Send them on down here. We'll talk them in. We'll give them a good home.

3 Feb 06

I've been working on the site again. I put up a news wire page over Here. Let me know if there's any value in it. If not, it's not hard to remove.

I know we've done pretty well around here covering the strategy side of Talk Strategy. We cover the games. We discuss design. We analyze hardware, software, business decisions and marketing. There's a little bit of everything.

However, I'd like to get more on the talk side of Talk Strategy. I realize a lot of strategy games don't have much to say at times. But there are times for all gamers when they really like to talk. I remember those times and miss them occasionally. I'm talking about great expectations.

Great expectations is that phase when an announced game just meets exactly what you're looking for in a future game. Every detail is new and exciting. You pour over every screenshot. You find every interview, comment and news piece on your new, most anticipated game. You post about your game on boards. You defend it from naysayers. You might even start a fan site.

Once upon a time, I was even like that. I have to be a bit more balanced and less biased now to be fair to all developers. I also just don't have the time necessary to delve into that depth on one game. I know a little about a lot of games, but I can't claim to be an expert on any one upcoming game.

Everyone knows someone like that if they talk about games. In fact, sometimes it's hard not to trip over them. I'd love to be able to tap into that resource. I'd like to start something called Fanfare. Fanfare is a a simple idea. We'll give the subject matter experts a stage. They can then sell us on the virtues of their favorite upcoming game through text, links, screenshots or movies.

Since this place is about sharing your passion for gaming, I'm not interested in being too critical about the types of games for Fanfare. As I said, we're trying to balance the strategy out with a little more talk. So whatever the game or genre, let your passionate friend know we have a place for him or her to share the word of their favorite upcoming game. Tell them to get in touch with me and we'll sort out the details. I'll contact the fans I know; please do the same. I think it could produce some very interesting articles. As always, your feedback is appreciated.

Jason