@finaldasa: Finaldasa! Good to hear from you. Hope BB is paying you well. I'm just saying, with Stacey leaving, you probably have some leverage...

I've been pretty lucky in that I've never really had any writer's block to speak of, but that's mostly just because my topics have always been pretty obvious. Sometimes coming up with good intros and conclusions can be time-consuming, but apart from that I've always been able to sit down and crank out some words. Not always good words, though.

Did you have/do you have days where you just have trouble writing? If so how did you get over it?

I can't really speak to the forum thing - that was a design decision that was made before I came on board. I don't think I'm going to be much involved with design stuff, at least not until the next site redesign rolls around. Sorry! We do still feature the most recent forum activity on the homepage, at least.

I haven't really looked too far forward into this year's games, mostly because I'm the kind of Steam gamer that usually waits until stuff is heavily discounted before buying it. So most of the stuff coming out this year I won't play until next year anyway. The new inFamous game looks neat, and I'm hoping Dragon Age III is good. And Saints Row IV should be fun.

I don't really mind the idea of an always-on console so long as I'm not forced to subscribe to Gold. Never did find a good use for that.

Who's complaining about not getting enough subscriber content? For a few weeks there, we were getting three live shows several hours long each. It wasn't even sustainable.

When there are no videos on the site, I like to think it's cause everyone is super busy.

Glad to have you back, as you can probably tell you were missed a great deal during your hiatus from this community. I love the fact that you are taking an interest in the premium content on the site in terms of quantity and quality. That is greatly appreciated.

I was wondering though, do you have any plans for the physical site. For example, a lot of people miss the forum splash that used to be on the front page and I know that some GB members like myself miss that little reminder of what others are posting. The removal of that has, for whatever reason, reduced my activity on the forums.

On a different topic, are there any games that are coming out this year that you are interested in?

I know that with the new consoles on the horizon this is a pretty exciting time and there are still a ton of question left to be answered, especially as it relates to the new XBOX. If the new XBOX does decide to use an Always-Online system do you think it will be a huge mistake or something that they will be able to manage even for those without a quality internet connection?

Also, can I touch your hand?

Ask me Almost Anything, so far as the Reddit parlance goes...

I recently reinstalled BL2 with the aim to try the new super-difficulty that spans from 50-60, but I found it a bit too hard to really get into. I suppose I need to get back and farm a couple of levels from 50-52 or so and give it another whirl. I am looking forward to the Tiny Tina DLC, as she was a high point of the game for me (such a divisive character, though!). But yeah, for the most part, I'm good on my BL2 for the time being. I'll come back to it at some point, but probably not right this moment.

That's good to hear. I take a glass every now and then and don't like to feel ashamed about it. But yeah, never when I need to work the next day.

I practically watch documentaries as entertaiment these days. That might seem a bit harsh, if you think about it, but I just cant get fiction movies to affect me (emotionally) as much as they used to. Get what I'm saying, man... or am i totally lost?

AmAA? Ask me Anything... Aight?

Even if that's not what it stands for it is how I shall recognise it from now on anyway!

So, how yours Borderlandins been? Have you kept up to date with all of its DLC? Or, like seemingly everyone else (including me), you bought the season pass, completed NG+, but then felt like you already had your fill of BL2...

@rorie said:

That's very good to hear!

I think A MWF schedule, or whatever you guys decide you can actually consistently do would go a very long way. While people do have their favorite types of content/personalities, I think most people are understanding that sometimes the creative well runs dry on a show (e.g TANG) and it's time to move onto something new. Having a set schedule reassures them that they will at least get something for their $.

eventually you guys may have to make some tough decisions about what and how you give away from free and what goes behind the paywall if you really want to make the subscription model work for you guys, but this is a very good step in the right direction.

@slag: Yep, one of my primary goals is to increase the amount of value people get from their subscriptions. I'm going to write a blog post about this at some point and let people know our general stance over here, but I don't think anyone's really happy with the amount of premium content that's getting published. In the future I'd like to start moving towards having at least three scheduled pieces of content every week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We're talking about some other ways of increasing the variety and amount of premium content, as well. There are some interesting ideas on the docket, and it's definitely something I'm going to be focusing on.

@wrighteous86: Not much is really weird so far! It's been a pretty smooth return. Just glad to be back in a good building with a locked bike room.

Wish I had some AP anecdotes, but alas, that was like four years ago. It's been a long time since I've had much cause to think about it. Wish we could've had another six months to work on it, mostly, but even by the time it shipped most of the people on it had been working on it for like four or five years, if I recall.

Pretty sure I wrote an article on that over on Screened!

@rorie

Welcome back, I loved it when you were on the Dark Souls quick look. That was actually the QL that got me to sign up for a Giant Bomb account.

You've already made a big difference man and I can tell you are going to be invaluable to the team now that you are back once more.

As a former subscriber and someone who has read quite a bit of user posts on the forums, if Giant Bomb has a severe issue/low hanging fruit that needs fixing it's the subscription/premium value proposition.

If you guys are serious about having "clients" instead of relying on advertising than you guys really need to take that relationship much more seriously than you have in the past. Or at least what Giant Bomb has projected themselves to. Otherwise your retention is going to slip, you won't be able to grow the subscriber base enough to keep up with your rising costs and it won't work.

How you guys handle customer service requests, how you explain and market and sell subscriptions to potential members, how you guys handle billing and how you guys handle premium show schedule changes stuff like that. Your post mentions some of these and it looks you've already made a lot of progress on this in a short period of time. Certainly if nothing else you've helped the image you guys are trying to project immensely.

Still the big one out there is the premium content. I'm aware that this is likely outside of your control.

A lot of the unnecessary bad feelings/disenchantment users seem to have can be handled by just doing two really basic things

1- Being specific with the minimum amount of content someone gets with a premium sub, providing that quantity (and quality) of content or exceeding that consistently. Put things in place to make sure that content gets delivered. Have something going on when the guys can't do a show, bring in some subs. Or if you have windows where you can record stuff and windows you can't, record the episodes then but hold on releasing them until you need them. Or maybe have scheduled off weeks. The major tv networks don't have new shows every week, but the public is ok with it because they have a published schedule and stick to it. Stuff like that. Underpromise and overdeliver is the old adage.

2- Communicating changes to premium subs content in a timely and professional manner. The tone can be jovial and light hearted but the communication needs to be pre-emptive so the subscriber feels valued. Don't just dump and run, then have a long drought. That makes people feel like their 60 bucks isn't worth much to you guys.

you guys are capable of both and have done both at times, but you guys don't do it consistently. Which is the problem, because it creates a feeling of being taken for granted. An impression I'm sure you guys don't intend, but that is how it can feel.

The good news is that I think it's a very fixable problem and that your brand/product is still strong and well respected. And from what you've already done, you're already set the right tone the community's needed to hear to getting that where it should be for you guys.

Still don't be complacent about it, the expectations are higher from the user standpoint now that you guys are part of CBSi and not in the Whiskey basement. Maybe that's unfair, but that's the consumer perception and they will be more demanding as a result.

@rorie What's the weirdest thing about being back in that office?

Any interesting stories from your time working on Alpha Protocol? Thoughts on how that game turned up or where it could have gone? (I loved it, despite its flaws).

Also, please share your thoughts on Midichlorians.

I do not know! I think they're pretty swamped with a lot of things at the moment, but I'll bring it up if I can.

I've heard that a lot! We'll see if we can get some movie impressions together at some point.

I drink by myself fairly consistently, especially when I was unemployed. Trying to cut back on it now that I actually have a job that I need to show up for, but I've never felt too apologetic about it. I'll kick back with a couple of tallboys and some pizza on my own for sure.

I haven't really been a big documentary guy over the last couple of years. I know there are a lot of good ones that have come down the pipe, but I mostly watch film for entertainment's sake rather than edification, especially post-Screened. Alas!

Glad to see you around again, Rorie.

Where do you land on the whole drinking alone debate? Does it make you crazy and sad (=team Jeff) or is it ok to enjoy a few beers on a long and relaxed game section on a weekend night (=team Brad/Patrick)?

And, by the way, do you have a good documentaries to recommend? If that's something you watch.

