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Post by Ashenden on Sept 7, 2016 15:55:05 GMT -5
It was the first one I sent to myself. I also sent Risen and Weeping Book to friends. Both loved it. Risen also had delays although nothing akin to Century Beast. But, both left a lasting impression and were wonderful gifts. I was dazzled in the belief that a higher price and more mailings would lead to an even better experience. Instead, I found the TCB narrative to be disjointed, not even close to par with "Risen" and the extra mailings somehow told a lesser story. The artifact at the end wasn't all that special, in my opinion. I told my 11-year-old it was stone and she held it for a moment and said "it's plastic." Here's the important thing, which you will know better than everyone else here given your devotion to magic: I was like an eager and willing participant in a magic show. I was ready to suspend all disbelief and give the performer all benefit of the doubt. I was in the absolutely perfect frame of mind for this. And it still didn't dazzle me, although I tried very hard to be dazzled... it just didn't happen and eventually I had to accept what I experienced. I could have written this myself. A magic show indeed, but one in which the "prestige" had no element of shock or surprise. Like reading a book or watching a film in which you already guess the ending well in advance of your arrival there. |
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Post by thegenii on Sept 7, 2016 16:05:15 GMT -5
Indeed, Ashenden, that character of the MPC has been lost. Jackalope, it's easy to see how the promise of more and more mailings made "The Century Beast" seem so exciting IN ADVANCE, during the Kickstarter campaign (as well as justifying the much higher price). But what we've learned, I think, is that it had too many mailings. The MPC seems to have learned this as well, since "Filigree of Shadow" is half as many mailings, with (it appears) a more traditional narrative approach along the lines of both "Risen" and "The Weeping Book" as you mention. I don't think that there's any question that "The Weeping Book" with one mailing at a quarter of the price is a more successful experience than "The Century Beast." As you perceive, we were "misdirected" as customers, while the MPC misdirected itself. (And here I am using "misdirection" in magical terms, as in missing certain details because of psychological distractions.) If you think about it, the fact that a disjointed collection of anecdotes from various sources would fail to hold interest over a 10 month period should have been obvious. But all hindsight is 20/20.  |
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Post by thegenii on Sept 7, 2016 16:06:43 GMT -5
Yes, Ashenden, it's always a double jumbo bummer when the ending is obvious from the beginning. Too many movies die in the first 10 minutes for that reason.
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Post by Beckett on Sept 7, 2016 16:15:30 GMT -5
The MPC seems to have learned this as well, since "Filigree of Shadow" is half as many mailings, with (it appears) a more traditional narrative approach along the lines of both "Risen" and "The Weeping Book" as you mention. I noticed that they used the adjective "substantial" to describe the story mailings. I believe that Filigree in Shadow is the best - and maybe only - chance for the Company to restore the faith of their disgruntled members. The kickstarter campaign does indeed read as if the Company do know this as well, and their ability to keep their promises especially with regard to their schedule will be a deciding factor. |
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Post by thejackalope on Sept 7, 2016 16:20:02 GMT -5
Also 'twas one of your posts, I believe, that led me to the Haunted Dollhouse -- you had only mentioned it in passing, but the name alone made me look it up -- which I have high hopes for! Ah, the Dollhouse - and we are so close, too! Did you look at Lady Delaney's other miniatures? They are gorgeous! Indeed! And with a die-hard miniaturist here in the Jackalope home, this is an experience I hope will share quite well -- I am very much looking forward to October!
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Post by thegenii on Sept 7, 2016 19:13:46 GMT -5
"Filigree in Shadow" won't start until April 2017 ...
The three experiences from The Armchair Detective Company won't start until sometime in 2017 ...
The Haunted Dollhouse looks like the only thing preventing temporary withdrawal unless the second mailing of "Under the Ceiba Tree" doesn't make me feel like I'm reading an Archie comic.
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Post by thejackalope on Sept 7, 2016 21:24:09 GMT -5
"Filigree in Shadow" won't start until April 2017 ... The three experiences from The Armchair Detective Company won't start until sometime in 2017 ... The Haunted Dollhouse looks like the only thing preventing temporary withdrawal unless the second mailing of "Under the Ceiba Tree" doesn't make me feel like I'm reading an Archie comic. I got more of a Scooby Doo vibe off it from what I read... |
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Post by helenahandbasket on Sept 8, 2016 8:02:00 GMT -5
Speaking of kickstarters, this one went viral. And I want it.
