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==Overview==
==Overview==
The '''Lore AMA''' ('''A'''sk '''M'''e '''A'''nything), or "Loregasm", is a series of documents created by [[Positron (Developer)|Positron]] to answer questions [[City of Heroes]] players had about the game's story following the [[Sunset]] announcement.


The '''Lore AMA''' ('''A'''sk '''M'''e '''A'''nything), or "Loregasm", is a series of documents document created by [[Positron (Developer)|Positron]] to answer questions [[City of Heroes]] players had about the game's story following the [[Sunset]] announcement. In the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120906033004/http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=296786 thread announcing its creation], Positron stated that anything it contains "SHOULD be considered canon when concerning anything to do with Issue 24 and previous. Anything after that is speculative and should be treated as such. We'll note in the answer if it's anything different." On September 18th, 2012, Positron posted a link to the first Lore AMA as a [https://docs.google.com/document/d/19qbHHrRmifxGPz60-_ApLNiwOmF5QVEMrXHgB1Nrd4o/edit?pli=1 Google Doc] in a [[Official Forums|City of Heroes forums]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121107213509/http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=297476 thread].
In the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120906033004/http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=296786 thread announcing its creation], Positron stated that anything it contains "SHOULD be considered canon when concerning anything to do with Issue 24 and previous. Anything after that is speculative and should be treated as such. We'll note in the answer if it's anything different." On September 18th, 2012, Positron posted a link to the first Lore AMA as a [https://docs.google.com/document/d/19qbHHrRmifxGPz60-_ApLNiwOmF5QVEMrXHgB1Nrd4o/edit?pli=1 Google Doc] in a [[Official Forums|City of Heroes forums]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121107213509/http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=297476 thread].


In an [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/metas-verse-interview-with-melissa-bianco-and-matt-miller-on-city-of-heroes/ interview of Positron and War Witch at OnRPG] discussing the closure of the game, Positron stated that he would do yearly AMAs as long as people had questions:
In a 2012 [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/metas-verse-interview-with-melissa-bianco-and-matt-miller-on-city-of-heroes/ interview] of Positron and [[War Witch (Developer)|War Witch]] at [http://www.onrpg.com OnRPG] discussing the closure of the game, Positron stated that he would do yearly AMAs as long as people had questions:


{{CutsceneText|Text='''MeticulousMeta:''' There are still a lot of questions after the Lore AMA. Is there any chance of getting another?
{{CutsceneText|Text='''MeticulousMeta:''' There are still a lot of questions after the Lore AMA. Is there any chance of getting another?
Line 9: Line 11:
'''Matt:''' I’ll make a deal: I’ll do AMA’s about CoH lore every April 28th until the questions stop coming in. I’ll give more details as we get closer to that date, and I can’t promise everyone who should be involved will be.}}
'''Matt:''' I’ll make a deal: I’ll do AMA’s about CoH lore every April 28th until the questions stop coming in. I’ll give more details as we get closer to that date, and I can’t promise everyone who should be involved will be.}}


After taking questions in a now closed Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/city-of-heroes-9th-anniversary-loregasm/ announced at OnRPG] on May 3rd, 2013, and released as another [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bjjR2rdP9Kbe8baODElUQGRxNTTlj_b5PVqCdNXJ8o/edit Google Doc].


<br>
== AMA by Year ==
<br>
<br>
{{EdNote|note=This page contains the text of the documents as they appeared at release. A list of the questions linked to by topic and developer can be found here: [[Lore AMA/Sorted]].}}
{{EdNote|note=This page contains the text of the documents as they appeared at release. A list of the questions linked to by topic and developer can be found here: [[Lore AMA/Sorted]].}}
<br>
 
<br>
<br>
{{Spoiler}}
{{Spoiler}}


{{center|Be advised that there are spoilers for existing in-game content contained within the AMA documents.}}
{{center|Be advised that there are spoilers for existing and future content contained within the AMA documents.}}
<br>


==City of Heroes AMA 1 (2012)==
=== AMA: 2012 ===
After taking questions in a now closed Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/city-of-heroes-9th-anniversary-loregasm/ announced at OnRPG] on May 3rd, 2013, and released as another [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bjjR2rdP9Kbe8baODElUQGRxNTTlj_b5PVqCdNXJ8o/edit Google Doc].


The first Lore AMA was linked in a forum post by Positron titled "Loregasm" and includes a key of the answering developers' initials:
The first Lore AMA was linked in a forum post by Positron titled "Loregasm" and includes a key of the answering developers' initials:


{{Quotebox|type=dev|name=Positron (Developer)|source=the initial post from the forum thread announcing the AMA|text=[https://docs.google.com/document/d/19qbHHrRmifxGPz60-_ApLNiwOmF5QVEMrXHgB1Nrd4o/edit?pli=1 City of Heroes AMA (part 1?)]
{{Quotebox|type=dev|name=Positron (Developer)|source=the initial post from the forum thread announcing the AMA|text=[https://docs.google.com/document/d/19qbHHrRmifxGPz60-_ApLNiwOmF5QVEMrXHgB1Nrd4o/edit?pli=1 City of Heroes AMA 2012]


That's a link to the doc, in case these boards get shut down, and because I don't want to clean it up for our forum posting format (if someone ELSE does, feel free to pad your postcount).
That's a link to the doc, in case these boards get shut down, and because I don't want to clean it up for our forum posting format (if someone ELSE does, feel free to pad your postcount).
Line 825: Line 822:
STM: This was one of the first stories I wrote after being hired. The idea was that the power of invulnerability is super powerful and has its own kind of will to choose its owner. The goal of the power was that the user of the power help save the world and themselves, so it had a knack for choosing people who were not so heroic. The previous Ajax had done all that he could for himself and the world. It was time for him to move on to the afterlife and help someone else change. He knew that going into the fight with the new Ajax. The invulnerability power left the original Ajax and granted themselves to our Ajax to help change his life and the people around him.|bg1=#ccccff}}
STM: This was one of the first stories I wrote after being hired. The idea was that the power of invulnerability is super powerful and has its own kind of will to choose its owner. The goal of the power was that the user of the power help save the world and themselves, so it had a knack for choosing people who were not so heroic. The previous Ajax had done all that he could for himself and the world. It was time for him to move on to the afterlife and help someone else change. He knew that going into the fight with the new Ajax. The invulnerability power left the original Ajax and granted themselves to our Ajax to help change his life and the people around him.|bg1=#ccccff}}


==City of Heroes AMA 2 (2013)==
=== AMA: 2013 ===
After taking questions in an open Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/city-of-heroes-9th-anniversary-loregasm/ announced at OnRPG] on May 3rd, 2013, and released as a closed [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bjjR2rdP9Kbe8baODElUQGRxNTTlj_b5PVqCdNXJ8o/edit Google Doc]. In most cases, the name of the dev giving an answer is listed after the answer. The devs that answered are:
After taking questions in an open Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was [http://www.onrpg.com/articles/editorial/city-of-heroes-9th-anniversary-loregasm/ announced at OnRPG] on May 3rd, 2013, and released as a closed [https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bjjR2rdP9Kbe8baODElUQGRxNTTlj_b5PVqCdNXJ8o/edit Google Doc]. In most cases, the name of the dev giving an answer is listed after the answer. The devs that answered are:


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A) We hadn’t gotten to that part of the story development yet, but 5th Column definitely had a foothold on the Moon. (Matt)|bg1=#ccccff}}
A) We hadn’t gotten to that part of the story development yet, but 5th Column definitely had a foothold on the Moon. (Matt)|bg1=#ccccff}}


