Madcap Circus - The Jury Speaks

[TheOriginalTiki]

@Mickeynerd17, @Outbound, @Sharon&Susan...the three of you have gone as far as you can in this game and your fate now lies in the jury. Over the next 24 hours you'll be answers questions submitted by the seven jury members in text form. Jurors, please feel free to ask any follow-up questions as long as it sticks within the time limit.

Question asking will be closed at MIDNIGHT tomorrow night (August 25th), where the final jury vote will take culminating in a live winner reveal Thursday night. Let's get started with the first round of questions...

From @NateD1226

1. How many nights in total did you stay up working on projects throughout the season?

2. Who do you wish was in the finale, and why is it Buck Cluck?

From @goofyyukyuk

1. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

For Sharon&Susan, how much did strategy impact your gameplay, and knowing about the alliances that emerged once we merged, would you have changed anything about the way you played your game, strategically or otherwise?

2. What was your "thing" this season that you excelled at every time you worked on it, and what specific project did that shine the best for you?

3. In contrast to the previous question, what was your most out of the box project or contribution that you made, and how did that change your gameplay from a creative standpoint?

4. What impressed you the most about your fellow finalists, either in the final project or earlier in the season?

From @AceAstro

Question for all three: What was your main strategy plan heading into the game?

Question for all three: What one part of any project are you personally proudest of?

From @DisneyFan18
Mickeynerd17: I believe you were Project Leader this round, so what do you consider that your leadership brought to the table this round? Do you feel satisfied with the final product?

Sharon&Susan: What were the biggest challenges that you faced throughout the season and how did you overcame them? Did you develop any new abilities? If so, which ones?

Outbound: What do you consider should be the creative values that Imagineering needs have in mind while developing the Disneyland Forward expansions? Does your final project represent them and how?

From @ThemeParkPriest

1) Alliances factored into the game heavily, particularly right after the final merger.

Sharon&Susan: would you have played any differently had you known that there were alliances?

Mickeynerd17 and Outbound: in hindsight, would you have used your alliance any differently?

2) I have identified some key moments in the game for the finalists.

Sharon&Susan and Mickeynerd17: Our team lost the Star Wars Meet & Greet when I was Project Leader. I had nominated Sharon&Susan for PoMVP and Mickeynerd17 as one of the elimination possibilities.
Sharon&Susan: what were you doing well early in the competition that helped put you in a place to get to the finals?
Mickeynerd17: you had said that that challenge was a wake-up call for you. What did you change in your approach from that point forward?

Outbound: In the Versailles project, you were the Project Leader. We had a large brainstorming of possible landmarks--22 options by your listing. We went from 22 down to the choice of Versailles with just one vote from every player. That choice had ramifications on the game down to the finals. Do you think a second vote (e.g. of the top 3 options) would have been a fairer way to decide the setting of the project? Why or why not?

From @Tegan pilots a chicken

1. What was your most difficult project and why?

2. If you could swap out one of your fellow finalists for a different player, who would you swap out and why?

Still awaiting questions from @PerGron​

 

[Sharon&Susan]

1. How many nights in total did you stay up working on projects throughout the season?

I tried to keep my work confined to the day when I had had free time, so I didn't really have it happen to me per se. Mostly just going to bed one or two hours later than I usually do.

2. Who do you wish was in the finale, and why is it Buck Cluck?

Buck Cluck's incredible comedic genius (thanks to comedy legend Garry Marshall) and award winning parent skills is a mix to go down in Hollywood History books.

If you're asking the first part of the question seriously, do you mean a fellow player or a fictional character?

. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

I can't think of how it would specifically as I've just played the game assuming I could be backstabbed by anyone or even the whole group and to try to work against that. It's just how competitions roll.

For Sharon&Susan, how much did strategy impact your gameplay, and knowing about the alliances that emerged once we merged, would you have changed anything about the way you played your game, strategically or otherwise?

I really didn't think much about strategy other than trying to figure out when I should be team leader which backfired on me in the end. As I mentioned in the last answer, probably no.

What was your "thing" this season that you excelled at every time you worked on it, and what specific project did that shine the best for you?

I always had a lot of fun working with doing "weird" dark rides this season, I'd say the Dumbo Dark Ride was the best one.

n contrast to the previous question, what was your most out of the box project or contribution that you made, and how did that change your gameplay from a creative standpoint?

The retro styled manual was a challenge to make sure everything was readable and looked authentic. I did worry that I might get a nomination for elimination because I wasn't a writer that round, but it payed off with me becoming POMVP.

What impressed you the most about your fellow finalists, either in the final project or earlier in the season?

Outbound impressed me with how he created essentially a whole mini park dedicated to prehistoric California. It sounded kinda one note as a pitch, but he did a fantastic job fleshing it out.
For Mickeynerd I really liked the Minecraft ridethrough of his Great Wall of China ride.

Question for all three: What was your main strategy plan heading into the game?

Mostly to survive. lol
But my main strategy was to work hard, stand out enough (but not too much to become a target), and become a team leader when it would best get me ahead.

Question for all three: What one part of any project are you personally proudest of?

It's tied between the ridethrough for the Dumbo dark ride and the Mr. Toad manual.

Sharon&Susan: What were the biggest challenges that you faced throughout the season and how did you overcame them? Did you develop any new abilities? If so, which ones?

Biggest challenge was having to work with what I considered the least exciting creatively for me parts of the project after arriving late for the team sign up with the last two projects pre-semi finals. Thankfully made it through intact and I was happy with the final result for both.
Biggest new ability was becoming more familiar with presentation styles I had never worked on before like a Wix website, a video, and a flipbook.

Sharon&Susan: would you have played any differently had you known that there were alliances?

Again, I don't think so.

Sharon&Susan: what were you doing well early in the competition that helped put you in a place to get to the finals?

I tried to help wherever I could and not make myself a nuisance.

1. What was your most difficult project and why?

The Star Trek roller coaster project no one seemed to be that into it and it really sucks how underwhelming the final result was considering how great the potential of a Star Trek coaster could've been. Trying to add a gimmick for points really backfired.

2. If you could swap out one of your fellow finalists for a different player, who would you swap out and why?

Hard question to answer. I guess I'd trade Outbound for @monkey92514 as I never played on the same team as him this season and his unique writing style would've been interesting to read in such a large dose with all the writing that this project required.

 

[Mickeynerd17]

Alright, I'm going to answer the questions in chunks by each person who asked.

Starting with Nate:

1. I have no idea!!! This season has been so long I can't remember all the times I've stayed up, but I do remember each day for the Semifinals project staying up between midnight and 1:30 AM for 5 days straight building my Great Wall ride model and making sure all the details were in it. Why? Because building a ride in Minecraft takes a lot of planning and is very time-consuming (every block was hand-placed). In total, I'd definitely say at least 12 times this season I've stayed up 'till at least midnight if not later.

2. Well, Buck Cluck because the very essence of his being in any project automagically elevates it to meme status.

Damn, I feel ashamed now because ever since the Chicken Little ride I pitched back in 1986 for CenterCore Expo, I've wanted a chicken little ride to win as a project, but it's been so long I've forgotten about it!!!

Buck Cluck WILL return in the future, and he will be victorious!!!

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@goofyyukyuk

1. Well, for me personally, I realized at that moment that clever talking and scheming wasn't going to get me to the final three. I would have to start really defining myself creatively in the projects moving forward if I would want to improve my standings beyond my 6th place finish in 1986. It took a few prompts, but I really feel like I fully switched to creative mode starting in the Versailles project (which I happened to come up with). It was a challenging prompt requiring a great deal of creativity to pull off, and I was quite happy with my contributions to the show. The team's decision to go with a carousel show essentially mixing unique concepts from Carousel of Progress with the historical sensitivity one can find at American Adventure brought a really good show into the final project!

If I could do something different post-merge, I'd have not targeted people as much as I did. I took out Ace as well as attempted to knock out Tegan for purely strategic reasons. It's probably my biggest regret post-merge as it's put a stain on me with the jury (I'm assuming).

