Doctor Who: Lonely Assassins and Probably Leaving MJJC
I finished Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins yesterday. Surprise surprise this game was actually a sequel to "Blink," so that was really cool. You find the cell phone of Lawrence who has gone missing. We learn that Sally Sparrow moved to America and left the shop to him and his wife. So you're looking through his phone to try to find clues about his disappearance. Meanwhile, Osgood contacts you and sends you information through text. I really liked how interactive this game was, making you part of the story. It feels like you get to be a part of a Doctor Who episode as a character in the story. I loved that. It's even more fun when you know about the show, not only because there are easter eggs here and there for fans, but it makes for funny conversations with Osgood when you say things like you know about UNIT, and it shocks her lol. Besides going through the photos, chats, and emails, there are a few puzzles. Most of them are easy, like putting jigsaw pieces together and fighting back against a Weeping Angel in the phone, which is causing a lot of glitches. An image of an Angel becomes an Angel. Makes for an added creepy factor. Especially when you feel like you have to keep looking at it or it will get you. There was one puzzle that was more involved and you really had to look more deeply into the information, and hope you found what you were looking for to add it to the "find a missing person" website. I had to actually look up the answer to that one. I was entering info for Lawrence when I needed to be entering the info for his wife. That was the puzzle that had a little "challenge" to it. The rest were easy peasy, but I didn't mind that. The whole experience made it worthwhile.
I guess if I had to give a couple criticisms, I'd say the game was too short. I wanted more. I hope they make another one of these games. And what happened to Lawrence was left unresolved, which I felt was disappointing. I did get a message from the Doctor though at the end addressed to me, which made my day. :P There were actually signs of the Doctor I was supposed to find too, but I guess I didn't find them all. The end of the game tells you which puzzles were a success and which were failures. I did fail one other puzzle apparently, but I can't remember what it was. Something to do with the Angels. Despite the shortness, I thought the game was great. Loved being a part of it, and loved having Osgood back again. I'd say a non-fan could play this game too, but you might miss out on some of the context. Have a screenshot. There are a few clips in the game and this one is of Osgood in the Angel infested Wester Drumlins (also a location from "Blink"). I thought about putting a screenshot of a Weeping Angel, but I don't want to be held responsible for the carnage that could incur.
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Next I'm going to play a game called Mutazione. I don't know anything about it, but I do know it has a high rating on Adventure Gamers, so here's hoping it lives up to it.
There was one more thing I wanted to talk about. I doubt anyone is going to understand this or care or know the drama, but that doesn't matter. I just wanted to get this off my chest. I'm probably going to leave MJJC, starting today. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. The forum is just not what it used to be. Most of the time I skim the posts there and it seems like Michael's estate doesn't really care anymore about putting out content that is worthwhile. And so the forum gets pretty barren because there is not much to talk about anymore. I mostly wanted to stick around to see what the outcome of the Wade Robson case is going to be. It looks like it's going to be dismissed anyway, but that was not the tipping point for me when it comes to leaving the forum.
MJJC just isn't what it used to be. It used to be a great place to be at least when I first joined after Michael's death. I'm sure it was good before then too. But increasingly it would get hostile at times, especially when the Cascio tracks fiasco took place. I never really liked the owner too much because I think he has a real attitude problem, and tends to react emotionally. The ban hammer came down a lot around that time. A lot of people left and never came back, including some of my friends. I stuck around though because I didn't really want to leave. Eventually things calmed down, but my opinion of the place soured a bit. Maybe I should have left then too. I don't know.
Now days, MJJC is kind of a shell of what it used to be. They rely on donors now to keep the site alive, so I honestly don't think it's going to survive that much longer. I already was going to change the way I engage with the site, by just viewing it on my phone because it's quicker to go through. I rarely ever post anymore because there's nothing really worth talking about. What was the final straw for me, that has pushed me to leave though is the treatment of a certain individual. She has intellectual disabilities and mental health issues, and I think the mods just don't know how to handle it and certainly don't handle it well because she doesn't always understand the rules of the forum. It's not really her fault. And they've been nasty with her, and the owner of the site left a response to her, which I thought was really uncalled for. And it's an inappropriate way to be speaking to a vulnerable person. It made me so angry, so that clinched it for me. I just can't abide by that ableism at all. I thought about replying, but chose not to. It probably would have gotten me banned, and I'd rather just leave the site quietly. I doubt anyone would notice I was gone. Most of the time I would just read there and not contribute anything. So, I think it's time to let go.
