Sariel
01-07-2001, 08:26 AM
CE has done a lot of reorganizing internally over the last few weeks. The results of which have lead to a more concentrated effort to find ways to improve the castle environment in order to make it more fun for you, our players. That is always one of the biggest priorities of our job.
Our biggest step towards this process has been to throw ourselves wholeheartedly into working on our Castle Marrach StoryTeller program - which is a program that will allow players to have more autonomy by working with CE to help manage the castle and the events that occur within. It's been told to CE that despite our best efforts to keep things in the castle flowing that we have to trust our players more and give them more control.
I'd like to offer that the issue of why this has been so long in the making during our beta has never been about our trust in our players. We happen to think our players are overall pretty amazing. The issue has always been more about having the technology and support in place to properly support our player's abilities to do this well. These are quickly becoming non issues.
Over the next couple weeks, CE will be working almost exclusively on the preparations and roll out of a Castle Marrach StoryTeller Program. In many ways, you are already seeing the beginnings of it with such functionality as the Awakener's medallions that help their guild to do their function better, or the Books released to the Chroniclers and player run factions. Over the next few weeks, these guilds and others can expect more changes and improvements to help them to perform their guild responsibilities better. Any leaders of Marrach guilds/societies/factions that have taken the reins from a Marrach character can expect to receive books with guild pertinent and specific information over the next couple weeks. Though of course how they choose to apply the information will be up to the guilds/guild leaders themselves.
In addition, we will approach some members of the community to become StoryGuides, which will in effect perform some of the functions that StoryHosts serve by helping to handle ooc issues such as minor TOS infractions, assists or technical problems. We will also approach some members to become StoryTellers which are players who will help to manage, direct, drive and approve player driven plots within Castle Marrach's world and guidelines (Think Gamemasters). Both of these groups will work closely with CE. Finally, other players may be offered an opportunity to play pre-established characters in the Castle or be encouraged to found previously unseen societies/guilds.
Please note that players in these positions will not have access to private personal information of other players, though they will have access to character information as needed by the position.
CE will still be a necessary part of Castle Marrach and a presence within it in order to help drive the Castle Marrach story, handle major TOS issues, support the StoryGuides and StoryTellers in their duties and other issues better handled by a Skotos employee.
CE will invite over the next few weeks some of our players to volunteer and participate in the Castle Marrach StoryTeller Program in any of these fashions. Thereafter we will be testing and refining the programs as needed to make certain they are performing their functions as intended while receiving support from CE. Later this year, we will have an application process for others to volunteer.
In order for CE to focus so that we may be sure that the first few phases of this program happen within the next few weeks. We will in essence be largely stalling/unavailable to forward any plots this upcoming week. We will be in the Castle during our scheduled hours for VERY minor plot forwarding, TOS issues and assists. All other StoryHosted characters may be assumed ill with flu for the week and assumed to be back on a regular schedule the following week unless otherwise posted. We will continue to update meetings on the Castle Marrach webpage and we encourage you to meet for them without the StoryHosted character present.
We believe that given the autonomy that players will have at the end of this process to forward plots, perform guild functions better and have new characters to interact with that you may agree the gains will outweigh any inconveniences. Given how many events and meetings are wonderfully independent of StoryHosts, we believe that there will be plenty for players to do.
By the end of the next few weeks we realistically do not expect all parts of this program to be perfectly in place, but large portions of it will be established and running and you will see the presence of StoryGuides in the castle.
We thank you for your patience during this process. We hope that you will be as pleased as CE for these changes and we especially applaud the strong efforts of our Development and Engineering teams for making this functionality possible.
Sariel
Our biggest step towards this process has been to throw ourselves wholeheartedly into working on our Castle Marrach StoryTeller program - which is a program that will allow players to have more autonomy by working with CE to help manage the castle and the events that occur within. It's been told to CE that despite our best efforts to keep things in the castle flowing that we have to trust our players more and give them more control.
I'd like to offer that the issue of why this has been so long in the making during our beta has never been about our trust in our players. We happen to think our players are overall pretty amazing. The issue has always been more about having the technology and support in place to properly support our player's abilities to do this well. These are quickly becoming non issues.
Over the next couple weeks, CE will be working almost exclusively on the preparations and roll out of a Castle Marrach StoryTeller Program. In many ways, you are already seeing the beginnings of it with such functionality as the Awakener's medallions that help their guild to do their function better, or the Books released to the Chroniclers and player run factions. Over the next few weeks, these guilds and others can expect more changes and improvements to help them to perform their guild responsibilities better. Any leaders of Marrach guilds/societies/factions that have taken the reins from a Marrach character can expect to receive books with guild pertinent and specific information over the next couple weeks. Though of course how they choose to apply the information will be up to the guilds/guild leaders themselves.
In addition, we will approach some members of the community to become StoryGuides, which will in effect perform some of the functions that StoryHosts serve by helping to handle ooc issues such as minor TOS infractions, assists or technical problems. We will also approach some members to become StoryTellers which are players who will help to manage, direct, drive and approve player driven plots within Castle Marrach's world and guidelines (Think Gamemasters). Both of these groups will work closely with CE. Finally, other players may be offered an opportunity to play pre-established characters in the Castle or be encouraged to found previously unseen societies/guilds.
Please note that players in these positions will not have access to private personal information of other players, though they will have access to character information as needed by the position.
CE will still be a necessary part of Castle Marrach and a presence within it in order to help drive the Castle Marrach story, handle major TOS issues, support the StoryGuides and StoryTellers in their duties and other issues better handled by a Skotos employee.
CE will invite over the next few weeks some of our players to volunteer and participate in the Castle Marrach StoryTeller Program in any of these fashions. Thereafter we will be testing and refining the programs as needed to make certain they are performing their functions as intended while receiving support from CE. Later this year, we will have an application process for others to volunteer.
In order for CE to focus so that we may be sure that the first few phases of this program happen within the next few weeks. We will in essence be largely stalling/unavailable to forward any plots this upcoming week. We will be in the Castle during our scheduled hours for VERY minor plot forwarding, TOS issues and assists. All other StoryHosted characters may be assumed ill with flu for the week and assumed to be back on a regular schedule the following week unless otherwise posted. We will continue to update meetings on the Castle Marrach webpage and we encourage you to meet for them without the StoryHosted character present.
We believe that given the autonomy that players will have at the end of this process to forward plots, perform guild functions better and have new characters to interact with that you may agree the gains will outweigh any inconveniences. Given how many events and meetings are wonderfully independent of StoryHosts, we believe that there will be plenty for players to do.
By the end of the next few weeks we realistically do not expect all parts of this program to be perfectly in place, but large portions of it will be established and running and you will see the presence of StoryGuides in the castle.
We thank you for your patience during this process. We hope that you will be as pleased as CE for these changes and we especially applaud the strong efforts of our Development and Engineering teams for making this functionality possible.
Sariel