==City of Heroes AMA 3 (2014)==
=== AMA: 2014 ===
 
An [http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9602.0.html unofficial thread] was started on the Titan Network forums for gathering questions. Positron was contacted and said: "I plan on doing it a bit differently this year. Doc will only be up for a short window." On April 17, 2014, at 8:45 AM PDT, Positron posted [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ocOo69mXIQ8HthabNe1F4X1EcZcSDwZFEE9sT8WSBc4/edit# a Google Doc] that he left open for only 24 hours. Positron also put in some general rules for asking questions, largely prohibiting questions not related to the game's lore:
An [http://www.cohtitan.com/forum/index.php/topic,9602.0.html unofficial thread] was started on the Titan Network forums for gathering questions. Positron was contacted and said: "I plan on doing it a bit differently this year. Doc will only be up for a short window." On April 17, 2014, at 8:45 AM PDT, Positron posted [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ocOo69mXIQ8HthabNe1F4X1EcZcSDwZFEE9sT8WSBc4/edit# a Google Doc] that he left open for only 24 hours. Positron also put in some general rules for asking questions, largely prohibiting questions not related to the game's lore:


Line 1,951: Line 1,947:
A) Matt Miller (Positron) Weird, I don’t recall that. I mean, the 5th Column base was on the moon, why would they claim otherwise?}}
A) Matt Miller (Positron) Weird, I don’t recall that. I mean, the 5th Column base was on the moon, why would they claim otherwise?}}


== City of Heroes AMA 4 (2015) ==
=== AMA: 2015 ===
 
On April 24th, 2015, Positron released a [https://twitter.com/MMODesigner/status/591725359634075648 tweet] with a link to a [http://goo.gl/forms/B3k5ebv5Zy Google Docs form] for submitting questions. The form was open until April 28th, and players were limited to one "lore related (not business, development, or systems / powers)" question. Upon submitting a question, the form noted that answers would be "made available sometime the week of May 3rd."
On April 24th, 2015, Positron released a [https://twitter.com/MMODesigner/status/591725359634075648 tweet] with a link to a [http://goo.gl/forms/B3k5ebv5Zy Google Docs form] for submitting questions. The form was open until April 28th, and players were limited to one "lore related (not business, development, or systems / powers)" question. Upon submitting a question, the form noted that answers would be "made available sometime the week of May 3rd."


Line 2,200: Line 2,195:
Positron: We retconned stuff out all the time. Players hated it whenever we did it though.}}
Positron: We retconned stuff out all the time. Players hated it whenever we did it though.}}


==See Also==
== See Also ==
 
* [[Canon Fodder]]
* [[Canon Fodder]]
* [[Story Bible]]
* [[Story Bible]]
* The apparent first recorded use of the term "Loregasm" in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWBDKYq1VZw Signature Story Arc ViDoc Outtakes (YouTube link - full video)] or [https://youtu.be/bWBDKYq1VZw?t=199 Signature Story Arc ViDoc Outtakes (YouTube link - Loregasm part of video)]
 
== External Links ==
* The apparent first recorded use of the term "Loregasm" in the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWBDKYq1VZw Signature Story Arc ViDoc Outtakes] on [https://www.youtube.com YouTube] ([https://youtu.be/bWBDKYq1VZw?t=199 direct link to "loregasm" section])
* [http://mcdesignertales.blogspot.com/ Dr. Aeon's blog] detailing game industry stories, including City of Heroes behind the scenes insight.
* [http://mcdesignertales.blogspot.com/ Dr. Aeon's blog] detailing game industry stories, including City of Heroes behind the scenes insight.
[[Category:Lore]]
[[Category:Lore]]

Revision as of 00:50, 19 May 2015

Overview

The Lore AMA (Ask Me Anything), or "Loregasm", is a series of documents created by Positron to answer questions City of Heroes players had about the game's story following the Sunset announcement.

In the thread announcing its creation, Positron stated that anything it contains "SHOULD be considered canon when concerning anything to do with Issue 24 and previous. Anything after that is speculative and should be treated as such. We'll note in the answer if it's anything different." On September 18th, 2012, Positron posted a link to the first Lore AMA as a Google Doc in a City of Heroes forums thread.

