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Post by dmikester on Oct 16, 2017 11:17:41 GMT -5
I think the thing with Filigree is that it's just....OK. The story is fine but nothing you haven't seen before (and the writing doesn't exactly feel "Victorian" like you might expect it to), and the items are solid but they definitely cut corners with the authentic aging we're used to. I don't regret purchasing it, but it's solidly lower to maybe middle-tier for me right now compared to everything else.
However, for Filigree, the Artifact has always been the big selling point, and it may really push Filigree into a different level if it's as dynamic and impressive as we're hoping. But, and you'll be shocked by this, there has been a lengthy delay with getting the Artifact shipped (supposedly it will be shipping this week, but it was supposed to ship two weeks ago). So we'll have to see.
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Post by Beckett on Oct 16, 2017 12:56:42 GMT -5
And I am running out of unknowing recipients, and the amount of money I am willing to spend on myself is a bit limited since I have decided to try another pastime that does not exactly come cheap. But perhaps they can have some of my 2017 tax refund...
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Post by kas814 on Oct 16, 2017 16:25:35 GMT -5
And I am running out of unknowing recipients, and the amount of money I am willing to spend on myself is a bit limited since I have decided to try another pastime that does not exactly come cheap. But perhaps they can have some of my 2017 tax refund... Another pastime? Care to share..?
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Post by distantsmoke on Oct 16, 2017 17:33:09 GMT -5
After buying a tankless water heater (to replace the old tank water heater that sprung a leak), summer proofing the AC (WAY more money than I expected), and then discovering the heating system (which will soon be a necessity) needed repair, my wallet is about as flat as a pancake. And breaking into the savings for an experience is not a choice I want to make. I will have a look at the new offers, but unless something is a "must have" as I found Filigree in Shadow to be, I will be waiting until the new year to make any new major purchases from MPC. I do hope at least one of the new offers is in the same price range as The Weeping Book.
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Post by wortelboer on Oct 16, 2017 17:40:25 GMT -5
Perfectly understandable. And the Experiences are not going anywhere so if you wait a few months until the house stuff is settled it is not a big deal.
I'm not feeling like I have to buy all their experiences. I want King in Yellow because that is one that everyone really gives high marks.
I'm actually enjoying Century Beast. I got the audio recording a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed listening to it. My next mailing for that is due this week and I am looking forward to it.
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Post by Beckett on Oct 17, 2017 4:32:40 GMT -5
Another pastime? Care to share..? Certainly! I assume there might be some overlapping interests with some of you fine folks here anyway, and the only reason I have not taken this to the forum section dedicated to games is that I am in the very early stages of planning. I decided that I want wo visit my first Live Action Role Playing game next year - more specifically, I have my heart set on going to Witcher School in Poland. Their game is based on the Witcher stories by Andrzej Sapkowski and the video game adaptions by CD Projekt Red, and all I have read or watched about it makes it seem like the adventure of a lifetime. Either that or I die in the cold mud with a large polish man yelling at me, but I am willing to take that risk. Either way, besides the ticket and travel, there are basic equipment (although you are provided with some basic attire during the first adventure) and, if I decide to stick with this, a full outfit and weapons to think about. So much for disposable income, I suppose...
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Post by dmikester on Oct 17, 2017 7:56:41 GMT -5
Beckett, that is one of the coolest goals I could think of one having. I'm a gigantic fan of The Witcher video game series (especially 3), and to be so immersed in that fantasy world would be such an experience. I wish you all the best with it, and please keep us posted, if for no other reason than so that I can live vicariously through you.
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Post by Beckett on Oct 17, 2017 8:34:24 GMT -5
Beckett, that is one of the coolest goals I could think of one having. I'm a gigantic fan of The Witcher video game series (especially 3), and to be so immersed in that fantasy world would be such an experience. I wish you all the best with it, and please keep us posted, if for no other reason than so that I can live vicariously through you. So, what you are really saying is something along the lines of "see you there"?
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Post by wortelboer on Oct 17, 2017 9:25:14 GMT -5
Another pastime? Care to share..? Certainly! I assume there might be some overlapping interests with some of you fine folks here anyway, and the only reason I have not taken this to the forum section dedicated to games is that I am in the very early stages of planning. I decided that I want wo visit my first Live Action Role Playing game next year - more specifically, I have my heart set on going to Witcher School in Poland. Their game is based on the Witcher stories by Andrzej Sapkowski and the video game adaptions by CD Projekt Red, and all I have read or watched about it makes it seem like the adventure of a lifetime. Either that or I die in the cold mud with a large polish man yelling at me, but I am willing to take that risk. Either way, besides the ticket and travel, there are basic equipment (although you are provided with some basic attire during the first adventure) and, if I decide to stick with this, a full outfit and weapons to think about. So much for disposable income, I suppose... LARPing is always something I have wanted to try. I was involved in Renaissance Fairs for many years and at one point had a huge garb closest. The people who run the Renaissance Faire in CT, also run a great LARP company. They have a whole world and it looks like fun...but I'm feeling to old to go running around in the woods until 2 AM and sleeping in tents and unheated cabins. www.mythicaljourneys.com/
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Post by Todd on Oct 17, 2017 9:30:23 GMT -5
I assume you are aware The Witcher is being adapted to video by Netflix.
