View topic - Why the mythos are dissapearing

unforum
a.r.g.b.b

Welcome!

New users, PLEASE read these forum guidelines. New posters, SEARCH before posting and read these rules before posting your killer new campaign. New players may also wish to peruse the ARG Player Tutorial.

All users must abide by the Terms of Service.

Website Restoration Project

This archiving project is a collaboration between Unfiction and Sean Stacey (SpaceBass), Brian Enigma (BrianEnigma), and Laura E. Hall (lehall) with
the Center for Immersive Arts.

Announcements

This is a static snapshot of the
Unfiction forums, as of
July 23, 2017.

This site is intended as an archive to chronicle the history of Alternate Reality Games.

Our Esteemed Contributors

The time now is Mon Nov 11, 2024 6:46 pm
All times are UTC - 4 (DST in action)

View posts in this forum since last visit
View unanswered posts in this forum

Calendar

Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Slender Man Mythos

Why the mythos are dissapearing
Moderators: ChildOfAtom, Cougar Draven, DavFlamerock, Dixie_Wolf, ndemeter

Page 3 of 7 [103 Posts]

Goto page: Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Next

Author

Message

Lithp
I Have No Life

Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058

Tails wrote:

Sometimes i think it�s not the case that "the market is satuated", but rather that this fandom has developed a "let me have my cake and also eat it" mentality when it comes to what they want from a series, which is really a shame, because it makes it hard for creators to work with and get noticed nowadays (especially the newer ones, althrough several really would deserve it).

I don't know what you mean.

Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 10:49 pm

yinyang64
Greenhorn

Joined: 06 Oct 2011
Posts: 4

Very long time lurker, barely post myself. Its a shame to see these ending. Especially since

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

I never got my Home Alone style slapstick Slender V-Log where the kids Slendy haunts sets traps for him, and he ends up falling down and getting tarred and feathered.

Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 11:54 pm

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

SignerJ wrote:

I really hate this whole "we're all dying, run!" mentality. Why?

Well, for one thing, the mythos aren't disappearing. They(?) as healthy as ever. In fact, as Baroness said, the market is saturated. I'm pretty sure that a saturated market is not the sign of a dying mythos.

Secondly, this is an unhealthy mentality. I know this from experience, as I've seen this whole "the [thing] is dying/decaying/disappearing" mentality turn a fully functioning, popular website into one with barely thirty active members, at best. If there is a list of things that are going to cause the mythos to disappear, then this mentality will be near the top of the list.

---
You know what, I was going to also talk about the general lack of inactivity in the forums and many of the threads, but I'm too irritated to discuss that at the moment. Partly because I keep seeing people complain about lack of risk-taking or creativity while the threads of some of the boldest series are being kept alive by only two or three members.

And before you say that this lack of inactivity is a sign of decay, let me tell you one place where the Slenderverse is plenty active: Tumblr. If you want activity, in most of the fandoms, look at Tumblr. (And I hear that there is a decent community on Reddit, too.)

Also, Tails has a very good point.

I don't think the mythos is dying, it just needs a series that can grab a large audience. Its easy to use MH as an example because it pulled in a large audience, updated regularly, was interesting, and ended.

There are some series that match a couple of those criteria, but I don't know another one at the moment that matches all four.

There are a bunch of great series like:

1. Everyman Hybrid

2. Caught Not Sleeping

3. Hundred Yard Stare

4. Tribe Twelve

But the problem is:

1. Doesn't update often or at all.

2. Disappeared for 6 months and then returned.

3. Seems Dead.

4. Doesn't update often or at all.

Its hard for people to keep an interest in a series that only updates when it can. I think that is the number one problem with most series, they just can't keep it going due to real life constraints.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 9:46 am

gennerx
Unfettered

Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 359
Location: 90� N, 0� W

Marble Hornets ended. That's reason enough for the mythos to start dying off.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 1:51 pm

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

gennerx wrote:

Marble Hornets ended. That's reason enough for the mythos to start dying off.

Well its either going to re-invigorate the mythos by opening up the field or cause it to shrink because people who only watched MH won't watch anything else.

Who knows, but the genre isn't close to dying.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 2:18 pm

gennerx
Unfettered

Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Posts: 359
Location: 90� N, 0� W

Blackout_2014 wrote:

gennerx wrote:

Marble Hornets ended. That's reason enough for the mythos to start dying off.

Unless another group puts as much time and money as the Marble Hornets team did it's going to be a net loss. None of the other vlogs out there right now update as often or has the same level of quality.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 2:40 pm

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

gennerx wrote:

Blackout_2014 wrote:

gennerx wrote:

Marble Hornets ended. That's reason enough for the mythos to start dying off.

Quality is a point I don't agree with. I think EMH and TT at their best have points that exceeded MH.

MH was simply the most well rounded show that came out on a regular basis.

