I normally don’t have a lot of spare cash, and I really seldom splurge (no kidding, I’m so bad, my wife urges me to spend more money on myself.) But I was one of the early people posting “how can we throw money at you?” on the MWM forums, because the more I learn about this project the more important it’s become to me that it [i]succeed[/i], and not melt away into the Graveyard of Good Intentions.
As it turned out, I had some elbow room in my bank account when the KS launched. The question was, how much to commit? I was mesmerized by the Kickstarter’s progress. I bookmarked it and watched the numbers go up steadily, constantly refreshing the page, and kept telling my wife about it. She shook her head and said it was too bad to see this much money flowing into a game instead of a needy charity…and I searched for a reply. Because she had a point. Saying “we are heroes” or “I hate the old company” rings hollow in light of spending money on a game instead of needs.
To my surprise, what I felt when contemplating how much to spend was not embarrassment or nervousness, but urgency. The press of TIME. I think many people, myself included, see this as a one-time event, our best chance, maybe our ONLY chance, to do something like this, ever. Sad to say, the needy charities will still be there tomorrow and next year, and tomorrow’s and next year’s paychecks will be available to help them, if we are willing and able.
A game like this is an art form -- a new art form, not widely recognized perhaps, but surely it’s as much art as synth pop, comic books, movies, novels, and community theater, seeing as it exists at some intersection of all of those arts.
And the people who have made this Kickstarter possible have done more than that -- they have made it [i]believable[/i]. When I see the amount and quality and creativity of the work already accomplished, and how many people want to do so much MORE work, if only we can show enough support...it seems like it might come true after all. How can I [i]not[/i] stand behind such people?
So this was my splurge. This was my “me money” for a while. Some would say it is a risky venture, a lottery ticket with the drawing two years off. But although I desperately want to stand in the new city some day -- do I ever -- this money was not entirely about that. This was really a chance to put my money where my mouth has been -- where my [i]heart[/i] has been. This was taking that one shot in the moment it was there to be taken, not hesitating and regretting it later. And it feels good.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s [i]already been[/i] a pleasure.
Captain of Phoenix Rising
Well said.
The Shield stands with Sailboat!
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([i]Currently developing the Sapphire 7 Initiative[/i])
Well said.
Being surrounded, on these fora, by all the people who made CoH such a wonderful experience has been as close to being back in Paragon City as I've felt since the shutdown.
I haven't even logged into any games since I found out about this project.
"I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation."
Funny you should say that. I had been logging in to play Star Trek Online every day, pretty faithfully for months now. Then I found the City of Titans forums. Haven't logged into Star Trek Online in over a week now ... because I'm too busy keeping up all the conversations going on here among friends I thought I'd never get to see again. ;_;
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[i]Verbogeny is one of many pleasurettes afforded a creatific thinkerizer.[/i][/center]
In the larger picture, she's absolutely right. Choosing to support this game instead of helping to feed children that are starving literally to death or helping to fight breast cancer or any of a thousand and more worthy causes...well, you stack them up one against the other, and this game, or any game, or any form of frivolous entertainment, it falls short, seems petty and a downright almost criminal waste. Nothing else I have to say is meant to argue against this position at all.
However, on the old City of Heroes forums, after the closure was announced, many people came forward and told personal stories about how this game let them connect with people when they had disabilities both physical and mental that made it nearly impossible to make that connection. Parents played with their children. Families and friends spread across the country and around the globe joined together there. For a couple of people, it might even have meant the difference between waiting to see another day or using that gun, jumping off that ledge.
I support charities as much as I can, but not nearly as much as I'd like to. It's important to do so, 'cause we're all in this together. And I support this game because I think its existence means something, that it has great importance to some people.
My best to your wife and to all wives out there, including my own. I know I literally wouldn't be still breathing without her. :)
Well, I've heard some folks consider gaming a religion, but not like this...
Because, honestly, you can make anyone look like a heel with the "why didn't you spend it on the poor?" canard.
