For those of you who have five minutes that you really need to get rid of, check out this quiz. It's designed to tell you which Myachi Master's style is closest to your own...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Meeting Night at the House of Skills
Every other Tuesday we have a meeting at the House of Skills. We bring all the guys out, order half a dozen pizzas or so and talk over what's new in the world of Myachi. We use the time for all kinds of stuff; we hash out our sales strategies, we do training exercises with the new guys, we deal with in-store issues, we fill the store guys in on what's happening on the office end and we will in the office guys on what's happening on the store end.
Many people get the impression that when you work for a toy company it's all fun and games. Nothing could be further from the truth. As you can see from the video below, we generally stay productive the entire time.
Okay, okay, so maybe we're not productive the whole time, but we still get some business done. That's just one video. I'm sure if I dig around on YouTube a bit more I can find a video of us actually hard at work...
Now, that video might not look like we're working, but trust me, that is some very serious research and development going on there. Just look at how Myachi Man is taking notes with his mind...
Alright, so I admit it, we don't actually do a whole lot of work at these meetings. Sometimes we actually do have business issues to go over, but we usually try to hammer that kind of stuff out in the first half hour of the meeting so we can spend the rest of the time goofing off and hanging out. In two weeks time between all of us we've usually come up with at least a half dozen new tricks and combos and the meeting has become the de facto place to show off the latest and greatest challenges.
Last night was no exception. We're putting together a cool little video so we spent more than half the night getting video of all the guys shredding. I captured some really solid video of individual shreds as well as a couple of two and three person tricks and some circle jams as well. We had a full house last night so it took until almost midnight to get everybody on camera but eventually I got jams from everyone present:
I'll put up some of the raw footage by Friday and link it here on the blog, but the finished product won't be done until Tuesday. We're shooting for "coolest Myachi You Tube video of all time" with this one and we go into it fully aware of how difficult a task that is...
Many people get the impression that when you work for a toy company it's all fun and games. Nothing could be further from the truth. As you can see from the video below, we generally stay productive the entire time.
Okay, okay, so maybe we're not productive the whole time, but we still get some business done. That's just one video. I'm sure if I dig around on YouTube a bit more I can find a video of us actually hard at work...
Now, that video might not look like we're working, but trust me, that is some very serious research and development going on there. Just look at how Myachi Man is taking notes with his mind...
Alright, so I admit it, we don't actually do a whole lot of work at these meetings. Sometimes we actually do have business issues to go over, but we usually try to hammer that kind of stuff out in the first half hour of the meeting so we can spend the rest of the time goofing off and hanging out. In two weeks time between all of us we've usually come up with at least a half dozen new tricks and combos and the meeting has become the de facto place to show off the latest and greatest challenges.
Last night was no exception. We're putting together a cool little video so we spent more than half the night getting video of all the guys shredding. I captured some really solid video of individual shreds as well as a couple of two and three person tricks and some circle jams as well. We had a full house last night so it took until almost midnight to get everybody on camera but eventually I got jams from everyone present:
- Bones
- Bamboo
- Noodles
- Maverick
- Pinky
- Myachi Man
- Rush
- Kid Myach
- Unknown
- Prime
- Skratch
- Animal
- Me
I'll put up some of the raw footage by Friday and link it here on the blog, but the finished product won't be done until Tuesday. We're shooting for "coolest Myachi You Tube video of all time" with this one and we go into it fully aware of how difficult a task that is...
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Difference Between A Trick and a Combo
by Crazy Ivan
Years ago I decided to undertake a massive project. I was going to compile a list of every single Myachi trick and I was going to catalogue them in a giant compendium. The "Tricktionary" that you see on the panel to the right is an extremely abridged form of what I was looking for and I will slowly add tricks to it until it becomes a behemoth reference, but it will never be anything like what I was going for before.
See, the first obstacle I came across when I set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) was the most basic thing you can imagine. It was the definition: What exactly is a trick?
This is actually a tougher question than you might think. We all agree that a 360 is a trick and we all agree that an Illusion is a trick, but what about a Wolverine? It's just a 360 and an Illusion done on the same throw. Is that a trick or is it just a combination of other tricks? If the Wolverine is a trick, what if I do a 360, catch the Myachi and then do an Illusion? Would that still be a trick or would it now become a combo?
For the purposes of my index, I used a pretty basic definition that I more or less lifted from the world of footbag. They say a trick starts at a strike or stall and ends at a strike or stall. That means that a trick is what you do in between any two touches.
That pretty much works for Myachi. That would mean that a Wolverine is a trick, but a 360 and then an Illusion is actually a combo if you catch in between. If you did an In-Spin and a Butterfly on the same move it would be a trick in and of itself, but if you did an In-Spin, an Instep kick and then a Butterfly it would be a combo.
{Warning: Technobabble ahead. To avoid technobabble, skip the next paragraph}
Interestingly enough, if you broke down the In-Spin> Instep Kick> Butterfly by the definition above, you would see that it is a 2 move combo. The two moves, of course, are In-Spin to Instep Kick and Instep Kick to Butterfly. You can see right away the difficulty that faced anyone who would take on trying to record every possible combination of strikes, aerials and stalls that would be considered "tricks" under this definition.
