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My Journey to the Great Tree

 
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Erik
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:00 pm    Post subject: My Journey to the Great Tree Reply with quote

My Journey to the Great Tree

This post is about my Call… how I learnt about Myst, how I learnt about Uru, how I learnt about the D’ni. And about how the Great Tree connected me to Uru, long before I was a member. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it. Smile

Somewhere during early 2006 I was walking in a computer store with my grandmother. Suddenly my eyes fell on a DVD sleeve with the title “Myst” and a big yellow sticker with the price (€ 3) on it. Myst… where had I heard that name before? Then it began to dawn upon me… Wasn’t this that old game that was brought up now and then as one of the best games ever? Although the graphics on the box looked a bit outdated, it couldn’t be that bad, could it? (Especially not for just those € 3) So I decided to buy it. (Well, my grandmother offered to pay for it.)

So when I was home, my little sister and I gathered ‘round the computer to give it a go. After that scary linking sound, we were on Myst Island. So, let’s walk, I thought. So I clicked a few times on my mouse button. “Whoa!” Suddenly I was on the other side of the island. Grown up with real-time 3D for the most part, I suddenly had to learn how to control a point-and-click game. We felt frustrated and limited by the point-and-click interface, couldn’t understand what those scary persons in the books were saying, so we quit the game.

Later that day, I was drawn to the game again. It was outdated, ugly, but wait a minute, there had to be a reason why it was the greatest game of all time. Let’s just play the game, I’ll judge after that.

So that was the start of my ‘obsession’. We did many parts with a walkthrough (except Channelwood, which my sister and I found the easiest Age), and we were really frightened by the music and rooms in the Mechanical Age (I still don’t dare to go there.) I felt intrigued by the story, and it was cool to see Atrus in the end, though it was a bit anti-climatic. We decided to go for the sequel as well. Riven was very special. Very heard, but very beautiful, and the story was really great. We really had the feeling Gehn could be around every corner. And in some cases (seeing Gehn in the Temple’s imager) he was! We did most of it with a walkthrough, which I sometimes regret, but my desire to explore was greater than my patience. The story drew me in deeper and deeper… the ending with Gehn was great.

After that we did Exile and Revelation. It was nice to see Gríma Wormtongue in a Myst game. Once again, we were entertained by the story. Didn’t really like Revelation. Liked Tomahna a lot, but especially Spire and Serenia weren’t that much fun.

Now it was April 2006 and I was wondering about my next step. I decided to skip Uru. I was interested in the storyline around Atrus’ family, but Uru seemed to be just about the D’ni and information Uru was rather vague. I didn’t know about Myst V either, I tried out the demo and it felt so different from the other Myst games, and there were weird creatures… So I asked at a Dutch forum if Myst V was worth the money.

They said it was, and also advised me not to skip Uru. Uru was even better than Myst V they said, and while it was different, it was still very cool. Well, I purchased Uru and never did I regret it! Uru was hard to understand though. Suddenly there was an avatar, why? I guessed it represented me, but why was there no avatar in the Myst games then, and why did I feel that different? I decided to buy the Prima guide for Uru to help me.
Without that Prima guide I would have given up on Uru I think. But because of it was written like an IC journal, I finally understood Uru. So Myst happened in the past, and this is the present? Cool. I didn’t know much about the D’ni, but thankfully the Prima guide helped with that as well. It was also hard for me to understand Yeesha’s speeched back then, but the transcripts in the guide helped a lot, as well as the author’s thoughts about each speech, which made me understand everything better. The whole Uru experience was great. I think I liked discovering Sharper’s journal most. I didn’t quite understand why the developers would create such a big journal for a solo game and it touched on a lot of topics I didn’t know anything about, but it made Uru real for me. I almost forgot it was just a game.

So my sister and I completed URU:ABM and then we downloaded To D’ni. To D’ni was a bit odd… The DRC mysteriously went away it seemed, and it wasn’t really clear why. But they were gone. When we linked into Bevin we saw explorers on the imager. Explorers like us, together. They were dancing, they looked happy. Where did they go? I wanted to be with them, everything was so silent.
Didn’t like Ae’gura. It was silent, eerie, and somehow it saddened me.

