My next book is PLAY NICE: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment, coming October 8 to bookstores everywhere. You can preorder it right here. (Allow me to recommend you do so at your local indie bookstore!) Blizzard Entertainment is the video game company behind StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft. Any company would kill to have just one of those franchises — Blizzard developed five. For many years, it was one of the most beloved video game companies on the planet. When you picked up a new game and saw that frosted blue logo, you knew you were getting something special.
Hi Jason! Are you planning to enable pre-order on British/Spanish Amazon or anywhere on European stores so that we do not need to deal with customs when it is released...? I am looking forward to hear from you on this so that I can pre-order from the best option immediately:)
Hi Jason, I'm sorry that this post isn't about your book though I think your book looks great. Congratulations. I'm reaching out because I am finding myself becoming increasingly obsessed with trying to figure out what the $#@# happened with a game called Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 and the more that I dig the more frustrated I become and the more that I find myself wanting to know more.
The first game is a cult classic and my person favorite game of all time despite having been a gamer since shortly after the release of Pong. Vampire the Masquerade is a beloved table-top role playing game that has bloomed into several games, included one that has recently been released for VR called Vampire: The Masquerade Justice that should be published on Steam tomorrow. However, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 should have been released much earlier than this game and as someone in love with the first game I waited patiently but after approximately FIVE FU@#ING YEARS Paradox fired everyone, brought someone new in to try to save the project and then decided to recreate the entire game. New footage was released two days ago of the new build, the one that is a Dishonored Clone and fans are ANGRY.
My hopes were high as they had a writer named Brian Mitsoda who had worked on the first game representing the project and they were dashed to the ground when they all fell apart but what is truly bothering me is not that the new game that are masquerading as Bloodlines 2 is a clone of Dishonered as we all learned two days ago when they released new footage of the game, but my suspicion is that there is perhaps an almost fully developed game on the cutting room floor of Hardsuit labs.
The writers Chris Avellone and Brian Mitsoda released statements about their departures that described it as surprising or even mysterious. I heard second-hand that Paradox said at their annual shareholders meeting that the game had nothing that they could use and that this is why they were going to build a new version of VTMB2. I also vaguely remember a representative of Paradox called Omnistar saying that she played through a post-alpha version of the game and was excited about it. Recently, I saw video footage of two levels, both in pre-alpha that showed that the game really was the inheritor to the Bloodlines 2 title in style and spirit.
I know that there isn't much of a chance that you would look into this but I am absolutely dying to know the answer to these questions:
Is there an almost complete version of Brian Mitsoda's VTMB2 game on the cutting room floor of Hardsuit Labs that the fans will never be able to play? Why would Paradox torture us like that? Do they hate their fans?
Why in the hell did they stop working on it after 5 years? What kind of bureaucratic, mismanaged hell could possibly greenlight a game year after year after year after year and then flush it down the toilet after 5 years? What the #$@# happened?
Loved the first two books that tackled a separate game/company in each chapter, so can't wait to read an entire book about a single company, which also happens to be Blizzard!
Jason, any option for getting a signed edition?
When you follow the link and there's no pre-order option :-(
Hi Jason! Are you planning to enable pre-order on British/Spanish Amazon or anywhere on European stores so that we do not need to deal with customs when it is released...? I am looking forward to hear from you on this so that I can pre-order from the best option immediately:)
Hi Jason, I'm sorry that this post isn't about your book though I think your book looks great. Congratulations. I'm reaching out because I am finding myself becoming increasingly obsessed with trying to figure out what the $#@# happened with a game called Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 and the more that I dig the more frustrated I become and the more that I find myself wanting to know more.
The first game is a cult classic and my person favorite game of all time despite having been a gamer since shortly after the release of Pong. Vampire the Masquerade is a beloved table-top role playing game that has bloomed into several games, included one that has recently been released for VR called Vampire: The Masquerade Justice that should be published on Steam tomorrow. However, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2 should have been released much earlier than this game and as someone in love with the first game I waited patiently but after approximately FIVE FU@#ING YEARS Paradox fired everyone, brought someone new in to try to save the project and then decided to recreate the entire game. New footage was released two days ago of the new build, the one that is a Dishonored Clone and fans are ANGRY.
My hopes were high as they had a writer named Brian Mitsoda who had worked on the first game representing the project and they were dashed to the ground when they all fell apart but what is truly bothering me is not that the new game that are masquerading as Bloodlines 2 is a clone of Dishonered as we all learned two days ago when they released new footage of the game, but my suspicion is that there is perhaps an almost fully developed game on the cutting room floor of Hardsuit labs.
The writers Chris Avellone and Brian Mitsoda released statements about their departures that described it as surprising or even mysterious. I heard second-hand that Paradox said at their annual shareholders meeting that the game had nothing that they could use and that this is why they were going to build a new version of VTMB2. I also vaguely remember a representative of Paradox called Omnistar saying that she played through a post-alpha version of the game and was excited about it. Recently, I saw video footage of two levels, both in pre-alpha that showed that the game really was the inheritor to the Bloodlines 2 title in style and spirit.
I know that there isn't much of a chance that you would look into this but I am absolutely dying to know the answer to these questions:
Is there an almost complete version of Brian Mitsoda's VTMB2 game on the cutting room floor of Hardsuit Labs that the fans will never be able to play? Why would Paradox torture us like that? Do they hate their fans?
Why in the hell did they stop working on it after 5 years? What kind of bureaucratic, mismanaged hell could possibly greenlight a game year after year after year after year and then flush it down the toilet after 5 years? What the #$@# happened?
Will there be a paperback version of the book?
Loved the first two books that tackled a separate game/company in each chapter, so can't wait to read an entire book about a single company, which also happens to be Blizzard!
Sounds a lot like it's going to be a new Masters of Doom! Can't wait!
Thanks Jason, I pre-ordered it.
I would love to pre-order the audiobook when available.
Instant pre-order. Your books are always a great read. Cant wait!
You certainly don't play nice with that title. :-)
Couldn't have imagined a better topic for your next book. Really looking forward to it, Jason!
So excited for this! Just finished your first two books!
Love your work, and can’t wait to dive into this one!!
AAHHHHHHHH I CANT WAIT LETS GOOOOOO