...or something like that...


Anyway, the vacation is over and it's another new year that should be just as exciting as the last one, if not more so.

What can you expect to see this year? Hopefully, a lot of things that most people will consider fun and exciting. We'll definitely do our best to make sure that DragonRealms is the place to be in 2002.

A couple of specific things that you'll see sooner than later:

1. While I will remain ambiguous and vague on lots of things, you'll also get the straight story (or at least as straight as I can be without jeopardizing our timelines and such) on things that will be coming soon. This is a tough thing for me to attempt, since as many of you know, as soon as we mention something that's coming, everyone tends to expect it to be released within a day or two. Provided we all understand that we won't release anything until it's actually ready, I will be happy to "let you all in" on some of the big projects that will be on the Development Team's collective plate this year.

2. The message boards are going to get a small facelift from an oganizational point of view. I've noticed that there are 3-5 places where most "general" questions/comments/suggestions can go and that's just silly. In all likelihood, the next month will see the demise of several of these redundant topics as we make an effort to get rid of a lot of the clutter on the boards.

3. Speaking of clutter on the boards, as Maelona mentioned a few weeks ago, we're going to make it very clear that the message boards are NOT here for our customers to take shots at our product or at our staff members, nor are they the place to do nothing but post in a "negative" manner. If you'd like to slam our staff members, do it elsewhere. There are plenty of message boards out there for you to talk trash on. If you want to slam the game, you can do that elsewhere, too. There are plenty of alternate gaming worlds out there for you to check out if you're not pleased with what we have to offer. Don't be surprised, however, when you find out how much different things are elsewhere and how good it really is here. ;) If you simply choose to use our message boards to do nothing but complain, please understand that this does nothing for the game itself or for the morale of the staff members who read the boards. It's OK to have a complaint, it's even ok to complain a lot. Just make sure you're including some positive comments, suggestions, and constructive words along with your complaints.

4. A new feature on the DR site (coming soon) will be a "Spotlight on Staff" section. I find it interesting that each SimuCon, I hear players commenting about how surprised they are to find out that GMs "really are normal people" after they get to know them. DR has a really amazing group of people who're putting in a LOT of time and effort to make it the best place it can be and yes, they really are normal people, just like you. To help prove this, I'm going to make a place on the website where you'll be able to find out "normal" things about our staff members like what TV shows they watch and what kind of music they listen to, as well as read some "anonymous" comments from their co-workers about them. It should prove to be quite entertaining. ;)


Anyway...you'll hear more from me a little later after I check on the status of a couple projects that SHOULD be close to completion.

GM Solomon