That was also another factor that really helped my transition to a creative mindset in this game. I realized after targeting Ace and Tegan that I was heading down the same dark path of cutthroat competition I had done in 1986. After the complete dumpster fire that was my final round there (and some people on this jury were there as well), I didn't want to make the same mistake twice nor cement my reputation on this forum as a cutthroat player who will throw anyone under the bus to win. I'm not that kind of person.

2. I think my "thing" this competition was being Project Manager. I had serious issues in SA7 trying to be project leader, which would ultimately lead to me going AWOL when the projects were due. That happened three times in that season.

Fast forward to SYWTBAI, and every time just about I was PM, it was absolutely fantastic, especially towards the end. I really think the project that showed this was the Delightful Dark Ride Suite right after the merge. I jumped head-first into the project as PM and closely worked with all three of our sub-teams to have everyone's part in order and to compile the final project submission with an one-time delivery. It truly opened my eyes and showed me that "I can do this!" When previously I thought leading a project was a weakness of mine.

3. My most out-of-box experience was with the Rick and Morty prompt. I went headfirst and decided to write the entire ride script with little experience in the area. The result was definitely a step in the right direction but was by no means spectacular. Jokers specifically mentioned the lack of dialogue in my writing. This server as an excellent wake-up call for me creatively because I had a definite area I could improve on going into the next few prompts. I believe I significantly improved with my Versailles project scene writeups and with the Great Wall preshow and ride dialogue.

Overall, it was definitely an out-of-box experience writing dialogue at first, but with some practice it's become much more normal for me!

4. With Outbound, I was constantly impressed by his endless creativity and constant seeking of new ways to make and present a concept. The project that really stood out to me from him was the LOST project from Semifinals because the unique presentation style and intense attention to detail really had a deep impact on me and how I felt about my project. It's clean and professional look made mine look like a last-minute conglomerate, and I thought I was a goner because of it. Gladly I'm here answering questions, but I'm still deeply impressed he pulled that off along with moving into college!

For Sharon&Susan, I've loved their consistency on each project as a player I could always rely on for high-quality work and good ideas. Whether it was communicating with them on the Dumbo ride or providing several mini-lands for Disneyland forward while also adjusting her work to fit mine, they've constantly been as solid as a brick wall and I could never imagine any prompt knocking them down!

 

[spacemt354]

Still awaiting questions from @PerGron​

PerGron mentioned in one of the hype threads he is recovering from an accident, so in case he's still resting I can sub some questions in

1. @Mickeynerd17 Since the game stopped going down the strategic path you put forth much more effort into the projects. Perhaps you were doing it before, but it was much more noticeable after that transition. Was this intentional? Were you saving up energy for the finale or was it more of a time constraint in the earlier projects?

2. @Outbound having gotten back to the finals for a 2nd season in a row, what (if any) adjustments did you make for this season vs the previous one on a personal level to get back to this spot?

3. @Sharon&Susan you had mentioned earlier to one the the QotD that SYWTBAI Season 18 was your favorite (and first) competition. And now reaching the finals in Season 19, you're definitely up there now among the game's veterans and best players. What's one prompt you would put in a Season 20 that you would most enjoy participating in?

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@AceAstro

1. I wouldn't say I had a single strategy per se, but I definitely was strategizing each round. At the beginning of the competition, I was still recovering from the burnout from 1986 that made me drop out of SA7, so my attention span on the projects was noticeable but not seriously active. Everything changed the prompt before the merge, as I started feeling the adrenaline rush of strategy kick into my mind. I was now completely dedicated to staying alive and completing a "redemption arc" by going farther in this competition than in 1986.

The strategy didn't always stay the same though. After ThemeParkPriest started having second thoughts on strategically nominating people, which ultimately led to the semi-demise of OG Team Ringling (as the alliance was called), I realized I needed to change my game and overall strategy to stay alive, which is where the creative aspect started kicking itself into gear. I took advantage of my adrenaline rush from the strategic nominations and channeled it into the next few prompts culminating in my Semifinals project, which helped propel me into the final 3.

To sum it up, I had a general strategy of survival that fluctuated throughout the season after becoming seriously active in the merge.

2. I've been proud of multiple parts to projects over this season, but I think I'm most proud of my Minecraft model of the Great Wall ride I did for semifinals. To semi-reiterate what I've said before, I have NEVER in the five years I've been building rides in Minecraft have I ever built something that large in a week. I usually have the show building done in a week (if I'm moving fast). The fact I not only pulled it off but also made a video, added music, and wrote up the entire project in that span of time was truly incredible. The best reward I received from that, and I think it's a better reward than being in the final three, was the wow factor and overall positive reaction from everyone who watched and enjoyed my work. It really is why I dedicate so much time to my EPCOT map and to anything else imagineering related. When my designs produce the feeling of satisfaction and joy, it warms my heart and pushes me to continue in my quest for better design and more enjoyable attractions!

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@DisneyFan18

I'll be completely honest, I wasn't happy with my leadership performance this last round. I felt a little worn out from semifinals. On top of that, I've also been applying to six different colleges this last week which took a major chunk of time, but I haven't mentioned that until now, so that's on me.

Now, on the positive side I was really on top of making sure the project was coming together. I volunteered to help Outbound if needed to wrap things up and I made sure things were not missing. If you want a more accurate depiction of my leadership abilities I highly reccommend checking out the Dark Ride Suite prompt because I feel I excelled as Project Manager in that round!

As far as the entire project itself, I believe if I had more time and more energy I could've contributed much more than I did by making more accurate models and expanding my writeups with more details. Overall though I believe our final product was excellent and I really appreciate Outbound's and S&S's work on it!

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@ThemeParkPriest

1. No, I don't think I would've used my alliance any differently. I say that because I could easily have not been here if we didn't take out larger players like Ace and PerGron. It was difficult to do, but ultimately I had to think of my own survival in this game, and reducing as many factors I could not control as possible was essential to get me where I am now. I do still think of what I did constantly though and whether I should've let thing happen naturally. It was a very tough call.

2. That prompt was a bit of a doozy in terms of real-life issues. We we're hitting a serious heat wave (115 degrees) in the Pacific Northwest, and I was trying not to run as much technology to keep my house cool. Essentially, I wasn't very active that prompt. Another thing that really made me change my approach was my last-minute posting of my part of the project. That was something I had issues with in 1986. Doing things at the last minute and missing deadlines ultimately led to my elimination. I didn't want to repeat that mistake again, so I "woke up" and started to really become involved with the game from a strategic standpoint to keep myself in the game.

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@Tegan pilots a chicken

1. The Adventure Time project was definitely one of the most difficult for me. I had never seen the show at all, so I had zero context or information to go off of when designing the project with Team Ringling. I tried making up for it by doing the "fan news site report" presentation style in Google Docs, but that ultimately backfired. Despite the issues, it definitely was an excellent lesson in what to do (or not to do) when you encounter a theme you know nothing about!

2. Aaah! I'm split between swapping S&S out for either ThemeParkPriest or you because both of you were excellent players this season. I loved the constant energy and enthusiasm from you and ThemeParkPriest had excellent ideas especially post-merge. I really wish either one of you were in this final 3 because I would've had to stretch my creative forces even farther to get where I am.

EDIT: The above answer is not a dig on S&S. Please don't take it that way. I really enjoyed having them in the final 3 and they've constantly been a strong positive influence on the game. I'm only saying that it would've been a unique and different competition if it went the other way!

 

[Mickeynerd17]

@spacemt354

1. It really wasn't lining up the way I hoped before the merge in terms of activity. I was mostly scooting by to the point of being nominated a couple times but I managed to stay alive. Once the merge happened, as I've mentioned before, I had a serious adrenaline rush with the strategy taking hold. Then, when the strategy portion died off, I didn't have anywhere else to channel that energy, so I put it into the projects. I think that really showed my creative side and created a tidal wave I could ride all the way to the finals.

To sum it up, it was a bit unintentional at first having the energy post-merge, but once the strategy died off I consiously directed that energy into the prompts to build a positive reputation that would reflect well with the jury if I made it to the final three.


