Dark_Respite

Two screenshots from the event are available here:

http://t.co/MqjKxeTC

http://t.co/Ii8oYR32

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Yeah, David was a good guy. VERY patient with explaining a bunch of demorecord tricks to me back when I was first starting out.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

An update:

No, I have not forgotten about this. The problem is that I keep changing my mind on the best way to do it, and the music I want to use. (No joke - I've got like eight choices now.)

I have all the names, and I will be filming right up until they shut down the servers. So for those who are interested in seeing the finished result (since I honestly don't know if I'll be able to finish it before Fri midnight - unemployment sucks), please subscribe to me on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/samuraiko) and on Twitter (I'm there as @Samuraiko).

I'll also be posting it on the Titan forums when it's done.

I am so sorry that it's taking this long - it has been painfully hard for me to log in to try and film when the overwhelming weight of "why bother" is just stifling me. But damn it all, I want to finish this.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Oh please God, please someone tell me they're trying to get this list archived somewhere and added to cohtube.blogspot.com...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I'm not on that list, and Arcanaville is? I is confused...

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

One of the few regrets I have is occasionally being told, "Y'know, I really would love to try making videos in CoH, but yours are so good that no one will want to watch mine, so I'm not gonna."

Oh, how I HATED hearing that.

I kept telling them, "Make them anyway! You don't know what the players are or aren't going to like, and make them for YOU! Screw everyone else!" Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't.

But I'm glad that in recent times, more and more people have been stepping up with videos they've made, and that folks have been coming up with nifty tools to make the vid-making experience easier/better/more impressive. It makes me wish even harder that CoH could have been allowed to continue.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I'm glad I was able to hit a high note before I left.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

As a test, I ran demo playbacks while my internet service was down. It is not an issue.

TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE: Apart from the sound bug, the ONLY thing you cannot do via demo playback is show time passing (the sun/moon moving across the sky). If you need a shot like the sun rising or setting, you must get in-game and actually FRAPS it. David confirmed this one for me a while back (the official CoH videographer at Paragon), so unless this has changed recently, that's a no-go.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Make him Irish and call him:

R. Kane O'Ville

Then give him a cybernetic hand and make it a pale, pale grey.

*****

Or better yet, make him a brute/tank type, fricking huge!

Call him Lump Sum.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

There is only one name that could POSSIBLY be used for this character.

Behold...

The Pocket Protector!



A professional and timeless look. Note, however, that he has opted for more efficient (and less costly) sneakers, as ruining Italian leather shoes running into burning buildings and into sewers is just not a good return on investment. Also note that he has not sacrificed his vision to protect his anonymity - over his feature-concealing domino mask are his specialty prescription glasses. (He paid extra for the carbon protection after nearly catching shrapnel with the lenses, and glasses are just prohibitively expensive.)

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Well, enough other people have made their goodbyes, I thought I should finally do mine. I don't want to. Hell, I wish I didn't have to.

I got into this gig because of my husband John (aka Blood Speaker, or as some of you know him, the voice of Lord Recluse in my INCARNATE video). Although we had a couple of friends who played CoH, he'd loudly and longly proclaimed that until he could play a VILLAIN, no way no how was he gonna play. Sure enough, Christmas time 2006, hello, CoV, hello account for John.

And he and his other friends who played would go on and on and on about CoH, and I'd sometimes watch over his shoulder as he'd play. Until I finally decided to give the game a try myself.

Except I got hideous motion sickness every time I did. So I would play for about five minutes at a time on his account. Until little by little, I was able to build up a tolerance and actually play. So in July 2007, I got my own account. (After, btw, I had unlocked Kheldians on John's account because his first 50 was a villain, and MY first 50 was a hero. You're welcome, John.)

And I enjoyed playing. I enjoyed creating characters, trying powersets, writing bios for my characters...

... and then, with Issue 10... IT began.

"I have this video idea," says I.
"Wouldn't it be neat to do a kinda trailer sorta thing for the Invasion," says I.
"It'll probably suck, but what the hell," says I.

It was, to quote Heinz Kruger from CAPTAIN AMERICA, "the first of many."

Over the course of my five-year CoH career, this game inspired a total of thirty-three videos, totaling an hour and forty-one minutes. Unreal. Music videos, game trailers, parodies, what have you. And my video to-do list kept growing and growing.

Then there was the story thing. What started as an in-character joke, intended to be a one-off little story, turned into a trilogy of books (Book 1 is done, Book 2 is in progress, Book 3 is outlined and partially written already). I still don't think Matt Miller has ever forgiven me for turning his namesake into a romantic leading man.

This game has been such a wonderful outlet for my creativity, in more ways than I'd ever expected or dreamed. What a blessing it was the day I first got here.

But part of the reason for this letter is so I can thank certain people. Being the absentminded schnook that I am, I've probably never properly thanked some of the CoH community for all they've done. So...



THE PLAYERS


To Kay Parfait, Atlantea, and the Triumph crew - you guys were my first film crew, the first to rally to the battle cry of, "I'M FILMING, EVERYONE LOOK AWESOME!" From the very beginning, you stepped in when I needed body doubles, teleports to places, and a host of other kindnesses.

To Red Gren, Abraxxus, Texas Justice, and so many, many others on my second home, Justice - bless you for being some of the coolest damn people I've had the pleasure of gaming with and meeting in real life. You have been there to team, to chat, and to make me laugh so many times.

To SyrusBLiz, Desi Nova, SpaceNut, KWSapphire, and the LiveJournal channel crew - thank you for believing. Most of you probably don't remember, but I recall a few posts I made in the CoH LJ about problems I was having (both in-game and RL), and you guys were nothing but supportive and encouraging.

