Interesting!!! They finally lost the "of"!!

Word Mark	EVERQUEST II THE SHADOW ODYSSEY
Goods and Services	IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: COMPUTER GAME SOFTWARE AND VIDEO GAME SOFTWARE
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code	(4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number	77451534
Filing Date	April 18, 2008
Current Filing Basis	1B
Original Filing Basis	1B
Owner	(APPLICANT) Sony Online Entertainment LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE 10202 W. Washington Blvd. Culver City CALIFORNIA 90232
Attorney of Record	Lynn S. Fruchter
Type of Mark	TRADEMARK
Register	PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator	LIVE

Go me!!

What is Odyssey and Why Does it Have a Shadow?

Word Mark EVERQUEST II THE SHADOW OF ODYSSEY

Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: COMPUTER GAME SOFTWARE AND VIDEO GAME SOFTWARE

Standard Characters Claimed

Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK

Serial Number 77451534

Filing Date April 18, 2008

Current Filing Basis 1B

Original Filing Basis 1B

Owner (APPLICANT) Sony Online Entertainment LLC LTD LIAB CO DELAWARE 10202 W. Washington Blvd. Culver City CALIFORNIA 90232

Attorney of Record Lynn S. Fruchter

Type of Mark TRADEMARK

Register PRINCIPAL

Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Some one sent me an instant message today telling me the Trademark Watchers caught the new expansion name for Everquest II. He then went on to send me the name "The Shadow Odyssey". In the few seconds I had to take that in, I decided I liked that name, it was different and evoked a bit of mystery. Then he sent me a new message saying "Wait." The Shadow of Odyssey. I felt deflated. My mind started racing down new roads with the name "The Shadow Odyssey", and then hit a brick wall with "The Shadow of Odyssey". What a difference a 2 letter word makes.

So now I want to know "What is Odyssey?" and "Why does it have a Shadow?" and "Why can't they get rid of the word "of"?

To me, a shadow is not a full representation of the original. So saying a shadow of odyssey is like saying it is not a full odyssey. Considering this is an expansion and not an adventure pack or a content update, the name just does not make sense to me. If Odyssey was something from the EQ past like, Kunark or Faydwer etc, it could be a viable name but for the life of me I can not remember a zone or expansion in EQ named Oydssey.

Of course, in speculating that the "of" is an error and the real title is The Shadow Odyssey, that opens up some room for exploring some thoughts. Odyssey being a long series of journeys about The Shadow government? Species? Movement? Realm? God? Weapon?

To be honest I have not kept up on the lore much, but this calls for investigation. So I am going to start looking into the lore that is popping up. And I hope you do to!

Congratulations Travis McGeathy!

38 Studios' Design Team Expands
- Travis McGeathy Joins Steve Danuser and Jason Roberts -

Maynard, MA, April 22, 2008 – Continuing to attract top industry talent, 38 Studios (www.38studios.com), a pioneering entertainment company dedicated to delivering a broad spectrum of entertainment products, today announced the expansion of its industry-renowned design team with the appointment of Travis McGeathy as systems design lead. Travis hails from Sony Online Entertainment and joins his former SOE co-workers at 38 Studios, Jason Roberts and Steve Danuser, who have been laying the groundwork in IP and game development in year one at the studio.

"38 Studios already boasts some heavy-hitting, pop-culture names with R. A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane," said Brett Close, CEO and President of 38 Studios. "In addition to these visionaries, 38 Studios is extremely proud of the well-known and highly respected designers, artists, and engineers we've attracted. Having Travis, Jason, and Steve as the nucleus of our design team adds further credibility within the industry, strengthening our commitment to deploying a first-rate MMOG, and ensuring fans that we have the skill and experience to deliver an Online Entertainment Experience like no other."

As systems design lead, McGeathy, known as "Rashere" in the online gaming community, will oversee the team responsible for creating the innovative gameplay mechanics that will bring to life the MMOG codenamed "Copernicus." At SOE, he held the position of lead designer on EverQuest and was responsible for the overall creative direction of the product and management of its design team.

