Because this is the discussion about the changes/future of Uru Live, I post this here. I really like to know the status quo of these promises:

greydragon wrote:

Cyan plans to make it easier to search for hoods in the future.

See here.

greydragon wrote:

Tweek wrote:

communtiy isn't the point, its a given that we are interested, its about attracting outside intrest, I agree the site needs to be updated more often and the DRC site needs to kick into gear however everyones busy making Uru work

I agree. We are working on a system right now to make that happen.

See here

greydragon wrote:

The logo continues to change. You will see what I mean at a later date.

See here

Vormaen wrote:

Has Cyan looked into things like facegen?

greydragon wrote:

Cyan looked at this technology when working on the original URU. However it was deemed at that time that the resources to implement the system into URU could be used in other places. It is something that is infeasible with the current staff we have. It will remain something we will think about for the future.

See here

_________________
Myst Online: URU Live
-Qvist #25056

None of those things have happened yet.

Well, I haven't been following the Uru logo in every place that it appears. It might have evolved some.

Personally, I wouldn't expect the face/avatar technology to change any time soon. That's a lot of work, and GD was pretty clear that it's not on the horizon.

It's possible that the DRC website will be updated as part of the upcoming monthly (episode) releases. It's also possible that it won't be. We'll know more about those plans on Saturday.

Nexus and KI upgrades would be welcome -- people have been suggesting improvements for a very long time. But we have no idea what the development schedule is. We could see changes on Saturday, or this autumn.

_________________
Andrew Plotkin (KI#00102725)
Uru Newcomer's Guide and Answer Sheet
-- http://eblong.com/zarf/uru/newfaq.html

A little bit late reply here:

kateR wrote:

I am not sure how all of you feel about "Live", but to me "death" never will be a "Highlight".

Death is a very potent tool in any story. If done right, the reader/listener/player gets a strong emotional response (while hopefully not feeling cheated) and changes the story in a fundamental way. Death can provoke almost anything to happen and also lets the reader/listener/player know that the risks characters are facing really are risks, with actual consequenses.

Quote:

I lost a friend of mine two weeks ago. That was no fun, and to me it wont be fun in a game, too.

I did too, actually. In fact, it happened almost at the same time. Still, death in stories and games don't bother me because of that. If anything, it helps. But all people are different, I guess.

_________________
*retired forumer*

Carrot wrote:

A little bit late reply here:

kateR wrote:

I am not sure how all of you feel about "Live", but to me "death" never will be a "Highlight".

Death is a very potent tool in any story. If done right, the reader/listener/player gets a strong emotional response (while hopefully not feeling cheated) and changes the story in a fundamental way. Death can provoke almost anything to happen and also lets the reader/listener/player know that the risks characters are facing really are risks, with actual consequenses.

Besides, death can sometimes be a metaphor. Like, if character A represents something (love, reason, courage, whatever) and he dies, it symbolises the death of that "thing" in the story. I think that Phil's death (?) in the old prologue was kind of metaphorical (he represented the explorers who had taken the journey, and some time after he died (?) the explorers had to abandom the cavern because the restoration was shut down. Sharper's death, for instance, would also be a strong metaphor)

belford wrote:

None of those things have happened yet.

Of course not. Because of this I'm asking (greydragon or other Cyanists) how the development in these things. Perhaps some of them can bring the information uptodate. That was my purpose.

_________________
Myst Online: URU Live
-Qvist #25056

Ok.

The reason I answered as I did is because Cyan people post on the forums rarely, and they answer questions about their future plans *very* rarely.

(This thread was an exception because Cyan was making a major policy shift, and they wanted to be clear on that specific topic. Now that that's settled out, they've gone back to their usual seclusion.)

There's nothing wrong with asking. But if you don't specify "question for Cyan" or "for GD", we players will tend to assume you're asking *us*, because we're most of the forum traffic.

_________________
Andrew Plotkin (KI#00102725)
Uru Newcomer's Guide and Answer Sheet
-- http://eblong.com/zarf/uru/newfaq.html

I would like to resurrect this topic to ask a question of players

In the preceding 20 pages of discussion, quite a few players expressed discontent that Cyan had announced in advance a major plot point: That someone would die. For those who missed the announcement on the forums, GameTap prominently displayed the plot point on the infocard that appears when launching the game through their interface. At least within the US and Canada, few people could complain they weren't warned.

Even with this blatent forewarning, at least one parent is now concerned that "Uru Rated 10 years and older? Needs to be HIGHER!". Although I may disagree with Bugsy on the use of the word 'many', he has a point: Some adults playing this game have felt this episode to be "way too emotional". And I can certainly believe that some children who have access to Uru may not be emotionally mature enough to handle such events.

So my question to everyone is: Was the "spoiler" truly inappropriate, in hindsight given some of the strong reactions to the events that unfolded in Uru yesterday? Did it lessen the experience or the impact of what happened? And if it did lessen the impact, could that have been a good thing?

My personal belief is that the announcement took just a little edge off of the surprise, but that it was a good thing. It prepared some players who may have needed a little preparation, so that this event did not catch them totally off-guard. I also support Bugsy's recommendation of clearer, episodic ratings.

Please, share your thoughts - whether you agree, disagree, or don't care. I think this is a good opportunity to direct further feedback to Cyan.