After To D’ni, we played PotS and Myst V.

Between playing the XP’s, I had browsed the internet some more… Looking for more information on Uru and trying to find out where the DRC went. First I tried out the DRC site (there was an ad with that url in the prima guide). That was odd. They talked as if it were all real… Was it set up… Or was it real? I couldn’t really figure it out… I decided to google on “Douglas Sharper”, because his journal was that interesting. And … lo and behold… I found a photo of Douglas on google. I searched more and more… started to feel more and more confused, but the Call grew stronger and stronger.

And then I found the chat-logs at TGT. I read them. All of them. So there were people that actually met the DRC members? And that met Douglas? And apparently Douglas was rebelling against the DRC with some others. That was the part that confused me most. The developers of Uru were rebelling against themselves? That wasn’t possible, was it? Was it all real perhaps? Surely it couldn’t be true, but sometimes it seemed the only possibility. People plotted with Douglas. Douglas talked with those people. Douglas was a real person. And even if he was just an actor, he really talked with people. So I learnt more about D’ni and the ‘hoods, why they were that empty, and I learnt that they were once filled with people.
On the rare occasion I found a picture of people in Ae’gura, in the ‘hoods. I looked to you all as “Chosen Ones”, and felt almost jealous. I admired the Great Tree. The Great Tree is what drew me deeply into the story. I spent days digging through chat-logs. The line between IC and OOC was blurred for me, but that made everything more intriguing and caused my Call to grow stronger. Since then the Great Tree has always had a special place in my heart.

How great was my joy when I read that Uru live would continue! And how great was my joy when I linked into Untìl Uru for the first time. I was instantly greeted by a Greeter, that even welcomed me to a party that was about to begin. I immediately felt I came at the right place.

I remember the first time I stumbled upon the Town Hall meeting with Victor Laxman about the KI. I was almost afraid to enter the community room. He was there… The one and only Victor Laxman. The one I had read about so often. There he was, alive and well. It was almost to good to be true.

Both my sister and I played Untìl Uru, instead of doing puzzles together by sitting side by side next to the pc, we could really do puzzles together now.

When I saw that the Great Tree was looking for translators for the documentaries I didn’t hesitate to apply. I thought the documentaries were a great idea. It was far too difficult to find out what went on during Prologue, those documentaries really improved that. I also wanted to make it easier for the Dutch people to learn about Prologue, and if there was to be a Dutch translation, I also wanted to be sure it was done right.
Thirdly, it was the perfect opportunity to stalk the members of the The Great Tree. Twisted Evil Just joking. Wink But it was great to work with you together, with the ones that had shaped my Uru experience, although they did not know that.

And now it was my intention to talk about my experiences with MOUL and how great it was to link into Ae’gura to see the whole Ferry Terminal area filled with that many people. It was my intention to say some positive things on MOUL actually… How grateful I am to have been in Uru Live. Something I thought would never happen. However, it’s growing late now, and I’m already typing on the third page. Perhaps I’ll post my thoughts about MOUL tomorrow.

I’ll just say this: joining the Great Tree was one of the highlights for me this year. When I said that in the ‘hood some weeks ago. Moiety Jean replied with “For what it’s worth…”. But seriously, you wrote history, you make my Call grow stronger, and you partly shaped my Uru experience. To join the Great Tree and to be accepted in the group was very special to me. Just like meeting Douglas Sharper was very special to me, and something I’d looked forward to for a long time.

Sometimes I tend to think the Call was real… I’d heard about Myst before, but never paid any attention. Until I saw that bargain in a corner of a shop… And like a snowball it went bigger and bigger, until I came to Uru, the community, and to you.

If you’re still reading here, thanks for reading it and I hope you enjoyed it. Smile
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Durin Mephit
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I mentioned on Cyanchat, "Just... wow."

