[MUD-Dev] notes from MUD Dev conf and GDC

[Brian 'Psychochild' Green]

Wow!  Glad you got back from Costa Rica in time to attend the
conferences!  I've heard Costa Rica is a great place to visit, but
perhaps not so much when you want to be somewhere else for a
conference!

Anyway, great notes!  I'm especially glad that you got a lot of use
out of the MUD-Dev conference.

A few notes of clarification about the panel I helped organize.

Mirjam Eladhari wrote:

>  - For Meridian 59 3DO paid for most of the development
>  cost. After 2 years of work it was shut down. Brian Green (and
>  I'm not sure who else was involved) bought it off 3DO. During the
>  production they got help from fans, for example one player
>  provided the hosting service. They used what they had in art
>  assets, and BG lives a frugal life: only made 12k last year.

Actually, the game originally launched in 1996 ran for four years
under 3DO's control.  I, personally, worked on it for most of the
last two years at 3DO.  My business partner is Rob "Q" Ellis II, who
was one of the original developer when the game launched.  He's a
world-class world designer and level layout designer, so he
complements my abilities quite well.

You can find out more information on our FAQ at
http://www.meridian59.com/.

As for me making $12k, one of my points is that you should be
realistic in your budgets based on income.  As the game grows and
expands, I expect to make more. ;) We have a rendering engine
rewrite that's close to completion soon (screenshots can be found at
http://www.meridian59.com/M59-Screenshots-06.shtml), and that should
draw more interest.  I'd also make note that we were entirely
self-funded through personal assets (and borrowing from credit cards
and family).  We took no external funding for the resurrection of
the game.

Just a bit of extra info that perhaps didn't get communicated in the
session.  I wanted to give Andy and Daniel a chance to speak about
their wonderful games as well. :)

--
"And I now wait / to shake the hand of fate...."  -"Defender", Manowar
          Brian Green, brian at psychochild.org  aka  Psychochild
         |\      _,,,---,,_      *=* Morpheus, my kitten, says "Hi!" *=*
   ZZzz  /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_               Meridian 59
        |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (  `'-'        http://www.meridian59.com/
       '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)          PvP and full player interaction
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