First of all, 3C1T is sexy sounding, so win.
This post is is basically my thoughts not only about how the storyline thus far is looking, but also how it's affected the community in other ways. First off, I think it's made joining in slightly difficult for newer members. This is a a mistake I don't want to repeat in future arcs, and wish to start correcting immediately. I'm not sure how exactly to go about this though, I will confess. Each member needs to really be welcomed into the wonderful, magical, wae-past cool place known as Chaos Island. Yes, the war makes CI slightly unwelcoming, but then again does it? Most of our members like to fight; they loooove the fighting aspect of the game. A war is...is uh....it's just friggin' ripe for fightin', ya know?
Perhaps if I made some sort of "textual flyer?" A brief textual synopsis of the war, but specifically the two sides, you know? THE FUCHIN (description) vs THE FATALS (description). And I could have the textual flyer circulating through the community, and every member could just copy and paste it whenever a new member had questions.
Or maybe making it an actual image, and members could just link newbies to the image.
It seems that it's too late in the game to employ such a device, but then again, it really isn't. This arc is long, and I don't know how much longer it's going to last.
When I think "Let's welcome newbies to Chaos Island," I think... Scorn and Lanix.
That's one dynamic that hasn't changed. Neither of them's been kidnapped, I mean yes Lanix was hospitalized for a few days but after that he was goodie. This aside...
Scorn and Lanix give you your gear. They show you their jewel radar tracking system. They know everything that's going on in the island and can bring you up to speed.
This hasn't really been done for any of the players, which really sucks. I blame schedules and time. As of now, the only day I'm guaranteed for operating is Sunday, and then I feel compelled to like... do group rp's so multiple people can participate. Then, if people want to do solo rp's throughout the week, they're personal and side rp's, which new members I don't really think are willing to do.
One, new members aren't really that enveloped in the world like veterans, and therefore aren't going to be as willing to donate the two bucks or whatever to do the personal rp, and two, they can't do aside rp's, because aside rp's are important to the plot...and new members haven't dived into plot yet.
A solution that comes to mind is...making this introductory rp kind of-
Hm...
Actually, it looks like I need to design an "awakening" rp. A loose one, but an awakening all the same. (Once again, that's a reference only vets will get, fail).
Eves and I were discussing how we need to get more members, and can only do this if we get a new chat. But if we can't get the newcomers we already have to stay, then fail. I suppose if we got a chat and just started recruiting like batshit, newbies would be all like, "popularity? o.o" and that would be that, but that is a very reckless road. I think it can be somewhat solidified with an awakening rp. It would cost nothing to run, and I would allow lots of vets to op it. Slash, Eves, and Darc come to mind, but I don't see why Waeeaae, Ultra, Nytloc or Thrash couldn't do it either with some discussion beforehand.
I don't think the war has to be all that uninviting; it can actually be used for its fight opportunities.
Ugh, I also need to design all the new types of jewel hunts, and soon. In fact I'll pr obably do that before I go to bed, at least on a rough level.
Creating the new Character Creation system would also be a boon. I mean it's very necessary? But I don't see it making newcomers more enveloped in the game, honestly.
As far as the story goes, I think the story for 3C1T is pretty sexy. The war fights have been epic. The mine fights have been crazy. The flood mini-saga showed great CI teamwork. Thunder is epic. Slash is badass. Darc is badass. Goose is on fucking fire. Waeeaae needs to stop being so busy.
Marku is slowly going crazy.
Laze is silent, uuuugh.
Roth has stripes.
Gauntlet, who came alive in the previous DNA arc in his fight against Scorn, is really starting to shine in this arc, which I like.
Aurora is doing more, go Rei *thumbs up*
Julie is getting sexy, Thrasher has had a huge turn around with not knowing his own strength, Slash is performing beautifully, we're seing Nytloc despite his busy schedule, Ultra breathes lazers on people, Arcane is back with two amazing fucking characters, Darc has really handled this war like a boss - everyone should really compliment the shit out of Darc; I'm really impressed at the decisions Darc has made. We don't give Darc enough credit; he is a fantastic roleplayer.
May is one of my all-time favorites, but scheduling has made it difficult to see her around. Slash is going to start "Slash 'Em Up" Thursdays, which will give us a second day in the week for RP's. I'm really excited to see how having a different official RP'er on a seperate day will take us. It's like Raw and and Smackdown, but with words =P
Also, it hasn't been all war. Jewel hunts still need to happen, otherwise we're gonna see another JHS. The huge Blue Rogues expedition is over finally, and it weaved into the arc pretty nicely. It brought Kiwi Corporation into the picture, which lead to Marku dealing with island troubles, and then of course we see how he handles those.
One thing I don't like about this arc...there have been so many deaths. War, mines, floods, Ethra jewel hunt, Thrasher, KL hunt, uh....so many deaths. It's so not supposed to be the CI wae =P
We also had a very huge moment... for years, we've been known as AoC, and now we're...searching for a name =P. This kinda makes me think of how in the LCO, people name themselves as opposed to receiving a name. Honestly, think of how hard that must be, to find your own name. Nieves's character, Nieves the 4th, named himself after his dad because his dad did it, etc. But he's now deciding that he wants to be his own person and name himself "Nice," which I think is so, ...so Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!
Honestly, I think we should have a day of celebration and mourning of the loss of the name AoC. It was an idea Laura (my girlfriend) gave to me. It is kinda like losing a loved one, and lots of that has happened in the community, both IC and OOC. Yes it's good for the community that we can get our own name, copyright it and advance in the world, but for the vets, I understand that this is no easy loss, and we shouldn't pretend it is. Not saying we need to cry and have a boogery tear orgy, but it should be acknowledged.
Anywae, I feel like we're learning a lot from our mistakes, and this arc is helping us grow in many different waes. I know I'm learning a lot.
Alright, well thanks for listening.
Hustle hard,
Stay Chipper,
Keep it Up,
||
Ramses