Now I did use MJJC as my main source of Michael Jackson news, so I would lose that. But there are other sources for me to get news from if I really wanted to. I don't think the Estate is going to put out another project I would actually be interested in though, so it's not a big loss to me. And as for all the slandering, and lawsuits, accusations, and hate that continues to be directed towards Michael over the years, well ... ignorance is sometimes bliss.
By not visiting MJJC anymore, it will actually free up some time for me too. I will dedicate that time to reading, which will make me happier anyway, so I doubt I will change my mind about this, and I think it's the right decision. I've spent nearly twelve years on that site, longer than any other time I've been a member of a forum, and now I think it's time to move on. I just can't do it anymore. It's rubbed me the wrong way enough times. I will always be a Michael Jackson fan though. Nothing will change that. I still have Twitter followers who are fans, so anything new relating to Michael I can probably learn from them.
I guess if I had to give a couple criticisms, I'd say the game was too short. I wanted more. I hope they make another one of these games. And what happened to Lawrence was left unresolved, which I felt was disappointing. I did get a message from the Doctor though at the end addressed to me, which made my day. :P There were actually signs of the Doctor I was supposed to find too, but I guess I didn't find them all. The end of the game tells you which puzzles were a success and which were failures. I did fail one other puzzle apparently, but I can't remember what it was. Something to do with the Angels. Despite the shortness, I thought the game was great. Loved being a part of it, and loved having Osgood back again. I'd say a non-fan could play this game too, but you might miss out on some of the context. Have a screenshot. There are a few clips in the game and this one is of Osgood in the Angel infested Wester Drumlins (also a location from "Blink"). I thought about putting a screenshot of a Weeping Angel, but I don't want to be held responsible for the carnage that could incur.
Next I'm going to play a game called Mutazione. I don't know anything about it, but I do know it has a high rating on Adventure Gamers, so here's hoping it lives up to it.
There was one more thing I wanted to talk about. I doubt anyone is going to understand this or care or know the drama, but that doesn't matter. I just wanted to get this off my chest. I'm probably going to leave MJJC, starting today. It's something I've been thinking about for a while. The forum is just not what it used to be. Most of the time I skim the posts there and it seems like Michael's estate doesn't really care anymore about putting out content that is worthwhile. And so the forum gets pretty barren because there is not much to talk about anymore. I mostly wanted to stick around to see what the outcome of the Wade Robson case is going to be. It looks like it's going to be dismissed anyway, but that was not the tipping point for me when it comes to leaving the forum.
MJJC just isn't what it used to be. It used to be a great place to be at least when I first joined after Michael's death. I'm sure it was good before then too. But increasingly it would get hostile at times, especially when the Cascio tracks fiasco took place. I never really liked the owner too much because I think he has a real attitude problem, and tends to react emotionally. The ban hammer came down a lot around that time. A lot of people left and never came back, including some of my friends. I stuck around though because I didn't really want to leave. Eventually things calmed down, but my opinion of the place soured a bit. Maybe I should have left then too. I don't know.
Now days, MJJC is kind of a shell of what it used to be. They rely on donors now to keep the site alive, so I honestly don't think it's going to survive that much longer. I already was going to change the way I engage with the site, by just viewing it on my phone because it's quicker to go through. I rarely ever post anymore because there's nothing really worth talking about. What was the final straw for me, that has pushed me to leave though is the treatment of a certain individual. She has intellectual disabilities and mental health issues, and I think the mods just don't know how to handle it and certainly don't handle it well because she doesn't always understand the rules of the forum. It's not really her fault. And they've been nasty with her, and the owner of the site left a response to her, which I thought was really uncalled for. And it's an inappropriate way to be speaking to a vulnerable person. It made me so angry, so that clinched it for me. I just can't abide by that ableism at all. I thought about replying, but chose not to. It probably would have gotten me banned, and I'd rather just leave the site quietly. I doubt anyone would notice I was gone. Most of the time I would just read there and not contribute anything. So, I think it's time to let go.
Now I did use MJJC as my main source of Michael Jackson news, so I would lose that. But there are other sources for me to get news from if I really wanted to. I don't think the Estate is going to put out another project I would actually be interested in though, so it's not a big loss to me. And as for all the slandering, and lawsuits, accusations, and hate that continues to be directed towards Michael over the years, well ... ignorance is sometimes bliss.
By not visiting MJJC anymore, it will actually free up some time for me too. I will dedicate that time to reading, which will make me happier anyway, so I doubt I will change my mind about this, and I think it's the right decision. I've spent nearly twelve years on that site, longer than any other time I've been a member of a forum, and now I think it's time to move on. I just can't do it anymore. It's rubbed me the wrong way enough times. I will always be a Michael Jackson fan though. Nothing will change that. I still have Twitter followers who are fans, so anything new relating to Michael I can probably learn from them.