Uru players want more, new, different puzzles of the complexity, depth and visual attraction of Uru and the Myst sequence. The community is approaching that in the best of the fan ages right now - an achievement which is in itself remarkable. On top of that is the social aspect - Uru attracts many types, but mainly those with intellectual curiosity and a desire to explore together, inhibited by the premature ending of the full Uru Live experience. We're generally archaeologists, linguists, adventurers, explorers - in search of enlightenment and new wonders to see. Kipling wrote a couplet
Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!
(part of the chorus of "The Explorer". A poem that has always affected me strongly)
that, for me, encapsulates the urge, the imperative to look beyond what is already known.
I think the best way to retain players is to make them aware of the fan-created content and help them if they decide to go for it. In my opinion, the Aegura plaza crowd is the best place to do that, for as long as it contains enough people willing to help and with a good basic knowledge - AND the confidence to ask for help themselves if a question is outside their current knowledge. That way, everybody wins.
The plaza is a place that any Uru player can find, and should be a natural first stop for anyone who has explored using Uru-CC or MOUL. Specialist advisors may want a separate location (a hood, say) for their own use, but the plaza is still the best place to start, I think.
Simply suggest that interested new players go to the plaza and ask for help. Worked for me. And it will stand or fall on the community's willingness to be available to provide that help. Which is something that I expect the MOUL community is well-disposed towards, after all the whole ethos of the MOUL game is to combine with others to solve problems... and to learn about each other too - I'm convinced that was the hope behind the creation of the neighbourhoods, places where like-minded people can gather and chat, no matter who they are or where they come from.
To hijack a different quote, we've done the impossible - kept a commercially failed game alive and active because we have strong feelings that it should not die, and off of that created a community with the skills, energy and commitment to realise our hopes.
If we all concentrate our efforts around the plaza as a starting point, then we can all gain from the concentration of effort.
_________________ KI numbers: 11981 AlanD 12305 AlanDJ
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