It's great to have you back, Rorie. They really could not have picked a better guy for the job. Your interaction with the community at Screened is what made me hang out there so often, so it's nice to see you back doing what you do best.

Like everyone else, I'd love to see you pop up in some premium video content or on the Friday shows. We need some kind of Rorie/Alex reunion, too. Best of luck, dude.

Came here for a tacit promise of future Master of Magic content, can leave content.

I suppose a question is in order: How far up the list of designer/engineer priorities is reinstating our beloved Followed User Blogs sidebar?

I really like cats and kittens. Just don't see as many of them in San Francisco unless you're visiting friends!

@shodan2020: Cute! I bet the chihuahua totally dominates the older dog. They're bossy little poopers.

Ah, I'm pretty much fine where I am. Sitting here makes it a lot easier to check on bugs and stuff to make sure that people know about them before I start putting them into the database. Most of what I need to talk to with the GB guys is just stuff I need to get set up with, so I don't really need to be sitting over there all day every day. Even if it'd be fun.

Thanks!

Good to have you back!

So since you stated that you actually kinda need to be near the GB guys to do your job, and in fact should be away from the engineers so you don't bother them to the point where they resent you, what are the odds they move you to say....Sara's old desk? Or will work never get done if you're having too much fun?

Rorie! It's great to see you back! Here is a picture of my dogs:

Kallie is a black lab/chow mix and 12.

Lola is a chihuahua and 4. :)

We all know about your affinity towards dogs. How do you feel about cats?

@cooljammer00: The hardware of those things is pretty crazy, and I'd be happy to have one if I didn't have to pay twice as much as a PC for the same stuff. But that OS...man! Can't deal with it.

@shaun: I really don't! I'm trying to bike to work every day so now I especially won't. Ever. I sweat a lot, at all times. Point the sun at me and I sweat. I do not smell like a normal person would.

@huss: Yep, it'll be fun to do some of that stuff. I'm only going to do it if I'm helping out, though. I don't want to screw up the sweet magic that the GB crew already has! But if I can do some premium stuff without taxing Vinny and those guys, I'll be sure to do it.

@cheesetriangles: Yep, definitely planning on it. I need to look through the binder and see what's what. I'd love to go back to some stuff that I loved growing up like Master of Magic, X-COM, and Freespace, but we'll see!

@mesklinite: Henry's Hunan! But that's a bit of a cheat since it was also near Whiskey as well. Right now I'm focusing on losing a bit of weight, so I might switch to lunchtime salads brought from home for a while...we'll see. Biking helps a bunch, so maybe I can still splurge on crappy lunches for a while.

@jakepike218: Definitely! Looking forward to bringing that back. Hope to have some plans in place soon. Maybe not in the next couple of weeks, but soon.

@posh: I have played GW2, but I'm currently locked out since I completely forgot my password and security question. I'm working my way through Tomb Raider, Sleeping Dogs, and a couple other things right now. Nothing super spectacular, although I'm not very far in TR. I need to install Dragon's Dogma since I've heard so much about it.

@bob_loblaw: still the best thing ever! Pretty sure we featured it on a Whiskey show once.

@alwaysbeclothing: Just a small apartment! I'd love to have one if I didn't work all day and had a bigger place. I just feel guilty leaving dogs alone all day. I think of pups as basically like two-year old children. I think when dogs are alone all day they must get really bored and I don't like to think of them that way.

It probably says "YAH!" Dunno why, though!

@arbitrarywater: NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer is still one of the best RPGs that no one has played. Amazing story in that game.

@snail: 1: I will probably be writing stuff from time to time, here on my blog if nothing else. My output while I was unemployed probably shows how much I really have the inner drive to write - I'll get pretty revved up about something and write 2,000 words about it, but then I'll take three weeks off before I write anything else. (Although I do have a lot of stuff that I started and abandoned from that period.) But I wouldn't be surprised to see some writing from me here from time to time.

2: That's a pretty good breakdown of it. I'm in our support email queue more often than I am on the bug reports forum, and the support@giantbomb.com email address is really easy to assign to engineers when we receive those emails, so stuff that you doubt is affecting a lot of people? Great to send to support. The bug reports forum is also really valuable, though. Hopefully we can handle both of them equally going forward. Thanks for reporting bugs anywhere, though!