Alright, I think that answers everyone's questions! Sorry for being long-winded, but I wanted to answer each question with as much clarity and truthfulness as possible. I'm not hiding anything from you guys. If you have any follow-up questions to my answers or if anything is unclear, please tag me on your message and I'll gladly respond as soon as I'm able!

Thanks for the fun times and happy memories! I'll always remember this competition no matter where I place. Can't wait for next season!!!

Special thanks to Tiki and Jokers for going through the trouble to make this all possible. You've made a positive impression on everyone involved in this game!

 

[Sharon&Susan]

3. @Sharon&Susan you had mentioned earlier to one the the QotD that SYWTBAI Season 18 was your favorite (and first) competition. And now reaching the finals in Season 19, you're definitely up there now among the game's veterans and best players. What's one prompt you would put in a Season 20 that you would most enjoy participating in?

I really wanted to work on that Toontown cross company project as I had some great ideas for it before being Lord of the Rings'd thanks to me (mistakenly) thinking that the Walt's Vault wouldn't affect me if I was eliminated and it couldn't be that bad. Still I was happy with the final result despite the prompt.

So yeah cross company Toontown would be my pick.

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

@Sharon&Susan I never said this out loud, because I didn’t want to accidentally impact your game. But going into SYWBAI19, I honestly feared you the most. You were my fellow finalist in SA7, and I finished runner up to you in the concurrent 1SC. You’ve proven yourself to be a consistent contributor and a creative force, and I’m honestly thrilled to see you in the finals of this game. A well deserved honor!

@Mickeynerd17 I know I did mention it to you previously but I’ll say it again, I don’t think anybody made bigger strides in this game that you! You have matured tremendously as an imagineer, and you played an excellent game! I know how much these competitions mean to you, and now your passion has been rewarded with your spot in the finals! Well done!

@Outbound You are a legend my friend! Throughout the course of this game you continued to push the envelope in every facet of Imagineering, especially when it comes to unique and interesting presentations. Back to back finals appearances is something you should be incredibly proud of!

I know I can only vote for one of you to win, and ultimately, only one of you will win. But all three of you deserve to be here, you all have incredible resumes from this entire game, and as much as I wish I was in your shoes, I am so excited for you! This will be a very tough decision indeed! But congratulations on making it this far! You’re all lovely and I can’t wait to see what’s next for all of you!

 

[Outbound]

OUTBOUND SPEAKS
Hello everyone! Super pumped to be here. I'd like to thank the judges, jury, and all members of the cast for the amazing season thus far. I said it last year but this might top out SYWTBAI 18 for the toughest competition I have ever played in.

A warning, my responses are a bit... much at times. There's a lot of things I have to share, as much of what happened this season happened behind the scenes in private PMs. I hope my responses inform those on the jury enough to understand what was happening from my perspective this season, but please feel free to message me below and ask for further clarification if confused. Also, feel free to either read through all my responses or only yours. I sometimes repeat myself, but I generally tried to answer each question both uniquely and insightfully, to get the clearest picture of my game this season.

Thanks again for reading, enjoy!

@spacemt354

Spoiler: Adjustments on a Personal Level

2. @Outbound having gotten back to the finals for a 2nd season in a row, what (if any) adjustments did you make for this season vs the previous one on a personal level to get back to this spot?

On a personal level, I had to recognize from the outset that this season I would not be the “Overcat”. This season had such amazing talent, from Tegan’s insane activity to PerGron’s detailed writings to old-time players like Monkey returning, I knew I would not dominate the game like last season. That said, I was still determined to return to the finals and have my second chance at victory.

So I opted for a more mellow game, rather than going crazy each week contributing smaller things to each project and expanding my Imagineering skills on a wider range. I focused on writing, particularly different perspectives, and rhetoric to make walls of text-sound more interesting. I also improved my mapmaking skills and tried a few new presentation formats, though nothing as crazy as last season. And last, I played the social game more directly by creating defensive-oriented alliances that eventually escalated into full-blown offensive moves that, while I now personally regret, undisputedly helped get me to where I am now.

TLDR: I believe I played a less “Overcat” oriented game, at least until the finals, instead laying low on the threat level chart (as clearly, players targeted threats this season) and focusing on improving my Imagineering skills across the board.

@AceAstro

Spoiler: Strategy Going In

Question for all three: What was your main strategy plan heading into the game?

I developed two game-defining strategies heading into the game, both of which I believe were successful. The first was Imagineering focused and the second was Alliance focused.

First, I lost SYWBTAI 18 by one vote because I focused my game too heavily on developing innovative presentations while winner JokersWild played a more balanced Imagineering game. This season, I was dead-set on playing a more balanced game. I wanted to focus on improving my writing and art skills in addition to exploring new presentation options, and I believe I succeed on all three fronts: I’ve been commended for my unique writing style in the LOST project, vibrant and detailed new map design in the Seuss and R&M Projects, and interactive presentation format in the Infinity Train project. I’m happy to say this season I have played a much more balanced game than SYWBTAI 18.

Second, defensive alliances. Alliances played a massive part of this season, and I’m near certain they all originated from me. Before the game even started I developed a “secret” alliance with Ace and Orange Cat, which I posted publicly to recruit new members via pretending it was a joke but in actuality was planning to run with that alliance into the game.

But here’s the key: I never intended to use my alliance in an offensive manner, which was what ended up happening post-merge. Instead, my alliances were intended to be defensive only, in which I promised when I was PM to never nominate them and vice versa. To my credit in all the defensive alliances I made, I never broke any of them. When I was PM, the first time I didn’t have to nominate anyone, and the second time it was after I had saved Mick and Priest and dissolved OG Team Ringling to allow me to nominate Priest.

The reason for these alliances was because as the runner-up to last season, and by extent, the highest ranking player of last season in the cast, I was worried a strategically-minded player like Mickeynerd would target me. Ironically, I ended up allying with the players playing offensive strategy, so I got to watch the chaos unfold.

It was I who started the infamous OG Team Ringling chat, which was later renamed “The Quadrant” at Tiki’s behest. Read my first post carefully - notice how I only promise to protect my fellow trusted teammates with my newly awarded Diamond POMVP. The whole concept of using the Project Manager position to eliminate players only started post-merge.

(Note: “DisneyFan” refers to the other DisneyFan who was eliminated early from Team Ringling, not the DisneyFan on the jury).

As time passed, however, Orange Cat dropped out of the game and the Circle of Chaos thread got hijacked by B-Wolf antics (gotta love em’) leaving me primarily with the OG Team Ringling. This was fine because my goal in creating so many early defensive alliances was with the intention that some would fall through and others become tighter over time. By the time I was entering the post-merge, I had a strong group of four that had pledged to help each other out.

This all changed starting with the project two rounds before the merge, the Max Rebo project, where myself, Goofy, Tegan, and Brer Panther were on a team. Despite Brer Panther displaying a defeatist attitude and likely expected to be eliminated, I was alerted the night the project was due that Tegan, the PM, had given Brer Panther the POMVP. Keep in mind, this was a double elimination round, so given I did NOT play the Diamond POMVP that round, either me or an alliance member came very close to a potentially strategic elimination two rounds before the “strategy” supposedly started.

I never asked Tegan why they protected Brer Panther - they were both on OG Team Barnum as Goofy and I were on OG Team Ringling, so it's possible it was a formal alliance, alternatively, it may have been an offensive strategy to eliminate a potential threat in Goofy or myself. Or we were completely overthinking it and Tegan was just being kind to Brer during an off week. I don't want to put words into people’s mouths, only inform everyone from my perspective to explain how things went down on Team Ringling.

But my greatest strategy play was being responsible for Mickeynerd taking the Project Manager position.

After two close calls with Tegan’s PoMVP nomination and Mickeynerd’s near-elimination, I wanted two things: a). a safe project manager who wouldn’t nominate me after my close call two rounds ago, and b). a boast for an alliance members’ resume so they wouldn’t be eliminated in the first few rounds of the merge. In retrospect, Mickeynerd didn’t really need the resume boast because he killed it as project manager and the rest of the game, and is now sitting in the finals.

