Ouch: ... We have here MORPHEUS the god of DREAMS... who has agreed to an exclusive interview for The Ralnoth Times... system time is 824 PM Tuesday October 28th, 2008....
Ouch: Hi there Morph :)
Morpheus: Hello Ouch.
Ouch: Do you have any opening statements before we begin?
Morpheus: Yes, I would like to thank my wife and family for allowing me the time to do this interview.
Ouch: Well we would like to thank them also then! :)
Ouch: I have some predetermined questions but I will run some extra ones as you answer.
Morpheus: Ok shoot.
Ouch: Which Morpheus are you based off? The one from Greek mythology? Or the one from the Matrix? Or is it a mystery?
Morpheus: The one from Greek mythology... This is an additional name of my mortal char.
Ouch: And which character is that?
Morpheus: Sandman.
Ouch: Is he your favorite mortal form?
Morpheus: Mortal form? Yes, of course. He was the start of it all.
Ouch: How long ago did you start?
Morpheus: April 2003.
Ouch: How was it different as a player and as a god?
Morpheus: In what way?
Ouch: Well if you don't mind, for the sake of covering all angles, in all the ways you can think of.
Morpheus: Well, when I first became a god, it was awesome. I really felt privileged to be made one.
Morpheus: As a mortal, however, it was tough because I started getting spammed with tells about "I lost my pw", "can you look at this?", and "this is broke"... It was non stop. I couldn't enjoy any fun time anymore.
Morpheus: I truly love to build and was honored when dentin gave me the chance to build, especially since there were no blind builders before me.
Ouch: Is it true that you are the first and possibly the only god of a MUD that is blind in real life?
Morpheus: That I know of, yes.
Ouch: Wow!
Morpheus: Byung has eye sight problems, but she is not completely blind.
Ouch: And was it hard? To be the first blind god of a mud?
Morpheus: Doing a lot of things was challenging, especially building, but with the help of Void, Dentin, Wyvren and Glorida, we made it all come together. We had to find some different ways to do things.
Ouch: So did Dentin create any commands to make it easier for you to build? Like - just for you?
Morpheus: No. He added many filters and adjusted many things for all, which in the end greatly helped me as well.
Ouch: Do you get a lot of attacks for being blind?
Morpheus: By some, yes. Like anything else, there will always be the haters... But, overall, everyone here is great. This is the place that kept me going all these years.
Ouch: Do you recommend this MUD to all blind players? Why or why not?
Morpheus: I do... Well for me back in 2003 I had nothing. Friends and family avoided me out of fear of what to say. I found this place and it opened my eyes and heart to a whole new world. I was accepted as a person. It’s the only place that my blindness truly does not matter, other than with my wife.
Ouch: Yeah it's great how you can't tell in the game who is blind and who is not. We teamed with some friends for 6 months before we knew they were blind in real life and we couldn’t tell the difference in the game. It didn't really matter.
Morpheus: I made friends here that gave me hope on life, people that my blindness mattered not.
Ouch: Would you say AA has a very strong friendship side effect?
Morpheus: Yes, very much so. Other than my wife and kids, all my true and best friends come from this world.
Ouch: Back to building... Did you actually increase the amount of areas for mid level players?
Morpheus: I think I have made a mix of all level areas... I helped Dentin by doing descriptions and mobs for the first island - the caves near the encampment. I have a few areas on each of the islands and several high level areas as well.
Morpheus: And several areas that I touched up as well.
Ouch: Before those areas, would you say the game was more geared at high level players?
Morpheus: No. There has always been a good mix of level areas.
Morpheus: That's how I feel personally anyway.
Ouch: I noticed your areas allow for alignment improvement towards both evil and good, so do most of your quests. Can you give details on that?
Morpheus: My one true dream was to give back to this game after all that it has given to me...
Morpheus: There is always good and bad in the world and I felt that some areas should be the same way.
Ouch: What was your first good/bad choice area?
Morpheus: My island of Seriphus.
Morpheus: And I still like the concept, but I would have done a lot of things differently now.
Morpheus: When I first started building there was little assistance.
Ouch: Are you saying builders help each other a lot more now?
Morpheus: Dentin was working a lot, some were just about at night. It was hard to figure things out... Then I hooked up with Void and I learned a ton. He has been a great mentor and I will always be thankful I had him, Dentin and a few others... And yes, very much so nowadays... Night or day there is usually someone around with knowledge.
Ouch: Why haven't you done an area with Wyvren yet?
Morpheus: But I have.
Ouch: So it's just not out yet?
Ouch: Can you tell us about this area?
Morpheus: "Dragon Elves" is an area I created. They worship wyvren’s for they are sort of like wyvren's. There is a temple in the area to Wyvren that she created.
Morpheus: She did all the work on the temple. I just created the mobs that inhabit it.
Ouch: Oh. So this area is out already?
Morpheus: Nod, it has been for a few months now.
Ouch: What is the next area you are planning? What kind of sneak peak can you give us?
Morpheus: Well I have many areas completed that are going through checks. I am presently working on a 3 part area with one area called Arcadia. It has the tower of light, the Shady Vale, and Darcadia with the dark tower.
Ouch: What is going to be special about those?
Morpheus: There will be several quests and the areas, as their names hint, will give people of all alignments a chance to run one or another.
Morpheus: Good vs evil, dark vs light, there will be a variety of different equipment for both alignments, mobs for both alignments, a chance to run and a quest for each alignment.
Ouch: What levels will this area be for?
Morpheus: Estimated level range is 27 to 33.
Ouch: What is your favorite thing about being a god? What is your hardest thing?
Morpheus: My two things I love about being a god are my followers and having the ability to build.
Morpheus: I love my followers, some have come and some have gone. Now I feel that we have a nice closely knit family. We talk, have fun, and sometimes even get me to break out of the old man to run a little.
Morpheus: And also, in building, I love the ability to give back to the MUD what it has given to me.
Morpheus: Hardest things are maps and always have been for me... Another thing is keeping my temper in check when dealing with some.
Ouch: How do people test your temper?
Ouch: And is it as a jealousy because you became a god?
Morpheus: Well there are some that are or were upset that I was made a god, and not them. Some others, well, they are just assholes. Can I use that term here?
Ouch: Of course ! The term is part of the game and every player has an imbedded asshole factor.
Morpheus: Some just have a higher one than others.
Ouch: You are one of the gods with the most followers and particularly the most devoted followers. How do you do it?
Morpheus: I care and I think I let them know that every chance I get. They thank me for restores, a bless etc. I tell them: if not for them I wouldn't have the power to do so. My followers are what give me the god points to give restores, blesses, etc.
Morpheus: I am not an admin, I am limited to what I can do, but at least I try to help if I can and if not, I talk to the people that can.
Morpheus: The one thing with people on this game is not letting the whole being a god thing go to your head... to remember that we are all the same here... Yes, I have more levels but I am no different then you or the next person.
Ouch: But why are they so loyal? What's the deal?
Morpheus: Being true to oneself and to them. I don't talk down to my followers, I treat the lowly newbie just as I treat the tot 110.
Morpheus: I have heard from many just the fact that I do talk and relate to them and their problems that I am different then many others in the past.
Ouch: What makes you give favor to a follower ?
Morpheus: I normally give followers favor for helping another follower, going out of their way to help a new player, sometimes I will have a little scavenger hunt.
Morpheus: Most times, I watch and listen... I might hear or see an act of kindness that makes me proud that they are a follower. Then I give them favor.
Ouch: And also for defending the faith of Dreams?
Morpheus: Or I might come on and say I need this or that and send them running about.. Yes, in the past I have given favor for defending the way of dreams, me, and my followers.
Ouch: If you could allow some of your followers to be priests, could you name a few and why?
Morpheus: You know that's a real hard question, for so many do so much for so many others. My followers are great to each other, each goes out of their way to help each other. It really makes me proud and to just pick a few would be extremely hard for me.
Morpheus: I have never heard any abusiveness towards each other, no cursing at each other, no arguing over my follower channel. Nothing. And I think thats great.
Morpheus: So if I had to chose, I would chose not to, for I would want to make them all priests.
Ouch: Who do your mortal forms follow as gods?
Morpheus: Sandman follows Void/Tarrant and I have a few others that follow several other gods as well.
Morpheus: I have morts of various levels to use in testing my areas.
Ouch: What kind of commands did Dentin do for you gods that players do not have access to?
Morpheus: Well there are a lot of commands that we have that mortals do not. We would have to, to be able to do what we can do.
Ouch: Can you give us some examples?
Morpheus: Well we have the power to restore one person, just our followers, no followers, or all (everyone). At my level, I can go anywhere. We can create, look at, and get rid of things.
