Jack Emmert re: CoH - "Tell NCsoft to call me"

[Lightslinger]

Also, I'm reluctant to see the actual members of Team Wildcard diverted from prepping the package for Google. Once that's done, maybe the decision can be made whether it needs to be sent or wait and see if #CallJack gets any traction. That's a strategic call that's above my paygrade, though.

I'm fine with that, this Call to Action could be "Bring CoH Home." and be focused on opening a line of communication between Cryptic and NCsoft.

[Surelle]

A couple of things to point out:

The most recent post from Cryptic on their Twitter feed (@CrypticStudios) says that they will be attending New York ComiCon. In 2009!

The "Following" list is a goldmine of high-mickety-mucks at Cryptic. Of note: Cryptic COO Craig Zinkievich (@CrypticZinc). Allso, a few folks who run or are high up in other studios.

Not suggesting Twitter-bombing anyone, but it's a starting point.

Obviously, though, #CallJack should be directed at NCSoft. Also, I'm reluctant to see the actual members of Team Wildcard diverted from prepping the package for Google. Once that's done, maybe the decision can be made whether it needs to be sent or wait and see if #CallJack gets any traction. That's a strategic call that's above my paygrade, though.

It is totally up to individual Team Wildcard members what they do, of course!  However, the Google package isn't finished nor sent out, correct?  So nothing has technically been done with Google yet really. 

Couldn't this possibly be a quick diversion, inserted first because of its incredibly positive traction potential?  I mean, Google doesn't know CoH from Adam.  Here, we have the original creator of our beloved franchise saying for NCSoft to call him, that he's on board with getting CoH back up and running again, wasn't that the gist of it?  Even if it was pandering to the crowd on the spur of the moment, the whole panel of industry pros universally agreed that CoH shouldn't have been shut down.  Isn't this worth running with right now?  Isn't it worth finding out if NC and Jack/PWI could pursue a deal? 

God knows NCSoft's reputation sure could use a boost off the rock bottom it's sunk to in recent times.

[Surelle]

I'm fine with that, this Call to Action could be "Bring CoH Home." and be focused on opening a line of communication between Cryptic and NCsoft.

Yes, this!   

[dwturducken]

#CallJack Press Bomb: Let 'em know this is something we want to know more about!
*contact info*
I'd personally just copy and paste the same short, succinct message to each place.

I could be wrong, but I think I remember a post from Rae warning against copy and paste. It had to do with tailoring the message to the recipient. I know we don't have far to reach, there, since we're talking about a narrow field of subject matter, but these tip lines probably get a few hundred submissions a day on a less mainstream site. For the big ones, it's probably safe to assume the number is a couple of orders of magnitude higher.

Maybe this is something we could overcome with numbers, but we want the screener to sympathize with us, not get irritated with us. As I'm not a writer or an empath ( ), I have no idea where that line is.

Couldn't this possibly be a quick diversion, inserted first because of its incredibly positive traction potential?  I mean, Google doesn't know CoH from Adam.

Pardon my hacking down of your quote, but this thread is moving fast. Your first point is absolutely right, but the number of people actually working on the proposal can be counted on one hand. By Bart Simpson. If they agree that this is worth putting the actual proposal construction on hold for, obviously that's their choice. As to the second statement in your quote, the reason that Google was chosen as the next target for Team Wildcard is because someone in a high middle-management position expressed interest and got positive feedback from his boss on it.

[Empyrean]

Ok, just one of those "funny" dreams you had as a teen, but I have to say it. 

Even with as cautious as I feel about Jack, what if Cryptic got the CoX IP and the next-gen Superhero MMO was "City of Champions".  Oh, God, it's just too beautiful to really happen.  But it gives me butterflies to think about.  They would OWN the niche for years.

Here's dreaming.  Either way, I'll always jump in and support whatever the consensus is.

[Hyperstrike]

The entire Jack Emmert issue is very simple - he is a terrible communicator.

This is basically Cryptic's entire problem even today.

[Hyperstrike]

It's very easy to make a throw-away comment that you know will generate a lot of free goodwill on a panel.

It's even easier to make that comment when your own inside information has informed you that NCSoft has absolutely no intention of selling to you.

Color me extremely skeptical.

BINGO!

[Quinch]

Obviously, though, #CallJack should be directed at NCSoft. Also, I'm reluctant to see the actual members of Team Wildcard diverted from prepping the package for Google.

