For those interested in what I’ve been working on at work lately, I introduce our Star Trek Online Community Site.  I was responsible for designing and setting up the site.  I was quite glad to find out my coworkers were all geeks– they all understood when I told them I based the design off of the LCARS interface.

I normally don’t dream about work, but since the site’s launch I’ve had two dreams of being on the U.S.S. Enterprise.  It was quite fun to mentally be on board of a spaceship for a night.

Also on the site, you’ll notice I’ve implemented new share links on each article.  These allow you to share content on Facebook, Digg, Twitter, and Buzz.  It was a small project, but one I’m proud of since I worked up the solution myself when other premade options didn’t fit my needs.

Join the conversation! What have you been working on lately?  Do you dream about work?  Have you ever wanted to join Starfleet?  Post a comment!

Celia Pearce ponders “what is ‘winter’ in a place (virtual world) that has no seasons?“:

Often, when I enter an MMOG or virtual world, one of the first comments I will hear from people is “It’s laggy tonight.” In my neighborhood in Second Life, my landlady recently “winterized” the sim to give it a Christmasy feel. [...] One of the most notable qualities I’ve noticed about emergent behavior is that people generally start with shared cultural reference points that index “real world” practices.

I think this also speaks towards our  desire for a dynamic world and the ability to express ourselves creatively.  One of my favorite moments beta testing Uru Live was when Cyan released a screenshot of Zandi sitting outside his trailer, decorated for Halloween, with a bowl of candy.  It sort of nailed home the idea that this world was going to change.  It would be new and exciting and “real.”  I wanted to witness and instigate change.  I think we all want to be gods sometimes and want to make things and make things happen.  Decorating for Christmas and seeing snow in a world are part towards that goal.

What virtual ways do you mimic your real world habits?  Do you change your desktop wallpaper to a winterscape right after you hang your real world Christmas lights?

From guardian.co.uk’s What do we expect from our games?:

But for all this, Portal’s story is fantastically involving. The reason is this: stories feel several orders of magnitude more intense when you’re participating in them. Computer games are like dreams. Because they feel like they’re really happening, they don’t need to be complex to be involving. I’ve frequently woken up from a dream thinking “wow, that was the best story, I have to write it down!” only to discover that the story was “someone was trying to kidnap me, so I climbed a wall, found a gun and shot them”; it wouldn’t even make a 5-second action sequence segment in a movie. But because I felt that I was actually there, it was far more powerful than simply watching James Bond shoot some villains.

Very well described.  For a while I pondered if time playing video games was time wasted.  But I didn’t consider watching movies to be wasted time.  Then I saw a fight scene in 3:10 to Yuma that reminded me of a fight scene I enjoyed playing in Half-Life 2.  Now I’m perfectly justified with playing video games as a use of my time (as long as it’s in moderation).

Another reason why games are great: They can be played together with friends.  Not only are you not “simply watching James Bond,” you and your friend are fighting together, providing cover, flanking enemies, and working as a team.  Which can be much more fun than sitting siltently next to someone in the theater.

[Update] On further introspection, I wonder if this can be applied to other things?  I normally enjoy watching an Erie Otters hockey game more than playing NHL ‘09 with Matt.  But both give me a rush when we score.

What do you think?  Are video games like dreams?  What video game events do you remember and enjoy?  Comment on this post!

Related Posts

• Thoughts on closing Myst Online: Uru Live
• Interacting with people makes good games great
• A week of Razputin, a night elf, and a sim
• LEGO MMO coming in 2008

Cyan Worlds just announced that it will be reopening Myst Online: Uru Live in a limited capacity.  Uru’s history has been filled with anticipation and disappointment as it has opened and closed in various manifestations.  Which brings Eleri to ask the question “Why do we fight so hard for Uru?”

My answer?  I have an emotional attachment to the world and storyline.  I want to explore more of this world.  I can envision myself there.

I’m not sure why Azeroth or other worlds have not drawn me equally close.  Maybe it’s because D’ni was a place that was hinted at for 10 years in the Myst series until we finally got to “go” there.  Maybe it’s a level of realism and lack of a cluttered user interface.  Maybe it’s because I’ve met Uru’s players in game and in real life.  Maybe that, when I play Uru, I play “myself” and not “my character.”

I think all of these points draw towards one word: emmersion.  Whatever the reason, D’ni is a unique place that I want to continue to explore.

Related Posts

• Thoughts on closing Myst Online: Uru Live
• A beautiful home in Myst Online: Uru Live Video
• The ‘Verse meets Azeroth

Although I’m saddened to see Uru Live close once again, I’d like to thank GameTap for giving it a second chance. In this industry, second chances just don’t happen.

Uru has been an exciting and inspiring experience the entire time since D’ni Guild and the DRC site teased us with the first glimpses in 2001. I still remember the first time I saw another person in the Cavern. And the Bahro Glyph tours. And the time I watched Sharper and a group of friends tear into the Pub. And trying to figure out the puzzle that took a half-dozen people to solve. And arguing with Sharper about reading his journal. And listening to Phil. And exploring Ages with my brother. And hearing from friends about the latest Relto page to find. So many friends and memories here.

Uru was a story, a community, and an experience, which makes it unlike any game or MMO. I wonder what Cyan will do to follow it. I’d love to see the story of Uru continue, perhaps in an episodic cooperative game. Although Cyan might move on to other projects, there will always be a special place in my imagination for the story of Uru.

