Posted November 13, 2023 (edited) Hi all, I’m part of a team conducting an academic study on community heritage and video games, and we’re looking for participants who are familiar with the Wurm Online community, specifically the construction of Dragon Fang Tunnel on the Independence server (here’s a YouTube video that documents it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=IO4SdGMF-x4). We would like to conduct open-ended interviews over the next few weeks of no more than an hour within Wurm Online itself, ideally walking through the Pass as a way to prompt discussion. We're interested in getting a range of different viewpoints so people involved in archival projects relating to the Independence server or who have just used the Pass as part of their gameplay would also be great to talk to 🙂 If you’re interested, please comment here or send me a DM, and I can forward on the study information sheet and consent form. Thank you so much! Florence Smith Nicholls Edited November 13, 2023 by florencesn 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 13, 2023 (edited) Gumbo was the originator of the Dragon Fang Tunnel project (never was called a 'pass' so far as I know). From his forum link it appears as though the player was banned as of a year ago, it seems. Note that I had no involvement in the construction, but as a now "old-timer" player around here was able to make use of the tunnel a couple years after the project was completed and had benefitted from Gumbo's assistance when first starting to adventure as a new player on Independance. Some of the other early players involved in the Dragon Fang Tunnel project might still be around and be willing and able to meet with you to contribute to your study. It seems like a nice idea you and your team have started. Edited November 13, 2023 by Tristanc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 13, 2023 Thank you Tristanc, I've amended the name in the post. It would be fantastic to talk to you if you're interested! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 14, 2023 (edited) 18 hours ago, florencesn said: Thank you Tristanc, I've amended the name in the post. It would be fantastic to talk to you if you're interested! I'd not mind talking with you and your team, but truly I had no role in the construction/planning/design of the Dragon Fang Tunnel at all. Merely using the southern part of it for mining with a formerly active player after it was constructed is it, as well as benefitting from Gumbo's help in a beginner's village much further north that he'd formed for new players is my only connection. Edited November 14, 2023 by Tristanc Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 14, 2023 7 hours ago, Tristanc said: I'd not mind talking with you and your team, but truly I had no role in the construction/planning/design of the Dragon Fang Tunnel at all. Merely using the southern part of it for mining with a formerly active player after it was constructed is it, as well as benefitting from Gumbo's help in a beginner's village much further north that he'd formed for new players is my only connection. Thank you, we're interested in getting all kind of perspectives on the tunnel, including players who have memories associated with it! I'll send you a DM with further info 🙂 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 14, 2023 (edited) For general interest, here is a link to the Information Sheet for the study: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SN0TvBX0xyUQvrZ0H5vZaCprSx5JfjnHdJVUecw0HSo/edit?usp=sharing And a link to the Consent Form: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C1-mub0P_4yqwQWE4E-FG0LzDtRhBS4SSocRgExW0l0/edit?usp=sharing Edited November 15, 2023 by florencesn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 14, 2023 Hi there @florencesn Thank you for the above link, as a lot of us might find it interesting to find out more about your research, even if still unsure about an interview. Welcome to the Wurm community! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2023 12 hours ago, Muse said: Hi there @florencesn Thank you for the above link, as a lot of us might find it interesting to find out more about your research, even if still unsure about an interview. Welcome to the Wurm community! Thank you @Muse I really appreciate that! I've also added a link to the consent form for the study in the post above case anyone wants to see that. To give a bit more background, I'm a PhD student interested in games preservation (my background is actually originally in archaeology, and I look at digital archaeologies of games essentially). My supervisor used to play Wurm and recommended we take a look at it, and by chance we came across Dragon Fang Pass and thought it would make an interesting case study because it represents a huge amount of work and has been designated a heritage site by the community. I think Wurm is fascinating, and as far as I can tell there has been little to no academic study of it. The reason why we're doing the interviews in this "go-along" format is sort of as an experiment to see how talking to people in a specific location might aid reflection and conversation. We went through an academic ethics review for our study, which is why we have to provide the information and consent forms. We would be recording conversations to produce a transcript for our analysis, but this would be anonymised and no personal information will be kept. We would also be sharing the article that results from this with the community. We've been able to get in touch with a few people who worked on the Pass, but we're still looking for any participants who would be happy to have a quick chat with us before November 25th The Pass itself only takes around 10 minutes to walk, so even if you can only spare a little time that would be a huge help! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2023 Searching back a bit, I found I was in error when I described the relevant tunnel as not being called Dragon Fang Pass. It seems that was indeed the original name. For your perusal, here's a link to a forum thread showing a pic from inside the tunnel in thanks to one of the contributors to the project over the years. It's from 2017, though the Dragon Fang Pass project was started by Gumbo before even 2015. Shout Out to Finndar Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 15, 2023 Finndar did the reinforcing several years after the tunnel was already in place. I started playing Jan. 2016 and he started playing after that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 16, 2023 Thank you @Tristancand @ChampagneDragon 😄 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 26, 2023 Just saw this now. Helped mine it out some. I see I missed Nov 25 by a day... If I may make a suggestion, the first really intensive capital works project of this nature on this server that I am aware of (and maybe any server, don't know for sure) was the original cave canal, now called the Freedom Market Cave Canal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted November 29, 2023 I did help in the construction although I didn't help organise it - I'm not sure how helpful my memories would be given that construction took place in late 2009/early 2010 by my recollection. I'd be happy to share some thoughts if you want. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