Ouch: What else?
Morpheus: We are immortal and can not die, so I can go anywhere and never need to worry about dying.
Morpheus: Mobs can't attack us just like players can't. I can create an object or I can destroy it. I create a whole new area. There are simply just too many things to list.
Ouch: What made you chose AA?
Morpheus: Well I was looking for an escape from the real world. I tried many other games and either found them too difficult or was told that they are not set up for the blind, and have no desire to be set up as such.
Morpheus: People like Dentin, Wyvren, Void, Cygnii, Myst, Herb, Shift, Squeak, Druid and so many others helped me to learn the mechanics of the game.
Ouch: So you tried several games before and after? Like which ones?
Morpheus: Well I can't really remember all the names and the ones I can remember, I prefer not to say.
Ouch: What is the hardest quest that you have created?
Morpheus: It would have to be a toss up between barracuda, assassination, my king quest, or my new ranger quest. But I will say in the future, there are a lot harder quests coming.
Ouch: Would you like to give out any team awards to any gods or players if you had the chance?
Morpheus: I think all of us gods are a team and work together really well for the most part. We are a family and like any family have our disagreements. As for mortals, I think a lot of our quads are great and just about most here go out of their way to help another. If only the rest of the world was the same.
Morpheus: Well, if more of the real world was the same.
Ouch: Morpheus, you and your wife actually play this game together... We all want to know... Has A.A. made ya'll closer in your marriage?
Morpheus: I met so many people through this game, friends truer than any other in the real world. And I speak of people that I have known all my life. It is also the place I met my wife and it is the place we both come back to and enjoy playing together. It has made us closer for it's an escape from the real world and its problems. We can have fun, laugh and just forget all the every day problems and bs of real life.
Ouch: You mean you met your wife through Alter Aeon?
Morpheus: Yes, we met in september of 2003, started as friends, became closer, and finally as husband and wife.
Ouch: That is amazing !
Morpheus: Nod, all these years we have played A.A. and each night we talked on the phone.
Morpheus: Well, for hours we ran together, talked, and later in the night we would talk for many more hours over the phone. In time we met and found that it was meant to be. So here we are. It's great. All my loves wrapped into one.
Ouch: Well the game certainly has a way of solidifying friendships but you and Logain's love story is really a way this game permanently changed peoples' lives. I am so amazed and also happy hearing this for the first time in this interview.
Morpheus: Yes... We have been together in real life for 3 years now.
Ouch: As we come to a conclusion of this interview... the floor is open for anything you want to say about yourself or say to others. We appreciate any concluding remarks....
Morpheus: I would like to thank Dentin most of all for first creating a place that race, religion, one's disability, do not and will never matter to most. Second, for always being there in both game matters and in the real life problems I have had. And lastly, for always being a good and loyal friend. Next, I would like to thank everyone over the years that helped me first as a mortal, and then as a builder, and finally as a god.
Morpheus: There are too many to list and we would be here all night if I did. I would also like to thank my followers for being such good friends and loyal to the "way of dreams". I would also like to once again thank my wife and kids, both of which play the game also, well, at least my wife and step daughter.
Morpheus: It is truly great that we have a place where one's disabilites matter not. If not for this place, I am not so sure if I wouldn't have lied down like all the rest around me in real life thought I should. People like Dentin, Void, Myst, Druid, Craig, Smith and so many others have been my one true reason to go on each day. Seconded only by my wife and children.
Morpheus: I love you all as friends, brothers, sisters and thank you all for all that you have done, and just for being there.
Ouch: I thank you so much for this interview Morph... Once again this was Morpheus, the only god of a MUD that is blind in real life... and the creator of many areas in AA and designer of the faith called DREAMS, a faith consisting of fanatically loyal followers... system time is 1000 PM ...
As a special note, The Ralnoth Times would like to include some additional remarks that Morpheus made in a conversation that followed the interview which was a discussion specifically about building in the game.
Morpheus wrote: "... I am not sure if I ever told you this but I have over 200 word docs filled with new mob ideas, areas ideas, eq for every slot, magic items, deeds, mini quests, eq with descriptions, mobs with descriptions, brew comps, etc"
Morpheus also stated: "As long as Dentin keeps giving me the racks, I will keep building for as long as I can."
| Interview with the top asshole player: Rydia (Vivi). | Interview with the top socialite player: Smith. |