Introduce Yourself

[Dreshanda]

I haven't been on here since last year...so I think I should reintroduce myself.

Hello, my name is Dreshanda. I prefer my RL name, Anna. I had already started an idea on here, a little doodle with a short description. Right after I started the idea, I had to drop it because I was moving to a new area and had to get used to the school. Alright, so I completely forgot about this place. I only remembered when my brother asked me what my KI number was about a week ago.
I'm fifteen, my hair is red, and I have a paranoia about always keeping my nails short. If that's too much info for you, too bad!

Well, I sure hope I get to meet the rest of you guys during my stay here! And hopefully I wont get distracted by school work and other video games...

[Rabenschwinge]

Hi everyone, my (nick)name is Rabenschwinge!

I´m a Myst fan since I played it for the first time, played all the games, and followed the evolution of URU through it´s various stages, from Prologue to MOUL:again.

I have been a lurker in this forum for some time now, following the discussions and informations closely. I´m fascinated by the fan ages and how they are made, and I hope to learn to make some myself. I´ve got plenty of ideas, and some programming and graphic skills as well.

My KI number in MOUL:again is 00205188, if anyone wants to contact me.


Looking forward to learn a lot,
Rabenschwinge

(by the way, English is not my first language, so please forgive me my grammatical errors )

[catherwood]

I'm new to the GoW, but an old-timer in D'ni years. I have owned every iteration in the Myst series, and I have played Uru since the dawn of time. My housemate was in the first beta test group, so I have seen many variations of the cavern, but I have never installed the extra bits to view your ages beyond the Ages Beyond Myst. D'mala was the only shard I ever visited during the dark times. I'm not the most social of creatures, and I still think of most of the ages of Uru with the offline or solitary mode of exploration, but places where I gladly revisit at my own pace. Obviously there is a lure to the place which I cannot resist, even if it means starting from scratch with MOULagain.

When it came time for me to pick a guild on GameTap the first time, I chose Cartographers because I liked their Pub the best, for the music and color scheme, *blush*, and I have always had an intellectual affinity for maps, and I really like the artwork they produce. But I had nothing much to discuss with them. This time I wondered where I might be able to contribute in some small way, or at least be able to follow along in lurking mode. My decision to support the Writers stems mainly from my experience with NaNoWriMo -- National Novel Writing Month, which I assumed at least a few of you might have participated in. Now I realize that Age-writing is so much more than story-telling, and there are technologies and talents here that go beyond anything that I can contribute, but I think I'll stay for a while and see how it goes.

On the subject of technology, my housemate (the one from Prologue) is dabbling with asset files and trying to figure out the PRP formats on his own, as a programming challenge. I told him there are people who have already done that, but he doesn't believe there is a place where he can just look up what is probably proprietary information. He doesn't want to build ages; I think he just likes knowing how things work. I'll poke around your wiki and see what I can find for him, but if anyone would like to point me directly, feel free to message me.

Lastly, I'll mention my other hobby. I play ARGs, Alternate Reality Games, and I've been hanging out in the world of Unfiction since the early days. I wish I had known about Zandi's Pre-after trail, as I do believe that should have counted as an ARG, too, but is missing from their history books.

AIM: catwood76
KI # 00292608

[ZURI]

Since noone else has, I'd like to take the time to welcome you-all! It gives me hope to see new people joining the GoW! I look forward to your contributions and hope your experience here is positive! Welcome!

[Chacal]

On the subject of technology, my housemate (the one from Prologue) is dabbling with asset files and trying to figure out the PRP formats on his own, as a programming challenge. I told him there are people who have already done that, but he doesn't believe there is a place where he can just look up what is probably proprietary information. He doesn't want to build ages; I think he just likes knowing how things work. I'll poke around your wiki and see what I can find for him, but if anyone would like to point me directly, feel free to message me.

Ah! A true hacker. It is quite possible to figure this out with the correct tools.
He needs to use Plasmashop 3 and Prpshop, this will let him open Uru files. Prpshop will let hinm open prp files and browse the contents. It will show objects in human-readable xml format, which is invaluable for learning how things work in Uru.

For more info, see the libPlasma sub-forum.

[MedicOfOld]

Shorah, Medic here,

Just wanted to introduce myself before I start start posting around and people start wondering "who is this jerk?".

I first found the Myst games right around the time the first Uru Live was shut down, and I have had the unfortunate habit
of missing EVERY multiplayer iteration until this most recent one. I've wanted to design my own Age in a Myst game even
before I heard it was possible. I've had some experience with tools like Gimp and Blender, but haven't really graduated to
the point where I can produce anything that looks as pretty as some of the stuff I've seen you guys make.

