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Week Ninety: Monster Mash So as promised earlier this week, I figured I'd talk more about the Halloween event. I'm going to break this down into easy-to-read-style-chunklets. That's how we like it, right? How long did it take to write the event? How many people did it take? It's hard to say exactly. Our event team meets once a week officially, so often you run into a pattern like this: Week 1: Event brainstorm - We basically throw out a few good ideas, not particularly developing any one of them too far. Week 2: Decide on an event - We take our brainstorm ideas from the previous week, look at them more critically, and decide on the idea that's the strongest. Week 3: Refine and spec the event - Finally, we decide upon the specifics of the event, as best as we can at this point. Once we start adding in graphics and coding things, we find out more granularly what works and what doesn't. Unfortunately, Halloween took a while longer than this, mostly because we had come up with an event that was too similar to events we'd done in the past. Summer Festival was a completely new event and went over successfully. It would have been lame if Halloween, Gaia's biggest event, was trumped by a newcomer. So after we had decided on something, a few of us were dissatisfied with it, and decided to make alterations to it. They definitely meant more work (which maybe wasn't the smartest thing in the world for us to agree to), but it was well-worth it in the end. Once I really got down to coding, it took 4 hectic weeks for us to pull everything together. I think I put in 91 hours the week before release of the event (which doesn't beat my Summer Festival record of 93.5 hrs, if I recall correctly). Almost every artist in the company did overtime to work on the Event Downloads. Lots of writing, art, development, and UI went into the event. All told, I wouldn't be surprised if over 20 hands touched the event before it went out. Makes it seem kind of crazy that we do all that work for just a little over a week's availability gonk Event Upgrades One thing we strive to do with every event is make it better than the previous ones and solve problems we encountered while running them. One of the major improvements about events actually involves meetings where people who have knowledge about previous events contribute to the process. I can't say specifically what all the things are (this is valuable info!) but you have to trust me biggrin Event Foibles Of course, with every event, there are big issues that we have to strive to fix in future ones. Examples: Being unclear about the end of the event - In the future, we have to remember to announce how long the event runs from the get-go, make that info available on the event page, and be clear about what time it ends, specifically. Of course, in the case of this event, I wasn't able to push the code until the morning after it ended. Turning! - The first day of turning was a mess. Too many people here (myself included) thought it could work out the same way it did with the Grombie event. i.e., we turn one person, and then it spreads virally. Unfortunately, the game was so balanced this didn't turn out to be the case. I sort of realized this the day before the event went out, but I had so much to do, I wasn't able to add the "turning at the home bases" concept until day 2. Although several users who put in a lot of time in the first day got really upset, ultimately it was without a doubt in my mind, the best thing for the event. The vampire skin was never really intended as a reward. We wanted there to be as many vampires as there were humans, and on day one, this was very much not the case. New Stuff and Stuff I Liked This event featured a lot of new things Gaia's events have never had before. A quick list: 1. A battle system rofl (with the concept of HP, attacking abilities, Rage points) 2. A mad-lib system that was used to generate the attack posts. In previous events, we maintained a static list of responses and pulled from them randomly for our comedy. We can use this in the future in various other fun ways. 3. A flash-based HUD (Heads-Up Display) which showed the area you were in, your health, how long you had before you turned, and more 4. Multiple-attacks-per-post, which meant that we didn't end up with as much of a race to attack as with some past events 5. Team home forums that were exclusive (in the Summer Festival event, people would trash talk in other team's home forums. That was kind of a mess!) One of the things I really liked about this event was the attacking / turning / curing mechanics. You go into the field and fight, then you go to your home base to get cured. Users who wanted to play rough could fight, users who wanted to just chill could cure. It's a mechanic that adds to the fun, AND caters to different play styles. One thing that surprised me was how excited some users were about it. I had several users PM me to tell me that they got out of family trips just so that they would be around for the event eek Bugs, Non-Features, Misconceptions, Etc. I noticed that my hits worked more often the stronger I got! It's all in your head! This mechanism did NOT exist. My weak attack (90% chance) + my rage ability (10%) chance missed! Yeah, there was a little bug there that made what should have been 100% chance attacks miss on rare occasions. I only really became aware of it towards the end of the event, and I had other fires to put out smile I LOST MY GROMBIE SKIN! GRAWWRGGHGHLKJG! If you tried to turn back from a vampire using the Red Bino item, that turns you back into a human. If you tried to turn back from a vampire using the Human Home Base, you should be restored to your original avatar base. If you turned back using a Red Bino, the event will still consider you a vampire (Gaia's user database has no real concept of "race" other than the artwork that acts as your avatar base graphic) and you can still go back and turn into your original base model. Why no black vampire skins?! Very simply, we didn't have time to make more. The ones we had were created practically hours before the event was released. Users may not recognize it, but even for a basic item, a TON of work has to go into customizing the item and entering it into the database so that it supports animation in towns, standing, sitting poses, facing in different directions, and layering. Oculus Magicka/Superior Form doesn't work with the vampire skinssssss! See Juno's Journal Entry about this! You guys should make a forum-based battle system that's like this, but better! It's been mentioned around the office by a few people, but the likeliness of this actually happening is pretty low. I would like to see it made into maybe a "thread type" or post type (if we ever implement anything like that) so that RPers can have more sophisticated battles and such. Again, though, unlikely. ADDED! You guys didn't announce the event the first day! We were going to - but the site was crashing sad So we decided to wait until we fixed all the errors before we told people to use the event. This turned out for the best, considering that by that time, we had the turning at home bases in place. Conclusions Halloween has been, by far, one of my favorite events to code. I think Summer Festival may have been a little bit more fun for me to work on (I was definitely less burnt-out after it) but I definitely like this event better overall. It was one of the first events that, to me, felt really like a game rather than a task you had to do to earn items. Summer Festival had elements of this, but in the end it became a grind, and I really wanted to avoid that this time around. Judging from some of the responses, we were at least partially successful at that. Events have come a loooong way, in large part due to all the people who contribute to the creative process behind it. As far as execution, I would be a liar if I said I'm the one who made it run smoothly -- when the servers got overloaded, several other more experienced developers here were the ones who stabilized the site. Regardless of who's involved, though, events are larger, more stable, and more engaging than they've ever been. Gah! Now it's time to work on Christmas! (Hint: It will be a much smaller event sweatdrop ) Devs need sleep too!

