Questions questions questions.
Hey there, this is The Guy. I handle theme stuff, plot stuff, character stuff, and generally wield the velvet-glove-filled-with-nickles. Some of you might remember me as Sonic the Hedgehog, Keran S'Jet, and Captain X at the end of the original Videoland. Since VL:R was announced, there's been a lot of talk about it, with a lot of concerns and questions that I'd like to address here, if I could. Let's get started!
First off, a bit about me. As I said, I played several characters, including heroes and villains. I was on the MUSH for most of its decline, and while I was there, tried several things to rekindle interest in the game, including major plots with all three characters, random scenes with Captain X, and a lot of sitting around poking the MUSH with a stick.
So what killed the last Videoland? Well, there are a lot of different perspectives on that. For me, I believe it was stagnation in the story. For me, a MUSH is only as good as its core metaplot. There's only so many times that Bowser can kidnap Peach and duel Mario on top of a castle before both players start to ask if Bowser doesn't have his own kingdom to run or something. To keep people interested, you need a strong core theme that lives and changes on its own, with mystery for them to explore, and problems for them to solve. At the same time, you still need to keep it open enough for everybody to do their own thing and have fun their own way, and flexible enough for each player to bring their own thoughts, ideas and style to the table, and shape the world around them by their actions, instead of the other way around. That's the challenge of a MUSH, and that's what my focus on staff is.
So now, about Videoland: Reloaded. I'd like to answer some questions people have had. However I don't actually have any questions and starting up a Q&A post is something we'll do later, so instead I'll just make up the questions I want to be asked and that way we'll be sure it's completely fair!
Did a new Videoland need to exist?
Does any MUSH need to exist? Seriously, all we're doing is sitting around pretending to be characters from games, movies or books anyway. While it doesn't need to be made, I believe it should be made.
Why are you making Videoland: Reloaded?
Because it should be made. Simple as that, really. A multitheme MUSH focusing on video game characters. Multitheme games exist, but those are either broadly focused, like MCM, or focused on just a small group of games like FFMUSH. A game like Videoland: Reloaded doesn't really exist yet, and it should. I understand this is going to bother a lot of people. A good deal of you have a lot of memories of the old VL. Some good, some bad, but all in the past, and most people have come to terms with Videoland being dead and buried, and have moved on. So it's understandable that a few upstarts wanting to dig the whole thing up and see if it can't be turned into a Frankenstein-esque monster is not going to sit well with a lot of people. However, please believe me when I say that we're making Videoland: Reloaded because we sincerely believe there is a lot of fun to be had for everybody with this concept, and we believe we can make this a place you all will remember fondly in the future.
So are you making a sequel to Videoland, then?
No. I'd like to be as clear as I possibly can get on this point: Videoland: Reloaded is not Videoland 2. A lot of us have great respect for Videoland, and much affection. We have people on staff who helped create Videoland, like Sinistar himself, and people on staff who played on it, like myself. However Videoland: Reloaded is very much its own beast. This is probably the crux of most of the problems and concerns I've heard. Videoland died for a reason, after all. I promise you though, we are building the new Videoland from the ground up, as if it was a new concept entirely.
So why is it Videoland, then?
For the same reason the original Videoland was. The old Captain N cartoon series provides a very good framing device. Without a solid framework, the whole thing is just a big mess, so that framework is very important. The Captain N cartoon show provides us with good solutions to most of our problems, while at the same time giving us that delicious 1980s cartoon goodness that hopefully at least some of you love. The Captain N cartoon series also has a lot of massive plot holes, and filling those provides us a chance to develop a mysterious, and hopefully deep and interesting story for the players to explore.
So what about the Game Masters?
They're here as well, and as development goes on, we'll introduce you to them. As for exactly how they fit, that will be built on as more of the theme is revealed. What I will say is that we're not going to have the army of GMs. We have 4: Captain N, Captain X, Gameshark, and Steam. Each one controls a different faction. Will there be more? Probably not. I'm not going to say a definite 'no' here, because aspects could change, but I know the theme as it stands now does not call for more Game Masters. While on the subject, one of the big complaints about Videoland was that it was like a Game Master's playground, with the GMs running around being awesome, and everybody else was sort of just there to make them look awesome. That will not be the case this time. I can't reveal a lot of details right now, but I can tell you that we are writing things to make sure that, while Game Masters are still a force to contend with, the game will not just be their playground.
So what is the theme?
We'll make more posts to explain more and more about this. What I'll say now is that it's about this world that is not just ruled by conflict, but it is the conflict. What does that mean? We'll explain more and more as we get closer to opening.
