CreatureFantasy
When FFXI was finally released in the US in 2002, a side-project called CreatureFantasy was created in thinking that the CreatureWrestling genre could produce exposure to the realm of MMORPG at the same time expansion of a new title called CreatureFantasy? Championship. The original concept would have been a PvP (Player versus Player) tournament. The winner(s) would advance in a tournament for the championship. However, upon the fact that FFXI didn't have a PvP at the time and that to even obtain the players for this- one would have to level towards 75 and develope a social environment in Linkshell?s.
Unfortunately, CreatureFantasy died 4 months after it's creation as a Linkshell? because FFXI's one and only PvP system was too strict and exclusive to only a certain population of players that could fullfill it's entry requirements. CreatureFantasy's website was then converted and used for a Linkshell that Darkspade eventually co-ran with a Linkshell leader in a linkshell called, "UchihaClan?" and helped hundreds of players in hard-notorious monster and sky fights. UC was eventually dropped because the Leader had to goto school and just wanted to leave the pressures and politics of having to run a HNMLS (hard-notorious linkshell). It's members attempted to re-form in a linkshell called Deadprezidentz but then the leader there was unwilling to put in the efforts- and thus, it's members left. Darkspade created websites for both UC and DP; with UC having several layout versions over it's 2 year run. Even after all of this, the UC website is still up and friends post on it's message board. A lot of the former memebers stay in constant contact with one another and still play in UC's old Dynamis shell. SBL, UC's Dynamis shell (still going strong even after UC ended long ago)
A Farewell movie made by a UC member: http://xifuxiong.dyndns.org/end.wmv
Darkspade to this day plays FFXI as a hobbie, to showup to events and just to enjoy the company of his friends online. Quote: "What I have learned from FFXI was the value of friendship, team work and determination to keep going and never give up no matter what the odds are. I've forged online friendships that even when UC ended, we carried on and stayed in constant contact and do events together. By contrast to the CW, I will have to say that taking a secondary role in just being a helper and a mentor to these leaders that they where able to take what I learned and run a linkshell w/o much drama. My good experiences and even bad experiences with running an e-fed has helped others avoid drama traps and be able to have fun which is why we played this game in the first place. Finally, after not only witnessing an end to not just 1 but 2 Linkshells I was in... and seeing other Linkshells on not just the server I play on but across 12 other different servers-- that eventually things do have an ending but that doesn't mean that it's over. Things like friendships and human spirit live on forever and just because a LS or an e-fed end, it's not the end of the world but rather, just another step in life."
The Points of Views:
CWE players and FFXI players seem to have the same goals in terms of Role playing. However, there is a definate fense with these modes of play. Players on either side don't cross very often... When I would talk to FFXI players about what I do on CWE, they aren't very interested in the topic or like don't truely understand/comprehend what e-fedding is. They think it's a unimportant thing.
By contrast, when I talk to a CW Player about FFXI, it's a very similar reaction towards FFXI. The irony is that the game mechanics and majority of the inspiration in terms of storylines, art and direction came from games like Final Fantasy. If it wasn't for Final Fantasy, 3/4 of what we have in CreatureWrestling wouldn't have been created.
Overall, I respect both sides of the POV. FFXI and CW both exchanged something from one another and it is wonderful to know that hundreds of people where touched with inspiration, friendships and creativity. So CreatureFantasy wasn't a complete failure afterall, just re-directed into something even greater than what it was meant to be.
