Fiction, Canon, and You
As I mentioned in my last Uru-related entry, I wanted to save the user-created content commentary for a separate post because this is going to be a thorny subject and I suspect I’m going to be on the wrong side of the debate here. I’ve thus far been expressly avoiding major additions of user-created content like Ages and such because I honestly don’t think that they’re essential to the long-term survival of Uru. Please to be not pummeling me until I have a chance to explain myself!
I am absolutely not saying that I think fan-created content is bad, nor am I saying that Cyan is wrong for wanting to give players the means to create their own stuff to share with others. What I am saying is that I don’t think Uru is the right vehicle for that content. Uru is (or at least was, I’m not entirely sure anymore) a Cyan project that builds on and continues the extension of official Myst canon. As much as I like the guys at GoW, integrating fan Ages directly into official canon is a hazy proposition to me. It just feels… off. Of course, one could always just turn Uru into this content platform, and leave Cyan with the option of creating a Myst MMO with a brand new title ;). I just get kinda squirmy when it comes to the “you got peanut butter in my chocolate!”-style scenario that could arise from putting fan content directly into a game built on canon (I’m a purist, you may now commence pummeling).
Where I think fan-created Ages (and indeed, whole fan-created games) would be better suited is a spin-off service that still runs on Plasma, has an officially released toolkit for developers to build their stuff with, and enables users to embrace or ignore as much or as little of the available material as they like, without it getting in the way of Uru’s story or content. Like Steam, but just for Myst stuff. With such a service available, content wouldn’t just be limited to what could be produced within the confines of Uru. In effect, it becomes an official, kosher distribution point for virtual fan fiction, with the obvious disclaimer attached that none of what you’re seeing should be considered canon unless it’s officially adopted by Cyan. You also get the added benefit of not getting freaked out about someone’s new Age mucking up the Uru Live Vault, and not having to figure out the managerial headache of how people would download and access player content without just piling it all into the initial download (which would be messy and ginormous). Ultimately, I think trying to cram user-created content into a game that was never designed to support it would cause more problems than it would solve, and that the better way to do it would be to keep the two separate. This way, Cyan doesn’t have to potentially re-architecture portions of Uru’s download manager, fans can still build and release content that runs on the same engine on whatever schedule they like, and players can access and enjoy both.
I think that such a service would blow the doors off of a potentially massive Myst extended universe, much the same way that Star Wars has grown exponentially beyond the confines of the original films through licensed books and software. The Myst universe has the potential to be incredibly huge and rich, and I think a lot of people in this community recognize that fact, otherwise there likely wouldn’t be such a huge push for player-created Ages in Uru. And while I have to give props to the work the people at Alcugs have done to get their stuff into the offline version of Uru, having a sanctioned release channel that doesn’t skirt legalities, and doesn’t have vague questions about what you can and can’t put in your Ages like the current Uru:CC distribution system does, is going to get a whole lot more people on board.
On a larger scope, I’d love to see more commercially available Myst universe material. I mean seriously, the Myst universe is simply too large and varied to not be expanded upon by fans and, in my opinion, other creative professionals. There’s 10,000 years of Atrus-free history to work with here; don’t tell me that not one interesting thing happened in that time that wouldn’t be worthy of a book, movie, TV show, video game, etc. Think of it: CSI: J’Taeri! The Mahnxooreeahn Candidate! Call of Duty 5: The Pento Wars! Burnout: Ae’Gura! Sim City: D’ni! (two great tastes that taste great together!)
On a more serious note, I really hope that projects like the Myst Movie thing actually get off the ground and make a dent in the public consciousness. The Star Wars expanded universe has scads and scads of books, comics, action figures, and reference materials, not all of which are anywhere close to being canonical anymore, and the scope of a potential Myst expanded universe could easily rival such a construct. I know Cyan’s had some bad dealings with shady, less than agreeable types in the past (*cough*SciFi*cough*DarkHorse Comics*cough*), but I think that with the right people on board to start an extended universe, it could really take off. And while I imagine that Cyan could probably come up with a lisencing arangement that would prevent the creation of … uncomfortable products (”Section V, article 25: no ‘Atrus and Catherine consumate their relationship’ scenes”?) in order to maintain the franchise’s reputation, as long as there was an understanding that what you were reading or watching was part of that extended universe and not Cyan-sanctioned canon, I don’t have a problem with getting more stories about D’ni out of this franchise.
April 21st, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Okay. So the pummeling may now commence..
Except that.. crap. I agree with pretty much everything.
Damn. Talk about frustration.
Custom Ages in Uru (possibly in Season 2 or 3?) was gonna be a nightmare for Cyan, that’s for sure. I still would have loved to see it happen.. (yes, I’m slightly ashamed of my lack of compation here..)
Having a sort of paralell delivery system for Plasma user created content is an interesting idea, but it would still put a logistical (and technical) burden on Cyan. And that’s probably something that should be avoided. Not that I really have any better propositions at hand..
Uru didn’t need Custom Ages, and it was certainly not built around it. Now that it is dead (again) things are slightly different. While it still may not need it (being dead and all), Cyan would highly benefit from it…
One thing I disagree with is the commercial viability of a Myst Expanded Universe in regard to the general public. Myst had enough exposure during the Riven days, maybe even during the Prologue/Myst4 period.. Not so much these days. As much as I hate to say it, the Myst/Uru franchise is declining, and any EU effort would mostly interest a limited number of people.. While that would be uber cool to see that as a fan, I doubt the actual viability of this outside the community.. Not without some marketing tour de force. The Star Wars EU works because it’s Star Wars, and even people in the middle of the Sahara knows what Star Wars is. Not so much with Myst. If the movie gets made and gets some decent exposure there might indeed be an opportunity here. We’ll see.
About the whole ‘canon’ aspect.. well.. I think Cyan themselves threw the whole canon idea out the window long ago.. Especially with Uru. So I guess CSI:J’taeri isn’t that far fetched off.. What about Super Mario 72: Teledahn Mushroom Kingdom? I’d play that. Hell, I’d even make it myself if I had the green light..
May 25th, 2008 at 12:11 am
The Myst franchise has, or at least had (in commercial terms, it’s lost a lot….) of creative potential. And what Myst taught me, that I cherish to this day, are infinite possibilities (naturally, I forgot the D’ni term for it–oh, jeruth?). So maybe what you describe is an option, in this physical reality. An option that Cyan could actually pursue, I mean.
I dunno what you’re up to these days, but I have a request… Please devote as much time as you need to, to do something amazing in the spirit of the D’ni universe’s potential, rather than letting your valuable understanding remain isolated in this blog. Make people experience it. o~o