Myth, comparisons with historical events

The Elfoid · Post by **The Elfoid** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 5:19 pm

Someone posted about how Myth's dying down, with some quotes. I ended up starting to write this as a reply but realised it was too long, too off topic to go there.

Myth's legacy lives forever. Friends have been made that I game with on WoW. I might get Xbox360, and I'll play Live with Ach, dwarf and others I only know from Myth.

Recently I've thought of Myth's community and how it would compare to other events in the past. I think a nation is the best thing we can compare it to. No, I don't mean rival nations are other games/communities and winning a 'war' is stealing players and growing in size, but read my comments below and you'll see we follow a similar evolutionary pattern.

Myth unified a lot of people, but its beyond a game now. The people who create an empire, defeat enemy armies in battles are the beggining, like Bungie. These people begin things, and the early stages of maintaining them.

Next you have growth and life. This is as magazine reviews and word of mouth spread and more people began to play. Things, after a short time, hit an extended period without as much change. I'd put with as end of 99 - 01. This is natural, and just having people play keeps this up.

However, aftere things become a little older and the energy of birth fades, we have the people who maintain the same nation - update groups like Flying Flip, Myth Dev and Magma do that. I'd put PlayMyth.net and MariusNet in there too.

We're now in transition from the fourth stage, maintaining what is left as long as you can though with less vigour since you can see the end (even if it is very far away, its not like in stage three when you cant even imagine it), slowly letting go, to the fifth - the last rementants who just won't leave until they have to but will quit when its time. More of a shadow, people from a greater past. We are leftovers.

Finally, there will be 'caretakers' who look after the game in its dying days, people who think that Myth should live on and its worth trying even if it can't. These are guys who'd patch the game to run on a higher OS though only a few people would need it. Though you will always have people leaving for other games, it is a huge surge of this that leads to the period when caretakers emerge.

Just like a dead empire - Rome for example - its influence has tainted almost the entire world forever (as Mythers have brought something new to other communities...WoWing with Blunt has made me see how playing with someone for an extended time they end up becoming more like Mythers than the average WoWer). That's what comes last, the death of the community in any physical sense, though it lives on in spirit - friends play together on other games, or people chatting on forums/IM.

Things have changed a lot lately. When I started in Jan 2004 I'd call it the tail end of stage 4. Stage 4/stage 5 transition began within the last 5 months I'd say, and from what I've researched/been told/got the feeling of is that everything else has followed the pattern of national/imperiail evolution.

Opinions on this spur of the moment writing?

William Wallet · Post by **William Wallet** » Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:07 pm

"More of a shadow, people from a greater past. We are leftovers."

What a lot of crap. We got here later, so we're a shadow? A leftover?
This paints some sort of holy, untouchable image of what came before - when the plain truth is it was exactly the same thing, just people playing Myth.

Zeph · Post by **Zeph** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:41 am

wow myth looks like a religion or something. Dang, you forgot to say it's a game beyond everything else. Stages? what are you talking about this aint historical lessons. I'll tell you why people still play Myth, because it unique, its great, lots of plugins, instant games, and all you need is 200mhz computer to run it!

The Elfoid · Post by **The Elfoid** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 12:43 pm

I'm talking about the community not the game Zeph. I was curious about online communities, since its so hard to compare them to anything else - history was the only place to look. I wouldn't say Myth is on a par with imperial grandness, I didn't wanna suggest that.

WW, I'm talking about players as a generality. If you look at Myth, it is smaller in scale than it was.

kickenwing · Post by **kickenwing** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 3:22 pm

The Elfoid wrote:WW, I'm talking about players as a generality. If you look at Myth, it is smaller in scale than it was.

I think he thought you were saying that the quality of the new players is nowhere near what it was when Myth was in its prime.

Industry · Post by **Industry** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:06 pm

Dude, you're so wrong. I suck just as much now as I did in 1998.

The Elfoid · Post by **The Elfoid** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:14 pm

Quality of games kicken wing, simply because dorf riot can't help but be less fun when I have less people to get beaten by.

Post by **Death's Avatar** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 7:44 pm

I dunno elf. It was a valiant effort, but you came out sounding like some of those "Myth is dead RAAAA" people.

As far as there being fewer people, yes...this is true...everyone knows it...we can stop saying it over and over and maybe make more plugs or something. I mean really...Not to mention if you look in the right places there are tons of people....

-DA

vinylrake · Post by **vinylrake** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 8:28 pm

Industry wrote:Dude, you're so wrong. I suck just as much now as I did in 1998.

I actually think I suck worse than I did in 1998.

The only reason I am still playing Myth is that I figure if I can just outlast everyone else, I will be in the top 10 leaderboard. It's an attainable goal if I can just live long enough.

ChrisP · Post by **ChrisP** » Mon Dec 12, 2005 10:40 pm

vinylrake wrote:The only reason I am still playing Myth is that I figure if I can just outlast everyone else, I will be in the top 10 leaderboard. It's an attainable goal if I can just live long enough.

Hah! I'm still practicing for my debut in ranked.

William Wallet · Post by **William Wallet** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:30 am

"WW, I'm talking about players as a generality. If you look at Myth, it is smaller in scale than it was."

Yeah I got that. I just found the use of words like 'shadow' and 'leftover' not exactly... fitting, when considering we're all the same - we just like Myth. That we are in what one might see as the twilight of Myth... doesn't make it at all leftover or shadowy. Heck, I'm happier now with Myth than I have been in a long while because I've fallen in with a good crowd (having spent most of 2004 lamenting the disappearance of most of my pals... Sloths, Smurfette, Garbagi B and whoever else I can't remember).

"The only reason I am still playing Myth is that I figure if I can just outlast everyone else, I will be in the top 10 leaderboard. It's an attainable goal if I can just live long enough."

Cid and I had a long standing aim to be top of the Mnet leaderboard. But we didn't know back then that you needed 4 people for a ranked game, and now Mnet accounts are dead there's no point.

Still. Would've been nice to see a McCl at the top of the table.

A-Red · Post by **A-Red** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:30 am

vinylrake wrote:The only reason I am still playing Myth is that I figure if I can just outlast everyone else, I will be in the top 10 leaderboard. It's an attainable goal if I can just live long enough.

Not if me and my nine brothers have anything to say about it.

:) Da Cid (: McCl · Post by **:) Da Cid (: McCl** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:19 am

William Wallet wrote:Cid and I had a long standing aim to be top of the Mnet leaderboard.

AND YOU SAID IT WASN'T ABOUT THE FAME.

-TGP-

William Wallet · Post by **William Wallet** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:39 am

Heh, if this was about Fame I wouldn't be playing Myth would I??

carlinho · Post by **carlinho** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:50 pm

hey didn't want to sound pesimistic!
though I love the grenade I threw....hehe
all this thread because of some quotes...

well, I'm glad it's still alive and hope that it stays alive for long, though of course it will grow smaller indeed.

I too signed for the xbox 360 and all that, but whenever I get bored of exploring endless 3d worlds that look great I always invent a new world that doesn't look that great on myth II. It's the creativity that keeps the fuel on. Rock on. Rock and roll is not dead.

The Tain

Myth, comparisons with historical events