But I’m still incredibly proud of this game move - in my opinion it was my greatest strategy play, and, I’ve shared this with no one (not even the judges) up until now. Had I not sent this post, Mickeynerd may not have been PM, AceAstro and by extent, PerGron would not be strategically eliminated so early, and both Mickeynerd’s and the rest of the casts’ game would be entirely different.

It was at this point that I believe my alliance-making got out of hand. Once Mickeynerd got the Project Manager position at my recommendation, OG Team Ringling started talking about using the Project Manager position to strategically nominate perceived threats - namely AceAstro, PerGron, and Tegan.

In retrospect, I would have put my foot down here and not gone along with the offensive alliances. I started my alliance-making with the intentions of them being defensive only, and after PerGron the OG Team Ringling alliance seemed to realize its mistakes and dissolve. I did play my Diamond POMVP to save my teammates as I promised at the beginning of the season, but thankfully that did not negatively impact anyone else as no one was eliminated that round. Then, when I was project manager in the Versailles round, I was free of any alliances and nominated members of the cast purely by merit. Ironically, that eliminated both a Ringling alliance member (Priest) and the person Team Ringling had been trying to take out all season (Tegan). But I promise those eliminations were completely by Imagineering play and had no strategic foundation.

Unlike Mickeynerd, I don’t think my Imagineering changed significantly based on how much strategy I was playing. But I was happy to see the focus of the game return to Imagineering during the last three rounds.

TLDR: I focused on playing a balanced Imagineering game while developing many defensive-minded alliances behind the scenes. Many events happened behind the scenes that the judges are either aware of and not shared or are unaware of, which informed my decision-making strategically. However, at the end of the day, I believe the prime focus of my game should be a balance of Imagineering and strategy - both of which played a massive role in getting me here today.

Spoiler: Proudest Project

Question for all three: What one part of any project are you personally proudest of?

As mentioned above, this season I focused on playing a “balanced” Imagineering game, in which I tried expanding my skill sets in writing, mapping, and presentation. The map for Seuss Landing saw me insert a ridiculous amount of detail, and the unique tone of Suess’ Cat in the Hat walkthrough saw my first experiences by playing with perspective in writing, and the interactive presentations of the Infinity Train project are all highlights.

But I think the project I am most personally proud of has to be my LOST Project, where I combined everything from throughout the season into one. Not only did I spend way too many hours watching LOST to prepare for that project, but developing all the intricate details like the glitchy text, images, and tone in my opinion show how I’ve developed my Imagineering skillset over the season.

@DisneyFan18

Spoiler: Creative Values of Disneyland Forward

Outbound: What do you consider should be the creative values that Imagineering needs to have in mind while developing the Disneyland Forward expansions? Does your final project represent them and how?

I would consider the most important creative value for the Disneyland Forward expansion is to maintain consistency with the rest of the park, while nevertheless trying something new. This is best accomplished by retaining the park’s existing “mission statement”, i.e., it would be weird if Animal Kingdom suddenly got a Horizons-themed land and EPCOT an Amazonian Safari.

This is especially true with adding IPs and was part of the reason I was so opposed to what was initially suggested by the team. I think most people (myself unfortunately included) realistically assume Disney will add some type of IP land, such as Arendale and Wakanda, to DLR and DCA respectively. But doing so goes against the established themes of each park and risks losing their consistency and transforming them into random IP collections.

Disneyland Park is more flexible in that the mission statement is to celebrate “yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy”, with a loose Americana aesthetic. I don’t think Galaxy’s Edge detracts from Disneyland’s mission statement because although not in 1955, in 2021 it is a popular “fantasy” for kids. Likewise, I would understand adding areas such as Arendale or Wakanda to Disneyland, even if they risk being dated in the future, nowadays they are well-known and beloved fantastical worlds.

(I would like to mention though, that Sharon & Susan’s folktale America theme was fantastic and ties brilliantly into Disneyland’s classical “Americana” sub-theme).

DCA, on the other hand, has a more rigid mission statement in celebrating the peoples and regions of California. As I mentioned in the final project, that’s a difficult theme to land, because play California too safe and people will ask why not just visit the real thing just outside the park, and go off the path too much and you lose the park’s focus. I wanted to strike a balance this round, and that’s when I brainstormed the Lost World.

The Lost World, in my opinion, is a perfect addition to DCA because it both undisputedly ties to the theme of California while providing an experience you can find nowhere else. Unlike the rest of the park, there is no Lost World to visit anymore, so it is both exciting, new, and connected to DCA’s theme.

Keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with IP - just poorly planned IP. I briefly considered using “The Good Dinosaur” for my Lost World of California section, but I decided the “civilized dinosaurs” concept wouldn’t match up with the more edutainment focus of the rest of the land. Also, if the Lost World didn’t work out, I would be accepting of a Finding Dory “Monterey” themed land or a Big Hero Six “San Fransokyo” themed land. These IPs work within DCA where Arendalle or Wakanda just don’t.

So in summary, I am incredibly proud of how our final project represents the creative values I believe are necessary to a successful Disneyland Forward park expansion. Hopefully, this explains my thoughts well, sorry if it's a little long-winded, but as a Californian, I’m a bit passionate about this topic.

@goofyyukyuk

Spoiler: Gameplay Post Strategy

1. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

My gameplay definitely changed for the better. It wasn’t so much that I was performing better, but the game itself's focus shifted back to what it should be: Imagineering. Week by week, we got to discuss all the cool ideas on display rather than see the post-merge as a slog of eliminating perceived threats.

However, I am not entirely regretful of the alliance we created. When discussing SYWTBAI, Tiki has repeatedly emphasized the combination of Imagineering talents with hints of strategy. After playing without strategy in SYWBTAI 18 and with lots of strategy in 1986 , I wanted to strike a balance this season by forming defensive pacts with multiple alliance groups. Feel free to read through my response to AceAstro for more detail on that.

In my opinion, we took things too far by outwardly targeting threats, but the defensive pacts I made at the beginning of the game and stayed honest to until it expired in the Final Seven I am proud of. If I could do the season again, I would do everything the same up to when Mickeynerd suggested taking out Tegan before the final five. At that moment the idea sounded exciting and new, but in retrospect, it was the beginning of taking strategy too far. Ideally, I would strike a balance between strategy and gameplay, as I did in the pre-merge and post-PerGron elimination.

Spoiler: What Was My Thing

2. What was your "thing" this season that you excelled at every time you worked on it, and what specific project did that shine the best for you?

Last season I would loudly shout PRESENTATION but this season, I’d say my “thing” is really a collection of different skills. I aimed for a balance among different Imagineering traits this season. I did some writing, some drawing, and some presentation, but I never let one thing define me like last season. The three largest skills developed would have to be perspectives in writing, more detailed maps, and interactivity within a project. To that end, I think all my projects each contain different examples of my “thing” that, but if I had to choose one, it would be either the Infinity Train project’s interactive games embedded into the project, or LOST’s combination of everything I’ve learned up to that point. Both are absolute long-term Imagineering highlights for me.

Spoiler: Out of the Box Contribution

1. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

Strangely enough, I’d have to say the “accessibility” description in the Sun Salon Project. This was such a random and one-off idea, but it came right after watching a documentary about Deaf culture. I was suddenly struck with inspiration to promise everyone would find a way to enjoy the Sun Salon. And it paid off, even getting a highlight mention in the podcast:

“I will say one of my favorite things was the accessibility, which weirdly is never the highlight of a project, but honestly this was really clever” - @TheOriginalTiki

These types of one-off, random ideas really helped round out my skill set from an Imagineering perspective this season, as I was inspired to try different things each round while still hitting all the “Outbound highlights”.

