"The End of Blades" Discussion
Pages
| Author | Topic: "The End of Blades" Discussion |
|---|---|
|
The Establishment
Member # 6
|
written Wednesday, February 15 2006 21:56
Profile
The time has come. Blades has been host to great minds and innovators, but now the community is moribund. One of the last vessels of creativity and inspiration in cyberspace is but a fleeting memory. The demise of Blades was long foretold and is now at hand. All things must die, all circles must close, and Blades has reached its silent end. This will be the topic of the next (and perhaps the last) Blades Chat on Saturday, February 18 at 6 pm EST. -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Wednesday, February 15 2006 22:00
Profile
Homepage
My perspective will be, as it has always been, that those who talk about the end of Blades will always be around, just as Blades will always be around. I say this now because I probably won't be home until 9:30 EST at the earliest, and I want my point of view (that a short lull in the release of scenarios does not signal the death of the medium) to be well-known. [ Wednesday, February 15, 2006 22:01: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Wednesday, February 15 2006 23:19
Profile
Homepage
quote:My sarcasm detector is giving me strange signals, but I never knew *i to be sarcastic. Is the detector functioning correctly? -------------------- Encyclopaedia • Archives • Members • RSS [Topic / Forum] • Blog • Polaris • NaNoWriMo Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. I have a love of woodwind instruments. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Wednesday, February 15 2006 23:49
Profile
Homepage
The plan is to convince JV to open-source BoE. This is basically the last-ditch effort- if this doesn't work, nothing else will. And really, Stareye's always been here. I've been here for a long time too. This isn't just a somewhat low period- this is catastrophically unproductive. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
|
Master
Member # 5977
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 04:06
Profile
Homepage
What a despressing topic. Blades won't die as long as scenario's are made, as for as far as I can tell, three or more are being made. -------------------- Play and rate my scenarios: Where the rivers meet View my upcoming scenario: The Nephil Search: Escape. Give us your drek! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 04:46
Profile
Homepage
2 have been being made since the dawn of time, if you want to go by that. One is mine, and it just passed its fourth anniversary back in October. The other is Drakefyre's, and it was already ancient when I joined this place. So if you go by that, Blades is never going to die. In a manner of speaking. -------------------- Encyclopaedia • Archives • Members • RSS [Topic / Forum] • Blog • Polaris • NaNoWriMo Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. I have a love of woodwind instruments. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 4506
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 05:51
Profile
Homepage
I doubt they'd put BoE as open source, but if they madeit open-source to a bunch of designers who want to upgrade it, but let JV still sell it, it would benefit both the community and JV. I still playBoE, even though it's outdated, but, like others, I think a patch (or totally re-done version) is well in order. - Archmagus Micael -------------------- "You dare Trifle with Avernum?" ~ Erika the Archmage -------------------- My Scenarios: Undead Valley : A small Undead problem, what could possibly go wrong? -------------------- Richard Black - PROOF of his existance (the Infernal one's website). -------------------- MY FORUM! Randomosity at it's highest! :) Posts: 1370 | Registered: Thursday, June 10 2004 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 06:05
Profile
Homepage
If Jeff would bother at all, he might possibly release the source of the scenario editor, since that is a free tool not connected to the paid program - he did the same for BoA after all. However, since the game is equally buggy, it is not clear how much this would change. Except that editing could become a whole lot more convenient if tools like a better dialogue or node manager were built into the editor. [ Thursday, February 16, 2006 06:06: Message edited by: Arancaytar the Grey ] -------------------- Encyclopaedia • Archives • Members • RSS [Topic / Forum] • Blog • Polaris • NaNoWriMo Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. I have a love of woodwind instruments. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 07:30
Profile
Homepage