/description
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Post by Beckett on Sept 8, 2016 8:52:48 GMT -5
There are so many great, beautiful and just plain funny crowdfunding campaigns out there. We should open a dedicated discussion for that.
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Post by thegenii on Sept 8, 2016 12:44:46 GMT -5
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Post by Beckett on Sept 8, 2016 13:25:04 GMT -5
Good thinking! This makes you more considerate than all the redditors and their ilk by far, to say nothing of the unboxing youtubers!
The King in Yellow was actually the next experience I was hoping to send out, since the next recipient on my list could recognize some of the terms from the television show True Detective. But he is also a passionate photographer, so I decided to give him Filigree in Shadows instead. Still, the King in Yellow must have His due... but there are others...
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Post by thejackalope on Sept 8, 2016 16:45:31 GMT -5
Indeed, Ashenden, that character of the MPC has been lost. Jackalope, it's easy to see how the promise of more and more mailings made "The Century Beast" seem so exciting IN ADVANCE, during the Kickstarter campaign (as well as justifying the much higher price). But what we've learned, I think, is that it had too many mailings. The MPC seems to have learned this as well, since "Filigree of Shadow" is half as many mailings, with (it appears) a more traditional narrative approach along the lines of both "Risen" and "The Weeping Book" as you mention. I don't think that there's any question that "The Weeping Book" with one mailing at a quarter of the price is a more successful experience than "The Century Beast." As you perceive, we were "misdirected" as customers, while the MPC misdirected itself. (And here I am using "misdirection" in magical terms, as in missing certain details because of psychological distractions.) If you think about it, the fact that a disjointed collection of anecdotes from various sources would fail to hold interest over a 10 month period should have been obvious. But all hindsight is 20/20. I don't fully agree. I think the key is quality rather than quantity. They certainly COULD have told a good story in 10 mailings, just as one could tell a poor story in a single mailing. The problem here is too many mailings contained brief and not-very-interesting items and the delays between these mailings were weeks or more. And as we have discussed the overall quality of the story just wasn't there. The fact that this is what they sent out is a testament to the poor planning on their part, not just the logistics part where they clearly didn't have the material ready by the story itself. It is in some ways as if they made it up as they went along. I am hoping they have planned Filigree better for those of you who are pledging. |
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Post by Beckett on Sept 8, 2016 17:20:16 GMT -5
I am hoping they have planned Filigree better for those of you who are pledging. It would be incredibly short-sighted if they had not. At least to a degree, I can see how certain difficulties would have piled up during the kickstarter campaign and the execution of the Experience, so the Century Beast would always be bedevilled by those issues until the end of its first run, but with Filigree in Shadow they get a clean slate, and with it the responsibility to do better this time around. It is reasonable to expect they take that opportunity and do their very best - there is nothing like a host of new, satisfied members to spread the word. There are a number of details contributing to my optimism about the campaign. The fact that the reward description explicitly promise three "substantial" mailings seems to indicate that they understood that some of the Century Beast mailings maybe were not substantial enough. That they offer only two tiers of the Experience, with the additional content of the higher value reward tier being referred to as a "side story" promises a tighter narrative; that the story of The Century Beast seemed somewhat disjointed at times was surely in no small part owed to the fact that they designed the story in a way that would allow for single mailings to be left out to accomodate the different reward tiers. Lastly, their claim that the story has been written and the artifacts prototyped gives me hope that they are much more certain what type of story they want to tell. Century Beast spoilers here: While I liked way the story unfolded - how some vaguely connected snippets and articles about sea monsters came together with the story of Jake the fisherman, and the dawning realisation that the person writing those letters was none other than his daughter Sarah - it showed in some ways that the story had not been set in stone when they launched the kickstarter campaign. I found that to be obvious in the way the description of the Experience changed over time, where it seemed to focus primarily on the Hille Expedition during the kickstarter, which as I understand is only mentioned in passing in the retail version of the Experience, and in the way some story threads seemed to be left hanging in the end; in this kind of story, I would have expected that Sarah's paranoia about "Them" would turn out to be justified. But to find out if they really took the lessons from their last kickstarter experience to heart, we will have to wait until April... |
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Post by helenahandbasket on Sept 8, 2016 19:24:58 GMT -5
In the meantime, you could get a Fidget Cube. And you never know, it might come in handy during Filigree.
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Post by thegenii on Sept 8, 2016 20:16:22 GMT -5
Who has time to waste on a Fidget Cube? For every fidget I can type an entire word!
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