Dear Loli,
I was thinking about the times in the gne prototype and how everyone was like a family. First, will that great closeness come back in the real game? and also, will Eric's new kid become a Dev?
thanks,
a great fan.
Dear great fan,
We are still like a family. Just think of it as being away at school; come the holidays, we will all be together again. It will be better than you remember - there will be new players to meet, more things to do, and ever increasing places to see.
Eric's new kid is already a dev. It is like royalty; you are born one, marry into it, or ursurp. The third option is the most likely shot for one of us, but Ben does have a big ol' teddy bear look about him that's appealing, too.
Dear loli..I need advice. I was walking outside my house today and was smacked with a trout. It wasn't very pleasant. Things like this have happened on multiple occasions i was wondering what i should do, i have even considered moving to a different neighborhood.
thanks!
she...
(i read your column every week in the stencilton times)
Dear she...,
Well, that's what I'm here for. You didn't tell me where you live; that might make a difference. If it is happening in a poor neighborhood, moving may end it; but trout slapping is a rich man's sport as much as it is a poor man's survival - like hunting, or phone sex fishing. First you need to figure out WHY you are getting slapped with a trout. Then, you need to figure out why YOU are being slapped with a trout. Once you have deduced these two things, you should know the solution to your dilemma. Then, either move, hire protection, or start charging for it.
(PS- Thanks for outing that I work for competing papers.)
Since emailing you I have been busy on the net, not working (by the way :-)!!!), reading all kinds of stuff. I went to paperlane and to ludus perpetuus and read just about anything I could get my hands on. Unbelievable doesn't begin to describe it. I get a very strong feeling that the prototype was not just a game for most people, but more like an extension of their real lives. I gathered that some very strong friendships and bonds were created in GNE, and probably continue today in the real world even though GNE is not up and running right now. Amazing, simply amazing.
Wanna ask you another question, and I realize you don't know me from Adam's house cat, so just let me know if I am way off here (i.e. offensive, out of line, etc.), but are the names you mentioned peoples real names or their "net" names (i.e. Loli (you of course), capodistria, mina, etc.)? Are these names ya'll made up for GNE, or something else?
And, thanks for the info on the "paper", that seems really cool.
Dear Chuck,
Those are their GNE names. My real name is Lori. When I signed up for GNE, not knowing what it was really, or what I was getting into, I decided to keep it simple. Loli is what my little brother called me when he was a baby. Most GNErs know my real name, and I know a lot of theirs. We do still stay connected. I talk to GNE friends every day. It is true that GNE was an extension of our lives. We have laughed, fought, joked, worried, studied, and counselled with each other. We read one anothers blogs, exchange photos, cheer the triumphs and ocasionally *THWAP* each other when needed.
To the outside observer, it may seem unreal the depth and degree that lives became involved in the prototype. But to those inside, it was very real. We knew each other. Don't get me wrong; it wasn't all peace & love. There were a few fights. But they accounted for less than 5% of all that happened, and most were resolved. The PARP vs. Satan's Army is slated to be resolved (or continued, who knows for sure) in the big game. Don't let that put you off, weapons are marshmallow daggers & bubble guns, and no one has died yet.
One thing I can tell you for sure about the game is that you will be welcomed most readily, and never be bored or lonely. No, it is not a cult. But GameNeverending is more than a game. Play is life.
Hey Loli,
WOW!!! Thanks so much for getting back to me (no big deal about not getting back to me yesterday, I'm sure, like me, and most people, you are probably running around with a thousand things to do and not enough time to do them all).
Well, based on your description, GNE sounds awesome. I can't wait to try it out for myself. It sounds like the sky is the limit, and that you are really only limited by how far your imagination can take you (other than abiding by the rules and regs of the game of course). I hope they hurry up with the beta. That will be so neat to be able to just log on from anywhere and play, no software to install or anything like that, what a great idea.
I do have a few more questions, if you don't mind answering them. I've read other places, as well as you mentioning it, "making paper", or harvesting colored paper. What exactly is that, and what is the purpose? Also, I noticed on gne.net that bobbleton.net got its name from a village in GNE. I assume that you are part of the creative team associated with bobbleton.net (programming, graphics, etc.). If so, were you also one of the creators of bobbleton in GNE or was that someone elses doing? And how exactly did ya'll come up with the website idea? Is bobbleton.net another place for gne'ers to go and chat, hangout, etc., or is it something else and/or more?
Thanks again for all the info. That does make it somewhat clearer. I guess I'll just have to wait for the beta to really find out what its like. Please feel free to use this in your advice column, I don't mind at all. Oh, by the way, you may not know this, but I'll take a stab in the dark. Has Ludicorp said when the beta would be ready? Didn't know if maybe they had released that info to the folks who were involved with the prototype or not?
Take Care,
Chuck
Dear Chuck,
You caught me at a good time. I am helping my bro transfer files, and am essentially sitting here doing nothing.
Re: Paper
Paper grows on trees. You collect the paper, and when you have 8 sheets, you can then 'make' a red sheet of paper (current value is 50 sheckels) which you could then sell at the mony mony store (GNE's bank), or save until you had eight of those, and make a yellow sheet of paper (worth 500 sheckels). It takes eight sheets of a color to make the next color. The progression is white, red, yellow, blue, green, brown, purple.
Colored paper spawned in a few places. Red and yellow spawned in the desert, blue spawned in the City Undersea, green spawned in the swamplands. It was rumored that brown and purple spawned as well, which I believe, because I found it laying around, but cannot confirm or deny it for sure.
