Arkadia Pre-Launch Party a Success ...

On Sunday, May 22nd, the Arkadia Pre-Launch Party was held at Calypso's Athena Spaceport at 18:00 in-game time, and the location was perfect for the festivities.  The covered tower platform lent itself to an already built-in circular dome and floor lighting, but also offered up an environment that accepted additional decorating quite well.

Mono "Chrome" Monochrome was our party host supreme, and had to have spent a great deal of time adorning the walkway and platform with multi-colored mind essence that added a level of vibrancy to the ambiance.  Two large dragon heads flanked the entrance onto the platform as if to state that this was a guarded affair.

At the beginning of the party, there was a nice group assembling to share in some virtual comaraderie, but as the night wore on, this small group gained in size and continued to grow.  The circle kept expanding out further to accommodate the steady flow of party goers,  the majority of which equipped a sparkler that came in 3 different colors.

 

I too hosted the party live on MindStar Radio, and gave a shout-out greeting to each member who arrived to celebrate the impending launch of Planet Arkadia with us.  Well, I may have missed one or two here and there since there were so many people coming and going, and I also had my hud off a good portion of the time to take photos and video footage.

Many of those in attendance had added their favorite tracks to a developing playlist at the Arkadia forum, which is something I like to offer those attending a live MSR broadcast event, and will continue to do so.  The music was a mix of upbeat rock, electronic/dance, and alternative to keep the adrenaline pumping.  However, I had a little surprise in store for those who attended the party.

I was on Skype earlier with the CEO of Arkadia (Dave Dobson), where we connect to discuss media activities such as ongoing Arkadia magazine articles for the EntropiaTimes.  He knew about the pre-launch party and that I was going to be covering it live on MSR, so ... he offered up 6 Arkadia music tracks for me to premiere at the party for those in attendance, and of course those who were listening but couldn't attend.  This is music that we will be hearing once we are able to travel to Arkadia after launch.

I played the tracks twice during the evening so that those who were arriving later had an opportunity to hear them, but of course there are many more Entropians who missed out, so ... I connected with Dave and asked if it would be ok to use the 6 tracks in the video I was creating from the footage I took at the party.  This way there would be yet another opportunity for others to be able to appreciate this beautiful music.

Since the party environment was so stationary, it was a bit challenging to have that much of a variation in footage, but there was still activity by the attendees that added a bit more flavor.  I slowed the video to half-speed so that the dance movements were more in line with the music, and throughout the video, captured the little nuances here and there that made watching almost a static scene worth the wait ... you'll see what I mean if you watch the video.

I arranged the 6 Arkadia music tracks specifically so that the music would build, and added a segment toward the end of the video that connected the music with the Arkadia environment.  If you watch the video, allow your eyes to wander to various parts of your screen to catch a unique detail here and there, as well as the continued building of the decorations within the circle.

One of the things I take my time doing, is sync'ing the video footage with the music for added effect.  It seems to give more of a complete feel if you know what I mean.  I am not a professional by any means, and as a matter of fact, my videos are quite simple in nature, but I definitely make an effort to showcase the fun we have in our universe, and make sure that people get noticed.  You will note that in the beginning of the video, I took my time to highlight each person's avatar name and society who were currently standing in the circle in appreciation of their being there.

At any rate, the Entropia community is where it's at for me, and I will continue to showcase our universe and not only highlight what we are currently up to, but also possibilities that are only limited by our thinking.  There will be more events broadcast live on MSR, and I think there just may be another one in the works quite soon, so be sure to stay tuned to my MindStar Media FB page for news and details, or visit my MindStar Media section at the Arkadia Forum.


In the meantime, this is what you missed ...

Time is drawing near ...

This blog has been sitting in limbo for a while because I'm not really active inside Entropia Universe right now, other than the weekly connection with friends to check up on how things are going.  However, we are getting seriously close to two deadlines that have me neck-deep in preparation.

First, the launch of Arkadia is quite near (May 24th), and many are preparing for the migration to this new planet, myself included.  If you are an Entropian ready to step through that portal to explore a brand new world and haven't read the backstory yet, I highly recommend that you do.  You can access all of the episodes here.  It is worth the read, and inspires almost a sense of urgency to invite experiences the likes of which have been lived by those who have gone before us.

Going forward, the new fleet of Arkadians about to inhabit the planet will be involved in not only the continuing development, but also in the evolving storyline.  Pure immersion, and becoming a part of the fabric of the planet is inviting, and as a writer/reporter, I will be bringing all of these details to you beginning with a follow-up article in the June issue of the EntropiaTimes magazine which will be published on June 12th.

Also, if you haven't signed up at the Arkadia Forum, be sure to do that as well, because there is a wealth of information available that truly gives you insight into the development of this planet, complete with ongoing communication from the CEO himself (Dave Dobson) and his A-Team.  There's storyline, videos, photos, discussions, and general community interaction filled with excitement about the arrival of this new planet.

