A queston of judgment (re: reliquaries)

After a night of sleeping on it, I feel the need to post my concerns related to the events of yesterday's livestream. I will do my best to keep this professional, and I realize I am walking a fine line here, but I felt like I had to say something.

I just can't get over the fact that someone, or multiple people, at Portalarium thought that it would be a good idea to sell reliquaries with art made from their own blood. Richard seemed very into the idea, so I suspect he was the one who pushed it, but if he thought this was a good idea then I can't help but question the quality of his other ideas as well. Wasn't there anyone at Portalarium who thought that creating and selling these reliquaries might not be a wise thing to do? Has Richard surrounded himself with so many "yes" men that nobody is willing to speak up and veto him when he goes off the rails?

I for one have no interest in owning something, art or otherwise, that contains another person's blood. In some ways, it wreaks of arrogance that a person would deem him or herself so important that they think people will pay large amounts of money to hang their blood on the wall. I personally have had my UO cloth map signed by Richard and would happily have a picture taken with him if the opportunity presented itself, but buying his blood in any form is crossing a line. I like Richard, I really do, but this really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I could be completely off base here and maybe there are more people than I realize in the SotA community who like this type of thing, but I can only speak for myself and the few people I have spoken with outside of the community who think this is crazy (and not in a good way).

This game doesn't need anymore negative PR, but a stunt like this is just asking for it.

"Gross". "Disgusting". "Narcissistic". "Creepy". "Sad". "Ridiculous". "Sick". "Stupid".

Those are some keywords pulled from comments on the MassivelyOP article. I can't say that I disagree with any of them. The game already has a largely negative perception and this certainly isn't going to help. I don't believe this was done as a desperate money grab, but that is what it looks like to outsiders.

I commend the community for not placing any bids yet on these items (at the time of this posting). Maybe if nobody buys them, Portalarium will take notice and reassess their plan and their own self-importance.

Clean it up Portalarium. A good first step would be to pull these auctions down and admit that they were in poor taste. In the bigger picture, I would simply ask to think critically about what you are doing, with respect to game features as well as out-of-game fundraising opportunities. What one or two people think might be cool doesn't necessarily translate to a good idea for the game as a whole. I want to put my full trust in the design team that you are creating the best possible game, but seeing things like reliquaries being sold (and at such a high price) make me question whether the team is truly capable of making the best decisions in other aspects of the game as well.

I'm sure some people will think I am overreacting, and maybe I am, but I wasn't comfortable just letting this one go. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

I think it's unique and interesting! I am sure it won't be the most popular idea, but it sure will give the game some publicity buzz!

If I had the spare cash, I'd purchase both reliquaries. Those extras are pretty sweet!

 

I also think it's unique and interesting.
Having seen Richard's penchant for the macabre, it seems perfectly appropriate.
It'll be interesting to see if the reliquaries sell.
There are certainly enough fans with that kind of money.

 

idk i dont think its really a big deal.
I think it fits the gothic mideval theme him and starr tend to be fond of.
all about context.

and yes there are alot of people into this kind of thing.

 

I couldn't give a fig about the blood items themselves (although the IN GAME version you get will be pretty neat) BUT the digital items that come with it? OMG.. POT only castle deed plus all the neat exclusives (emote, pet, turning all the water in your town to blood) THAT stuff is pretty cool.

If I had the money to buy it.. I would.. and then I'd totally give them their blood back in exchange for a hug.

 

I think the opening bids were set way way way too high; had opening bids been set at 1000 I would have already bid on both pieces.

And I don't know anything about Steve Brudniak... that could be another reason people have yet to bid. Knowing a little more about the artist and where his galleries are - or at the very least, knowing the costs of commission would be something. Bidding on auctioned art, it's nice to have some backstory to formulate some sort of an appraisal.

 

Agreed, Selene. But alas, it's a little to rich for my blood .

 

I am not sure if you can "buy" it for 5000$.
There is a unknown reserved price.
I would be very disappointed if you can buy a "Tax Free Castle Lot Deed" for 5000$.
Even if you can use the deed only in a PoT.
I pledged for LotM because of the Castle Lot Deed and paid 12.ooo$.
I will place my castle in my PoT and would immediately change my pledge against these two reliquaries.

 

More blood work by the artist: http://stevebrudniak.com/1997-1999-...-benevolence-from-the-blood-reliquary-series/

 

I'm not really sure what the controversy or "bad taste" is. I do understand that this is highly unusual, but I don't see a victim or a line that was crossed. I doubt anyone could explain where the harm is, but I'm open to hearing attempts.

Because it's highly unusual there's certainly more risk in doing this, but there's also potentially more reward. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. As of today I'm not really sure how this is a negative. Squeamish people get squeamish, big deal.

 

Nice pun.

I'm in the boat as you.

 

So, if no one buys them, are the costs associated with the commission just lost? What then becomes of the art? At least with the LOTM pledges, they came with Akalabeth goodies... those have been known to sell for many thousands of dollars and will likely always have a market. Looking at this as an investment, there is a much greater risk associated with these blood pieces.

 

Oh, someone will buy them, no doubt.. look at all the other stuff Port has sold to people!

 

@DarkStarr

This is 100% accurate...but the suggestion re: pulling the items and admitting their poor judgement is a case of "too little, too late..." damage has been done, as the article in MassivelyOP is just the beginning, sadly.

One of the comments posted to the article: "Just when you though dancing like a monkey for money was as low as you can go.....he found a new way to really stomp that bar waaay farther down."

 

This crosses a line into a religious discussion, which I'm not interested in having, but here's two reasons:
1 - secular
2 - religious
Moderators: feel free to delete this post if it crosses the line regarding religious discussions not being a good idea on these forums, which I totally agree with.

 

Interesting stuff! Any idea how appraisals have gone for some of his previous work?

 

Yes, might as well remove it, but I knew this was going to be the 'reason'. and frankly, it's not a good one! What about religions who practice blood magic? Where's their consideration?

 

Yeah - like there isn't a Church of the Darkstarr in-game already. N0w with 100% real blood!

 

Appraisal? By who? And no, I don't know off-hand, I simply did a quick google and found out some info very easily about the artist, if anyone was wanting info on this artist, it is that easy.

Appraisals are totally subjective aren't they, and who is an expert on art such as this? Auctions could be the key here, but I'm unsure if and how he sells his work.

 

I understand some people are uncomfortable with the idea, since it doesn't fit into their world view. However, I really enjoy Steve Burdniak's art and see this as a creative way for Richard to be involved with an artist he's very fond of, while making money for the game with a medieval Gothic themed package that really isn't all that out of place.