For those who missed it, Jeff is actually considering releasing the source someday. And Blades just isn't going to die. I'm still making my scenario, and others are still working on theirs. The most important thing that any of us can do to keep Blades alive is finishing a scenario and releasing it. That means it's up to each and every one of us. TM, Thralni, Stareye, you're all working on scenarios. Finish them! Release them! And no one will be talking about the "death of Blades" anymore. EDIT: I'm reminded of a thread on the Lyceum, probably deleted now, that described the BoE community as dead sometime before the 6th Contest. TM was one of the few who was saying that he was still around and designing scenarios, but everyone else was gone. Right after that, we had the 6th Contest, with not many entries, and then the 7th Contest was one of the strongest so far. These things go in waves. [ Thursday, February 16, 2006 07:57: Message edited by: Kelandon ] -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 08:23
Profile
Homepage
There is a kind of irony in the dilemma that releasing the source could be the single greatest step towards reviving the BoE community, while at the same time Jeff would not want to release the source until he is sure he cannot sell the game anymore... -------------------- Encyclopaedia • Archives • Members • RSS [Topic / Forum] • Blog • Polaris • NaNoWriMo Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. I have a love of woodwind instruments. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
|
Shaper
Member # 3442
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 08:24
Profile
Homepage
I am now off college for a whole glorious week. I have two days where nothing can be done, but otherwise, I'm gonna work flat out on my BoA scenario. It's about half done at the moment. -------------------- And when you want to Live How do you start? Where do you go? Who do you need to know? Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 4153
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 10:15
Profile
Homepage
quote:(rewrites post several times) I choose to ignore this hopelessness-laden comment, and to continue work on my scenario. -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
|
Guardian
Member # 6670
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 10:23
Profile
Homepage
That's odd. About a month ago, a thread was started asking how many people are in the midst of designing a scenario. Even if a tenth of those people actually complete one, the Blades community is far from dead. -------------------- Triad: We wish the return of Linda. Conrac: Oh, swell. She only summoned a demon lord into the tower once. She's only mildly insane. What a wonderful idea! Let's proceed at once! Triad: We appreciate your acquiescence. Posts: 1509 | Registered: Tuesday, January 10 2006 08:00 |
|
Shaper
Member # 3442
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 10:26
Profile
Homepage
quote:Yeah, the thing is, a lot of people are working hard but it's gonna take time for the fruits of our labours to blossom, as it were. But in a month or two, there should be more BoA scenarios. And more players. And more potential designers... You see where this is going. -------------------- And when you want to Live How do you start? Where do you go? Who do you need to know? Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
|
Master
Member # 5977
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 10:32
Profile
Homepage
I hope my scenario is ready for beta testing next week. Same goes for Supanik's scenario, I heard. Oh, the tension! Oh, the antisipation! -------------------- Play and rate my scenarios: Where the rivers meet View my upcoming scenario: The Nephil Search: Escape. Give us your drek! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 4153
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 10:34
Profile
Homepage
quote:Awesome... let me know when the first beta hits. With a bit of luck, I'll have a beta in three weeks, but then I'll be burnt out for a month. -------------------- Gamble with Gaea, and she eats your dice. I hate undead. I really, really, really, really hate undead. With a passion. Posts: 4130 | Registered: Friday, March 26 2004 08:00 |
|
E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 11:36
Profile
Homepage
quote:The 7th contest was lucky enough to have a handful of really good scenarios. But in terms of total entries, it didn't outstrip the 6th. I've been around a long time, and I'm with Stareye. I don't doubt that Blades will occasionally spit out a new scenario, or that it could experience a revival, but this is definitely the least alive that I've seen it. EDIT: That said, I'd probably have a go at a scenario if I had a registered copy of BoE - one of my disks died, so I can't get it on my new computer. Yeah, I bought BoE on floppy disk. That's how old I am. :P [ Thursday, February 16, 2006 11:44: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
|
? Man, ? Amazing
Member # 5755
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 11:40
Profile