Yes, I am part of the bobbleton.net team; I also write for Ludus Perpetuus, and contribute to paperlane.net. Bobbleton was designed by Caterina Fake ( http://www.caterina.net/ ), and is an icon to the pioneers (GNE prototypers). On the last day of the prototype, we asked Stewart (Butterfield - he is head of Ludicorp) if we could keep one hub from Stencilton for the big game, so we would know where to go to meet one another. Bobbleton was agreed upon. "See you in Bobbleton" was the farewell phrase to players signing off for the last time. If you look at the header for bobbleton.net, the yellow house was mine in the game, Capodistria owned the blue one, and Mina lived in the right side of the orange duplex.
We came up with the idea because our beloved Selva Morales (editor in chief of Ludus) has been unable to publish for various reasons, and we needed another place to discuss our obsession. It is designed to complement Ludus, not detract from it.
When will the beta come out? I have hope for August, but have no info if that is a fact.
Hi Loli,
I hope this email isn't a bother, or hopefully I'm not looking in the wrong place, but I am trying to come across some information about GNE. I came across this website (bobbleton.net) when I went on the GNE website earlier this morning. Oh, by the way, my name is Chuck. After browsing through bobbleton.net for a while I am writing this email under the assumption that you, or others on this site, have done quite a bit of playing in GNE. Based on this assumption it is my hope you may be able to answer a few questions I have about GNE, or maybe direct me to someone, or somewhere, where I can get some answers.
First off, I came across GNE in my Discover magazine a few months ago and
went to the website to check it out. What I saw looked really cool, so I signed up for it. I got an email from them saying I missed the second round of prototype testing but my name was on the list for when the beta would be opened up. I've gone on their website and looked around quite a bit, but I'm still a little unsure about what GNE is, and what playing the game is like. I've gone to several of the links associated with GNE and looked at some of the web logs, etc., but I am still unsure about the game. I see that there are lots of things to do (ie political stuff, economics, socialize, explore, develop your character, etc), but exactly how do you go about doing all these things? Like creating nodes and hooking them into the grid, developing talents, keeping your mood and other things up, etc.? I've read some of the discussion groups/forums, but most of it is greek to me because I haven't played the game yet. It may be the sort of thing where I will just have to play the game to understand all this stuff.
Again, I hope this isn't a bother, I'm sure you have other things to do than answer emails from strangers, so please don't feel like you have to answer if you don't have time or just don't want to. Or if you know of someone or somewhere that would be better suited for answering these questions, that would be helpful too. Thanks!
Take Care,
Chuck
Dear Chuck,
Hi, sorry I didn't get to you yesterday.
Yes, I played the prototype extensively. From the first moment I saw GNE, I was hooked. I have played a lot of system games, but GNE was my first online game. I have played a few more onlines since the shutdown of the prototype, but lost interest quickly; they are pale compared to GameNeverending.
In the prototype, the first thing one did was explore. You gained three levels just from covering the map (which was surprisingly extensive). Every object in the game could be tried/tested to see what benefits and or harm it could do. All was created with a sense of humor; it was not uncommon for someone to exclaim in global chat "Oh, I get it now!" about a place name that was a pun, or description that was an obscure reference.
We were able to make objects from other objects and sell or use them. Some items seemed there just for silliness, untill your making skill increased enough to reveal the recipe for which the item was needed. Every time you make something, it increases your skill. Keeping mood and karma at maximum gave you bonus points. Making paper was one way to gain sheckels (the main monetary unit of GNE) and it also kept your mood and karma up. Harvesting spawning grounds, and selling the 'farmed' or 'camped' items was another way to get monetary gain. Theft worked too. It was called 'yoinking' in tribute to The Simpsons. Others walked a route to harvest goods. That was one of my routines. I would be on when useage was low, and harvest desires, flowers, and colored paper. Then in the evenings when chat got going good, I would sit and make paper while I talked & played in-game games.
The in game games were varied & very creative. We had haiku contests, played a GNE version of 'Let's Make a Deal', and trivia. Lots of trivia. The global chat is what was our main political avenue. PARP would have never had the impact it did without chat. PARP (People's Army for Revolutionary Principles - I think) was the first politically controvertial group. The PARP manifesto is posted several places. If you cannot find it, I can send you a copy; I have it archived. Many people opposed PARP not I think out of right leaning views, but because they enjoyed peaceful anarchy. The first official group to oppose PARP was Satan's Army. Fittingly for GNE, Satan is Santa was one of the most helpful players in the prototype. Unfortunately, his first encounter with JH (the leader of PARP) hit a sour note, and now they are political enemies.
How do you start up in politics in GNE? The same as in real life. Recognise a problem, propose a solution, get backing for it. There is in-game IM for private conversations, and there is notes that you can write and distribute. People may add to the notes if the original author allows it. Notes can only be destroyed by the original author.
I do not know how we will be able to hook our hubs to the others. In the prototype, making a GNE was the final skill you gained, and it cost over 8 million sheckels to make one (It also took some ingenuity to do, until the end, when the weight issues were fixed). I believe that is how you will earn your own hub, but I do not know exactly how the devs plan to implement it. I just know from what I and the others have seen, we are eager for more.
I hope I was able to make things a little clearer. Please feel free to ask me further questions; I don't mind at all sharing about this.
- Loli
PS - do you mind if I use this for my advice column? Submissions have been rather sparse.