Ones and Zeroes -- A Milestone

This is a notable entry in the growing GWJ canon, particularly for those of you who, like myself, enjoy pointless milestones.  This marks both the one thousandth front page post at GWJ, and also the hundredth Maximum Verbosity/Daily Elysium.  GWJ opened its game loving arms to the world on January 15th 2003 with the triumphant Maximum Verbosity article Welcome to Gamers With Jobs.  Looking back I wish IÂ'd produced a grander work, something more befitting what the site has become, but instead the article was an awkward piece of personal introduction and fumbling groundrules all mingled with an almost pathetic plea for attention.  Thus was the foundation of GWJ poured.  The article generated one comment, an entirely accurate statement of mild confusion by a member who appears to have stuck with us through all of three days.  You see then, why IÂ'm so surprised weÂ've come to this milestone at all.

Look, before I get too deeply engrossed in this exercise, letÂ's describe it accurately.  This article is little more than a strained pat on our own back, a continuation of the theme paved so early on as I plead for ever more attention.  ItÂ's what we writers do.  We try with dramatic flair to turn your eyes our way.  The vast majority of literature could easily be summed up with the sentence: hey, look at me, arenÂ't I clever?  So, if you could continue to indulge me without significant verbal abuse as I trip light a few memories IÂ'd be indebted.  The reminiscence will likely be composed of barely related disjointed ingredients, as memories often are, but they will all be required elements of the GWJ arcana upon which you will all be tested in the years to come.

Though we describe January 15th as GWJÂ's launch day, and my own Welcome to Gamers With Jobs as our first article, we are, in fact, completely lying.  As it turns out Welcome to GWJ is the fifth article we posted, the first of which being an incosequential news item regarding Counter Strike 1.6 posted in the early hours of January 14th.  ItÂ's an interesting post in that it shows how perilously close we came to going in entirely the wrong direction.  As it turns out, it's exceedingly difficult to create a gaming website without being a copy and paste news service; seems unnatural to do otherwise, like breathing in water, or buying an Air Supply CD.  The other four articles leading to launch day were no better, needless trumpeting of Unreal 2 going gold, and some patch notes of AscheronÂ's Call 2 – where I entirely drop the ball and call the game strong and developing nicely.  A keen eye, have I.

Thank God something stopped us before we plodded down that awful course.  We did spend some part of the ensuing weeks needlessly dumping bulk news that youÂ'd just as easily have found at Blues or Shack, but it became clear early on what we enjoyed doing, and what you seemed to enjoy reading.  This is why the tale of GWJÂ's creation remains, to this day, one of my favorite pieces IÂ've written.  In fact, it feels like the very first truly GWJ article as I think of them now.  It has all the required parts, ponderous wording, run-on sentences, clumsy jokes, and Certis insults.  We've been formulaic from the start!  [side note: Entergament is still a bad name for a website]

I recall an almost tactile tingle of excitement as our fledgling site was born.  I know weÂ've said it before, and now it probably sounds like slightly annoying self deprecation, but Certis and I were hoping for perhaps fifty visitors a day in our humble beginnings, and would have been pleasantly surprised with one hundred.  When we had five hundred visitors that first day and averaged a couple hundred each day after, we were simply amazed.  Some of you even stayed.  I canÂ't explain that.  

As we pressed on, hopelessly encouraged by readers, we – and by we, I mean I – searched for a voice, which brings me to the War to End All Wars (the fifth Maximum Verbosity).  This marks the first time someone described an Elysiumism, which is a special kind of tag I wear with pride.  If mine is to wear the cognomen of Thesaurus Boy, then I shall do so without complaint!   I also stand behind the position I posited toward ParadoxÂ's Hearts of Iron – that being that Hearts of Iron is an intimidating monster that creeps off your hard drive while you sleep and sucks your brain out with a straw - and remain as befuddled by the game now as I did then.

The catharsis of reflecting my difficulties with the games that grace my screen onto all of you felt very very right, which is, I suspect, how all critics get their start.  Not long after my humbling discussion of Hearts of Iron, I tried my hand at a more traditional review, or rather impressions, of Panzer Dragoon: Orta.  Unfortunately the exercise was dry as noon on the Bonneville Salt Flats and full of stock phrasing.  It even had a score, which is part of the shameful past of our youthful indiscretions.  It was clear to both Certis and myself that we needed to strive for something more interesting with our reviews, something that fit into the formula.  Enter the Conference Call.

For me, even though weÂ've only done a few of them, the Conference Call is the most fun review anyone could hope to write.  And, though I lack perspective, I think it a much more interesting read.  Our first, and my favorite, is the Freelancer Conference Call which was entirely an experiment in exploring the possibility that simply posting an argument Certis and I had over ICQ could generate readers.  To our absolute astonishment, GWJ was not banned from the internet altogether the next day. 

