth? Don't put yours in mine:

You're trying to make this into a Vulcanmaximus against the world..


Got it?

[maximus]

Thou shalt not be an asshat.


How about that one?


Ya, thats good too.

[maximus]

You'll be all caught up in the drama you've tried to create all day long. Now who's uptight?

The thing is KC, what you say against me doesn't stop me from sleeping. Being uptight isn't apart of my nature - so you're wrong again. In fact, I am a very out-going person who likes to talk with everyone and have a good time. I'm not delighted that you are in a fret over this post but you've made yourself except that. Maybe that fact lies in how one man really is over another. You don't personally know me - I don't personally know you. Everything you say about me it pointless. I am sure if you knew how I really was in person you would eat your words. But, being that it's a message board I can see how feelings such as yours would or could become aggressive. Assuing I am a drama queen over a post is very funny. I assume many things everyday but the difference is I have logic behind mine.

[TargetPractice6]

again, the elite members protect their own. You guys will laugh when someone is put down but when a member who has not been here since the boards conception posts a joke you find it being a troll (or tool). Why? Why are you people like this? Thats just being uptight. What do you have to be uptight about?I'm not one of the FOFC elite, but I still think this was trolling/asshattery.

[maximus]

I'm not one of the FOFC elite, but I still think this was trolling/asshattery.


That is your opinion. I'm just fine with that. ;)

[Eaglesfan27]

That is your opinion. I'm just fine with that. ;)
Jbmagic could learn something from you. I like him a lot, but he still needs to learn to develop a thicker skin.

[ice4277]

This board is starting to turn into a cliche of itself.

[DaddyTorgo]

this board has jumped the shark

[maximus]

Jbmagic could learn something from you. I like him a lot, but he still needs to learn to develop a thicker skin.


Thanks EaglesFan27. :cool:

jb is a good guy. Hell, I see that guy everywhere (other forums). I feel kinda bad for him though.

[VPI97]

This board is starting to turn into a circle jerk.:eek:

[maximus]

:eek:


I've got some funny stories about circle jerking VPI97, wanna hear'em? :eek:

edit:
for you ladies out there (and guys too) That was a major malfunction in typing. You all know I suck at it so please no reading into what you have read in this post. :redface:

[ice4277]

I've got some funny stories about circle jerking VPI97, wanna hear'em? :eek:
You've been circle jerking VPI97???

[VPI97]

Mom?

[maximus]

You've been circle jerking VPI97???


oh shit. Opps, umm...I did a wee bit typo on that one. :redface:


edit: I am nearly falling off of my chair I'm laughing so hard. LOL!!!!!!!

[sterlingice]

Maybe that fact lies in how one man really is over another. You don't personally know me - I don't personally know you. Everything you say about me it pointless. I am sure if you knew how I really was in person you would eat your words. But, being that it's a message board I can see how feelings such as yours would or could become aggressive. Assuing I am a drama queen over a post is very funny. I assume many things everyday but the difference is I have logic behind mine.
I dunno, but this just reminded me of the Mike Tyson: "You don't know me. You don't know if I'm a victim or not. You don't know my horror stories."

Also, I can't get past the grammar of "how one man really is over another" without chuckling a little :D
(Homer: Marge, I swear I didn't touch her. You know how bashful I am -- I can't even say the word "titmouse" without giggling like a schoolgirl. *giggles*)

SI

[aran]

This entire "the elite vs. everyone else" business sounds terrible crackpot to me... :p

[maximus]

This entire "the elite vs. everyone else" business sounds terrible crackpot to me... :p


I only play that card because the word (troll) comes up. :)

[TargetPractice6]

What did you do Ray?!

[aran]

I only play that card because the word (troll) comes up. :)

Just don't go running off trying to overthrow the "dictatorship of the proletariat" in order to create some type of communistic board-state. :cool:

[sovereignstar]

Someone with really tiny fingers needs to give you a titty twister.

[maximus]

Someone with really tiny fingers needs to give you a titty twister.


even tiny fingers would help because my nips are just to small.

[jbmagic]

Jbmagic could learn something from you. I like him a lot, but he still needs to learn to develop a thicker skin.


i agree.

but when people pile on me because others are, then its gets kinda tiring after awhile. It gets real old.

i just didnt feel like replying back because i dont think it would help the matter. it probably would of got worse.

there is a lot of good people here and there some that show there true colors.

[Karlifornia]

:mad: :mad: :mad: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!!! Maximus! Why did you have to post that bullshit!?!?!?! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw your post I thought there was going to be a NEW FOF GAME COMING OUT! NOT THE SAME OLD ONES THAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN PLAYING FOREVER!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw the thread title, I CALLED MY GRAMPA AND SAID "I can't make it to nana's funeral! There was a post on FOFC about that said 'Front Office Games presents'! It means there's a new game coming out!!!" AND GRAMPA said "You loved your nana! Come to her burial!" AND I SAID "Grampa!Grampa! Jim Ginton makes games for his company SOLAR SYSTEM SOFTWARE and everyone knows he doesn't tell nobody about his games until they're gonna come out! And now Tim Gindin HAS A NEW GAME OUT! Don't you understand, fucker?" And then I called my boss and told him that I'm quitting because the new Front Page Office game's out. Then I told Barb (my mail order wife) to go back to Japan because I would have no more time for her now that FULL FRONTAL OFFICE _______ 2005 was comin' out, so SAYONARA BITCH! AND THENNNNN I bought my plane tickets for the trip I swore I would take as soon as the new game came out= TO MEET JOHN GUIDRY AND BEAUTIFUL WIFE FARRAH! You know what that means? SIGNED COPY! OH YEAH OH YEAH!

But then at the airport I clicked the thread only to find out it was some kind of SICK SICK JOKE! Maximus, YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE :mad: :mad: :mad:

[maximus]

Hey, the header doesn't say " Front Office games has just released". :D

Besides, I'm now mad at myself for posting this.

[VPI97]

LOL

[ThunderingHERD]

:mad: :mad: :mad: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!!! Maximus! Why did you have to post that bullshit!?!?!?! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw your post I thought there was going to be a NEW FOF GAME COMING OUT! NOT THE SAME OLD ONES THAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN PLAYING FOREVER!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw the thread title, I CALLED MY GRAMPA AND SAID "I can't make it to nana's funeral! There was a post on FOFC about that said 'Front Office Games presents'! It means there's a new game coming out!!!" AND GRAMPA said "You loved your nana! Come to her burial!" AND I SAID "Grampa!Grampa! Jim Ginton makes games for his company SOLAR SYSTEM SOFTWARE and everyone knows he doesn't tell nobody about his games until they're gonna come out! And now Tim Gindin HAS A NEW GAME OUT! Don't you understand, fucker?" And then I called my boss and told him that I'm quitting because the new Front Page Office game's out. Then I told Barb (my mail order wife) to go back to Japan because I would have no more time for her now that FULL FRONTAL OFFICE _______ 2005 was comin' out, so SAYONARA BITCH! AND THENNNNN I bought my plane tickets for the trip I swore I would take as soon as the new game came out= TO MEET JOHN GUIDRY AND BEAUTIFUL WIFE FARRAH! You know what that means? SIGNED COPY! OH YEAH OH YEAH!

But then at the airport I clicked the thread only to find out it was some kind of SICK SICK JOKE! Maximus, YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE :mad: :mad: :mad:
:D

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Hey, the header doesn't say " Front Office games has just released". :D

Besides, I'm now mad at myself for posting this.
You'll get over it when you have the make-up sex. It is the best you know...

[Anthony]

again, the elite members protect their own. You guys will laugh when someone is put down but when a member who has not been here since the boards conception posts a joke you find it being a troll (or tool). Why? Why are you people like this? Thats just being uptight. What do you have to be uptight about?

actually, you meant to say inception. for there to be a conception there would have had to have been a momma FOFC and a poppa FOFC.

[VPI97]

for there to be a conception there would have had to have been a momma FOFC and a poppa FOFC.
http://www.fof-ihof.com/upload/VPI97/jeffersons.jpg

[Solecismic]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.

[capsicum]

:mad: :mad: :mad: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!!! Maximus! Why did you have to post that bullshit!?!?!?! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw your post I thought there was going to be a NEW FOF GAME COMING OUT! NOT THE SAME OLD ONES THAT I'VE ALREADY BEEN PLAYING FOREVER!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: When I saw the thread title, I CALLED MY GRAMPA AND SAID "I can't make it to nana's funeral! There was a post on FOFC about that said 'Front Office Games presents'! It means there's a new game coming out!!!" AND GRAMPA said "You loved your nana! Come to her burial!" AND I SAID "Grampa!Grampa! Jim Ginton makes games for his company SOLAR SYSTEM SOFTWARE and everyone knows he doesn't tell nobody about his games until they're gonna come out! And now Tim Gindin HAS A NEW GAME OUT! Don't you understand, fucker?" And then I called my boss and told him that I'm quitting because the new Front Page Office game's out. Then I told Barb (my mail order wife) to go back to Japan because I would have no more time for her now that FULL FRONTAL OFFICE _______ 2005 was comin' out, so SAYONARA BITCH! AND THENNNNN I bought my plane tickets for the trip I swore I would take as soon as the new game came out= TO MEET JOHN GUIDRY AND BEAUTIFUL WIFE FARRAH! You know what that means? SIGNED COPY! OH YEAH OH YEAH!

