INITIALISING... Progression One
So... I've done what I can to include as much relevant 'initial' text as possible on our dream and subsequent 'reality' that now lives and breathes through the minds of many. My old friend and colleague Ben Fielding – wherever he may be these days – writes better than I do perhaps, in discussing and reflecting upon it all. There are always things missing, including – for now – a lot of Ben's original 'gamebook' (written in the Source, and that goes even further back). We used to refer to those ink-soaked pages a good deal while we were still testing the Neuroceans interface, and writing the first 'walkthroughs' for, as was hoped, a better system. But, because I know him and how rarely he overlooks things, I'd say it must be his wish that it stays hidden.
Things evolve. Sometimes very slowly. Fountellion, of course, is always changing. But I hope that the following compilation manages to 'capture' truly not only something of that original dream, but also its positive affect or legacy that perhaps can only be glimpsed by completion of all the sections and selected extracts.
I feel that it's helped me. I'm glad of the process, and the reading of the experiences of users who clearly got so much excitement and 'insight' out of playing or 'living through' their sessions within it. Our early testers, of whom Dan Harvester was just one, 'found' the game just as we could have hoped, and who today proves a worthy Mage and even, from time to time, Guardian, appearing in the game.
But also I hope these texts can pay some tribute to those who fell victim in the course of our ambition – to save so much, and to 'progress' onwards again... Perhaps, even, to where we are now, today... still in the 'Time of the Spiral'... still dreaming but maybe... with eyes open wider and... greener... more connected... and less... restless and... as a species... lost...
- John Leaven (FC)
(Former Lead 'Fountellion' Co-Designer and Web Salvager
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Fountellion in THE SPIRAL: Greenwise & the Nature of the Game
Science FictionA gateway to a long-awaited, always-online virtual island (an 'Autonomous World') has opened for those who've found a key. This includes Dan Harvester, a guy who lives in a run-down apartment with his cat and runs a gaming channel. He's almost done...