But there are still problems with our definition. It's easy to see how moves like Aerials, Body Crosses and Portals fit into this definition, but what about swaps? Is the Cold Fusion a move or is it a combination of two Under the Arm throws? This calls into question a ton of classic moves like the myriad variations on the Fusion, the Fu, the Heartbeat, the Stutter...
And what about Vert moves? These are moves where the Myachi never actually leaves the body. If your starting point and ending point are based on the sack leaving or landing on your body, where do things like the Roller Coaster or the Snake fit in? What about Grinds where the Myachi moves from one point to the other without actually leaving the body? Is a Dark Slide a move or a combo?
To date there is no single definition that encompasses every aspect of what makes a "trick" a "trick", but the definition of a combo is still pretty clear. Any time the Myachi touches your body, one trick has ended and another has begun. Even this crystal clear definition can be parsed with moves like the Tail Whip or the aforementioned Grinds, but by and large this is a workable rule to go by.
It might seem like a small distinction, as though I'm vacuuming my big vacuum cleaner off with a little vacuum cleaner, but this definition is actually important. Because Myachi is such a broad game people are still constantly coming up with new tricks. To keep track of who is doing what, it's important that we draw a distinction between creating a new trick and simply stringing together existing tricks in new ways.
Keep in mind that some of the best moves are actually combos. Nobody would argue that a move like the Wavy Gravy isn't a combo, but it's a great combo and everybody loves it. There's value in coming up with new combos and sometimes they will lead you to ideas for new tricks as well. All that being said, it seems like every dedicated fan of Myachi at some point or another gets it in their head that they're going to define themselves by inventing a new trick. Those people need to know exactly what they need to do to accomplish that goal.
Look for another entry later this week that goes into details about how to actually invent new tricks. Just laying the ground work today.
Years ago I decided to undertake a massive project. I was going to compile a list of every single Myachi trick and I was going to catalogue them in a giant compendium. The "Tricktionary" that you see on the panel to the right is an extremely abridged form of what I was looking for and I will slowly add tricks to it until it becomes a behemoth reference, but it will never be anything like what I was going for before.
See, the first obstacle I came across when I set pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) was the most basic thing you can imagine. It was the definition: What exactly is a trick?
This is actually a tougher question than you might think. We all agree that a 360 is a trick and we all agree that an Illusion is a trick, but what about a Wolverine? It's just a 360 and an Illusion done on the same throw. Is that a trick or is it just a combination of other tricks? If the Wolverine is a trick, what if I do a 360, catch the Myachi and then do an Illusion? Would that still be a trick or would it now become a combo?
For the purposes of my index, I used a pretty basic definition that I more or less lifted from the world of footbag. They say a trick starts at a strike or stall and ends at a strike or stall. That means that a trick is what you do in between any two touches.
That pretty much works for Myachi. That would mean that a Wolverine is a trick, but a 360 and then an Illusion is actually a combo if you catch in between. If you did an In-Spin and a Butterfly on the same move it would be a trick in and of itself, but if you did an In-Spin, an Instep kick and then a Butterfly it would be a combo.
{Warning: Technobabble ahead. To avoid technobabble, skip the next paragraph}
Interestingly enough, if you broke down the In-Spin> Instep Kick> Butterfly by the definition above, you would see that it is a 2 move combo. The two moves, of course, are In-Spin to Instep Kick and Instep Kick to Butterfly. You can see right away the difficulty that faced anyone who would take on trying to record every possible combination of strikes, aerials and stalls that would be considered "tricks" under this definition.
But there are still problems with our definition. It's easy to see how moves like Aerials, Body Crosses and Portals fit into this definition, but what about swaps? Is the Cold Fusion a move or is it a combination of two Under the Arm throws? This calls into question a ton of classic moves like the myriad variations on the Fusion, the Fu, the Heartbeat, the Stutter...
And what about Vert moves? These are moves where the Myachi never actually leaves the body. If your starting point and ending point are based on the sack leaving or landing on your body, where do things like the Roller Coaster or the Snake fit in? What about Grinds where the Myachi moves from one point to the other without actually leaving the body? Is a Dark Slide a move or a combo?
To date there is no single definition that encompasses every aspect of what makes a "trick" a "trick", but the definition of a combo is still pretty clear. Any time the Myachi touches your body, one trick has ended and another has begun. Even this crystal clear definition can be parsed with moves like the Tail Whip or the aforementioned Grinds, but by and large this is a workable rule to go by.
It might seem like a small distinction, as though I'm vacuuming my big vacuum cleaner off with a little vacuum cleaner, but this definition is actually important. Because Myachi is such a broad game people are still constantly coming up with new tricks. To keep track of who is doing what, it's important that we draw a distinction between creating a new trick and simply stringing together existing tricks in new ways.
Keep in mind that some of the best moves are actually combos. Nobody would argue that a move like the Wavy Gravy isn't a combo, but it's a great combo and everybody loves it. There's value in coming up with new combos and sometimes they will lead you to ideas for new tricks as well. All that being said, it seems like every dedicated fan of Myachi at some point or another gets it in their head that they're going to define themselves by inventing a new trick. Those people need to know exactly what they need to do to accomplish that goal.