stareye - why stir the pot? If you are trying to challenge folks to step up to the plate, perhaps in an effort to improve the community, then I applaud you. It seems to have worked, but I'm not so sure that it wouldn't have happened anyways. If you are deciding for yourself that blades is dead, that is a decision you can only make for yourself. It seems that the current crop of would-be designers have a multitude of responsibilities that are more pressing than designing and finishing role-playing scenarios. I asked why Alcritas was no longer designing and "real life" was the answer. It may be the answer for a lot of people that are trying out, or continuing, the designing thing. It's all well and good to hope that BoA matches or exceeds the success of BoE, but everything hasn't been equal. BoE found itself amongst a group of high-school (and younger) aged adherents, with the smarts and free time to make it what it became. College adds a bit more reality to life and work even more, and Blades must be what suffers. If BoA is to match BoE, it needs school age designers. People with lots of free time and the imagination to make a desirable scenario. I'm not seeing a lot of that yet, except for UV and ALR, which immediately were soundly criticized. One of the more prolific designers, mike slack, is doing exactly the right thing for blades by making what he wants and finishing it. Yet he also gets criticized for the content of the scenarios. In short, it is the attitude of the players, and not the desire or competence of the designers, that is "killing" blades. So, lighten up and ease off the trigger a bit. She hasn't hit the high note yet. -------------------- quote: Posts: 4114 | Registered: Monday, April 25 2005 07:00 |
|
Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 12:41
Profile
Homepage
Ash: You can just let JV know that you bought the game once upon a time and now need to re-download it. He's pretty good about that sort of thing. One more general thing about this topic: Saying that Blades is dead is a slap in the face to up-and-comers like Ephesos and Smoo (and dare I include myself?). Maybe we need a couple of slaps to get our scenarios done, but bear in mind that every time you say that, that's what you're doing. And the great designers for BoE were almost universally not in high school. Check out the Hall of Fame sometime. Alcritas, Stareye, Drizzt, Brett Bixler, and Measle (and probably others with whom I'm not as familiar) have all been college-age or beyond during their times of activity. There are a few notable elite designers who have been younger, but certainly not many. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
|
Apprentice
Member # 6802
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 15:54
Profile
Homepage
I really like BoA. I would hope it's not dead... I'm not a designer, but I've had a few ideas--for example, why not do a version of Doom for Blades? Or take a game like Deus Ex and make a scenario for that? (I'm working and going to school so I don't have alot of time, but if I did, that's what I'd do with this game...I really like how Michael Slack adapted Wizardry 1 for his "Proving Grounds, for example.) Posts: 3 | Registered: Thursday, February 16 2006 08:00 |
|
BANNED
Member # 4
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 15:56
Profile
Homepage
quote:Look, just because it's dying doesn't mean you have to piss on it. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
|
Councilor
Member # 6600
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 16:19
Profile
Homepage
I'd like to see the scenarios that are currently out but buggy, short, unbalanced, and filled with typos but have a relatively (it's a matter of opinion, I know) good premise fixed up than have more bad scenarios created. Dikiyoba plays the good scenarios more than once as opposed to the bad ones, which get played halfway through and then thrown away. Edit: Dikiyoba hasn't seen an error message when trying to post before. And yet it's oddly appropriate that it happened in this topic. [ Thursday, February 16, 2006 16:21: Message edited by: Dikiyoba ] Posts: 4346 | Registered: Friday, December 23 2005 08:00 |
|
Agent
Member # 27
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 17:27
Profile
Blades will only die, if people let it die. Edit: Changed to "people," to avoid any more misinterpretation. [ Friday, February 17, 2006 20:23: Message edited by: Enraged Slith ] Posts: 1233 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
|
E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 18:52
Profile
Homepage
Kel: Yeah... I know. I really ought to do that at some point. :P Enraged Slith: Remind me... how much have you done to stop Blades dying? [ Thursday, February 16, 2006 18:54: Message edited by: Ash Lael ] -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
|
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
|
written Thursday, February 16 2006 21:13
Profile
Homepage
Uttered motivational, optimistic phrases. Except I shouldn't talk, because I haven't even done that much. -------------------- Encyclopaedia • Archives • Members • RSS [Topic / Forum] • Blog • Polaris • NaNoWriMo Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. I have a love of woodwind instruments. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |