Joe Q. Explorer's View of Things

onslaughtq · **Joined:** Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:42 pm **Posts:** 24

As a newcomer to the Myst Online Community, I would like to offer my perspective on what I see happening.
I attended a brief portion of the Meeting of the Guilds Saturday and read the rest via transcript. I've also been reading through a lot of the forums and trying to catch myself up on the story, whilst not revealing too much about the ages I have to discover and play through. So far this has worked quite well, because I have learned nothing of the Ages available
to me. The last Myst game I purchased was Uru, when it first came out, with all the hope and promise of Uru live. I do not yet have To D'ni or The Path of the Shell or the Complete Chronicles or Until Uru. From my knowledge, I know the two expansions are included in CC (and have learned that this is what people refer to when typing CC), and that they are the original ideas for Uru Live that never went anywhere back then.
I know Uru Live died, and then was resurrected by the community (the DRC?). I have since learned that the game I'm playing now on GameTap is not wholly the same community effort that resurrected the game, but Cyan has re-entered the picture.
I know about the existence of the DRC as an entity, but I know nothing of who they are, or whether they are community players, Cyan employees, or both. I do not know where Until Uru fits in, except for maybe it was the name of the game at the end of the community effort, up until the "Great Scream" and then Myst Online was launced in February 2007.
I do know Yeesha from Myst III and Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. I know some about the Bahro, but not much. I don't consider that
too important at the moment.
Aside from all this, I also know that for some reason, the DRC, Yeesha, and the Bahro have left at the end of the last episode. I don't know if there's anyone left from the DRC because I don't know who any of them are (I know some names but I don't know how fresh my knowledge is), and I don't know about the Bahro either (other than being another race, and responsible for the Great Scream).
What I do know, is that the last bit of information seems to have been, in summary, set up the guilds.
I do know this was an official bit of story, and that five guilds have been "established" by virtue of ballons, shirts, and tables.
I also know that a lot of veterans of the game seem hung up on what to do with the voice of Cyan gone. There is debate about whether
or not we push what we're doing and work with Cyan later, or wait until Cyan gives more guidance later.
The Meeting this past Saturday seems largely in favor of establishing Guilds and then working with Cyan later.
I think this is good, and from a complete newcomer's perspective, the only thing that makes these guilds less official
and legitimate than the DRC and Cyan's episodes is everybody's uncertainty. People need to be more confidant and assertive.
Step up and say, "We are the Guilds recognized by the community."
Whether or not you are canon in Cyan's episodes later does not matter to me coming to the game now. What matters is that I
Joe Q. Explorer can come in to the game, and not see disarray, but rather a community of players that is sure about what they want
and what they are doing.
Cyan seems to be taking a break, and letting you (us) all have an opportunity to step up to the bat. If more than one group of people
see different directions for a Guild, let them both form. Whichever is the better will eventually be accepted by the majority
of the community. This doesn't have to be done by a vote, but simply,if I ask, say, 10 people who to talk to about the Guild of Writers
and the majority respond with one answer (or one group) I will go that group. Odds are I will also do more research into why there
are different groups and what the different views are and align myself where I see fit. That's why I play. To learn, to discover.

So, as an outsider that just joined the online community, I ask the already established community to please,
just take responsibility and say "Yes. We are the Guilds that this community has formed." Don't worry about Cyan or competing
groups. If Cyan goes in a different direction then we can all adapt, and if there are competing groups, then let the
fittest survive.

Just my two cents.

Dot · **Joined:** Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:52 am **Posts:** 1015

And a very good two cents worth too!

We need to keep all this in perspective and get on with building what we can in whichever way seems right to us as individuals and as groups.

Thanks, onslaughtq

darkling27 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 12, 2007 9:46 am

Well said. The guilds are never going to take off if we just argue who is official or not all the time :roll:

belford · **Joined:** Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1890

I entirely agree, and was just posting in another thread to say so.

Since I am a geek, "entirely agree" means "disagree with some details" :)

Quote:

I know Uru Live died, and then was resurrected by the community (the DRC?)

It was resurrected by Cyan; they never left the picture. It has been enthusiastically supported by the community, and there was a period (UU before D'mala) when Cyan was doing almost nothing Uru-wise but tending an auth server; all Uru activity was community activity. And it's undoubtedly true that when Cyan went to Gametap to make a deal, they pointed at the community and said "Look how strong our fans are!"

But, realistically, Uru came back because Cyan was able to bring it back to us.

"I also know that a lot of veterans of the game seem hung up on what to do with the voice of Cyan gone."

It is an interesting point -- I am not disagreeing here -- that only the *in-game* voice, the DRC voice, is on hold. Watson and Laxman and Sunderland are on hold. Cyan as a company (and greydragon as their spokesman) are still with us, as much as ever.

But when I say that, it becomes very clear that *everything* they've told us about the future of the Guilds has been in-game. In-character, that is.

We should keep that in mind. It's... freeing, in a sense.

I mean, imagine that next year, Laxman appears in Kirel and says "Ok! Here is how the Guilds will be set up! There will be one Guildmaster selected by secret ballot, five Guild Elders selected by thumb-wrestling, a house of apprentices called either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw..."

...why should be believe him? It would be just the DRC's statement -- *not Cyan's*. We disagree with the DRC all the time. DRC members disagree with each other. We could go off and do whatever we want; maybe Laxman would stomp off in a huff, but Sharper or White would say "Rock on."

belford · **Joined:** Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1890

"there was a period (UU before D'mala) when Cyan was doing almost nothing Uru-wise but tending an auth server"

Just to be clear: this period was the year that Cyan was blasting heads-down on writing Myst 5.

onslaughtq · **Joined:** Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:42 pm **Posts:** 24

Thanks for the replies! Belford, I appreciate the lengthy repsonse and that has cleared up some things I was not entirely certain about. Also, the FAQ in your sig was especially helpful.
I've also come to realize it is next to impossible to actually learn anything that would spoil the game for me since the distinction between OOC and IC is blurry. Whatever I learn OOC on the forums is as much an insight as anything I learn IC when I'm linking through the Ages. And since the episodes and stories are no longer available for me, I really have to spend as much time combing through the forums learning as much as possible so that I can see the whole. The forums, for me, are just as important as the IC journals I'm finding.

Erik · **Posted:** Tue Nov 20, 2007 4:37 pm

Let me make something clear about the relation between Cyan and the DRC: the DRC are like marionettes of Cyan! The DRC is the organisation that is restoring this Cavern and the Ages... They are part of the story. The DRC characters are played by actors from Cyan. So the DRC is completely fictive, just like Yeesha and the Bahro... they're all part of Cyan's story and part of the game.

In the original URU Live, the DRC was restoring the Cavern. (Cyan was running the game.)
Cyan then lost their resources and had to close the game (the DRC went away as well, because they were part of the game).
Cyan released the URU expansions and MYST V with the "leftovers" from Uru live.
Cyan gave Until URU to the fans, it was URU Live without story and without new content, a place for the fans to gather.
In 2006, it became clear that Cyan had found funding for URU again! The DRC also appeared from time to time on Until URU.
At the end of 2006, a Bahro Scream was heard on Until URU during a DRC press conference, Until URU was closed and Myst Online:URU Live began. Cyan officially launched MO:UL.

There's now a break until the next season, so Cyan isn't providing new content for the time being. So they made a story event that also made the DRC go away for a while.

But keep in mind at all times, the DRC is a fictive organisation, part of the story... They're just played by Cyan.

I hope things are more clear for you now.

Quote:

Cyan seems to be taking a break, and letting you (us) all have an opportunity to step up to the bat.

I agree with you about that.

onslaughtq · **Joined:** Sat Nov 10, 2007 4:42 pm **Posts:** 24

Thanks again! That helps tremendously. I'm learning a lot through this dialog.

SCGreyWolf · **Posted:** Thu Nov 29, 2007 6:09 pm

If they want us to hit anything except fly balls, they need to give us some of the playbook. (PRP docs, something...)

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