So that's all for now. I hope I've helped relieve some concerns about this. If you still don't have a good feeling, I hope we'll be able to turn that around by the time we open. For now, thanks for reading, and hopefully we'll have a place you guys will have fun playing at soon!
First off, a bit about me. As I said, I played several characters, including heroes and villains. I was on the MUSH for most of its decline, and while I was there, tried several things to rekindle interest in the game, including major plots with all three characters, random scenes with Captain X, and a lot of sitting around poking the MUSH with a stick.
So what killed the last Videoland? Well, there are a lot of different perspectives on that. For me, I believe it was stagnation in the story. For me, a MUSH is only as good as its core metaplot. There's only so many times that Bowser can kidnap Peach and duel Mario on top of a castle before both players start to ask if Bowser doesn't have his own kingdom to run or something. To keep people interested, you need a strong core theme that lives and changes on its own, with mystery for them to explore, and problems for them to solve. At the same time, you still need to keep it open enough for everybody to do their own thing and have fun their own way, and flexible enough for each player to bring their own thoughts, ideas and style to the table, and shape the world around them by their actions, instead of the other way around. That's the challenge of a MUSH, and that's what my focus on staff is.
So now, about Videoland: Reloaded. I'd like to answer some questions people have had. However I don't actually have any questions and starting up a Q&A post is something we'll do later, so instead I'll just make up the questions I want to be asked and that way we'll be sure it's completely fair!
Did a new Videoland need to exist?
Does any MUSH need to exist? Seriously, all we're doing is sitting around pretending to be characters from games, movies or books anyway. While it doesn't need to be made, I believe it should be made.
Why are you making Videoland: Reloaded?
Because it should be made. Simple as that, really. A multitheme MUSH focusing on video game characters. Multitheme games exist, but those are either broadly focused, like MCM, or focused on just a small group of games like FFMUSH. A game like Videoland: Reloaded doesn't really exist yet, and it should. I understand this is going to bother a lot of people. A good deal of you have a lot of memories of the old VL. Some good, some bad, but all in the past, and most people have come to terms with Videoland being dead and buried, and have moved on. So it's understandable that a few upstarts wanting to dig the whole thing up and see if it can't be turned into a Frankenstein-esque monster is not going to sit well with a lot of people. However, please believe me when I say that we're making Videoland: Reloaded because we sincerely believe there is a lot of fun to be had for everybody with this concept, and we believe we can make this a place you all will remember fondly in the future.
So are you making a sequel to Videoland, then?
No. I'd like to be as clear as I possibly can get on this point: Videoland: Reloaded is not Videoland 2. A lot of us have great respect for Videoland, and much affection. We have people on staff who helped create Videoland, like Sinistar himself, and people on staff who played on it, like myself. However Videoland: Reloaded is very much its own beast. This is probably the crux of most of the problems and concerns I've heard. Videoland died for a reason, after all. I promise you though, we are building the new Videoland from the ground up, as if it was a new concept entirely.
So why is it Videoland, then?
For the same reason the original Videoland was. The old Captain N cartoon series provides a very good framing device. Without a solid framework, the whole thing is just a big mess, so that framework is very important. The Captain N cartoon show provides us with good solutions to most of our problems, while at the same time giving us that delicious 1980s cartoon goodness that hopefully at least some of you love. The Captain N cartoon series also has a lot of massive plot holes, and filling those provides us a chance to develop a mysterious, and hopefully deep and interesting story for the players to explore.
So what about the Game Masters?
They're here as well, and as development goes on, we'll introduce you to them. As for exactly how they fit, that will be built on as more of the theme is revealed. What I will say is that we're not going to have the army of GMs. We have 4: Captain N, Captain X, Gameshark, and Steam. Each one controls a different faction. Will there be more? Probably not. I'm not going to say a definite 'no' here, because aspects could change, but I know the theme as it stands now does not call for more Game Masters. While on the subject, one of the big complaints about Videoland was that it was like a Game Master's playground, with the GMs running around being awesome, and everybody else was sort of just there to make them look awesome. That will not be the case this time. I can't reveal a lot of details right now, but I can tell you that we are writing things to make sure that, while Game Masters are still a force to contend with, the game will not just be their playground.
So what is the theme?
We'll make more posts to explain more and more about this. What I'll say now is that it's about this world that is not just ruled by conflict, but it is the conflict. What does that mean? We'll explain more and more as we get closer to opening.
So that's all for now. I hope I've helped relieve some concerns about this. If you still don't have a good feeling, I hope we'll be able to turn that around by the time we open. For now, thanks for reading, and hopefully we'll have a place you guys will have fun playing at soon!