The Great Tree

[Saxy]

I was talking with Moiety Jean on the phone last night when she broke the news to me. Like most of you, I was not surprised. I guess it's because Uru Live was in its glory at only two moments for me:

1) November 2003 - January 2004
2) Spring and Summer of 2006 (the excitement of Uru Live being resurrected by Game Tap... namely for me, Mysterium 2006)

The drama and pace of Prologue '03/'04 was a genuine tip of the iceburg for what Uru Live was going to be. I felt so engrossed by it and so moved. This is when I began making life-long friendships and relationships with some of the other fans.

Like many fans, I was shaken by the news in February 2004 that they had to let Uru Live go. I'll never forget that last big party we had right before they shut the servers down--I think I literally shed some tears. I prepared myself emotionally to move on at that point, and I hardly spent more than one hour total in Until Uru.

The second defining moment of Uru Live for me--well, more the community and less the game itself--was the comraderie and excitement building up after Game Tap signed on. Mysterium 2006 was such a wonderful experience. I look back on those photos and memories very fondly: driving across the state with Brian/Jean/Askew/Daed, looking for small volcanoes and Airstreams out in the eastern Washington desert, listening to Pink Floyd in thoughtful silence, seeing so many wonderful community members for the first time--especially other GT members, visiting Cyan, playing in Heek tournaments, staying up until 2 AM having giggle fits over YTMND.com, and the conspiring and the dreaming... that was the best part. Our impromtu Great Tree meetings in Cyan's (literal) backyard, outside in the warm Spokane evening breeze by the pool, at Red Robin.... those were the best. My heart wants to pop out of my chest thinking about them again... thinking about the entire Mysterium trip again.

I gave Uru Live Part Deux an honest shot on Game Tap, but I honestly wasn't feeling the same high as I did back in 2003. It really felt forced this second time around. My favorite and most noteworthy moment this second time around was solving Minkata with Jean's help. I had that same 'Uru 2003' electrical feeling prickle me as we ran through the desert. Just like Prologue, it was magic. But I didn't put that much stock into the story development this time around. I give Cyan and the community credit for keeping their hopes up and giving it all they got, but it wasn't quite clicking for me. I finally resigned myself that UruLive 2.0 was never going to be like Prologue 2003. I tried to get into it and tried to get excited, but it never quite worked.

Although I've felt this way, I still think it's important to keep Uru's spirit alive. I love the community. Although I never quite got the "spark" the second time around, the community has always been there. And although I haven't been around as much as I like, I still believe the Great Tree community is the best internet-based community out there. I feel like I'm home every time I take a break from my surface adventures and pay a visit here. Everyone here is so genuine, talented, creative, compassionate, smart... just an all-around great group of people. I hope we can still get together again in the future for old time's sake. And I love the idea of creating a Great Tree age to play around in!

So... I'm a little sad to see a game with so much potential be put to rest, but I agree with Alamaht's (sp?) post. Just let it go. But I still feel the spirit alive, which is post important. Heck, I still have quite a bit of journey left ahead of me! I still need to finish Myst III, and start Myst IV and V! I haven't even played Path of the Shell or To D'ni yet. Wow. (Not to rub it in. ) And the lasting friendships I've made because of Uru is the best part. Brian and Jean are some of my best friends, and explorer Kev became my husband. Jean, Kev, Bri, and myself continue to get together for activities at least once or twice a month. I have the pleasure of seeing Eleri and Blade every once in a while as they live in the same area as all of us. And everyone else I'd love to see more regularly that just live so far away...

Anyways, after all that has been said and done, I think Uru Live was all for the best. "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," right? I sincerely hope we can keep at least this community thriving, because I really love you guys as much as I love Uru.
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Not all who wander are lost... (MJ fixed my sig!)
KI: 38931

[janaba1]

Thank you for this wonderful, deeply touching statement...

WE LOVE YOU TOO, sweet SAXY, you know, that we do,
and you will ALWAYS belong to URU and to US...

[Durin Mephit]

Right now,

(Although this isn't the "Right Now" thread, it just seemed appropriate to say that.)

Two essays worth reading.

Belford on Beyond Cancellation

Alahmnat on Mindspace
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Durin Mephit * Member of Guild of Messengers - Unless otherwise stated, opinions are mine only and not Guild endorsed.
rel.to | Marten KI: 59474 | Durin M KI: 11883768

[Cycreim]

Technically agreed on both points. A lot of people have been bringing up the idea of an "Official" shard with Cyan moderation (run on fan-content developed on other shards) allowing Cyan to contain their IP rights and a sense of continuity, with the addition of alternative private shards with no Cyan moderation. The latter would be more like the UU we remember. To me, anyway, I see this as a superb compromise.
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KI: 34353

[Lord Chaos]

Would I play in some new incarnation of Uru? I don't know. I'm very tired of more promise than delivery. I would like to see Cyan lead the Explorers in a collaborative project to bring the story of the D'ni into more Ages. I want to learn that story. That's why I re-upped for another year of Gametap: I wanted that feeling of being inside a book to come back.

