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RPGPorkster
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Melbourne |
| “The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons |
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“The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons the Disaster.
After reading AE’s recent public announcement of the “state of the game” I thought it was appropriate to release this information which I have been submitted from a very creditable source. The situation, Artifact Entertainment finds itself in!
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* First Month Subscriptions, approximately 34,000 copies, minus the many that have left after the first month.
These sales numbers are a disaster for a mmorpg, when related to current investors’ liability and salaries. It seems Bowman is happy to deny investors returns, so as long as he can gain a salary from the subscription base and prolonging the game’s existence.
* Horizons project has had near to $9,000,000 to bring it to the market. $1,000.000 of that was only recently sort to salvage the project and bring the game to the shop shelf, indicating the game is on a “make or break” precipice and heavily reliant on subscriptions to survive, if it can.
* James Jones has been fired by AE’s board after Bowman demanded it do so. Bowman placed the blame of the game onto Jones when confronting AE’s board.
James Jones is said to be now trying to start a new project and business after creating a “Customer Disaster Product”, alongside Bowman.
* David Bowman is currently taken James Jones title of “Co-President/COO” along with Bowman’s existing roles.
It’s amazing Government trade practises type departments have not been informed about AE declaring this publicly. AE’s web page has not been updated.
* AE sacked roughly 30% of its staff near the public announcement of the “state of the game” and after gaining power from the board since James Jones sacking.
* AE has approximately 50 staff, 6 of which are on the development aspect, the rest is clerical/game support.
Expect a lot more to be sacked as the funds dry up, especially in customer support.
* AE has forced staff to take a 20% pay decrease, further helping staff to decide to leave/drop support.
You would expect Bowman to work for free, if he believes in his project enough and whilst it’s sinking.
* Bowman is said to consider the game his own franking and has placed a lot of tension on the development crew that tasks and work are his own workings, not theirs, other words he takes the credit in most situations.
* The insider has informed, Bowman designed the game on the fly and the game has no real documented structure design to work from.
A major reason why the conceptual aspects of the game are not compatible with database and network demand.
* Staff are said to believe Bowman is bipolar, others words, mind flipping/schizophrenic and very difficult to work with.
* The insider source of the information has stated the game would be lucky to survive another 3 months before being forced into receiver-ship/closed doors.
It would be very risky to pay up for multi-month subscription deals if you are a player.
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I wont inform of the source of the information, but the person knows the state of the company by working there. Very creditable. This is not a flame, it is more or less factual and to give validity to the real background of the game.
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:25 pm |
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Loremaster
Village Leader
Joined: 31 Mar 2002
Posts: 88
Location: Hampshire, England |
Do tell us Porkie, how are David Allen's current projects shaping up? Apart from releasing a patch for a bug-ridden shareware dungeon hack has he actually achieved anything yet?
I'm not a subscriber to HZ btw, so I'm not a fanboi of AE or HZ. But then I'm also not a fanboi of bitter and twisted failures who get their poodles to spout half-truths and make-believe on their behalf. |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 3:32 pm |
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RPGPorkster
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Melbourne |
quote:
Originally posted by Loremaster
Do tell us Porkie, how are David Allen's current projects shaping up? Apart from releasing a patch for a bug-ridden shareware dungeon hack has he actually achieved anything yet?
I'm not a subscriber to HZ btw, so I'm not a fanboi of AE or HZ. But then I'm also not a fanboi of bitter and twisted failures who get their poodles to spout half-truths and make-believe on their behalf.
I have no affiliation with David Allen.
Don’t you think Players have the right to know the real truth about a product they are playing and could risk their monies on? |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 4:06 pm |
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Loremaster
Village Leader
Joined: 31 Mar 2002
Posts: 88
Location: Hampshire, England |
quote:
Originally posted by RPGPorkster
Don’t you think Players have the right to know the real truth about a product they are playing and could risk their monies on?