Danuser, also known as "Moorgard" in the online world, joined 38 Studios in 2006 as the director of community development and lead content designer. He is establishing the foundation of 38 Studios' community while directing creative development of the company's upcoming MMOG. At SOE, he was the original community manager for EverQuest II, founding and maintaining one of the strongest and most vibrant communities in the MMOG space. He later moved into the role of designer and contributed to expansion packs and live updates, including the popular Echoes of Faydwer.

Design director Jason Roberts oversees the creative and technical operations of the 38 Studios design department, ensuring that both gameplay systems and creative content meld into a cohesive and entertaining experience. Prior to joining 38 Studios in 2007, he was lead designer of EverQuest II, providing guidance to the development process of three expansions and three adventure packs, including Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky and Echoes of Faydwer.

About 38 Studios
38 Studios, a media and entertainment company founded in 2006 by Curt Schilling, is in pre-production on an original fantasy IP driven by the creative and artistic visions of pop-culture icons R. A. Salvatore and Todd McFarlane. Entertainment products will include a massively immersive Online Entertainment Experience (TM) that transcends the traditional MMOG genre, novels, comics, toys, movies, TV, and more. For more information, visit http://www.38studios.com.

38 is really pulling in some talented people. I really can not wait to see what they have in store for us! Congratulation Travis! Would you do me a favor and /bonk Moorgard for me!

Another Good-bye and new additions

I logged onto my raiding forums the other day and there is was, another good-bye. Lately, I find that when I log in to the game, the forums, check my mail, there is another good-bye. One would think after all the years I have been online, I would be used to the comings and goings of those I meet. I confess, I am not. I get all comfortable with the people that I know on-line. Just as if I knew them in real life. Just as if they were part of my family.


A lot of things changed in the last couple of years. Partly because I know more people on line then I ever have before and partly because life is becoming more fluid. Some of those I have said good-bye to in the past have floated away like a balloon a child let go of, never to be seen again. Some I still touch base with from time to time. Just today I got an instant message from someone I met about 8 years ago telling me he is getting married in June. He was just a teenager when I met him. Some I see once a year at Fan Faire, we say hello, spend a weekend having fun and then say good-bye till next year. Some are taking a gaming break till the next "best game" is released. Me? I am still plugging along playing a game I like a lot.

To all of them I say "May you always have fair winds and following seas."

Now for the new additions. I popped into the Stratics Dev Chat Friday night. Most was the same old stuff. You know the "When are you fixing x,y,z class, tradeskill, zone, spell, etc" At the end is when the fun stuff came out. Saavedra is working on a return to a popular dungeon. Epic weapons are going to be tweaked. For people killing the Avatars, new cloaks are going to drop.
Weaponsmiths and woodworkers are going to get some love. The four primary cures, arcane, noxious, trauma and elemental are going to be combined into one spell. Coercers are going to see some improvements to their class in GU45. And my favorite bit of information of the night BUILT IN VOICE CHAT!!. I have been asking of this for a long time now. I have grown accustomed to using a chat program for raids and even some groups, the drawback is not everyone uses the same program. This will make is much easier, in my opinion.

Also Fan Faire was announced. I look forward to spending a lot of time at Quark's. I will be going for the week, if you happen to get there early let me know!

Thank you, Ralyssand

I raid with an alliance of people in EverQuest II. We raid Sunday nights from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. edt and Wednesday nights from 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m edt. We only do the raid zones and we do not go after contested mobs. Our latest target has been the Temple of Kor-sha. We have progressed to the Overlord without success.

Just about 2 weeks ago, the player that ran our raids decided it was time to leave the game. He sited real life issues and a general boredom of the game itself. I was very sorry to see him go. He was awesome at leading the raids. He will be missed.

