So Pirates of the Burning Sea is going through beta testing now. Some of the players are getting frisky, so there’s a plan to have a big battle royale where the “mighty devs” of Flying Lab take on upstart playtesters in a fleet engagement. Although we are entirely likely to get our asses kicked, this should be fun. A thread started in the beta test forum and naturally smack talk ensued. Yesterday, the head of my department told us all to pile into the thread and start taunting the playtesters. I posted:

“You can tell that war is brewing when gums start flapping. Let’s see who measures up once the battle starts. When shot flies through the air thicker than rain, who will brave it? When your decks are slick with the blood of your comrades, who will fight on? When the acrid smoke of the gun deck chokes you, who will keep loading the cannons? When your ship has more holes in it than a prostitute’s smile, who will go down with the ship? When you’re wearing your best friend’s face on your shirt, who will sound the charge? Is it you, big talkers, or will you be running away instead of running out the guns?”

This was slightly undercut by my co-worker posting a challenge in the form of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song lyrics (which he assures me is some kind of internet meme; whatever) but nonetheless the desire result was achieved. I am amused that I am getting paid to smack talk our customers. Perhaps there’s a lesson here for hobby game companie…