Celebrating WAR

A central idea in my dissertation is the notion that games relate to reality. Chess is a modeled version of two fighting armies, and Call of Duty is a first-hand experience of being a solider. The bits and pieces that make up a game are not accidental, but a game draws on real-life for both inspiration and example.

But sometimes there’s a clear absence of a boundary, as in the following example.

Recently, Mark Jacobs, VP of Mythic Entertainment, released a statement right after the launch of Warhammer Online. It boggles my mind. It almost sounds like a Dubya at his “Mission Accomplished” speech on that aircraft carrier. Brrrr.

“Folks,

After over three years of work and one of the smoothest launches in MMORPG history, WAR is moving quickly towards the end of its first month.  This is a perfect time to take a look at where we were, where we are and where we are going.  First, on behalf of everyone at Mythic, I would like to thank you for your interest in our game. [...] It’s been a long road to get where we are today but it has been a worthwhile journey.  While I might be tempted to say that the future’s so bright we have to wear shades, as you’ve seen from our podcasts, we’ll even wear those indoors. 

So, as to where we are today, WAR is doing fabulously. [But] we still have a long way to go before we can declare WAR a major long-term success. 

[...]  I’m happy to announce that in December, the Black Guard and the Knight of the Blazing Sun will officially be part of WAR.  While the performance of WAR is great on most higher spec machines, we know that we can improve its performance on lower spec machines.

[...] Thanks in part to WAR’s success; our mail system that worked well in Beta has been straining to keep up with the heavy demand placed on it.  It’s functional and it works, but it can also be slow and cumbersome to use. 

[...] Once again, I thank you for your support, patronage and interest in WAR”