Hmmm...
Where to start...
As expected, H2k11 started about a week before Halloween and I was pretty darned excited!
A quick tour through Towns showed that everything was as I remembered it from last year, which in my books, was the best of possible ways for it to be!
I love the spooky atmosphere and "Burtonesque" music that accompanies us as we scurry about in our Halloween finest, banging on doors and collecting candies to give to Jack!
The Halloween Forum, Ian & Louie's "Masquerade", was up and moving at a quick pace as every Gaian got into the spirit and speculated as to what the "Main Event" would be.
That ominous shape approaching the Castle surely meant that something was in the works, and sure enough, a couple of days later, Moonrise began in earnest.
So...
Moonrise.
Basically a free for all, "kill the other guy before he can kill you", style of Event which pitted Gaians who had been transformed into Wolves against Gaians who had avoided the transformation brought about by Evil Timmy.
Right off the bat, not my kind of activity seeing as one of my favourite things about Gaia has always been it's collaborative nature.
Don't get me wrong, I love competition; maybe even a little too much.
But I hate being put in a situation where my success is based in a very real sense on my ability to make someone else fail.
Add to that the frustrations of constantly having to spam for health and energy, the glitchyness of the Event (although it's kind of to be expected....what would a Gaia Event be without it's glitches? wink ) and the lightning paced torrent of spam that was the Main Forum, and my initial response to Hk211 was not exactly positive.
And "not positive" quickly became downright negative as I found my Wolf form to be excruciatingly cumbersome with regards to attaining the required Items and Achievements.
Fortunately, the Flash Space game included the possibility of being "turned" into the opposite species, and once I had become Human again, I discovered that the Human side of the Event seemed to work far more efficiently.
Healing was faster and Attacking was more effective, which brought the Items and Achievements within reach.
Still, it took more time than I had expected, and, obsessing over completing things like I do, my plans for the Forums and my Anon campaign fell by the wayside as I fumed about the snipers and struggled to complete my final Achievement.
Fast forward to Sunday....
Items collected, Achievements achieved. sweatdrop
Time to dive headlong into the Forum and see if I could survive the still turbulent streams of spam being generated by the ubiquitous Healing and Safe Topics.
While challenging, I did manage to find a few interesting Topics and see some wonderful artists working their freebie threads (I'm always amazed by the talent this site seems to attract as well as the generosity of so many gifted people!) and even bring my Anon campaign on-line.
As well, I managed to make a few Topics of my own that, despite going pretty much unseen amidst the spam (or perhaps were simply unappreciated based on their content wink ) were fun, AND I received a wonderful new WideEyed from The Crows are Laughing/Haylie heart , so, with the Event drawing to it's inevitable finale this Halloween Night, the final verdict on H2k11 remains to be decided.
Being a Wolf in Moonrise was perhaps one of the most frustrating things I've ever experienced on Gaia (other than those @#!&@% Flying Giftboxes!) and the endless, unrelenting stream of spam that ran through the Main Forum were enough to make me give the whole thing up and run screaming for the shelter of my Resort, which I did.
On several occasions.
But memories of previous Events (and some unfinished business) kept drawing me back to Moonrise, and ultimately, the people of Gaia came through.
has Moonrise lived up to Grave Danger?
Honestly I'd have to say no.
Even though I got my stuff, it didn't come without a price, and I regret having undoubtedly visited the frustration that I was feeling upon others who were also trying to get the Event done.
And don't get me started on no Halloween in zOMG!
Still, all in all, it's been good.
Not "three full days hunched in front of the laptop trying to get my @$&!#% stuff" good.
But good. wink
So with Halloween H2k11/Moonrise nearly done, it's time to start looking forward to Christmas in the hopes that the Forum Event can recapture the magic of last year's wonderful "Save Santa", and that Christmas, which never did arrive in zOMG!, will reappear and bring with it that beautiful Christmas tree that I only managed to glimpse fleetingly in Barton Town when I joined just before the end of 09.
