Wednesday 9 April 2014

Fanfest. There's a plan and then there is, the plan.

Hello to one and all.

It has been  just over a month since my last post on the blog. Sorry about that. RL has been kinda busy over that last month so I've not had the time to post some thoughts.

But RL has slackened now, we've had 1.8 and in three week I'll be in Iceland, so my anticipation is beginning to rise to silly levels.

I've made a start on upgrading the Fanfest costume I wore last year..
 So new boots have arrived, upgraded body armour to be painted and thanks to clarification from Icelandair, a custom holster is winging its way from the magical world of ebay for my custom Gallante answer to the Flaylock. The 'Strongarm' GL 72 Flux Pistol. 

 I'll be easy to spot at least when you arrive at Harpa.

So as to Fanfest, what can we expect?

Well first and foremost for the Dust faithfull making the trip, it's going to be about one man. JC Gaudechon, better known as CCP Rouge.

http://dust514.com/news/blog/2013/10/a-message-from-the-executive-producer/

The main concern about Dust 514's new Executive Producer that the community has, is that apart from his introductionary Dev Blog, posted above, we know next to nothing about him. Those that are active on the forums or who talk to the Dev's and CPM0 know a little about him, most of it extremely positive but the rank and file Dust player hasn't heard a peep from him since his arrival.

I do know that he has almost completly rearranged the whole Dust development process, that his re-organisation of the Shanghai office has been from the ground up. I know that he is a passionate believer in the concept of the CPM and he's been described as the Patron Saint of Truth, not afraid to tell his team where they're going wrong and how to fix it. 'Super Cool' is the term that get said a lot about him.

But all of this is from from me actively looking for info and asking questions. I also hear that he has a plan. 

Me and a old work colleague, who is now a film director, used to have a mantra whenever we heard that a plan was in the offing from those above us in the chain. There's a plan and then there is the plan. The latter refers to what the fates might conspire to knacker the the former. 

Now whatever CCP Rouge has in store for us in that Dust keynote, to my way of thinking at least, would do well to break from the games past, which I'm sure it does. The game in the past clearly did have a plan but it was one that didn't take into account what the plan might have in store for it. And as such it floundered when it hit the rock that was Uprising. 

For me at least, Fanfest is going to be less about the new shiney stuff that might be coming and more about Rouge's plan. Player market, a snazzy new UI, Corp Mechanics, a working Comms system, all will be for nothing if the new EP can't excite and energise the playerbase with where he wants to take the game. 

I'm confident he can. Too many people, whose opinion I trust, are telling me that he is the man for the job and Dust is in safe hands. It's now up to him show what he can do.