After reading Smoot's wonderful post, I think it would be awesome to have several of these threads. Since we all have different life experiences, and many people were not able to come to what quite frankly ended up being 'the event of the year' when it comes to Ultima, it could make some good reading, for a lot of people.
I was hesitant to come to the 20th Anniversary, I am a notoriously private person, and I do not enjoy crowds at all. Socially, it is quite difficult for me to approach strangers or groups of people, so when I did finally resolve to attend I planned to sit in the back, hide my name tag and just people watch and listen to people... oh how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Before hand, several of the EMs connected and were communicating through a group text message, planning on meeting for dinner that first night. However after two flights, nearly missing a connection, and a bit of a tarmac delay I missed dinner with the others. So when I arrived at the hotel I was flying solo, checked in, got settled, and came down stairs.
The lobby was filled with the most interesting conglomerations of people I have ever seen. The two event pairings this particular weekend were an amazingly awesome trick of fate.
We had our Ultima Online 20th Anniversary, "Gamer Nerds" from age 15 all the way to probably people in their 70s, these could be made of any random Joe/Jane off the street and there were no set stereotypes. Just a random group of people who have shared a passion for the past two decades.
Conversely, the Miss Globe United States Organization was also using the hotel as a base of their event for the weekend. So we shared the hotel, the bar, and the common areas with some of the most stunning young women. The constant parade of fancy dresses was awesome... "Beauty Queens" are not really my 'type', but I did greatly enjoy the fashion and beautiful dresses that hallmarked the weekend. I will say that among the interactions I did have with a few of the Ladies, they were all kinds, respectful, intelligent and engaging. I was very impressed with them, again... much like the UO group, very much against what many would consider to be the expected stereotype.
My first dinner was a solo meal, it was expensive and not very good, it also took FOREVER to get my food, my check, and just generally turned a meal into a chore. It did give me time to just sit and watch people and get a grasp on the dynamic of the crowd.
Then I sat at the bar, the bartender was awesome, quick, responsive and handling the crowd well. I ordered an Old Fashioned, and just sat and listened. Talk of UO was happening around me, and I did my best to listen, but not engage.
The first person that approached me was @Zuckuss who I found to be quite outgoing and friendly. I didn't let him know who I was, saying that I preferred my anonymity for now, which he and many others were respectful of. Shortly there after, I finished my Old Fashioned and was invited outside by one of the female members of The Cartel. So I headed outside and spent about an hour sitting and talking with them, enjoying their company very much.
Only 4 people at the party could have guessed my identity, and about that time EM Falcon came down and nudged me, saying hello, and dragging me from crowd to crowd being aware of my lack of social fervor, but was respectful that I wasn't ready to share my name just yet... about that time the very nice Lady from the Cartel bought me a beer.
Then, EM Obsidian came down, another person that had a vague idea of my general appearance and shouted "Heeeey! Bennu! How are you!" after that it was down hill, so much for anonymity.
I was eager to meet two of my governors that I have spent a of of time engaged with in game, Tatiana Thorn and @Beldin Brightaxe and I occasionally would inquire after them. I spent quite a while talking to a guy and his beautiful wife (2+ hours), who never told me his name... more on that later. The Cartel brought me another beer...
Things started to slow down, then I think it was Winfield that started circulating that Richard Garriott and Starr Long would be arriving soon and were going to come down and socialize. So much for bed time!
I met Starr first I think, by now The Cartel had me three sheets to the wind. Starr was Awesome, charismatic and engaging, and he enjoys making severe and intimidating faces when someone puts a camera in his face... the dichotomy between his more friendly and warm demeanor, and the pictures is quite amusing. We discussed among others our own depiction of Blackthorn as a character, the early fiction and the friendship between King Blackthorn and Lord British. As well as a brief bit of honesty about not retaining (any?) rights to Blackthorn as a character on his part. It was a frank and enjoyable conversation.
I believe that Richard Garriott came down afterwords, once Starr had left for bed. Richard, was awesome, certainly a personality worth of his personae. I have engaged with him several times on the internet, and through letters over the past decade, and it was nice to finally be able to shake his hand. Something I had been 'scared' or intimidated enough to not do when we had met in the past. (We shared an elevator in the old Origin building once, when I was 19.)
The remainder of that first night is a bit of a blur at this point, I spoke with a few members of the LNR guild, and eventually I headed to bed once the crowd got light.
The next morning was the 'main event'. The sheer scale of the itinerary was staggering to me, 9am to Midnight. It was going to be a long day... I skipped breakfast and stood in line, socializing a bit with LNR, and a few other people.
I say good morning to the guy I had spent several hours talking to the night before, who was wearing a name tag that said @Beldin Brightaxe I ragged on him a bit for watching me ask around like an idiot after him, when I had been talking to him for hours. Spent a while talking with @Tazar and Falcon, till all the Miss Global ladies decided they wanted pictures with the people in full armor!
My plan to sit at the back and keep myself to myself had fallen apart at this point, so I sat in the very front with EM Obsidian and a few others.
More posing and pictures, Starr, Richard, Falcon, Obsidian and myself all stood at the front for about an hour till Mesanna called us to order, and began things.
The presentation was well done, both Richard and Starr had obviously put work and thought into the presentation before hand. I learned that Starr Long played a MUCH larger role in the creation of Ultima Online than I ever knew. I had always viewed him (my own ignorance) as one of the many "Companions/Friends" of Lord British, and never realized how large his role actually was when it came to game design and development.
Afterwords, there was a Q&A session, hopefully someone will post it in it's entirety. It was quite excellent.
There was a brief lunch of sandwiches, with much socializing. Outside, the windows the Miss Global ladies were having swimsuit photo-shoots, which I personally found quite distracting. But please don't construe that as any sort of complaint. I assure you it isn't... at all.
Richard and Starr took a break, and headed to the back, Mesanna introduced the team and everyone, got their applause.
I wont include the Endless Journey, Vet Rewards or other aspects of the presentation from @Mesanna or the team, as those are discussed amply elsewhere. Only to say that the team seems active, knowledgeable, excited, and passionate about this game and its longevity... I am excited to see what comes in the next year or so.
We then broke for autographs, I was near the front of the line, and ended up missing Mesanna's autograph because she was busy doing some organizational stuff. But got to watch @Smoot get himself a rather personal autograph from @Mesanna.
I already have my original UO Cloth map signed my RG... I really should have unframed it and brought for Starr to sign as well, probably one of the few things I regret from the party... Starr's signature on that map needs to happen sooner, as opposed to later.
I did get Richard to sign the mission patch from his Space mission, which he had sent me a number of years prior. So I think that is rather excellent.
Afterwords, the wedding took place, with quite a lot of socializing. Cauchemar put together a photo of himself Beldin, @Merlin, JC the Builder and I to represent a quorum of the Atlantic Governor's and King Blackthorn, which I greatly enjoyed.
I got to spend a bit more with the LNR folks that are quite frankly hilarious and a good group of folks.
This night, despite being banned by Mesanna from talking to her; I got to spend a large block of time talking to the new artist for UO (I cannot remember her name), who is very personable and awesome to talk to, I hope that she sticks with the team for the long term. I also got to talk with @Kryonix and @Onifrik I don't think I was the only one completely wowed by Onifrik's wife/girlfriend/companions costume. I should have grabbed a picture, maybe someone else did...
I got to have hotel staff escort some idiot off the premises that was being a freakshow and harassing women and being a jackwagon. So that was fun, thankfully, he was a random 'party crasher' off the street and not someone from our group, or the Miss Global group.
As the night went on, I looked for the Cartel folks that had bought me so many drinks the night before, but couldn't find them. I really wanted to return the favor, but sadly didn't see them for the rest of the weekend... another regret. No idea where they went.
The rest of that evening, I spent talking to @Smoot and @Nails Warstein we spent so long talking that we closed the bar, and after Smoot had gone to bed, Nails and I looked around and realized that the entire lobby was empty... it was 3am. oops.
Somehow, I managed to roll out of bed and get downstairs about 10am, skipped breakfast again, and made it to the BBQ with Tazar and Falcon. The BBQ was excellent, provided by In10se Bbq who I believe is owned by a Syndicate member? I could be wrong, but it seemed that way. Best Brisket and Billionaire's Bacon I have had in ages, not sure where they are located, but worth trying. I had 4 helpings of bacon, and two of Brisket... and I am a light eater.
