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Happy one year anniversary RPC! That's right. It'€™s already been one full year since we set out to lay the foundation for Eorzea'€™s RP community. A lot has happened in a year'€™s time. Linkshells have crumbled, new linkshells have formed. Old faces have disappeared, new ones have come. But the RPC is still here and as strong as ever.
This project began with only a small handful of role-players from FFXI'€™s Sylph server in December, 2009. I set out to invite other known RP groups still alive in FFXI, including Sylph'€™s Crystalline (most of which are now in what's known as Outer Heaven), Leviathan's Lost Boys (known as Stormguard as their Eorzean counterpart), Lakshmi's Canta Per Me (most of which are now in what's known as AETHER), Siren's Silver Gryphons, Kujata'€™s Braved Dawn, Asura's Sfant Umbra, and several other FFXI RP shells.
You'€™ve likely heard the saying that gathering RPers is like herding cats. That saying couldn't have been more true. Mobilizing these Rpers to join a RP coalition was a task in and of itself. Coming from FFXI, most were used to living in isolation in the RP world. It was difficult to explain to them all that successful RP coalitions existed in just about every other MMORPG (excluding FFXI). It was the norm (and still is--look at new MMOs like Rift or Guild Wars 2 for instance), but persuading everyone of that was easier said than done. Reluctantly, these Rpers began to unite under one banner though.
We started gathering on our first forum. While it wasn'€™t the most glamorous looking forum, it slowly became home. RPers from FFXI'€™s different servers began to get to know one another and gradually, the insecurity and doubts about the RPC began to subside. New friends were made and new bonds were forged. The RPC'€™s original charter was born and approved unanimously during the very first formal RP discussion and vote.
After gaining approximately 70-80 role-players from FFXI and voting on our charter, the RPC finally went public on February 15th, 2010. We made our presence known on sites like Zam, Eorzeapedia, Core, and several other smaller sites. Our numbers began to continue rising gradually. We began our first etiquette discussions, the RPCV was launched, the RPC Council convened, the linkshell teaser site launched to reveal the first 10 RP shells of Eorzea, and so much more.
Once the release date for the game was finally announced, the RPC exploded. Our membership soared through the roof and posting activity spiraled out of control. There were so many posts per day that even those who checked the forums multiple times per day couldn'€™t stay caught up. To those who originally had reservations about the RPC, the success was astonishing.
The server vote for the unofficial RP server went quite smoothly compared to other RP server votes in other MMOs. While Lindblum maintained a strong lead for most of the vote, Besaid eventually won out. No other server had much of a chance of winning. Mysidia came in third and even that was a very distant third. All in all, 230 role-players voted. Zam, Eorzeapedia, and Core all three covered the results of the poll on their front pages, further solidifying the selection as the true RP server. Other media outlets, such as the Mog House blog and other smaller fan sites, announced the vote as well.
So much more happened between then and now, including drama, ugly politics, the launch of other projects, and so much more. To cover it all would be difficult.
With all that said, I am in the beginning stages of creating a tribute video for the RPC'€™s 1 year anniversary. I am hoping to cover all remaining RP shells in it while also remembering the RP shells who are no longer with us. RP shells please submit screenshots to me via PM or email ([email protected]). Presently, I have screenshots for Coral Vanda, Elements, MonsterHunters/Mog House, Outer Heaven, Sanctus Refero, and TALE. If you’re not listed, I have -nothing- for your shell yet.
The video will mostly be screenshots only since getting video footage of every RP shell would be much more difficult. Maybe next year ^^. But don'€™t worry. Sylph RPers can testify to the fact that I can still make a pretty epic tribute video with just screenshots xD.
Thank you to every single one of you, whether you still play the game or not. The contributions from each role-player, no matter how small, are the reason we'€™re still here and the reason that we'€™ll remain here until the game goes under (which hopefully won'€™t be anytime soon >.>).
It's amazing to see an entire year already having gone by. Despite the bumpy launch of the game, the RP community has still managed to thrive and make a name for itself. The bonds we Eorzeans have made so far will remain with most of us forever no doubt. Ups and downs alike, the ride has been amazing so far. And I look forward to the many more years ahead in which even more memories will be forged. In the meantime, happy adventures and Happy Anniversary, RPC! Hope to see you all in Eorzea!
Best wishes,
Castiel
PS: No Zeahs were harmed in the production of the site's new temporary banner and background.
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