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?

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

When Uru Live was first announced, went into beta, shut down, and then was reborn on GameTap, we all had different dreams and visions of what it would be like. At its new home on GameTap, some are thrilled and others disappointed. I’m eager to see what Season 2 will be like and will suspend judgment until then; Uru Live is still in its infancy and it’s too early to judge. But here’s one part of Uru that I’m very pleased and surprised about:

When I first saw the deserted Relto in 2003, I wasn’t that excited about it. But now that the Age has grown through various Relto pages, it’s one of my favorite Ages. It’s great to be able to customize something, call it your own, have it look cool, and watch it change and grow over time.

That’s the way I look at Uru Live now that the first season has ended. I’m not sure if the multiplayer storytelling model will work, especially since Cyan Worlds (along with Presto and Ubisoft) have done such an excellent job with a single-person story. It’s not that I’m against multiplayer; I think cooperative gameplay is the future and the fun of gaming. It’s that everyone doesn’t get to experience the story the way it’s being told in Uru Live right now. While I love the concept of information being disseminated throughout Guilds, podcasts, and opinion leaders, I’m not sure if it will be fun. (Much like the idea that all of the Uru explorers get to cooperatively set the lake light level. Awesome concept, but baking pellets isn’t fun.) World of Warcraft has the opposite problem: New players stumble upon the endgame sequence as their just starting a quest since everyone gets to play the story.

I know Uru Live can be awesome. But in Season 2, I’ll start holding it to a higher standard of being awesome and fun.

On a lighter note, I don’t dream about Myst-related things that often, but last night I had a dream that I found a new Age with various new Relto pages. First, a page added the puffer spores from Eder Gira. Next, a page flooded Relto with water. Last, a page added the Cracken from Pirates of the Caribbean. This monster, beached on my Relto, barely fit. But I removed a sharp, spikey thing from around it’s neck causing it to instantly heal and walk into the surrounding water and go for a swim.

(Although I doubt these pages will be added, I’m glad my favorite Relto page from The Path of the Shell appeared in the Uru Live season finale.)

What do you think? What is your favorite Age in Uru Live? Do you wish more video game environments would change over time? What do you like or dislike about Uru Live? What real world places do you enjoy to explore?

Related Posts

• YouTube: Watch my Relto documentary video
• What Uru Live could have been (and now could be)
• Wonderland: Uru Live and a note about environments

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

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.

Wonderland: Uru Live and a note about environments:

“Uru Live is the first MMO since WoW [...] that has made me sit up and take notice…”

It’s great to have Uru Live coming back. It alone will justify GameTap’s subscription cost for me ($60/year – the price of one game for hundreds).

The environments definitely surprised me in the game (when it was in beta the first time around). I remember seeing a concept art sketch and thinking, “that could never be created in a realtime game.” Then, after turning a few corners, there it was. I was soaking up the vista view I deemed impossible.

Joystiq interviews Rand Miller of Cyan Worlds:

We recently spoke with Myst co-creator Rand Miller, while Producer, Mark “Moke” Dobratz demonstrated the game. They talked about how Uru Live supports the collaborative sensibility of Myst players, how the game will let you have individual experiences within its MMO structure, and plans to let users build their own ages.

(digg story)

I’ve been pondering the weight/meaningfulness of video games and the jobs working on them. Bill Slease (known for his work for Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, Cyan Worlds, and zombie-space-cowboy-pirates) has a similar conversation over at his blog. Perhaps typing a response to his post can clear up some of my thoughts:

Bill’s starting off with three main issues: Games Matter, Get a Real Job, or The Job is Not the Point:

Some Games Matter. Although I don’t think many people do this yet, I can reflect on my actions in Uru and compare them to my actions in real life. For example, during the DRC Liaison election process I learned lessons about myself and interacting with others. These lessons applied meaningfully to a real life situation I was facing at the time. (Discussing these lessons is for another time/place.) I think Uru lends itself well to this self-exploration. I can do it to an extent in World of Warcraft (Would I help this NPC in real life?), but it is nowhere near as meaningful.

I also know Books Matter. Ender’s Game, in particular, has definitely shaped how I interact with kids. So why can’t games get to a meaningful and artistic level that matches books and (sometimes) movies? I don’t know if it’s possible yet, but wouldn’t it be great for your job to get games to that level?

I’ve got a year left of school before I enter the workforce and Get a Real Job. I look up to my friends who work in social service-related jobs because of their impact on many lives. I also look up to those with summer jobs in food service and retail. They provide me a service and perform a task that I don’t think I’d be able to do each day without going insane. But I also know that every person affects many of the people they interact with each day. Conversations, good deeds, and all of your actions can be a testament to the people around you.

Because of this impact, The Job is Not the Point. Some jobs lend themselves to “changing the world” more than others. But you can change the world no matter what job you have. But how powerful is the potential of greater change via a Real Job? Why try to make a difference using a shovel instead of a bulldozer?

More to come (hopefully).

Myst Blogs, after a rather inconvenient outage, has returned online today. I apologize for the downtime and have taken steps to reduce the chance of it occurring again.

I’d also like to mention that Tweek has started Uru Blogs, an aggregate of Uru explorers in-character journals.