Posted by: Fleep Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:09pm

Gaia Isn't Being Money Hungry

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Darksp
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:23pm


	Wow, that would make my brain pop... xd Newbie awesome item protection... -needs better wording for that concept- -Loves your sig ninja

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:24pm


	This was by far the best event I've ever taken part in, and I've been here since the Gaian Olympics. EXCELLENT work. I recommend that the attack features (just the weak, medium, strong feature) be used as a Battle Subforum for one of the upcoming Guild features in the future. Maybe make it a subforum in the RP forums as well? Then it's up to the users to decide how much damage a weak, medium and strong does in their own game mechanics.

Slanzer
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Esdella Vie
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:25pm


	It's always interesting to hear how these things are done. =3 I really did enjoy being able to add my own 2 cents to the attacks in the event. And now you're talking about Christmas. O.o After all the work you guys have done, I'm expecting it to be laid back. x3 /ramble

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:25pm


	Take a well earned/deserved rest Fleep! I think you and everyone did a awesome job pulling off Halloween.I personally never had any glitches etc,so I cant complain really.Just hated the 2 min wait period,while its annoying,is totally understandable. xd Keep up the great work! xx

ladywolf
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Sgt.PepperHat
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:29pm


	-steal- The Halloween event was definitely one of my favorites. : D <3 And, as I've said before, H2k7 was one of the best events we've had in a long time.

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 09:56pm


	~Just a second.... I think it was the best event ever on gaia... Of coarse, Halloween tends to be the biggest event every year... ....I have to go find something to beat you to death with~

Shai-tan
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Sheshira
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:05pm


	I loved that we could add our own commentary. A friend (on her mule) and I went all out ridiculous and added funny gnawing gifs etc. It was great fun. I'm pretty sure everyone else in the thread thought we were nutty.. =D (I haz peenut budder flavorz)

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:11pm


	Awesome, Fleep! biggrin Just lovely. This has been my favorite Gaia Event of ALL TIME. Yes. Indeed. If only but a Manga for Christmas, I would be pleased. Gaia's growing userbase may want a tad more, however sweatdrop

dBEf-GAEc-18E-BBAf
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Slanzer
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:15pm