Look for another entry later this week that goes into details about how to actually invent new tricks. Just laying the ground work today.
Monday, February 7, 2011
How to Make a Great Myachi YouTube Video
by Crazy Ivan
I have a feeling that this is a subject that we'll be coming back to again and again on this blog but I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a quick introduction to what makes a Myachi video fun to watch. Remember that a lot goes into your ultimate view count and there's more to it than throwing down a clean jam.
I've broken things down to 7 major points and provided a video that exemplifies each point. Special thanks to all the Maniacs whose videos make this blog possible.
#1) Background
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that about 2/3rds of all the Myachi shreds on YouTube take place in either somebody's bedroom or somebody's basement. That's cool because some of these videos contain spectacular shreds, but you have to throw down some incredible skills to make a static camera video memorable if the only thing in the background is your dresser and a few sweatshirts on the floor.
Shooting outdoors gives your video some flavor but it still depends on what's in the background. If we're just looking at the back of your house it's not as interesting as it would be if there was a forest behind you or maybe a playground. Better yet, a landmark that is unique to your hometown or general whereabouts.
For a perfect example of this, I'm turning to a pretty recent video. This is our good friend Downtown showing that if you take the time to think about your backdrops your video will be unforgettable:
#2) Editing
The least interesting Myachi videos and the ones that get the least play are the ones done in a single shot where the camera is mounted. This works great if you're just putting down an instructional video or if you're giving people a general sense of your skills, but if you're trying to put together a top notch video you're going to want to get several good shots from several different camera angles. Ideally, you'll do like Downtown did in the video above and get several different backdrops as well.
The quality of a video can be made or broken in the editing room. Okay, so your YouTube submission probably isn't going to an "editing room" per se, more like iMovie or something like that. Still, the choice of cuts and clips can make a huge difference in how much play your video gets.
Now, Downtown did a pretty good job with that in the video above so I'm really just giving a second good example of how to edit a really fun video. This is a much older vid and you can see that despite lacking the precise skills that Downtown displays above, these guys still manage to put together a mad entertaining video:
#3) Variety
If you just hop in front of a camera and start jamming odds are that you'll do what most people do. You'll throw down a really sick jam for half a minute or so and then you'll start running out of ideas. You'll come up with some more tricks, but there will be a lot of "holding pattern" tricks in between. A Fu for a few seconds here, a Fusion for a little too long there.
To put together a truly epic shred, you're going to want to give some thought to what tricks you're going to do before you even start. The best of the best plan out their entire routines and know exactly what tricks they're going to do before they even start the camera.
Even if you don't do that, it's a good idea to have several series of 7 or 8 back to back moves that you practice so that you won't accidentally do the same few tricks several times in the same shred. It's probably also a good idea to know what trick you want to start with and what you want to end on. One absolute must is a big finish and if you don't think it through you might get to the end of your shred and realize you've already use all of your biggest tricks.
For a great example of that we're going to turn to one of those "best of the best" folks I was talking about earlier. Mantis shows here that skills can make up for breaking those first two rules we were talking about:
#4) Flow
Alright, so if you just watched Mantis' video you're probably thinking to yourself, "yeah, it's easy to make a great video when you have skills like that" and not everyone is going to be able to bust out the multi-Myachi tricks right away.
There's no denying that skills make the video. You can do a lot without huge tricks but there are already people out there like Mantis prying eyeballs away from the newbs. But there are also people out there that make their tricks look so good that a relatively simple move can be a thing of beauty. These people get there by having good flow.
Linking tricks together and flourishing them by moving your whole body makes a big difference on your final product. When you're doing a 360, make a huge circle. When you're doing a Fu do it as fast as you can without losing control. When you do a Flying Clipper, set it up slowly.
Now for my example I've actually chosen a dude with some really serious skills. He might not be the best example of how to turn a small amount of skill into a big video because he busts out of the gate with some pretty big tricks. He is, however, a perfect example of how to make a routine flow.
#5) Humor
One thing that nearly every good YouTube video has in common is that it can make you laugh. Adding a bit of humor to your video can make up for pretty much anything. Now, this can be done by doing fun and creative moves, it can be done by leaving in a little out take reel at the end or it could be done by inserting some kind of gag in there.
It can also be the whole video. There are plenty of good examples I could have chosen that incorporate elements of humor in them, but for most of them I would have to set it up and say, "check out what he does at 1:14" or something like that. Instead I chose one of my all time favorite Myachi Videos and it's all gag:
#6) Skills
I've already touched on it a bit, but I certainly can't overemphasize this point. The better you are with a Myachi, the more impressive your video is going to be. If your video ranks high enough on the skill scale it won't matter what kind of background you use or how many different angles you edit in. It won't matter if people laugh because they'll be too busy saying "did he really just do that!?"
Now, don't fall into the trap of thinking that skills means difficult tricks. Obviously difficult tricks are great, but it's every bit as important to show people something they haven't seen before. Bringing in some other skill or adding an original trick can really be the highlight of a video even if it isn't the toughest move you throw down.
