Runes of Gallidon
In May of 2008, I co-founded Brain Candy, LLC with two other friends (Tony Graham and Andy Underwood). That month marked the legal start of what became Runes of Gallidon, but the initial concept for the site happened some time late in 2006 or early 2007. It’s kind of fuzzy, but if I knew back then what I was getting myself into, I would have taken much better notes.
The first clear memory I have of discussing the idea that became Runes of Gallidon was in March of 2007, when I sat down with Tony and discussed the feasibility of a “hobby” website we wanted to launch: a single fantasy or sci-fi universe that had multiple daily updates of user-generated content where users were encouraged to share and re-use each other’s content. Kind of a multimedia site of user-generated content all created under an original universe.
It’s been a long, long road, and by no means did the site end up looking like our original concept. I hope it’s better than our first, humble idea, but the creative community will ultimately be the judge of that.
Here’s the official description of Runes of Gallidon:
“A user-generated online fantasy world of swords, magic, adventure and mystery where Creative Artisans (writers, illustrators, designers, etc.) are invited to expand the world by developing original content such as stories, art, images, graphic novels, role-playing modules, audio podcasts, flash games, or any other medium that strikes their fancy. Artisans contribute their Ideas to the Gallidon community but retain ownership of their individual Works set in the world of Gallidon. Within the collaborative, social, and creative structure of Runes of Gallidon, Artisans are encouraged to use each other’s Ideas as inspirations for new Works and new Ideas.”
There’s more to it, but that’s the general idea: users expand and explore the world by creating new content, sharing their Ideas with community, and remixing each others Ideas into yet more new content. It’s not a vanity project – it’s meant to be driven by the creative community.
The site officially launched in July of 2009. I honestly have no idea if Runes of Gallidon will succeed; if you have the time, head on over and let me know what you think.