As I go through these oldest articles now, I also take a special kind of pleasure in seeing many familiar faces introducing themselves so early on.  I look at the communities of most other sites and see them in a constant state of flux, never establishing true roots.  While not everyone who has visited stayed for pie, and other, newer members simply werenÂ't aware of our existence, IÂ'm gratified by the consistency of GWJÂ's community character.  Some of you lurk, some contribute to our forums nearly every day, and some of you have even joined us on the front page.  We'd be long gone without you guys.  So you have no one to blame but yourselves!

I look back in fondness at the collection of Maximum Verbositys I've accumulated.  Never have I been as succinct as my expression of hatred toward April 1st (which was edited down from an inaccurate news item about LucasArts bringing suit against some mod developer).  WeÂ've had discussions of books, television, games, music, award shows, and of course the occasional blatant filler article. IÂ've admitted to you my failings and successes, talked about the pleasures of being a new father and had a beard photoshopped onto my newborn sonÂ's face.  IÂ've had moments of abject cynicism followed almost immediately by almost bi-polar enthusiasm.  But, in it all, IÂ've just enjoyed writing these wordy missives for you, and have every intention of ejecting them out as long as any of you are willing to hang around. 

I like numbers (IÂ've told you about that as well) so when I get all those zeroes in a row I canÂ't help but trumpet it.  IÂ'm the kind of guy who piles everybody into the car on a Saturday afternoon to drive triumphantly over the 100,000 mile mark.  I might even take a photo if thereÂ's a place to pull off.  Today GWJ turns 1000 posts old, and Maximum Verbosity 100.  ItÂ's much farther than IÂ'd have ever expected, but I feel the momentum to double that like wind in a sail.  And when we do reach 2000 and 200, then rest assured I will steal a momentÂ's time to reminisce. 

I now return you to our regularly scheduled content, already in progress.

(For the purposes of fulfilling all required elements of the formula I submit the following:  Certis is dumb.  Thank you, that is all.)

- Elysium

Comments

You and Certis have created a wonderful site.

But it should really be called Entergament.

Entergament is only a typo away from Entergaymen, something I definitely would not be a member of. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

This is a great site. How it is set-up, let alone the great content by some great folks. It was a good(!) day when someone pointed it out to(!!).

Congrats!

Congratulations on the milestone- you've come a long way, baby!

Elysium wrote:

If mine is to wear the cognomen of Thesaurus Boy, then I shall do so without complaint!

I would like to take this opportunity to complain about the blatant and somewhat sad plea for the nickname "Thesaurus Boy", evidenced by the use of the word "cognomen", which (as everybody knows) isn't a real word, and merely something that Elysium made up on the spot to make it look like he knows more words than the rest of us.

Oh, and I lik yur InterWeb sight.

(For the purposes of fulfilling all required elements of the formula I submit the following: Certis is dumb. Thank you, that is all.)

For those of you who don't know, Entergament is the title Certis came up with. Therefore the Certis bashing was already in full force by just mentioning that horrible name.

Cognomen: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=cognomen

I figured out the root but not the meaning. Grr.

Entergament?!? Really?

This site is like a second home to me now. I really like it, but as with everything in life the enjoyment stems from the people one shares the experience with. This place seems to draw the best.

Why is everyone so 'down' on Entergament? I admit it's not the prettiest of names, but it has a certain boss-eyed charm.

At least they didn't call it GamefullyEmployed, eh?

GamefullyEmployed

There it is. After all these years we've finally found it. Looks like we have to shut this site down and start a new one now.

Damn, you stole my thought, Matt! Oh what the hell, I'll do it anyway. Entergament? More like Enter-gay-ment!

Ok, that sucked.

As a relative newcomer, I will pile on with some props of my own. This site provides a what I have found to be a truly unique opportunity to engage in intelligent conversation about games, politics and all manner of issues with a group of mature adults.

As a side note, I only stumbled upon this site due to a link to a review from Blue's. I'm not sure what efforts are made to get links to reviews and articles posted on major news sites, but it does bring in those lost souls who are looking for a site just like this.

Wow, so I was the only one to put Shawn Karla Andrich into google?

Only found this site about Devil Dolls. Scroll down it's the 'double sided' one.

Satan rules, even in doll form.

When my wife asks me why I'm so engrossed with video games lately, as apposed to a few years ago when she met me, I blame this site.

Watch out, because she's looking for you now.

Keep up the great work.

Your E3 articles were what made me a regular reader, they were by far the best on the internet thanks to being so personable. Keep up the good work.

