Media Deluge

I've spent almost the entire day absorbing all available information on Warhammer Online. Until this month, I had complete apathy towards the game. Wrong setting (40K should have been the obvious choice), wrong timing (WoW still riding high, Age of Conan on the way), wrong mechanic (you can't be a WoW killer if you're a WoW clone).

The suspiciously gushing coverage in Edge this month changed that. I remain skeptical as to the writer of the piece, as it read much like it was authored work experience kid who had a really fun time at the PR event. I should know, I was that kid at one point. But this is beside the point.

The hype machine is a well-trodden subject, but I wanted to say that yes, I completely agree with Dennis Dyack's viewpoint: don't show the game until it's done. The careful management of fanboy fervour is time-consuming for developers and fans alike, and in the case of Age of Conan, has probably burnt out for many even before the game is released.

Many people - and when I am not deluding myself, I am in this demographic - really enjoy the lead up to a game. Watching all the information, analysing it, discussing it with similarly excited friends, can be fun. For the most part, in reality, it is not. It's a lesson of building up hopes to unrealistic expectations, then feeling disappointed. Perhaps only GTA IV has managed to live up to the hype; but there was no secret to Rockstar's plan. The amount of information flowing about GTA IV, much like previous versions, was far less than some other triple-A games. Gamers were surprised and delighted about new elements in the game; freed from the nagging disappointments in their back of their minds about features they thought would be realised differently.

Will I enjoy Warhammer Online? Only if I manage to forget about it.