CNET: Online game rising from the dead:

Many online games have crashed and burned, but the situation with Uru
is unusual in that it was the "Uru Live" community that convinced
GameTap the game was worth getting behind.

That's because the
community has stayed alive and active in the two years since "Uru Live"
died, mainly through an unsupported freeware program called "Until Uru"
that Cyan made available to anyone who wanted to host versions of it on
their own servers.

[...]

"What I found was that these
players had already established a deep connection to the whole series
of ('Myst' and 'Uru') games," Pearce said. "But they'd been playing the
games pretty much in isolation (prior to 'Uru Live'). So when they came
together online, they really bonded very rapidly and intensely. And
when the game closed, people were just heartbroken."

Related Links:

• Official Uru Live web site (with news and FAQ)
  
• Digg story

Many readers of this blog are Myst fans. In many cases, the first time
we met each other was in D'ni, via an online game called Uru Live. If
you remember Uru Live, or are new to it, I wanted to pass along that
Cyan has created a server for us to meet together again.

Right
now it's just a great gathering place to chat and explore. But if many
are interested, it might convince the Powers That Be to fund Cyan to
bring new content and story to Uru.

I invite everyone new and old to Uru to check it out.
http://plasma.cyanworlds.com/news.xml

If you're not sure how to get involved, just e-mail me.
It's free to play, but if you don't have Uru yet you'll have to pick up
a copy. It's only $10 at most places. If you need an invite to create a
D'mala login, please let me know.

We need to show Cyan and its
possible investors that we love D'ni. Let's get everyone in the Cavern
this weekend. I invite all explorers to hang out all weekend long (and
the many weekends to come) in Ae'gura and the various neighborhoods in
D'mala. Let's make the Cavern floors shake with our footsteps and the
Cavern walls sing with our voices. To D'ni!

Thanks!

(Digg)

The Best Game of 2005:
- Psychonauts

Runner Up for Best Game in 2005:
- Myst V: End of Ages

My prediction for the Best Game of 2006:
- Half-Life 2: Aftermath

My prediction for the Runner Up for Best Game of 2006:
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent

I resolve to play less games in 2006 and spend more time outside or with friends.

Happy New Year!
- Deg -
 

Now that I've had some time to digest the changes on the Gamespot web site, I'm happy.  The new preferences dialog and horizontal banners are good.  I just wish they'd get the bugs worked out with Unions.  Until then, I guess I'll just have to study for exams...

Well, I just noticed I've made over 300 forum posts at Gamespot. I really wish they would keep all of the posts and not archive older ones (this confuses some fans new to Uru and the Myst games). I'm not a big fan of the Gamespot forum software, but it's better than Infopop. Anyways, happy posting!