Oh absolutely.
So why not post this sort of stuff on the boards that current and prospective players actually use? My guess would be either:-
1. It's untrue.
or
2. You know you're discredited on those boards.
or
3. You're banned from those boards for peddling nonsense before.
So when are we going to see DA actually release a MMORPG then? Has he actually got any funding for one yet? Aside from Demise - which is how many years old now? - at what stage of development are his other titles? |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 4:58 pm |
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Loremaster
Village Leader
Joined: 31 Mar 2002
Posts: 88
Location: Hampshire, England |
| Re: “The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons |
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quote:
Originally posted by RPGPorkster
it is more or less factual
I love that bit by the way. I'm sure you'd find that a wonderful defence in court if David Bowman sued you for libel. Care to spell out which bits are more or less factual than the other bits? |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 5:04 pm |
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RPGPorkster
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Melbourne |
| Re: “The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons |
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quote:
Originally posted by Loremaster
quote:
Originally posted by RPGPorkster
it is more or less factual
I love that bit by the way. I'm sure you'd find that a wonderful defence in court if David Bowman sued you for libel. Care to spell out which bits are more or less factual than the other bits?
Do I need to win you over? If you are concerned in the statements then do your own research. It's not upto me to prove anything to you. Bowman wouldn't take any legal case as nothing has been said that isn't truthful.
I will be happy for Bowman to correct any differences.
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 5:14 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
| Re: “The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons |
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Well, i will take this letter with a grain of salt, since your "source" doesnt want to reveal who the hell he is. Is he/she scared of retaliation or what?
quote:
Originally posted by RPGPorkster
... Staff are said to believe Bowman is bipolar, others words, mind flipping/schizophrenic and very difficult to work with.
The general ignorance of your so-called "source" is astounding concerning mental illnesses. They cant even label him with the correct terminology. I have no respect for Bowman, he is a jerk (i liked David Allen's version of Horizons). If Bowman is bipolar (which is manic depressive) he would indeed be hard to work with because he would be manic sometimes and other times he would be majorly depressed. And bipolar has little relation to schizophrenia. Your source doesnt even know what schizophrenia is in the first place! Plain ignorance. That reduces his credibility a lot in my eyes. If they are going to fling around insults about his mental state, they should at least get their terminology straight. Those people dont have knowledge enough to fling a decent insult. LOL at them and your "source."
To see what David Allen is up to, go to Pharoah Productions. He is making an MMO, but its nothing like the original Horizons. Horizons at first consisted of David Allen's two-year-long research into what players want in an MMO, but now it is nothing then a watered-down shell of a game. It doesnt surprise me that Bowman didnt have a design document, after having shredded up everything good about Allen's designs. There is no comparison: David Allen possessed the dream-game design, and then David Bowman ripped it up and replaced it with nothing much. Duh. How stupid can you get, Bowman?
In all, im glad their game is turning the way of the poopoo, despite whether this is correct info or not! By destroying the design of Allen, they betrayed not only David Allen but all MMO players and the whole community that the original game design fostered. Im glad that fate has dealt them justice. Screw them! They didnt get any of my money.
So goes the way of the losers. |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:32 pm |
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RPGPorkster
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Melbourne |
A part owner of Artifact Entertainment as confirmed what is stated.
http://boards.pharaoh-productions.com/
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 8:02 pm |
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RPGPorkster
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Sep 2003
Posts: 51
Location: Melbourne |
| Re: “The Real State of the Game” Insider Reveals Horizons |
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quote:
Originally posted by Ammon777
bipolar has little relation to schizophrenia. Your source doesnt even know what schizophrenia is in the first place!
Dictionary.com = "bipolar, Relating to a major affective disorder that is characterized by episodes of mania and depression. "
Oxford Distionary = "bipolar, having or relating to two poles or extremities."
