Lum the Mad
Encyclopedia
Scott Jennings also known as Lum the Mad, is an American
commentator on MMORPG
games. He is best known for creating a website, The Rantings of Lum The Mad, a pioneer blog, which existed from 1998 to 2001, when Jennings was hired by MMO developer Mythic Entertainment
, where he remained until 2006.
. He created his first website to post tips and tricks about the 1996 game The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
. Around 1998/1999, his focus shifted to Ultima Online
(UO), an early graphical MMO first released in 1997, and one of the first to become well known in popular culture. Jennings, whose primary career was as a database programmer, became a respected critic of UO, as he posted detailed critiques of the game. Jennings's strong views on "macroing" – the practice of automating aspects of the game, effectively making it easier – made him very popular with some UO players. As noted by game researcher Edward Castronova
, this was an early example of a site where a game's designers had strong opposition from certain players, who would use their websites to actively critique a game's development. Jennings' writing was characterized by a mixture of humor and vitriolic anger, and his posts were known to readers as "rants". The site became frequented by both fans and haters of UO, along with some of UO's developers and personnel, as well as developers of competitor games.
With the 1999 release of a competitor to UO, EverQuest
, Jennings expanded his writing to the new game. His early analysis of EQ focused on its differences to UO. However, he went on to criticize EverQuest directly. Jennings argued that the game forced players to spend long periods of time to gain very little, and that this was not fun. He also argued that the game consisted of fighting the same monsters repeatedly. He offered several examples of player greed, in his view, damaging the experience of the game for other players. Other issues he covered included "squatting" by large guilds, class balance, real-money trading, server lag, "raiding" as an end-game, and the later expansions' lack of finished and working content.
Jennings continued to write about a number of other MMORPGs as they were released, including Asheron's Call
and Anarchy Online
. His later works became even more elaborate, such as a mock-up event for Shadowbane
created entirely with Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
sprites. Instead of the usual review article for World War II Online
, he posted a long, profane and amusing chatlog of him testing the game offline, in which he proclaimed, "I WILL TAXI TO VICTORY!", a phrase which became a favorite among his fans.
Jennings' website attracted many well-known MMORPG staff and developers who took part in discussions on the forums. These included Richard Garriott
, Raph Koster
, and Mark Jacobs
. Discussions often centered around the very virtual worlds they built, with much input from the community, both constructive and negative.
In 2001, when Jennings lost his job due to the dot-com crash
, he was hired as a database programmer by Jacobs' company, Mythic Entertainment
, makers of Dark Age of Camelot
. He developed the Camelot Herald.
Once he began working for Mythic, Jennings decided he could not continue writing for his Lum the Mad site. It subsequently had its name changed to slownewsday.net and was maintained by volunteers for a time, but eventually closed.
Also in 2001, Jennings started a new blog, Broken Toys, which he infrequently updates about random subjects sometimes but not always relating to online gaming. Work from previous blogs is hosted in a separate archive.
In 2005, Jennings published the book Massively Multiplayer Games for Dummies.
On February 17, 2006, Jennings left Mythic and began working at another MMO company, NCsoft
in Austin, Texas
.
August 13, 2008 was Jennings' last day at NCsoft
, having been let go as part of corporate refocusing. According to his blog, Jennings will begin working on a game called Webwars with John Galt Games.
In 2010 Jennings returned to NCsoft as a contract developer and has since converted to a regular employee.
characters. The original "Lum the Mad" was a character in the Greyhawk
campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons
and was previously mentioned in the 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons book "The Dungeon Master's Guide" in the artifact section referring to "The Machine of Lum the Mad".
In the game Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, there is a machine built by one "Lum the Mad". This is an artifact originally described in the 1st Edition Advanced Dungeon and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. In the computer game this machine is found on the fourth level of the dungeon called "Watcher's Keep."
Lum the Mad is also referenced briefly at the finale of Planescape: Torment
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
commentator on MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
games. He is best known for creating a website, The Rantings of Lum The Mad, a pioneer blog, which existed from 1998 to 2001, when Jennings was hired by MMO developer Mythic Entertainment
Mythic Entertainment
BioWare Mythic is a computer game developer in Fairfax, Virginia which is most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot...
, where he remained until 2006.
Biography
Jennings was born c. 1966, and began gaming at the age of 10, when he began playing Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. He created his first website to post tips and tricks about the 1996 game The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is a first-person, traditional role-playing video game for MS-DOS developed by Bethesda Softworks and released in 1996. It is a sequel to the RPG The Elder Scrolls: Arena and the second installment in The Elder Scrolls series. On July 9, 2009, it was made available...
. Around 1998/1999, his focus shifted to Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
(UO), an early graphical MMO first released in 1997, and one of the first to become well known in popular culture. Jennings, whose primary career was as a database programmer, became a respected critic of UO, as he posted detailed critiques of the game. Jennings's strong views on "macroing" – the practice of automating aspects of the game, effectively making it easier – made him very popular with some UO players. As noted by game researcher Edward Castronova
Edward Castronova
Edward "Ted" Castronova is a Professor of Telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington. He is known in particular for his work on the economies of synthetic worlds.- Biography :...
