SIGNALS FROM A DEAD CHANNEL

[Atama]

What I seriously think is missing, is the Tarot angle. That is what got me interested a while ago, and what I think can spark the interest of the player. I notice you seem to have pretty much dropped this part of the game, or at least it is no longer mentioned. I thought the idea of the Arcana was the most exciting part of the mix, and I think it should be up-played a bit more.

[murf]

Originally posted by jwalton:
The secret that I think you're missing?

Innovation.

Actually, I think he's got the innovation. It's horror. I've yet to see this genre pulled off succesfully in an online medium. I've seen games based on horror settings or that used horror trappings, but none of them actually instilled in me, either as a player or as an observer, a sense of dread. The most they've been able to do is manage the occasional gross-out. Most that I have seen, however, look like a D&D MUD with shoggoths instead of orcs. Ho-hum...

If this game can overcome the typical gamer response of kill-loot-search-pillage and actually evoke fear, it will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the offerings in Skotos. I mean no disrespect to any of the other developers here, but I've been entertained online before.

I have never, ever, been scared online before.

Brian

[GMSkarka]

Boy do I feel like a dumbass.

Part of last week's column was based in my frustration in not getting any feedback. I was operating under the assumption that I hadn't received any commentary since the 6th of February.

Today, I notice a tiny little bit of text, down at the bottom of the screen (below the scroll line when reading the final message, which is why I didn't see it) That text reads:

"This topic is 2 pages long:***1**2"

Allow me to say two things.

First: (forehead slap) D'OH!

Second: Did it occur to any of the Skotos folks to let us KNOW that the threads didn't scroll past a certain point?

Yeesh.

Sheepishly yours,

Gareth-Michael Skarka

[Atama]

ROTFL! http://www.skotos.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

[Ra'Dorcha]

*Sniffs* I only just found this thread and have spent the last few days trying to catch up to what everyone has said (plus read all the great articles on this game). So I'm wondering, what happened? I am hoping there are still plans for this game to come out.
I understood it was planned for this year, though I'm the type of person who would rather wait and have a much better product in the end.

So my question is: Will is Arcania on the shelf? Or are you building the suspense for when it is finally released?


Actually, I've got tons more questions, and thoughts on this. I'll leave them until I find out what's happening.


-One person who can hardly wait to play a 'thrope and will be more addicted to Arcania than Castle Marrach.

[ShannonA]

It has been on the shelf for at least the last month. I've been talking with Gareth & expect he'll come to a final decision on the future of the game soon.

Shannon

[Michael]

David Drake did several interesting horror stories in his collection "From the Heart of Darkness" (possibly collected later in "The Military Dimension); one of those was an interesting use of a werewolf in the Vietnam war setting.

Personally, werewolves, vampires and such are just not my cup of tea. "Ancient legends" hah; more "Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy, the Werewolf and Dracula" and "Laugh-In" skits as far as our (U.S.) culture's memory goes. For trivial marketing reasons (a popular book and play from the 19th Century, turns into a popular film or two in Thirties, followed by a bunch of cheap sequels), vampires and werewolves are the generic 'horror' creatures of pop culture, with a ridiculously-concocted set of fan-boy-ish 'rules and prohibitions'. The 'popular Hollywood Monsters' could just as easily have been Russian rusalkas, the Phillipine mananagal, the Persian miraj, the giant pig Vilemurk, or Japanese oni, if Stoker and other authors had used them instead of vampires, mummies and werewolves. Imagine "Buffy the Miraj Slayer" or "An American Oni in London" -- heh.

It'd be kind of interesting to see a horror game using at least something besides the overused mythological creatures -- one of the best things about Lovecraft, in my opinion. His books are nearly as old as Stoker's (from a 2001 perspective), but the story elements haven't been done to death in 'horror' entertainment. I'd be interested in seeing:

"The Miraj" -- in which players take the form of ferocious (but angst-ridden and 'not really evil, oh no, can't have that') Persian horned rabbits.

-- Michael Blum

[JeffC]

So long, GMS. I understand your qualms and misgivings all too well. Arcana had possibilities, I think, but it would have been difficult to pull off, very difficult.

Best of luck to you in all you do.

- Jeff Crook

[SamW]

And here I was, looking forward to playing a werewolf.

Ah, well, and so it goes. Best of luck, Gareth.

Oh, yeah, I suggest a d20 version of Kongollah. Seriously.

Sam