But then at the airport I clicked the thread only to find out it was some kind of SICK SICK JOKE! Maximus, YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE :mad: :mad: :mad:

Now that was good.

[Buccaneer]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.
F'n elitist. :)

[ThunderingHERD]

Although I do think Maximus is kind of a douchebag, I don't think he deserves to be banned. Maybe just to have someone right a parody song about him.

[McSweeny]

i think we should get a thunderingHERD/Ant duet going

[Anthony]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.

not for nothing, but what's "Front Office Games"? isn't your company called "Solecismic"? is it scumbaggish? yes. but i think he found a loophole cuz he didn't use your company name and he didn't say "NEW GAME OUT BY SOLECISMIC!!!!1". just said "front office games presents...".

just because you find it necessary to keep info on your upcoming games under lock and key doesn't mean people can't have fun with it. these things will happen when you have idle hands. give people something to munch on. is the world gonna end if people at least know what sport you're working on? the Gestapo isn't going to come into your house and demand a release date.

i don't know if i speak for anyone, but i'd surely rather "Solecismic" talk about Solecismic games than their opinion on the Israeli settlers evactuation. you sure you took PR classes in college? the "P" in PR stands for public, just so you know. unsolicited free advice: drumming up some early interest in your products only helps. :rolleyes:

[VPI97]

not for nothing, but what's "Front Office Games"? http://www.frontofficegames.com

Click the link.

[Flasch186]

with the hover exposure on the thread I didnt even get the suspense....pointless.

[Anthony]

http://www.frontofficegames.com

Click the link.

i stand corrected then. i must've missed the memo.

[Solecismic]

I explained why I felt it didn't help, Anthony, and I've tried many different models. Perhaps you could enlighten us with your vast experience in this area.

If you really want to talk about the Gestapo visiting my home, even in jest, please forgive me if I just put you on ignore.

[markprior22]

Banning someone for this particular post is laughable. Since when has Maximus ever been in charge of making announcements for Solecismic? I didn't even consider for a second that it might be true when I saw the title. Anyone who did is a fool. Considering the content of much of the garbage posted on this forum, this is a joke.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.

My memory and your memory match. And if this isn't bannable under those rules, I'm not sure what could be.

[Flasch186]

i think banning is an overreaction especially for a first offense, but jmo.

[rkmsuf]

meh, a few people wet themselves because they think a new game is out. big whoop.

[Blackadar]

That's ok. JMIG and I will be joining you shortly in the Box.

[Subby]

I would have supported deleting this thread too - and then RFUS posted.

And this thread became an insta-classic.

[Antmeister]

Wow this has been an interesting week!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wow this has been an interesting week!

Well, that's definitely one way to describe it.

[gottimd]

Wow this has been an interesting week!
Not as interesting as the last interesting week.

[Bee]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.

That's what I remember as well.

I never understood the humor of posting a fake release post in any case. I suppose it's the online equivalent of 1st graders telling each other their pants are unzipped and when they look to run off screaming "made you look!"...

[Subby]

That's what I remember as well.

I never understood the humor of posting a fake release post in any case. I suppose it's the online equivalent of 1st graders telling each other their pants are unzipped and when they look to run off screaming "made you look!"...
Your parachute pants are unzipped.

No - not that zipper...that one.

[John Travolta]

Asshat.

[Ben E Lou]

Banning someone for this particular post is laughable. Since when has Maximus ever been in charge of making announcements for Solecismic? I didn't even consider for a second that it might be true when I saw the title. Anyone who did is a fool. Considering the content of much of the garbage posted on this forum, this is a joke.I didn't ban him. I suspended him. I've done it before. I did it again. I'll do it again in the future. Deal with it, or go elsewhere, 'cause it ain't changin'.

[Subby]

I didn't ban him. I suspended him. I've done it before. I did it again. I'll do it again in the future. Deal with it, or go elsewhere, 'cause it ain't changin'.Considering his prior trolling history when he posted as vulcan, I don't think many folks would argue with a ban...

[rkmsuf]

If comes back talking about football and kick ass video games then ban him.

[Ben E Lou]

Considering his prior trolling history when he posted as vulcan, I don't think many folks would argue with a ban...Make no mistake. He's pretty close.


EDIT: By the way, do you think I'd care whether or not people argued? I can be a dictator sometimes, remember? :p

[Anthony]

I didn't even consider for a second that it might be true when I saw the title.

nor I...i have every faith that SkyDog/primelord (if he's still Jim's liaison) will be notified at least a couple minutes before the game is released to be able to make an announcement at the earliest possible time. unless either of those two people make an announcement i'll assume the thread is a joke.

[Antmeister]

What happened with this guy? He seemed to be on somewhat good behavior for a while and then yesterday evening, he decided to let his pants down. I understand that he is impatient about waiting for a game, but I don't understand why he is really impatient about a game that he has to resort to indirect trolling.

I can remember a time when he had written FOF off completely and joined another board entirely. But a few months later he reappeared with a new attitude. But for whatever reason, after Jim decided to put up a few polls, he slowly started losing composure until it resorted to fake annoncements and trying to convince me that FOF2k5 is the patched version of FOF2k4. Was he drinking last night or something?

[rkmsuf]

What happened with this guy? He seemed to be on somewhat good behavior for a while and then yesterday evening, he decided to let his pants down. I understand that he is impatient about waiting for a game, but I don't understand why he is really impatient about a game that he has to resort to indirect trolling.

I can remember a time when he had written FOF off completely and joined another board entirely. But a few months later he reappeared with a new attitude. But for whatever reason, after Jim decided to put up a few polls, he slowly started losing composure until it resorted to fake annoncements and trying to convince me that FOF2k5 is the patched version of FOF2k4. Was he drinking last night or something?


you mean he lost it like this?


http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/5691/687474703a2f2f696d673339332e69.jpg

[Antmeister]

nor I...i have every faith that SkyDog/primelord (if he's still Jim's liaison) will be notified at least a couple minutes before the game is released to be able to make an announcement at the earliest possible time. unless either of those two people make an announcement i'll assume the thread is a joke.

HA, I agree that we would know, but in all honesty, people on these boards always get riled up whenever they see speculation on when it is supposed to come out. When someone post false dates, it splits people into two camps immediately and I don't think that is going to do too well for Jim's business. In fact it wouldn't do any good for any developer especially if they fall behind a projected date.

Not saying that I agree with how he does his annoncements. In fact, I tend to like the model that Grey Dog is doing it at this time, but each person has a reason why they commit to their plan and I can't fault Solecismic for that. If this model fails, he will try another one, but it seemed to be okay thus far.

[Antmeister]

you mean he lost it like this?

So is this Maximus in Star Trek 2 where he yells out "Khannnn!"

[RendeR]

Another thread displaying the utter and complete low this board has dipped to. What happened to common sense in the world? Are we so pathetic that we have to have someone boxed because some of us are STUPID enough to think this might have been a real announcement?

Good lord...get a fucking grip people.

[gottimd]

He has lost it like this
http://www.midtsiden.no/midtsiden/images/gladiator.jpg
I do remember for the last update, when it was supposed to come out, someone signed up as "Sollecismic" and tried to post. If it isn't posted by Jim himself, and you believe it....well then....I think you need to grab a blunt object and place in your hand, and swing aforementioned object in the direction of your head. Repeat motion until everything goes black.

[Antmeister]

He has lost it like this
http://www.midtsiden.no/midtsiden/images/gladiator.jpg

Perfect! :D

[Mustang]

He has lost it like this
http://www.midtsiden.no/midtsiden/images/gladiator.jpg



No.... I am not entertained...

