Uru Live to from the dead: Revival boosts spirits at Cyan Worlds:

Spokane company Cyan Worlds announced Tuesday its groundbreaking game, Uru Live, will return from the dead and become available online by year’s end.

Cyan Worlds CEO Rand Miller said the game, meant to be introduced in 2003 but never launched online, will become part of the GameTap Network, a game portal operated by Turner Broadcasting System.

[...]

“Uru Live was ahead of its time, and now that technology has caught up with this visionary game, GameTap and Cyan are teaming up to bring it into the bold new world of broadband entertainment,” GameTap General Manager Stuart Snyder said in a press release.

After Ubisoft shut down the first version of Uru Live, Miller was forced in September 2005 to lay off about 40 Cyan workers. He said that decision was the most difficult one of his career.

Within a month, however, Turner Broadcasting had contacted Cyan to discuss a renewed commitment to the game, said Miller.

CNET: Online game rising from the dead:

Many online games have crashed and burned, but the situation with Uru is unusual in that it was the “Uru Live” community that convinced GameTap the game was worth getting behind.

That’s because the community has stayed alive and active in the two years since “Uru Live” died, mainly through an unsupported freeware program called “Until Uru” that Cyan made available to anyone who wanted to host versions of it on their own servers.

[...]

“What I found was that these players had already established a deep connection to the whole series of (’Myst’ and ‘Uru’) games,” Pearce said. “But they’d been playing the games pretty much in isolation (prior to ‘Uru Live’). So when they came together online, they really bonded very rapidly and intensely. And when the game closed, people were just heartbroken.”

Related Links:

• Official Uru Live web site (with news and FAQ)
• Digg story

I just concluded this semester with two hours of sand volleyball. It was lots of fun, especially when we lost a few members and went three-on-three. In between volleys, watching the sun set across the lake added a nice touch to the event.
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Big thanks go to everyone who has provided encouragement, study help, and food this week. It really made Finals Week much more bearable!
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WalkAmerica went very well this year: The weather was awesome and I raised $43.
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I’m looking forward to this summer, but I’m going to miss hanging out with all of the college kids here. There’s also a trip to Spokane, Washington planned for Mysterium. The scary part is that this summer will be my last summer vacation (pending I graduate next year). I’m caught in an interesting mix of still being young, but slightly older now too.

What goals do you have for this summer?

Listening to a City of Blinding Lights by U2.

Google engineers had some fun creating their logo out of LEGO bricks. I’m a huge fan of LEGO, but I’m even more impressed with the bead penguin (shown above) that Sarah Hildreth made for me. There’s even been penguinized pumpkins! All of this promotion is awesome, but I start to get concerned when my suitemates in the dorm start to mix brands. American Idol and Myst should not mix into Myst Idol.

Many readers of this blog are Myst fans. In many cases, the first time we met each other was in D’ni, via an online game called Uru Live. If you remember Uru Live, or are new to it, I wanted to pass along that Cyan has created a server for us to meet together again.

Right now it’s just a great gathering place to chat and explore. But if many are interested, it might convince the Powers That Be to fund Cyan to bring new content and story to Uru.

I invite everyone new and old to Uru to check it out.
http://plasma.cyanworlds.com/news.xml

If you’re not sure how to get involved, just e-mail me. It’s free to play, but if you don’t have Uru yet you’ll have to pick up a copy. It’s only $10 at most places. If you need an invite to create a D’mala login, please let me know.

We need to show Cyan and its possible investors that we love D’ni. Let’s get everyone in the Cavern this weekend. I invite all explorers to hang out all weekend long (and the many weekends to come) in Ae’gura and the various neighborhoods in D’mala. Let’s make the Cavern floors shake with our footsteps and the Cavern walls sing with our voices. To D’ni!

Thanks!

(Digg)

There are a lot of good books, movies, and games. A few of them are great. I’ve been trying to figure out what components elevate a story to greatness; The next three or four blog posts will discuss this.

