Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

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Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:30 pm

Black Moiety

I've been working on this project for a while. Here is what I wrote on the MOUL forums relating to this project:

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"Its been a long time coming, but over the past... well... decade, I've been slowly developing the world of Tay and the Moiety society in the wake of Riven, primarily for my own enjoyment to imagine "What would happen to a tribal culture when exposed to the D'ni and the Art for 200 years?

While Myst is considered steampunk, I envision Tay as tribalpunk. A world begotten out of a need for refuge, an Age saved from the writing of Gehn, however Tay is a world which befits its people... rough and harsh, stark and beautiful. In developing how I envisioned Tay, I took inspiration from the lead directors of Riven, Robyn Miller and Richard Vander Wende, and tried to develop a world which fit their aesthetic. In doing so I realized I needed to explore the political and cultural evolution of the Moiety society, now closely linked with the fate of D'ni through Atrus and Katran.

I wrote two pieces of IC fanfiction as journals, one by Dr. Watson himself and one by my own character Adann, a Moiety native. Following this I began to sketch out a final map of the Age. Seeing as how I lack linguistic skills as well as illustration skills, I decided to open up my own fanfiction and creation to the Myst community. My intent is similar in line with that of the Narayani Collective, which sought to develop Narayani culture following the release of Myst III: Exile. Feeling as though Rivenese culture had been scarcely developed for Riven, I saw that there was much untapped potential for creativity and world building concerning Rivenese culture and what it would become following the destruction of the Fifth Age.

Hopefully this project can inspire interest in the Moiety Age and such a world and story could be turned into what I'd like to call "the first open-world Myst game". I've so far developed a lot of the geography of the Age, but have left a lot out, notably native flora and fauna, Moiety culture such as art, architecture, clothing, religion even to some extent.

There is a whole world out there I'd like to build and I see this as a ripe opportunity to start a fan collaboration. With Starry Expanse in development, interest in Riven may surge again within the next few years when it releases, then what better time to revisit the world of the Rivenese, of Gehn and the Moiety rebels.

I have also developed in this story an antagonist and twist to the overarching story which entertains the idea of "what happened to those loyal to Gehn back when Riven fell? Did they assimilate into Moiety society, or did they disperse... and wait, until the time was ripe?

So that's about it. I hope you enjoy the website I've created so far.

Come join the forums if you're passionate about Riven and wish to construct a world! :D "

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So basically I'm opening up my fan-created concepts and world to the community so as to fully realize the Moiety Age. This is a story and world which I'd like to see evolve and expand that wonderful magic present in Riven.

Here is the tumblr page which already features concepts from the forums. It would be really nice to get some concept artists on board as well as good storytellers and historian/culture specialists.

What do you all think? :D
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Acorn » Sat Feb 13, 2016 2:09 am

Yali, your work always looks so gorgeous! :D
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:28 am

Thanks! I'm studying graphic design so I'm pretty into graphics and presentation. Would like to start my own game company actually.

I was actually suggested to contact Cyan this morning by a fellow fan to see if I and some fans could strike a deal to develop a Myst spinoff game. The idea would be to form a company like 59 Volts and Kickstarter it. I was told to find a legal advisor and flesh out the concept fully so as to have something amazing to show to Cyan. I feel this community has tremendous talent and a project like this could bring people together while bringing some new Myst to the world.

I created the forums to find like-minded people to work with and develop my concepts further which would facilitate bringing a complete and detailed concept to Cyan so as to get the ok.


Thoughts on the content of the site and project so far?
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby janaba » Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:19 pm

Yali, I cannot think of anything else for you than what you're already doing right now, and actually have always been doing ... :P

As I've said on the MOUL forums, when you first posted it there:
"This is just amazing, Yali!!! You've once again creatively and impressively outlined the foundations for a new world resp. an expanded vision or version of a renowned and highly valued one for all who'd love to lose and find themselves in it and feel excited about dreaming and expanding it even further ... "

... and I wish so much for you to find those like minds, as passionate and talented as you, and I believe they'll feel great in this environment, your beautiful and inspiring website and the wonderful forums, which already offer great inspirational concepts, ideas and designs, and I love those lovely forum icons ... To me this all looks and feels really heart-warming, as one can see and sense the passion, the love and the spirit that went into all of this ...

Yali, I wish you (and your future team partners and co-creators) the best of luck and success with everything you envision and aspire to accomplish and achieve ... :)
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Sat Feb 13, 2016 3:06 pm

Wow thank janaba! I guess I'm just worried about taking this to Cyan. Rand and Tony and RAWA are like the big three of the Cyan/Myst legacy and I'm afraid of pissing them off with my overactive imagination. Also I was told to get a legal advisor and to contact both Ryan and Joe Perez for advice. Joe is really nice... he talked to me for a good 45 minutes on fb chat once. I emailed the Starry Expanse guys for business tips to see how to start a company and approach Cyan. I wanted to open the project concept up to the community to find people who could support and expand upon what I've already crafted. Also Cyan may be more keen if there's a team of apt indinduals behind the project rather than just me.

I'm a hard core right brain creative type so I'm looking for some help with the left-brained stuff - the business stuff, the group management, the action plan... which steps to tackle in what order. Yeah.

Any thoughts on the concepts I have so far? I hope its not too out there.
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Acorn » Sun Feb 14, 2016 2:13 am

Yali, I'd suggest waiting a while before trying to contact Cyan - they are all working so flat-out on Obduction that you may get a brush-off merely because they can't think about it right now. Ryan Warzecha has been posting on Facebook about working LOOOONG hours. And RAWA is sick. Cyan might be a bit more open to new ideas once Obduction has launched and they have all caught their breath.

Maybe, in the meantime, Roonsehv would be the nearest parallel to what you're hoping to do - you could contact Denis Martin and ask what hoops he had to jump through to get Cyan's permission to produce his game, which is set in the Myst universe. You can find contact details for Denis via this blog http://roonsehv.blogspot.co.uk/.

Best of luck!

(edited to correct typo)
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby janaba » Sun Feb 14, 2016 3:44 am

Oh, yes, wonderful, Acorn, this really feels like the best advice at the moment ... :P

In the meantime you can stabilize yourself a bit more, Yali, in yourself and the vision of your future, and in figuring out what you specifically want and how to go about it with one or the other hint and tip of those who've gone a similar path before ... Yeah! This is really great, and it is good to take one's time to grow into all of this ... :)
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:47 am

I talked to Zib from Starry Expanse. He said the same thing. Pretty much the best plan of action is to build something be it a document, a 3d environment, etc and find a team of fans willing to commit to the project. With Starry Expanse, Cyan actually contacted them first so there's hope.
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Sun Feb 14, 2016 5:54 pm

Here's an update...

I started working on the Tay heightmap :D :

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Edit: I posted two videos last night showing behind the scenes of the project and my design philosophy:

Heightmap and Introduction

Follow up video
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Re: Black Moiety: Building the rebel Age

Postby Yali » Wed Jun 08, 2016 11:37 am

Well, time for an update! :)

I recently redesigned the official website to be more streamlined. Check it out!

We now have a company name:

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Our co-founder and first 3d modeller Chris Spencer completed this model back in March:

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This is the hut design for the village of Tikome in the Hiva Wetlands. The text of the weathervane says "Hiva" in D'ni which means "Sunner" in Rivenese.

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blackfoxx made this beautiful gouache painting of Tikome during our second team Skype meeting. He has been working out gameplay plans along with fleshing out the lore, world and story with me.

Below is KathAveara's post regarding decoding the Rivenese language:

Ok, here are the links to the files:
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... gs/cho.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... atran1.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... atran2.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... atran3.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... moiety.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... nelah1.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... nelah2.avi
http://www.guildoflinguists.com/ahro/ri ... gs/tay.avi

And here are my tentative transcriptions:
cho.avi
čo? ša-di-(y)a-he. ka-ga-wa-ri-vu. mu-wa-wi-vu-wi-vu (nervous stuttering?) [attempted D'ni]. mi-si-ra-po, mi-si-rap(o?). mi-ti-t/ga-gu gu-(w)a-nei. mi-si-ra-po. mi-ti-t/ga-gu gu-(w)a-nei. boku (w)a-nei. mi-si-rap(o?). boku bai-nei. boku (w)a-nei. boku (w)a-nei! bo-nai.

katran1/2/3.avi
ya-fer-di-k(?) (cuts herself off)

moiety.avi
a-nau-v/mai. (ha-n)a-ru-na-sau-se. (first part of the second sentence is said too quietly)
ya-no-ke-ni-(h)a-boko-mo-boko i-si-bo.
frai-da-bo (ma)
doi-bi-yo. do-bo

nelah1.avi
ka-ta-ri-na-(n)ei-nau-de-sai-ye-pa-lo. ya-pa-ai-ma-nai-ye-le-po. yu-ti-sai. be-ke-re-te-rei-wi-re-pei-ye-lo-ke-ne-fe-la-po. t/di-sai. bai-de-fe-lu-pe

nelah2.avi
si-ra-po. (h)i-boko-mo-boko i-si-bo. na-ve-ne. ta-po-mo-re-ve-ne-be-nu. nau-ka-ta-ri-na-ne. wi-si-fi-po-lo-ya-se-pei-ai

tay.avi
o-ke-do-ru-ri-bo o-ke-do-ru-ri-bi-si-ra-pe! o-ke-bu-ri-bo-(w)a. ge-bu


we're also developing the look of the Rivenese script:

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This is the formal version used on flags, print, carvings, etc...

Below is the freehand style developed by Kath:

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We're also in the process of updating to UE4.12 which will likely fix our light building issues.

Here's a view of the Western side of the continent:

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Here's a top down view of the landmass:

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...and here is our region's separation:

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Finally, we just gained a new team member, River, who is a game teacher and game designer with skills in 3d modelling and Unreal. He is pushing us forward in developing the game's vision while also developing the Wetlands demo area.
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