MOULa AID 2013 -- Help us keep the Cavern Alive

m.a.x.2.0 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:53 pm

EDIT: CavCon is at an all time low and in a discussion in the City this old Topic came to
mind. So it is here "as it is" a bit outdated but still valid I'd think! Continue the discussion!

I decided to call this Topic ... MOULa AID ...

This topic is ONLY for discussing some thing that surfaced in the City the other day.
In a chat about trying to find ways how we could help CYAN to keep the Server and
this place, the Cavern alive and well. That is, other ways than simply donating money.
/...edited out for niceness sake.../
THIS is a Topic for NEW IDEAS. And creativity .. And using our collected skills and abilities for some common good!

We have lots of Boys and Girls, I'm sure, who have an Artistic bent. Amateurs, semi-pros or pros. Also peeps who'd
like to make an effort. To DO something for the common good for ALL of US...

So Here's Your Chance!

The named discussion started with us talking about MYST / URU / MOULa related items "we" could perhaps make
and sell to fellow explorers & players. Not benefit from it ourselves, but "getting even" when all productions costs
were drawn, including post & packaging. The overshooting [with a fair, reasonable pricing] benefit would be donated
to CYAN.

Items mentioned at that point were --

T-Shirts // Perhaps different types & colours, maybe with all the Guild emblems to choose from
Mousemats // With motives from URU / MOULa .. Why not Different types of Cloths?
Calendars // Same here, motives from different locations or different Games
Coffee & Teamugs // With some kind of emblems or logos perhaps?
Deck of playing cards // With "figures / persons" from the different game series
Postcards / Greetingcards // Likewise mentioned above [my addition]
Kerath's Arch // as a miniature paperweight
The D'ni dagger // as a paperknife [my addition]

... and so on and so forth. ADD YOUR IDEAS into this Topic!

IMPORTANT NOTE! I'm very well aware that all material [pictures. logos, D'ni language & writing etc] in the Games
are copyrighted stuff. BUT if could we come to some kind of agreement ["we" as the MOULa community, NO single
person, no Guild .. ALL of us] with CYAN and be given some slack, then we'd be able to use some of the material
for this purpose. If so, that would be great.

OR, we could have the Games as "inspiration" and do our own interpetations of all of the these items above.
Or whatever we agree upon doing.

Now .. The ball's been given a little nudge and it started to roll .. All of YOUs must keep it rolling on!

/ Max /

Marten · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:48 pm

For some of these items, http://mystwear.com/

I know though that I would be thrilled to see more high-quality reproduction items of items from the games. Look in any SkyMall at the repro "Lord of the Rings" items that sell. How could a limited edition set of Gehn's paperweights NOT sell out among enthusiasts?

christine · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 1:11 pm

I.would be able to find a reasonable way to produce the yeesha's pendant of young Yeesha in Uru Four would that seem interesting to anyone .In sterling silver . just a thought . please contact me if you think it is a good idea we would need permission from cyan as well .and and all profits for cyan .

Tabbz · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 2:50 pm

I like this idea!
I can make amigurumi (knitted) toy characters.
I could make the main game characters (Atrus, Catherine, Yeesha, etc). I don't think I'd need permission since they are 'inspired by' rather than copies of anything.
How would we sell the stuff? I've used ebay before.

janaba1 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 3:30 pm

The idea as you already know is not new but still great ... It'd be wonderful to have a
European venue/market place though, to avoid the disproportionate high shipping costs ...

Trekluver · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 5:44 pm

A good place to start for a new kind of Myst store would be the online custom storefront market place. Such sites as Zazzle and District Lines would be a good place to start. This is not ment to eliminate Myst Wear, it should stay around, but if the primary idea is to raise funds for MOULa then it would be easier to start from scratch. Of course permission would have to be gotten from Cyan Legal before any of this could be done, but this conversation is a start in the right direction.

jadeuru · **Posted:** Wed Oct 26, 2011 7:02 pm

Sign me up for an amigurumi Squee !!

m.a.x.2.0 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:46 am

Well .. I for one would be Interested in knowing how this MystWear is doing ..
Last "news" is from april 2010 [paragraphs to outmost right] They have nobody
providing T-shirts, the postage costs for mugs are too high .. Are they still 'alive'?