	Suggestion for j00, Fleep! I noticed there were "Quests" in the Battle site, as well as "recipies to make items" and even the Bass'ken Lake as a Battle map! My request: PLEASE make the recipy to make the Angelic Rod a Bass'ken Lake Battle Quest! pirate blaugh heart

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:33pm


	o i loved it you got to beat this event next year lol

123jimmy321
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LeenaBambina
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:41pm


	I'm leaving you a journal comment. Because you're my friend. And I'm coming to visit in only 9 days! mrgreen And the only reason I'm here in this fairy outfit is because of you. xp

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 10:56pm


	The beginning was a bit unorganized, though. A lack of an official announcement and being forced to start out as a human. Although I was aware of the ending date, it was still very sudden. There should be a count down or something similar next time. This was still a great event regardless.

Hukuzo
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Cid High-Wind
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 11:01pm


	I really liked the event, Fleep. :3 Good work.

Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 11:16pm


	I enjoyed the event immensely. You guys did great. I was turned the very first day, and spent the majority of that first night trying to attack as many humans as I saw. I was almost tempted to keep the vampire skin, but I knew how I am with all the "I wanna be a pirate/astronaut/ninja/alien/timetraveller/ghostbuster/samurai/angel" thing, and it probably wouldn't have worked out in the end. I can't wait for Christmas, though! Going small will definitely make it easy on us as well as you! 3nodding

Xiam
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The anti-social cookie
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Commented on: Fri Nov 09, 2007 @ 11:39pm


	YAY i had fun this halloween. and we know you need to sleep. i hope this xmas items will be this cool to

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 12:35am


	The Halloween event was enjoyable, with the many roles you can choose from. The items are wonderful. ^_^ Don't stress out too much on upcoming Christmas event. You deserve good rest on this big holiday.

Yen Quest
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Shiori Miko
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 12:36am


	The devs are human so I guess they need sleep too...NAP TIME FLEEP!!

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 01:14am


	Yesssss...sleeeeeeeep.... ninja The mad-lib attacks were hilarious, the 6-year-old in me couldn't help but lol every time someone attacked me and I farted. Even the insanely violent Strong attack ones made me laugh, although I think there must be something wrong with me if I find implied castration funny rofl "It was one of the first events that, to me, felt really like a game rather than a task you had to do to earn items. Summer Festival had elements of this, but in the end it became a grind, and I really wanted to avoid that this time around. Judging from some of the responses, we were at least partially successful at that." I'd say much more than partially! After that rocky first day, I could actually hang out in a thread with friends and earn my points without getting bored or getting lost in a mess of attack posts. The game element really distracted you from the potential monotony. All in all, it was awesome. And I'm really glad Christmas is gonna be low-key, I prefer it that way. Chaotic events are fun, but for me, the holidays are a time for relaxation :3

Gamine
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AlexDitto
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 01:24am


	The event was wonderful. Thanks for all your hard work, Fleep, and I hope you'll thank all the other devs for me. The mad-lib system was very funny. I'd love to see it used in other ways. I noticed that, the game was VERY balanced, and so the vampire-ness didn't spread like the G-virus did. I sort of missed that, actually. It was hard work to become a vampire, and though I think this event benefited from the even distribution, I WOULD love to see an event in the future utilize the "spreads like a virus" idea again. It's great fun watching things spread from user to user. Really puts things in perspective. Also makes me want to wash my hands. Compulsively. In a fire. ANY DANG WAY. Great job, it was stupendous, enjoy your sleep, try not to work too hard for a while. I don't want you having a heart attack or anything. gonk

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 01:26am


	I really enjoyed this event. I could possibly categorize it as the best event since I joined Gaia! It was just so different I loved all the new and different aspects that differ from the other events. heart Now take a well deserved break. xD scream

Murder Pirate
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Gamine
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 01:42am


	I agree with Alex, the viral pandemic thing is a lot of fun xD Reminds me of when I used to play vampire tag as a kid (one person is anonymously selected to be the vampire, and you all have to wander around the room shaking hands. If you shake hands with the vampire, he pinches you secretly and you're then infected and killed. lol fairly morbid for a kids game). I think the only reason it didn't work so great with this event is because for every vamp trying to infect others, there were a hundred humans staking their every move.

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 02:14am


	The best event ever, Fleep! blaugh heart I hope to see greatness like this in the future! [but don't overdo yourself! a braindead Fleep is an unhappy Kimi!] __________ Suggestion: Maybe you could turn the vamp skin into an item, so we can change anytime, like the superior form and the Zurg Skin.... if the team bases don't stay around, that is.