[Anthony]

I explained why I felt it didn't help, Anthony, and I've tried many different models. Perhaps you could enlighten us with your vast experience in this area.


that's HA, or Hell Atlantic, or "Enlightended One", to you, you haven't earned the right to be cordial with me to use my real name. you make games, i buy the ones i like - our association ends there unless i'm given a good reason to change the dynamic of our company/customer relationship.

you want enlightenment, fine, put your shades on cuz i'm gonna enlighten you:

every *other* game developer here makes it a point to announce games well in advance of their release date. some give concrete release dates, others stick to the path you blazed, the "it'll be released when it's ready" approach. at the end of the day i know exactly what SI is gonna release (i said "what", not "when"), i know what the next Grey Dog release is gonna be, i know the next OOTP, so on and so forth. these are small operations in equal scope to Solecismic, yet they make it a point not to keep their customers in the dark.

it might just be you're too lazy to deal with daily "when is the game gonna be released!!1!" threads. sure, i can see how that might get tiresome. but do you think keeping current/potential customers in the dark is a better alternative? i fail to see how "getting the word" out early does Solecismic more harm than good. no one expects Solecismic to have the marketing dept. of EA, but that doesn't mean you can't announce things well in advance to get customer interest in motion. Grey Dog's college football game won't be out for a bit, but because potential customers know about the game and that it'll have MP in it there's an FOF College Football league being formed.

the thing i don't get is this - EA is a huge company, and they wouldn't have to announce anything about their game because they have such brand presence that people find out about their games one way or another, meanwhile a small company like Solecismic, that outisde of say, 3,000 people (and i'm being generous with that number because you claim you have more customers than just the people who come to FOFC, and i have no reason to argue that) have heard about, decides to keep product information under lock and key.

if i were you, i wouldn't take what i was saying as an "attack". i don't believe in giving you a handjob jsut cuz you're the almighty Jim Gindin, creator of FOF. and if i didn't care about Solecismic i'd be in some other thread and let the Solecismic pieces fall where they may.

the point i'm trying to make is i don't know how customers not knowing about future Solecismic games is better than customers knowing about future Solecismic games and constantly asking for release date information. while you save yourself some grief from not being pressured to meet a certain target date, you don't maximize exposure and reaching out to potential customers. if all you do is cater to the customers you have now i fail to see how your base will grow. i think you misjudge the awareness of your games, and place minimal priority on keeping customer and potential customers in the know, and don't bother with advertising. sure, you're a one man team, i've heard that before. the internet has made it possible for publishing very easily. i'm sure if you asked you could have your pick of volunteers to help you advertise. everyone here wants to see your company be successful.

that's just one customers opinion. you might want to take it with a grain of salt considering the source, or try to see things from a different angle. if you got me on ignore for my silly Gestapo comment and didn't read any of this - best of luck to ya then.

[Subby]

Another thread displaying the utter and complete low this board has dipped to. What happened to common sense in the world? Are we so pathetic that we have to have someone boxed because some of us are STUPID enough to think this might have been a real announcement?

Good lord...get a fucking grip people. Don't forget to take your medication today, Mr. Raging von Ranterson...

[rkmsuf]

So is this Maximus in Star Trek 2 where he yells out "Khannnn!"


SkyDoggggggggggggggggg!

[rkmsuf]

Don't forget to take your medication today, Mr. Raging von Ranterson...

Isn't it Mr. Angry?

[gottimd]

Isn't it Mr. Angry?
No, this is Mr. Angry

http://uepc014.ee.qub.ac.uk/rtr/special_features/mr_angry/mr_angry.jpg

[Mustang]

I never forget to bring my angry eyes along to the forum...



http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/walt_disney/toy_story_2/_group_photos/mrs__potato_head10.jpg

[markprior22]

I didn't ban him. I suspended him. I've done it before. I did it again. I'll do it again in the future. Deal with it, or go elsewhere, 'cause it ain't changin'.

SD...you are such a badass. I can't hardly fathom the power you wield on this message board and others. It spoke volumes to me on the Matrix boards when everyone else used a single thread to congratulate Shaun and you had to create your own thread so everyone could see that ol' Skydog was on board.

IMO (and that is all it is) you are an ass. It strikes me as really funny that people can post saying or singing motherfucker, cocksucker, fuckin bitch and the like and we all laugh. But when someone makes an obvious attempt at humor and it causes so much consternation, there is something wrong. Don't misunderstand me...I'm not necessarily offended by the language but in relation to Maximus' suspension, the double standard is outlandish. I think I'll take you up on your offer and go elsewhere. I know it's a drop in the bucket, but I'll also show my feelings in the only way that really matters. That is by not buying any future products from Solecismic.

[Flasch186]

that's HA, or Hell Atlantic, or "Enlightended One", to you, you haven't earned the right to be cordial with me to use my real name. you make games, i buy the ones i like - our association ends there unless i'm given a good reason to change the dynamic of our company/customer relationship.

you want enlightenment, fine, put your shades on cuz i'm gonna enlighten you:

every *other* game developer here makes it a point to announce games well in advance of their release date. some give concrete release dates, others stick to the path you blazed, the "it'll be released when it's ready" approach. at the end of the day i know exactly what SI is gonna release (i said "what", not "when"), i know what the next Grey Dog release is gonna be, i know the next OOTP, so on and so forth. these are small operations in equal scope to Solecismic, yet they make it a point not to keep their customers in the dark.

it might just be you're too lazy to deal with daily "when is the game gonna be released!!1!" threads. sure, i can see how that might get tiresome. but do you think keeping current/potential customers in the dark is a better alternative? i fail to see how "getting the word" out early does Solecismic more harm than good. no one expects Solecismic to have the marketing dept. of EA, but that doesn't mean you can't announce things well in advance to get customer interest in motion. Grey Dog's college football game won't be out for a bit, but because potential customers know about the game and that it'll have MP in it there's an FOF College Football league being formed.

the thing i don't get is this - EA is a huge company, and they wouldn't have to announce anything about their game because they have such brand presence that people find out about their games one way or another, meanwhile a small company like Solecismic, that outisde of say, 3,000 people (and i'm being generous with that number because you claim you have more customers than just the people who come to FOFC, and i have no reason to argue that) have heard about, decides to keep product information under lock and key.

if i were you, i wouldn't take what i was saying as an "attack". i don't believe in giving you a handjob jsut cuz you're the almighty Jim Gindin, creator of FOF. and if i didn't care about Solecismic i'd be in some other thread and let the Solecismic pieces fall where they may.

the point i'm trying to make is i don't know how customers not knowing about future Solecismic games is better than customers knowing about future Solecismic games and constantly asking for release date information. while you save yourself some grief from not being pressured to meet a certain target date, you don't maximize exposure and reaching out to potential customers. if all you do is cater to the customers you have now i fail to see how your base will grow. i think you misjudge the awareness of your games, and place minimal priority on keeping customer and potential customers in the know, and don't bother with advertising. sure, you're a one man team, i've heard that before. the internet has made it possible for publishing very easily. i'm sure if you asked you could have your pick of volunteers to help you advertise. everyone here wants to see your company be successful.

that's just one customers opinion. you might want to take it with a grain of salt considering the source, or try to see things from a different angle. if you got me on ignore for my silly Gestapo comment and didn't read any of this - best of luck to ya then.





Actually as someone with a marketing degree I must say, boiled down so you get rid of the vitriol, HA actually makes some good marketing points in there.

[rkmsuf]

Up your nose with a rubber hose.

[Coffee Warlord]

SkyDog, you fucking dictator.

Fixed.

[sovereignstar]

I don't think HA said a damn thing that hasn't been said before. Bravo.

[Flasch186]

....however if you leak a report of what's coming TOO far in advance you can cross the line from excitement to overkill and then your marketing tactic has lost its impact and then you have to change it. But now Im getting into marketing tactics and their effects on the amrket which I think is maybe not what is the point of this. right?

[Subby]

I think I'll take you up on your offer and go elsewhere. Can we give your account to Suicane?

[VPI97]

Can we give your account to Suicane?I second that emotion.

[MalcPow]

For what it's worth I think Jim's model works just fine. Why market something that doesn't exist? He's not releasing a movie or some other somewhat perishable entertainment product, where he needs to make a big initial splash or face being pulled from theatres and making no real money. Jim's games are on sale for years at a time. Market them when they come out, use good reviews to build a groundswell over time. In a lot of ways it makes little sense for Jim to have most of his customers buy immediately upon release. As a one man outfit it's much easier for him to have those sales spread over time, so that an unseen bug or two doesn't alienate him from most of his customer base in the first few weeks after a game comes out. A big part of marketing is understanding what you're selling, Madden advertises because they need to get people to buy before there is a price drop, or before football season is over, or before people say, "I'll just wait for next year's." Jim really isn't dealing with that same situation and/or customer, and building buzz doesn't give him very much. He's got enough of a base of customers that will buy initially, help him polish any rough edges, and he can then market beyond that base with a solid product. It makes perfect sense really, it's just frustrating for obsessive addicts like us that want to know when our next fix will be available. :D

[rkmsuf]

Can we give your account to Suicane?



Free The Fister!

[Antmeister]

How odd....when HA vehemently disagrees and/or is angry with someone he can actually make a strong arguement that makes you wonder, "Where the frick did that come from?" I am way too used to his raunchy posts and when he starts to make sense, I know this board is slowly going to hell.

[Wolfpack]

You mean it isn't there already? :)

[JonInMiddleGA]

But now Im getting into marketing tactics and their effects on the amrket which I think is maybe not what is the point of this. right?

In all seriousness, marketing tactics (& maybe equally marketing vehicles) is an area that I believe needs a serious review by most indy/small gaming companies (and I ain't just talking about p.c. sports text-sims either).