I was more of a hard core raider in EverQuest. I just did not want to do that again, but I do like to raid. My guild is a very casual guild. People come and go as real life dictates, so there was very little opportunity to pull a raid together. So when I was told about the EverQuest II Alliance Operatives raid group, I could not wait to check it out.

I really did like the experience for 2 reasons. One of the reasons was our raid leader, Ralyssand. His manner of leading raids was totally opposite anything I had seen before. There was no yelling, cursing, belittling etc. If a mistake was made, it was not "Who the #$@% did that?" it was "What happened there and how do we fix it so it does not happen again?" He rarely lost his cool or raised his voice. The second reason was the people in the group. They are a great bunch of people and a lot of fun to play with.

We are going to keep on raiding from what I can see. A few people have stepped up to lead raids. Will it be the same? Probably not, but different is not a bad thing.

Raly, you will be missed! *hugs*

Just my opinion,
Gethani

Thank you, Unrest!!

I was originally going to write about the difficulty I had in getting help with my epic quest. The quest started out with 3 solo steps and then followed with a step in Chelsith. For a long while that was my roadblock. I do have to admit part of that roadblock was of my own doing. I was a bit burnt out and my play time was usually only on my raid days. Since I only raid 2 nights a week, that made getting a group for Chelsith more on the wishful thinking side.

Then some of the people that I raid with offered to help out and off to Chelsith I went. Working on my epic invigorated my desire to log in just to get the epic done. I played more hours the last few days then I played the last few months. I finished Defender of the Faith on March 1st. I finished The Saga of Yasva V'Alear on March 9th. All in all, it went a lot faster than I thought it was going to go.

I have to thank members of the EQ2 Alliance Operatives on Unrest for their help and support. I wanted to name the people that helped but to be honest I am sure I would leave someone out and I really do not want to slight anyone. You know who you are!! I can not thank you enough! They were pretty marvelous about helping me, I know without them I would not have even attempted the epic. The Operatives raid group is made up of many different people in many different guilds. So we have to schedule in personal time, guild time, group time and raid time. We do get a lot done and I am really happy to be raiding with such a nice group of people!

One of the steps originally gave me heartburn. I was instructed to kill 75 inconsequential individuals. By this time I knew who these inconsequential individuals were and where they could be found. The problem I faced was finding a group that wanted to actually hunt in
Sebilis and stay to kill 75 reet slaves. I ended up doing this with several different groups of people over a 2 day period. Some friends, some strangers. This ended up being my favorite step. I met several really nice people! I can honestly say it has been a long while since I put up my LFG tag and actively advertised for a group to do anything. I forgot how much fun it could be. There are drawbacks of course. Like the person that wiped the entire group going after a shiny, but mostly it was a lot of fun! I was very surprised that people in the group were willing to stay for the long haul. Let's face it 75 reets is a lot. Camping anything can be long and boring but these people stayed. Thank you all again and again and again.

If you play on Unrest and need help, feel free to look for Gethani. If I am available I would love to help out!!

*hugs*
Gethani

Happy Birthday Me!!

I am 52 years young today!! Guess what my wonderful kids got me for my birthday! Rockband!!! I know it is not the normal present one would expect children to get their 52 year young mom, but I am far from a normal mom!

I have been having a blast with it! I played for a while with my daughter, then did a lot on the solo option. I am touring in Los Angeles now!! To be honest, I really was not sure how much I was going to like it or how coordinated I was going to be doing it, but so far I am just loving it. I am playing on easy until I get the hang of it.

My son pointed out the it is called Rockband when I wondered out loud if they were going to add other music genres to the mix. I think it would be fun to be able to pick songs out of a large selection of artists and genres. Some of the old 50's and 60's music would be nice. Even though I would not usually listen to the songs that I can choose from I am finding the game fun and challenging. I look forward to going solo with the drums, I am on guitar now!

I also look forward to being able to play with my son over XBOX Live. That should be interesting considering he has had the game a lot longer then me.

Back to Los Angeles now!!

Gethani