Spoiler: Fellow Finalists

4. What impressed you the most about your fellow finalists, either in the final project or earlier in the season?

@Sharon&Susan : Absolutely killed it with the final project this season, as they've been coming in clutch all season. Both Mickeynerd and I were busy with college-related business, but Sharon&Susan seemed to have all the focus towards completing their three lands, each of which flows brilliantly into each other and ties wonderfully to the overall Disneyland Park theme. If there was a POMVP for the last round, they would undoubtedly win it.

@Mickeynerd17 : You don’t understand how difficult Minecraft presentations are until you do it yourself. To create my Mini-Golf and Minecraft rides last season I had to stay up from 10-3 am every night for a week. It also never truly receives the applause it deserves, which led me to scrap it as a presentation mode last season for being too inefficient for little reward. That Mickeynerd is still using Minecraft as a sustainable presentation this season is beyond incredible.

@NateD1226

Spoiler: How Many Nights

1. How many nights in total did you stay up working on projects throughout the season?

I’m not sure about the rest of the season, but the last two rounds have been intense. As I’ve posted before, I moved into college at UC Berkeley midway through the semifinal and I just began classes today. During this, I promised myself I wouldn’t let something as (no offense) trivial as online Imagineering get in the way of an incredibly important time in my life. Now… I could have quit here, or I could...

Kill my sleep schedule, party until 2 am every day, work on Imagineering from 2-5 am every night, sleep until 10 am and repeat!

Yeah… so my sleep’s been bad, but I had a normal night last night going to bed at 11 and waking up at 7, not tired. I can thankfully say I never once locked myself in a room and forced myself to finish the project… until yesterday, but that was just cramming the presentation. I met dozens of amazing people, figured out life on my own, and attended a ton of unforgettable orientation events. And I also started a political campaign to be elected freshman rep of my dorm. Honestly, as fun as Imagineering is and as hard as I worked to maintain it throughout these past two weeks, Imagineering ultimately became a footnote this week to college life.

And by “Imagineering” I don’t just mean SYWBTAI… I am the only finalist also playing in ICAWB, which, coincidentally, also posted a land project due August 24th. Ugh… excited to get back to a usual sleep schedule.

TLDR: For most of the season rarely, maybe once or twice a round where I took on a particularly difficult task (like a map or interactive) but generally up to the last two rounds I budgeted my time. However, despite my scheduling difficulties in the two final rounds, I was able to finish strong!

Spoiler: Buck Cluck

2. Who do you wish was in the finale, and why is it Buck Cluck?

I mean, Buck Cluck would’ve been fantastic, but I’m just happy we didn’t get Cats again. I swear, if the judges pulled that again I’d see myself out

@Tegan pilots a chicken

Spoiler: Most Difficult Project

1. What was your most difficult project and why?

Honestly? The finals. I was incredibly busy both in real life moving into college, attending orientation week, meeting new people, and generally having a great time. As much as I love Imagineering, I am a strong believer in “real life comes first” and despite this being the final week for SYWBTAI, I was determined to establish myself socially in college by actively participating in orientation events and meeting as many people as possible. And it worked! I’m now running for an elected position within my dorm and I know almost everyone’s (180+) names.

This leads me to my busy Imagineering schedule - in addition to the final project of SYWBTAI, I was also working throughout the week on the semi-final project for ICAWB, both land projects due on August 24th, the exact day before school started.

I say all this as a build-up to understand why I had very little time this week, developing a project that was already difficult in three lands per person in one week. I still took up one of the more difficult tasks on developing an expansion single-handedly because I wanted to show I could still develop a project within the limited time I had.

Overall, I absolutely adore the “Lost World of California”' final project concept, and I hope to continue expanding it via an independent post on the forums sometime in the next few months. But given my limited time, I simply could not give the idea the justice it deserves. It really became a matter of “what do I write/emphasize within my limited time”, a skill I’m not very familiar with. Oftentimes when I write, I write detail after detail without any care for the time. This was a different skill to pick up, but I greatly appreciated trying out this different style of writing.

Spoiler: Replace the Finalists

2. If you could swap out one of your fellow finalists for a different player, who would you swap out and why?
I'd swap @Mickeynerd17 with @AceAstro , @Sharon&Susan with @PerGron , and myself @Outbound with @Tegan pilots a chicken . Because had this season's sudden burst of strategy not developed the way it did, you three, as the seasons' "Overcats" would have likely gone on to dominate the game.

@ThemeParkPriest

Spoiler: Using the Alliance Differently

Mickeynerd17 and Outbound: in hindsight, would you have used your alliance any differently?

Yes. When I initially developed the OG Team Ringling alliance by sharing with my then team trusted information that I had the Diamond PoMVP, I imagined the alliance would be mostly defensive (i.e., you protect me if I protect you, not let’s claim Project Manager and take people out).

When it switched to more offensive play after I coordinated Mickeynerd becoming project manager, I think things got out of hand. In hindsight, I would have tried convincing the alliance to not move offensively in the first post-merge round, rather than piggyback off the strategies we started suggesting.

Spoiler: Versailles Question

Outbound: In the Versailles project, you were the Project Leader. We had a large brainstorming of possible landmarks--22 options by your listing. We went from 22 down to the choice of Versailles with just one vote from every player. That choice had ramifications on the game down to the finals. Do you think a second vote (e.g. of the top 3 options) would have been a fairer way to decide the setting of the project? Why or why not?

In hindsight, you are 100% right. When I made that voting format, I didn’t recognize how absolutely vital that decision would be on the overall game. Both you and Tegan, the two eliminated players from that round, were among the two most supportive of the second place Model T and Corn Palace ideas. Had they won rather than Versailles, you and Tegan likely would not have been eliminated that round, and Mickeynerd, who created the idea, won the PoMVP equivalent, and is now sitting in the finals, may have been eliminated instead.

That said, I will say from a project managing perspective, at the time I don’t think it was the largest oversight possible. I was focused on deciding on a theme so that we would have adequate time developing it, and I did develop a three-tiered voting system to make deciding amongst the 22 options fairer. If I could go back I would add a second round of voting, as in retrospect it had a major impact on the game. I can promise I had no intentions of negatively impacting the game of those more interested in the other idea and had anyone reached out to me during the decision for a second-round I would more than likely support it.

 

[Mickeynerd17]

OUTBOUND SPEAKS
Hello everyone! Super pumped to be here. I'd like to thank the judges, jury, and all members of the cast for the amazing season thus far. I said it last year but this might top out SYWTBAI 18 for the toughest competition I have ever played in.

A warning, my responses are a bit... much at times. There's a lot of things I have to share, as much of what happened this season happened behind the scenes in private PMs. I hope my responses inform those on the jury enough to understand what was happening from my perspective this season, but please feel free to message me below and ask for further clarification if confused. Also, feel free to either read through all my responses or only yours. I sometimes repeat myself, but I generally tried to answer each question both uniquely and insightfully, to get the clearest picture of my game this season.

Thanks again for reading, enjoy!

@spacemt354

Spoiler: Adjustments on a Personal Level

2. @Outbound having gotten back to the finals for a 2nd season in a row, what (if any) adjustments did you make for this season vs the previous one on a personal level to get back to this spot?

On a personal level, I had to recognize from the outset that this season I would not be the “Overcat”. This season had such amazing talent, from Tegan’s insane activity to PerGron’s detailed writings to old-time players like Monkey returning, I knew I would not dominate the game like last season. That said, I was still determined to return to the finals and have my second chance at victory.

So I opted for a more mellow game, rather than going crazy each week contributing smaller things to each project and expanding my Imagineering skills on a wider range. I focused on writing, particularly different perspectives, and rhetoric to make walls of text-sound more interesting. I also improved my mapmaking skills and tried a few new presentation formats, though nothing as crazy as last season. And last, I played the social game more directly by creating defensive-oriented alliances that eventually escalated into full-blown offensive moves that, while I now personally regret, undisputedly helped get me to where I am now.

TLDR: I believe I played a less “Overcat” oriented game, at least until the finals, instead laying low on the threat level chart (as clearly, players targeted threats this season) and focusing on improving my Imagineering skills across the board.

@AceAstro

Spoiler: Strategy Going In

Question for all three: What was your main strategy plan heading into the game?