The problem is that there's not enough money to be made for the marketing pros for it to be worthwhile, nor is there enough gain for 99% of the developers to make the investment in the marketing. I've thought, and even discussed in some circles, the possibility of trying to work out some sort of cooperative arrangement among a few developers but even then, the dollars don't make sense for anyone on either side.

It's the same frustrating situation, just looking at it as a party with some interest in both sides of the equation, that I found with small/indy pro wrestling promotions. Most were utterly clueless how to effectively market their product in a cost-efficient way, but the potential gain isn't usually enough for them to justify having it done right either, so they end up stuck in the same cycle of poor promotion.

[Flasch186]

hype, especially word of mouth hype, WHEN FREE, is never a bad thing UNLESS it isn't timely enough. this is marketing 101.....

it can only backfire if the product doesnt meet the initial hype and said expectations.


JIMG - the advent of such cost effective advertising as the internet makes ignoring such avenues a fault, IMO.

[Anthony]

Actually as someone with a marketing degree I must say, boiled down so you get rid of the vitriol, HA actually makes some good marketing points in there.

that's all i'm saying, Flasch, the world isn't going to explode because people know what game Solecismic is coming out with next. the sun will still rise tomorrow. gravity will still keep things from floating. these are games we're talking about here - not like we're trying to obtain declassified CIA documents regarding 9/11.

i think at this point i gotta go with the tried and true "it's his company, let him run it however he wants".

[Flasch186]

that's all i'm saying, Flasch, the world isn't going to explode because people know what game Solecismic is coming out with next. the sun will still rise tomorrow. gravity will still keep things from floating. these are games we're talking about here - not like we're trying to obtain declassified CIA documents regarding 9/11.

i think at this point i gotta go with the tried and true "it's his company, let him run it however he wants".

keep in mind though, that if it isn't timed rpoperly it can backfire. Imagine Madden's countdown clock ticking to zero and then the game being pushed back a month....not only would the cost of the clock be wasted the hype would turn SOME off. Some wouldnt notice or care, but some would....so it must be timed appropriately. The appropriateness of that window can be debated depending on the product.

[MalcPow]

hype, especially word of mouth hype, WHEN FREE, is never a bad thing UNLESS it isn't timely enough. this is marketing 101.....

it can only backfire if the product doesnt meet the initial hype and said expectations.


JIMG - the advent of such cost effective advertising as the internet makes ignoring such avenues a fault, IMO.

I think with the way things are now he gets all the hype without any of the unreasonable expectations. Clearly there's a constant buzz about what he'll release next, but no impossible promises or expectations. There isn't really a problem in this on his side, it's just frustrating for us.

[Ben E Lou]

FWIW, I generally agree with HA's sentiment about thinking that it would be better to tell what is coming next once he knows for sure what it will be, but giving no release date. From what I'm seeing so far, I'm liking what GDS is doing with BBCF--only telling about new features when they're certain that they're going to be in the game.

All that being said, I keep going back to the fact that it is very hard for me to argue much with this:Angela and I had a baby boy, Gregory, in March of 2003, and we're fortunate that the company has been successful enough to allow her to spend all of her time raising him.

[Flasch186]

FWIW, I generally agree with HA's sentiment about thinking that it would be better to tell what is coming next once he knows for sure what it will be, but giving no release date. From what I'm seeing so far, I'm liking what GDS is doing with BBCF--only telling about new features when they're certain that they're going to be in the game.

All that being said, I keep going back to the fact that it is very hard for me to argue much with this:


well of course thats cool, but shoot, VPI could make a promo for him, put it on here, everyone and their mother would link it to msg. boards, websites, etc. and who knows, perhaps without even Jim really trying he can grow his base. Its truly quite simple onceyou get your hands around it.

[Flasch186]

I think with the way things are now he gets all the hype without any of the unreasonable expectations. Clearly there's a constant buzz about what he'll release next, but no impossible promises or expectations. There isn't really a problem in this on his side, it's just frustrating for us.

it's a mistake to not take a free or cost effective mean(s) to grow a client base. Especially if it is almost minimal effort to maintain.

[ice4277]

SD brings up a valid point, maybe Jim is happy with the company as it is for the time being. That being said, I think some amount of info, if even a general idea of what the focus of the next game would be, would be a good thing.

We have seen the two marketing extremes in this genre over the last two years or so: no marketing or hype whatsoever leading into a release (FOF Games) and insane fanboy-hype for months until a half-baked product is rushed out the door to meet insatiable demand (.400). Seems to me they need to meet in the middle somewhere.

[Antmeister]

You mean it isn't there already? :)

No...there are a number of signs to watch out for:

1st sign: Skydog will find out one of his best friends is gay and will then feel badly about using the term he threw around too loosely on these boards. He will then give up control as moderator.

2nd sign: Joe Stallings will become the new moderator of the board. He will call the new forum TDFC (Totally Dominating Football Community). All references to any other text sims will be deleted and mention of them will be cause for a banning. Political threads and yo mama posts will be everywhere.

3rd sign: HellAtlantic will have a child and all of the sudden show a softer genter side of himself that will all make us want to puke. His website will suddenly change to a "Look at my baby" blog.

4th sign: Joe Stallings will allow the formerly banned to be co-moderators and people will be dropping from the site right and left as revenge.

5th sign: We will see a lot of red x's on posts because they will not allow any more pictures, so 50% of the post will be missing Pumpy Tudors' pics.

Last sign: Jim releases the new game, but it now uses Starforce and will be sold primarily in the UK.

[Anthony]

JIMG - the advent of such cost effective advertising as the internet makes ignoring such avenues a fault, IMO.


ding ding ding!

[Ben E Lou]

Has Jim indicated that he wants to grow his customer base? I'm not sure. I ask because I think I recall someone hypothesizing in another thread that Jim may not want to deal with the issues that would come with a larger base. {Insert "the customer base don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures" joke here.} Shoot, his wife is able to stay at home, and he's bought land to build a home on in what appears to be a very nice neighborhood. Maybe the guy is satisfied with what he's got going. {shrug}

[NoMyths]

"Enlightended One"tee hee

[MalcPow]

it's a mistake to not take a free or cost effective mean(s) to grow a client base. Especially if it is almost minimal effort to maintain.

I agree with what you're saying. He should continue marketing the products he has, and grow his customer base by satisfying customers. Attempting to grow your customer base without a product to actually sell them is difficult at best, his marketing time, energy, and expenses are better used after release. In my opinion, but I should probably just stop talking because I'd like him to announce things as well. :D

[Ben E Lou]

1st sign: Skydog will find out one of his best friends is gay and will then feel badly about using the term he threw around too loosely on these boards. He will then give up control as moderator.Ironically, I found out two weeks ago that one of the four or five guys I hung out with in high school the most has recently decided that he wants to have sex with other guys.

[ice4277]

Ironically, I found out two weeks ago that one of the four or five guys I hung out with in high school the most has recently decided that he wants to have sex with other guys.
Did you tell him that was pretty fa......?

[Blackadar]

Ironically, I found out two weeks ago that one of the four or five guys I hung out with in high school the most has recently decided that he wants to have sex with other guys.

Did you show him your patriotic undies pic?

[BigJohn&TheLions]

I think we decided a couple of years ago that fake release posts were a bannable offense. Certainly this thread should be deleted.
Just to be clear... I don't think an actual release post is a bannable offense. Hint, hint... :)

[Flasch186]

Has Jim indicated that he wants to grow his customer base? I'm not sure. I ask because I think I recall someone hypothesizing in another thread that Jim may not want to deal with the issues that would come with a larger base. {Insert "the customer base don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures" joke here.} Shoot, his wife is able to stay at home, and he's bought land to build a home on in what appears to be a very nice neighborhood. Maybe the guy is satisfied with what he's got going. {shrug}


if he is making x dollar of net profit / game ....and spends 0$ on additional advertising which grows his base by 6% (which is a ton).... and the cost of making the additional units doesn't go up / unit (may actually go down).... not only does his net profit go up, his effort perhaps goes up ZERO or minimally (which can be worked into net profit - and should be estimated to figure out the cost effectivenes of the adevrtising we're talking about)

....then to not use advertising (free or minimal) seems to me to be a missed opportunity.

Again, keeping in mind NOT to overkill, poorly timed advertising can be worse than no advertising at all.

[Antmeister]

Ironically, I found out two weeks ago that one of the four or five guys I hung out with in high school the most has recently decided that he wants to have sex with other guys.

Damn....we already hit the first sign. Well at least half of it. :D

[Flasch186]

DOLA:

this may be why Jim asked one of his polls, and if it is a marketing survey to then find his best avenue for future advertising than good for him. That would be a great step towards a marketing campaign.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

I explained why I felt it didn't help, Anthony, and I've tried many different models. Perhaps you could enlighten us with your vast experience in this area.

If you really want to talk about the Gestapo visiting my home, even in jest, please forgive me if I just put you on ignore.
Ouch!

