Don't worry, you may not even be able to read this...but I've moved to my own Wordpress driven site. No offense to Blogger, I wanted to do things my own way--and learn a few things at the same time!
Redirecting in 5, 4, 3, 2...
20 March 2011
14 July 2010
Thoughts on User-Created Content for OS:URU
(Originally from a post I made in the MOULa forums--I decided to move it here and refine it a bit.)
OHB, I would like to thank you for the time and effort you put in, without compensation, to provide and unique and interesting experience in the cavern. The user-created BOMB event was an excellent way to prod the community into getting together, as well as unveiling new features and capabilities of non-Cyan baked tools/features. Not everyone is going to enjoy every aspect of social events and game content--Cyan created or otherwise. In this case it was OHB's creation, and in this case, some people didn't enjoy it. No one was forcing them either way.
I don't particularly enjoy the Pod ages--they are neat for about .5 seconds to me. Many things could be the root of that: impatience, ignorance, etc. Whatever it is--I choose not to explore the ages much at all. Some may argue that it's no great loss, some may argue I'm doing Cyan artists a disservice by not fully appreciating the bit that someone developed.
Tough darts.
The same rule, I believe, goes for user-created content. Because it was created by a human, it is bound to have flaws, be them physical flaws or the flaws of appealing to one player and not another. As such, not all are going to enjoy said user-created content.
Now, user-created content doesn't replace Cyan-created content. Just for the sheer fact that user content won't appeal to the canonical nature of anything Cyan produces--I won't ignore the fact that this community is built around Cyan's MYST Mythology and therefore most items produced by Cyan will be, as a majority, appreciated, approved and enjoyed by many of the people logging into MOULa. Cyan created content fills gaps and needs that most user-content can ever really, fully replace.
That being said, at least someone was willing to step out and possibly over the edge to provide a bit more stir, bustle, and attention to the world of MOULa. I don't think we should go all witch-hunt and pitchforks over something that irritated a few people or that was a bit out of the ordinary.
We can never truly please the entire spectrum of users--if it were so, URU would have been a booming success from before day one.
I wholeheartedly support user-created content and events and hope that others will begin to see the light as well. Only we can truly bring light to the cavern, let's not snuff it out before it's even begun to get brighter.
----
If you can extrapolate a bit, the supportive feeling this post displays regarding user-created content cleanly reflects my global opinions of any open-source project. While there is definite value to commercially created products, which is difficult to replace--I think the world of technological advancement would be a bust without the individual ingenuity of private developers. I whole-heartedly support open-source development, even when it moves from the private sector into a commercial venture! We live in a capitalist world, entrepreneurial efforts are the very heart of advancement. Why squander a good idea, some ideas need a bit more monetary support to develop: besides, developers need to make a living too!
OHB, I would like to thank you for the time and effort you put in, without compensation, to provide and unique and interesting experience in the cavern. The user-created BOMB event was an excellent way to prod the community into getting together, as well as unveiling new features and capabilities of non-Cyan baked tools/features. Not everyone is going to enjoy every aspect of social events and game content--Cyan created or otherwise. In this case it was OHB's creation, and in this case, some people didn't enjoy it. No one was forcing them either way.
I don't particularly enjoy the Pod ages--they are neat for about .5 seconds to me. Many things could be the root of that: impatience, ignorance, etc. Whatever it is--I choose not to explore the ages much at all. Some may argue that it's no great loss, some may argue I'm doing Cyan artists a disservice by not fully appreciating the bit that someone developed.
Tough darts.
The same rule, I believe, goes for user-created content. Because it was created by a human, it is bound to have flaws, be them physical flaws or the flaws of appealing to one player and not another. As such, not all are going to enjoy said user-created content.
Now, user-created content doesn't replace Cyan-created content. Just for the sheer fact that user content won't appeal to the canonical nature of anything Cyan produces--I won't ignore the fact that this community is built around Cyan's MYST Mythology and therefore most items produced by Cyan will be, as a majority, appreciated, approved and enjoyed by many of the people logging into MOULa. Cyan created content fills gaps and needs that most user-content can ever really, fully replace.
That being said, at least someone was willing to step out and possibly over the edge to provide a bit more stir, bustle, and attention to the world of MOULa. I don't think we should go all witch-hunt and pitchforks over something that irritated a few people or that was a bit out of the ordinary.
We can never truly please the entire spectrum of users--if it were so, URU would have been a booming success from before day one.
I wholeheartedly support user-created content and events and hope that others will begin to see the light as well. Only we can truly bring light to the cavern, let's not snuff it out before it's even begun to get brighter.
----
If you can extrapolate a bit, the supportive feeling this post displays regarding user-created content cleanly reflects my global opinions of any open-source project. While there is definite value to commercially created products, which is difficult to replace--I think the world of technological advancement would be a bust without the individual ingenuity of private developers. I whole-heartedly support open-source development, even when it moves from the private sector into a commercial venture! We live in a capitalist world, entrepreneurial efforts are the very heart of advancement. Why squander a good idea, some ideas need a bit more monetary support to develop: besides, developers need to make a living too!
12 July 2010
Fanaticism in a Virtual World
I've been witness to some interesting events of late--and there was one concept that impressed me.
The Power of Anonymity.
The internet, by it's very nature, provides an excellent resource for the human race. Yet, there still remains a sense of separation inherent to the very manner in which we access this now "indispensable" social and economical recourse. It is this physical separation that not only effects the convenience and value of this medium but is it's biggest downfall. This separation instills a sense of non-humanity in the person utilizing the internet, they feel automatically disconnected, and yet connected at the same time. They now feel 100% anonymous, as long as they don't pin their name to anything and use pseudonyms and aliases to protect their identity.
ASIDE: I call this anonymity false because it really is a deception--if an investigating agency or an organization to which you have associated yourself desires, for good cause, to identify it's Anonymous users, it certainly has recourse (of course legal and illegal both) to flush out who you are, at least within 2-3 degrees of connection at very least. All they would have to do is a little virtual footwork.
People consistently utilize the false-anonymity of the internet and computer accessed resources to behave larger, greater, or more passionate about things than they really are or to an extent greater than they would normally express in their real life. Getting worked up over a virtual social event, using fouler language in text than would ever escape their lips, performing digital actions that dramatically skew their moral compass, assuming the identity of a fictional persona unrepresentative of themselves.
While these things can be entertaining, enriching, and morally harmless in moderation, the moment that our life becomes driven and affected by these digital forces--that is when and where a problem can develop.
The bottom line appears to be escapism. I'm a huge fan of escapism and being able to do realistic things in a digital world that would be impossible in the real one--but there are certain social and moral lines that are criss-crossed, blurred, and even erased by virtual communities, games, and social networking that I believe are degrading our quality of life.
When will the real world once again reclaim the centerpiece of our lives?
When we take a step back, breath, and let it do so.
The Power of Anonymity.
The internet, by it's very nature, provides an excellent resource for the human race. Yet, there still remains a sense of separation inherent to the very manner in which we access this now "indispensable" social and economical recourse. It is this physical separation that not only effects the convenience and value of this medium but is it's biggest downfall. This separation instills a sense of non-humanity in the person utilizing the internet, they feel automatically disconnected, and yet connected at the same time. They now feel 100% anonymous, as long as they don't pin their name to anything and use pseudonyms and aliases to protect their identity.
ASIDE: I call this anonymity false because it really is a deception--if an investigating agency or an organization to which you have associated yourself desires, for good cause, to identify it's Anonymous users, it certainly has recourse (of course legal and illegal both) to flush out who you are, at least within 2-3 degrees of connection at very least. All they would have to do is a little virtual footwork.
People consistently utilize the false-anonymity of the internet and computer accessed resources to behave larger, greater, or more passionate about things than they really are or to an extent greater than they would normally express in their real life. Getting worked up over a virtual social event, using fouler language in text than would ever escape their lips, performing digital actions that dramatically skew their moral compass, assuming the identity of a fictional persona unrepresentative of themselves.
While these things can be entertaining, enriching, and morally harmless in moderation, the moment that our life becomes driven and affected by these digital forces--that is when and where a problem can develop.
The bottom line appears to be escapism. I'm a huge fan of escapism and being able to do realistic things in a digital world that would be impossible in the real one--but there are certain social and moral lines that are criss-crossed, blurred, and even erased by virtual communities, games, and social networking that I believe are degrading our quality of life.
When will the real world once again reclaim the centerpiece of our lives?
When we take a step back, breath, and let it do so.
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