Oxford Dictionary = "schizophrenia >noun a long-term mental disorder involving faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, and withdrawal from reality into fantasy and delusion. -ORIGIN Latin, from Greek skhizein 'to split' + phrn 'mind'."
Episodes of mania, other words mood changes, a bi nature. The statement wasn't to judge Bowman as having a categorised illness, but to relate how others worked with him. Schizophrenia seems appropriate too in the context.
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 8:11 pm |
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Ican
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
Posts: 185
Location: UK |
Schizophrenia is not the same thing as bipolar illness. Bipolar describes the extreme ( and uncontrolled ) fluctuations in mood, which may or may not be associated with hallucinatory ideation.
Schizophrenia revolves almost solely around uncontrolled thoughts, abnormal ideation and difficulty in distinguishing these matters from reality. Rapid fluctuations in mood are not a given.
The notion that schizophrenics behave like "two different people" is a myth. That entity is in fact called Ganser's Syndrome ....but if you live outwith North America, then this condition isn't even recognised.
Thankyou for listening.
Dave Bowman/Ican  |
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Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:00 pm |
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Ammon777
Warrior for Heaven
Joined: 20 Apr 2002
Posts: 2011
Location: United States |
Well taken in context it might seem appropriate, but only if you disregard the meanings of the terms and put abstraction into play. But i feel obligated to explain to people what is what about those two illnesses.
Bipolar is not related to schizophrenia. The two conditions are separate. Their causes are different, the symptoms are different, and the consequences of having them are different. I know what im talking about. I have schizophrenia! (and I only have one personality). The "split" or "schizm" refers to the distancing of the schizophrenic from reality, the division into realms of pure psychosis. Psychotic means separated from reality. Hence someone who is psychotic talks about things that happen in their mind only, and not present in reality. Delusions are caused by this separation from what is existent and what is fiction created by the illness. Try listening to thirty channels of talk radio at once, and you might get a faint idea what it is like for a schizophrenic 24/7. Things change in perception when you hear a voice right next to you that has no body, and is yelling profanity at you. Most people would be terrified, to say the least. Welcome to hell.
EDIT -- You forgot to say that schizophrenics have hallucinations, mostly auditory but also sometimes visual hallucinations. Even though i am on heavy medications and am somewhat stable, i STILL hear voices. Those voices are fictions caused by unknown chemical abnormalities in the brain that affect the sensory areas of the brain, essentially decieving perceptions. Schizophrenia is a brain disease.
Btw, you're David Bowman? or were you poking fun at the schizm?
Last edited by Ammon777 on Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:46 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:33 am |
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Zakhal
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 188
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quote:
Originally posted by Ican
Dave Bowman/Ican
Youre joking right lol?  |
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 12:38 am |
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Christation
Village Dweller
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 24
Location: Louisiana, US |
quote:
Originally posted by Zakhal
quote:
Originally posted by Ican
Dave Bowman/Ican
Youre joking right lol?
I saw that too! But, after checking his other posts, he is joking... would be kinda cool though if it were him 
_________________
Christation
MMORPGDOT Editor
...Don't rob someone of hope; hope may be all they have. |
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:53 am |
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Christation
Village Dweller
Joined: 02 Jan 2004
Posts: 24
Location: Louisiana, US |
I've asked Gale, Horizons Community Manager, to comment on this. If she does, I'll post it.
_________________
Christation
MMORPGDOT Editor
...Don't rob someone of hope; hope may be all they have.
Last edited by Christation on Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:53 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:59 am |
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Ekim
Eagle's Shadow
Joined: 27 May 2002
Posts: 2365
Location: Montreal, Canada |
quote:
Originally posted by Christation
I've asked Gale, Horizons Community Manager, to commit on this. If she does, I'll post it.
It would be surprising that they would... But it's worth a shot! 
_________________
=Proud Father of a new gamer GIRL!=
=Member of The Nonflamers' Guild=
=Worshiper of the Written Word= |
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Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:21 am |
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