For a perfect example of skills I didn't have to look very far. I've already shown you plenty of extremely skilled Myachi players in this entry so there's really only one person I can put in here that won't be eclipsed by the talent that came before him:
#7) Creativity
This is really sort of a catch all category that reaches out and sticks a finger in every point I've made up until now. Being creative is something that you should be applying to every level of your video. Creative backgrounds, editing, photography, flow, variety and tricks will ensure that your video is something that the Myachi community will remember and pass along. As the game increases in popularity there's more and more competition so you'll have to work harder and harder to think of something that hasn't been done before.
One of the key factors that brings it all together is how much time and effort you put into your video. People will be able to tell if you just jammed in front of your webcam for a few minutes or if you really set out to make a good video. If you didn't put much effort into making it, people probably won't put much effort into watching it.
On the flip side of that coin is the fact that if a video is well made, people can't look away. They will appreciate the effort you put into your video and they will be far more likely to "like" it and/or share it with their friends.
For a good example here I'll use another recent video. This one comes from our good friend and Myachi Master in Training Rush and it's a fun video just for the game of Fu that it captures. Still, you can see that the added bit of elbow grease and editing time he put into it really elevates it from a mediocre video to a really good one.
Obviously this is a big subject and there's plenty more to say about it, but for now I'll leave it there. If you would like to add some advice, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below. Look for more pointers in the future.
I have a feeling that this is a subject that we'll be coming back to again and again on this blog but I thought I'd get the ball rolling with a quick introduction to what makes a Myachi video fun to watch. Remember that a lot goes into your ultimate view count and there's more to it than throwing down a clean jam.
I've broken things down to 7 major points and provided a video that exemplifies each point. Special thanks to all the Maniacs whose videos make this blog possible.
#1) Background
If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that about 2/3rds of all the Myachi shreds on YouTube take place in either somebody's bedroom or somebody's basement. That's cool because some of these videos contain spectacular shreds, but you have to throw down some incredible skills to make a static camera video memorable if the only thing in the background is your dresser and a few sweatshirts on the floor.
Shooting outdoors gives your video some flavor but it still depends on what's in the background. If we're just looking at the back of your house it's not as interesting as it would be if there was a forest behind you or maybe a playground. Better yet, a landmark that is unique to your hometown or general whereabouts.
For a perfect example of this, I'm turning to a pretty recent video. This is our good friend Downtown showing that if you take the time to think about your backdrops your video will be unforgettable:
#2) Editing
The least interesting Myachi videos and the ones that get the least play are the ones done in a single shot where the camera is mounted. This works great if you're just putting down an instructional video or if you're giving people a general sense of your skills, but if you're trying to put together a top notch video you're going to want to get several good shots from several different camera angles. Ideally, you'll do like Downtown did in the video above and get several different backdrops as well.
The quality of a video can be made or broken in the editing room. Okay, so your YouTube submission probably isn't going to an "editing room" per se, more like iMovie or something like that. Still, the choice of cuts and clips can make a huge difference in how much play your video gets.
Now, Downtown did a pretty good job with that in the video above so I'm really just giving a second good example of how to edit a really fun video. This is a much older vid and you can see that despite lacking the precise skills that Downtown displays above, these guys still manage to put together a mad entertaining video:
#3) Variety
If you just hop in front of a camera and start jamming odds are that you'll do what most people do. You'll throw down a really sick jam for half a minute or so and then you'll start running out of ideas. You'll come up with some more tricks, but there will be a lot of "holding pattern" tricks in between. A Fu for a few seconds here, a Fusion for a little too long there.
To put together a truly epic shred, you're going to want to give some thought to what tricks you're going to do before you even start. The best of the best plan out their entire routines and know exactly what tricks they're going to do before they even start the camera.
Even if you don't do that, it's a good idea to have several series of 7 or 8 back to back moves that you practice so that you won't accidentally do the same few tricks several times in the same shred. It's probably also a good idea to know what trick you want to start with and what you want to end on. One absolute must is a big finish and if you don't think it through you might get to the end of your shred and realize you've already use all of your biggest tricks.
For a great example of that we're going to turn to one of those "best of the best" folks I was talking about earlier. Mantis shows here that skills can make up for breaking those first two rules we were talking about:
#4) Flow
Alright, so if you just watched Mantis' video you're probably thinking to yourself, "yeah, it's easy to make a great video when you have skills like that" and not everyone is going to be able to bust out the multi-Myachi tricks right away.
There's no denying that skills make the video. You can do a lot without huge tricks but there are already people out there like Mantis prying eyeballs away from the newbs. But there are also people out there that make their tricks look so good that a relatively simple move can be a thing of beauty. These people get there by having good flow.
Linking tricks together and flourishing them by moving your whole body makes a big difference on your final product. When you're doing a 360, make a huge circle. When you're doing a Fu do it as fast as you can without losing control. When you do a Flying Clipper, set it up slowly.
Now for my example I've actually chosen a dude with some really serious skills. He might not be the best example of how to turn a small amount of skill into a big video because he busts out of the gate with some pretty big tricks. He is, however, a perfect example of how to make a routine flow.