There are a lot of characters I like to spend time with (by reading their stories or interacting with in games). A few of them I can see myself as. I become a part of these characters, and they become part of an awesome story. Let’s take a look at some examples:

• Uru Live: I remember one of the DRC Restoration Engineers complaining in his journal about the numerous puzzles he encounters. Puzzles, and reading journals, are expected in Myst games. But as soon as you start thinking these places are real, this is exactly how I would react. What are these puzzles doing here? This is the game poking a bit of fun at itself, but it’s also so much more. It transforms it from a game into an alternate reality. I could be a member of the DRC because they react as I would. On the contrary, my enjoyment of Myst V was dampened because I didn’t connect with Yeesha or Esher.
• Serenity/Firefly: When I first starting watching Firefly, I didn’t like many of Serenity’s crew. But as I continued to watch, I started to realize that I didn’t like them because they weren’t “all good” or “all bad.” They, just like real people, changed over time. In the dorm, I’ve grown a lot this past semester. I’ve established a core group of friends here. We’ve sort of become a crew. Although we’re not space pirates, we still struggle with classes and adventures.
• Harry Potter: When the first Harry Potter book came out, I read part of it but wasn’t too interested. Since then, some movies have come out and I’ve moved into college. My environment now is similar to Hogwarts. This, along with seeing the characters in the film, allowed me to more easily connect with them. Instead of being this foreign magical world, I can now make connections between my college and Hogwarts.
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe: This book is unique because I enjoy all of its characters; Normally there is at least one character in a story I don’t enjoy reading about. Similarly to Myst, this is a fantastic story that somehow seems grounded in fact and completely believable.

The best part about having characters you can identify with is that you can apply the lessons they learn to your own life. This makes a story not only entertaining, but beneficial and practical.

As a reader, what characters can you see yourself as?
As an author, how can you create characters that people can connect with?

Katie Postma, long-time Myst fan and former Myst Worlds Community Manager, made an excellent post on The Lysts. It’s exactly why, although I enjoy playing World of Warcraft, I feel there is something missing. I have no effect on the world. Here’s her post, which I’ve reposted with her permission:

[Uru] was new, innovative, and as an MMO had tremendous potential to do and be more than anything previously offered or offered for many years to come. [...] WoW is a great example of what Uru Live would not be nor would ever WANT to be. And I would love both, for different reasons. I like watching movies about other countries at home on TV. But sometimes, I want to GO TO the country, and HAVE my own adventure.

To me, WoW is like watching a movie about something… looks cool, gets the adrenaline going, and you can feel like you “know” a place. But it’s a fantasy, a representation of a place far, far away perhaps. Real people acting out scenarios scripted for us for fun. Uru was far more. It was real. Uru WAS US. We were Uru.

Whether or not you got to participate in a conversation with Phil or Sharper… you KNEW about it. It had happened to a friend, a neighbour… a fellow explorer. The consequences were immediate even if you were away that day. Even if you were on the surface for an extended time, you were affected. I was deeply affected by what was happening in Uru every day, and I was hugely sorrowful when it was removed from my life.

That last paragraph is the key. In World of Warcaft, it’s great that everyone can experience the accomplishment of killing the big head boss. But he comes back the very next day! Even if I didn’t get to kill the boss myself, maybe my friends did or got to see part of it. Then word would spread and experiences would be shared just as they are in real life.

I was lucky enough to talk to Victor Laxman in Uru. I argued with Douglas Sharper on his hunting. I was there when he broke into the Pub. It was amazing to have real discussions with these people. I hope to talk to them again soon.

Explorer-created Ages: New tools released by the Alcugs project have enabled explorers to dabble in the Art of Writing. Although no major Ages have been written, the potential is now being tapped. I’m very excited at the possibility of what is to come, but I would like to advise explorers to use extreme caution when linking to new Ages. Perhaps we should get some of the Maintainer’s suits from Gahreesen.
The Cavern Today Podcast: The Cavern Communications Network has been hard at work recording news and stories from Uru and the Myst community. I enjoyed being interviewed for their second podcast, but it can’t compare to the interview, coming in the sixth podcast, with Ryan Miller.
New Eder Kemo Screensaver: Almak, the creative technology specialist for the D’ni Explorers Guild, has assembled our collection of Eder Kemo photographs in a great new screensaver availbale for download from the D’ni Explorers Guild. Check it out if you like watching the rain, following the glow bugs, and reminiscing about Phil Henderson. As I mentioned at Mysterium 2005, Almak’s almost preparing the DRC Screensaver for upload onto the site as well. Stay tuned.