Disclaimer: I'm not speaking for Team Wildcard here - the following is my own personal analysis, so if anyone wants to correct me, feel free to do so. With that in mind....

I don't think this falls under Wildcard purview. While we're trying to facilitate the purchase of CoH IP, we are essentially focusing on people who have the capability to buy it, but have also plausibly never heard of City of Heroes, and almost certainly never played it - companies with sufficient clout, but who are otherwise ignorant of the fiscal opportunity CoH would be. Cryptic, thus, is the exact opposite of the kind of, for lack of a better word, ignorance we're trying to dispel and pitching to them would make the phrase "preaching to the choir" the understatement of the century. So while I'm sure we, individually, would each jump on the #CallJack bandwagon with enthusiasm, there's not much need for what we're doing with Wildcard in this situation.

Anyway, from where I'm standing, dealing with Cryptic seems fairly feasible for NCsoft. First, they've worked together in the past - if personal feelings and being comfortable with each other plays any role in NCsoft's decision to sell, that's definitely an asset, not to mention that if there are any legal issues that stand in the way of sale {I'm still skeptical, personally, but it's possible}, considering that Cryptic built everything that Paragon Studios hadn't, I'm pretty sure those would not be an issue. And most importantly, this is NCsoft's best chance to come out of this with face intact - they can present this as an act of magnanimity by allowing City of Heroes to "come home", so to speak, rather than being pushed to sell to another company under business and PR pressure. While I very much doubt it would undo all the reputation damage they've incurred as a result of CoH's hamfisted shutdown, it's by far the most damage-controlling course of action they can reasonably take.

[TonyV]

BINGO!

I still don't understand the skepticism at Jack's sincerity.  He could have just as easily said, "Yeah, City of Heroes was a great game, and we were really saddened to see such a strong property leave the market..." or something along those lines.  It would have had the same effect--ingratiating himself to the City of Heroes community, but unlike his comment, without any vague commitment that could come back to haunt him later.  Frankly, if he has inside information that NCsoft will never sell City of Heroes, all he would be doing with that comment is tweaking them a little bit because it could be seen as him trying to drag them yet again through the whole muck of trying to defend their decision.  And here's the thing--he has no dog in this fight, no reason to tweak NCsoft.  There's a chance that he might end up working with them again someday in some direct or indirect capacity, so it would actually behoove him not to.

And again, I have to point out that Jack Emmert spent more time building City of Heroes than most of the Paragon Studios staff at the end.  I'm not belittling the contributions of people who came after Jack, but City of Heroes was his baby.  In fact, it was his firstborn, to extend the metaphor a little bit.  Before City of Heroes, to my knowledge, he hadn't worked on any games, at least none at such a high-level capacity.  A lot of the lore and background in the game came straight from Jack's mind.  NCsoft effectively wiping it out had to have been a gut punch to Jack given the creative investment that he had in the game, even if it was technically a competitor.

Do I think he's drawing up business plans as I type this?  No.  But do I think he was simply pandering to the City of Heroes community in his remark?  Not at all.  If there were some opportunity for Cryptic to reacquire the IP and/or the code base for City of Heroes, I honestly think he probably wouldn't sell his soul to get it, but I do think that would jump on it and take the negotiations seriously.

[dwturducken]

...(a whole bunch of lucid, salient points; need the quote block because I took too long with my reply)...

The biggest problem that I see from your points is that each one of them could also be a reason why Cryptic would not want CoH back. The developer community can't be so large that these folks don't talk. Hell, it's easy enough to imagine Jack and Matt bumping into each other in passing at a restaurant. The point is, these folks probably talk. Within the constraints of NDAs, I'm sure the good folks at Cryptic know what the state of the code was at Paragon at the time of the shutdown. They may not want to take on that kind of project, given how stretched thin they are with two full-bore projects, one that's arguably foundering, and another on the horizon.

I'm certainly hopeful, but I'm not sure it's any easier a sell, mostly because of the existing familiarity with the product.

[Blondeshell]

It's possible that we're missing a slight angle on this, in that it's not in Jack's/Cryptic's court to initiate the conversation. Maybe we need to be directing our focus to Jeremy Gaffney and Carbine Studios because they were the face of NCsoft at the panel.

info@carbinestudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/jeremy.gaffney
https://twitter.com/JeremyGaffney

[Lightslinger]

It's possible that we're missing a slight angle on this, in that it's not in Jack's/Cryptic's court to initiate the conversation. Maybe we need to be directing our focus to Jeremy Gaffney and Carbine Studios because they were the face of NCsoft at the panel.

info@carbinestudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/jeremy.gaffney
https://twitter.com/JeremyGaffney

I think working both sides of this story are beneficial. Thanks for that contact info.