You did hit the make on the head with the update part, if the mythos doesn't get fed it will die. Likewise, people need to stretch out their horizons and give other series a chance.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 7:14 pm

Lithp
I Have No Life

Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058

To be brutally honest, sometimes I think Marble Hornets is Famous for Being Famous. I don't think it's really "special" for a Slendervlog.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 7:56 pm

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

Lithp wrote:

To be brutally honest, sometimes I think Marble Hornets is Famous for Being Famous. I don't think it's really "special" for a Slendervlog.

Nah.

MH is the top show because it earned it. Not to say the series is perfect, but it did what it needed to do.

Case in point:

1. Trible Twelve: Vastly superior in the editing and effects department the acting and story is not up to par.

2. EverymanHybrid: Strong acting and some good effects. But the storyline is convoluted and hard to follow. I only started to get interested once they cut it down to Evan and Vinny because I just couldn't figure it out. Still my second favorite series. Wish it was still making videos.

3. DarkHarvest: It's average. Not bad, but not great. I will say that the slenderman in Greg's Final Log was the best appearance of a "mobile" slenderman I have seen period.

4. MLAnderson: Decent, but sporadic.

5. WhisperedFaith: Decent, but not sure where it is going.

6. Caught Not Sleeping: Excellent Series, doesn't get enough exposure. Their Slenderman does look silly though.

7. Hundred Yard Stare: Excellent series, especially because it is short and easy to breeze through. Too bad it is gone.

All of those series above are fine series, but they all fail to do what MH did. And what MH did was:

1. Have regular updates.

2. Other than taking the slenderman idea from Victor Surge they are not cribbing their mythos from anyone. The same can't be said for others.

3. Have decent acting. On a sliding scale it would go Tim>Jay>Alex.

4. Have a side story (TotheArk) that is just as interesting as the main series. Tribe Twelve copied the hell out of this with the observer videos and while they are better quality they are derivitative as can be.

MH earned their top spot. If it didn't keep up the good work then the videos wouldn't have kept up with 100,00+ views per video. Not saying that should be the only measure of quality, but it is a big part of it. If they didn't keep peoples attentions they would have left.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 10:09 pm

Lithp
I Have No Life

Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058

Quote:

1. Have regular updates.

It didn't do this for the majority of its lifespan.

Quote:

2. Other than taking the slenderman idea from Victor Surge they are not cribbing their mythos from anyone. The same can't be said for others.

So? A lot of famous things are adaptations of earlier mythos. Final Fantasy was inspired by D&D, which was in turn inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien, who in turn adapted a lot of Nordic myth. Also, they didn't have any mythos besides Slenderman, so that's not really impressive.

Quote:

3. Have decent acting. On a sliding scale it would go Tim>Jay>Alex.

A lot of series have good acting? And Marble Hornets could be kind of wooden, at times.

Quote:

4. Have a side story (TotheArk) that is just as interesting as the main series.

Random gibberish & codes is not a side "story."

No one's ever really presented a decent case for why Marble Hornets is considered the best.

Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 10:32 pm

knifebladepresents
Unfettered

Joined: 29 Mar 2013
Posts: 504

Quote:

1. Trible Twelve: Vastly superior in the editing and effects department the acting and story is not up to par.

2. EverymanHybrid: Strong acting and some good effects. But the storyline is convoluted and hard to follow. I only started to get interested once they cut it down to Evan and Vinny because I just couldn't figure it out. Still my second favorite series. Wish it was still making videos.

3. DarkHarvest: It's average. Not bad, but not great. I will say that the slenderman in Greg's Final Log was the best appearance of a "mobile" slenderman I have seen period.

4. MLAnderson: Decent, but sporadic.

5. WhisperedFaith: Decent, but not sure where it is going.

6. Caught Not Sleeping: Excellent Series, doesn't get enough exposure. Their Slenderman does look silly though.

7. Hundred Yard Stare: Excellent series, especially because it is short and easy to breeze through. Too bad it is gone.

I wouldn't say that Marble Hornets is as good as these others. Perhaps it's good in different ways, but I'm part of the minority that was unimpressed by the ending. I know that there wasn't a really better way to end, but the writers shouldn't write themselves into a corner like that.

I haven't see the last 3, but I somewhat agree with you. EMH is hard to follow since it's pretty much scattered through the web--it's one of those series that it's much better to experience with rather than catch up on. Of course now, since I haven't seen in it awhile, I've actually forgotten a lot of details about the series. There's a lot that needs to be explored, such more of Steph's character--but it looks like Vinny isn't getting out of HABIT's grips alive.

Your points on MLA and TT make sense, but I would have to disagree with you on Dark Harvest. I think Dark Harvest is amazing, because it just feels more...real to me. The characters are real people--not cardboard cutouts just meant to be a proxy or explore some old building. They have plausible reasons not to upload sometimes. Also, most series try to rely on suspense, which can be great but it also gets boring sometimes. However, DH is packed with action and mystery--and you know what's great? Mysteries actually get solved! YAY!!!!

