Read this full blog post at the author's site
Just some random ramblings from a frenetic mind.
-As some of you might know, I went to New Orleans this weekend to see the BCS Title Game. As a Buckeye, I'm rather bummed about the result, but I won't delve into that here. I do, however, want to comment on the city itself. One doesn't hear much about post-Katrina New Orleans any more, but we wanted to check it out. So we had a private car take us through the 9th ward. It looked like a third-world country, and was no doubt the most ruinous place I've ever been to (and I've been to Peru, Haiti and Jamaica). The issue is by no means so cut-and-dry that I can make a sound-byte summation of it, but it will suffice to say that I was saddened by how bad things still are. However, most of the residents of the ruined homes have set up shop in other cities and won't be coming back. Though the ruins remain, the people do not, and most of the residents I spoke to seemed to think New Orleans is destined to become little more than a tourist town. There were signs of progress, but mostly as a result of the action of non-profits and volunteer groups. I'm not making any sweeping statements here, but it would have been nice to have seen some sort of government presence in the area making an attempt to help put the city back together.
-On a less serious note, I'm fairly positive about the overall state of the game at the moment. In particular, I love how successful Dave's Creative Writing Tournament has been. I plan on writing a full review of the event after a couple of rounds and at its conclusion, but for now I'll just make some preliminary comments. I noted in a previous post that I felt the tournament would reshape the game, but I feel that's a good thing. People will inevitably seek other outlets for their creative juices when e-wrestling has runs its course for them, and I'm really pleased that people are stepping up to provide such an outlet within the community. So while stalwarts like Ryan might be dropping out of the game, it is my hope that PTC will remain in operation to house our joint efforts under our common thread, a love of writing. That's the destiny of this game. I remain a committed and energized fedder, but I'd rather see us blaze a new trail rather than simply fade away.
-With regards to fedding itself, with Global gone, PTC is down to four feds. Anyone out there know what the story is with XUW currently? I know they were nearing their last match, and it was my impression that they were closing at the end of 2007. I wish I'd followed it more through the years, because the talent there is quite good. But with XUW meeting its inevitable end, the game will be down to three feds.
But GCW, FUSE and PRIME appear to be in good health. It's been said that three feds might not be enough for all the fedders left in the game. And it's fair to say that, as all three are reality-based feds, the fantasy characters of the Global/UWF tree might not have homes. But I'd suggest that three feds is a good number given the current state of the community. One must consider not only the population of the roster pool, but also the number of potential leaders out there. This isn't intended as a knock on the guys who ran Global or any other fed that's closed down, but there's a definite lack of leadership in the game today. Even FUSE and PRIME have shuffled fedheads quite a bit in the past several months. So, while there might be some need for another fed, the fact that such a fed doesn't exist speaks volumes to the current capacity of the game.
I won't speak for FUSE and PRIME, but I think GCW has the structure in place to be able to handle a larger roster. I think condensing and consolidating the game a bit could be good for it. But the fact remains that it's extremely difficult to maintain a stable fed, and I think the game is going to have to make do with the three feds it's got left.
-I've been asked about the wisdom of seeking out new connections with other communities such as EWZine. The game is certainly still thriving in parts. But personally, I'm quite content to remain part of our smaller, "elitist" community. PTC is home to the best people and the best writers in the game, and even as a fedder I'm still concerned with the pure writing we do. I'm not taking any personal swipes here because I don't know any of the EWZine leaders, but nothing I've seen there can compare to what we do in an average week at PTC.
-I still think innovation can unlock some unexplored territory for e-wrestling. If GCW, PRIME and FUSE are to be the last feds standing, the connections in place there can open some new doors. I'm not counting on any sort of resurgence from the game, because that's clearly not in the cards, but I would still like to offer some fun new features to those still playing. Many of the plans we made with regards to PTC a few months ago are being restructured to work on a smaller scale. Don't expect anything earthshattering, but with the growing power of the internet I think we can, at the very least, make the game easier than ever to play and offer new tools for interaction. While it may be on a smaller-than-ever scale, I hope that e-wrestling's latter days can be the most fun any of us have ever had.
-Some GCW notes: Our first show of the year will be up this weekend and it should be a good one. Things are going really, really well right now. As GCW's fedhead, I don't think it's out of bounds to suggest that GCW might reclaim its spot as top dog in PTC. But the chase to be the best isn't so much about gaining a competitive advantage, because such a thing isn't of much value any more. I do hope FUSE and PRIME join in the battle for the unofficial top spot, because that competition will keep things fresh and frisky and ensure that everyone's working to make each fed the best it can possibly be.
-I think PTC's forums need a makeover. Perception is 9/10ths of reality. I think the PTC forums are actually seeing a decent amount of activity, but they're still configured for a community of many hundreds. Let's trim things down a bit: Fed & Character News, E-Wrestling and Advertising can all be one board. Pro Wrestling and Sports can be consolidated. Sure, these are just superficial changes, but I think condensing our activity into fewer categories will make it easier to see that there's a bit of life left. While I may have backed off my chase for a return to e-wrestling glory, I remain hopeful that we can keep making adjustments to our expectations to match the flow of the game.
-I'm giving some thought to doing weekly show reviews for GCW, PRIME and FUSE. I'd really like to give all three feds equal coverage. Still, that's a tall task. Anyone interested in helping with such a project can get in touch with me.
That's about all I've got for now. I'll be back with some more news and thoughts in a few days.