I've moved to Guild Wars. It's far from perfect, but some of my Uru friends are there and I at least get a hint of that "inside-the-book" feeling that has been missing from Uru.

Will a Cyan/Explorer bring that back? I think it could. I've seen enough fan-made ages to know that the skill is there, and the art.

[Eleri]

Eleri thoughts
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[Durin Mephit]

I like those thoughts. Though, it remains to be seen whether Cyan is really tired of Uru or not.

In some respects, like Brian, like Daed, Professor Askew, and now like Lord Chaos, I am tired of it myself. I'm not quite sure what to think.

I need a rest from Uru. Maybe I can return to it and it will be fresh again some day. Until Uru is not something I think I would participate in again. I did so once because I still had hope in my heart. Now, my heart's a little too bruised and it needs to heal.

I won't leave the community. I just need to leave D'ni. I don't think D'ni will really fade away in the meantime.
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Durin Mephit * Member of Guild of Messengers - Unless otherwise stated, opinions are mine only and not Guild endorsed.
rel.to | Marten KI: 59474 | Durin M KI: 11883768

[BladeLakem]

I find myself torn.

I have put a lot of personal energy into Uru (more than most people will probably ever connect directly to me, actually). In many ways, Uru is what got me through some very tough years of my life. Stress at home, which is significant, has been softened by having Uru to turn to. The same when I got laid off last year. I tied a lot of my creative projects into Uru, because it gave me a framework to work in, which helps me a lot. It also gave me a community to work in, feedback loops and such. That helps me a lot as well (especially since Eleri is a part of that community - it's one of the things we share).

I still have a lot of creative urges for Uru or that can be used in Uru. My reflex is to explore the limits of the framework I work in. I have ideas for alternate continuities, stories, projects, etc. Things I would like to see in Uru. Things I'd like Uru to be. (Cyan should hire me for story and design ).

At the same time, I am bruised as well. Tired of coming up with ideas that don't go very far, for whatever reason. Without Cyan's energy behind Uru (and a clear direction), I'm not sure how much energy I can muster for it, because I don't want to engage in it if it just isn't going to matter. And given how many of my friends in the community are burnt out and talking about taking a break, I'm unsure about my ability and willingness to sink the energy into it.

But, I'm sort of lost of what to do with myself now - Uru has been a key part of my life for years.
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.yahvo kehnehn taigahntahv .taigahntahv bihv

Myst Embassy: http://www.mystembassy.net
Myst Headlines - http://news.mystembassy.net
MOULagain KI#27460

[Durin Mephit]

I think, Blade, that "resting" is the thing to do.

I have a possible final project, for now, something I'd like to work out before April 4. I've decided to keep it confidential until it is done (in case I can't complete it), but I could use some help. For example, I need an image showing the original Uru logo, and then an image showing the "Myst Online" version of the name, and a creative way to transition between the two.
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Durin Mephit * Member of Guild of Messengers - Unless otherwise stated, opinions are mine only and not Guild endorsed.
rel.to | Marten KI: 59474 | Durin M KI: 11883768

[Daedalus]

I haven't really spoken on the matter, being more of a forum lurker than admin lately, but I figure it's time.

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Saxy. Uru was a very pivotal experience -- one that a lot of us gained a lot of good friends and shared a lot of good memories. No one will forget the scary stories in the cave in Eder Gira or the intrigue that brought a lot of us together when Sharper first appeared.

There was something about Uru. You could touch it. It wasn't just a game where you move on to the next node, but a place that became familiar and grew on us. To quite a few of us, Uru was the real deal.

I remember leaving Mysterium 2006 and coming home like I had been sapped of all my energy. Like I was shell shocked. I realized that there was a tremendous amount of energy between the entire crew, and leaving it behind felt much as leaving home. It took a few days to adjust and people close to me were affected by it. You can't get that kind of reaction from just anywhere. You couldn't deny the feeling that we had all been in the same situation before, just maybe from a different perspective.

You begin to forget these things and over time move on, but there will always be that lurking feeling you get. When you get emotionally attached to a virtual place such as Teledahn, the need for that nostalgia becomes almost overwhelming at times. Impressions are made. You remember the first time you met someone in that one room, or when you first heard the bahro's cackle. Uru haunts you.

I may not visit often, but a piece of me is still seeded here. This community has a crazy tendency to stick together like PB&J sandwiches and never really lets go. I know to at least some degree the community will sustain itself. That's what it has been about all along really. As much as we want to see that Uru that we had in our hands for just a fleeting moment, it is safe to assume that that moment will only live on as a memory and an ungranted wish.

We shared that experience, just as in real life, and hence can never truly come apart.

[Professor Askew]

Very well said, Daedalus. I've been involved in Uru for almost five years now. Even still, I feel I really only "played the game" briefly during Prologue. I remember quite clearly connecting with Mystlander and Farlesis in the earliest of days. And I remember the greatest rush I ever got outside of Great Tree meetings was reporting back to you, Daed, on the conversations Kam was having with people outside of the group. Such intrigue! Such a small thing but so integral to the big picture. And as you stated in your post, so much was solidified at that Mysterium...as if we were all branded so we would never forget. Until Uru didn't come close for me. It was just a big OOC playground but I stayed with it hoping the real deal would return.