Starr and Richard left the BBQ, to finally part ways with the party after spending the better part of 3 days with us. I have been to events and functions where you have to pay $300 for a photo with someone who fancies themselves 'famous', or events where the VIP stays for the talk, rushes out the door and is home in time for tea... NOT the case with Starr and Richard, they spent hours and hours socializing with the group, and moving between groups in order to meet and talk with as many people as possible. To be completely honest, it blew me away. They never shunned autographs, photos, questions or discussion. It was excellent, and I was quite impressed with them, the Texan in me can say they were "a good pair of guys."
We all made it back to the hotel, in our own ways. Thankfully I missed the water balloon fight... not my scene
The rest of the evening got lighter and lighter, and quite honestly I wasn't ready for it to end, I could have spent another week with most of these people and never gotten bored. Spent a lot of time talking with @Longtooths and a few others. Till we watched a guy and his partner in crime get themselves arrested for causing trouble of some kind, (I think they were thieves, but Im not sure.) Thankfully, they were not part of our group... or the Miss Global group.
Dinner that night was Hibachi, with @Longtooths and his wife, who was very charming. @Smoot and @Merlin and a girl from UWF which again... whose name escapes me.
I was welcomed and enjoyed talking with many, many, many people. I even got to sign a few autographs and pose for a few pictures myself, which is obviously quite unusual for me. There was no drama. There were a few people that turned their noses up at a few people, but as a whole the group was nice, respectful and genuinely excited to meet each-other and even people outside their own peer group.
Having an early flight, I headed to bed around 11pm... I had to drag myself away, as I said, I wasn't ready for it all to end. In the words of the Doctor, "I don't want to go...". At the beginning saying 'hello' was the most difficult part, but in the end, it was saying 'goodbye' that was even more so.
@Longtooths and I shared a flight home back to Texas, I had two flights, and I can't remember either of them. I remember landing, I do not remember taking off in either case. I literally passed out as soon as I put my seatbelt on and my butt hit the chair on both flights.
The weekend was enjoyable, there were people I wish had come like... Tatiana, Solus, Joanna Weaver, Isk, Faeryl, EM Kincade... but I got to meet people from all over our community, which was excellent.
Thank you everyone for a great weekend, now... you should post your stories, and pictures too!
(I may edit this several times, as I am fighting with stratics over pictures... not sure why it is flipping and turning photos or not allowing thumbnails.)
I was hesitant to come to the 20th Anniversary, I am a notoriously private person, and I do not enjoy crowds at all. Socially, it is quite difficult for me to approach strangers or groups of people, so when I did finally resolve to attend I planned to sit in the back, hide my name tag and just people watch and listen to people... oh how the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.
Before hand, several of the EMs connected and were communicating through a group text message, planning on meeting for dinner that first night. However after two flights, nearly missing a connection, and a bit of a tarmac delay I missed dinner with the others. So when I arrived at the hotel I was flying solo, checked in, got settled, and came down stairs.
The lobby was filled with the most interesting conglomerations of people I have ever seen. The two event pairings this particular weekend were an amazingly awesome trick of fate.
We had our Ultima Online 20th Anniversary, "Gamer Nerds" from age 15 all the way to probably people in their 70s, these could be made of any random Joe/Jane off the street and there were no set stereotypes. Just a random group of people who have shared a passion for the past two decades.
Conversely, the Miss Globe United States Organization was also using the hotel as a base of their event for the weekend. So we shared the hotel, the bar, and the common areas with some of the most stunning young women. The constant parade of fancy dresses was awesome... "Beauty Queens" are not really my 'type', but I did greatly enjoy the fashion and beautiful dresses that hallmarked the weekend. I will say that among the interactions I did have with a few of the Ladies, they were all kinds, respectful, intelligent and engaging. I was very impressed with them, again... much like the UO group, very much against what many would consider to be the expected stereotype.
My first dinner was a solo meal, it was expensive and not very good, it also took FOREVER to get my food, my check, and just generally turned a meal into a chore. It did give me time to just sit and watch people and get a grasp on the dynamic of the crowd.
Then I sat at the bar, the bartender was awesome, quick, responsive and handling the crowd well. I ordered an Old Fashioned, and just sat and listened. Talk of UO was happening around me, and I did my best to listen, but not engage.
The first person that approached me was @Zuckuss who I found to be quite outgoing and friendly. I didn't let him know who I was, saying that I preferred my anonymity for now, which he and many others were respectful of. Shortly there after, I finished my Old Fashioned and was invited outside by one of the female members of The Cartel. So I headed outside and spent about an hour sitting and talking with them, enjoying their company very much.
Only 4 people at the party could have guessed my identity, and about that time EM Falcon came down and nudged me, saying hello, and dragging me from crowd to crowd being aware of my lack of social fervor, but was respectful that I wasn't ready to share my name just yet... about that time the very nice Lady from the Cartel bought me a beer.
Then, EM Obsidian came down, another person that had a vague idea of my general appearance and shouted "Heeeey! Bennu! How are you!" after that it was down hill, so much for anonymity.
I was eager to meet two of my governors that I have spent a of of time engaged with in game, Tatiana Thorn and @Beldin Brightaxe and I occasionally would inquire after them. I spent quite a while talking to a guy and his beautiful wife (2+ hours), who never told me his name... more on that later. The Cartel brought me another beer...
Things started to slow down, then I think it was Winfield that started circulating that Richard Garriott and Starr Long would be arriving soon and were going to come down and socialize. So much for bed time!
I met Starr first I think, by now The Cartel had me three sheets to the wind. Starr was Awesome, charismatic and engaging, and he enjoys making severe and intimidating faces when someone puts a camera in his face... the dichotomy between his more friendly and warm demeanor, and the pictures is quite amusing. We discussed among others our own depiction of Blackthorn as a character, the early fiction and the friendship between King Blackthorn and Lord British. As well as a brief bit of honesty about not retaining (any?) rights to Blackthorn as a character on his part. It was a frank and enjoyable conversation.
I believe that Richard Garriott came down afterwords, once Starr had left for bed. Richard, was awesome, certainly a personality worth of his personae. I have engaged with him several times on the internet, and through letters over the past decade, and it was nice to finally be able to shake his hand. Something I had been 'scared' or intimidated enough to not do when we had met in the past. (We shared an elevator in the old Origin building once, when I was 19.)
The remainder of that first night is a bit of a blur at this point, I spoke with a few members of the LNR guild, and eventually I headed to bed once the crowd got light.
The next morning was the 'main event'. The sheer scale of the itinerary was staggering to me, 9am to Midnight. It was going to be a long day... I skipped breakfast and stood in line, socializing a bit with LNR, and a few other people.
I say good morning to the guy I had spent several hours talking to the night before, who was wearing a name tag that said @Beldin Brightaxe I ragged on him a bit for watching me ask around like an idiot after him, when I had been talking to him for hours. Spent a while talking with @Tazar and Falcon, till all the Miss Global ladies decided they wanted pictures with the people in full armor!
My plan to sit at the back and keep myself to myself had fallen apart at this point, so I sat in the very front with EM Obsidian and a few others.
More posing and pictures, Starr, Richard, Falcon, Obsidian and myself all stood at the front for about an hour till Mesanna called us to order, and began things.
The presentation was well done, both Richard and Starr had obviously put work and thought into the presentation before hand. I learned that Starr Long played a MUCH larger role in the creation of Ultima Online than I ever knew. I had always viewed him (my own ignorance) as one of the many "Companions/Friends" of Lord British, and never realized how large his role actually was when it came to game design and development.
Afterwords, there was a Q&A session, hopefully someone will post it in it's entirety. It was quite excellent.
There was a brief lunch of sandwiches, with much socializing. Outside, the windows the Miss Global ladies were having swimsuit photo-shoots, which I personally found quite distracting. But please don't construe that as any sort of complaint. I assure you it isn't... at all.
Richard and Starr took a break, and headed to the back, Mesanna introduced the team and everyone, got their applause.
I wont include the Endless Journey, Vet Rewards or other aspects of the presentation from @Mesanna or the team, as those are discussed amply elsewhere. Only to say that the team seems active, knowledgeable, excited, and passionate about this game and its longevity... I am excited to see what comes in the next year or so.
We then broke for autographs, I was near the front of the line, and ended up missing Mesanna's autograph because she was busy doing some organizational stuff. But got to watch @Smoot get himself a rather personal autograph from @Mesanna.
I already have my original UO Cloth map signed my RG... I really should have unframed it and brought for Starr to sign as well, probably one of the few things I regret from the party... Starr's signature on that map needs to happen sooner, as opposed to later.