#5) Humor
One thing that nearly every good YouTube video has in common is that it can make you laugh. Adding a bit of humor to your video can make up for pretty much anything. Now, this can be done by doing fun and creative moves, it can be done by leaving in a little out take reel at the end or it could be done by inserting some kind of gag in there.
It can also be the whole video. There are plenty of good examples I could have chosen that incorporate elements of humor in them, but for most of them I would have to set it up and say, "check out what he does at 1:14" or something like that. Instead I chose one of my all time favorite Myachi Videos and it's all gag:
#6) Skills
I've already touched on it a bit, but I certainly can't overemphasize this point. The better you are with a Myachi, the more impressive your video is going to be. If your video ranks high enough on the skill scale it won't matter what kind of background you use or how many different angles you edit in. It won't matter if people laugh because they'll be too busy saying "did he really just do that!?"
Now, don't fall into the trap of thinking that skills means difficult tricks. Obviously difficult tricks are great, but it's every bit as important to show people something they haven't seen before. Bringing in some other skill or adding an original trick can really be the highlight of a video even if it isn't the toughest move you throw down.
For a perfect example of skills I didn't have to look very far. I've already shown you plenty of extremely skilled Myachi players in this entry so there's really only one person I can put in here that won't be eclipsed by the talent that came before him:
#7) Creativity
This is really sort of a catch all category that reaches out and sticks a finger in every point I've made up until now. Being creative is something that you should be applying to every level of your video. Creative backgrounds, editing, photography, flow, variety and tricks will ensure that your video is something that the Myachi community will remember and pass along. As the game increases in popularity there's more and more competition so you'll have to work harder and harder to think of something that hasn't been done before.
One of the key factors that brings it all together is how much time and effort you put into your video. People will be able to tell if you just jammed in front of your webcam for a few minutes or if you really set out to make a good video. If you didn't put much effort into making it, people probably won't put much effort into watching it.
On the flip side of that coin is the fact that if a video is well made, people can't look away. They will appreciate the effort you put into your video and they will be far more likely to "like" it and/or share it with their friends.
For a good example here I'll use another recent video. This one comes from our good friend and Myachi Master in Training Rush and it's a fun video just for the game of Fu that it captures. Still, you can see that the added bit of elbow grease and editing time he put into it really elevates it from a mediocre video to a really good one.
Obviously this is a big subject and there's plenty more to say about it, but for now I'll leave it there. If you would like to add some advice, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below. Look for more pointers in the future.
First Myachi Giveaway!
by Crazy Ivan
So we officially debuted the Myachi Blog to the inner circle of Myachi Mania yesterday at half-time, but today is the first day we're going public to the masses, so welcome, masses. In addition to keeping you up to the second with all the goings on within the Myachi movement and providing a resource for help with tricks, trades and techniques, the new Myachi Blog is also going to serve another important (and awesome purpose):
Giving away Myachis!
"You can't be serious!" you would yell if you totally didn't know how computers worked. Rest assured, this is not a drill and it is not a dry run for April Fool's Day. We will be giving away more than one Myachi a month and occasionally more than two a month. We might just go crazy here and there and give away more than three on some months.
To keep things fun and exciting, we've been brain storming at HQ and the House of Skills for the past week and we've come up with dozens of different contests and sweepstakes we can do ranging from video contests to Skype tournaments to essay submissions to Myachi digital scavenger hunts (which is every bit as cool as it sounds). But the first contest is probably going to be the easiest one to win.
How to Win a Limited Edition Pakisack:
Just sign up to follow the Myachi Blog. It's that simple. The first 50 people who sign up as followers will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes to win their choice of 1 of 3 different limited edition (less than 200 made) special event sacks.
If you don't already have a google account, you might have to jump through a few hoops to sign up as a follower but you'll know you're signed up for the giveaway when you see your name listed on the right side of the blog under "followers".
We'll do the drawing as soon as the 50th follower signs up (or the morning immediately after) and announce the winner with much confetti and fanfare. Remember, if you talk other friends into signing up you hasten the drawing so lets get to 50 as fast as we can!
Also, look for new contest related announcements every Monday.
So we officially debuted the Myachi Blog to the inner circle of Myachi Mania yesterday at half-time, but today is the first day we're going public to the masses, so welcome, masses. In addition to keeping you up to the second with all the goings on within the Myachi movement and providing a resource for help with tricks, trades and techniques, the new Myachi Blog is also going to serve another important (and awesome purpose):
Giving away Myachis!
"You can't be serious!" you would yell if you totally didn't know how computers worked. Rest assured, this is not a drill and it is not a dry run for April Fool's Day. We will be giving away more than one Myachi a month and occasionally more than two a month. We might just go crazy here and there and give away more than three on some months.
To keep things fun and exciting, we've been brain storming at HQ and the House of Skills for the past week and we've come up with dozens of different contests and sweepstakes we can do ranging from video contests to Skype tournaments to essay submissions to Myachi digital scavenger hunts (which is every bit as cool as it sounds). But the first contest is probably going to be the easiest one to win.
How to Win a Limited Edition Pakisack:
Just sign up to follow the Myachi Blog. It's that simple. The first 50 people who sign up as followers will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes to win their choice of 1 of 3 different limited edition (less than 200 made) special event sacks.
