It’s actually quite remarkable just how much work goes into the creation and maintenence of an online gaming site such as this one. You might sometimes get the idea that it’s nothing more than a handful of idiots who hang out on IRC all night questioning one another’s sexual proclivities, occassionally posting rambling diatribes (often with only the most tenuous links to gaming of any sort), and just generally looking for some way to justify the fact that they spend the bulk of their time playing computer games.
Well, yeah okay, you’d be right. But that’s not the point.
The point is that despite the fact that any gathering of more than three Warcry staffers resembles nothing so much as a long ride on the short bus, things get done. Good things. The change from the old (and let’s face it, somewhat craptastic) WNN site to the shiny new home we have now is the most recent, and most obvious example. You know the old saying about how, given enough time, 100 monkeys with 100 typewriters will eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare? Well, this was more like about a dozen monkeys in a month. And yet here you are, with the finished results staring you in the face – and I for one am quite pleased with the results.
(Of course, I really had nothing at all to do with the change. In the hierarchy of the Warcry staff, we have site managers and coders and network administrators and so forth – I’m basically just the guy who swears a lot.)
One of the first things I was commanded to do by Herr Oberstfuhrer Landslide was to come up with a name and a description for this here little column. I find this tricky; I can ramble on for pages about nothing in particular, but coming up with a line or two that’ll succinctly define what I intend to do here is damn near impossible. And a title? Malygristle is actually a name Landslide came up with a few weeks ago when we first started testing this new system, and truth me told, I can’t think of anything better. God willing, I will eventually, but until/unless such inspiration strikes, I’m stuck with his dumb name.
What I’m building to here, I suppose, is that if you’re going to read this column, you’d better come in prepared to deal with pretty much whatever’s on my mind when I sit down and start writing. I’ll bounce game reviews off you, maybe some hardware reviews (if I can convince Landslide to shoot the odd piece my way), opinion pieces both valid and totally incoherent, possibly an interview or three if I can convince anyone that I actually write for a reputable gaming site… and whatever else may happen as we go on. I do this because I have a great passion for gaming (“passion” being an overused and trite term, but nothing else really fits), and that’s the sort of thing that can take you all over the map.
The whole thing promises to be interesting at the very least. We’ve got a good new site here – no popups! – some great writers, and a staff that’s dedicated to making this work for no other reason than a sheer love of gaming. It’s going to be a fun ride. I hope you enjoy it.