Anyway, I'm excited about the prospect of being able to create a new Age that not only I can fool around in, but that anyone
and everyone can. (A little daunting to be honest. )

Since I usually pick up and drop projects, I haven't really been able to make any kind of headway. However, maybe some of
the stuff on this forum will aid in my efforts. (I don't really want to sound selfish here, if I can assist in any ongoing projects
I would be happy to do some art or modeling. )

As always, cautious optimism!

[Metaigahn]

.shorah b'shemtee

Amazingly the Cavern is open again, and while some may now regard the entire process toward OS with Cyan with some skepticism, I take this reopening as it has been presented -- a first step toward a dream we share. I remain hopeful for our future.

I have returned to the Cavern and am now reintroducing myself to various URU related forums. While my username is Metaigahn, as my signature shows, I am also Benandru in both SL and URU, and you may call me "Ben". My friends do.

I am here because I am interested in Age creation -- In being part of a project team (or teams), and also seeing what I can do myself. I have a diverse background for both content and modeling. I have spent the last couple years learning the very basics of 3D building and scripting in SL, but toward URU Ages, I am picking up Blender and Python. Initially, for an Age project team, I can help with story, mapping, design, perhaps other stuff. I plan to be more present in these forums, too.

It's great to be back!

[Aloys]

Welcome aboard MediOfOld and Metaigahn!

..while some may now regard the entire process toward OS with Cyan with some skepticism, I take this reopening as it has been presented -- a first step toward a dream we share.

Nah, it's just that some of us have been around for a while, and we have seen Uru go through many ups and downs, and often more 'downs' than 'ups'.

[Taelos]

Hello, Taelos here...

I have been with the Uru community since 2003 and before that a Cyan fan since the original Myst. Yes we have been in and out of cavern several times. However since Prologue closed I have mostly been a developer of content in There.com (tools 3DS Max, Photoshop). Perhaps I am best known in There for my Myst/Uru inspired creations, including the Mysterious Woods which is loosely based on the Channelwood Age in Myst. The overall look and artistic vision for There.com is more cartoony and based on a pacific island theme. So my challenge there was to make an environment which fit the There artistic feel and still be loved by the Uru community who inhabit There.com. I believe I was successful at that given how widely these objects have been adopted and used in There.

Some examples of my work in There can be seen in this 2007 promo video. It is out of date as it references Gametap and in world installations which have since moved and was also intended to keep the community excited in a post Uru world. But it does give an idea about the adaption process, for those who have been to There.com and know the aesthetic feel, low poly, doing more with less, etc.
https://home.comcast.net/~taelosinthere/MysteriousWoods.wmv

Some of these assets were moved over to Multiverse and a partial age developed in that environment. With access to both server and client side I was able to start writing the python and PHP as needed to begin to bring this stuff alive.

Anyway, with Cyan's open source vision and the opening of MO:ULagain I am interested in what this group is doing for the greater good and how I might get involved.

Taelos
KI # 00155686

[Dark Griffin]

Oh, hi! I'm Dark Griffin, and apparently you can add "bad eyes" to the list of skills I have, since I didn't see this thread till today.

Anyway, I already wrote up an introduction post in this thread, so yeah:
http://forum.guildofwriters.com/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=4173

In summary, my skills are as follows:

-drawing, sketching, concept ideas
-writing, storyplanning
-game/level/puzzle designing
-3d modeling, texturing - though one must note me + blender = fail. I prefer 3dsmax.
-played all the Myst games, read all three books, understand most of the mechanics and lore of linking.
-design my own games, know a lot about how game 'logic' and 'worlds' are often set up. - doesn't make me an expert on Uru though, as I've never seen the backside of the engine or used flymode much to see how things are built.
-Great at coming up with ideas and thinking through how stuff will work, both on the technical "how do we build it" and on a lore/design "how does this work and how fun will it be" sides of things.

My weaknesses:

-programming, event scripting. I CAN do it, but I'm no good at it, and it's often best if I just don't poke anything and let others do the code.
-I apparently am blind , and also feel quite a bit lost, having never done any Uru age building and being totally new to the Writers Guild systems and customs. But I'm sure I can learn, if you'll put up with me and teach me.

So Shorah all, and I hope I can prove to be somewhat useful, if for nothing else then a creative mind to bounce ideas to/from.