If you don't already have a google account, you might have to jump through a few hoops to sign up as a follower but you'll know you're signed up for the giveaway when you see your name listed on the right side of the blog under "followers".
We'll do the drawing as soon as the 50th follower signs up (or the morning immediately after) and announce the winner with much confetti and fanfare. Remember, if you talk other friends into signing up you hasten the drawing so lets get to 50 as fast as we can!
Also, look for new contest related announcements every Monday.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
JOTYA Winners
by Crazy Ivan
2011 will mark the 4th annual Jammer of the Year awards and this year we see some familiar names on the nomination list along with some new ones. Before we go on to the winners, let me take a second to congratulate all the nominees. The Myachi Forum is a tight knit community and has been for the better part of a decade and few things are as fulfilling as earning recognition from your peers. To all the nominees and everyone who participated this year, thanks for all you've done and all you have yet to do. The Myachi Movement wouldn't be where it is today without you.
And now, on with the announcements.
STWAKOJ AWARD:
This was the only real runaway category this year. Both of the other 2 categories were decided by 2 votes but I think I could have announced the winner of this award just based on the overwhelming nominations that I received.
Congrats to the runners up, but the winner of the 2010 STWAKOJ award (and the first person to ever earn this award while living in the US) is...
... DGH!
DGH is a relative new comer to the Myachi Movement but he has quickly made invaluable contributions to the online Myachi community as well as the bricks and mortar universe of physical STWAKOJ. He's done an awesome job teaching and promoting the game despite being a bit removed from the heart of the Myachi universe.
Congratulations, DGH! Because of the overwhelming scale of your victory, you will get 1st pick when the Sack Draft begins on Wednesday.
The Trickster Award:
There were 4 nominees for this award this year and while everyone received a few votes, the real competition came between two veterans of the game. Both Champ and Mantis received a number of votes and it's been really fun tallying the scores over the last few days and watching as they traded the lead. On Friday it looked as though things were going to go one way, but a late flurry of weekend votes swapped out the lead once again.
The winner of this year's Trickster award is...
...Mantis!
This marks Mantis' second Trickster award and his fourth nomination. That means that Mantis is the only person in JOTYA's short history that has been nominated for one award every year that we've held the competition. He also joins MMFL as only the second repeat winner JOTYA winner. Congratulations! You had the 2nd highest margin of victory (since the forum award was decided by a single vote) and thus you will be selecting 2nd when the Sack Draft begins on Wednesday.
(and a heartfelt shout out to Champ who came so close to claiming that same honor)
And finally, the one you've all been waiting for,
The Forum Award:
This particular award always seems to present the stiffest competition. It has been the award that has had the narrowest margin of victory in 2 of the last 3 years and it is the only award that has ever ended in a tie. Again this year we had stiff competition and a great slate of nominees so it should come as no surprise that there was a heated competition again this year.
This year saw a tie for second place and a winner who achieved victory from a single vote which means that the top 3 finishers were all with one vote of the win/tie. In fact, as recently as Saturday night I was afraid I would have to give out 3 prizes on this one, but the final vote of the weekend pushed one competitor over and made his this years winner of the prestigious Forum Award.
And the name of that lucky winner is...
...Downtown!
Like Mantis, Downtown is taking home his 2nd JOTYA, having been the co-victor in this same category two years ago. His tireless dedication to the forum and his history of wholeheartedly embracing every member of Myachi's online community has made him an invaluable member of the movement for nearly 6 years.
Congratulations again to all our winners and for those nominees that came up short (and those deserving members who did not receive a nomination), thanks for your contribution and your votes. Remember that there's always a chance to take the bacon next year!
2011 will mark the 4th annual Jammer of the Year awards and this year we see some familiar names on the nomination list along with some new ones. Before we go on to the winners, let me take a second to congratulate all the nominees. The Myachi Forum is a tight knit community and has been for the better part of a decade and few things are as fulfilling as earning recognition from your peers. To all the nominees and everyone who participated this year, thanks for all you've done and all you have yet to do. The Myachi Movement wouldn't be where it is today without you.
And now, on with the announcements.
STWAKOJ AWARD:
This was the only real runaway category this year. Both of the other 2 categories were decided by 2 votes but I think I could have announced the winner of this award just based on the overwhelming nominations that I received.
Congrats to the runners up, but the winner of the 2010 STWAKOJ award (and the first person to ever earn this award while living in the US) is...
... DGH!
DGH is a relative new comer to the Myachi Movement but he has quickly made invaluable contributions to the online Myachi community as well as the bricks and mortar universe of physical STWAKOJ. He's done an awesome job teaching and promoting the game despite being a bit removed from the heart of the Myachi universe.
Congratulations, DGH! Because of the overwhelming scale of your victory, you will get 1st pick when the Sack Draft begins on Wednesday.
The Trickster Award:
There were 4 nominees for this award this year and while everyone received a few votes, the real competition came between two veterans of the game. Both Champ and Mantis received a number of votes and it's been really fun tallying the scores over the last few days and watching as they traded the lead. On Friday it looked as though things were going to go one way, but a late flurry of weekend votes swapped out the lead once again.