Anyway, while I had little presence on the CoX forums (mostly because I botched the screen name and the mods refused to change it), I did [i]read[/i] them a lot and the huge sense of community was overwhelming. Later, when Tabula Rasa came out, I was an active poster on one of the fan forums (TR refused to run an official forum) and enjoyed it immensely.
After CoX announced the shutdown, well, the wailing and gnashing of teeth was just unbearable, and though I was certain that NCSoft was going to actively prevent a rescue, the only significant effort I saw on the fans' part was the SaveCOH effort and Sentinel+. I didn't see anything about City of Titans back then, and only a faint mention of Heroes and Villains. Talk about missing out.
Bear in mind that I had gone through the same kind of emotional crushing when NCSoft killed Tabula Rasa years before, even faking a "retirement letter" from Richard Garriott to do it while the latter was in quarantine in the middle of Kazakhstan. (IMHO, NCSoft learned from that experience that when you kill a game, you lock out the devs immediately and do all you can to scatter them to the four winds to try to minimize the backlash. They didn't do that on TR and we had a big "end of the world" event that ran right up until the servers were killed. Work in progress was turned into temp powers and passed out like candy. Even former TR devs came in to participate.) Everything NCSoft did reeked of [i]needing[/i] CoX to die, dev protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.
I pretty much stumbled on City of Titans a couple weeks ago following a Twitter conversation a fan was having with Matt Miller. (I'm not on Twitter myself.) This was about a week and a half before the Kickstarter ended. Things were busy at work, but less so for my friend Redlynne, so I pointed him over here and asked him to look around and see if this was real or something that would collapse under the weight of Drama(TM).
As previously mentioned, Redlynne failed to show up in Star Trek Online at all over the next week. This was a sign.
We got together for breakfast the next Saturday and, well, the tales... the tales...
So I registered here and wow, it's a lot like back in the TR days, with everything going everywhere and good luck keeping up with it all. Looked into some of the plans (still haven't gone through all the KS updates) and it looked very promising. So I ponied up some dough and now it's the "wait a couple years" step...
Anyway, if you haven't figured it out already, I'm no longer any kind of a fan of NCSoft and I don't care how good Wildstar or B&S or whatever they make is, there's no point because IMO it'll be dead before its time.
Should I tell the fleet you retired next time I'm on?
[i]Has anyone seen my mind? It was right here...[/i]
I limited myself to pledging less to CoT than I donated to recent disasters over this way (Southeast Asia). But otherwise I still feel awesome about pledging. Two years of not playing online games means I can accomplish much more on behalf of others, for at least two years :). And ultimately I (and a zillion others) may help inspire heroic ideals in the next generation, that they might help those in need unconditionally.
I don't know. I just can't make this feel wrong for myself. It's a volunteer effort. Once someone starts profiting from this I will likely have to reset my sights, but I am fairly confident the underlying community spirit will remain.
[size=14]"The illusion which exalts us is dearer to us than ten thousand truths." - Pushkin[/size]
[size=14] "One piece of flair is all I need." - Sister Silicon[/size]
Ya know.. I'll be honest here: My intent and purpose for supporting the kickstarter was two fold: #1 because I said I'd support the project if they asked, and that's what a Kickstarter is.. someone asking for your support. And #2, and I'll be honest here, it's pure vanity that I *WANT* my dang global name to be PseudoCool! I've been PseudoCool since the late 80's, and I get SICK of some punk kid trying to snipe it on every new game that comes along!
And frankly, if I'm going to PLAY this game, and have it feel anything like I miss from CoX, it'll have to be as PseudoCool... heck, I've even got my original PCool's character bio from his ID (backed up a few times as well) so that it's ready the DAY CoT launches! And besides, $25 now to help out may not be much, but I've been at the "ask for money" stage of a project before.. I know how every penny counts.
I'm so PseudoCool, I even gave the definition!
