Houston, We Have Liftoff!
Whee!!
The game is afoot! On Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005, the Fullmetal Alchemist game was officially released to the public. 7 months of hard work, long hours, aggravation all rewarded by a single day of sheer bliss.
A day after launch, of course, we're immediately beset by howling gamers. That's ok, as long as they buy lots of FMA. Lots, and lots of it.
Already hard at work on the second expansion, with the first in typesetting. And I'm not nearly as far ahead as I'd like to be. Ideally, by the end of the year, I'll be a whole expansion ahead on design, and half of one ahead on development.
This weekend, I'm going to two launch parties in North Carolina. The first is at Underground Games in Charlotte, and the second at Cerebral Hobbies in Raleigh. I love going out to these things, but I was kinda looking forward to having a weekend off, since I'll be out of town for the next month of weekends.
GenCon is also approaching fast, and with it our first tournaments. I'm hoping for reasonable turnout for our events. 16 players for most of the tournaments would be great, and I think we can do better than that.
In other news...
When the NHL ended its lockout with a new CBA, I rejoiced. Now I am left feeling used and empty. When I load up NHL 2006, my Colorado Avalanche will not have a first line featuring the best forward in the game any longer. Nay, Peter Forsberg will don the uniform of the (now) despised Philadelphia Flyers.
I'd never been a hockey fan until the season before the lockout, so I never really developed firm loyalties. I liked the Avs largely because they were from Denver, where I have lots of family. I also decided that I like the Penguins. I'm in a hockey fantasy keeper league, and I drafted Marc-Andre Fleury 2 years ago. He's their goalie (he looks like Harry Potter, I swear).
Anyways, for my birthday that fall, Laura got me a cool alternate jersey with his name and number. But I'd never really found a team I really didn't like. The Red Wings were cool. They were like the Yankees, except not evil. You couldn't hardly hate the Rangers, who were like the Yankees, except didn't win.
I came close to hating the Canucks when that thug Bertuzzi (who should be banned for life) tried to kill the completely innocent Avalanche player on the ice.
Now, however, I have felt the sting of losing a beloved player via the cruel mistress of free agency. For the entire life of the Avalanche franchise in Colorado, Forsberg has been their face. With the new salary cap, one of the highest grossing teams in the NHL couldn't afford to keep one of its most identifiable faces. This makes me weep.
Evil has a new face. I will take much joy in rooting against the Flyers (Evil). Every goal scored against them, I will cheer. Every loss, I will drink to their downfall!
And yet, every goal scored by Forsberg, I will die a little inside. Every moment he wears that hideous (and Evil) orange jersey, I will cringe on the inside. With every sweet deke, beautiful one-timer or ridiculous shot between the legs, I will shed a tear for the innocence lost.
-I
There is no joy in Denver, for mighty Forsberg has left town...
The game is afoot! On Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005, the Fullmetal Alchemist game was officially released to the public. 7 months of hard work, long hours, aggravation all rewarded by a single day of sheer bliss.
A day after launch, of course, we're immediately beset by howling gamers. That's ok, as long as they buy lots of FMA. Lots, and lots of it.
Already hard at work on the second expansion, with the first in typesetting. And I'm not nearly as far ahead as I'd like to be. Ideally, by the end of the year, I'll be a whole expansion ahead on design, and half of one ahead on development.
This weekend, I'm going to two launch parties in North Carolina. The first is at Underground Games in Charlotte, and the second at Cerebral Hobbies in Raleigh. I love going out to these things, but I was kinda looking forward to having a weekend off, since I'll be out of town for the next month of weekends.
GenCon is also approaching fast, and with it our first tournaments. I'm hoping for reasonable turnout for our events. 16 players for most of the tournaments would be great, and I think we can do better than that.
In other news...
When the NHL ended its lockout with a new CBA, I rejoiced. Now I am left feeling used and empty. When I load up NHL 2006, my Colorado Avalanche will not have a first line featuring the best forward in the game any longer. Nay, Peter Forsberg will don the uniform of the (now) despised Philadelphia Flyers.
I'd never been a hockey fan until the season before the lockout, so I never really developed firm loyalties. I liked the Avs largely because they were from Denver, where I have lots of family. I also decided that I like the Penguins. I'm in a hockey fantasy keeper league, and I drafted Marc-Andre Fleury 2 years ago. He's their goalie (he looks like Harry Potter, I swear).
Anyways, for my birthday that fall, Laura got me a cool alternate jersey with his name and number. But I'd never really found a team I really didn't like. The Red Wings were cool. They were like the Yankees, except not evil. You couldn't hardly hate the Rangers, who were like the Yankees, except didn't win.
I came close to hating the Canucks when that thug Bertuzzi (who should be banned for life) tried to kill the completely innocent Avalanche player on the ice.
Now, however, I have felt the sting of losing a beloved player via the cruel mistress of free agency. For the entire life of the Avalanche franchise in Colorado, Forsberg has been their face. With the new salary cap, one of the highest grossing teams in the NHL couldn't afford to keep one of its most identifiable faces. This makes me weep.
Evil has a new face. I will take much joy in rooting against the Flyers (Evil). Every goal scored against them, I will cheer. Every loss, I will drink to their downfall!
And yet, every goal scored by Forsberg, I will die a little inside. Every moment he wears that hideous (and Evil) orange jersey, I will cringe on the inside. With every sweet deke, beautiful one-timer or ridiculous shot between the legs, I will shed a tear for the innocence lost.
-I
There is no joy in Denver, for mighty Forsberg has left town...