Tattered Page

Ok, maybe now I’ll have time to write again.

I managed to squeeze together an 8-pager for the comic book creator contest.  It’s available at hypercomics as is my original for any interested.  I had to cut short some of the ideas I wanted to meet the deadline, so I may revisit the piece in the future (once the judging’s done- I don’t want to risk a disqualification at this point).

Now that the contest’s over, I encourage everyone to go over there, pick a random comic, and post a supporting comment.  With 320 entries and 3 prizes, the vast majority will not realize any reward beyond a comment on the page, and with so many posting and so few reviewing, even that’s not likely to happen.  Only a few dozen have any comment at all.

Some of these comics are obviously kids- or adults that haven’t tried something creative since they graduated college.  That’s a bit of a leap, but something we sould all encourage.  Give them some confidence to keep creating.  Find a forgotten story, find something you like in it, and give feedback.  It can mean the world.

Well, I decided to pass on the Lord of the Rings preorder promotion, which essentially guarantees that I won’t get the game later on.  People choosing the “preorder rate” can opt for a special monthly rate of $9.99 or a one-time payment of $200.  It’ll be interesting to see how many people took the offer and how it may affect future growth or churn trends.

Some initial thoughts:

• I’ve seen comments that those opting $9.99 instead of $200 will kick themselves if they’re still playing 2 years from now (the rough threshold for when the $200 rate will be the better deal).  I’ve been on City of Heroes nearing 3 years, now, so that’s entirely possible, but I believe that the new titles to be launched in the next two years might alter our gaming habits and make this kind of play less likely.
• I’ve seen others comment that, like myself, if they didn’t opt for the founder’s discount, they’d be reluctant to later decide to take the $15 fee.  Will LOTRO see substantial launch numbers that peak early, as those interested took the early deal and those on the fence turn away?  I’m not sure.
• What about churn?  The special $9.99 rate only lasts until you cancel your account.  That means it’s unlikely that you’re going to cancel due to a “slow month” or, as many do in City of Heroes, play a new release like mad, cancel it, then resubscribe when a new expansion’s ready for download.  Why risk losing the special rate?
• What about other games?  This fall Age of Conan comes out.  It might have been able to capture some of the early adopter market from LOTRO, but will people be reluctant to abandon their special rate after only 4-5 months of use?  Will they try to keep both accounts open or just give up on a game that doesn’t have a similar deal?

Well, the deadline for the City of Heroes Comic Book Creator Contest is fast approaching, and I’ve barely started mine.  I’ve got plenty of stories in queue, but nothing I can distill into an 8-page tale… well, one, but it’ll be a challenge to get done. 

I’m doing it again.  I cranked out the 36 pages in a few days and got good reviews, but the 8-pager is going to paralyze me.  With nearing 200 entries, I’m not expecting to win any of the cool prizes (my gaming PC can’t even handle the video card prizes). I’m just

I’m sure that a great many people feel anxious about sharing their creative side.  I was a bit nervous until the first feedback was posted(positive, thank goodness).  Well, second, really.  First could have been my mom. 

If you had the time to waste to swing by here, go over to the hypercomics site and give a few words of encouragement to the fledgling writers.  I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

Ok, I finally gnawed off the chain on my leg. Have a few side-projects that I’ll be writing on soon enough… and I have three trillion blogs to comment on but I wanted to get things in here again.

(more…)