A New Direction for DoD (Open to the Public)

To All Fans of Avatar: DoD,

This is the most important and most difficult announcement we have made since beginning this project. For many of you, this announcement may be hard to read, hard to believe, and hard to accept, but we humbly request that each of you give this news reasonable time and patience to read and consider.

First, let us dispel your fears of the worst: We are NOT announcing the end of DoD! However, a very big change is coming to the project, and DoD will undoubtedly taking a new direction.

As many of you know, our project has struggled over the last few months to recover the momentum we lost when our animator(s) suddenly left the team. Because of that, we missed the promised deadline for episode 1, and the development team was left in disarray and uncertainty. For that, we owe our fans an apology. Unfortunately, one of our best project managers became busy in real life for several months due to unavoidable responsibilities.

Upon his return, he discovered that we had apparently begun to produce a comic version of the DoD story. We will let him tell you in his own words:

NuWatts wrote:
While I was not necessarily against the comic, I was surprised for a few reasons:

1. SerialKiffer always stressed in the past that DoD is an animated project that features great art, motion, sound effects, and original voice acting.
   
   
2. By necessity, the comic could not be released through YouTube, where most of our fans are, so this would result in the story being revealed prematurely.
   
   
3. Changes had apparently been made to the script that had taken months to edit and finalize, diminishing the work done by our Writing, Editing, and Acting groups.

Despite these points, I decided that I was OK with the comic as long as that was the direction we agreed to take as a Team while I was absent. However, once I began browsing the forums, I discovered a few more things:

1. The production and publication of the comic had NOT been decided on as a group; in fact, it appeared that SerialKiffer decided to create it despite protests by other Developers.
   
   
2. Despite previously stating that he didn’t want DoD to be anything except an animated show, SerialKiffer suddenly decided to create a comic by recruiting someone who was outside of the Team and providing him with detailed character descriptions and complete scripts, all without the approval of the Team and without requiring him to join the Team first.
   
   
3. All evidence indicated that this major change to how DoD would be released to the public was decided on entirely by SerialKiffer either without the consent or knowledge of the other leaders of this project.

Again, I am not implying that the comic was necessarily a bad idea. In fact, I believe it has done much good for the project by regaining the attention of our fans and by introducing two new amazing artists to the team! However, I DO believe the way it was handled by SerialKiffer was incredibly irresponsible as the overall leader of what is supposed to be a group project.

While I was mulling over this situation, I was contacted by many of the other DoD leaders who shared with me similar concerns, and many new concerns of which I was previously unaware. After carefully deliberating over the course of many weeks, and after finding that more and more DoD Developers shared similar worries, we finally decided that drastic action had to be taken in order to salvage and revive the entire project.

-NuWatts

So, as of July 15, 2010, a major change has come to DoD.

This decision was tremendously difficult to come to, difficult to execute, and will certainly be difficult to accept. However, we strongly believe that our actions are justified, and that most - if not all - of you will agree with this action once you read our reasons behind it.


Please, continue to read the next sections, which clearly explain what we decided to do and why we decided to do it.

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The following is a collection of ideas and revelations about DoD’s state (most importantly its leader and current storyline) that took a while to break down and make presentable to the public. It is not a pleasant or short read. We ask that you give this post due time and consideration to read over and reflect on carefully.

SerialKiffer, the founder of this project, has in retrospect has gotten along with a fair number of the members of the development team. However, his actions as a leader have left much to be desired, especially as of late. His decision to create a comic out of episode 1, for instance, was done after most Developers who responded to the suggestion voiced their disapproval of the idea. This was done with no acknowledgment given to the rest of the team, but was arranged between SerialKiffer and an artist who was, at the time, not officially a part of the team (but, thankfully, has now joined and is exciting about following DoD's new direction).

Concerning said comic, the official script was also altered with no warning to at least leaders, admins, and those who put significant effort into the script which had been officially finalized and given to the voice actors for recording.

SerialKiffer has also shown a lack of maturity when faced with criticism of DoD, lashing out rudely to opposition. While this is a natural response, it reflects horribly on DoD as a whole when the group leader lets out a tirade of cussing in response to immature trolls who should frankly be ignored. This lack of tact did not win DoD any support, it only furthered tension between another Avatar fan group. While SerialKiffer may have started this project, which in itself is a remarkable achievement and we thank him for it, it is no secret that others have put just as much time and effort (and even more) into DoD.

Aside from all this, certain unpleasantries have been revealed that will be discussed below.


SerialKiffer had mentioned being a fan of ICP, a music group. This is all fine and dandy. There is no problem with him personally being a fan. However, you may want to look at the site below. A warning: turn your speakers OFF.
The site is also not suitable for minors. A look through this site will help you understand what is being dealt with.

http://theothersideofjay.tripod.com/id6.html

That page has a list of "definitions." The two definitions of interest are:

Dark Carnival - The whole meaning behind ICP.

Dark Lotus - Group of 6 Psychopathic artists; Violent J, Shaggy 2 Dope, Jamie Madrox, Monoxide Child, Blaze Ya Dead Homie and Anybody Killa

Much to the surprise of many within our project, it turns out that Kiffer twisted the story of DoD to act as a tribute to this group. It’s apparently pretty well-known; saying the words “DARK LOTUS” has immediate connotations of this acid-rap band. Look up those two words on Urban Dictionary or Google for a real sink-to-the-bottom-of-your-stomach feeling. It is connected with an entire religion and culture. (Yes. Some people treat it as a religion.)

We wish this fact had been brought to light sooner, but since few - if any - of the other DoD Developers were fans of ICP, we were unknowingly ignorant for far too long.

Again, there is nothing wrong with SerialKiffer having his personal tastes. But to weave it into DoD, and to do it without our knowledge? That crosses the line. Notable examples of this connection follow.

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• SK’s proposed tagline for DoD was “The brighter the light, the darker the shadow”. “The Brighter The Light, The Darker The Shadow” is a song title from Bloodthorn, an ICP opener -- both Bloodthorn and ICP are in Moonlight Corp and they share fans (source)
  
  Here are some select part from the lyrics of this song:
  
  Trapped by the evil he set out to conquer, his soul now cried out in vain
  His mind was twisted and lost in the kingdom where madness and suffering reign...
  Condemned to be killed but never to die
  (source)
  
  This positively screams of SerialKiffer's ideas for our character "Shen."
  
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• Speaking of which, the character of Shen was taken from the ICP album “The Wraith”, which is about a man/demon who waited in darkness to judge evildoers and cut them down.
  From “Everyday I Die” lyrics:
  
  It was dark as f*ck I couldn't see...
  crow eyes, glow like cats...
  my eyes keep bleedin', from the rays of the darkness...
  I felt a rip my head went spinnin'
  Flippin and rollin, and finally landed in position
  I could see my body...
  I can't move... why even try...
  I wanna die...
  I got too much time on my hands
  (source)
  
  A fallen body, spinning around, can’t move, glowing eyes, eons of time going by.... ring a bell? Rewatch the DoD Trailer on YouTube, starting 12 seconds in: