On this day, 1 year ago, Korvara was released.

... roughly, anyway. Can you believe it? It feels like it wasn't that long ago that we were fresh out of the role lottery stream and still setting up the Korvara Discord while I was scrambling to make sure everything was in good working order. Maybe that's just because this year's June was just as hectic as last year's, but hey, we made it through.

So, let's take a little time to reflect on the first year. Korvara has been a very challenging test on all fronts - we've reached unprecedented levels of player activity; this has tested the admin team's coverage and availability, as well as the player base's ability to keep up with the many things that happen daily on the island.

Korvara brought in a renaissance for organic, public RP, with new and old players alike creating cool interactions and fun intertwined storylines; this has tested the way we handle disagreements and larger conflicts, while players have had to break out of their shells and become more comfortable approaching and being approached by others.

It also overthrew the old establishment of a 'static sandbox', where the greater sphere of the world was unturning and out of the reach of player characters. Korvara's allowed that power to fall into player hands, and even those not in high positions have been able to leave a mark with the help of eventmins; this has tested how we are meant to approach the balance of IC and OOC in regards to moderation, and players have had to figure out how best to respond to these situations, as well as how to help craft an environment that flourishes.

These tests are still on-going, truth be told. It's all unexplored territory, but all of us, admins and players alike, have made progress. Learning what works, what doesn't, with ideas of where to go from here, even if every step isn't an easy one.

It's also represented a ton of development work, in the thousands of hours. New classes, new enemies, new skills, new items, new maps, new systems, new features, reworks for all of those, designing, planning, bug testing, overhauls for so many things, some that players aren't even aware of. Hopefully it doesn't come off as exaggerated or self-important to say that I've poured my heart and soul into the game this past year. It's been exhausting, and left me with precious little free time to do much of anything, but I think it's been worthwhile.

Even now, my mind is swirling with ideas of things I want to do, places I want to improve, horizons I want to expand, so on and so on. And I'm sure in the second year of Korvara, you'll see as many of those as I (and the mappers) can make a reality.

Before I close out the post, I'd like to give props to all of the game's supporters.

I would like to say thank you to the GM team, for putting in the time and dealing with all of the stress that comes with the efforts to make the game run smoothly.

I would also like to thank the Event Staff, for their aid in bringing about an unpredictable and exciting world, and helping players realize their dreams and goals.

I am also thankful to the support staff; the mappers (Slydria, Appo, Autumn) for both helping breath life into the new areas that pop out of who-knows-where, and for keeping up with the map requests players make. Special shoutout to Slydria for always being willing to cook up some icons on top of that. I'll also thank the players who submit icons here - you've all added some color to the game this year, too.

I'd also like say thank you to DJScias for generously providing the server on which the live game runs for so long. Though he's not too active in the community, he's never kept us in the dark.

Last, but not least, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the players - for your patience, your passion, and your dedication. Without you coming to play, without your support, Sigrogana Legend 2 wouldn't exist. Korvara wouldn't be the diverse, living setting that it is without your efforts and your characters to fill it. The same to the Great Six players, for that matter - I know you're still buzzing around on Sigrogana. Maybe you'll finally get some of the new toys to play with sometime in the near future? Better late than never.

So, thank you, everyone.
Here's to hoping the second year of Korvara is the best one yet.