On Tuesday of this week, the Warhammer Beta went live again, something that we've been preparing for longer than I care to admit. Truth be told, it has been consuming me for a few months now.

I've been watching our internal forums with simultaneous hopeful anticipation and dread, in part because I think some of the things we've done for the Beta are really cool and I can't wait to be reaffirmed, and in part because there are still a lot of bugs and features I want to get in, and the Beta testers are not going to shy away from reminding me of that fact.

It's given me quite a new perspective on Betas, and development on a live game in general. Which is, this is a thousand times harder than anyone can possibly imagine.

Games, all by themselves, in my limited experience so far, seem extremely difficult to make. It requires everyone in the company to be on top of their game, from conceiving and selling an idea, to branding and raising public awareness, to planning and execution, to polish and commitment. If we were just making a game that we were shipping next year, dusting off our hands and jumping onto another project, that alone would be hard enough. But with an MMO, you have to now support this game, react and respond to feedback and tests of scales beyond which you could possibly feel prepared for. You have to accept that getting Betas up early on are an important part of the process, soliciting feedback and really really listening to it (you can stick you pride in your pocket for that one, letmetellyou).

But, lest I sound like I'm complaining here, the challenge is part of what makes it so rewarding. I've known quite a few people to make the offhanded comment that they'd like to get into the game industry, and despite the work and the competition for jobs, if you're aggressive and passionate and committed, it's so completely worth it.

Last week I got a promotion, my job effectively remains the same, but the expectations have gotten a lot higher. I have a feeling, with the reopening of Beta, the Beta testers are going to make sure that I've earned it. Like I said, the challenge is part of the enjoyment, but I'm still awfully glad this is just a Beta.