, this was an early example of a site where a game's designers had strong opposition from certain players, who would use their websites to actively critique a game's development. Jennings' writing was characterized by a mixture of humor and vitriolic anger, and his posts were known to readers as "rants". The site became frequented by both fans and haters of UO, along with some of UO's developers and personnel, as well as developers of competitor games.
With the 1999 release of a competitor to UO, EverQuest
EverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
, Jennings expanded his writing to the new game. His early analysis of EQ focused on its differences to UO. However, he went on to criticize EverQuest directly. Jennings argued that the game forced players to spend long periods of time to gain very little, and that this was not fun. He also argued that the game consisted of fighting the same monsters repeatedly. He offered several examples of player greed, in his view, damaging the experience of the game for other players. Other issues he covered included "squatting" by large guilds, class balance, real-money trading, server lag, "raiding" as an end-game, and the later expansions' lack of finished and working content.
Jennings continued to write about a number of other MMORPGs as they were released, including Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call is a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs developed and published by Turbine Entertainment. It was published by Microsoft until 2004. Asheron's Call is set on the continent of Dereth and its surrounding islands on the fictional planet of Auberean...
and Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
. His later works became even more elaborate, such as a mock-up event for Shadowbane
Shadowbane
Shadowbane was a free fantasy computer role-playing game created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25, 2003 by Ubisoft for Windows and Mac platforms. Originally commercial and subscription-driven, Shadowbane was launched in March 2003, and was the creation of text-MUD veterans J...
created entirely with Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy-themed real-time strategy game published by Blizzard Entertainment and first released for DOS in 1995 and for Mac OS in 1996...
sprites. Instead of the usual review article for World War II Online
World War II Online
Also known as "World War 2 Online", "WW2OL", "WWIIOL", "Battleground Europe", "BE".World War II Online: Battleground Europe is a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter computer game. It was released was on June 6, 2001 for Windows, with the Apple Macintosh version being released in 3Q...
, he posted a long, profane and amusing chatlog of him testing the game offline, in which he proclaimed, "I WILL TAXI TO VICTORY!", a phrase which became a favorite among his fans.
Jennings' website attracted many well-known MMORPG staff and developers who took part in discussions on the forums. These included Richard Garriott
Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott is a British-American video game developer and entrepreneur.He is also known as his alter egos Lord British in Ultima and General British in Tabula Rasa...
, Raph Koster
Raph Koster
Raphael "Raph" Koster is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Koster is widely recognized for his work as the lead designer of Ultima Online and the creative director behind Star Wars Galaxies...
, and Mark Jacobs
Mark Jacobs
Mark Jacobs may refer to:* Mark Jacobs , former CEO of Mythic Entertainment* Mark Jacobs * Mark Jacobs , character on the Australian television show Blue Heelers* Mark Jacobs...
. Discussions often centered around the very virtual worlds they built, with much input from the community, both constructive and negative.
In 2001, when Jennings lost his job due to the dot-com crash
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
, he was hired as a database programmer by Jacobs' company, Mythic Entertainment
Mythic Entertainment
BioWare Mythic is a computer game developer in Fairfax, Virginia which is most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot...
, makers of Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot is a 3D medieval fantasy MMORPG, released on October 10 2001 in North America and in Europe shortly after through it's partner GOA. It is still running today recently celebrating its 10th anniversary....
. He developed the Camelot Herald.
Once he began working for Mythic, Jennings decided he could not continue writing for his Lum the Mad site. It subsequently had its name changed to slownewsday.net and was maintained by volunteers for a time, but eventually closed.
Also in 2001, Jennings started a new blog, Broken Toys, which he infrequently updates about random subjects sometimes but not always relating to online gaming. Work from previous blogs is hosted in a separate archive.
In 2005, Jennings published the book Massively Multiplayer Games for Dummies.
On February 17, 2006, Jennings left Mythic and began working at another MMO company, NCsoft
NCsoft
NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:...
in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.
August 13, 2008 was Jennings' last day at NCsoft
NCsoft
NCsoft is a South Korea-based online video game company, which has published massively multiplayer online role-playing games including Lineage, City of Heroes, Wildstar, Exteel, Guild Wars and Aion.-History:...
, having been let go as part of corporate refocusing. According to his blog, Jennings will begin working on a game called Webwars with John Galt Games.
In 2010 Jennings returned to NCsoft as a contract developer and has since converted to a regular employee.
Origin of name
Lum the Mad was the name of Jennings's Ultima OnlineUltima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
characters. The original "Lum the Mad" was a character in the Greyhawk
Greyhawk
Greyhawk, also known as the World of Greyhawk, is a fictional world designed as a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game...
campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
and was previously mentioned in the 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons book "The Dungeon Master's Guide" in the artifact section referring to "The Machine of Lum the Mad".
In the game Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, there is a machine built by one "Lum the Mad". This is an artifact originally described in the 1st Edition Advanced Dungeon and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide. In the computer game this machine is found on the fourth level of the dungeon called "Watcher's Keep."
Lum the Mad is also referenced briefly at the finale of Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...
.
Works
- "Lum the Mad" website, 1998–2001
- "Broken Toys" website, 2001–present
- Massively Multiplayer Games For Dummies, ISBN 0-471-75273-8, published December 5, 2005
External links
- An archived posting about an Ultima OnlineUltima OnlineUltima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
fan gathering dating from 1999