(insert the usual caveats about this being personal opion and such)

A post on another thread in another forum struck me and I thougth I'd call it out separately here. Someone said "Uru is not a game." And I realized that, IMHO, that's probably the most astute observation about Uru that I have seen. I would widen that statement to add that "Uru is not a story" as well. Uru does not have a central and overarching narrative (though there are some significant narratives in it, I agree).

So what is Uru then? Uru is an environment. What Uru does is provide a background in which other things can be done. These can be games ('heek, marker missions, etc.), puzzles, narratives, creative expression (everything from fan fiction to user created Ages - eventually), socializing, etc. But what Uru provides is a virtual world and an overarching background on which all of these various activities can hang.

The Myst games are very linear - they had specific stories to tell. I think Uru needs to be numbered among projects like Second Life, as opposed to World of Warcraft and EverQuest. Unlike Second Life, Uru provides a specific world and theme. In a number of ways, it could be considered a sort of D'ni-based theme park But, I think we need to assume that people will want to do different things in cavern: exploring new Ages, puzzle-solving, learning about D'ni, socializing, making friends, creating, etc.

What Cyan should be focusing on for Uru, IMHO, is making that world as rich, mutli-faceted and flexible as possible. The more things that users can do in Uru and with Uru (and do without direct Cyan intervention), the more successful that Uru will be.

And I think that the community is going to do best by embracing the expansiveness of Uru. (Quick aside, the word 'uru' always makes me think of the Islamic concept of 'umma' - the overall community of Islam, no matter where you are - Uru is the aggregate community of D'ni.) While Cyan (and soon Uru Live) will always be at the core, the Uru will always be more than that. We'll find out about all of the happenings in cavern from places like the Cavern Today, so even if we aren't there for when Phil walks through the City with no pants, we'll hear about it. If we need to find links online about the Uru, we'll check out the Myst Embassy Nexus. When we want to chat about what's happening while we are at work, we'll hop onto one of the boards. Stuff like that.

And we should remember that the Uru doesn't stop at the end of our keyboard. We'll meet people face to face at Mysterium. We can put up signs at scifi conventions, hand out pamphlets about D'ni or whatever.



Well, that's my rant. Feel free to discuss.

As far as I've heard, Uru will have a central, overarching plotline, developed by Cyan, that will contextualize changes in the Cavern and in the Ages. However, the important thing is that it won't be the ONLY plotline.

However for the rest of it I totally agree with you, that's what makes Uru so dang special. It's a new type of online experience, and hopefully not the last of its kind.

Not only simple, central plotlines, but complex, tied together stories, too. If you look and understand everything from tPotS etc. you see that the seeds for the stories were planted back in Prime. Hints to Ahnonay can be found in Kemo. Hints at Kahlo and other Ages as well. That's what I like. There's no real "episode" of Uru. The stories bob and weave and interconnect to form an all-consuming, omnipotent story

_________________
-Whilyam

Good thoughts, there. However I must disagree about one thing you said: The Myst series and Uru are not linear.

Linear is when the game guides you along a path you must follow in order to solve the puzzles, for example. There are no rabbit trails and you are gently guided from one thing to another.

In Cyan games you are free to roam and solve in no particular sequence or order. There are plenty of rabbit trails with cool stuff hidden away that may or may not have any bearing on the final solution.

That said, I agree.

_________________
They told me I was gullible, and I believed them.

Well, It Is a game, by standard definition. I'd say its a Game+, though, the same way that System Shock/Deus Ex were games. A story you follow your way in a non-linear world, doing what you want when you want for whatever reason you want.
Unlike, say, Doom 3, Where you Go through Hell one-step-at-a-time on Mars killing monsters to stop the invasion for the UAC. All the Who/What/Where variables were filled on that one.

_________________

"Uru is not a game" and it's been said over and over before true for many of us
it's our only escape from the real world to do things we could never do in the real world
like run,jump not worry about being out of breath climbing the great stairs actualy walking
somewhere if you can't normally ect ect ect the list goes on and on and on.
It's also the friends we make that for some don't have friends or family at "Home"

Uru was my first on line "game" world I was scared at first back in 2003
being on line seeing people that were actually Real people sitting behind a
keyboard somewhere on this planet it blew me away and chuck in the environment
created by Cyan and it didn't take long for it to be my 2nd home (some say 1st)
spending many many hours there making friends many who I still have today I hope.

Just know when to draw the line and separate reality from the "Game'
or you may have a problem not wanting to go back to "the surface"

Many have been through ups and downs but there was always Until Uru to go to
escape problems now we have a wonderful gift again from Cyan and Turner in
Uru Live to carry on into the next Journey.

It is a "Game by standard definition" but more importantly it is You are You and not just a Game.

Thank you Cyan for creating this World to play in.

Uru is a game, obviously.
Just not a very good one; in its current state.

I mean, sure, the godlike hand of omipotent cyan storytelling will perhaps consume 40% of the time spent on-line. I'm meaning this by the fact that there is no way thay cyan can release content any faster than players can beat it. There will come a breaking point eventually.
And if there isn't enough for the players to "do" aside from the godlike-hand of cyan's direct influence, then, well. Have fun running up and down the great steps.

Shall we try the tent climb again?

Not enjoying Until Uru, lightshadow?

Players whose only concern is how fast they can "beat" a game (get through it, use it up, move on to the next temporary experience) won't enjoy either UU or Live. There's not a lot we can do about that, except wonder what they're doing here in the first place...

Well said, Lakem and Zander!
To make an example, I've been playing Uru since Prologue, and have been many, many times to Kemo and admired the strange vegetation and the glyphs. But only one month ago I linked there with a friend and started to discuss about the glyphs with him. I discovered a depth, a richness in Uru and those drawings (but they are just an example) that I never found in other "games".

Don't play Uru. Live it.

_________________
Morningstar - KI#1053460
Please avoid drinking the lake water.

*clicks heels*

I surpose so,...

The thing is that Uru is completely new and not following any preconceived notions of what it should be like...

I think with the technology available, Cyan is, in some way, making it's first... worldy-world... I dunno.

Uru has a story, but, you aren't confined by the story. That's how I'd put it.


~Joey Troonbooshii

_________________
"What you still don't understand you have failed to hear or don't need to know..."~Yeesha

Uru is a game, but its much more sociable than a normal PC Game which can often be tied to a single person sitting around a computer. Well it used to anyway.

Nowerdays its more about online interaction. It can be said that Uru is probably one of the more sociable puzzle online interaction games avaliable rather than not a game or even just a a game.

_________________
"The only way to understand the D'ni is to experience thier culture, their triumphs and their failures so that we may use the knowledge to better ourselves in life's journey"

Greeters Guild Greeter

I'd agree that Uru isn't a game, in the sense that it's sole purpose is not to 'play' something, like playing cards or a board game, or a sport. There are things *to play* within Uru, but that's not the primary focus and be-all-end-all.

Uru is much more like, say a Civil War reenactment group, or the SCA, in that it's an immersive enviroment, where people are involved in be-ing, and the do-ing is supplimentary, and not mandatory. Uru just happens to be an enviroment of pixels, rather than a campsite, and the gathering is online, rather than flesh-and-blood.

_________________
Officially bonked R.E.B.E.L.
Falling Man Group Secretary
Storyteller & Creatrix
MOULAgain Houligan KI#00001498

Uru is a online game.

And yes, in it's current state - I completelyagree - there was not enough to do in the previous online version of Uru. But, that was then, this is now! It will be interesting to see what happens in the new game. Ages won't be released that often. It will be interesting to see what people get to do, after they played a new age.

On Uru Live being a big wonderful immersive world - my understanding is that's how it is for big online games (most, but not all are MMORPGs) - big wonderful immersive words. That's one of the reasons that people play them.

On Second Life and There - I believe the term is "sandbox" game - you create your own content and also experience other people's content. As you know, the previous online Uru had no modification tools. We'll see what happens with the Uru Live.

Also, as was stated before, all games are linear to some untext. On the linear/nonlinear spectrum, the Myst series games are not generally considered to be linear games.

_________________
Retired forum mod, mszv, amarez in Uru (KI 89257), other online games
Blog - http://www.amarez.com, Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/amareze

mszv wrote:

my understanding is that's how it is for big online games (most, but not all are MMORPGs) - big wonderful immersive words. That's one of the reasons that people play them.

Having played a few other MMOs, I'd say they're significantly less immersive than Uru is, in concept. There's very few free exploration options, and most of the worlds are just vehicles for the "get quest from contact-go kill things to fulfill quest-come back to contact" gameplay. Even the trades and items and collecting you do is meant to make it easier for you to level, and go kill bigger things. There's very little opporotunity, or even reason to explore the world's culture and history beyond what's given to you on quests.

For me, that's what makes Uru immersive, that there's *more* than just the gameplay.

_________________
Officially bonked R.E.B.E.L.
Falling Man Group Secretary
Storyteller & Creatrix
MOULAgain Houligan KI#00001498