In a 2012 interview of Positron and War Witch at OnRPG discussing the closure of the game, Positron stated that he would do yearly AMAs as long as people had questions:

MeticulousMeta: There are still a lot of questions after the Lore AMA. Is there any chance of getting another?

Matt: I’ll make a deal: I’ll do AMA’s about CoH lore every April 28th until the questions stop coming in. I’ll give more details as we get closer to that date, and I can’t promise everyone who should be involved will be.


AMA by Year

Editor's Note:

This page contains the text of the documents as they appeared at release. A list of the questions linked to by topic and developer can be found here: Lore AMA/Sorted.

Be advised that there are spoilers for existing and future content contained within the AMA documents.

AMA: 2012

After taking questions in a now closed Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was announced at OnRPG on May 3rd, 2013, and released as another Google Doc.

The first Lore AMA was linked in a forum post by Positron titled "Loregasm" and includes a key of the answering developers' initials:

Positron (Developer) (From the initial post from the forum thread announcing the AMA)

City of Heroes AMA 2012

That's a link to the doc, in case these boards get shut down, and because I don't want to clean it up for our forum posting format (if someone ELSE does, feel free to pad your postcount).

Some answers are not satisfying. Some answers are made up, and that answer only exists in that doc. I tried to get everyone who was involved in the stuff at the end to answer the questions as best they could.

MM: Matt Miller (Positron)
JH: John Hegner (Protean)
JAH: Jeff Hamilton (Arbiter Hawk)
SM: Sean McCann (Dr. Aeon)
RG: Ryan Greene (Viridian)
TS: Tim Sweeney (Black Scorpion)

If there is a miracle and somehow CoH is saved, we reserve the right to change any and all answers given in the doc, to maintain suspense and surprise.

The Lore AMA itself at its time of release (September 18th, 2012) is as follows:

AMA: 2013

After taking questions in an open Google Doc, the first of the yearly AMAs was announced at OnRPG on May 3rd, 2013, and released as a closed Google Doc. In most cases, the name of the dev giving an answer is listed after the answer. The devs that answered are:

Editor's Note:

This is the most likely list of developers who answered AMA 2, as there are multiple devs with some of those first names. Some questions do not have a dev name, and it can be assumed that they were answered by Positron unless the context indicates otherwise. Several questions were unable to be answered, and are marked as "Answer hazy, ask again later (Matt because he couldn’t find someone to answer this right now)." It is unknown if they will be answered in a future AMA, or if players will have to re-ask those questions.

The second Lore AMA at its time of last revision (May 7, 2013) is as follows:

AMA: 2014

An unofficial thread was started on the Titan Network forums for gathering questions. Positron was contacted and said: "I plan on doing it a bit differently this year. Doc will only be up for a short window." On April 17, 2014, at 8:45 AM PDT, Positron posted a Google Doc that he left open for only 24 hours. Positron also put in some general rules for asking questions, largely prohibiting questions not related to the game's lore:

Following the initial 24 hour period, there were 76 questions. A copy of the document seven minutes before its takedown for answering can be found in a Google Doc. Positron noted in a tweet on April 23rd, 2104, that all questions for the 2014 AMA had answers.

On April 28th, 2014, the tenth anniversary of City of Heroes, Positron released the answered questions as a Google doc. The devs that answered are:


The third Lore AMA at its time of last revision (April 28th, 2014) is as follows:

AMA: 2015

On April 24th, 2015, Positron released a tweet with a link to a Google Docs form for submitting questions. The form was open until April 28th, and players were limited to one "lore related (not business, development, or systems / powers)" question. Upon submitting a question, the form noted that answers would be "made available sometime the week of May 3rd."

On May 17th, 2015 Positron released a Google Doc with the 2015 AMA answers. The devs that answered are:

The fourth Lore AMA at its time of release (May 17th, 2015) is as follows:

See Also

External Links