I developed two game-defining strategies heading into the game, both of which I believe were successful. The first was Imagineering focused and the second was Alliance focused.

First, I lost SYWBTAI 18 by one vote because I focused my game too heavily on developing innovative presentations while winner JokersWild played a more balanced Imagineering game. This season, I was dead-set on playing a more balanced game. I wanted to focus on improving my writing and art skills in addition to exploring new presentation options, and I believe I succeed on all three fronts: I’ve been commended for my unique writing style in the LOST project, vibrant and detailed new map design in the Seuss and R&M Projects, and interactive presentation format in the Infinity Train project. I’m happy to say this season I have played a much more balanced game than SYWBTAI 18.

Second, defensive alliances. Alliances played a massive part of this season, and I’m near certain they all originated from me. Before the game even started I developed a “secret” alliance with Ace and Orange Cat, which I posted publicly to recruit new members via pretending it was a joke but in actuality was planning to run with that alliance into the game.

But here’s the key: I never intended to use my alliance in an offensive manner, which was what ended up happening post-merge. Instead, my alliances were intended to be defensive only, in which I promised when I was PM to never nominate them and vice versa. To my credit in all the defensive alliances I made, I never broke any of them. When I was PM, the first time I didn’t have to nominate anyone, and the second time it was after I had saved Mick and Priest and dissolved OG Team Ringling to allow me to nominate Priest.

The reason for these alliances was because as the runner-up to last season, and by extent, the highest ranking player of last season in the cast, I was worried a strategically-minded player like Mickeynerd would target me. Ironically, I ended up allying with the players playing offensive strategy, so I got to watch the chaos unfold.

It was I who started the infamous OG Team Ringling chat, which was later renamed “The Quadrant” at Tiki’s behest. Read my first post carefully - notice how I only promise to protect my fellow trusted teammates with my newly awarded Diamond POMVP. The whole concept of using the Project Manager position to eliminate players only started post-merge.

(Note: “DisneyFan” refers to the other DisneyFan who was eliminated early from Team Ringling, not the DisneyFan on the jury).

As time passed, however, Orange Cat dropped out of the game and the Circle of Chaos thread got hijacked by B-Wolf antics (gotta love em’) leaving me primarily with the OG Team Ringling. This was fine because my goal in creating so many early defensive alliances was with the intention that some would fall through and others become tighter over time. By the time I was entering the post-merge, I had a strong group of four that had pledged to help each other out.

This all changed starting with the project two rounds before the merge, the Max Rebo project, where myself, Goofy, Tegan, and Brer Panther were on a team. Despite Brer Panther displaying a defeatist attitude and likely expected to be eliminated, I was alerted the night the project was due that Tegan, the PM, had given Brer Panther the POMVP. Keep in mind, this was a double elimination round, so given I did NOT play the Diamond POMVP that round, either me or an alliance member came very close to a potentially strategic elimination two rounds before the “strategy” supposedly started.

I never asked Tegan why they protected Brer Panther - they were both on OG Team Barnum as Goofy and I were on OG Team Ringling, so it's possible it was a formal alliance, alternatively, it may have been an offensive strategy to eliminate a potential threat in Goofy or myself. Or we were completely overthinking it and Tegan was just being kind to Brer during an off week. I don't want to put words into people’s mouths, only inform everyone from my perspective to explain how things went down on Team Ringling.

But my greatest strategy play was being responsible for Mickeynerd taking the Project Manager position.

After two close calls with Tegan’s PoMVP nomination and Mickeynerd’s near-elimination, I wanted two things: a). a safe project manager who wouldn’t nominate me after my close call two rounds ago, and b). a boast for an alliance members’ resume so they wouldn’t be eliminated in the first few rounds of the merge. In retrospect, Mickeynerd didn’t really need the resume boast because he killed it as project manager and the rest of the game, and is now sitting in the finals.

But I’m still incredibly proud of this game move - in my opinion it was my greatest strategy play, and, I’ve shared this with no one (not even the judges) up until now. Had I not sent this post, Mickeynerd may not have been PM, AceAstro and by extent, PerGron would not be strategically eliminated so early, and both Mickeynerd’s and the rest of the casts’ game would be entirely different.

It was at this point that I believe my alliance-making got out of hand. Once Mickeynerd got the Project Manager position at my recommendation, OG Team Ringling started talking about using the Project Manager position to strategically nominate perceived threats - namely AceAstro, PerGron, and Tegan.

In retrospect, I would have put my foot down here and not gone along with the offensive alliances. I started my alliance-making with the intentions of them being defensive only, and after PerGron the OG Team Ringling alliance seemed to realize its mistakes and dissolve. I did play my Diamond POMVP to save my teammates as I promised at the beginning of the season, but thankfully that did not negatively impact anyone else as no one was eliminated that round. Then, when I was project manager in the Versailles round, I was free of any alliances and nominated members of the cast purely by merit. Ironically, that eliminated both a Ringling alliance member (Priest) and the person Team Ringling had been trying to take out all season (Tegan). But I promise those eliminations were completely by Imagineering play and had no strategic foundation.

Unlike Mickeynerd, I don’t think my Imagineering changed significantly based on how much strategy I was playing. But I was happy to see the focus of the game return to Imagineering during the last three rounds.

TLDR: I focused on playing a balanced Imagineering game while developing many defensive-minded alliances behind the scenes. Many events happened behind the scenes that the judges are either aware of and not shared or are unaware of, which informed my decision-making strategically. However, at the end of the day, I believe the prime focus of my game should be a balance of Imagineering and strategy - both of which played a massive role in getting me here today.

Spoiler: Proudest Project

Question for all three: What one part of any project are you personally proudest of?

As mentioned above, this season I focused on playing a “balanced” Imagineering game, in which I tried expanding my skill sets in writing, mapping, and presentation. The map for Seuss Landing saw me insert a ridiculous amount of detail, and the unique tone of Suess’ Cat in the Hat walkthrough saw my first experiences by playing with perspective in writing, and the interactive presentations of the Infinity Train project are all highlights.

But I think the project I am most personally proud of has to be my LOST Project, where I combined everything from throughout the season into one. Not only did I spend way too many hours watching LOST to prepare for that project, but developing all the intricate details like the glitchy text, images, and tone in my opinion show how I’ve developed my Imagineering skillset over the season.

@DisneyFan18

Spoiler: Creative Values of Disneyland Forward

Outbound: What do you consider should be the creative values that Imagineering needs to have in mind while developing the Disneyland Forward expansions? Does your final project represent them and how?

I would consider the most important creative value for the Disneyland Forward expansion is to maintain consistency with the rest of the park, while nevertheless trying something new. This is best accomplished by retaining the park’s existing “mission statement”, i.e., it would be weird if Animal Kingdom suddenly got a Horizons-themed land and EPCOT an Amazonian Safari.

This is especially true with adding IPs and was part of the reason I was so opposed to what was initially suggested by the team. I think most people (myself unfortunately included) realistically assume Disney will add some type of IP land, such as Arendale and Wakanda, to DLR and DCA respectively. But doing so goes against the established themes of each park and risks losing their consistency and transforming them into random IP collections.

Disneyland Park is more flexible in that the mission statement is to celebrate “yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy”, with a loose Americana aesthetic. I don’t think Galaxy’s Edge detracts from Disneyland’s mission statement because although not in 1955, in 2021 it is a popular “fantasy” for kids. Likewise, I would understand adding areas such as Arendale or Wakanda to Disneyland, even if they risk being dated in the future, nowadays they are well-known and beloved fantastical worlds.

(I would like to mention though, that Sharon & Susan’s folktale America theme was fantastic and ties brilliantly into Disneyland’s classical “Americana” sub-theme).

DCA, on the other hand, has a more rigid mission statement in celebrating the peoples and regions of California. As I mentioned in the final project, that’s a difficult theme to land, because play California too safe and people will ask why not just visit the real thing just outside the park, and go off the path too much and you lose the park’s focus. I wanted to strike a balance this round, and that’s when I brainstormed the Lost World.

