28.15 Details of Avalon's 2009 Twentieth Anniversary.

For those of you with a penchant for history, Avalon will be celebrating its TWENTIETH anniversary during October 2009. This momentous occasion will see a number of organised events (details closer to the time), the release of libraries throughout Avalon with histories/documents from the land's past, things of that ilk.

I needn't tell you how pleasing it is to see Avalon continue to thrive so far from those early days, locked in a converted garage-bedroom, squeezing a miniature microscopic version of Avalon into a ramshackle computer, waiting for folks to dial my solitary modem... to connect, to create a character, to set foot in this new, hopelessly ambitious and completely unimpressive gameworld. Twenty years. Many of you reading this now will not have been born when Avalon was already welcoming its first subscribers and undergoing its virgin public unveiling at the 'Adventure 89' show towards the end of October 1989.

The centrepiece of this anniversary will be the release, during that October 2009, of a hardbound gold-embossed tome entitled simply 'Avalon; the Legend Lives. Written by me (Genesis) but with contributions from a hundred individuals spanning the two decades, the book will attempt to produce a definitive history of Avalon (both in-game and out-of-world). It will include stories by illustrious players about all the major events of our unique world. It will provide a full manual for new and experienced players, covering every aspect of the gamesystem; drawing particular distinction to my original design and the evolutions we've enjoyed over the years. This, and much more, to be crammed into the first hardcopy document we've produced in over fifteen years.

A fitting tribute, then, to this most enduring of gameworlds; the first of its kind to bring to the multi-player gaming arena such staples as complex economics, diverse skill-driven combat, functioning socio-political structures (cities, governments, guilds, divine orders). Curious to suppose that before Avalon, none of these features could be found in an online game and that, moreover, many of Avalon's earliest criticisms were for unrealistic goals, unattainable targets, and overestimating the desires of the gamingpublic to immerse themselves in a full virtual life...

... but this was then, and now is now. Avalon is more populous than ever, eclipsed the day it saw the light of day by more cutting-edge technologies, yet its niche endures; grows more robust, bigger even. Why? Quality will out - a good novel with its thousands can co-exist with the blockbuster movie and its multi-millions. I am, of course, biased, but I have a sneaking suspicions the same comparison will prove prophetic in the decades to come and it will be our Mercinaens, Thakrians, Parrians and Springdalians still taking to the battlefield against one another when whatever this year's vogue in hi-tech leisure has pased from memory.

And if twenty years, why not forty, or a century? Had you asked me at fourteen years old whether I would be penning this in 2008 I wouldn't even have had the words to comprehend...

Keep your eyes peeled on the Avalon public and news bulletin boards for events, celebrations and news relating to the build-up to our big anniversary.

Remember 2009 is launched with a divine appointment and the anniversary summer will see an ordination quest and a further appointment, in honour of approach of autumn.

And sometime in the middle of October 2009 we will be releasing our epic real-world tome, a piece of Avalon for you to possess: insights never before recorded, stories untold 'til now, and the definitive documentation of every month of Avalon's incredible, roller-coaster, and still fiercely independent history.

email: genesis@avalon-rpg.com       advance orders: orders@avalon-rpg.com