I will mercilessly hunt down and murder each and every member of the GWJ crew if they ever close down this site.

But seriously, congrats guys! You achieved exactly what you had in mind all along! Not only is that a glorious feat, but you also have an army of (mostly) gainfully employed minions who support you all the way.

*Raises glass to next unidentified milestone*

You know, I honestly can't remember how I ended up discovering this site.

I think I may have wandered in here from a link posted at the gone gold boards somewhere. I wish I could remember.

Regardless, congrats. I've only been here a short time, and it's already a much more entertaining and interesting site than the other 98% of the game-related sites on the net.

Congratulations to the CEO's on the big milestone & keep up the great job.
The community on this site cant be beat when it comes to good advice re: games.

Pyroman[FO] wrote:
(For the purposes of fulfilling all required elements of the formula I submit the following: Certis is dumb. Thank you, that is all.)

For those of you who don't know, Entergament is the title Certis came up with. Therefore the Certis bashing was already in full force by just mentioning that horrible name.

Entergament? Oh well I guess even GWJ has to have a skeleton in its closet.

Good thing is that I can always bask in the light that shines from the work of others. "Dude, GWJ rocks. Dug that article on [insert random Maximum Verbosity/Conference Call or Pyro's HL2 leak tidbit]" To which I respond "Yeah, yeah, we rock." and go back to contributing jack. ^_^

Wow, so I was the only one to put Shawn Karla Andrich into google?

Only found this site about Devil Dolls. Scroll down it's the 'double sided' one.

Satan rules, even in doll form.

Nice find! Devil Doll is wicked good.

Entergament

No one will ever believe me when I say it was a joke and that list was probably the fifth such becuase Mr.Choosy pants couldn't make up his mind.

Have your fun, we'll see who's laughing when I launch Entergament and make millions!!

Lord_Xan wrote:

But seriously, congrats guys! You achieved exactly what you had in mind all along! Not only is that a glorious feat, but you also have an army of (mostly) gainfully employed minions who support you all the way.

You know, I've always wanted to be a minion. Sweet.

Spunior wrote:

Good thing is that I can always bask in the light that shines from the work of others.

Like a Komodo Dragon, you bask in a light all by yourself Spunior.

Entergament

Of course, the site is already taken. And despite what I thought, it doesn't appear to be about gaming on the now defunct Windows NT operating system. Go figure.

Of course, the site is already taken.

Wow. That guy must have made millions. *glances at Certis*

Certis wrote:
Wow, so I was the only one to put Shawn Karla Andrich into google?

Only found this site about Devil Dolls. Scroll down it's the 'double sided' one.

Satan rules, even in doll form.

Nice find! Devil Doll is wicked good.

Nice try I know you're wigged out! Congrats on 1000!

Going through those earlier posts I realized why I was a late bloomer here. I followed you guys at EA while you were there and I remember when you guys left and started this up but yeah... the cut and paste news world is just that, more of the same.

I kept visiting every so often though and then was freaked out when you stopped posting on the front page. Then a little bit later I found the forums. The rest is history.

I wish you the best of luck with v2.0 and look forward to donating in your annual begging. I kid, I kid. It will be money well spent.

1Dgaf wrote:
Of course, the site is already taken.

Wow. That guy must have made millions. *glances at Certis*

He also lists some of the most influential gaming industry sites in his link list.

Best of all his color scheme is totally heteromexual.

Congratulations to Elysium, Certis, and the entire GWJ staff. It's quite an accomplishment to have reached this level of success.

I could go on about the kind of people you are and the kind of people you attract, but it's probably best not to go there with the "Welcome Back Perverts" details still fresh in our minds.

I came for the eloquent turn of phrase and stayed for the Russian hippie bashing.

If anything were ever to happen to you guys... *sniff* I don't know what I'd do!

While obviously the writing is simply to die for and the community is one in which we could all writhe in naked, oiled bliss, I have to admit that it was The Adventures of Sway's Box that got me here and here to stay. Screw the games, there's undead to be had.

I first found the site when looking for reviews of something. What it was, I don't remember. I hadn't realized how new the site was when I first stumble across it, which was in March or April of 2003. I lurked for a good several months before posting in the forums, though they soon became the biggest reason I made this my homepage.

Between the personable staff members we've got maintaining the site and putting up front-page items and the friendly, mature forum community (at least, more mature than any other game forum I've been to!), this is easily the best online community of which I've ever been a part.

Kudos to our corporate overlords.

I first found the site off GameTab (a sort of Google Zeitgeist for gaming news). To this day, GWJ is the *only* site where I click on every new article that shows up.

Good job guys!