unforum

[ChildOfAtom]

Slender Man critical mass?

[KamenZero]

Re: Slender Man critical mass?

[Montagg]

Honestly, these new stories are starting to bug me. Not so much in the stories themselves, but in their execution. We've got BeyondTheNeon pointing the camera at his feet for 5+ min in each video, WesternHalo tagging his videos with "slenderman", etc. I'm sure they could make a meaningful contribution to the canon if they get up in running and find their "groove," much like TribeTwelve did, but at this point it just looks like fanfiction to me.

Likewise, I personally only consider MarbleHornets, EvermanHYBRID, and TribeTwelve to be the "real" stories, as well as a few good blogs like Seeking Truth and Dreams in Darkness. Not just because of what they bring to the table, but also for the way they're presented. Story, character development, well-executed and well-written, player involvement. It's not enough to just say, "Hey, what if we do THIS?" and throw that in with the now-generic "staples" like someone leaving things at your door.

[ChildOfAtom]

[Meinberg]

I'm of the opinion that the blogs and the vlogs are two different beasts altogether.

By my understanding, there have always been a large number of blogs, most of which aren't really worth reading. They've typically had a greater focus on the occult and action, being less afraid to describe their characters doing things that would be very expensive or time consuming to actually show on camera. A few of the more exceptional blogs have begun to work on developing their own deeper continuity, creating a mythos out of the Slender Man stories they're telling. By and large, this is a good thing for the blogs.

However, it is not so good for the vlogs. For one, there is less connection between the vlogs and the blogs, and even between the vlogs themselves. They tend to be more stand-alone pieces, with perhaps references to Marble Hornets at best. The vlogs are best when they focus heavily on character and psychological dysfunction. That's not to say that the occult and action elements from the blogs are entirely gone, but they're not the emphasis. The characters in EMH and TT are far more ignorant of the greater mythos than we are, and I think it works better that way.

I think the recent expansion in the number of vlogs, though, is quite notable. For one thing, most of these new vlogs are of poor quality. Beyond the big three, the only one to have really caught my eye is LET'S PLAY THE ANGEL'S GAME, which I think is not absolutely terrible. These new vlogs in general, though, seem to be using inferior quality recording devices to those of MH, EMH, and TT, which reflects the relatively lower level of commitment that these individuals have put into their projects. On the other hand, don't forget that TT was originally pretty heavily reviled, and took quite some time for it to strike out into fresh territory.

Ultimately, my bottom line is that there isn't too much Slendy material out there, if you are willing to sort the good from the bad. On the other hand, I might just be saying that because I'm planning my own thing, which will have the twist of having trained actors.

[Mitternacht]

"It's not enough to just say, "Hey, what if we do THIS?" and throw that in with the now-generic "staples" like someone leaving things at your door."

But isn't that what TribeTwelve did? The "receiving mysterious things" trope had already been done by MH. To be honest, all TT adds to the mythos is "blargh, TENTACLES" and another space for people to discuss miscellaneous minutiae that doesn't really have anything to do with the series. It amounts to a video series (with, I'm sorry, atrocious acting and porous plot) which came at just the right time to fill peoples' void after MH, and people are creatures of habit - they will stay where the discussion is.

We had the problem of too few games that lingers a bit with the existence of EMH - so many people were players that the game input gets ridiculously hard to follow. Now we have the problem of too many games, where people notice the successful blogs/vlogs and dream of one day coming to that acceptance. Heck, a good portion of the new ones are actually related and probably the same person, which is even more annoying.

I guess what I'm looking for is a place to think, not to bombard or be bombarded. It would be encouraging to see more people playing instead of hashing out garbage and mundanity. In theory, it might be nice to have a running blog limit, but I don't honestly know what criteria might be developed by which to enforce such a thing.

[Meinberg]

[Mitternacht]

They are opposite...because one is realistic and one is idealistic. And that is exactly what I meant - the OP started discussion about the currently probable critical mass, which is human nature to expect.

The only way you stop such an occurrence is to restrict its parameters, which is likely beyond the purview of this forum.

[ChildOfAtom]

[Meinberg]

[Montagg]

[kaleeshwarrior]

Warning: Big opinion from small time poster incoming. Storytelling and the dilution of it is one of my pet peeves so this gives me the chance to type this out. Feel free to skip my navelgazing.

In my opinion, and this has popped up in the "What do you/don't you want to see?" thread, the issue is that writers are hitting the same story beats over and over again.

If all these Slender-Blogs (and I am primarily pointing my finger at story blogs, vlogs tend to have more originality to them) had interesting characters, new takes on themes, well-considered back story, solid puzzles/mystery, etc., etc., then I don't think it would matter that there are so many. Instead, we're seeing the same story told again and again and again. The "Slender Market" can withstand the weight of multiple stories, but only if each is strongly differentiated. If they all seem the same, there's no point. Especially if there are other blogs that have told the same story in a better way.

I think this is one time where the cross-pollinating nature of the blogs, the ways they interconnect and reference each other, weakens the overall story. If everyone is telling the story of the runner who obeys such and such rules and avoids Slender Man by doing this but gets message from a TTA-lite that makes them do X, it's just the same story. It builds a bigger Mythos, but what's the point if it's just a big version of the same, well-tread story?

You want to do a good Slender Blog? Do something different. It doesn't even have to be that big of a change, but just SOMETHING other than "Normal life, weird message, faceless man, OMGRUN".

Two of the bigger blogs: Seeking Truth and Dreams In Darkness both used the Cosmic Horror-style Slender Man that is common in these stories. Seeking Truth used the perspective of an action movie-style Loose Cannon Cop to differentiate itself. Dreams In Darkness followed a more typical "spiral into insanity", but it played with the idea enough to make it new.

The issue isn't market overload. The issue is market quality and lack of differences. Prospective bloggers should always ask one question before starting: What am I going to do with Slender Man that is completely different from everyone else? If you can't answer that, you're just adding more weight.

[Montagg]

[Mattwan]

For me, at least, Slender Man has reached the "zombie movie" stage. The character is no longer interesting or scary just for being there, and I have no burning desire to see any new works based around him. I feel like I've had my fill for now, but I reserve the right to get incredibly excited if a really great new story comes along.

[Atomyk]