Wizard Wednesday Recap, 2024-06-26
After the show kicks of with a Wizard Wednesday song that Elf created with Udio, he begins the introductions and notes that it is his birthday on the day of the show.
Introductions & Cult Questions
Dotta joins with a terribly hoarse voice. Elf says he needs to be in bed. Entropy also joins the panel. Elf invites listeners in the Space to hop on stage and ask questions. He notes that most questions come from the Secret Tower, but he would love to have people just approach the stage, too. Elf says that Cult member MeepleDad will also be reading lore later in the show.
Amazing Magic Machine Members
MeepleDad asks the team for something amazing that a Magic Machine member has done this week (he excludes Elf and Bear from the running). Dotta says Waz is putting Forgotten Market V2, Niski has been working on Sales Bot bugs, Jitcy is documenting new game release mechanisms, and Frog Eater is putting together a new version of the Runiverse map. He also says Nalgene has been working on comics “in the face of uncertainty” from some of their partners.
He notes Entropy has been “playing defense” with the new Runiverse announcement. Elf announces an open call for video Cult Content that he want to collect in a “supercut” for the official website.
When Did You Learn You Are a Wizard?
After that, he takes another question from Vmark, who asks at what age members of the team realized they were Wizards needed to “put their rune on the door.”
Elf says the idea that he needed to put his mark on the world started for him during his teenage years when he began reading philosophy. He says he isn’t sure if he’s a true Wizard just yet, and that it’s always something you’re striving toward.
Dotta says his first realization of being a Wizard and putting his mark on the door was when he would play MUDs on private servers with his friends and realizing that they could set the parameters for the game world in their private server.
Entropy says that his first realization of being a Wizard was in middle school when he shared a D&D Player’s Handbook with a few friends and played a small campaign. He says this opened the door to his interest in Fantasy, and that he still plays D&D to this day.
Madotsuki says that he used to roleplay with groups of friends as Fantasy characters in AIM chatrooms, and he feels that he has just always gravitated toward Wizard characters.
The Enshittification of Everything
Elf says that everyone is talking about the days when the Internet was “cool” and asks if anyone has hear of the “enshittification of everything.” He notes that as a part of this, Google’s search engine now is terrible because they’re prioritizing purchases rather than queries. Community member Bridge takes that stage and speaks about the new frontier of crypto and its relation to the Internet and early adoption. Dotta notes that everything in new frontier fields starts out as punk rock and then become something else as it becomes monetized.
Elf Speaks About Alchemical Runes
MeepleDad then asks the team about their favorite Runes in the collections, because he feels like they are under appreciate aspects.
Elf takes this time to speak about his recent overview of Magic in the Runiverse that he published on Wizzypedia. Elf says that he has been hesitant to define any sort of Magic System because every Wizard in the Runiverse approaches Magic in their own way.
“You can’t really systematize Art.”
He explains the influences for unique Magical ways through Wizards’ traits. Elf uses the unique Magic of Wizards as a comparison to the individual talents of humans. He says the best way to inform your own style is to blend together different talents to create your own type of Magic.
In ansnwer to MeepleDad’s original question, Elf says that he thinks the Alchemy Runes are particularly special because they all attempt to “Dissolve and Coagulate.” This is an alchemical concept of breaking down elements to then come back together to form something new.
Elf speaks about the cycle of Alchemical Runes of Lime, Steel, Brass, Cinnabar, and Brimstone. He says Lime lays the foundation. Steel builds structures atop the foundation. Brass harmonizes the elements. Cinnabar makes it beautiful. Brimstone destroys it all to restart the cycle.
Dotta says that his dad wrote to him after Elf published his article on Magic, noting that there were a few Runes that appeared to be missing from Elf’s post. Elf says he needs to add those Runes in there. Dotta says everyone is just looking forward to the next iteration.
Color Magic
Moving to Color Magic, Elf says that though the Black Hats were kept in the Shadows for a long time, he thinks it’s time to start talking about Black Magic. He says he believes its source is the Total Void of Absolute Nothingness, which is one of the Forgotten Souls. Elf says that Black Magic is the most powerful force in the Runiverse, but it comes at the cost of humanity. He muses about Wizards willing to pay that cost for absolute power. He says Purple Hats come close to this, which is why we see them losing their sanity. When Dotta notes that he doesn’t think Elf has ever revealed that the Total Void of Absolute Nothingness is the source of Black Magic, Elf says:
“I’ll tell you this, Dotta. Everything in the collection is connected. Almost nothing sits in a vacuum.”
Entropy's Treat Box Giveaway & New Forgotten Runiverse Announcement
At this time, Entropy mentions the engagement on Elf’s Magic twitter thread, and says that he will give away a Treat Box to a random person who retweets. He says if the thread gets a total of 50 or more reposts, he will give away two Treat Boxes.
Runiverse Announcement
Following this, Dotta asks Entropy to speak about a recent announcement concerning the Forgotten Runiverse MMORPG. He notes at the high level, the announcement’s message is to make the community aware the game’s Q2 and Q3 builds have now been combined into one new build. Entropy also says that in Q4 of this year, the team expects the full, continuous release of the Forgotten Runiverse game. He says that this includes new content that will be added over time.
Dotta notes that the next Forgotten Runiverse build will have land ownership, dungeons, and interior decoration. Madotsuki notes that the Forgotten Runiverse team also plans to have a small playtest again before the release of the next build.
On the topic of Forgotten Runes games, Dotta notes that Battle For Goblin Town is on hold indefinitely. He says the reason behind this is the team doesn't want to launch competing products simultaneously.
"The Runiverse Game...has always been much larger than Goblin Town."
Dotta also slips and perhaps accidentally drops some alpha by noting the upcoming Warrior "Merging" Event. He says this is still planned, but is on hold due to more announcements alongside the Runiverse Game launch.
"The game...is where everyone's focus is being poured into."
Dotta says that Magic Machine is also working on the brand and tools for the Collaborative Legendarium. He also says that the team is available to answer questions about schedules on Wizard Wednesday.
Shout Out to Sales Chat & Communication Realignment
Dotta notes he is also usually in Sales chat as well. On the topic of the Secret Tower's Sales Chat channel, Dotta says that the team is appreciative of Wizards such as jmander, Bill Gains, and Corey for holding them accountable in terms of messaging and comms.
"Totally hear that. Hopefully we get better at that."
Elf says that Magic Machine frequently has internal talks about the perilousness of speaking on a Space every week about the project. He notes the delayed Warrior event.
"The thing I wish everyone would understand is: we do these things strategically under serious calculation."
Madotsuki agrees that priorities can shift when working on a large project over a long period of time, and relates to work with the Runiverse game. Dotta says that he thinks the Cult has been really good about being patient with delays.
Nosferatu, MeepleDad Lore, & The Cult Content Chronicle
Following that, Elf discusses the new Robert Eggers film and the memetic value of Nosferatu. Naturally, this also spurs conversation on the Cult's own "Moron Global" and their Lil Nos character. Then, MeepleDad joins to share lore for his Warrior (and his familiar)
Cult Content
As the show winds down, the team review the Cult Content Chronicle—art from the past week within the Forgotten Runes community—aggregated weekly by Tania del Rio