A group of us will be answering questions via IRC this evening, care of the good people at WarCry.  Details (shamelessly lifted from the WC folks):

When: 01/30/2008 8pm EST

Where: irc.chatspike.net 6667 in #WarCouncil
General chat will be available in #warcry

Who: The developers of Warhammer Online

Need a way in? No problem just use our Java Client or Chatspike’s IRC Client

Be there!

Here’s the English version of the interview I did for Gamona (translated from German) and here’s the latest WarCry Q&A that Adam, James and I did recently.

[edit] Thanks to Mithrilendil for the heads up that Mondes Persistants just did the translation work. The interview itself was with Gamona. I do so many interviews these days that I lose track of who’s responsible for what.

I was sorting through old stuff over the weekend and found a DVD with this on it:

It’s the Imperator cinematic trailer we made for E3 2005. We had a lot of fun putting it together way back when, but I don’t remember if we ever showed it outside of the little “theatre” we had set up in our booth at E3 that year.

TRIVIA BONUS: The male narrator is played by Earl Boen – the psychiatrist from the Terminator films (among many, many other roles).

Here’s a link to the full article on WAR from this month’s PC Gamer UK.

Thank you for absolutely making my day:

[From his letter to Fox News Channel, regarding their recent, shameful coverage of Mass Effect]

As the parent company of BioWare, the studio which created the game, EA would like you to set the record straight on a number of errors and misstatements which incorrectly characterize the story and character interactions in Mass Effect.

Your headline above the televised story read: “New videogame shows full digital nudity and sex.” Fact: Mass Effect does not include explicit or frontal nudity. Love scenes in non-interactive sequences include side and profile shots – a vantage frequently used in many prime-time television shows. It’s also worth noting that the game requires players to develop complex relationships before characters can become intimate and players can choose to avoid the love scenes altogether.

FNC voice-over reporter says: “You’ll see full digital nudity and the ability for players to engage in graphic sex.”
Fact: Sex scenes in Mass Effect are not graphic. These scenes are very similar to sex sequences frequently seen on network television in prime time.

FNC reporter says: “Critics say Mass Effect is being marketed to kids and teenagers.”
Fact: That is flat out false. Mass Effect and all related marketing has been reviewed by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) and rated Mature – appropriate for players 17-years and older. ESRB routinely counsels retailers on requesting proof of age in selling M-rated titles and the system has been lauded by members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission. In practical terms, the ratings work as well or better than those used for warning viewers about television content.The resulting coverage was insulting to the men and women who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards. As video games continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment. But this represents a new level of recklessness.

Do you watch the Fox Network? Do you watch Family Guy? Have you ever seen The OC? Do you think the sexual situations in Mass Effect are any more graphic than scenes routinely aired on those shows? Do you honestly believe that young people have more exposure to Mass Effect than to those prime time shows?

This isn’t a legal threat; it’s an appeal to your sense of fairness. We’re asking FNC to correct the record on Mass Effect.

Sincerely,

Jeff Brown
Vice President of Communications
Electronic Arts, Inc.

And there was much rejoicing.