Too soon for Christmas fantasies you say?
Go to Walmart and tell me that! rofl
And, just in case you were thinking you had escaped one of my Event Journal Entries without being subjected to my awful poetry, I give to you my tribute to the Moonrise Forum.....
The Spammicane
(with apologies to Mr. Dylan)
Dressed up for the Masquerade on Halloween
WideEyed joins the Forum poised to have a ball
Sees nothing but a endless stream of Healings Posts
Cries out "My God, they spammed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Spammicane
The storm so many Gaians came to blame
For killing H2K one one
And draining every ounce of fun from an Event
That was a highlight of the year.
Scrolling from page to page and all she sees
Is spamming Topics spread out endlessly
"I Need Some Energy", their soul refrain.
And every single page is just the same!
"I can't believe that this is the Event"
She feels excitement turn to discontent
So she checks out her Status Page
To find she's dead and slowly rage
Fills the space where anticipation was.
Meanwhile down in Cali at Gaia H.Q.
The Devs were all relaxing, their hard work finally through.
"We got it launched, there's nothing left to do,
But watch it run and patch a glitch or two".
Then in the Forum something started to form
The telltale signs of an impending storm
Soon there was nothing to be seen
But Spam Topics filling the screen.
Halloween blown away, buried in spam!
In T.O. at her keyboard WideEyed sits and fumes
"I waited for months for this, and this is what I get?"
"Every time I post a word I end up dead."
"And the Forum hasn't got one decent thread!"
"I can't believe the Event is such a fail,
How could they blow it on such an epic scale?"
So she goes over to the z!F
All the while telling herself that if
Halloween is in zOMG! the Event might still be saved!
Halloween 2k one one was little more
Than a Spammicane and a frustrating bore
Seemingly designed for all the teenage boys
Who scream for PVP and just post noise.
Not for the Gaian how would normally
Interact with others more cooperatively
Taking in each part of the Event,
Not being forced to spam, relentlessly spamming
Trying to get the Event done!
(with apologies to Mr. Dylan)
Dressed up for the Masquerade on Halloween
WideEyed joins the Forum poised to have a ball
Sees nothing but a endless stream of Healings Posts
Cries out "My God, they spammed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Spammicane
The storm so many Gaians came to blame
For killing H2K one one
And draining every ounce of fun from an Event
That was a highlight of the year.
Scrolling from page to page and all she sees
Is spamming Topics spread out endlessly
"I Need Some Energy", their soul refrain.
And every single page is just the same!
"I can't believe that this is the Event"
She feels excitement turn to discontent
So she checks out her Status Page
To find she's dead and slowly rage
Fills the space where anticipation was.
Meanwhile down in Cali at Gaia H.Q.
The Devs were all relaxing, their hard work finally through.
"We got it launched, there's nothing left to do,
But watch it run and patch a glitch or two".
Then in the Forum something started to form
The telltale signs of an impending storm
Soon there was nothing to be seen
But Spam Topics filling the screen.
Halloween blown away, buried in spam!
In T.O. at her keyboard WideEyed sits and fumes
"I waited for months for this, and this is what I get?"
"Every time I post a word I end up dead."
"And the Forum hasn't got one decent thread!"
"I can't believe the Event is such a fail,
How could they blow it on such an epic scale?"
So she goes over to the z!F
All the while telling herself that if
Halloween is in zOMG! the Event might still be saved!
Halloween 2k one one was little more
Than a Spammicane and a frustrating bore
Seemingly designed for all the teenage boys
Who scream for PVP and just post noise.
Not for the Gaian how would normally
Interact with others more cooperatively
Taking in each part of the Event,
Not being forced to spam, relentlessly spamming
Trying to get the Event done!
And, to those intrepid few (if any) who might have made it this far, here is your reward.
My Halloween Avvy by Luxavior.
Don't think I'd put you through all the above without having a special "Treat" for you this Halloween!