Lets face the facts here, Money has only the value of what (the collective) We give it. It is assumed in society that if you have money you have acquired it in an acceptable fashion. How you choose to spend it is nobody's business except your own. There is no moral imperative to spend it in any particular way (spouses opinions are excluded from the previous statement!!!). If you choose to spend it for an Ideal that others have presented, so be it. Its done,
Now if you can Help (Note: help does not have a monetary value) others out in your life, that is commendable. Help is not limited to a cause. If you help others out, there is a net gain in our society. We (the collective, again) are the better for it. It doesn't matter what sort of help you provide, its cumulative. Help an old lady with her garbage, give a homeless person some food, give money to some people who have an idea for a game, help someone not jump off a bridge.
It all adds up and spreads.
To sum up; Nobody is in a position to judge what you do (spouses still excluded!). If you have chosen to help with this project, that is great. You have helped someone (or many someone's in this case) try and fulfill their dreams. If you have not helped with this project, no worries, I have helped and please consider it my gift to you. I look forward to playing this game with you when it comes out.
Sailboat did get one thing wrong though......The pleasure is all mine! :D
They also serve, who only stand and wait.
I was happy to contribute some to the kickstarter, although less than I contributed to the City of Heroes Extra Life team this year. I have a budget set aside for charitable donations, while things like the kickstarter come from my discretionary spending, which has less room. (By the way, if anyone does feel like making a charitable donation, that one is for a pretty good cause, and any support would be appreciated. Although we're past the actual marathon date, I think donations stay open for most of November).
Sailboat, you were an Iron Eagle, right? I think I remember you, although I only joined the eagles a few months before the end (played as Ward of Justice) and I am pretty bad at remembering people in general.
Very well said Sailboat ^_^
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[i]And Now I've read the rest[/i]
I'm in a similar place emotionally that many of the people posting here are. Whatever "frivolous" thing you spend your money on can be put down one way or another.
But for me, this was important. I've had my "lost connection" screenshot as my Facebook banner since the end of CoX, I have been missing that world ever since it shut down. Of all the other games I've tried and play -- either once in a blue moon or once in a while -- none of them have been as captivating, nor felt as organic, as CoX did.
So I was visiting the old forums every few weeks after it was over, and after following some threads to various "Save/Restore/Rebuild" sites, one in particular caught my eye.
I caught the Missing Worlds Media bug at somewhere around February and have been following their progress ever since. I was impressed from the start by their mission statement, their community-minded development ideas and their constant communication with whoever wanted to listen, regardless of how busy they all were. When the announcement for the Kickstarter was made, I was coming out of a low point financially, so I was kinda bummed. But at the same time I was excited for the project.
As the deadline for the beginning of the KS got closer, I started working to made sure I was going to have at least some funds for when it launched, and thanks to some of the delays in the start of the KS I was confident enough in my finances to make my initial pledge the day before The Phoenix Project hit their goal.
Ever since I've been following the discussion, found myself aligned with the Phoenix Rising Initiative started by BruceP, found ways to scrounge more dough for some of the add-ons, and was there promoting the clone army, helping push the backer level to 5000+ in the final minutes. I'm still actively paying attention to everything, still excited about what's to come, will be looking forward to the weekly/monthly/every-blue-moon updates we're going to get, because I believe in what's happening here and the people making it happen.
And yea, I'd pretty much abandoned the games I keep up with (SW:TOR, LotRO, SL, etc.) throughout the KS. I also pretty much stopped watching any of my shows from about Wednesday through the end of the KS (Thanks be praised for DVR & Hulu!)
And regardless if this is all frivolous, I have absolutely NO regrets ^_^
[b][i]EDIT: oh, and my CoT signature graphic now adorns the banner position on my Facebook page ^_^[/i][/b]
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The old "Charity" guilt trip, well that old chestnut is easy to beat these days. Just go and look at the salaries of many CEO's in these companies, and the fact that, when you go and look at it, there are so many avenues for research in fields like cancer that show good promise of curing it, and I am talking well documented multiple times, that I can only assume that the reason they haven't cured cancer yet is purely and simple because it is not profitable for them to do so.