Kimiteru
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Maril
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 03:15am


	Minor correction, it was the zombies that spread virally. 2004, not the 2005 grombies. The grombies were by post count...sort of... I loved the event. I especially loved the concept of the rage points and the header that showed all the information. The art for this event was outstanding, and the actual interaction was a great balance where there was fighting between groups but they weren't horribly hateful towards each other. Atleast not compared to past events anyway. Don't worry about Christmas being a smaller event xd It's ALWAYS a smaller event. Halloween is the big Gaia event. Always has been, always should be X3

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 03:58am


	Low points aside, this was a fantastic event. Great items, fun concept, funny storyline update. Win!

Pirate Dirge
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Druki
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 06:52am


	While you're sleeping, you should not dream of destroying sigje. 3nodding Cool event was cool. Now start brainstorming for next year!

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 10:36am


	Awws, so the Christmas event will be smaller, eh? I love events of that magnitude but they also put a lot strain on the servers. But thank you for making Halloween 2k7 an unforgettable event. I'm looking forward to Christmas already! biggrin

Kamika Sugi
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Anbaachan
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 03:33pm


	Thanks for the update Fleep. Always like to see what's going on in that silly little head of yours. Thanks for a great event as well. Now my only problem is that vampire skins gave me a mouth again!! ARG! But other than that, everything was good.

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 03:39pm


	I loved this event and I have to say, for the amount of people that logged on, the site ran ridiculously well and I've never been prouder of you guys for such a great time. As long as you do something for poor cow!santa, you can take it as easy as you please XD

SetsunaEternal
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Lady Kayura
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 04:12pm


	Halloween was by far, the best event in Gaia's history. (Though I'd say that the Grombie Halloween would place second in my book.) It was a ton of fun. I cringed when I saw that I had to work right when the event was starting. I nearly called off work to participate more! Despite the bumps in the road, I think it was wonderful (and now I repeat myself!) Great job and thank you for all the work that went into it!

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 04:33pm


	Hmm. It seemed to me more like the stronger I got, the less my attacks hit. It was probobly just evening out though. Good event. I hope the Christmas event brings us a vampire Santa >.<

MrBlueberryMuffin
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kyleen66
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 08:54pm


	I enjoyed the event as much as I could. Unfortunately there are people out there that believe Site Acquisition Agents need NO sleep so I couldn't have as much fun with it as I liked. Halloween has LONG been Gaia's biggest and best event every year and you didn't disappoint. Hugs and kissies.

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 09:32pm


	Having survived previous Halloween events from 2004 on, I must say this was one of the best (I still think cow-tipping was hilarious). The balance really helped and I'm glad the devs and artists were willing to come turn people who asked for it by PM (with a link! Poor inundated folks!). Thank you again.

Indoras
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DCVI
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Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 10:32pm


	Fleep, if I may take the mic for a second: I was thoroughly impressed with both this event and the summer event (while we're on the subject), but the timing of these events was just poor. It's all mindset. Halloween came and went. It was fun, but having the event extend past Halloween? It just felt... what's the word, sad maybe? It's a Holiday... it was over! But here I was playing a Halloween themed game four days after. It's like listening to Sleigh Ride on Dec. 30... there's something pathetic about it! Same with Summer event... it came too late (but this is far more debateable than Halloween). What I'm trying to say is, if you're going to make week long (or eight day long) events, can they PLEASE lead UP to the actual holiday, and not from it? I realize the reason it worked out to be like this was probably because you guys were not ready a week before Halloween... but it really should be structured so that these events occur within the proper time, so that users are really in the peek of their excitement and the mood to celebrate. EDIT EDIT: Thanks for response!

Commented on: Sat Nov 10, 2007 @ 11:31pm


	Wow Fleep! That's a lot of work. You guys never disappoint, I'm sure Xmas will be awesome! still vamped under the Zurgskin twisted

Lyca_Watyre
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Losaru Taiyo
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Commented on: Tue Nov 13, 2007 @ 12:39am


	I must say that this was the best Halloween I've experienced thus far. It was fun and rewarding(yes, fear the cheesiness) It's understandable if Christmas is gonna be small. One, you guys, all of you at HQ and wherever, do deserve some downtime...lol and second, I really can't see a battle or whatnot during christmas...lol

Commented on: Tue Nov 13, 2007 @ 06:10am


	I never got my bat granted to me when I turned into an elder :/

Yuzi_K
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Burr Durr
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Commented on: Tue Nov 13, 2007 @ 09:44am


	The event was pretty entertaining. A little monotonous, at times, but then again I picked out a routine that basically revolved around healing (which was a pain to accomplish) for rage and then blowing it on strong attacks. Of course, my dumb a** didn't pay any attention to when the event ended, and I didn't get me my Ghost Cape. I mean, yeah I could buy it, but I'm too damned cheap for that. Not to confuse that with being poor, I'm far from that, but....you know, why don't you just stop judging me, all right!? Also, Vlad lived for like...two days after the video showed him y'know...dead. I was a little disappointed in Vlad's presentation, really. He was like, "Two-bit character of the century" or something. So easily thrown away, y'know? Wait...WHAT ABOUT LIAM AND GINO!? THAT NEVER GOT RESOLVED!! D: ... Oh well, they can just rot.... Awesome job coding up the event. It was very fun, though I felt like Jack got a bit overshadowed this year. I mean, the guy only made an appearance in Towns, which have often been fairly glitchtastic. So for Mr. Pantsypants to just take a back seat to Mr. Twobit McThrowaway, well it was a little disheartening. Though...how Christmas is going to work out now, what with Mr. Mooclaus and all that... The Gaia story plot is about as sensible as a crack head trying to write a story, while dropping acid and PCP every three seconds. ... Luckily, it's just as hilarious. Also, GAIA NEEDZ BEOWULF!! :3 Your link to Juno's journal is bad, too. All it does it take me to my journal, which of course has nothing in it, so like...yeah. AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A DEV!! >:C <(that needs to become the GCD McSourface emoticon. More so if it can become a real emote!)

Commented on: Tue Nov 13, 2007 @ 09:48am


	Halloween was awesome. ^_^ I hope Christmas wont be too small, though. >_> Its usually Gaia's second largest event.

Defiled
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Kamika Sugi
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Commented on: Tue Nov 13, 2007 @ 07:55pm


	♫ Dear little boy, listen... Well, there's one way to solve the vagueness about the ending time. Put the starting/ending time for all important timezones (PST, EST and GMT) in one announcement. That way you will prevent mixups in the future. ...to the voices of your soul ♫

Commented on: Wed Nov 14, 2007 @ 08:25am


	I just wanted to say Thank You for all the work you put in for Gaia. The Halloween Event was awesome! And even though I paid 10k to be turned into a vampire the first day (lol, it was part of the experience, so I'm not complaining, you'll note though, I'm still wearing my 10k skin. grins) my only regret was that it ended too soon! wink Thanks again!

Sparkle_Sprite
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grannyof6
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Commented on: Sat Nov 17, 2007 @ 10:51pm


	fleep, thank you for passing along our desire for a "go to page #? "http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/site-feedback/please-give-us-a-go-to-page-#-button-lanzer-answered/t.33186697/ lanzer was good enough to come on the thread and answer. (i hope it's not too long from now) i have another question. schools and colleges have winter break. could we have a winter festival? or a snowball fight with boys against girls and seperate forums like we had for halloween. igloos and snow forts would be nice too.

Commented on: Sat Nov 17, 2007 @ 11:50pm


	stressed

grannyof6
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Jocylyn
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Commented on: Mon Nov 19, 2007 @ 01:22pm


	It was freaking awesome, Fleep. Thumbs up for everyone who worked on it. The art was amazing and the attack system was sweet. I got so involved with it that I refused to give out candy on Halloween. I tried to explain to my mom that the event was more important than bratty candy eating munchkins, but she got pissed off and threatened to take away my gamecube, so I was forced to dress up and give out suckers to unbearably adorable little girls. xp My only issue with everything was that the vampire skin was a little...weak. In all honesty, I saw a thread long before the actual event that, in my opinion, had a better design for the vampire avatars. I liked the eyes and the fangs, but they looked so disproportionate to me- the head looked like it was the wrong size for that tiny little body. But- As you said, they were created merely hours before the release, so I can understand why they weren't perfect. biggrin Overlooking that though, this event was completely awesome. You guys deserve some rest! I'm looking forward to Christmas already.

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