And how did they manage to make a deal with Cyan reg. copyrighted material?

To Christine & Tabbz .. Great!

I have some ideas of how to solve a few of the practical matters. But I'll wait with
revealing anything yet .. Let's keep this simmering for a while.

But I'd also like to add this here. Donating now and then might feel for somebodies
like "You're getting nothing for Your buck" .. Well, You've had the MO:ULa to play for
FREE for a while! That's really been something, ain't it?

But OK. Here we would have an opportunity to at SAME TIME make a kind of donation
[to CYAN] but ALSO get something in Return. Something made by Your Fellow Players!
For me, I'd say it could be very much of an emotional value!

/ Max /

matthornb · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:36 pm

What is Cyan Worlds' stance on handmade items such as paintings?

Fan art that is handmade often falls into a legal gray area... one fan a while back made and sold a lot of Uru-themed paintings and nobody complained, even though none of the money went to Cyan Worlds.

I would consider making a few handmade items... with the profit margin donated to the MO:ULa fund.

Alien · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:40 pm

RAWA told me via PM that for copyright permission you need to email Cyan Legal: [email protected]

Hope this helps
Alien

Mac_Fife · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:53 pm

Alien wrote:

RAWA told me via PM that for copyright permission you need to email Cyan Legal: [email protected]

Yes, and you probably need to fairly explicit about what your subject matter is: There are some complications over the ownership of "assets" depending on which games they actually appear in, so even Cyan may not be able to grant permission for certain things. Generally, I think things from Myst, Riven and Uru will be OK, while things from Exile, Revelations and End of Ages may be more tricky on permissions, based on my own experiences with Cyan Legal.

matthornb · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:53 pm

Well, in any case... the question was largely hypothetical.

I have no immediate plans to sell any paintings of Myst scenes.
It was just something I was speculating on as an idea for discussion.

I personally find it easier to avoid the copyright issue entirely by making scenes that fit into the 'Myst aesthetic' of imaginative fantasy worlds... while avoiding treading on any of the copyrighted content.

I can do that and still give some of the proceeds to the MO:ULa fund.

Whitellama · **Joined:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:45 pm **Posts:** 7

Whether this is possible or not, I thought I might add that some stamps, specifically one of those red DRC stamps that are on the left, first pages of various books, would be something I'd want.

And hey, if Cyan every found the means, they could try selling this merchandise too, (if it is actually likely to make a profit, which is debatable), but if I ever got one of those stamps, trust me, my favorite books out of my school library, would be filled with the stamp.

matthornb · **Posted:** Wed Nov 02, 2011 2:05 am

What about fundraising ideas other than selling items?

I know there was a group raising funding with a video... I was puzzled by that for a few reasons.

1) People paying to be in a video has never been my experience, after many years of making videos. :lol:

2) They can do that? How? I suggested 'incentivizing donations' over a year ago and was told, by a number of people, that this was impossible to do.

But maybe... maybe we can incentivize something other than specific donations.

Maybe we can add a bonus incentive to CAVCON itself.

Imagine a bunch of fans making a great fan age and withholding its release until CAVCON 5 is achieved.

Or something like that.

We could have different people in the fanbase make a variety of pledges to release a video, a fan age, or some other thing, at the point when CAVCON 5 is achieved.

That's just a thought though... maybe not a good one.

Any other better ideas?

Whitellama · **Joined:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 5:45 pm **Posts:** 7

I like the idea of incentives to donate, as manufacturing and selling merchandise sounds like it would cost more to do. However, CAVCON5 is the best it can get, and people might not donate if they feel that their incentive is too far away for them to make a significant impact. CAVCON4 sounds more reasonable.

What about some possible small in-game rewards, like maybe a new little thing for a donator's relto age that they can show for it. It wouldn't have to be a big new Age, it could just be some small thing someone gets upping donating.

One large goal does sounds good too, though.

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