The winner of this year's Trickster award is...
...Mantis!
This marks Mantis' second Trickster award and his fourth nomination. That means that Mantis is the only person in JOTYA's short history that has been nominated for one award every year that we've held the competition. He also joins MMFL as only the second repeat winner JOTYA winner. Congratulations! You had the 2nd highest margin of victory (since the forum award was decided by a single vote) and thus you will be selecting 2nd when the Sack Draft begins on Wednesday.
(and a heartfelt shout out to Champ who came so close to claiming that same honor)
And finally, the one you've all been waiting for,
The Forum Award:
This particular award always seems to present the stiffest competition. It has been the award that has had the narrowest margin of victory in 2 of the last 3 years and it is the only award that has ever ended in a tie. Again this year we had stiff competition and a great slate of nominees so it should come as no surprise that there was a heated competition again this year.
This year saw a tie for second place and a winner who achieved victory from a single vote which means that the top 3 finishers were all with one vote of the win/tie. In fact, as recently as Saturday night I was afraid I would have to give out 3 prizes on this one, but the final vote of the weekend pushed one competitor over and made his this years winner of the prestigious Forum Award.
And the name of that lucky winner is...
...Downtown!
Like Mantis, Downtown is taking home his 2nd JOTYA, having been the co-victor in this same category two years ago. His tireless dedication to the forum and his history of wholeheartedly embracing every member of Myachi's online community has made him an invaluable member of the movement for nearly 6 years.
Congratulations again to all our winners and for those nominees that came up short (and those deserving members who did not receive a nomination), thanks for your contribution and your votes. Remember that there's always a chance to take the bacon next year!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
A Call to Collectors
by Crazy Ivan
As those that follow the goings on of Myachi are well aware, the new 5.0 series is out and available exclusively at Myachi HQ. Right now the names of the new sacks have a palpable mystique, as if angelic choirs sung in the background behind terms like "Red Shredder" and "Academy Pink". But as all of us who have collected Myachis for a while know, soon they will just be the common sacks every newb is jamming with.
This means that like always, all the old sacks get bumped up a few spots in the value chain. Sure, it's not like a 4.5 is suddenly rare, but it is slightly more valuable now that collectors realize that what is on store shelves now is all that's left. You might not need to hurry to grab the Ivy League or the Boss Tweed, but if somebody hasn't added the Labyrinth Blue or the Agent Orange to their collection there's a sudden sense of urgency.
The impact reverberates back through every series like a wave. The 4.4s are still pretty common but already a 4.3 is hard to come by. There are still a few 4.2s and 4.1s available at HQ but that supply is dwindling and but for a lucky stop at a local toy store you're not going to find anything older than that shy of E-Bay (with the requisite exception to the 3.2X: The series that wouldn't die).
So like every new series, the 5.0 makes older stuff more valuable. Not exactly big news. This happens every time a new series is released and we've all seen that before. The bigger news is in the new packaging. We've made tweeks to the package before, sure. We've changed out the cartoon characters here and there, added the Gon instead of the Myachi Mobile, put the legend of Myachi City on the back, taken it back off... but we've never done anything like this.
The whole pack is different. It's smaller, there are no finger knugz and the only similarity between it and the 4.5 is the fact that the cartoon characters are still on there, it still has the Glyph and it's still called a Myachi. Thanks to our boy Adrian K (the new visual artist that painted our groovy mural), the new pack has a totally revamped image.
Of course, that makes any sack that is still in a traditional knug carrying blister pack stands to rise in trade value by a far more substantial degree than they have in the past. We may be phasing out the finger knugz altogether or they may only be available in combo packs. Either way they probably won't return to the regular package.
If you're new to collecting Myachis it seems like things move really slow, but those of us who have been in the game since series 0.9, 1.2, 2.0 or XM7 know that what was commonplace a moment ago is a novelty in no time. The number of each Myachi manufactured is still minuscule compared to other popular collectibles so for collectors that join the game from 2011 forward, a pack with finger knugz will be an artifact.
Ivan's Advice:
Not to sound too much like the crazy "Mad Money" guy, but you should give a lot of thought to leaving any unopened blister packs you have unopened. Ask yourself how bad you really need another jammer. Remember that the least popular sacks will be abundant because they will be bought last and the most popular will be abundant because people like to keep them shiny and pretty inside the package. The rarest "in-blister" sacks will probably be the midlevel sacks. Examples in the 4.5 might be the Sabertooth, the Bubble-Wrapped and the Shockwave Blue.
Now don't go crazy here. There's no excuse to have a sack in the pack if you don't have enough to jam with. Ideally you would want two of the same sack, one to open and break in and another to keep pristine. Of course, if I told you that it would sound like I'm just trying to get you to buy two of every sack so I won't mention it.
If you have anything in Blister from 4.0 or earlier (except the aforementioned 3.2X), I would strongly advise that you leave it in the pack. You can get a 5.0 that is as good a jammer so there is probably no need to open it unless it's a Myachi you've been wanting to jam with for a really long time. If I picked up a 1.0 Calvin for a good price on E-Bay I would rip the sucker out in a heartbeat and I might be pretty conflicted about leaving a Diggity unyummied. Anything else would stay in mint condition.
