DocBadwrench

@remeran I wouldn't worry about that. Planetside has very flat level progression, which is a fancy way of saying that, because it's skill based, even when you have fewer combat options (stuff you get access to) at a low level, you can still be highly effective.

Heh, we sure come out of the woodwork for mentions of this game, don't we? I have a stable of old friends that are dying for its release so we can all get together in the only game that appealed to the whole lot of us.

I'm patient, too.

I can't wait to see more controlled leaks like this. Like many PS fans, I'm holding my cynicism in reserve and expressing cautious optimism that SOE can do better this time around.

I just wrote about this, too. http://longgame.org/2011/02/manic-depressive-first-person-shooter/

I love the look and feel and how it's suffused with whimsy.

In my opinion, The Longest Journey was to adventure games what Planescape: Torment was to RPG's - a culmination of all the best aspects of their respective genres.

I am *eager* to see what the folks at Funcom have in store for us.

As a previous landowner/seller in Second Life (Goodwrench Grayson : The Mushroom Kingdom), I did more than just violate copyrights. ;) I sure got a sense of the marketing potential within that virtual world. It's a flawed and imperfect little system that has loads in common with our real-world, flawed and imperfect system.

I am sad to say that I had to bail Second Life what with my having a family now (one insanely busy family life is enough, thank you), but I look forward to returning after more iterations of the software and after more (hopefully) creative destruction occurs. I think that, as a *model*, Second Life is about the only thing in MMO's going on. The sheer depth of options and inherent potential of such an open structure makes WoW gold farming seem downright tame (if not, of course, for the MASSIVE dough in it).

I look forward to more news-bits about marketing experiments in Second Life.

As an administrator with extensive tutorial/teaching experience and someone who has managed a fairly in-depth property in Second Life, I can also attest to the virtues (and vices) of virtual worlds as a way to bring people together and educate.

I have been quite impressed with the potential, though much, *much* work remains to make it more fluid. This is where more formal adoption by serious institutions could make a positive contribution to the concept.