And... also look at Bono, from U2's ONE Charity... the one is the one percent donated that makes it to the needy after their salaries and everything else has been paid. If you want to help someone buy a homeless person a meal, your money will be doing something that it could never do if you donated it... using it's full value for someone you want to help.
This CoH community helped me through a near death experience myself, so I know why I am supporting this project
Well, I can say that I donate to charity and to this! Yes, my charitable donations are significantly more but I gave quite a bit here also.
The reason. . .
I miss the friends, the community, the feeling I had playing our beloved COH! It was a lifeline to me in many ways, a saving grace, entertainment, socialization, and so much more. When I was single and lonely it was there for me and the people were there. When I went through tough times I could log-in, play, and forget about the world for a bit. When I was dating someone she became a part of the world with me and even would sit with me (and while she never played) through numerous hours and we would enjoy it! And when I got married my wife sat with me when the announcement came and didnt tease her husband that he cried about a game!
And I gave because I own my own business and know how hard it can be. How much work has to go into everything and how few people can understand that. I know that my donation provided to the developers and dreamers a mark of appreciation for all that are doing and hope to do. And when I get to design my own badge in game I will do my best to keep that thought at it's heart!
I understand there's plenty of suffering in this world and everyone who donates any time or money or to any worthy charities are doing good deeds for humanity and such.
But I'm sorry to say with all due respect to your wife that anyone who can come up with such a crap-tastically hypocritical guilt-trip like this deserves to be called out on it. If it's "too bad" that a few thousand people are "wasting" their hard-earned money on something they want instead of selflessly giving every last penny and drop of blood to the rest of the world then we might as well all go jump off a cliff.
I understand your wife is perfectly entitled to her opinion that a game may be an uncharitable thing to spend money on. But for all we know the money spent here is going to at the very least benefit the lives of the folks making this game. And while they might not be directly earning salaries they are improving their skills and perhaps their lives in this pursuit in ways we may never know.
If your wife thinks spending a little discretionary money on something you enjoy is so bad remind her of that the next time she wants to "waste" some money on something for herself that's not a charity. Ask her to change her mind the next time she's buying something only she might benefit from because, you know, there's always a charity out there that needs her money more.
If it makes her feel better you can always throw some money at something "more worthy" next week. Until then I frankly wouldn't tolerate that kind of passive-aggressive behavior from anyone let alone my spouse.
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOoWpTxKJGA
Captain of Phoenix Rising
Not trying to besmirch a great movie or the wonderful sentiment behind that powerful final scene, but if you let yourself think that your only course of action is to donate everything to everyone you'll be left with nothing and there'll still be people out there you might have helped but didn't.
Frankly I thought the positively humanistic point of view expressed by Itzhak Stern in that scene was much more uplifting, appreciative and pragmatic than Oskar Schindler's wishfully naive regret and vain disregard for his own noble accomplishments.
No one can save everybody, unless you think God can and last time I checked you and yours aren't him. *shrugs*
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
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And you don't get saved by god in this life ...
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That sums up my reaction to this perfectly.
Longtime City of Heroes player, longtime writer. :) Working in Nebraska.
COT: Mission tips writer, studying Cinema 4D animation program
It's a little creepy that you've been checking on me. ;)
Seriously, I think this thread took a direction I did not intend. I started it to celebrate our grasping for one shining chance, not to vent about being judged.
Captain of Phoenix Rising
Sorry... As I implied I just tend to react badly to overt passive agressiveness and "guilt trips" perpetrated in any form.
Obviously charities are generally more important than games. But if we can equate a game like CoT to a form of "art" then think of what this world would be like if no one bothered to donate to the arts because there was always something "more important" to worry about.
P.S. While not as high-brow as Schindler's List, this following clip from South Park does illustrate the dangers of how letting one's desire to help everyone can lead to a conclusion that ultimately doesn't help anyone in the end...
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155591/kyles-dad-becomes-homeless
CoH player from April 25, 2004 to November 30, 2012
[IMG=400x225]https://i.imgur.com/NHUthWM.jpeg[/IMG]