Call to Action: Unity Rally this Saturday!

Cross-posted on the Titan Network forums

Hey all, our efforts are really becoming visible. That's great news, and I really hope that it's the shot in the arm of morale that you all need to continue on!

Our next Call to Action is something fun that will be a display of unity, an opportunity for photo ops for press releases and communications to NCsoft, and that best of all will simultaneously give a shot in the arm of morale to people who probably need it badly and deserve our unwavering support: the programmers, designers, managers, marketers, artists, testers, accountants, community relaters, moderators, administrative assistants, and everyone else with a job title that doesn't fit neatly in the above whose incredible talents and awesome work ethic have built the world in which our imaginations live.

Unity Rally
Saturday, September 8, 5:00pm Eastern (2:00pm Pacific) : Atlas Park, Virtue

Please note, this is not a "Virtue" event. It's just a server I picked pseudo-randomly because it was most populated when I just popped in and looked, and I had to pick somewhere. We need all players from all servers to show up! I want ten instances of Atlas Park going with so many people camping City Hall that you can't even see the stairs. Don't have a character on Virtue? No problem, you'll probably need a new one anyway for the contest below! I'm going to take a bunch of pictures for our press releases and communications, so for Pete's sake, wear something nice.

Paragon Appreciation Costume Contest
Saturday, September 8, 6:00pm Eastern (3:00pm Pacific) : Atlas Park, Virtue

After the photo/video ops, the singalong, and the complimentary snacks and fruit punch, stick around because I want to have the biggest costume contest Paragon City has ever seen! Forget nines, you'd better dress to the ELEVENS for this one. Ah, but you can't just throw on any ol' neutrino powered tuxedo 9000 armor and expect to win this one, because there's a theme.

I want you all dressed... (drumroll please)... as your favorite Paragon Studios employee! That's right, I want ten Atlas Parks filled to Zwillinger's brims with Matt "Positron" Millers, Melissa "War Witch" Biancos, Andy "Zwillinger" Belfords, Hosun "Black Pebble" Lees, Keetsie "Tunnel Rat" Braz da Cunhnas, Arbiter Hawks, TheNets,... whoever strikes your fancy! In fact, what they heck, let's recognize some of the old-timers who got us to where we are today. Let's get some April "CuppaJo" Burbas! Some Avateas! Some Zeb "Lord Recluse" Cooks! Some Jack "Statesman" Emmerts! Some Jill "Ex Libris" Hendersons! Some Christopher "Back Alley Brawler" Bruces!

Remember, I'm not talking about the characters, I'm talking about the people themselves. I don't want this:



I want THIS!



"So how do I know what my favorite Paragon Studios staffer looks like?" Good question! There are a few resources. If you attended any of the Hero-Cons, Player Summits, conventions or Meet-and-Greets, just dig out those old pictures from when you excitedly squeaked like a schoolboy, "Oh!!! C'mere, c'mere, c'mere, c'mere!!! I want my picture with you!!!" (What? Was I really the only one?) Otherwise, you can look them up on the Paragon Wiki, a lot of them have pictures posted there. You can also check out some of the Coffee Talk videos on YouTube, Ustream, and Twitch.tv. After that, I guess you're kind of stuck, unless there were some massive searchable index of pictures that one could try... If you actually have pictures of Paragon staffers from events, post them below and identify who they are so we'll know!

The one thing I ask is please don't be mean, don't use this as an opportunity to grind an ax you have. Let's keep it fun and lighthearted. Endearing caricatures of your favorite Paragonster though? Oh yeah. Posi in a red jacket? Matt Thriller. Zwillinger with a bats aura? Andy Belfry. Be imaginative!

So what are the prizes for the contest? Shoot fire, I don't know. (Put down the Incinitron ZX Glove, it was only a figure of speech.) Fortune and glory, kid, fortune and glory. I'll walk around and give out stuff to people who I think are creative, funny, scarily accurate, or whose jib I find cut particularly well. In fact, It's a BYOP costume contest. Bring a bunch of stuff collecting dust in your base bins and be your own judge. I'll be snapping pictures like mad and taking some videos, though, so your "characters" will probably make their way back to the models they're based on, maybe even seen by the original him- or herself.

So come on out this Saturday and let's party like it's 2009!

Please don't drink and fly. Call a Taxibot.

I'll be there... I may break out a tribute costume I made for one of our Devs in the past...

Don't worry, I'll be there. I was just playing one of my Virtue alts today as a matter of fact anyway.

ill do my best to be there, i only have 1-2 toons on virtue cause i pretty much never play there, but gosh darnit i will be there if it means saving the game

*cracks knuckles and starts looking through Meet n Greet photos*

Only thing that may be a down side, unless some dev does something about the VIP / non-VIP status of accounts, people without VIP status and that have already exhausted their global openings, might not be able to properly participate. I'm not sure that new accounts can even be made. It would be a shame to have folks who are no longer VIP but still wanting to help out unable to attend.