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 9:14 am

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

Quote:

It didn't do this for the majority of its lifespan.

Perhaps not as often as people would have liked. But some series update 3-4 times a year. Marble Hornets cannot be accused of that and be taken seriously.

Quote:

Most series that I see have some sort of slender sickness, some sort of symbol, and some antagonist/ally who communicates in arty, cryptic videos.

With the sole exceptions of Everyman Hybrid it would be hard for me to name a series that did crib from Marble Hornets. I think it is a case of stealing from the best.

I don't mean that Marble Hornets is "teh best thing evah!" But it was the top series for a reason.

Quote:

A lot of series have good acting? And Marble Hornets could be kind of wooden, at times.

If you're talking about Alex/Joesph I agree, not so much with the others in the series.

Quote:

Random gibberish & codes is not a side "story."

It turned out to be random gibberish in the end because they dropped the plot point. But Totheark videos were a source of major debate and interest in the series.

Quote:

No one's ever really presented a decent case for why Marble Hornets is considered the best.

Its all subjective really. I give my opinion, you give yours. Unless the operator comes to life and chooses his favorite series, who knows......

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:11 pm

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

Quote:

Well I don't think you're in a minority. I would say most people either thought the ending was bad or serviceable. Not a ringing endorsement.

Quote:

I haven't see the last 3, but I somewhat agree with you. EMH is hard to follow since it's pretty much scattered through the web--it's one of those series that it's much better to experience with rather than catch up on. Of course now, since I haven't seen in it awhile, I've actually forgotten a lot of details about the series. There's a lot that needs to be explored, such more of Steph's character--but it looks like Vinny isn't getting out of HABIT's grips alive.

Who knows? I wish they would update so we could find out.

Quote:

Your points on MLA and TT make sense, but I would have to disagree with you on Dark Harvest. I think Dark Harvest is amazing, because it just feels more...real to me. The characters are real people--not cardboard cutouts just meant to be a proxy or explore some old building. They have plausible reasons not to upload sometimes. Also, most series try to rely on suspense, which can be great but it also gets boring sometimes. However, DH is packed with action and mystery--and you know what's great? Mysteries actually get solved! YAY!!!!

I concede that point. DH does answer more questions. It is more simplistic when compared to other Mythos, but maybe that's a good thing in this case. Less questions mean more ability to answer them.

Perhaps the store with MH just got away from them.

Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:15 pm

Lithp
I Have No Life

Joined: 04 Mar 2012
Posts: 2058

Quote:

Its all subjective really. I give my opinion, you give yours. Unless the operator comes to life and chooses his favorite series, who knows......

Well, this was what I was getting at. The reviews weren't approaching the show like critics, they were just conflating how much they enjoyed it with the actual quality of the content.

And that is why I think this ending sneaked up on people. The only thing that surprised me was how much the dropped plot points surprised people. A lot of people were calling it, from the trajectory of Season 3.

Also, I don't think "hard to follow" is really a fair criticism of EverymanHYBRID. It's hard to follow because it was intended to be a multimedia story, not a direct series like Marble Hornets. Once you find the timeline, it's actually really easy to follow. I have a lot more trouble following Marble Hornets, which I think is due in large part to questionable decisions like naming all of the videos "Entry #X" & choosing not to answer questions. The updating, I'll give you, but I also maintain that Marble Hornets was hardly sinless in this regard. 7 month gap!

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:32 am

Blackout_2014
Veteran

Joined: 22 Jun 2014
Posts: 109

Quote:

And that is why I think this ending sneaked up on people. The only thing that surprised me was how much the dropped plot points surprised people. A lot of people were calling it, from the trajectory of Season 3.

I think we all knew their would be unanswered questions, but we all had out pet character/theory/idea. Mine was Totheark/Hoody, if they had answered that I would have shoved everything else aside. But they didn't so I get to be miffed. Not that it makes me special.

Quote:

Also, I don't think "hard to follow" is really a fair criticism of EverymanHYBRID. It's hard to follow because it was intended to be a multimedia story, not a direct series like Marble Hornets. Once you find the timeline, it's actually really easy to follow. I have a lot more trouble following Marble Hornets, which I think is due in large part to questionable decisions like naming all of the videos "Entry #X" & choosing not to answer questions. The updating, I'll give you, but I also maintain that Marble Hornets was hardly sinless in this regard. 7 month gap!

Well I guess I will have to backtrack on this one. I found out about slender man and marble hornets towards the end of season two. So maybe I missed the seven month gap. I never saw longer than a 3 month one. Plus I came into Everymanhybrid in the middle. Maybe if I had started from the beginning I would have had an easier time.

Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:27 am

Display posts from previous: Sort by:

Page 3 of 7 [103 Posts]

Goto page: Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Next

Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Slender Man Mythos

Jump to:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
You cannot post calendar events in this forum