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 RallySaturday, 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 ContestSaturday, 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.