_________________

MOULa 26838 | Prologue Video Project: On Hold pending Minkata support
Visit rel.to to explore Myst, Uru, and D'ni communities!

Quote:

"Uru Rated 10 years and older? Needs to be HIGHER!"

Quote:

Some adults playing this game have felt this episode to be "way too emotional". And I can certainly believe that some children who have access to Uru may not be emotionally mature enough to handle such events.

Your right. Stop the presses, a PG-equivilant rated game shouldn't have any _textual_ notice of death.



Uru so far is most certainly on par with its 10 and older rating. The (not seen, or heard) death of a character is not enough to warrent any change. The Lion King and Bambi (just to name a few random kids films) contain tragic deaths and are both rated "G" for all ages, and they show (full audio and video) the death. Uru mearly mentions it, and now it should be higher than a PG-equivilant?

Plus, its not unexpected. All Myst games contain violence and death and sinister stuff. Surely the bloody spears and electricution stuff should be more "unfit for children" rather than the pure text "Wheely died. Looks pretty sick".

They didn't even describe it! Just a ambiguious "its pretty bad"

I think the people who are worried about the ratings are just the "we wanted some explorer-way to save wheely" group venting frustration.

I think perhaps that this is early, Graydragon has asked that we hold the nitpicking of the episode till after it has run it's course. As a personal side note my laundry list for scars is a page and a half long already.

_________________
Waymet

Maaan, that post was just crazy parenting. There's always at least one person complaining about anything, so why bother? If a child can't handle the concept of text-based death... he probably can't watch television... ever. I agree with maxsilver: a lot of G-rated movies have much, much worse content. I guess videogames always get the pointy end of the stick for some reason...

Besides, I can't believe the complainer's name is actually "Deathsbedbug". What kind of example does putting death in your name give, anyway? Just crank up the ranking if that's what poeple want... I don't think it'll make much of a difference.

_________________
Avatar: Garamoth
KI #2648485

Marten wrote:

...Some adults playing this game have felt this episode to be "way too emotional". And I can certainly believe that some children who have access to Uru may not be emotionally mature enough to handle such events.

[rant]
Wait a sec... 1st off.. adults should be able to clearly distinguish between story line and real life. Sheeesh. If not.. they are likely emotionally unstable to begin with! Was I sad and shocked at the events? Of course! Then promptly logged off and did my laundry! Give me a break!

And the kids today? You have *GOT* to kidding! These are the same children.. many of whom are extremely young I might add.. with parents who apparently don't care.... who play those nasty ugly shoot 'em slash 'em games for hours on end.. with no thought whatsoever to the gore and violence.

I'm afraid we have to be 'real' here. I'm 57 years old and would never in 1 million years be able to play those ugly blood and guts games. But it does not phase today's youth 1 darn bit. They are conditioned to it and even *welcome* it in their game playing. It seems to be a measure of 'coolness' actually. UGH! Face it... gore and violence is all they see on TV today.. unless they're watching the Home decorating channel! And even then, I'm not so sure about Niecy Nash!

I work with a 20-35 year old group.. and let me tell you.. they aren't the least bit interested in URU or Myst type games... In fact.. they make fun of me. But just let a new version of some ugly shoot 'em up come out.. and they're all over it! It's really 'cool'! HUH? Trying to see how many people you can kill in an hour is COOL? Ok...

They should turn today's ratings around for us old folks.. if it's rated for teenagers.. I don't want any part of it! On the other hand.. if violent war ever hits our shores directly.. I'm hiding behind the nearest teenager with a gun!

Any parent on here who actually monitor's their child's game playing and can keep them from all that has my UTMOST RESPECT! Very hard to do in the 21st century!

[/rant]

Thanks for listening.

_________________
SillyEagle - KI 01871337
I live in my own little world.. they know me there.

I think a number of parents gravitate to Myst games with their kids because they were trying to avoid the violence in other games. So they may be disappointed to find violent themes in play.

_________________
Your story is Unwritten.
Unwritten - Adventures in the Ages of Myst and Beyond
MOULagain KI#27460 - Second Life: Vax Sirnah

And myst was devoid of any violent theme? I remember Saveedro pummeling me with a hammer several times... Ghen shot me with his heek, and I think I was shot a few times by bodysnatched yeesha a few times.

Myst certainly has a violent back story (what work of 'historical' fiction doesn't?). But, apart from Myst IV with its 'T'een rating, the violence and disturbing themes were either sufficiently remote, or presented in ways, that they had minimal emotional impact on the player.

Here we have a storyline and execution designed specifically to build a strong emotional attachment to a child (Wheely, who is presented as real) and then deliberately sever that in startling and horrific circumstances. Dramatic story telling all right - but not something I would want my kids to have to deal with.

And, lets remember this is working at an emotional level far beyond that achieved in any 2 hour movie with less than an 'R' rating.

_________________
I disagree. This may very well be the most anti-negative MMO forum ever. - Kolian

Zen KI# 55764

Hmm. Death and loss now viewed as too adult for teens and children.

*Reminds self to write Scribner's asking that they edit out the inappropriate for children parts of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' The Yearling.

_________________
Nighthawk - MOULAgain KI # 103045