I knew Rar and Danger were right, of course. Long term, we couldn't sustain four games, especially two with similar competing space opera themes like OtherSpace: The Farthest Star and OtherSpace: Millennium.
We couldn't advertise effectively. We couldn't recruit visiting newbies properly. And we certainly couldn't provide enough staffers to develop new systems, maintain existing systems, and handle biographies for the long haul.
Originally, I had hoped that the existence of two OtherSpace games would create good-natured competition and a rising tide that lifted all boats. That's not what happened, though. Mostly, people sniped and trash-talked each other - staffers and players alike - creating more of an us vs. them environment than a let's make both games rock atmosphere. Our harbor was draining and leaving the boats stranded on sand bars. Something had to change.
I had to pick which games to save and which to retire. Off the bat, I chose Necromundus to survive. It's a great sandbox environment, only needs the small staff it has right now, and it provides a fantastic introduction to MUSHing for players from just about any kind of online game.
Chiaroscuro was already on the road to closing. It had stopped being my baby a couple of years ago. Rar had adopted it and nurtured it into an outstanding fantasy world. However, he had stepped down and, despite the best efforts of the remaining support staff, the game faded. It wasn't hard at all to approve of closing it.
The choice seemed tougher, at first, when it came to the two OtherSpace games. My first approach was picking one of them to live. OtherSpace: The Farthest Star was the latest incarnation of the original game universe, so it was an obvious sentimental favorite. OtherSpace: Millennium was shiny, new, and had implemented some of the coded bells and whistles that had evolved from our work on Necromundus. Initially, I concluded that we should leave TFS behind and find a way to migrate that game's playerbase to Millennium. But after meeting with staffers from both sides and some soul searching about why I had reduced my involvement in TFS and Millennium, I realized that the best option would be to ditch both TFS and Millennium, merge the playerbases, and send them back in time to Hiverspace 2650.
I don't seem predisposed to taking the route of least resistance. Ever.
My choice cost the involvement of Odin, the chief of staff on Millennium. He did a great job developing coded systems over there, he put in a huge amount of effort, and I regret the loss, but he just couldn't support the new direction. He's now developing his own game and I wish him luck with the project.
My choice also sparked a firestorm between TFS and Millennium players - fueled here and there by Odin, unfortunately - about which coded systems to keep, which to ditch, and how to compromise between both games on skills. It seemed we might tear each other apart before the new game got off the ground. But, y'know, it felt a lot like a family squabble. Family squabbles fade.
I think we found some good compromises despite the grief and grumpiness. Most players pulled together and provided excellent feedback that guided the staff's final decisions. Yes, some people still have misgivings, but at least they're giving it a chance.
This past weekend, we kicked off the new year with events that signaled the end of OtherSpace: The Farthest Star and OtherSpace: Millennium. Players from both games are now on Comorro Station.
Chiaroscuro players, on the other hand, were left in the cold and essentially forgotten while the two space opera games were hashing out their compromises. Their characters, it seemed, would just be lost to posterity. However, one of the players - Vhramis - commented on the difficulty he was having at making a biography for a new OtherSpace character. He regretted that he couldn't just dump his fantasy character on the sci-fi grid to see what happened.
Well, I established years ago that the world setting of Chiaroscuro was tied to the universe of OtherSpace. It could be done, but it would add complications to the compromise skill system. How would we handle magic, gifts, and quirks on their character sheets?
I decided that giving Fastheldians, Halaghi, and some Wildlanders a chance to join the OtherSpace universe was worth the hassle.
On Monday, Jan. 5, 2009, characters from TFS, Millennium, and Chiaroscuro all joined forces aboard Comorro Station. We had 75+ characters online without my army of alts for the first time in ages. We had 21 people roleplaying just in the docking hub alone.
Rather than losing three playerbases with excellent storytellers, we've fused them into a Voltron-like epic-sharing machine.
It's like we zapped Jointhesaga.com with a defibrillator of awesomeness.
So, I'll go ahead, sigh with relief, and call this a mission accomplished.
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