What you have said above is very touching, emotionally. I'm not sure what else to say, but I look forward to reading the next part of your story.
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Moiety Jean
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Erik, that's an amazing story. I don't think I ever realized how little you had to go on when you first started this adventure. Your perspective is unique and heartwarming. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I'm glad you find us as valuable as we find you. Smile
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janaba1
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A really wonderful and deeply touching story, Erik... Very Happy

Thank you for sharing this with us... can't wait for the sequel... Razz
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brian
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for writing that. I don't come by here very much anymore, but it makes me feel good to have it still around for when I want to, and I'm glad it still can be a destination for people to journey to.
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Lord Chaos
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I still think The Great Tree is important. The ones who understand eventually find their way here, and stick. Smile

It's good to know that newcomers still come in through the door. I really wish there'd been more opportunity for participation available in Uru Live.
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Erik
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Journey Continues

It was the hot summer of 2006… How did I spend my long holiday? Catching up with things, (re-)reading more chat-logs, listening to the Cavern Today podcasts, reading the Myst Reader and the journals from the Hall of Kings in the garden… Even took the Myst Reader with me when I went to Spain during the holiday. I also spent time my on D’mala, meeting new people, learning more about the multi-player aspect and how Uru was intended. I’ll remember the summer of 2006 for two things: it was extremely hot, and it was a time of mental exploration. There weren’t any new areas to explore, but there was a lot of history to explore though, and that was rather exciting.

I had looked forward to Uru Live a lot, like everyone else. A lot of things were promised, the possibilities seemed endless, and it was like we would enter the land of milk and honey in a few months’ time. I recall Mowog saying in one of the TCT podcasts that we had explored every nook and cranny in the old Ages, which was never intended, because the plan was to give us new Ages every now and then. He said that the old Ages would probably fade to the background, and that there probably would be so many new Ages, that we wouldn’t even have time to explore them at the same level as the old Ages. Well, that didn’t turn out to be true unfortunately, but that’s how many of the community felt. To quote Dr. Watson: “We stand on the edge of a precipice of discovery and enlightenment.”

The start of MOUL was unbelievable. Every time I linked to Ae’gura there were people everywhere. The Ferry Terminal area was filled with at least 20 people at any time of the day, and during the evenings it was even more crowded. We only had access to the Great Stairs, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to see everyone gathered at one place instead of scattered across the cavern. There were numerous DRC visits during the first days, which was really exciting to me. The story had truly begun. During the first days people were talking about the Scream that had happened, what it could have meant, and if we were in danger, and so on. Most of the people were IC as well. Meeting the DRC members during the whole year was very cool as well. It was a bit scary at first, and I guess I was a bit rude towards Dr. Kodama unintentionally when I first met him Embarassed, but soon I got the hang of it.

There were always people that were complaining that it was ridiculous that we couldn’t get to the rest of the city. I didn’t mind. What would the rest of the city have given us? We already knew what was there. We traded the known city for story events. That seemed like a good deal to me.

It was also really exciting when the doors to the Kadish gallery were opened. I guess an outsider would have laughed about it. During the whole day people were opening and closing the doors and walked to the gallery and back to the street, and back into the gallery, and so on. We didn’t even get a new area (unless you count the balcony in the gallery), but it was still so exciting. A bit odd, when you think about it. I think I know why people were so excited about it. It wasn’t just the doors that could be opened, it was a milestone, as it signified something really important, a change. It meant that closed doors could be opened, it meant that Ages could change. For years people had explored the same areas and thought they knew it all, and suddenly there was a change in that constant place.

Something similar to the opening of the gallery doors was Negilahn. We knew what Negilahn was like, we knew what kind of animals were there, but most (if not all) people had given up the hope of visiting the place for real. And suddenly the Age was there, ready to go to. Almost like a dream. It was a shame that there weren’t many animals, but I accepted that fact and enjoyed it anyway. Some people made quite a fuss about that issue. I guess that’s also because of the dream people had. For years people had to create an image of what Negilahn must have been like, because the Age itself was never released. People created an idealistic image that didn’t turn out to be true. However, I don’t think Negilahn would have had many animals if it would have been released during Prologue either. The Age was already in Rehearsal back then, and the technology was less good. I think we would have got an even duller (and more fake-looking) Negilahn. Though with the exception of animals being added every now and then I think. But I don’t think we would have got a big, filled zoo right away.

Anyway, back to MOUL. Let’s talk about Delin: another significant event. The first new Age in a long time. It was amazing to link in there. I always have a weird feeling when I first link into a new Age. I feel so immersed during that first time, that I think I am really there. The edges of my monitor seem to fade away, and it looks like I am really there, like a 3D movie. Don’t know if you have got that feeling once… But I got it with every never-seen-before Age.

Er’cana and Ahnonay were intended to be released late 2006 / early 2007 according to the DRC. Well, Er’cana was released some months later, and Ahnonay was released a year later! Many people expected things to move much faster. I was disappointed when I find out that our ideal image of MOUL was not like the truth. Instead we were told to manage our expectations. I don’t think anyone can pretend that they weren’t disappointed. However, instead of writing the forums full with angry posts and leaving, I simply accepted the fact and kept enjoying everything that came. Because the fact was that new things were still coming. And that’s what mattered to me! I wanted a cool story-line, I wanted to see new Ages. And, though things moved slowly, we did get those things! And I filled the time between by exploring and doing things with and within the community.

And like I said before, I was very excited when I was asked to join the Great Tree. More about that is in my previous post, but I thought I’d repeat it for the sake of chronology. It was always cool and exciting to be with the group during the episodes, when things were happening. Familiar Voices was very cool, perhaps the best episode. Finally some interaction. Interaction with the Bahro. It was scary, exciting and fun to see the Bahro, trying to communicate, etc. I also liked it how we – as a group – chose a side when Douglas was blamed for his expedition to Noloben. Yes, we were ignored and we didn’t achieve anything, but we still had fun together, plotting and getting immersed even more.

The rather unexpected announcement about a Season One Final received the same response from me as I described two paragraphs up. I was a bit sad that it would take even longer before we would get something new. But as long as things would come, I could wait. I was positive that there would be a second season, I didn’t doubt it for a second. There were also absolutely no negative signs. Even the whole MOUL website was redesigned and Greydragon told us personally in the cavern that were was no reason to worry, and so I didn’t.

When the optimistic newsletter was retracted and the planned updates for the DRC website weren’t carried out and when Cyan started doing things on the side to secure its future, I should have prepared for some bad news. Instead I acted like I didn’t see it, and continued with my blind, perhaps foolish, optimism. Of course there couldn’t be an end. There was so much more story to tell. Yeesha was out there somewhere, preventing destruction from happening, and that story had to continue. And what about Calam? Catherine? Kadish? The pieces of paper in Kadish’ vault? Plenty of mysteries that still had to be solved. Uru couldn’t just end, it had only just begun! But of course, GameTap was a business. I should have known that they didn’t care for Uru’s story at all…

So, that’s my journey... This second post isn’t that revealing as the first one, but that’s because it’s more recent. I should add that my journey to Uru (especially everything said in my first post), also shaped my ‘contributions’ to the cavern. By reading the first post I think you’ll understand why I have spent so much time archiving documents and chat-logs, translation documents for Dutch explorers, contributing to the documentaries.
Every now and then there was a discussion at the MOUL forums that there should be a way to replay events. If you read those, you might have noticed that I seemed to be against that idea, as if I liked to make it hard for people to catch up with the story. Of course I wanted that new explorers could catch up one way or another. If I didn’t want that, why would I otherwise create my archive now? But I don’t like if everything is presented right away, without the explorer having to do some effort. It would ruin Uru if every visit could be replayed. People wouldn’t stay in the game for the real visits, because they would be able to replay everything. Visits wouldn’t feel special any more, and characters would feel more like robots instead of actual persons. I like the chat-logs (accompanied by some pictures). And why do people find reading chat-logs so frustrating? Normally the characters are just standing at one place during the visits and typing text, which is in fact just a slowed down transcript, with the exception that you can ask some questions or influence things, but a replay wouldn’t bring those latter elements back.

People say that Uru is to Myst what the Lord of the Rings is to the Hobbit. Then I say on my turn that everything that surrounds Uru (including the history from Prologue), is what the Silmarillion is to LotR. The Silmarillion is quite hard to read, and you have to do some effort to comprehend it all, but everything is there. And sometimes, a story from that history is taken apart and worked out into something more convenient to read/watch. Like how the recently published “Children of Húrin” is an easy to read, worked out story of one of the many tales in the Silmarillion. You could say that’s what our prologue documentaries are.