I believe Anthony was just bitch-slapped by The Man Himself!

[Buzzbee]

keep in mind though, that if it isn't timed rpoperly it can backfire. Imagine Madden's countdown clock ticking to zero and then the game being pushed back a month....not only would the cost of the clock be wasted the hype would turn SOME off. Some wouldnt notice or care, but some would....so it must be timed appropriately. The appropriateness of that window can be debated depending on the product.
This is the key for me. Since most/all of Jim's customers are internet based (meaning they don't by the game at Wal-Mart) I think Jim can get away with a much narrower window. From the polls it seems that quite a large percentage of those who buy Jim's games heard about them from another gaming forum or an internet search. It doesn't seem like announcing 6 months vs. 1 month really has that much of an impact considering the customer base and distribution structure.


However, I do agree with others that announcing what type of game he is working on does make some sense. Keep in mind however that he was working on a game other than FOF 2k4 when plans fell through. As a result he had to drop back and punt on that project and switch to FOF 2k4. What would the backlash have been if he had announced he was working on FOF (insert any activity here) and then had to retract that?

My $0.02

[Anthony]

keep in mind though, that if it isn't timed rpoperly it can backfire. Imagine Madden's countdown clock ticking to zero and then the game being pushed back a month....not only would the cost of the clock be wasted the hype would turn SOME off. Some wouldnt notice or care, but some would....so it must be timed appropriately. The appropriateness of that window can be debated depending on the product.

but my statement is this - can he not just say "this is what i'm working on. this is what the next Solecismic release will be". that's it. i think i've made it a point to say no one is asking for release dates. people would be happy knowing the "what", not necessarily the "when". so i'm not sure timing is crucial here. especially since it's been two years since the last Solecismic release i think the writing is on the wall that *something* is imminent. whether that means 6 months from now, or a year from now, or next week. i think we can all safely say at this point he's working on something, what's the harm in knowing what it is?

but Solecismic is essentially a grassroots organization, and grassroots means you gotta hit the streets, knock on people's doors and make them aware of what you're doing. generate interest at the smallest level and try to expand on that. word of mouth, as you pointed out, will go a long way.

think of it in this scenario:

a guy, we'll call him "Flasch", is new to the text sim genre. Flasch likes college football, so he googles "text sim college football games". he sees two entries, one for TCY (released several years ago) and one for Grey Dog's upcoming release. Flasch could say to himself "i don't want an outdated game, i'm better off waiting for this Grey Dog release to come out". now what happens is Solecismic plans on releasing TCY2 around the same time? you know what happens - he lost a potential customer. Flasch is likely going to start frequenting the Grey Dog boards and get excited about *their* game and not worry about Solecismic. oversimplified scenario (or not), but you get the point. all this because Jim thought it was best to not say what he's working on. if he'd say what he was working on, what features he plans onhaving, then Flasch could possibly say "hey, i like the features this TCY2 has, even thought it might come out later than Grey Dog's release i can only buy one college football game so i'm better off waiting for something i'll have a greater chance of liking".

[Maple Leafs]

You guys are missing the big picture.

If Jim would just announce his games in advance, then we wouldn't have to put up with two dozen "Front Office [whatever the topic is]???" jokes every time he posted anything.

Wouldn't we all be winners then?

[Ben E Lou]

a guy, we'll call him "Flasch", is new to the text sim genre. Flasch likes college football, so he googles "text sim college football games". he sees two entries, one for TCY (released several years ago) and one for Grey Dog's upcoming release. Flasch could say to himself "i don't want an outdated game, i'm better off waiting for this Grey Dog release to come out". now what happens is Solecismic plans on releasing TCY2 around the same time? you know what happens - he lost a potential customer. Flasch is likely going to start frequenting the Grey Dog boards and get excited about *their* game and not worry about Solecismic. oversimplified scenario (or not), but you get the point. all this because Jim thought it was best to not say what he's working on. if he'd say what he was working on, what features he plans onhaving, then Flasch could possibly say "hey, i like the features this TCY2 has, even thought it might come out later than Grey Dog's release i can only buy one college football game so i'm better off waiting for something i'll have a greater chance of liking".That's precisely why I would tend to agree with you, although I think I can see both sides of the issue.

[Cuckoo]

Ouch!

I believe Anthony was just bitch-slapped by The Man Himself!

I thought it was the other way around. Jim asked for enlightenment, and he got it. I agree with someone before who stated that it's funny how convincing HA can be on occasion.
:D

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Ironically, I found out two weeks ago that one of the four or five guys I hung out with in high school the most has recently decided that he wants to have sex with other guys.
That had to be an awkward conversation...

SD: "Bob? Oh yeah! How you doin? Uh huh... No. No I never thought about you in that way. Yes, I remember the towel fight in the locker room. No, I wasn't thinking that... Tom? No, I don't happen to have his number. Joe? Um... Nope. Haven't talked to him in years. Well, anyway, good luck."

[Buzzbee]

think of it in this scenario:

a guy, we'll call him "Flasch", is new to the text sim genre. Flasch likes college football, so he googles "text sim college football games". he sees two entries, one for TCY (released several years ago) and one for Grey Dog's upcoming release. Flasch could say to himself "i don't want an outdated game, i'm better off waiting for this Grey Dog release to come out". now what happens is Solecismic plans on releasing TCY2 around the same time? you know what happens - he lost a potential customer. Flasch is likely going to start frequenting the Grey Dog boards and get excited about *their* game and not worry about Solecismic. oversimplified scenario (or not), but you get the point. all this because Jim thought it was best to not say what he's working on. if he'd say what he was working on, what features he plans onhaving, then Flasch could possibly say "hey, i like the features this TCY2 has, even thought it might come out later than Grey Dog's release i can only buy one college football game so i'm better off waiting for something i'll have a greater chance of liking".
Yes, that is a possible scenario. No issue there. But you also have to consider the other side. The one where Mr. Customer sees that Grey Dog announced 6 months or a year ago that they were working on a game, but dismisses it as vaporware since it hasn't been delivered yet. As Flasch said, the window is debatable by product and by other market factors.

[Crapshoot]

Count me in amongst those surprised at HA's delivery of a fairly good message.

[Solecismic]

Actually as someone with a marketing degree I must say, boiled down so you get rid of the vitriol, HA actually makes some good marketing points in there.

I think he'd be right if we were dealing with a different sort of product. There are factors he ignores that are very important...

/begin non-controversial information dump

It's much better to kill bugs than hit a release date.

The average bug rate in a professional (and I hope I've reached that standard after 14 years as a programmer) software release is 1 in every 140 lines of code. FOF 2004 has about 250,000 lines.

Therefore, it's hard to predict a release date with any kind of accuracy in this business.

The big publishers use static release dates because the retail environment forces them to reserve shelf space. This causes quality problems for the reasons I stated above.

Therefore, big publishers tend to spend much of their budget on artwork and sound, which are far friendlier to schedules. The games aren't much more complex than they were 15 years ago, they're just prettier.

There are notable exceptions for hit franchises, like GTA and The Sims. There are very few of these.

Big publishers make most of their sales in a tiny window of time immediately after release. If they don't make a lot of sales, retailers stop carrying their products.

Therefore, big publishers need to publicize the hell out of their games.

/end non-controversial information dump

I have no interest in going retail. A long time ago, I did, for reasons purely related to the ego, but researching the retail market thoroughly cured me of that.

It's better to have money in my pocket than an ego-boost on a store shelf. And it's not as if chicks are impressed by seeing your name on a box in a store they wouldn't enter if Jimmy Choo himself were selling his shoes half-off.

This is an important point, so I'm bolding it. It makes no difference to me whether I sell a huge amount on release day or several months from release day.

In fact, spreading sales out may help, because the servers get pretty overwhelmed during a release. Anyone remember the TCY release, when my wife and I had to pack boxes non-stop for two solid weeks, and people were freaking out because they had to wait so long?

My product is what they refer to in sales as an "evergreen." I don't get a huge percentage of my sales on day one. And even four years after its release, TCY is still bringing in income. Not enough to keep food on the table (well, maybe if you're doing one of those weird "documentaries"), but noticible.

The polls confirm my suspicion that advertising for this type of product is a waste of money. I can't advertise enough to build brand awareness, because the cost of maintaining a presence is so much higher than it used to be.

People are going to hear about the games over time. This is not a product that everyone's going to enjoy. I have a tiny art budget. More complexity in the game is better than less. It's a true niche product in a very large industry. I am never going to become a billionaire doing this.

So I want to ease new customers in. If you look at my web site, it's very low-key. That's intentional. I want to encourage people to try the free demo before they buy the product. I consciously avoid language like "the best football game ever." It's better if customers make up their own minds, which they will do regardless.


All this tells you why I don't advertise, and I don't make specific release dates. But it doesn't tell you why I don't name the next product.