I had some deep thoughts a few days back that were inspired by completing Myst V, walking to the gorge with Brianne, and reading an interview with Rand Miller:

Normally I strive to learn, experience new things, build knowledge, and continue to grow. But I realized that experience can also add a burden. It can weigh you down. But this is also good, because it makes you stronger and helps you battle even more difficult things in the future.

I am glad that Myst V and Uru show the Ages we have visited and dreamed about are not paradises. For me, the Myst series had become a paradise; It was a way to be free of the stresses of reality. Often times I have wanted to link from my dorm room to Relto or another Age. But Myst V has also shown that these places are not perfect. Everything changes and can degrade. It is the people that makes the location.

So I found paradise in the people around me. I’ve finally been able to do that this year. I’ve been doing more activities in the dorm and less on the computer. This is a wonderful thing.

It’s been said before, but Myst really is unlike any other video game. Cyan built a story and then the game to tell that story. They built a game that shows that people are more fun (and important) than video games. (It’s great to hear they’re working on a new project.)

My favorite video games (Myst, Half-Life 2, Splinter Cell 3) are my favorites because I play them with people. The only exception to this is Psychonauts, but that is because it is the first game that I really cared about the characters.

I used to complain that video games needed to focus more on stories and characters. Now I’m growing out of video games, just like I grew out of watching television. I no longer need to complain, because I’ve found something better.

Cyan Worlds and Ubisoft have released the Mac version of the demo for Myst V: End of Ages. Myst V is the final chapter of the popular adventure series due out next month. In 1993, Myst was the spark for a new genre, the first-person adventure-puzzle game.

read more | digg story

We left Thursday afternoon. Last year we arrived in Toronto a little late, so we split the travel to Chicago into two days so we would have plenty of time. After driving about six hours we arrived in Angola, Indiana. It started to rain a bit towards the end of the drive, so we decided to set up camp there. The Holiday Inn Express in Angola was very nice and I was suprised to find they had free wifi internet access. We ate at Ruby Tuesday’s, which was the first time I have done such a thing. They had some awesome food and the waitress informed us of the regions 101 lakes. (This reminds me that I have yet to go kayaking this summer. Egad!) We had trouble with the time zones because Angola is an hour ahead even though it is not on Central Time.

Friday we arrived in Chicago. Traffic was easier to nagivate than I imagined it would be (which might have been aided by our sneak peak of the area via Google Earth). The hotel lobby was small and empty when we arrived, which startled us. After grabbing a bite to eat, we returned to the lobby to find Anna Catherine. After unloading our gear in our room, we returned to the lobby to find it packed–the way the lobby should be during Mysterium! Free wifi internet here allowed for fun in Cyan Chat. We also scared the entire staff of a local Greek resturant by most of the group arriving and requesting food. We gathered for presentations that evening. You can read my live coverage of the presentations at Myst Blogs. Attendees participated in a conference call with Rand Miller and RAWA. I presented on Myst Blogs, the Myst Union at Gamespot, and the good ol’ D’ni Explorers Guild.

Saturday included a trip to the Shed Aquarium. The dolphins appeared to be very smart, and I enjoyed that. It also was a neat trip because it parallels the Animorphs books I’ve been rereading lately. We also went down to the Navy Peir, which was fun and impressive. Concluding Saturday (and starting Sunday) was chatting all night in the hotel lobby.

Sunday was the EDGE game. This year the 100-degree weather served as the “extreme” part of Extreme Disc Golf. Some day I hope to challenge Rand. Until then, I’ll be happy with the Mysterium par (multiply by two and add one-half).

It was an awesome experience hanging out and chatting with everyone. We really have some awesome members in the community.

Links:

• Deg: photos
• Gadren: photos, report
• Lehsa: report and photos
• Ran: photos, report
• TheFace: photos, report