I did get Richard to sign the mission patch from his Space mission, which he had sent me a number of years prior. So I think that is rather excellent.
Afterwords, the wedding took place, with quite a lot of socializing. Cauchemar put together a photo of himself Beldin, @Merlin, JC the Builder and I to represent a quorum of the Atlantic Governor's and King Blackthorn, which I greatly enjoyed.
I got to spend a bit more with the LNR folks that are quite frankly hilarious and a good group of folks.
This night, despite being banned by Mesanna from talking to her; I got to spend a large block of time talking to the new artist for UO (I cannot remember her name), who is very personable and awesome to talk to, I hope that she sticks with the team for the long term. I also got to talk with @Kryonix and @Onifrik I don't think I was the only one completely wowed by Onifrik's wife/girlfriend/companions costume. I should have grabbed a picture, maybe someone else did...
I got to have hotel staff escort some idiot off the premises that was being a freakshow and harassing women and being a jackwagon. So that was fun, thankfully, he was a random 'party crasher' off the street and not someone from our group, or the Miss Global group.
As the night went on, I looked for the Cartel folks that had bought me so many drinks the night before, but couldn't find them. I really wanted to return the favor, but sadly didn't see them for the rest of the weekend... another regret. No idea where they went.
The rest of that evening, I spent talking to @Smoot and @Nails Warstein we spent so long talking that we closed the bar, and after Smoot had gone to bed, Nails and I looked around and realized that the entire lobby was empty... it was 3am. oops.
Somehow, I managed to roll out of bed and get downstairs about 10am, skipped breakfast again, and made it to the BBQ with Tazar and Falcon. The BBQ was excellent, provided by In10se Bbq who I believe is owned by a Syndicate member? I could be wrong, but it seemed that way. Best Brisket and Billionaire's Bacon I have had in ages, not sure where they are located, but worth trying. I had 4 helpings of bacon, and two of Brisket... and I am a light eater.
Starr and Richard left the BBQ, to finally part ways with the party after spending the better part of 3 days with us. I have been to events and functions where you have to pay $300 for a photo with someone who fancies themselves 'famous', or events where the VIP stays for the talk, rushes out the door and is home in time for tea... NOT the case with Starr and Richard, they spent hours and hours socializing with the group, and moving between groups in order to meet and talk with as many people as possible. To be completely honest, it blew me away. They never shunned autographs, photos, questions or discussion. It was excellent, and I was quite impressed with them, the Texan in me can say they were "a good pair of guys."
We all made it back to the hotel, in our own ways. Thankfully I missed the water balloon fight... not my scene
The rest of the evening got lighter and lighter, and quite honestly I wasn't ready for it to end, I could have spent another week with most of these people and never gotten bored. Spent a lot of time talking with @Longtooths and a few others. Till we watched a guy and his partner in crime get themselves arrested for causing trouble of some kind, (I think they were thieves, but Im not sure.) Thankfully, they were not part of our group... or the Miss Global group.
Dinner that night was Hibachi, with @Longtooths and his wife, who was very charming. @Smoot and @Merlin and a girl from UWF which again... whose name escapes me.
I was welcomed and enjoyed talking with many, many, many people. I even got to sign a few autographs and pose for a few pictures myself, which is obviously quite unusual for me. There was no drama. There were a few people that turned their noses up at a few people, but as a whole the group was nice, respectful and genuinely excited to meet each-other and even people outside their own peer group.
Having an early flight, I headed to bed around 11pm... I had to drag myself away, as I said, I wasn't ready for it all to end. In the words of the Doctor, "I don't want to go...". At the beginning saying 'hello' was the most difficult part, but in the end, it was saying 'goodbye' that was even more so.
@Longtooths and I shared a flight home back to Texas, I had two flights, and I can't remember either of them. I remember landing, I do not remember taking off in either case. I literally passed out as soon as I put my seatbelt on and my butt hit the chair on both flights.
The weekend was enjoyable, there were people I wish had come like... Tatiana, Solus, Joanna Weaver, Isk, Faeryl, EM Kincade... but I got to meet people from all over our community, which was excellent.
Thank you everyone for a great weekend, now... you should post your stories, and pictures too!
(I may edit this several times, as I am fighting with stratics over pictures... not sure why it is flipping and turning photos or not allowing thumbnails.)
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