The Lost World, in my opinion, is a perfect addition to DCA because it both undisputedly ties to the theme of California while providing an experience you can find nowhere else. Unlike the rest of the park, there is no Lost World to visit anymore, so it is both exciting, new, and connected to DCA’s theme.

Keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with IP - just poorly planned IP. I briefly considered using “The Good Dinosaur” for my Lost World of California section, but I decided the “civilized dinosaurs” concept wouldn’t match up with the more edutainment focus of the rest of the land. Also, if the Lost World didn’t work out, I would be accepting of a Finding Dory “Monterey” themed land or a Big Hero Six “San Fransokyo” themed land. These IPs work within DCA where Arendalle or Wakanda just don’t.

So in summary, I am incredibly proud of how our final project represents the creative values I believe are necessary to a successful Disneyland Forward park expansion. Hopefully, this explains my thoughts well, sorry if it's a little long-winded, but as a Californian, I’m a bit passionate about this topic.

@goofyyukyuk

Spoiler: Gameplay Post Strategy

1. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

My gameplay definitely changed for the better. It wasn’t so much that I was performing better, but the game itself's focus shifted back to what it should be: Imagineering. Week by week, we got to discuss all the cool ideas on display rather than see the post-merge as a slog of eliminating perceived threats.

However, I am not entirely regretful of the alliance we created. When discussing SYWTBAI, Tiki has repeatedly emphasized the combination of Imagineering talents with hints of strategy. After playing without strategy in SYWBTAI 18 and with lots of strategy in 1986 , I wanted to strike a balance this season by forming defensive pacts with multiple alliance groups. Feel free to read through my response to AceAstro for more detail on that.

In my opinion, we took things too far by outwardly targeting threats, but the defensive pacts I made at the beginning of the game and stayed honest to until it expired in the Final Seven I am proud of. If I could do the season again, I would do everything the same up to when Mickeynerd suggested taking out Tegan before the final five. At that moment the idea sounded exciting and new, but in retrospect, it was the beginning of taking strategy too far. Ideally, I would strike a balance between strategy and gameplay, as I did in the pre-merge and post-PerGron elimination.

Spoiler: What Was My Thing

2. What was your "thing" this season that you excelled at every time you worked on it, and what specific project did that shine the best for you?

Last season I would loudly shout PRESENTATION but this season, I’d say my “thing” is really a collection of different skills. I aimed for a balance among different Imagineering traits this season. I did some writing, some drawing, and some presentation, but I never let one thing define me like last season. The three largest skills developed would have to be perspectives in writing, more detailed maps, and interactivity within a project. To that end, I think all my projects each contain different examples of my “thing” that, but if I had to choose one, it would be either the Infinity Train project’s interactive games embedded into the project, or LOST’s combination of everything I’ve learned up to that point. Both are absolute long-term Imagineering highlights for me.

Spoiler: Out of the Box Contribution

1. Mickeynerd and Outbound were in an alliance with me and priest that decided to stop playing too strategically and cutthroat because we wanted to focus on the game itself. How do the two of you feel like your gameplays changed because of that decision, and would you have done anything differently if you could go back to the merge and start over?

Strangely enough, I’d have to say the “accessibility” description in the Sun Salon Project. This was such a random and one-off idea, but it came right after watching a documentary about Deaf culture. I was suddenly struck with inspiration to promise everyone would find a way to enjoy the Sun Salon. And it paid off, even getting a highlight mention in the podcast:

“I will say one of my favorite things was the accessibility, which weirdly is never the highlight of a project, but honestly this was really clever” - @TheOriginalTiki

These types of one-off, random ideas really helped round out my skill set from an Imagineering perspective this season, as I was inspired to try different things each round while still hitting all the “Outbound highlights”.

Spoiler: Fellow Finalists

4. What impressed you the most about your fellow finalists, either in the final project or earlier in the season?

@Sharon&Susan : Absolutely killed it with the final project this season, as they've been coming in clutch all season. Both Mickeynerd and I were busy with college-related business, but Sharon&Susan seemed to have all the focus towards completing their three lands, each of which flows brilliantly into each other and ties wonderfully to the overall Disneyland Park theme. If there was a POMVP for the last round, they would undoubtedly win it.

@Mickeynerd17 : You don’t understand how difficult Minecraft presentations are until you do it yourself. To create my Mini-Golf and Minecraft rides last season I had to stay up from 10-3 am every night for a week. It also never truly receives the applause it deserves, which led me to scrap it as a presentation mode last season for being too inefficient for little reward. That Mickeynerd is still using Minecraft as a sustainable presentation this season is beyond incredible.

@NateD1226

Spoiler: How Many Nights

1. How many nights in total did you stay up working on projects throughout the season?

I’m not sure about the rest of the season, but the last two rounds have been intense. As I’ve posted before, I moved into college at UC Berkeley midway through the semifinal and I just began classes today. During this, I promised myself I wouldn’t let something as (no offense) trivial as online Imagineering get in the way of an incredibly important time in my life. Now… I could have quit here, or I could...

Kill my sleep schedule, party until 2 am every day, work on Imagineering from 2-5 am every night, sleep until 10 am and repeat!

Yeah… so my sleep’s been bad, but I had a normal night last night going to bed at 11 and waking up at 7, not tired. I can thankfully say I never once locked myself in a room and forced myself to finish the project… until yesterday, but that was just cramming the presentation. I met dozens of amazing people, figured out life on my own, and attended a ton of unforgettable orientation events. And I also started a political campaign to be elected freshman rep of my dorm. Honestly, as fun as Imagineering is and as hard as I worked to maintain it throughout these past two weeks, Imagineering ultimately became a footnote this week to college life.

And by “Imagineering” I don’t just mean SYWBTAI… I am the only finalist also playing in ICAWB, which, coincidentally, also posted a land project due August 24th. Ugh… excited to get back to a usual sleep schedule.

TLDR: For most of the season rarely, maybe once or twice a round where I took on a particularly difficult task (like a map or interactive) but generally up to the last two rounds I budgeted my time. However, despite my scheduling difficulties in the two final rounds, I was able to finish strong!

Spoiler: Buck Cluck

2. Who do you wish was in the finale, and why is it Buck Cluck?

View attachment 582333

I mean, Buck Cluck would’ve been fantastic, but I’m just happy we didn’t get Cats again. I swear, if the judges pulled that again I’d see myself out

@Tegan pilots a chicken

Spoiler: Most Difficult Project

1. What was your most difficult project and why?

Honestly? The finals. I was incredibly busy both in real life moving into college, attending orientation week, meeting new people, and generally having a great time. As much as I love Imagineering, I am a strong believer in “real life comes first” and despite this being the final week for SYWBTAI, I was determined to establish myself socially in college by actively participating in orientation events and meeting as many people as possible. And it worked! I’m now running for an elected position within my dorm and I know almost everyone’s (180+) names.

This leads me to my busy Imagineering schedule - in addition to the final project of SYWBTAI, I was also working throughout the week on the semi-final project for ICAWB, both land projects due on August 24th, the exact day before school started.

I say all this as a build-up to understand why I had very little time this week, developing a project that was already difficult in three lands per person in one week. I still took up one of the more difficult tasks on developing an expansion single-handedly because I wanted to show I could still develop a project within the limited time I had.

Overall, I absolutely adore the “Lost World of California”' final project concept, and I hope to continue expanding it via an independent post on the forums sometime in the next few months. But given my limited time, I simply could not give the idea the justice it deserves. It really became a matter of “what do I write/emphasize within my limited time”, a skill I’m not very familiar with. Oftentimes when I write, I write detail after detail without any care for the time. This was a different skill to pick up, but I greatly appreciated trying out this different style of writing.

Spoiler: Replace the Finalists

2. If you could swap out one of your fellow finalists for a different player, who would you swap out and why?
I'd swap @Mickeynerd17 with @AceAstro , @Sharon&Susan with @PerGron , and myself @Outbound with @Tegan pilots a chicken . Because had this season's sudden burst of strategy not developed the way it did, you three, as the seasons' "Overcats" would have likely gone on to dominate the game.