[dwturducken]

I think you're on the right track, Blondie, but Jeremy probably has about as much influence as Melissa did.

[Quinch]

They may not want to take on that kind of project, given how stretched thin they are with two full-bore projects, one that's arguably foundering, and another on the horizon.

I'll admit, how much subsequent development CoH would see if Cryptic were to buy it back is... well, questionable, but at the very least they could run it in maintenance mode if/until they could afford to allocate development resources towards updates. To be honest, I'm more worried about CO's players' reaction, given how little love it's been getting for so long.

One more thing - it is possible that Jack could have that comment so offhandedly because he was already blown off when he asked. However, assuming he's still interested - and I subscribe to the theory that he has skin in the game, at the very least emotionally - adding weight to it via PR pressure might add that much more leverage should the topic of "are you sure you wouldn't like to reconsider?" ever arise between them.

It's possible that we're missing a slight angle on this, in that it's not in Jack's/Cryptic's court to initiate the conversation. Maybe we need to be directing our focus to Jeremy Gaffney and Carbine Studios because they were the face of NCsoft at the panel.

I'm not so sure about that. It seems like trying to change Starbuck's policies by convincing the barista. Honestly, given the precarious situation they're in, I'd rather not put them in a situation where they'd be liable to draw even more management fire from NCsoft.

[Surelle]

It's possible that we're missing a slight angle on this, in that it's not in Jack's/Cryptic's court to initiate the conversation. Maybe we need to be directing our focus to Jeremy Gaffney and Carbine Studios because they were the face of NCsoft at the panel.

info@carbinestudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/jeremy.gaffney
https://twitter.com/JeremyGaffney

Be careful-- he and Carbine are launching Wildstar, period.  He even looked a little sheepish when he was agreeing that CoH shouldn't have been shut down.  He could not only get himself and Carbine into trouble with NCSoft by entering the CoH fray in any meaningful capacity, but he's also fully invested in his own game instead.  Why would he really want to become embroiled in a battle about CoH?

Hey, that's just my two influence, though; your mileage may vary.

[Lightslinger]

I think you're on the right track, Blondie, but Jeremy probably has about as much influence as Melissa did.

He's a voice from inside NCsoft, HUGELY helpful. At the very least he could maybe forward us on to another contact.

[Lightslinger]

http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,8176.0.html

I've started a Call to Action regarding Jack's comments. In what i'm calling "Phase 1" we are focusing on getting the word out to the press, Cryptic, & NCSoft that we support what Jack said and try to urge this thing along. I need some help in getting Phase 2: Phase Harder ready to launch.

I've never done one of these before so any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

[dwturducken]

Jack stated in an interview about Neverwinter that he's "a regular fixture at GenCon." I know it's a few months away, but a few people have already expressed a desire to go see VV, who has been announced as an author guest of honor. Perhaps he could be "cornered" at a Q&A or some such.

[Aggelakis]

It's possible that we're missing a slight angle on this, in that it's not in Jack's/Cryptic's court to initiate the conversation. Maybe we need to be directing our focus to Jeremy Gaffney and Carbine Studios because they were the face of NCsoft at the panel.

info@carbinestudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/jeremy.gaffney
https://twitter.com/JeremyGaffney

Please don't contact Carbine or anyone there. They are not a voice inside NCsoft. They have no influence on anything other than their game (and even then they have to get approval for their ideas). They are working very hard on getting their game out. Don't bug them. Don't carpet bomb their points of contact. They can't give you a better point of contact.

[Electric-Knight]

While I didn't take Jack's comment seriously and I initially didn't think of this as meaning anything... I do actually believe that the entire discussion about CoH is enormous publicity (relative to anything we have) for the save CoH movement.
I was completely skeptical and uninterested in this when I first checked it out, however, I agree that this is actually something that should be beaten to death as much and as loudly as we can.
After all... PR is pretty much entirely built around minutia... so, really, this all could indeed be PR gold for us and the reverse for NCSoft.

My name is Electric-Knight (not really) and I approve of this suggestion (really).