38 Studios News Bits
Lots of random bits of information out there about 38 Studios over the past week or so. Some of us were out at CES and met with various people, which produced several interviews and features around the web. Of note, and probably the only real new piece for those who have been paying attention to the company, is that our codename is out: Copernicus. It has nothing to do with the game itself, as it is just a codename, but it’s out there now. Anyway, on to the links…
- Star pitcher trading baseballs for video games (CNN/GameTap)
- Curt Schilling talks about 38 Studios video (CNET TV)
- Schilling’s Got More Game (Plugged In – Barron’s Online)
- Curt Schilling takes the wraps off his video game studio (Tech Talk with Dean Takahashi)
- Cross Media Execs On Building Better Game Crossover Success (Gamasutra)
- Curt Schilling Retiring In 2009 To Develop “World of Schillcraft” (Best Week Ever)
- 38 Studios – Curt Schilling Interview at CES 2008 (Ten Ton Hammer)
- CES 2008: Interview with 38 Studios (Allakhazam.com)
Seriously, it’s just a codename (not a working title like one of the articles states). There is no Copernicus Code to crack. Sorry.
Just out of curiousity, who gets to set internal codenames for projects?
I’d be so tempted to start wild goose chases if I was in your shoes:
“Why Copernicus?”
“No reason, it’s a randomly selected codeword.”
“Well there has to be some reason…”
“NO REASON”
“COME ON! There’s always a reason!”
“Ok, you can’t tell anybody, but… when we were vetting backstory content, several backstory elements kept crossing paths with Copernicus. It was kinda like a “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” thing, so it became our internal codename. No big deal”
“What parts?”
“Can’t really say.”
“His work? His life? His location? His theories? What?”
“I can’t tell you…. maybe none of those, maybe all… maybe its about things that have since been named after him too. I can’t say.”
“Oooo… a google search has schools, museums, even a moon crater and a satellite… is this a sci-fi space MMO?”
“… you can find him on currency too… not that this is necessarily related. Like I said, the name appears everywhere. You really can’t read too much into it… It was just a pattern we noticed…”
“Currency? So a futuristic space MMO with a heavy trade element? Awesome.”
“I didn’t say anything like that. That’s all speculation… and on a totally unrelated sidenote, “space” doesn’t have to be futuristic… look at spelljammer.”
“Oh man, this is awesome. It’s a spelljammer MMO?”
“No, it’s not a spelljammer MMO. All we’re saying is it’s codenamed “Copernicus” and it will be based on original intellectual property created…”
“But it’s similar to spelljammer.”
“All I said was the codename. You’ve made up all the rest yourself right here. We have R.A Salvatore and Todd McFarlane as our creative team…”
“So it’s going to be Drizzt in a spelljammer setting with a Spawn?”
“All original stuff here, clean slate. Let me make that clear”
“Clean slate… MMO… Tabula Rasa! You’re taking Tabula Rasa gameplay and putting it in a spelljammer setting! Will the dark elves be good guys or bad?!?”
“I think I’ve said enough.”
“Don’t worry, man, I’ll keep you as an “unnamed but reliable source.” I gotta go start my blog and register a fansite domain name. This is soo coool…..”
Hahaha.
It’s a good codename, can I have a guess ?
It’s either
a) Your taking what other people have already formulated, and building on it in a way that it has a broader appeal.
or
b) You just don’t think your game is at the centre of the universe.