For those of us who still fondly remember the Cold War, this week has brought back happy memories.

Average people with normal names, living unremarkable lives that had a constructed sheen of respectability disguising their true intentions. Spies, in the pay of other organizations, hiding behind created identities to ensure that they could complete the missions they had been ordered to perform.

At the same time as “Anna Chapman,” “Tracy Lee Ann Foley,” and “Donald Howard Heathfield,” were being told that their time in the USA was over, World of Warcraft creators Blizzard, were informing their 11 million subscribers that they would have to post any comments on their onsite forums under their real names to stop the forums becoming “a place where flame wars, trolling and other unpleasantness run wild.” Also last week, locally-owned 38 Studios, operated by former Red Sox slinger Curt Schilling, came clean about what they’re working on… kind of.

According to one of the WoW site managers, who goes by the name of Vaneras, “Removing the veil of anonymity typical to online dialogue will contribute to a more positive forum environment, promote constructive conversations and connect the Blizzard community in ways they haven’t been connected before.”

Vaneras got his wish. The online community banded together and posted over 50,000 comments criticizing the decision and forced the California-based company into announcing that real-names would not be needed in the online forums. Ragnorak, Zwip and Nigel the Slayer could continue to operate under their adapted alias for as long as they paid their subscriptions.

So far, so Secret Squirrel.

However, the excitement of shadow proclamations continued when it was announced that 38 Studios would be appearing at Comic-Con in San Diego in July to showcase some footage from their eagerly anticipated RPG — codenamed Project Mercury.

Schilling has brought together an all-star team for this immersive experience (which will be released by gaming giants Electronic Arts) and the gaming world is salivating at what Todd MacFarlane, creator of Spawn (great graphic novel, poor movie adaptation), Ken Rolston (Morrowind, Oblivion), and R.A. Salvatore (hugely successful Massachusetts novelist) have been collaborating on.

According to the website blurb Project Mercury will “offer unparalleled RPG combat, seamlessly integrating magical and melee attacks into an innovative and visceral experience that will satisfy gamers both old and new. Featuring hundreds of quests and countless characters, creatures, weapons, and spells, Project Mercury will provide players with endless hours of intricate, immersive, and compelling adventure.”

This, naturally, sounds very exciting but why are those attending Comic-Con the ones who get to see what all the fuss is about? Why has Project Mercury been shrouded in such secrecy that even the website has no screen-shots? Why are gamers not being treated to a teaser?

Of course 38 Studios have a right to protect their property, time and effort has gone into making this game as good as it possibly can be but it seems that they are not the only ones zealously protecting their own privacy.

At the time of writing, there are other studios who are “in development” with only rumors about what they are working on to fuel the insatiable desire of gamers to be a part of their worlds. Disrupter Beam, the latest venture from our friend Jon Radoff, are still working on a yet-to-be-announced RPG, whilst the guys at MacGuffin — another local studio — are also beavering away at their Facebook game. Another local studio, Dejobaan have posted some YouTube footage of their latest piece of inspired lunacy.

Shortly before the release of Red Dead Redemption, locally-based Rockstar took legal action to ensure that actual gameplay footage posted on the Internet was removed and that the gaming community was aware of the ramifications of jumping the gun before release date. This didn’t harm the sales of the game, however, and praise has been universal for this Western version of Grand Theft Auto, although I understand that being able to tie a woman to a railroad track and watch her get run over is not one of the more edifying elements of game play.

Secrecy can be a good thing. Far too often games are rush released to satisfy the whims of the public and what could be a great gaming experience fails to tickle the pickle as expected. Awesome games become that way by patient experimentation by the developer, by ensuring that the game is everything that it should be and that when the public finally get the chance to control the developers vision, they are not disappointed by stodgy game mechanics and unsatisfying plot development.

By the same chalk, public reaction to a game can be gauged by just allowing a slow trickle of information to be made widely available, by letting the consumer have a glimpse of what they can expect when the product hits the shelves and this is why I am jealous of those who will get to see Project Mercury at a comics conference in San Diego. Gaming and graphic novels are part of the same subculture that likes to operate underneath the radar but it should still be a gaming conference that has the benefit of seeing 38 Studios vision in all it’s glory.

But on the plus side, it appears that the wait is nearly over. Time will tell whether Schilling’s all-stars have come up with the goods, fingers crossed that the San Diego comic fan gives it a good reception.

They can even let the gaming community know the verdict anonymously if they choose.