Prologue is like a ghost. And my understanding is that the only way to get a ghost to move on is to convince it that everything is okay, the world is in order, the sea captain won't be returning but is waiting for the ghost in another place. In other words, the ghost needs closure. Until Uru didn't do it. Nor did Season One. So we wait.

"Resting" is as fine a way to put it as any, Marten. I guess you don't really quit Uru if you've been affected by the game as some of us have. I know, I've tried.

And Blade? I've got work for you if you need an outlet. LOL
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Professor Daniel Askew - Securing our reality from the machinations of the Station Masters.

[Eleri]

[Erik]

The resting option seems wise... I've spent so much time on Uru, perhaps it's good to take a few steps back, to concentrate on more important things like homework. If there will be another Until Uru, there is the risk that it sucks me in again, and then I'll be remembered of what Uru could have been each day, then I'll continue seeing the potential that will never be met...

Still, I'd really like to see a Cyan operated shard. My thoughts about that are somewhere in the Right Now topic and under Alahmnat's post.

But another Until Uru where people are able to "mess up" D'ni? No way. That would be like Myst really turning into Pyst. Besides, I'm sure those shards would be visited less and less frequently, until in the end, even UU dies. Better to die with honour now as a true Myst, then to die as a Pyst.

But if there is a way for Cyan to operate their own shard, and perhaps to update it every now and then... that would be great.

[Professor Askew]

Here's what I would like to see happen for the future of the D'niverse:

Cyan needs to completely rethink how Uru would work in a best case scenario. I still have a very difficult time imagining how the "live" interaction with NPCs could ever work w/o a huge staff making sure there was someone to interact with around the clock. The nice thing about standard MMOs is that anyone can play them at anytime and have a similar gaming experience. There were way too many people such as myself who only experienced game play through the forums and that ain't right. So, I'd like to see them resolve that issue behind the scenes. Meanwhile, they need to regrow the company, make some money, and prepare a brand new pitch to some ridiculously wealthy investor or, at the very least, a distributor with vision. Piece of cake. Riiiight.

I'm very anxious to play the new "Lost" video game when it comes out at the end of the month to see if and how Ubisoft (boo!) presents the contemporary adventure game that is story driven rather than a shooter. And it looks like they used a pretty decent game engine to boot. Cyan may or may not learn anything from that game but at the very least they should be putting themselves at the forefront of the adventure gaming market, redefining it along the way, and preparing for its future (if it is to have one).

I would like to see a new D'niverse game released sometime in the future. I would like it to be a standalone game with modem play (or whatever it's called now). Think Myst V but with the ability to have other people share in your game like Call of Duty or Quake. Focus on technology and story and recapture the atmosphere and wonder of the previous games. But, in preparation for an online relaunch, get people interested in a newer approach to playing a Myst game. Perhaps more interactivity with NPCs. Think how cool it would be if we frequently ran into DRC members who set us on various paths which led to cool discoveries. This is really no different than the standard quest model of most MMOs. But, we already know that model works so why not tweak it for the D'niverse? How can it be handled differently to drive adventure gaming forward? Personally, I would love to interact with DRC 'bots as opposed to never interacting with live actors.

If Cyan could pave the way for a new online experience with a successful new take on a standalone game I think it could work. And I'm not talking about a hastily put together Complete Chronicles or Myst V (Though as a fan I enjoyed both). I'm talking serious focus on something new. (At the same time, I would love to see said game put some measure of closure on the Uru experience.) I would like to see more interactivity with NPCs, longer more interconnected puzzles (even though I'm not a puzzle guy), and deeper story in the future. I don't know if Myst will ever be a tier 1 $50 game but there's no reason it couldn't be a strong tier 2 release.

Most importantly, Cyan needs to take a break from D'ni like the rest of us. They need to re-establish their niche as creators and over time find new partners who will help them bring their true vision to light.
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Professor Daniel Askew - Securing our reality from the machinations of the Station Masters.

[Lord Chaos]

NPCs can add a lot. In Syberia and some other games, I found NPC interaction to be tedious because it involved so much guesswork. Am I done yet? In Syberia 2 this was handled quite a bit better.

In Guild Wars NPCs are important, and the interactions work very well. You go up to a character, click on them, and a text box opens with a brief statement. You don't have to keep asking questions as you do in Syberia. If they have a quest you can accept or decline. Some NPCs just tell a little story.

In Uru I could imagine a Sharper NPC standing there. You click on him to get the latest DRC dirt. Maybe you'd find Laxman at the Great Zero, and he'd give you news about the tech. One of the translators could be on the Tokotah Rooftop to tell you about that. They could even ask you for favors. "Take this notebook to Watson, please, and don' t let Sharper know you have it." And then you could take it, or read it, or toss it.

Sometimes I wonder if Until Uru was the big mistake in Uru history. Through playing it for a year and a half I became so familiar with the world that I was just tired of running around there. If I had come to it in Uru Live I might have enjoyed that more... but perhaps without UU there never would have been Uru Live. Hard to know.