@lacke: I'll definitely be doing some coverage here and there, but I won't be a regular contributor to the site. I'd love to support more MMO coverage where it's needed. Doesn't seem like there are a lot of MMOs on the horizon, though. :(

@dprabon: Thanks, good to be here!

@phatmac: One of the great things about not working on movies anymore is not watching trailers or keeping up with films - I know what I want to see and I'd prefer to let them surprise me rather than get them spoiled through trailers. I'm kinda pessimistic about this summer, but I really hope that Star Trek: Into Darkness and maybe Elysium are good! I'll see a bunch of things, but I'm dimming down my hopes rather than go crazy with the expectations.

@triumvir: I agree with the New Games page criticism. The way that it doesn't even seem to know what day it is is pretty frustrating to me. Send me a PM to remind me and I'll try to open an issue for it.

I am a Corgi fan! Save a lot of money on food, too. I do like the big dogs, but it's up to you and the amount of space you have!

@brackynews: Homer is great and he's really not on enough videos. I'll see if I can rope him into something silly at some point soon.

@cazamalos: Hah yeah, that lady was way too nice to let us show her movies. They were pretty bad, but she seemed to not mind the exposure. Hope we made her some money at least!

@teenagejesussuperstar: Cool art is the best. That might be the most embarrassing video Rich Gallup ever got me to do.

@noobsauceg7: I chomp him

@iceland: Definitely. I still need to see Place Beyond The Pines, too. I really like Ryan Gosling, god help me.

@zaph: Thanks!

@danterandal19: I saw Amazing Spider-Man finally! Isn't she a wonderful dame? I haven't seen Gangster Squad yet, but from what I've heard I'm not missing much. I'll just watch Easy A again, I guess.

@themasterds: Hmm, we didn't really ever own any dogs; we mostly dogsat for my grandparents when they went on trips, which was pretty often. They always had Boston Terriers, so we went from Skippy to Bizzy to Beau to Princess with a few siblings here and there. They have a new pup that I haven't met yet! I need to go down to San Diego to catch up. Tough to travel now, though.

@thehakku: Doing a lot better now. Surprising how a paycheck will do that to you!

@vyper: I really like kittens a lot. I don't see a lot of conflict here. Kittens are pretty adorable, if a lot more diffident than puppies are when you meet them. Kittens don't need to be petted; they're happy to make you work for their affections. But I like rubbing them.

@snide: It's been weird, they gave me your old desk! Honestly I'd be happier over in the GB area since those are the guys I really need to talk to every day, but so far it's been nice to be able to bug Danny and Simon when needed. I feel bad for Danny as he's probably getting pulled in a million different directions right now. So far, so good; I just can't get used to this tiny desk they gave me. I don't know if this chair was yours, but man, CBSi needs to get on the ball in terms of ergonomics. I'm on the verge of ordering my own inflatable ball. Apart from that, not too many differences; I just need to be aware that people are really busy with their own work and my issue with some duder needing a password reset might not always be super pressing. But I'm learning!

@gvalo: It's always fun to see Alex! Not sure I'll get a chance to hook up with him in person until PAX, though; I'm not going to E3 (I'll be posting trailers from the office). So we'll see! I definitely want to continue the radio show when I can figure out all the technical stuff. I think doing that kind of thing is really fun. It's been too long.

@jumbs: I've heard a lot of good things about it, but then I heard a lot of bad things about the f2p model, like the most powerful health potion being something you need to buy with real money. I'll give it a try, but it'll have to knock me out of my socks to keep me interested. We'll see!

@lackingsaint: A fair amount! I still like living a lot. It would take a lot of puppy lives for me to consider giving up my own life to save them. Probably in the five figure range. It's not like we're running out of puppies.

@darktoad450: Yes! On GB especially. In real life I am a hard nut to crack.

@superkebabi: Nope! My apartment is very small. I don't think it'd be fair to the pup to leave him in a single room all day long. I get my kicks vicariously.