Read this full blog post at the author's site
Just some random ramblings from a frenetic mind.
-As some of you might know, I went to New Orleans this weekend to see the BCS Title Game. As a Buckeye, I'm rather bummed about the result, but I won't delve into that here. I do, however, want to comment on the city itself. One doesn't hear much about post-Katrina New Orleans any more, but we wanted to check it out. So we had a private car take us through the 9th ward. It looked like a third-world country, and was no doubt the most ruinous place I've ever been to (and I've been to Peru, Haiti and Jamaica). The issue is by no means so cut-and-dry that I can make a sound-byte summation of it, but it will suffice to say that I was saddened by how bad things still are. However, most of the residents of the ruined homes have set up shop in other cities and won't be coming back. Though the ruins remain, the people do not, and most of the residents I spoke to seemed to think New Orleans is destined to become little more than a tourist town. There were signs of progress, but mostly as a result of the action of non-profits and volunteer groups. I'm not making any sweeping statements here, but it would have been nice to have seen some sort of government presence in the area making an attempt to help put the city back together.
-On a less serious note, I'm fairly positive about the overall state of the game at the moment. In particular, I love how successful Dave's Creative Writing Tournament has been. I plan on writing a full review of the event after a couple of rounds and at its conclusion, but for now I'll just make some preliminary comments. I noted in a previous post that I felt the tournament would reshape the game, but I feel that's a good thing. People will inevitably seek other outlets for their creative juices when e-wrestling has runs its course for them, and I'm really pleased that people are stepping up to provide such an outlet within the community. So while stalwarts like Ryan might be dropping out of the game, it is my hope that PTC will remain in operation to house our joint efforts under our common thread, a love of writing. That's the destiny of this game. I remain a committed and energized fedder, but I'd rather see us blaze a new trail rather than simply fade away.
-With regards to fedding itself, with Global gone, PTC is down to four feds. Anyone out there know what the story is with XUW currently? I know they were nearing their last match, and it was my impression that they were closing at the end of 2007. I wish I'd followed it more through the years, because the talent there is quite good. But with XUW meeting its inevitable end, the game will be down to three feds.
But GCW, FUSE and PRIME appear to be in good health. It's been said that three feds might not be enough for all the fedders left in the game. And it's fair to say that, as all three are reality-based feds, the fantasy characters of the Global/UWF tree might not have homes. But I'd suggest that three feds is a good number given the current state of the community. One must consider not only the population of the roster pool, but also the number of potential leaders out there. This isn't intended as a knock on the guys who ran Global or any other fed that's closed down, but there's a definite lack of leadership in the game today. Even FUSE and PRIME have shuffled fedheads quite a bit in the past several months. So, while there might be some need for another fed, the fact that such a fed doesn't exist speaks volumes to the current capacity of the game.
I won't speak for FUSE and PRIME, but I think GCW has the structure in place to be able to handle a larger roster. I think condensing and consolidating the game a bit could be good for it. But the fact remains that it's extremely difficult to maintain a stable fed, and I think the game is going to have to make do with the three feds it's got left.
-I've been asked about the wisdom of seeking out new connections with other communities such as EWZine. The game is certainly still thriving in parts. But personally, I'm quite content to remain part of our smaller, "elitist" community. PTC is home to the best people and the best writers in the game, and even as a fedder I'm still concerned with the pure writing we do. I'm not taking any personal swipes here because I don't know any of the EWZine leaders, but nothing I've seen there can compare to what we do in an average week at PTC.
-I still think innovation can unlock some unexplored territory for e-wrestling. If GCW, PRIME and FUSE are to be the last feds standing, the connections in place there can open some new doors. I'm not counting on any sort of resurgence from the game, because that's clearly not in the cards, but I would still like to offer some fun new features to those still playing. Many of the plans we made with regards to PTC a few months ago are being restructured to work on a smaller scale. Don't expect anything earthshattering, but with the growing power of the internet I think we can, at the very least, make the game easier than ever to play and offer new tools for interaction. While it may be on a smaller-than-ever scale, I hope that e-wrestling's latter days can be the most fun any of us have ever had.
-Some GCW notes: Our first show of the year will be up this weekend and it should be a good one. Things are going really, really well right now. As GCW's fedhead, I don't think it's out of bounds to suggest that GCW might reclaim its spot as top dog in PTC. But the chase to be the best isn't so much about gaining a competitive advantage, because such a thing isn't of much value any more. I do hope FUSE and PRIME join in the battle for the unofficial top spot, because that competition will keep things fresh and frisky and ensure that everyone's working to make each fed the best it can possibly be.
-I think PTC's forums need a makeover. Perception is 9/10ths of reality. I think the PTC forums are actually seeing a decent amount of activity, but they're still configured for a community of many hundreds. Let's trim things down a bit: Fed & Character News, E-Wrestling and Advertising can all be one board. Pro Wrestling and Sports can be consolidated. Sure, these are just superficial changes, but I think condensing our activity into fewer categories will make it easier to see that there's a bit of life left. While I may have backed off my chase for a return to e-wrestling glory, I remain hopeful that we can keep making adjustments to our expectations to match the flow of the game.
-I'm giving some thought to doing weekly show reviews for GCW, PRIME and FUSE. I'd really like to give all three feds equal coverage. Still, that's a tall task. Anyone interested in helping with such a project can get in touch with me.
That's about all I've got for now. I'll be back with some more news and thoughts in a few days.
Read this full blog post at the author's site