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meteordustNobody quite knew what to expect from Mr Chimes' Grand Clearing-Out, a brand new, one off, experimental event for Fallen London. Most of the regular festivals are about individual participation, and the recently retired elections were competitive, even antagonistic.
But this was designed to be a collaborative event, where everyone combined their efforts towards a common goal. Namely, uncovering five new dig sites that would be permanently added to the city. Players were excited to get their picks and start digging. As one commenter put it, you had the instant reward of finding an item, and the deeper satisfaction of contributing to the overall progress of the dig.
It was a rollercoaster ride, as chronicled in this history of the event. The excitement of digging up new discoveries. The challenge of optimising how to feed the diggers. The surprise acceleration of the event, with upturned carts and horses in the streets. The uncovering of the first site at Moloch Street. (I guess everyone wanted to know what the devils were hiding?) The uncovering of the other sites in turn, each with its own story. (Spiders debating philosophy!) And halfway through, the ominous tremor that shook the earth, no matter where you were in the city.
People joked that all the digging was disturbing the Stone Pigs, the ancient entities slumbering beneath the city. (We kept digging anyway.) When the last site was uncovered, cracks and chasms appeared in the streets, collapsing buildings and trapping people. The Masters of the Bazaar convened an emergency meeting to find a way to stop the disaster. (Which was not actually caused by the digging.) Players with certain rare items were invited to choose whether to sacrifice them to construct the Device to Preserve London. Other players explored the rubble to rescue people. When both parts were complete, the Masters switched on the device--
--and something happened. Some kind of energy moved between the highest spires and the deepest depths. We shared the same dream, everyone in the city. The Stone Pigs went back to sleep. And then we woke up.
Some comments from the forums:
Huey described the experience of witnessing things unfold: "It started like a funny spelunking effort in which the stakes were possibly 'I want to be sure to explore this site before the event ends' to 'oh mother of **** what the **** is happening' in a way that I don't think was available before, which speaks well for the compelling use of World Qualities and this kinds of far-reaching events in general."
Anthony liked "the general excitement of London's Plight and, as someone else has aptly put it here on this thread, the fact that it retroactively justified years of hoarding in a good way."
Macnia speculated on the deeper lore: "It kind of sounds to me like what the Masters did was just reassuring the Bazaar to calm it down. Like the Stone Pigs becoming restless was giving it the urge to fly away, and they had to convince it not to. I don't know what it looked like down in the lacre, but up in the spires the experience was of seeing London in its entirety and finding it beautiful. And then having a shared dream with everyone else in the city and experiencing a brief moment of spiritual oneness. Maybe the point was just to show London to the Bazaar from a fresh perspective, so that it would recognize what it would lose if it tried to fly back to the stars."
And enail summed up my feelings perfectly: "Damn. That was beautiful. I genuinely feel like I did something desperately important with my fellow Londoners and that, for this one moment, everything is okay. And 'breakfast will not be postponed indefinitely' made me laugh actually out loud."
I've been playing Fallen London on and off for a while now, and it's probably not a surprise that it's been more on than off this last year. Right now in real life, things are pretty dire, and sometimes people making art is a bright spot in a dark time. I always think of that quote: "We can't solve their problems for them, but we can give them the strength to face the day."
But this was designed to be a collaborative event, where everyone combined their efforts towards a common goal. Namely, uncovering five new dig sites that would be permanently added to the city. Players were excited to get their picks and start digging. As one commenter put it, you had the instant reward of finding an item, and the deeper satisfaction of contributing to the overall progress of the dig.
It was a rollercoaster ride, as chronicled in this history of the event. The excitement of digging up new discoveries. The challenge of optimising how to feed the diggers. The surprise acceleration of the event, with upturned carts and horses in the streets. The uncovering of the first site at Moloch Street. (I guess everyone wanted to know what the devils were hiding?) The uncovering of the other sites in turn, each with its own story. (Spiders debating philosophy!) And halfway through, the ominous tremor that shook the earth, no matter where you were in the city.
People joked that all the digging was disturbing the Stone Pigs, the ancient entities slumbering beneath the city. (We kept digging anyway.) When the last site was uncovered, cracks and chasms appeared in the streets, collapsing buildings and trapping people. The Masters of the Bazaar convened an emergency meeting to find a way to stop the disaster. (Which was not actually caused by the digging.) Players with certain rare items were invited to choose whether to sacrifice them to construct the Device to Preserve London. Other players explored the rubble to rescue people. When both parts were complete, the Masters switched on the device--
--and something happened. Some kind of energy moved between the highest spires and the deepest depths. We shared the same dream, everyone in the city. The Stone Pigs went back to sleep. And then we woke up.
Some comments from the forums:
Huey described the experience of witnessing things unfold: "It started like a funny spelunking effort in which the stakes were possibly 'I want to be sure to explore this site before the event ends' to 'oh mother of **** what the **** is happening' in a way that I don't think was available before, which speaks well for the compelling use of World Qualities and this kinds of far-reaching events in general."
Anthony liked "the general excitement of London's Plight and, as someone else has aptly put it here on this thread, the fact that it retroactively justified years of hoarding in a good way."
Macnia speculated on the deeper lore: "It kind of sounds to me like what the Masters did was just reassuring the Bazaar to calm it down. Like the Stone Pigs becoming restless was giving it the urge to fly away, and they had to convince it not to. I don't know what it looked like down in the lacre, but up in the spires the experience was of seeing London in its entirety and finding it beautiful. And then having a shared dream with everyone else in the city and experiencing a brief moment of spiritual oneness. Maybe the point was just to show London to the Bazaar from a fresh perspective, so that it would recognize what it would lose if it tried to fly back to the stars."
And enail summed up my feelings perfectly: "Damn. That was beautiful. I genuinely feel like I did something desperately important with my fellow Londoners and that, for this one moment, everything is okay. And 'breakfast will not be postponed indefinitely' made me laugh actually out loud."
I've been playing Fallen London on and off for a while now, and it's probably not a surprise that it's been more on than off this last year. Right now in real life, things are pretty dire, and sometimes people making art is a bright spot in a dark time. I always think of that quote: "We can't solve their problems for them, but we can give them the strength to face the day."