What do you think? What is your favorite Uru memory? What do you think Cyan should work on next?

Related Posts

• A beautiful home in Myst Online: Uru Live
• Exploring worlds beyond imagination in Uru Live
• Interacting with people makes good games great
• Wonderland: Uru Live and a note about environments
• Joystiq interviews Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds
• The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Video Games
• Uru Live to return this Fall
• Identifiable characters make good stories great
• What Uru Live could have been (and now could be)
• Christmas in Until Uru
• New life in Until Uru
• Cyan Chat Shard Party in Until Uru
• Myst teaches me how to find paradise
• Expedition Progress Report
• To D’ni
• Long Live Uru!
• Uru Goes Gold

 Related Links

•  Ten Ton Hammer interviews GameTap on Myst Online’s closure

My brother brings news that this month World of Warcraft is featuring a Brewfest. In the game you can sample a variety of ale, including Mudder’s Milk. Although I’m not a big fan of alcohol, I am a big fan of refrences to one of my favorite episodes of the Firefly TV series. Good job, Blizzard!

I can’t wait to experience the Firefly MMO where everything is a reference to Firefly. “We should go to the crappy planet where I’m a hero!”

Speaking of MMO easter eggs, I’ve known about the feather hidden in Eder Gira of Myst Online: Uru Live for a while now. But I didn’t learn until yesterday there there’s even more scattered throughout the new Ages. Have you found them all?

What do you think? Have you been partying at the Brewfest in WoW? What is your favorite game easter egg? Where else have you seen references to Firefly?

Related Posts

• Wired News: Firefly Reborn as Online Universe
• Celebrating July 4 in World of Warcraft
• Identifiable characters make good stories great
• What Uru Live could have been (and now could be)
• Ten Commandments for Playing an MMO

To my surprise last night, I overheard the evening news talking about prayer and sin. After a quick search, I found out the Vatican has issued Ten Commandments for Driving. It seemed a bit silly at first, but anything that makes drivers safer and friendlier is a good thing.

I wonder when (if?) MMO playing will be so widespread that it will prompt the Vatican to issue Ten Commandments for Playing an MMO. 2020, perhaps? Until then, here’s a few I thought of:

1. Be kind and courteous.
2. When using forums, think before you post. (See Posting and You.)
3. Share.
4. Ask before you prompt. Before challenging someone to a duel or inviting them to your group, send a private message to ask. Don’t repeatedly challenge someone to duel.
5. When going through a small dungeon or area and encounter another player, ask to group with that person before killing the boss. It’ll save the other person the respawn time.
6. After killing a foe, don’t set up camp at their body to wait for them to resurrect only to kill them for a third (or more) time.

I think players have a habit of ignorance; They don’t realize the avatar on the screen (either in the game or on the forums) is a real person. Or is rude behavior as prevalent in real life as well? I’ve been lucky to develop circles of friends in both virtual and real worlds; Not everyone in these worlds may be nice, but I’m very thankful to have an environment of kindness among these friends.

What commandments would you add to the list?

Related Links and Previous Posts

• Interacting with people makes good games great
• What Uru Live could have been (and now could be)
• Raph Koster posted Commandments for Online Worlds last year, with a target towards game developers.

So… Your Wife Doesn’t Game? reports on the recently named LEGO Universe MMO:

Brick by brick, the Dutch based LEGO Company and NetDevil are building excitement for the LEGO Universe and rebuilding the partially soiled reputation of NetDevil.

With an established brand name like LEGO, it’s easy to get too excited too quickly about an upcoming title, but LEGO and NetDevil are doing a tremendous job holding down the frenzy of excitement and faboi-ness surrounding the game.

My childhood was built around LEGO bricks. The fun and creative energy of LEGO has transfered well into the video game arena through LEGO Star Wars. This game surprised me and quickly became one of my favorites because it is easy to pick up, fun to play, and directed better than the new Star Wars movies. These two factors lead me to be very excited about the concept of a LEGO MMO.

But if the MMO will be focused on building (similar to LEGO Creator), it’s doomed to failure. Nothing virtual can duplicate the fun of building with real bricks. But if they head in the direction of LEGO Star Wars and use the LEGO franchise as a backdrop for cooperative gameplay, it could be just the game I’m looking for. Some building will be excellent to tap into the player-generated content buzz, but the cooperative style of LEGO Star Wars (and LittleBigPlanet) is what’ I’m looking for.

What have you built with LEGO bricks?

Previous posts about LEGO

These past few months have had some thrilling adventures in both the real and virtual worlds I explore. For now, I present you with Journey, my in-character journal for Myst Online: Uru Live. I think dinah and xamount at Angled Whiteboards get the award for most accurate and humorous description of one of my web sites:

“Deg [...] is journaling his experiences deep in Myst Online. So deep, in fact, that I have no idea what he’s talking about (Bahro screams? Hinged versus sliding doors?). But it sure sounds all kinds of intriguing.”

Check out Journey and see what I’ve been up to down in D’ni. In the meantime, I’ll keep chugging away on school/social/work/everything excitement.

Wired News: Firefly Reborn as Online Universe:

“Like Capt. Mal Reynolds stumbling in after a bar fight, the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi series Firefly will soon make an unexpected return, not as a TV show, but as a massively multiplayer online game.”

Very exciting news. I daydreamed about how I would do a Firefly MMO awhile back, but decided it would be too risky and hard to recreate the flavor of the show. I wonder if Multiverse can live up to the show’s quality…