While a beta tester’s primary charge is to track down bugs in The Matrix Online, they also manage to have a really good time between filing their bug reports. What is unusual about The Matrix Online beta community is the way in which they are having their fun.
Over the last couple of months The Matrix Online community has delivered 3 or 4 well-organized, oftentimes original, and always entertaining live in-game events a week. These events include such concepts as “guided tours” of Mega City, club nights hosted by a live DJ, scavenger hunts, fashion shows, pageants, parties, dueling tournaments, and unbelievably, even a 24/7 live radio station. These special player-run events have, understandably, generated a lot of excitement in beta community, often times playing to standing room only capacity crowds.
Radio Free Zion
Radio Free Zion (RFZ) stands as a perfect example of the ingenuity and creativity of the game’s population. The seed of this project was planted during a 4:00 AM discussion amongst fellow beta testers. Soon after, Radio Free Zion was established as a dynamic and engaging way of interacting with the community within The Matrix Online. RFZ has continued to refine their efforts by expanding their broadcast schedule along with beta hours, to 24/7. The influence of this round-the-clock operation extends around the world, as there are now 20 DJ’s on the RFZ on-air talent roster broadcasting live from locations across North America, Great Britain, Sweden, and Australia. We asked Sundog, founder of Radio Free Zion to share some thoughts on how the project was progressing: “At first, we thought it would be mostly a part-time effort, but the response was so overwhelmingly positive that we soon realized that this community deserves nothing less than 24/7 coverage of news, entertainment, and events for their enjoyment“
Their eclectic dance mixes are one of the many factors contributing to a soon-to-be-legendary nightlife in Mega City. In addition to their regular broadcasting, and their own community events, RFZ has been a major supporter of several other player run events as well. RFZ explained their support of player run events: Our first huge event was the Redpill Duel Tourney v1.0, sponsored by DJ Sandman, and the response was phenomenal – the community really proved that organized events were a welcome addition to the game. We love to get invited to an event that someone else has taken the time to organize, and we try to participate in as many different events as we can.” Sundog added.
Player vs. Player Duel Tournaments
Another major source of beta player fun in The Matrix Online has been a series of Redpill Duel Tourneys, which are single elimination duel tournaments that have drawn hundreds of contestants and spectators. When asked to share some of the highpoints from this duel series, he had this to say: “The highlights for me are always the fights that last longer. Some duels can be as short as 5 minutes. But it's always exciting to see a duel where a level 35 player takes someone out who is at level 50. Sometimes you'll see players frantically using health pills or ability buffs to get that extra edge over their opponent. I also find duels that use the entire floor to be exciting, hackers frantically running from martial artists trying to escape interlock, gunmen trying to keep out of interlock to get their Free Fire shots off. My tournaments have been, and will remain, single elimination style tournaments with no level brackets. I try to make the first couple of rounds as close as possible for the level range of the fighters but it takes skill to win the later rounds, even if you are a level 50 player.” DJ Sandman cites community collaboration as the key ingredient for the success of his events. Given the popularity of his Redpill Duel Tourneys, he has definite plans to introduce similar events in the future. In the meantime, congratulations are in order for the victors of the first two Redpill Duel Tournaments, Itachi and Nanohaxial.
We asked Nanohaxial how the community reacted to his victory in the Redpill Duel Tournaments: “They reacted more so than I expected. I had a large number of my guild mates there cheering me on near the end, as well as a large portion of the crowd. After the tournament was over I had many people who congratulated me as well commended me on my dueling, even the very players I had defeated in the end. It just shows how great our community is.”
Sexiest Redpill Competition
Dueling isn’t the only competitive event in Mega City On December 3rd, 2004 Mega City had its first ever Sexiest Redpill competition. At 8:00 PM sharp, fashion reigned supreme as nearly 100 players took over Club Succubus in Stamos, Westview to watch and participate in the "Mr. and Ms. Matrix Sexiest Redpill Competition". Twenty-eight redpills took to the stage at this event, each vying for the title of Mr. Matrix or Ms. Matrix. The event was a first for organizer Seraya Shadowharper, who had never before attempted to coordinate an event within an MMO environment. The contest even had celebrity judges, as representatives from well-known factions The Furious Angels, The Digital Army and The Collective were on hand to decide the winners. In the end, contestant Meduna was crowned as Ms. Matrix and contestant Fayte took the title of Mr. Matrix.
When asked her impressions of the event, Seraya mentioned the unexpected support from the community as a definite highlight: “…the greatest part was seeing all the donations that had come in for the finalists’ prizes. There were some huge contributions of Information from various individuals and factions.”
Mega City is a place every bit as exciting and intriguing as one would imagine it to be. However, The Matrix Online will always depend on a community of Redpills to discover the infinite possibilities therein. The Matrix Online Community Team would like to thank all the individuals that have helped bring Mega City to life, and we look forward to seeing what The Matrix Online community will think of next!
Posted by Aether