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Post by Beckett on Oct 17, 2017 9:59:18 GMT -5
LARPing is always something I have wanted to try. I was involved in Renaissance Fairs for many years and at one point had a huge garb closest. The people who run the Renaissance Faire in CT, also run a great LARP company. They have a whole world and it looks like fun...but I'm feeling to old to go running around in the woods until 2 AM and sleeping in tents and unheated cabins. www.mythicaljourneys.com/Ah, I love the fairs. Throw on a kilt, a large hat and drink mead and fruit wines all day in the sun. I was a bit surprised to see pictures from Texas Renaissance Fair the other day and discover that 'Bavarian' is apparently a perfectly fine theme for clothing there! As for the Roleplaying: If it is at all comforting, I am dreadfully out of shape, my fencing skills are practically nonexisting and I did not even consider LARP a high priority among the things I wanted to try before I found Witcher School, but I am still going! I assume you are aware The Witcher is being adapted to video by Netflix. And it fills me with the same sort of worried anticipation as the idea of the upcoming adaption of The Vampire Chronicles. It will be nearly impossible to do it right, but if they indeed do, it will be a treasure!
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Post by thegenii on Oct 17, 2017 10:43:06 GMT -5
I think we can expect this: if they are releasing three new experiences at once, the "mass produced" quality of some of the paper items in "Filigree in Shadow" is the new norm. I have not found this as problematic as others.
Most paper products they've sent from the very beginning (with the exception of newspaper clippings, which have been offset printed), have been either printed via photocopy or digital printing, and this has always been an issue when an experience is sent to an unsuspecting victim: they know it's not real because they recognize the slightly shiny sheen on the writing (even on white lined paper).
The aging of these papers is no longer always hand done. Some are printed in the aged color, however the Garden Diary in Filigree mailing 3 has been hand colored with tea, hand ripped and distressed. All the crinkling, crumpling, and ripped edges all do have to be done by hand as always.
The production of items by photocopy or digital printing is not a deal breaker for me because it has always been evident from the sheen on the writing that the papers are not real. (And you can always just rub a little dirt on the pages to enhance their appearance, or a paper towel with some tea on it—not too wet!). Or spray the paper lightly with Krylon Matte Fixative.
I would also note that the flipbook (The Great Goodyear) in mailing 3 of Filigree was an expensive item to produce.
It should be noted that in the first three mailings for Filigree we've received a voluminous amount of material! If slightly less handwork by the MPC allows them to give us this much material in an experience, then in my opinion it's a good thing.
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Post by dmikester on Oct 17, 2017 11:01:51 GMT -5
It should be noted that in the first three mailings for Filigree we've received a voluminous amount of material! If slightly less handwork by the MPC allows them to give us this much material in an experience, then in my opinion it's a good thing. See, this is where I disagree with their new approach (and I admit to likely being in the minority here). I very much subscribe to the theory of quality over quantity in general, especially when it comes to something premium that I'm purchasing. Unlike most of their previous Experiences, I've found Filigree very unconvincing in terms of seeming like something that could be real and that could be sent to an unsuspecting person and "fool" them, which is something I've always been deeply impressed by with their work in the past. My immediate impression from the first mailing of Filigree was that, due to the overwhelming amount of and fake feeling quality of the materials that it could easily be interpreted as some sort of over the top transmedia advertisement for a haunted house experience. Compare this to say Risen, which starts with a single well-designed mysterious postcard and a letter and instantly intrigues but doesn't overwhelm, and could easily make someone think that they were presumably sent something real by mistake. This is, in my opinion, much more effective and involving storytelling compared to just throwing a ton of ephemera out there. This is a case of the MPC being victims of their own success, as I don't think of any other company that designs their products to fool people into thinking they're getting something real, and I've always held them to that very high standard. Lately, I think they're moving away from that to creating more "mass-produced" experiences, and as I've said here before, this is exactly the wrong direction for them to go if they want to stand out from others in the marketplace.
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Post by thegenii on Oct 17, 2017 11:14:05 GMT -5
So, then, dmikester, that begs the question: how many recipients of these experiences actually think they are "real" (however you want to interpret that)? I don't believe many of the recipients believe them to be "real" and recognize that this is a product being sent to them.
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Post by dmikester on Oct 17, 2017 11:25:43 GMT -5
So, then, dmikester, that begs the question: how many recipients of these experiences actually think they are "real" (however you want to interpret that)? I don't believe many of the recipients believe them to be "real" and recognize that this is a product being sent to them. I think that may be true nowadays, but at least from their initial marketing, it was certainly their original mission to have Experiences sent to others in an attempt to have the unsuspecting recipient be fooled into wondering what these things were and who they were from. Perhaps people would have suspected that it was a product, but again, consider Risen. Why would, upon getting a letter and a postcard, someone who had no idea about the MPC think that it was a product from a company? Now compare that to Filigree, which has a clearly fake blueprint from a house with "blood" on it, "scary" stuff like the goblin drawing, and a whole conceit about a condemned and mysterious house that's likely haunted? You can tell that this is a haunted house story, and instantly peg it as some kind of product or product placement. It's just too much.
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