Besides, I can reveal to you now that I will have a dedicated section at the Arkadia forum for my independent media work associated with Arkadia.  You will see content related to my personal adventures on Arkadia, as well as MindStar Radio activities and events related to Arkadia.  News, front page articles, and magazine production will be strictly associated with the EP Media Center, and will not be a part of the MindStar Media section at the Arkadia forum.

I also created a MindStar Media Facebook page to keep the Entropian community updated with my activities on all planets, to include both personal and EP Media Center projects.  This way, the community will know what's in the pipeline.

I may have started off as a huntress on Calypso, dabbling in mining and crafting along the way, but ever since the Summer of 2005 when I first started my picture storytelling, I have consistently brought the adventures of our universe to print, and found that my niche is definitely media.  I enjoy keeping the community connected and apprised of what's happening in our universe, and in a sense I guess, you could say that I created my own profession.  I have now become a planet-hopping virtual journalist, and I'm about to kick it up a notch or two.

And speaking of journalism, there's an impending deadline for the June issue of the EntropiaTimes magazine, and I am deeply entrenched in production.  I just realized today that my four contributions to this next issue of the magazine are associated with four different planets.  I did mention planet-hopping, didn't I?

The magazine is mostly focused on Planet Cyrene, and I have to say that my most involved project is the MS9 Cyrene adventure which was actually outlined by Ed Robles, 3rd himself, man at the helm of the Cyrene planet development.  I was going to do something similar to what I had done with Planet Arkadia in the last issue surrounding the anticipation that has been growing with the impending launch, but Ed had something else in mind to expand on that even further.

I can reveal that this MS9 adventure is an in-character accounting of experiences that are true to the Cyrene storyline, but will also reveal more about the planet and its inhabitants, as well as a secret or two.  This is an incredible opportunity to become entrenched in yet another exciting sci-fi planet storyline that adds another dimension to our ever-expanding universe.

This in-character accounting will be revealing, and give the Entropian community a clue as to what their role will be once they have inhabited the planet.  I can tell you that this project is all-consuming, and I'm having an incredible time with it, but I also have three other articles I need to complete.

With Arkadia's launch on the horizon, it will be just in time to have an opportunity to do some exploring before the magazine is published.  I am writing a follow-up article with the CEO (Dave Dobson) as a result, in order to showcase the new, live planet and what his thoughts are after launch, as well as where he goes from that point forward.  

This will be the 11th hour crunch-time article since launch is so close to publication, but it's doable.  Besides, sleep deprivation keeps me at the edge where I find my adrenaline rush that keeps me moving at MachStar-9 with my hair on fire, so everything gets accomplished in the end anyway.

It was already mentioned in the preview cover of the June issue in our last edition of the magazine that there will be a society spotlight on Sanctuary.  Well, that is my project as well.  I was able to connect with several of their active members, get the interview responses, and have a fun photo shoot on Calypso.  This project is well underway, and I can say that this group really made it a lot of fun.  What a crazy bunch, but then that's my favorite kind of bunch, so it's all good.

My fourth and final article was quite a surprise.  I received an email on Saturday the 14th from Meg Stivison who is the Community Relations Manager for Next Island.  She indicated that she really enjoyed the VIP interview I did with the CEO of Next Island (David Post) which was featured in our launch issue of the EntropiaTimes back in September 2010, but then went on to say ...

That she was wondering if I would be interested in doing an interview and article with the new Producer/Planet Manager of Next Island, Harold Sipe.  This information was just recently released, so this would definitely be an exclusive interview.  I'm incredibly excited that Next Island is heading in a new direction, and that development and production is now in-house.  I couldn't be happier for David Post and his crew.

Of course I accepted the project, so now the community will get the low-down on who Harold Sipe is, and where he fits into the Next Island scheme of things.  To facilitate a smooth production, I immediately connected with both Meg and Harold on Skype and got the ball rolling.  I am just as excited about this undertaking as I am about the other three, and thank Meg and Harold for offering me this little golden nugget.

That about brings you up-to-date with where I'm at in the universe today, but as we know, that changes rather quickly.  My activities are increasing, and this blog will be expanding as we move along, sometimes at warp speed, but then that puts me right where I love being ... on the job for the community.

Until next time ... here's hoping that your Entropian experiences teach you, and give you something to think about.  If you wander aimlessly in space, you're libel to get picked off by some PK'er looking for a good time.

Preparing for a new journey ...

This year has been a bit quiet for me so far, other than working in the background on the March issue of the EntropiaTimes magazine that was just published on the 12th.  I did something a bit different this time, and instead of a VIP interview, or society profile, I decided to go the in-character route of offering a glimpse into Arkadia (page 18-21), a new planet that will be launched soon.

Stay tuned for my personal in-character accounting of exploration and adventures on Arkadia.  With me, you just never know what's in store.

I'm SO ready for this!