Better day

[avevale_intelligencer]

On two out of three counts anyway. Uru Live is still cancelled. In sixty days, everything shuts down.

And part of me is screaming Why, Lord, Why? and part of me is saying Because you didn't deserve it enough, you weren't good enough, you weren't there enough, you weren't supportive enough, you didn't cheerlead for Cyan and drown out the naysayers who kept the numbers down. It's your fault, Charlie.

Which is both true and poppycock. I wasn't as supportive as I could have been, indeed I've been downright critical. But in the end, games like Uru and the Myst series, now that they're no longer startlingly new and the meanest FPS tripe can boast graphics that look as cool (thanks to Cyan leading the way, of course, but who remembers fifteen years ago?) games like Uru and the Myst series are always going to be a minority interest, and big business is not interested in minorities. Even if it can afford to finance them on the back of the popular stuff. If it's not bringing in the money, it's out.

People are talking about cancelling their subscriptions in a "That'll show 'em" sort of way, and it's kind of sweet, but in the end our numbers won't even cause a blip. If there was any chance that they might, Uru Live would be safe. And now I feel really stupid for daring to hope that this time it would work.

But, apart from all this thusness, I am hopefully no longer a card-carrying resident of Jackass County, and I remembered to do pancakes today. So, a better day.

Oh, and......

I made the flyby in Vue, jahura helped me with the Flash coding and the background image. It doesn't link anywhere, but hey, it's something.

Comments

[jahura.livejournal.com]

Why?

I could list lots of reasons but you've heard them before. Why salt the wound?

As for the panel, you can't link anywhere yet. I'm workin' on it.

[hurdle1gal.livejournal.com]

WOW! I like the book! I keep on expecting it to focus in on the castle, like how the games does a similar focus at the end of the linking animation. Well done, both of you! (insert thumbs up smilie)

As for GameTap, it is sad news on them closing it down. I guess I will never get the chance to experience what you, jahura, and so many other people on the forum get to do. I guess I always thought it would be around... I assumed wrong. At least you got to experience it.

[lutos.livejournal.com]

Wait....you two did that flyby? Very cool! I'd love to land though and explore....sigh. ;)

About Uru: As Speedy said, at least y'all had the experience; I could start and blame myself, too, for not buying a PC or MacIntel and do my utter best to be able to join UruLive, but then....I have to admit that I was quite a bit pissed that the Mac-community once again was left out.
I doubt that much FPS-games have such a steady fan community as the Myst/Uru one has. I think it was due to those fans that UruLive re-opened, right? So there really is not much left that one can do (except for sending large amounts of money to keep it open, if you happen to possess them of course...)

Here's hoping that they won't drop it all and maybe will create other Myst/Uru-like games in the future.

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Cavern tattle yesterday suggested that Gametap made some dumb marketing decisions too; they were trying to sell UU to the young gamer generation, which was never going to fly. There are no guns, no stats and no easy ways to get "status" quickly (ie. grinding). If Cyan tried to team up with a silver surfers site or something, they might have a lot more luck; people who like crossword puzzles and chess might be much more interested in a community puzzle game.

Me, I'd like to see it go open source, but you'd need a hardcore team of geeks to keep it alive, and there seems to be a remarkably low geek factor in Uru...

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

There are a bunch of geeks who have been making their own Ages using open source software (and they're surprisingly good-looking) and they are talking about using open source game engines and such. It's too soon for them to do anything concrete, but the option is being discussed.

This (http://www.uruobsession.com/forum/index.php?s=89b166fd75ea6490b902bf42fdf1f209&act=ST&f=111&t=32735&st=0&#entry554568) (hopefully--I just copied it by hand from the other screen) is the thread.

[dickgloucester.livejournal.com]

Glad you're feeling better. Nice fly-by...

[do0odlebug.livejournal.com]

"and big business is not interested in minorities. Even if it can afford to finance them on the back of the popular stuff."

Not true. If the majority is in deep financial trouble, business will go for any minority that might still have money.

Watch for a massiver increase in businesses chasing the "Pink Pound" over the next year as the sub-prime mess runs.

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Well, we can hope. But according to an article someone quoted from the Wall Street Journal, Turner (the parent company) was in deep financial trouble, and what they did was retrench and dump what wasn't profitable. Maybe it depends on the size of the minority.

[do0odlebug.livejournal.com]

Not size, perceived wealth (with the emphasis on the word perceived). Otherwise no-one would bother tailoring services to that very small minority of people who are multi-millionaires. ;-)

The perception is that gays are relatively wealthy - because we are all young spendthrifts, obviously (ironically, stable couples are wealthier, two male incomes DOES make for more money than a male and female pairing, and typically, both will work in a larger percentage of cases). The distaste many businessmen feel for being seen to "pander" to our tastes keeps them away, usually. Financial troubles overcome their aversion, but they revert away again when things get better - adverts specifically chasing the Pink Pound are far fewer than they once were.

The perception is that the sort of people who play computer games are not wealthy - they are seen as spotty fourteen year old boys with no social skills - so they are a low priority.

Please Yurin, let them not go for the Pink Pound again. The advertising is so insulting. Almost as bad as the straight adverts that assume that I will buy anything which is pictured with a (semi-)naked woman. Yeeeuk.

On a related point, I've heard of, but not look into, the existence of D'ni groups in 2nd Life (yes, I've joined that!). Do you want me to look into this?

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Well, coincidentally, I've just been visiting one. I don't think SL is for me though...it's just too...virtual.

Since the announcement, various glimmers have appeared on the horizon. Cyan are still in talks with Gametap about things, the Guild of Writers are actually doing a lot better at making their own Ages than they were last time I looked (though there are still a few where they forgot to Write in friction and other small details: skateboarding down a one in two slope without benefit of skateboard is quite an experience) and some sober-minded people have put forward what seem to be workable models for reviving Uru as a living thing again without having to seek funds from a corporate demon. (Someone said something about running it on steam...I'm not sure how ecologically sound that is, but hey, if necessary I'll get out and pedal.) So it all hinges on whether Cyan can get the rights back, and what they want to do with them once they do.

Five days later, and there are possibilities again.