My thoughts on Blizzcon

I did a quick interview with Joystiq's Kevin Kelly about Blizzcon, the convention for players of Blizzard games like World of Warcraft. There was lots to like about the event, but at the end of the day, it sure felt like a chute for separating gamers from money. They had all kinds of strange, anti-fan policies, like not allowing in laptops and bags (though these weren't enforced at the door, despite dire warnings that they would be). Kevin also interviewed Alice Taylor from the Wonderland blog, who had plenty of smart things to say.


What fascinates you and / or bothers you about the MMORPG genre and fandom?

Fascinates: the amazing social stuff. Guilds, group raids, etc.

Bothers: the absence of the rule of law. Azeroth and Norarth might have two of the world's largest economies, but they're not nations. They're corporate fun-parks, governed by insane, abusive EULAs. Blizzard installs freakin' *spyware* on your PC — they even sued fans who made their own game-server.

Link,

Link to my Blizzcon photos