Speaking of mint condition, be careful how you store your "in-blister" sacks. Having them in a box or a pack where they're going to slide around and get bumped into a lot is a bad idea. The glue will only stand up for so long and if the plastic shell on the front is jostled around on an old sack, it'll separate from the cardboard back. This doesn't kill the trade value but it hurts it.
Storing them hanging on a wall is tempting because it honestly looks really cool, but it's also not the safest way to do it. The Myachi will probably stay mint for a really long time, but with gravity steadily pulling at that glue it will eventually give out. It might take a long time, but keep in mind that if you pick up a 2.2 Myachi in a blister card the glue has already been holding on since 2007 and you don't know how the previous owner stored it.
Your safest bet is to store the sack laying flat in a small box that will protect it from getting bumped around a lot. If you can't do that, try to keep them flat in a drawer where they won't get moved around and no heavy stuff will be put on top of them. You can interlace the old school blister cards for a little added layer of protection against crushing.
And for those who aren't collectors and are reading through this thinking to themselves "this dude is crazy obsessed with these little handsacks", I simply remind them that I'm not judging them. I figure if you're going to be obsessed, you might as well dive into the deep end.
As those that follow the goings on of Myachi are well aware, the new 5.0 series is out and available exclusively at Myachi HQ. Right now the names of the new sacks have a palpable mystique, as if angelic choirs sung in the background behind terms like "Red Shredder" and "Academy Pink". But as all of us who have collected Myachis for a while know, soon they will just be the common sacks every newb is jamming with.
This means that like always, all the old sacks get bumped up a few spots in the value chain. Sure, it's not like a 4.5 is suddenly rare, but it is slightly more valuable now that collectors realize that what is on store shelves now is all that's left. You might not need to hurry to grab the Ivy League or the Boss Tweed, but if somebody hasn't added the Labyrinth Blue or the Agent Orange to their collection there's a sudden sense of urgency.
The impact reverberates back through every series like a wave. The 4.4s are still pretty common but already a 4.3 is hard to come by. There are still a few 4.2s and 4.1s available at HQ but that supply is dwindling and but for a lucky stop at a local toy store you're not going to find anything older than that shy of E-Bay (with the requisite exception to the 3.2X: The series that wouldn't die).
So like every new series, the 5.0 makes older stuff more valuable. Not exactly big news. This happens every time a new series is released and we've all seen that before. The bigger news is in the new packaging. We've made tweeks to the package before, sure. We've changed out the cartoon characters here and there, added the Gon instead of the Myachi Mobile, put the legend of Myachi City on the back, taken it back off... but we've never done anything like this.
 |
| Notice the differentness. |
 |
| Our groovy mural. |
If you're new to collecting Myachis it seems like things move really slow, but those of us who have been in the game since series 0.9, 1.2, 2.0 or XM7 know that what was commonplace a moment ago is a novelty in no time. The number of each Myachi manufactured is still minuscule compared to other popular collectibles so for collectors that join the game from 2011 forward, a pack with finger knugz will be an artifact.
Ivan's Advice:
Not to sound too much like the crazy "Mad Money" guy, but you should give a lot of thought to leaving any unopened blister packs you have unopened. Ask yourself how bad you really need another jammer. Remember that the least popular sacks will be abundant because they will be bought last and the most popular will be abundant because people like to keep them shiny and pretty inside the package. The rarest "in-blister" sacks will probably be the midlevel sacks. Examples in the 4.5 might be the Sabertooth, the Bubble-Wrapped and the Shockwave Blue.
Now don't go crazy here. There's no excuse to have a sack in the pack if you don't have enough to jam with. Ideally you would want two of the same sack, one to open and break in and another to keep pristine. Of course, if I told you that it would sound like I'm just trying to get you to buy two of every sack so I won't mention it.
If you have anything in Blister from 4.0 or earlier (except the aforementioned 3.2X), I would strongly advise that you leave it in the pack. You can get a 5.0 that is as good a jammer so there is probably no need to open it unless it's a Myachi you've been wanting to jam with for a really long time. If I picked up a 1.0 Calvin for a good price on E-Bay I would rip the sucker out in a heartbeat and I might be pretty conflicted about leaving a Diggity unyummied. Anything else would stay in mint condition.
 |
| This is for all of you who were saying "enough with all this collector's talk, I wanna see more of that awesome mural!" |
Storing them hanging on a wall is tempting because it honestly looks really cool, but it's also not the safest way to do it. The Myachi will probably stay mint for a really long time, but with gravity steadily pulling at that glue it will eventually give out. It might take a long time, but keep in mind that if you pick up a 2.2 Myachi in a blister card the glue has already been holding on since 2007 and you don't know how the previous owner stored it.
Your safest bet is to store the sack laying flat in a small box that will protect it from getting bumped around a lot. If you can't do that, try to keep them flat in a drawer where they won't get moved around and no heavy stuff will be put on top of them. You can interlace the old school blister cards for a little added layer of protection against crushing.
 |
| When storing your "in-blister" collectibles, you can interlace them like you see above. This helps protect them against getting crushed. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)