I used to do that. I started on TCY back in 1999, right after FOF 2 was released. I talked openly about that, said I was aiming at a mid-2000 release at first.

But the whole EA/Gigawatt/FOF 2001 thing took precedence because of what EA was trying to build here. They couldn't have cared less about TCY, and they pay for development in advance. Things were going well with EA, and we had big plans (some people here noticed EA had reserved the frontofficebaseball.com and frontofficehockey.com domains, among others, and still renew them for some odd reason I've never been able to determine). TCY was on hold.

I got back to TCY in early 2001, and released it in the summer. By then, people had been talking about it for nearly two years. The release didn't go well. This was a huge product - by far my largest to date at that point - and it had its share of bugs.

People seemed to get more upset because they had been waiting for it so long. I patched quickly, but the damage was done. Reviews weren't as good as the FOF reviews were.

Ultimately, my understanding of this problem is that two years of waiting caused people to build TCY into something it wasn't. That just anticipation itself equalled hype. People fill in their own blanks while they wait.

With FOF 4, I went back to a shorter development cycle, but the same thing happened. Now part of that was due to my spending a lot of development time rewriting key pieces of the game - something you don't see until you've played it a long time and isn't obviously new - but again, people were filling in their own blanks, and were resentful when features they preferred didn't make the list.

So, at that point, I finally figured out that my worst enemy was perceived hype. What good does it do to tell people what I'm working on? In fact, my experiences tell me it actually does harm.

What good does this knowledge do for you? The game isn't available until it's released. I can't even tell you the release date, because I don't know myself. All this knowledge does is lets you slowly believe, over time, that I'm building exactly the game you personally want. This leads inevitably to disappointment.

Right now, I'm convinced that the shorter the time between announcement and release, the better for this type of product.

I'm not trying to be coy, or secretive, or obnoxious. From experience, I believe this is the right approach.

[JonInMiddleGA]

He should continue marketing the products he has, and grow his customer base by satisfying customers. Attempting to grow your customer base without a product to actually sell them is difficult at best, his marketing time, energy, and expenses are better used after release.

I think this post does a lot to sum up my reservations about putting much worry into "pre-hype" in this particular genre.

I can probably count on one hand how many games I've seen that didn't face serious problems with "didn't live up to the hype" complaints, complaints that seemed pretty clearly to cost them sales (both same customer later AND prospective customer who got their first exposure to the title by seeing those complaints appear in maybe 3 of the first five things they read about the game online).

Straight up, the marketing pro in me thinks the current approach taken by Solesismic is more correct for the situation than most companies take.
I'd even go so far as to bet that he has a better repeat customer rate than 90% of the sports text sims produced in the past decade, and I believe part of that is directly related not to what was said about the game, but because of the things that weren't said (and then failed to materialize).

Does Solesismic lost single-unit (i.e. one-time-only) purchases because of it? Yeah, I think that's almost a given ... but what I see is an approach that's designed more to get 3 sales X 1 person than 1 sale X 3 people ... the payoff to that comes when you release the 4th title & sell it too.

[Buzzbee]

Dola - Also, in regard to the 'just tell us what game you are working on, you don't have to give us a release date' view I agree that it makes sense, in theory.

However, we are a 'gimme' creatures. Right now we want Jim to gimme information about what you are working on. Say he gives us that. Then we'll want Jim to gimme information about what feature might be in the game. Then we'll want Jim to gimme information about other details of the game. Then we'll want Jim to gimme the opportunity to tell you what I think should be in the game. Then we'll want Jim to gimme a rough estimate as to when he 'thinks' the game might be release. Then we'll want Jim to gimme a before Christmas or after Christmas time frame.

Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want my MTV!!! I want my FOF!!! Gimme, gimme, gimme.

[MalcPow]

a guy, we'll call him "Flasch", is new to the text sim genre. Flasch likes college football, so he googles "text sim college football games". he sees two entries, one for TCY (released several years ago) and one for Grey Dog's upcoming release. Flasch could say to himself "i don't want an outdated game, i'm better off waiting for this Grey Dog release to come out". now what happens is Solecismic plans on releasing TCY2 around the same time? you know what happens - he lost a potential customer. Flasch is likely going to start frequenting the Grey Dog boards and get excited about *their* game and not worry about Solecismic. oversimplified scenario (or not), but you get the point. all this because Jim thought it was best to not say what he's working on. if he'd say what he was working on, what features he plans onhaving, then Flasch could possibly say "hey, i like the features this TCY2 has, even thought it might come out later than Grey Dog's release i can only buy one college football game so i'm better off waiting for something i'll have a greater chance of liking".

I pretty much agree with what you're saying (but if you google "text sim college football" Solecismic comes up number one and Grey Dog is nowhere to be found), but I think as Buzzbee mentioned a month is enough lead time to get the word of mouth going. This market is going to be even more connected than others, and excitement for a release will build quickly. Jim's model of announcing about a month before, a QuikSand dynasty in the interim, and then an on schedule release, seems to work well. I think you're overestimating the diligence of a customer if you think that discovering a game is "in the works" over at Grey Dog, without any definite release date information, is going to somehow attach them to that product with any ammount of loyalty. Not to mention it would be impossible for them to spend much time over there without being exposed to Solecismic and subsequently some interest in TCY2 should it be released around the same time.

[Mustang]

It doesn't necessarily have to be a computer game that would conflict with sales. For me, there are alot of things I'm looking forward to in the next 4-6 months that my $ is already marked for. Not having a general timeline or even an idea doesn't put any Solecismic product on my radar.. My thoughts are on A&A miniatures, Christmas presents, my Sauron statue, The Movies by Lionhead and a Biker Scout statue.. (ya.. I'm a geek..) All items I know are coming out by the end of the year. If a new game was announced for release tomorrow, I'm not sure any of my current hopes on purchases would be pushed, I've just been anticipating these items for longer... sooner or later I'd probably get it but, that is no guarantee...

[albionmoonlight]

Jim's post makes a lot of sense to me. Though I find it funny that he has to explain this over and over to people who just don't believe in the emperical evidence that he has collected. It would be one thing if we were debating in the abstract how marketing of text-sim games affects sales. Then, people could throw out hypotheses and we could all debate them and decide what made the most sense.

Jim, however, is coming from the perspective of having tried these various methods and, based on the real concrete evidence that he has gathered, decided on the method that he beleives works best.

But people still argue with him about the way that reality works.

It's kind of like arguing over who won last year's Super Bowl. You may have lots of great arguments showing why the Eagles should win--but hypothetical arguments tend to wilt in the face of actual evidence.

[Buzzbee]

Man, anyone else feel like the villain just died, but we're only halfway through the movie?

I had just popped another bag of popcorn.

Anyway, thanks to Jim for posting his thoughts. I'm sure he'll get heat and take criticism for it, but it pretty much explains the rhyme to his reason.

[Ksyrup]

Thanks for the thorough explanation, Jim. Even if people around here quibble with the route you've taken, they can't say you haven't thought it through.

[gottimd]

I love lamp.

[Flasch186]

i agree with most of what Jim said BUT IMO its better (in traditional marketing senses) to make sure a product is 99% complete or meets expectations, then delay said release X amount of days using those day to build the hype. The days, are where things can be debated and the opportunity cost for holding a release back. If you hold it back and waste ie. 30 days building hype that grabs only 5 more customer the opportunity cost of those 30 days can be catastrophic thus the polls and campaign must be targeted and effective.

[Flasch186]

Thanks for the thorough explanation, Jim. Even if people around here quibble with the route you've taken, they can't say you haven't thought it through.

true

[Subby]

I feel like Jim has to make this post every year. Maybe someone can just bump this around this time next year - or better yet - maybe we can block and copy his post into a stickie and leave it at the top of the forum.

Then we can swear a blood-oath to kill anyone making frontoffice _____ jokes.

Done.

[Senator]

Jim and I think the same on this matter.

Which means absolutely nothing to anyone else.

[Anthony]

sincere question: do people think there's a difference between generating "hype" and generating "interest"? are they one and the same?

i always assumed that one could generate interest and awareness of their product without breaking out the neon lights, parade and showgirls to hype their product as the greatest [insert genre here] of all time.

minor things like a "programmer's diary" - keeping a log of the progress; more frequent interviews; contests like "win a chance to be a beta tester"...these are things that cost nothing to do, take minimal time and keep brand awareness at a reasonable level. i don't know, i didn't major in PR or Marketing so i'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the subject can think of even more tricks and stunts to pull.

[Buzzbee]

sincere question: do people think there's a difference between generating "hype" and generating "interest"? are they one and the same?

i always assumed that one could generate interest and awareness of their product without breaking out the neon lights, parade and showgirls to hype their product as the greatest [insert genre here] of all time.

minor things like a "programmer's diary" - keeping a log of the progress; more frequent interviews; contests like "win a chance to be a beta tester"...these are things that cost nothing to do, take minimal time and keep brand awareness at a reasonable level. i don't know, i didn't major in PR or Marketing so i'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the subject can think of even more tricks and stunts to pull.
My opinion is that interest is the foundation for hype. However, interest is usually reserved for those already familiar with the product. Hype is when that interest spreads to those who wouldn't otherwise know or care.

