Gleemax is Dead

[cthulhu_duck]

Sad to hear the news about Gleemax - any gaming site helps raise the profile of the hobby. I'm not surprised however, as it feels like the initiative may not have had the support it should have from upper management. That's certainly a problem I've seen in other entities with online developments :-(

I'm worried however - is it just me, or is dndinsider.com giving others a nice little error display this morning:

"Microsoft VBScript compilation error '800a03e9'

Out of memory

/default.asp, line 0 "

?

 

[Mouseferatu]

I hope you get it out - I was looking forward to grab some of your work.

I appreciate that. I do still have Agents of Artifice coming out in February. It's a Magic: the Gathering novel, so it may or may not appeal to you (and it won't read the same as my purely original novel*), but I did try to make it accessible to people who aren't all that familiar with the property.

*Not saying that it's better or worse. Just different; the demands for a property-driven novel are quite a bit different from those of a purely original work, so the two books are often stylistically dissimilar.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

It looks like we might be seeing a "DC Implosion" happening at Wizards as we move into post-4e launch territory. What they really need there to allay fans' concerns and gain back some goodwill is a Joe Quesada-like figure--someone at the top who has the authority to answer questions and who not only knows how to interact with the fanbase but is eager to do so.

Uh... Quesada runs Marvel. And hasn't been very popular at all lately, thanks to what he did with Spider-Man.

I find myself echoing Terramotus' concern; dancing at a funeral is bad form even if you didn't like the guy. Frankly, I can't fault them for trying. If Gleemax had come together instead of being a crippled wall of green, it would have been a great resource. Their failure is bad for the company image and bad for the community, but being spiteful about it doesn't do anything except make ENWorld that much more like the inhospitable online gaming communities I've already abandoned.

 

[Knightfall]

I've got a hunch that this is just WotC tightening up its belt. Despite the good sales of 4e I've got a feeling that we're going to see more fat trimmed and hopefully it will be enough so that we don't see the whole brand get shelved or sold off.

HASBRO... if you're going to sell the D&D brand name then I suggest you sell it to Paizo!

 

[Mouseferatu]

While I think I'm allowed to say, I'm not 100% sure, so I'm going to hold off just a bit longer. I'll let you know as soon as I'm certain I can.

Having just been told that it's okay, I can say that the other book that was canceled was Black Crusade.

 

[Knightfall]

Shades of Grey, which was to be published under the Discoveries line, I can try to sell elsewhere, since it was an entirely original novel. (It was, in fact, to be my first totally non-game-related fiction publication, so I'm especially bummed about its cancellation.) But of course, being able to try to sell it is no guarantee of success.

You should ask Erik Mona if he'll publish it through Paizo's Planet Stories brand.

 

[SSquirrel]

Seeing as how this means I've had not one, but two novels yanked from the publication schedule. And I know I'm far from the only one.

That really sucks Ari. I hope things pick back up.

Speaking of books not getting released, I wonder if there's been any more word re: the last Raistlin book and the apparent blockade to it getting published.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I also didn't ever udnerstand the purpose of Gleemax. What was supposed to make it so special?

Livejournal.

Apparently WotC was unaware that Livejournal already existed.

But they've got this great idea for a site where you upload your videos and can embed them into other Web pages! Glee-Tube is going to be HUGE.

 

[Mouseferatu]

You should ask Erik Mona if he'll publish it through Paizo's Planet Stories brand.

You know, the thought actually briefly occurred to me... But Planet Stories focuses specifically on "sword & sorcery" style fantasy, and I think Shades of Grey, though certainly dark and morally ambiguous enough, probably has too many elements of higher fantasy to qualify. (Plus, I think PS is focused primarily on older writers that have been out of print for a while.) And even if I thought he'd do it, I wouldn't ask Erik to change the focus of an entire line just to do me a favor.

 

[The Little Raven]

Apparently WotC was unaware that Livejournal already existed.

Apparently MySpace was unaware, as well, but that didn't stop it from beating LiveJournal's ass in popularity.

Gleemax was just poorly planned and poorly executed. The fact that existing sites served the same function has little bearing on its failure.