@ThemeParkPriest

Spoiler: Using the Alliance Differently

Mickeynerd17 and Outbound: in hindsight, would you have used your alliance any differently?

Yes. When I initially developed the OG Team Ringling alliance by sharing with my then team trusted information that I had the Diamond PoMVP, I imagined the alliance would be mostly defensive (i.e., you protect me if I protect you, not let’s claim Project Manager and take people out).

When it switched to more offensive play after I coordinated Mickeynerd becoming project manager, I think things got out of hand. In hindsight, I would have tried convincing the alliance to not move offensively in the first post-merge round, rather than piggyback off the strategies we started suggesting.

Spoiler: Versailles Question

Outbound: In the Versailles project, you were the Project Leader. We had a large brainstorming of possible landmarks--22 options by your listing. We went from 22 down to the choice of Versailles with just one vote from every player. That choice had ramifications on the game down to the finals. Do you think a second vote (e.g. of the top 3 options) would have been a fairer way to decide the setting of the project? Why or why not?

In hindsight, you are 100% right. When I made that voting format, I didn’t recognize how absolutely vital that decision would be on the overall game. Both you and Tegan, the two eliminated players from that round, were among the two most supportive of the second place Model T and Corn Palace ideas. Had they won rather than Versailles, you and Tegan likely would not have been eliminated that round, and Mickeynerd, who created the idea, won the PoMVP equivalent, and is now sitting in the finals, may have been eliminated instead.

That said, I will say from a project managing perspective, at the time I don’t think it was the largest oversight possible. I was focused on deciding on a theme so that we would have adequate time developing it, and I did develop a three-tiered voting system to make deciding amongst the 22 options fairer. If I could go back I would add a second round of voting, as in retrospect it had a major impact on the game. I can promise I had no intentions of negatively impacting the game of those more interested in the other idea and had anyone reached out to me during the decision for a second-round I would more than likely support it.

Man, you truly are the presentation guru on this forum. Whether its a project, review, or answering some questions you always have a way to make it look snazzy.

 

[Chaos Cat]

*is utterly terrifying*​

@AceAstro in 1986: "I am the alliance king!"
@Outbound in SYWTBAI19: "Hold my SunnyD."

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

I never asked Tegan why they protected Brer Panther - they were both on OG Team Barnum as Goofy and I were on OG Team Ringling, so it's possible it was a formal alliance, alternatively, it may have been an offensive strategy to eliminate a potential threat in Goofy or myself. Or we were completely overthinking it and Tegan was just being kind to Brer during an off week.

Hey! I’m actually glad you brought this up!
Allow me to offer the explanation!

Going into this project, we had just lost Cap and Shannon. Our team was down to just four and staring down two consecutive double eliminations. At that point, only Brer and I were eligible to be PM. I felt a tremendous amount of confidence in the Max Rebo project, I really had a strong feeling that we could win that round (which we did). So, for strategy reasons, I wanted to let Brer be PM for that round so I could take PM the following round, the final round before the merger, to essentially guarantee that I move on. When Brer declined to take the PM role that round, I decided I would nominate him for MVP so that when we won (which we did), instead of having to choose one person to protect, and by default placing two people (including myself) on the block, Brer would instead have all of the responsibilities for the round. And at least that way, I’d have a 66% chance of not being nominated in that round, if I had made Outbound the MVP, that would have meant Goofy and myself would have been on the block.

Of course, none of that mattered because of Ace’s instant MVP power and in that final round we were all up for elimination! But that was my mindset and the strategy I was going for. I was gonna present all of that once it went through in the game, but then it never happened!

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

I'd swap @Mickeynerd17 with @AceAstro , @Sharon&Susan with @PerGron , and myself @Outbound with @Tegan pilots a chicken . Because had this season's sudden burst of strategy not developed the way it did, you three, as the seasons' "Overcats" would have likely gone on to dominate the game.

While we’re sharing, I guess I’ll also let everyone know, Nate, DisFan and myself were an alliance going back to pre-merger. Late in the game, we found ourselves in a position to have a run of turns at PM, and position ourselves to get pretty far. When DisFan’s turn at PM was up, he nominated Sharon&Susan for MVP based off merit, not strategy. This was of course perfectly reasonable, but if I had played strategy a little harder, I would have asked him to consolidate the power within our group, because the following round was my turn at PM, and my options suddenly became very limited. I had a feeling that Outbound had the Diamond POV, but I didn’t count on him taking Priest and Mick off the block. And I guess I probably took for granted that everyone in the game was keeping track of what powers were still lurking out there. If we had given safety to Nate and I was PM, I probably would have nominated Sharon&Susan and Mick, because I knew Priest had the nomination swapper and I was pretty sure Outbound had the Diamond POV. So my mindset would have been that those were my safest nominations for that round. Of course, I didn’t know about the other alliance at that time.

 

[Tegan pilots a chicken]

Outbound: In the Versailles project, you were the Project Leader. We had a large brainstorming of possible landmarks--22 options by your listing. We went from 22 down to the choice of Versailles with just one vote from every player. That choice had ramifications on the game down to the finals. Do you think a second vote (e.g. of the top 3 options) would have been a fairer way to decide the setting of the project? Why or why not?

In hindsight, you are 100% right. When I made that voting format, I didn’t recognize how absolutely vital that decision would be on the overall game. Both you and Tegan, the two eliminated players from that round, were among the two most supportive of the second place Model T and Corn Palace ideas. Had they won rather than Versailles, you and Tegan likely would not have been eliminated that round, and Mickeynerd, who created the idea, won the PoMVP equivalent, and is now sitting in the finals, may have been eliminated instead.

I feel incredibly validated seeing both @Outbound and @ThemeParkPriest sharing this thought process; this was truly the pivotal decision of the endgame. But you can’t fault yourself for it either. There’s a fair chance that the Versailles idea still wins out, and that everything subsequently plays out as it did. And at the end of the day, playing your game the way you did is what got you back to the finals! That means you did a lot of things right!

 

[Mickeynerd17]

But my greatest strategy play was being responsible for Mickeynerd taking the Project Manager position.

After two close calls with Tegan’s PoMVP nomination and Mickeynerd’s near-elimination, I wanted two things: a). a safe project manager who wouldn’t nominate me after my close call two rounds ago, and b). a boast for an alliance members’ resume so they wouldn’t be eliminated in the first few rounds of the merge. In retrospect, Mickeynerd didn’t really need the resume boast because he killed it as project manager and the rest of the game, and is now sitting in the finals.

But I’m still incredibly proud of this game move - in my opinion it was my greatest strategy play, and, I’ve shared this with no one (not even the judges) up until now. Had I not sent this post, Mickeynerd may not have been PM, AceAstro and by extent, PerGron would not be strategically eliminated so early, and both Mickeynerd’s and the rest of the casts’ game would be entirely different.

I 100% agree with this. I actually sat on this offer for a little bit unsure of whether to take it or not. I didn't want to be a pawn of another player's plans only to be cast aside later nor did I want to take charge of something I wouldn't finish, but I ultimately said screw it and ran with it. That prompt turned out to be the perfect one for me to lead and it really was a pivotal moment for both of us strategy-wise and for my personal game as well. I'm glad Outbound thought of me for doing this because I very well probably wouldn't be here now if I didn't take it or if it was never offered to me.

There were risks involved, like targeting Tegan and Ace right out of the gate, and using my PM power right after merge instead of waiting for a more crucial time, but everything managed to work itself out thanks to my gameplay and some pure luck.

Also, fun fact: I didn't realize I was actually able to be eliminated when I picked Tegan and Ace. I chose those two solely because I thought I was safe from elimination and I wanted as many strong players out of my path as possible. It wasn't until I watched the podcast after it had finished when I realized I was very close to being eliminated. Thankfully my strong leadership was enough to keep me alive that round.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

Only about another hour to get any last minute questions/answers in. Questioning will close at MIDNIGHT Eastern tonight with jury voting starting immediately afterwards. ​