[Anthony]

i agree with the latest sentiment - Jim at least has a reason for doing it, so while we might not agree with it (i still don't) at least he's sticking with what he thinks works for him.

i think i've said all there is for me to say, i'm trying to learn how to bow out gracefully after speaking my mind on a topic than trying to bludgeon people with redundant posts. i wish Jim the best.

[Cuckoo]

Thanks for the thorough explanation, Jim. Even if people around here quibble with the route you've taken, they can't say you haven't thought it through.

Agreed completely. I disagree somewhat with his conclusions, but I've never doubted for a moment that he knows what he's talking about. And of course I'm no marketing genius. Perhaps it's simply a matter of what I prefer rather than what is best.

[Flasch186]

minor things like a "programmer's diary" - keeping a log of the progress; more frequent interviews; contests like "win a chance to be a beta tester"...these are things that cost nothing to do, take minimal time and keep brand awareness at a reasonable level. i don't know, i didn't major in PR or Marketing so i'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the subject can think of even more tricks and stunts to pull.


I disagree with this angle and think it goes against the idea of a marketing campaign. By doing this you can "numb" your aduience. I think you are looking at this from a what would HA like and not what is a proven marketing move.

[Draft Dodger]

Another thread displaying the utter and complete low this board has dipped to. What happened to common sense in the world? Are we so pathetic that we have to have someone boxed because some of us are STUPID enough to think this might have been a real announcement?

Good lord...get a fucking grip people.

I was beginning to think I was the only one...

[Crapshoot]

I was beginning to think I was the only one...

nope... apparently, maximus has enough credibility that we would believe stuff he said. :D

[Flasch186]

does beg the question:

when Jim doesnt view advertising or marketing as a BIG deal why a fake post which would loosely fall in the category of advertising/marketing would cause such vigor.

Almost seems like only one side of the coin is worth anything and the other is not.

my .02

[wade moore]

I feel like Jim has to make this post every year. Maybe someone can just bump this around this time next year - or better yet - maybe we can block and copy his post into a stickie and leave it at the top of the forum.

Then we can swear a blood-oath to kill anyone making frontoffice _____ jokes.

Done.
This is a paraphrase of the message I was about to type.

Total Deja Vu on this thread...

[Buzzbee]

does beg the question:

when Jim doesnt view advertising or marketing as a BIG deal why a fake post which would loosely fall in the category of advertising/marketing would cause such vigor.

Almost seems like only one side of the coin is worth anything and the other is not.

my .02
Shouldn't that be:


Almost seems like only one side of the coin is worth anything and the other is not.

my .01
While Jim may not actively seek to drum up buzz, he very well could actively seek to squash what could become negative publicity.

Drum up positive publicity vs. squash negative publicity. I think that is the difference.

[RendeR]

Don't forget to take your medication today, Mr. Raging von Ranterson...


Don't make me angry, you wouldn't...like me...when I'm angry.

[Flasch186]

Shouldn't that be:


While Jim may not actively seek to drum up buzz, he very well could actively seek to squash what could become negative publicity.

Drum up positive publicity vs. squash negative publicity. I think that is the difference.

ok....

[rkmsuf]

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't...like me...when I'm angry.

His mother hung him on a hook once......once.

[gottimd]

His mother hung him on a hook once......once.
Danny Vermin?

[rkmsuf]

Danny Vermin?


very good you farging bastage

[Ben E Lou]

I appreciate Jim's post, and disagree with the "same post every year" sentiment. I read nearly every one (if not every single one) of his Solecismic-related posts, and correspond via e-mail from time to time with him, yet there were thoughts in his post that were new to even me. One specific section was: In fact, spreading sales out may help, because the servers get pretty overwhelmed during a release. Anyone remember the TCY release, when my wife and I had to pack boxes non-stop for two solid weeks, and people were freaking out because they had to wait so long?

My product is what they refer to in sales as an "evergreen." I don't get a huge percentage of my sales on day one. And even four years after its release, TCY is still bringing in income. Not enough to keep food on the table (well, maybe if you're doing one of those weird "documentaries"), but noticible.I had always operated under the assumption that Jim had big sales in the first week or two, then a small trickle afterward. The fact that his sales are spread out makes depth, replayability, etc. of even bigger importance than even I'd realized. If people are playing and posting TCY dynasties four years after release, that's going to help those continued sales, and people are only going to play and post about his games long-term if they're solid under the hood. I think about BM2K6 vs. FBCB to picture both sides of this coin. Anyone who does their homework is *not* going to buy BM2K6 at this point, less than 5 months after release. However, as we approach 2 years of FBCB, I'll bet they picked up a few sales even in the last couple of weeks because of people talking about TPCB and hoping it would live up to FBCB. Just a thought...

[Elvis]

1. Maximus posted this thread yesterday. Some funny stuff was posted in it. Then Jim objected. Maximus deleted it on his own.

2. Apparently, SkyDog un-deleted the thread, and threw Maximus in the box. I don't get that. The dude cleaned up his own mess, and he still got slapped for it.

3. Since un-deleting the thread, there's some even better stuff in the thread (including Jim's posts) that I think we all would agree are worth seeing.

So, basically, Maximus did no real harm. It was an innocent little joke, spurned by the two polls that Jim posted and SkyDog stickied. When Jim objected, Maximus took corrective action.

He still gets boxed for this?

Lame.

[Anthony]

1. Maximus posted this thread yesterday. Some funny stuff was posted in it. Then Jim objected. Maximus deleted it on his own.

2. Apparently, SkyDog un-deleted the thread, and threw Maximus in the box. I don't get that. The dude cleaned up his own mess, and he still got slapped for it.

3. Since un-deleting the thread, there's some even better stuff in the thread (including Jim's posts) that I think we all would agree are worth seeing.

So, basically, Maximus did no real harm. It was an innocent little joke, spurned by the two polls that Jim posted and SkyDog stickied. When Jim objected, Maximus took corrective action.

He still gets boxed for this?

Lame.

i've come to think of SkyDog's moderating style as the following:

it's not baseball. you don't get three strikes to be "out". you can be called "out" (be it banned or put in the box) at any infraction. i myself live in a similar way - i'm very, very quick to write people off. i always say "3 strikes is for baseball, this is life" when i explain my actions. i usually give people a 2nd chance when they cross me, most always nothing more than that.

so the sooner you think of FOFC in these terms, the easier it is to explain some of the punishments thrown around here.

is it right? that's debateable (and likely no). but it is what it is.

[HomerJSimpson]

1. Maximus posted this thread yesterday. Some funny stuff was posted in it. Then Jim objected. Maximus deleted it on his own.

2. Apparently, SkyDog un-deleted the thread, and threw Maximus in the box. I don't get that. The dude cleaned up his own mess, and he still got slapped for it.

3. Since un-deleting the thread, there's some even better stuff in the thread (including Jim's posts) that I think we all would agree are worth seeing.

So, basically, Maximus did no real harm. It was an innocent little joke, spurned by the two polls that Jim posted and SkyDog stickied. When Jim objected, Maximus took corrective action.

He still gets boxed for this?

Lame.


He gets boxed for an established rule. Not lame, but just the way it is.

[Raiders Army]

Did the thread get deleted and un-deleted? If so, why was it un-deleted? Did we give in to the "We lost posts" minority?

[Flasch186]

i always laugh when I hear the term "box" even in real life simply because that was the slang term used for a girl's private part in High School. I think that terminology likely changes every couple of years as I over hear kids talking crudely sometimes...anyways, Im sure everyone had their hijacked terms growing up, that was simply mine. makes me smile but can make me feel self concious when someone says something as mundane as "Does it fit in the box?" and I smile coyly.

[HomerJSimpson]

Did the thread get deleted and un-deleted? If so, why was it un-deleted? Did we give in to the "We lost posts" minority?


No, I imagine to cut off the "why was Maximus suspened" questions. If Skydog creates a thread to explain why, then Skydog is grandstanding. If he doesn't explain, then eveybody is up in arms that he is doing things without reason. If he undeletes a thread to show why, yet again someone calls him out. So, there is no right answer here, is there?

[rkmsuf]

No, I imagine to cut off the "why was Maximus suspened" questions. If Skydog creates a thread to explain why, then Skydog is grandstanding. If he doesn't explain, then eveybody is up in arms that he is doing things without reason. If he undeletes a thread to show why, yet again someone calls him out. So, there is no right answer here, is there?

Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

[Buzzbee]

Or maybe the thread was never really deleted?

[korme]

I'm on page 2 but this thread is hilarious

[korme]

I would have supported deleting this thread too - and then RFUS posted.

And this thread became an insta-classic.
whole-heartedly agree, hilarious RFUS post

[HomerJSimpson]

Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.


http://www.crankycritic.com/archive/posters/wargames.jpg

:D

[rkmsuf]

Yes!

[korme]

He has lost it like this
http://www.midtsiden.no/midtsiden/images/gladiator.jpg
I do remember for the last update, when it was supposed to come out, someone signed up as "Sollecismic" and tried to post. If it isn't posted by Jim himself, and you believe it....well then....I think you need to grab a blunt object and place in your hand, and swing aforementioned object in the direction of your head. Repeat motion until everything goes black.
Are you not entertained?
Is this not why you are here?
http://www.demodaze.com/common/images/titles/jayz1.jpg
urn the music up
Turn me down
Guru...Lets go get 'em again
This time it's for the money my nigga
Brooklyn stand up

[Bonegavel]

Has Jim indicated that he wants to grow his customer base? I'm not sure. I ask because I think I recall someone hypothesizing in another thread that Jim may not want to deal with the issues that would come with a larger base. {Insert "the customer base don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures" joke here.} Shoot, his wife is able to stay at home, and he's bought land to build a home on in what appears to be a very nice neighborhood. Maybe the guy is satisfied with what he's got going. {shrug}Not sure this holds water.

Jim has X number of CDs printed and delivered to his home. I would think he would want ALL of those CDs gone. Any excess folks simply go to the downloadable version.

I don't understand how a larger base would do anything but help Jim. If all he is worried about is increased "support" then he may finally get a support forum of his own and I'm sure he has folks he can trust to moderate it for free.

Please explain how [more sales = bad] for jim.

[Eaglesfan27]

I think the thread was undeleted not only to show why Maximus was boxed, but more importantly to remind everyone of the rule that posting false release announcements is a bannable offense.

[sovereignstar]

Don't make me angry, you wouldn't...like me...when I'm angry.

oh nose

[korme]

Play-by-playb post 4: Nice points HA, I kinda like your style. mp22 sorry to see you go, you made some good points as well.

BTW, while HA makes good points, gotta say I don't blame Jim. From my take on the guy, he cares about his customers. So to that point, he doesn't want to disappoint anyone, or himself. If he releases a game after he announced it previously, people start http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif and then start playing and say "http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/redface.gif where's this feature? http://dynamic.gamespy.com/%7Efof/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif This isn't as good as I was expecting." The way he does it now, if he releases FOF06 tomorrow I'll crap my pants and buy it, I won't have time to anticipate what might be in the game, because I'll be finding out for myself by playing it and I will come to like the results.

My $0.02

[korme]

i always laugh when I hear the term "box" even in real life simply because that was the slang term used for a girl's private part in High School. I think that terminology likely changes every couple of years as I over hear kids talking crudely sometimes...anyways, Im sure everyone had their hijacked terms growing up, that was simply mine. makes me smile but can make me feel self concious when someone says something as mundane as "Does it fit in the box?" and I smile coyly.
And since I know you care (rah Team Shorty!), box is my favorite expression for vagina.

[VPI97]

And since I know you care (rah Team Shorty!), box is my favorite expression for vagina.
This thread is now about the various expressions for vagina.

I propose "the crusty crab"

[Blackadar]

The bearded clam

[korme]

Seeing VPI's family picture with hair combed over, and then the perverted mind that is switched on when he posts here, it gets me everytime.

[sovereignstar]

I propose "the crusty crab"

ewww.. Vaginas can be really positive things. I propose pie. Hey baby, how's your pie?

[Ben E Lou]

Not sure this holds water.

Jim has X number of CDs printed and delivered to his home. I would think he would want ALL of those CDs gone. Any excess folks simply go to the downloadable version.

I don't understand how a larger base would do anything but help Jim. If all he is worried about is increased "support" then he may finally get a support forum of his own and I'm sure he has folks he can trust to moderate it for free.

Please explain how [more sales = bad] for jim.I'm not sure it holds water, either. It was just one theory that I'd heard. Since Jim didn't reference it, and explained his thoughts in other ways, I doubt that this is why.

[Barkeep49]

i always laugh when I hear the term "box" even in real life simply because that was the slang term used for a girl's private part in High School. I think that terminology likely changes every couple of years as I over hear kids talking crudely sometimes...anyways, Im sure everyone had their hijacked terms growing up, that was simply mine. makes me smile but can make me feel self concious when someone says something as mundane as "Does it fit in the box?" and I smile coyly.
So there was this kid whose last name was Boxer and was a freshman when I was a Junior. My friends and I took to calling him "box" as his nickname because we knew him through our basketball team. His sophomore year he comes in to practice one day and is pissed off going "I found out what BOX means". It was funny enough calling him that, but his reaction was even better.

[Antmeister]

I say that it is time to boogie right now. This has been a strange week.
http://www.almarks.com/danceman.gif

[Buzzbee]

This thread is now about the various expressions for vagina.

I propose "the crusty crab"
Great. Now we're gonna have even more porn freaks showing up when we start getting hits on search engines.

"WTF? I wanted porn, not footbal...hey wait. What's this? Terri Hatcher Van Sex. Cool!"

[Elvis]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/Jewbakka/e5f18804.gif

[VPI97]

Seeing VPI's family picture with hair combed over, and then the perverted mind that is switched on when he posts here, it gets me everytime.I am a multi-faceted individual.

[korme]

I am a multi-faceted individual.
BTW, I apologize for referring to your hair as combed over. Makes it sound like you're balding, in reality it's just combed to the side. This is to clear it up for any hair-obsessed lurkers we have here who want to imagine.

[sterlingice]

No, this is Mr. Angry

http://uepc014.ee.qub.ac.uk/rtr/special_features/mr_angry/mr_angry.jpg
Awesome! :D

SI

[korme]

But he has a smiley on his forehead

[Raiders Army]

But he has a smiley on his forehead
Is he like a palindrome where if you turn him upside down he looks exactly the same?

[sterlingice]

I wish I could remember the name of that series of kids books that Mr Angry game from.

SI

[Maple Leafs]

By the way, whichever side of the debate you're on you need to realize that Jim's approach is not all that unusual.

I work for a software company that never announces its releases in advance -- at most, we may do a pre-order campaign to registered users a few weeks before. The thinking is that you get more bang for your buck on the announcement if you haven't already let the cat out of the bag months before.

Not saying it's right or wrong, but Jim isn't exactly alone on this.

[fantastic flying froggies]

This thread is now about the various expressions for vagina.

I propose "the crusty crab"
"Vicksburg Vipers" is another good one.

[Subby]

Two beggars are sitting side by side on a street in Rome. One has a cross in front of him; the other one the Star of David. Many people go by and look at both beggars, but only put money into the hat of the beggar sitting behind the cross. A priest comes by, stops and watches throngs of people giving money to the beggar behind the cross, but none give to the beggar behind the Star of David. Finally, the priest goes over to the beggar behind the Star of David and says: "My poor fellow, don't you understand? This is a Catholic country, this city is the seat of Catholicism. People aren't going to give you money if you sit there with a 'Star of David' in front of you, especially when you're sitting beside a beggar who has a cross. In fact, they would probably give to him just out of spite." The beggar behind the 'Star of David' listened to the priest, turned to the other beggar with the cross, saying "Moishe, look who's trying to teach the Goldstein brothers about marketing." ...

[Buccaneer]

So, at that point, I finally figured out that my worst enemy was perceived hype. What good does it do to tell people what I'm working on? In fact, my experiences tell me it actually does harm.

I have been all over the place in the 5+ years here and have come to fully believe this statement, not just applying to Solecismic but to any product as well. In fact, I have become so pissed off at perceived and irrational hype that I have stopped watching TV and sports. Are we as a society so caught up in fantasy that we have to believe everything anyone tells us. esp. in relation to a product?

I don't understand how a larger base would do anything but help Jim.
Absolutely not. There is a curve in software development that relates to cost/benefits. The benefits would obviously be sales but the cost would be time, money and effort extended to support such sales. No matter how little or large the sales are, there is point on the graph where it costs more to support than realized from sales. For a single business owner, that point on the graph occurs much earlier than with a larger company. I develop software applications for a living and in that, have come to fully believe in "quality over quantity". It just creates a better product and more satisfied customer base.

[Franklinnoble]

Bah. I still want to know what the next game will be.

[CraigSca]

Me too - give me something to look forward to.

[JonInMiddleGA]

For a single business owner, that point on the graph occurs much earlier than with a larger company. I develop software applications for a living and in that, have come to fully believe in "quality over quantity". It just creates a better product and more satisfied customer base.

Amen to the first sentence, big-time AMEN.
And for the rest, it sure ain't just in the software biz.

[Ben E Lou]

I think I'll take you up on your offer and go elsewhere.I wonder how many times it is now that he's claimed he'd do this, and then showed back up a short time later...

http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showpost.php?p=920977&postcount=30
http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showpost.php?p=944445&postcount=8

[Buzzbee]

He's looking for his wife?