@grimmy616: Obviously I'm pretty disappointed by the fact that BermanBraun has put virtually no resources into building that site. (And I say this as a complete outsider who doesn't know anything behind the scenes! Maybe they have something big planned for it.) When we created it we were hoping that it would be an authentic rival to IMDB as a wiki (and not to toot our own horn, but I still think our video stuff was as unique as you'll find on any major film/tv site), but it seems to be something that they're content to let it founder. It could've been something really great, so it stinks that they don't seem to be willing to put any money into it. FinalDasa was always a really good community member, and I'm glad to see him take over the reins at least! I hope they're paying him well, and I would love nothing less for that site to become a force in the movie coverage business.

@willthemagicasian: @grimmy616: @whiskeyabe: @granderojo: @jaydee: hi!

@hershey07: More of a pie guy I guess!

@commodorejenkins: you're a puppy

@beatlebrainiac: Man, I haven't really seen a lot of movies this year. I would really have to think about the best...I haven't seen a lot of new movies that have really impressed me, but I still need to see the new Malick and The Place Beyond The Pines and a few other things. As far as the worst goes, on blu-ray, the Total Recall remake, Expendables 2, and Battleship were all pretty powerfully stupid. I guess Battleship was kind of kooky fun, but TR and Expendables 2...it was hard to find anything redeemable there.

@newslowsad: that pup is not happy! Or is the happiest! I do not have any dogs at the moment. I live in a very small (one-room) apartment, so I would not feel good about leaving a dog alone all day while I was at work. We'll see in the future though.

Heyo, sad to see Dave go, but it's great to have you back!!!!!!

Will you do any game coverage? I would love to see some MMO coverage since many of the major gaming sites have been lackluster in that front in my opinion.

1. You're no longer writing editorial articles for a living. Are you going to miss that? I really enjoyed reading your stuff on Screened - that was great coverage.
2. Is it better for you guys if we send bug reports to the support@giantbomb.com e-mail, or if we post them in the bug report forum? I figure that issues that benefit from feedback from other users should go in the forums, but for those that don't, is it more convenient for your end of things to get them on that e-mail service?

It's awesome to have you back Rorie!

Favorite game made by people you used to work with?

Rorie, is there a reason you don't own a pup yourself? Apartment conditions? Likely to eat the pup up and have to get another? Unable to decide on what breed?

We've really missed you Rorie, so glad to have you back.

Also, is it weird that I have this? (P.S. what does it say under your name?)

Is this the best video ever filmed?

apart from WoW, what are you playing right now? and have you played guild wars 2?

Will there be more planned GB Flght Club with all the flight simulator games that you guys received?

Favorite food place near your new work place!?

Are you going to do more Random PC games? Any idea on what you want to do for the next one?

I feel like a lot of us already know a bit too much about you (at least in Internet terms). I just hope you manage to get in on some video content despite being more on the other side of things.

Why do you smell so wonderful?

What's your favorite part about Apple's Macintosh line of personal computers?

Do you like cool art?

this is not really a question, i just remembered the weird indie low budget movies you screened at the Whiskey's Live Fridays and i laughed

You try too hard Mat The Wrorie! But thank you for being paws-on with the community all the dang time.

I'll ask what I asked on Twitter, are you cool with doing a quick video with Homer? Apparently he's still around CBSi but haven't seen that dude in ages. Since this, actually. Maybe I'm presuming a lot, but something with you and the GS dudes we never seem to see would give me personally the warm fuzzies.

Also this video doesn't have enough views. COMMUNITY MOBILIZE!

Lover of Big Ideas. <3

I find the layout on the New Games page to be clunky. It could really use the ability to collapse and open each week individually, as just scrolling down can be a minor pain. Any plans to revamp that page?

Also, I am planning on getting a dog soon: Welsh corgi or Newfoundland dog?

Hey Rorie, glad to have you here! :) The big block buster summer movies are coming fast so I'd like to know which of them you're looking forward to the most. PUP!

What's the biggest difference working with engineers instead of editors, who I assume you're more comfortable around.

Great to have you back Rorie! We know you are a supreme puppy lover, but how do you feel about kittens?

So... how ya doin'?

Want to talk about the dogs your family had when you were a boy?