To Megumi and Plasma Warrior - my Justice comrades-in-arms, hosts of the OFF THE CAPE podcast, and fellow havoc-wreakers at HeroCon. Special hugs to Plasma Warrior for driving with John and me (and Plas' Dad) from Phoenix to San Jose and back TWICE. Forty-some-odd hours of nonstop laughter.

To Scuzzbopper, Zloth, Synchrotron, and all the other players who created tools for the videographers - you guys are the awesome.

To Neutra, Sentai Sage, 8 Baller, Aralcox, AngelusAnimi, TimTheEnchanter, Ashcraft, OminousVoice, Thor's Assassin, and the rest of the videographer community - I learned so very, very much from you guys. And you set a damned high bar for me to reach.

To Arcanaville, the Doyenne of Digits, the Madame of Mathematics - thanks for not only being brilliant, but for consistently being one of the class acts of the forums.

To Turgenev and Leandro, my Freedom fellows - for laughter, for computer tech support, and for just being there.

To Equation aka Arbiter Fabulous - thank you for unbridled enthusiasm, laughter, and sheer chutzpah. You make my world a brighter place. And more fashionable.

To Leandro, for so very, very much - No hay palabras, mi amor. Gracias.

To Dust Raven and Trystan Laryssa, founders of the Star Patrol and friends in real life - I still think our motto should have been, "We're not Longbow... we're better." You guys know I love you both.

To KittenBasket, for staunch support, goodwill, and unflagging enthusiasm - you made so many things possible. At least half of my vids are because of you. So now people know who to blame, thank, or both.

To Cende, fellow author, best friend, and staunch supporter of TavaTron - I can't imagine my life any more without you in it. And thank you for reminding me that Statesman can be more than a stiffnecked ****** with a patriotism complex.



THE REDNAMES

To Ex Libris and Lighthouse, in absentia - for being the first rednames to really support me. The HeroCon 2008 presentation experience is one I will forever cherish.

To Zwillinger, Mod8, TheNet, Beastyle, Avatea, and all the other community folks - thank you for not giving me crap for starting new threads every time I made a video. And also thank you for commenting in said threads, guaranteeing that people would read them if they followed the Community Digest.

To Hit Streak - ferrying me to all thirty-three instances of Atlas Park on the day of the Unity Rally was probably the single most amazingly generous thing I have EVER had a redname do for me. Especially since it was on your day off and you were late getting to some family shindig or another for helping me.

To Second Measure - thank you for giving me an opportunity I'd not expected. I don't know how much good I did, but thanks for having the faith to give me the chance.

To Protean, Viridian, Dr. Aeon, Hero 1, and Manticore, lore gods all - thank you for taking my questions seriously when I was trying to make sense of the vastness that is CoH lore. Special thanks to Protean and Dr. Aeon for forgiving me after I put my foot in my mouth numerous times - I wasn't sure you would.

To David Lewis, unsung videographer of CoH - I'd NEVER have made most of these had it not been for him.

Last but certainly not least, to Positron - you know why. If you don't, go read your farewell thread and look for my post.



To the playerbase at large - I wish I knew how to thank all of you. I started out making videos because *I* enjoyed them. I kept on making videos because *YOU* enjoyed them. Like that line in GODFATHER III, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." And the words 'thank you' just seem so... inadequate here.

But thank you for the support, the comments, the posting of my vids here there and everywhere, and yes, even for the criticism. You helped make each video better. Also, thank you to all of you who kept lobbying for Paragon to hire me - that you believed my work was good enough to promote and support this game we love meant more to me than I could hope to tell you. I wish more than anything that I could have had that chance. Still, it was an awesome feeling to know that some of you anticipated my vids almost as much as you did the issues that I was making them for.



EDIT: Before I go, I do want to reassure folks that I will be continuing to make videos in the games where I end up. Although Johanna Sinclair, Sorina Tavarisch, Andrea Blake and others will remain here in Paragon City, new heroines have risen to the call elsewhere.

In RIFT, on the Faeblight server, you'll find me there as Raelskye, Trisstesse, Tetsutsuru, and Samuraiko. (Bloodspeaker is there as well, playing his namesake!) Our guild there is Veritas Aeternum.

In LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE, on the Gladden server, you'll find me there as Raelskye and Certhrendis. Bloodspeaker is there as Aranelion, Caelwald, Gildarion, and a couple others. (A couple of our other CoH friends are there as well.) Our kinship is the Wards of Lore.

As for THE COURSE OF SUPERHERO ROMANCE, I own the domain superheroromance.com, which will soon be hosting not only TCOSR, but also Cende's story PROPHECY AND DREAMS. As soon as I get the site built, the stories will go on.

And for those who want to keep in touch with me, I am on Twitter as, of course, @Samuraiko.



That's a wrap, everyone.


Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Kudos for being one of the COH fan writers whose quality I always aspired to reach. May you be as inspired in whatever other fandom you find yourself in after this.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I would support the successor if said game were actually worth supporting. I won't do it out of some deluded sense of blind devotion.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

I would, for the sole purpose of finishing as many of the videos on my list as I could.

But that's it.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Admittedly, I was *SORELY* tempted on Cabbage Night to go TP/egg the NCsoft Seattle building. But figuring that jail time would suck, I chose discretion as the better part of valour.

But for pure snark... I'd arrange for the most obnoxious debt-collection agency I could find to go after NCsoft to try and collect about fifty grand from them, for all the videos I've made for COH over the past five years. That's probably a SERIOUS paycut on my part, though, but hey, it's all about compromise.



Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Though I started on Triumph, and later made Justice my home, I will be on beta.

After that, I plan to drink until I don't care that it hurts, and then cry myself to sleep.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite