Okay, I'm not going to Blizzcon. That would be pretty sweet, but it doesn't make much sense because I'm not playing WoW right now. To satisfy my need for all things World of Warcraft, I follow posts from WoWInsider, WoWhead/Zam and of course watch Legendary on Gamebreaker.tv. Those three entities of awesomeness are teaming up to host a reader meetup at Blizzcon that sounds like it's going to be pretty sweet.
You do not need to have a ticket to Blizzcon to attend the party, which will be held at the Anabella Hotel on October 20. There will be awesome swag, a chance to meet your favorite personalities from Gamebreaker, WoWInsider, and sites like Tankspot and Zam. It sounds like it is going to be a ton of fun and if you're not in California, like me, you can watch a live stream of the party on Gamebreaker.tv!
There's even a Facebook event page for the party. So, if you'll be in the Anaheim area on October 20, even if you're not going to Blizzcon, check out the party, starting at 5pm PDT.
When I heard that a feature-length documentary on World of Warcraft was being produced. I was very intrigued. Last summer, I watched a documentary called “The Dungeon Masters” which chronicled the lives of several Dungeons and Dragons players in a year following Gen Con, one of the largest gaming conventions in the world. In the documentary, we met the players and learned about their lives inside and out including how they started gaming and why, what obstacles they have overcome in their lives related to gaming, and so on. I was very impressed. So, when I set out to watch The Raid, I was expecting something comparable. I feel that while there many positive things about The Raid, there were several points which detracted from the film.
The documentary premiered on Gamebreaker.tv in conjunction with Typefrag and Curse Gaming. Over 19,000 viewers experienced the premiere along with Gary Gannon, Mike B aka Fony and the creator of the film Kevin Michael Johnson. The opening sequence features several people who are leaving their day-to-day lives to come home and get on their computers. From that, the documentary jumps right in to explanation of what World of Warcraft is and why many people participate in it. The viewer is introduced to three figures: Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, Edward Castronova, Professor of Telecommunications, Indiana University, and Bonnie Nardi, Anthropologist and author of "My Life as a Night Elf Priest". Their comments provide context and enhance the discussion.
There is new speculation among Gamebreaker.tv fans as to the party responsible behind our beloved ginger's disappearance. Some are saying that Coco himself wanted Gary taken out. Others are saying that Darnell, host of BlizzBlues on Gamebreaker.tv, is responsible. Others on the Gamebreaker.tv forums are referencing a countdown on the screen behind MikeB. Could that be countdown to Gary's kidnapping? Could this have been an inside job?
A #FreeGaryGannon campaign has been set up to urge Blizzard (or whomever is responsible) to release Gary from their clutches. There’s a tumblr page and you can follow along on twitter by searching #FreeGaryGannon. Also check out the feeds of @akamikeb, @devolore, @irljasmine, @gamebreakertv.
User @Rhonyzul tweeted me this: “@bardicmelodyhttp://tinyurl.com/6z6r8dc I think we’ve found Gary.” There is apparently a new video which implicates Darnell. Unfortunately, the network I'm on now will not allow me to access youtube.
Stay tuned for information as it becomes available. Let's just hope that the hair is still in tact and they've allowed him to keep an argyle sweater for warmth. If he's in Pit of Saron, it might be pretty cold.
I've been following Gamebreaker.tv for a few months now and I enjoy watching their web shows This Week in MMO and Legendary, which covers World of Warcraft.
Even though I'm not playing Warcraft right now, I like to keep up on the news and events. Legendary's hosts Gary Gannon, Mikeb aka Fony from Zam.com's BFF Report, and Josh Allen aka Lore from Tankspot's Weekly Marmot and PST, represent three major demographics in WoW today, casual player, PvPer and hardcore raider, respectively. On Legendary, the guys cover topics such as upcoming patches, class changes, and sometimes even their own speculation as to the future of World of Warcraft and Blizzard in general. But has this speculation finally raised the ire of Blizzard Entertainment? Is Bashiok, Community Manager for the World of Warcraft forums, responsible for Gary Gannon's disappearance? Before we get into that, let's talk about what happened during the Legendary live broadcast on Tuesday night.
Legendary, the World of Warcraft show, tapes live on Justin.tv weekly at 9:30 PM Pacific Time. Gary, Mike and Lore broadcast from their respective locations, but in particular Gary is live from the brand new Gamebreaker.tv studio. On May 3, at around 45 minutes into the broadcast, the live feed suddenly went dead following Gary's statement that World of Warcraft was growing too "fat." This came after the trio discussed the Bashiok's claim that there is a lack of resources for new raid content and that Patch 4.2 will only bring the 7 bosses of the Firelands raid.
Just about half way into the show, the feed cut out. I was thinking, Well, maybe I should just reload the page. No dice. The chatroom was going crazy. Jasmine was trying to calm everyone down as they figured out where Gary was. Then, the speculation began. Blizzard didn't like Gary's comments and decided to take him out. Just two days after the announcement of the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, many folks in the chatroom said that Blizzard staged an invasion of the Gamebreaker.tv studio. It turns out that Gary's internet was cut, but then later it was announced that the power was out too.
Mike and Lore were eventually able to bring the feed back up briefly and they were donning their tinfoil hats, the significance of which is so Blizzard can't read their minds. Groups of players went in game and staged rallies in Garrosh's room on server Arthas. Since I'm not in game right now, I couldn't attend, but I followed along in the chat room for awhile.
A #FreeGaryGannon campaign has been set up to urge Blizzard to release Gary from their clutches. There's a tumblr page and you can follow along on twitter by searching #FreeGaryGannon. Also check out the feeds of @akamikeb, @devolore, @irljasmine, @gamebreakertv.
As a witness to the atrocities of 5/3, I can just say that I am scared for Gary's safety. I'm not sure what kind of dungeon Blizzard has Gary in, but if it's anything like Halls of Stone, he's in for a lifetime of pain and misery.
Even though I'm not playing Warcraft right now, I like to keep up on the news and events. Legendary's hosts 
Mike and Lore were eventually able to bring the feed back up briefly and they were donning their tinfoil hats, the significance of which is so Blizzard can't read their minds. Groups of players went in game and staged rallies in Garrosh's room on server Arthas. Since I'm not in game right now, I couldn't attend, but I followed along in the chat room for awhile.