In Defense of the Genre...

Its been a while...and yes, I often steal album names as blog titles.

So why "In Defense of the Genre" by Say Anything? Welll, I wasnt inspired by the album or anything, I was more or less inspired to defend Mars Bracken and the Bloodlines RP system. I know I give it a lot of hell in this blog, but there are many things I truly love about BL and consider valuable. Defence...commence!

(please excuse any scatterbrainness...)

1. Bloodlines is truly a unique experience on Second Life. Why just wander aimlessly around SL acting like you would in RL? Isn't that contrary to the point of having a second life? Becoming a part of an RP system such as Bloodlines will enhance your experience, and give you a chance to truly go beyond your day to day sence of normalcy. Put aside any issues you may have with griefers, and you will find something that truly needs to be cherished in Bloodlines.

2.Given the popularity of vampires right now, you get the chance to enter into a world with many other people who may have similiar interests. Now, I am no Twilight freak, but I did enjoy the books. And yes, many vampires in SL are Tweekers (mad mad Twilight fans as I call them) but for the most part they just add to the fun. Saying this, it is not completely ridiculous to see or hear of vampires and lycans roaming around the wastelands of SL.

3. Mars Bracken is not trying to rip off the residents of Second Life. Yes, I am sure he has made a pretty penny with his RP system, but consider his intentions in creating Bloodlines. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he made it for himself and others to enjoy, most likely because all vampire sims at the time were sub par. I am thankful that he took the time to create BL, because I have met some of the most amazing people through it, and I am sure many would agree. Which brings me to my last point.

4.If you think I am full of it for saying numbers 1-3, then take this one as the most important, because it is. If you decide to join Bloodlines for anything, do it for the clan. You all should know my history in BL by now, and if you dont, read up on my earlier posts. My best friends in this SL world are vampires, from many different clans. But there is nothing better than coming online and being greeted by your clan in clan chat, and having some of the craziest conversations known to man, with people you consider to be your family. I am so lucky to be in such an amazing clan, and to have strong bonds with fellow vamps in other clans as well. I could come to the point where I hate everything about Bloodlines, but never leave for the sake of these relationships I have made.

So, in closing, every RP system has its errors, but I feel as if the positives WAY outweigh the negatives. I will most likely continue to blab about my issues with BL in the future, but let this post stand as where my heart lies, and that is in full support of Bloodlines.

Next time, I will try to be back to my ranting and raving self. : )

What do you say to taking chances?

I was still pretty new when I was first approached about joining Bloodlines. I had no idea what it was, nor was a very interested at that point. I was pretty lucky to have been approached by a nice young woman about it, rather than bitten unknowingly by a random leech lurking about. She found me in one of those "freebie" worlds noobs and veterans alike often venture to. She wasn't shy about why she was IM'ing me, very straight forward. Which I like. I prefer not to deal with a bunch of B.S. with people, just cut to the chase. Anyway, the initial introduction to the Bloodlines RP didn't interest me too much, as she really didn't tell me any of the benefits. But then she told me that if I joined, I would be able to recruit too, and make money per person I brought in. (At the time, I didn't realize how "blind recruiting" is frowned upon. I'll talk about that later.) That is what hooked me. I was a noob and I had no Lindens to count, so the promise of money for bringing people in was quite promising. I left with her right away to meet my then first Liege (who is still a good friend of mine, and I respect greatly, so I will not mention her name), who would pay for the Bloodlines HUD for me, and in return I would bring in more people. It was simple. Buy the HUD, wear all the little gadgets, and have your soul turned. I was not advised to go and bite, but rather to bring people in. It was easy. I am confident to say that in my first month, I probably recruited 6 to 7 people to the clan. Whether or not they stayed active player, I do not know, but thats not the point of Bloodlines...is it?

It wasn't until I left for college last fall, and was unable to go in world, that I realized how wrong I was about my approach to Bloodlines. I thought, at that time, that it was purely a numbers game. One I was losing. Even if I cared now about "Soul Count" I would be out all those people I recruited, but we're unable to cash in on. But is that really how we should view the people we potentially want to bring into our clans? Bloodlines is a tricky thing. A tricky thing that I love. There is something so exciting about bringing in a person who actually wants to enter this world, and have them liege to you. (I have had this happen a few times, only to go back to school and become "destroyed" myself. Thus losing any souls I once acquired.) But that is how it should be. Too many clans see this as a purely a numbers game. The more we have in the clan, the better. No matter how many of them get lost in the cracks and not taken care of. The tricky thing is though, that many vamps see their clan as their sense of respect from others. I am sure many people in Blood Evolutions or the Crimson Republic feel like they deserve a lot of respect based on their choice of clan. But look at the numbers: as of 5/21/10 Blood Evolutions has 552 active souls. Thats pretty impressive. But they have a total of 4566 souls, meaning that only 12% of their souls are active in the game. Is that really something to be proud of? That almost 90% of the people you bring in eventually quit? Some of the numbers on slbloondlines.com are just insane! To think that so many people join Bloodlines and are essentially neglected by their lieges and clans.

I could easily be called a clan jumper. But hey, let me remind you that my first clan disbanded, ok? Anyway, I recently left the clan I've been with the last 5 months or so. They were experiencing some trouble, and I began gaining a lot of friends and confidants in a different clan. Eventually, the drama in my clan really started effect me, and I began to feel like a number. I barely knew anyone but my liege (whom, I must say i was very sad to leave! He is one of the greatest people I know on SL, a true leader!) but something needed to be done. I spent about a week complicating my choice to switch. I realized that I can count on one hand the people I knew in my clan, and could count probably 3x as many for the clan I was considering joining, including their queen. Last night I made the switch, and was officially taken into the Champions of Death clan. I am pretty excited about the possibilities available here.

There is so much I could say about Bloodlines, and this is definitely not the last post on the subject. But I thought it would be best to give a brief history of my experience with it before I touch any other subjects. I would just like to make clear that I do not intend to offend any clan or its members in this post. whether they are members of any clan I was in formerly, or if I mentioned you in my example of numbers. I respect every vampire and clan until I have reason to do otherwise. (....a good subject for a blog pot? maybe....)

It's a big big world out there in SL land. Watch out for foolish vamps.