By the way, it’s far more easier to catch up on MOUL’s events than on the events from Prologue. The web is filled with high quality screenshots of events. There are even videos of events. During Prologue, posting a picture of an event only happened on the rare occasion.

I’ll say one more thing before I close this post. In my first post I described my feelings when I learnt that there was a Uru Live once, that I was sad that I had come to late. I also said that I thought how fortunate those in Prologue were.
I’m angry at GameTap, I can’t deny it, and I’m heartbroken that Uru’s story won’t continue. But, they can never take this journey from me! It’s immensely difficult to describe Uru to someone without too many words, and without making it sound dull. I think I found a keyword that describes it for me: Uru is an experience. It isn’t just a game, but it also isn’t just about the community (like SL or something), it’s an experience. It’s the only way I can describe it. And whatever happens, that experience can’t be taken away from us. We should be happy about this experience, and we shouldn’t forget how fortunate we are. Fortunate, you say? Well, while Uru is closed, I don’t think the Call will stop. I was called as well, even while the cavern had been closed. I came to D’ni to find it abandoned, but I was called. And so it will stay. “New seekers of D'ni will flow in from the desert feeling called to something they do not understand.” They will keep coming to D’ni, and they will probably find it abandoned and will look up to us. I hope that things like my archive may help those people to learn and to explore in the past, because I know how it’s like to be in that position and I know how hard it was for me to understand Uru.
I’ve been given a chance to experience Uru for real, with you all. That’s amazing. The chance that those future explorers will get that same chance seems small now. Therefore I would like to say again: never forget how fortunate we are, and be thankful for the experience, which can never be taken away!

So, that was my hopefully positive note to close this story. Once again, I hope you enjoyed reading a bit more about me. Smile
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Moiety Jean
First Lady of the Great Tree
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you once again, Erik. I really enjoyed both of your posts.
I too am grateful for the experience, and I hope that these various efforts of ours can provide a little more of that experience for others.
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"There is a certain beautiful danger when a group of geeks get together to entertain themselves." ~Orin Drake
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janaba1
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Again a wonderful, deeply moving and soul-stirring report, Erik... Very Happy

Those statements sound a bit dull as words can never do justice
to such a beautiful, authentic disclosure... and I have to agree with
you and MJ, saying
Erik wrote:
Therefore I would like to say again:never forget how fortunate we are,
and be thankful for the experience, which can never be taken away!

Moiety Jean wrote:
I too am grateful for the experience, and I hope that these various
efforts of ours can provide a little more of that experience for others.

Thank you so much for everything, dear Erik, it's great to know somebody like you... Razz
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Erik
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you for your comments! Very Happy
It was quite fun to go through it all again and to write it down. It feels good. Now I will surely never forget about it all. And I liked to share my adventure with you. Smile
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Erik
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MOUL has only just gone away, and I'm already seeing some of my predictions coming true.

This topic at the MOUL forums is just one case, but I've seen multiple topics like this one, and this one won't be the last.

We really were fortunate to have been in D'ni.
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janaba1
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've seen this as well, even our Eleri posted something similar to
your comment (Now there's irony)... and the answer to this is really
very simple, my friends, it has something to do with focussing your
attention and the energies, if you know what I mean... Razz

I look at all those wonderful and beautiful pictures these days,
full of people, man, sooo many people gathering, partying, just
being together however... being sad to loose this place now, going
here and there for a last time, taking many photos and capturing
beautiful and moving videos... Of course, that's not always possible,
but why... why now, just now and never before... That's just a mention
of facts and there's absolutely no blame intended...

Believe it or not, everything in life has something to do with where
our energies are focussed on... that's what will manifest itself, whatever
it is, good or bad... And if there's nobody in the cavern, means, no
positive, attracting energies in that place and at the same time many
complaints on the fora (no blame, just mentioned as a fact Wink ),
so what can be expected coming out of this, besides other issues,
of course, relating to sheer business subjects (though those would take
care of themselves at this point) ...

So, really just looking at this in a pure logical way, this could have
developed more... ok, let's say just different and maybe better...

You cannot imagine what such a great energy of deep dedication and
deeply felt love and whatever positive thoughts and feelings we had
during the last few days could bring about... or maybe you can... Very Happy
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