Outside, Looking In

[Berryhappy]

Hello Wyrmbreeders!

I am a passing visitor who stumbled across this place several months ago by pure chance, and I have been fascinated by it ever since. The world of OOAK sculptures/dolls is vast and wonderful, but in all my travels, I've never seen such a big community centered around a single type of creature, let alone a single artist! But I am burning with curiosity: how did it come to be?

I have many questions about this amazing community buzzing around my head, but I've been wary of approaching in such a direct fashion. I am, after all, an outsider; someone who admittedly does not fully understand the appeal of these creatures. I probably don't really belong here... As such, I'm afraid of causing offense with my questions! But that's not at all my intention. I wish to learn, discover, and enlighten myself to something new and different. I want to understand what makes these wyrms so popular. And what better way, than to ask its many fans?

The idea of combining a breeding system into commissions is uniquely genius, but is that the only reason for its addictive appeal? Surely not! I have a feeling there is much more to it than what's visible from the surface, but to find out, I need to dig a little deeper. With that said, is there any sort of "history of Cruinndrac Farms" that I can read, to understand how CF began, and how it grew into the bustling community it is today? What were its humble beginnings? What made people keep returning for more? What are the keys to its amazing success?

I'm eager to learn all I can about the Farms! Think of me as a historian. Any responses at all to these questions are greatly welcomed!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful winter season with your wyrmlings.

[KaiNimura]

The first three places to look into will be these links.

Deviantart Group - http://cruinndracfarms.deviantart.com/
Furaffinity Gallery - http://www.furaffinity.net/user/hopefulmonsterstudios
Wyrm Registry - http://twilightdays.org/wyrmwiki/index.php/Main_Page

then.. Hi I'm Kai, I'm the staff photographer - mostly I work on photos for D, and work on the photo editing for the wiki,, which is slow going. And do wyrm photoshoots at Anthrocon-which will be getting bigger next year as things get more organized.

Personaly, I discovered CDF before it became a game - through adoption of my pre-game mini Puppy, at Anthrocon. The following year after trying to remeber who I got Puppy from-and wanting more like him, I hunted D down at Anthrocon and discovered it had become a game.

Back then it was pretty much all on FA and DA, the forum wasnt up yet, and the basic Wiki was already up and running. I jumped in on the second breeding season.. and it was quite small then, I got Auryn and Moonchild.

Then through word of mouth alone, via FA, DA, Blitz's Dragons, and ChickenSmoothie everything just..exploded.

The Winter 2012 breeding season was..GIANT!

The amount of attention went from a small group to HUGE, Anthrocon 2013 alone-proved how BIG this has gotten. The amount of people who had discovered wyrms, and the very welcomeing community is insanely beautiful.

There have been bumps in the road and hurdles to jump over, but through community involvement, support in D and the entire CDF staff and Mod team. A tiny one woman business has grown into an all female *sans one guy* business. And the amount of love, talent and support I have personaly seen is beautiful.

Yes, a HUGE majority of us are in the furry fandom - which is the most welcoming and loving group I have ever come across-. I feel utterly blessed and gifted to be apart of such a group. The people here are more like an extended family to me, then just friends.

But! D/HopefulMonster and Arazia can fill you in on the start of it all!

[ShadraAvro]

Well you'll have to really wait to hear from the sculptors/creator but I can give you a personal account of my experiences with the game/community.

When I first began I'd seen a wyrm on my FA inbox. I thought it was cute and after pondering, really wanted one. I hopped onto a breeding season in the summer and after bugging Arazia for explanations several times over, I managed to get http://twilightdays.org/wyrmwiki/index.php/Azulon and loved him ever since. However I felt the urge to expand my squirm. Wyrms are breedable, collectable, tradeable, and over all just fun to have around. Why not breed another I thought. I can surely afford one a season.

And then Asana happened. She was a number guess to keep it fair between handlers. This is so we don't have each person going "MINE" at the same time. I guessed right, I got her. Then came Agni, a special release, and more and more followed. Most are from cons, all have a story as to how I got them. Each and every story holds meaning and memories and good feelings. In fact the community is what keeps me here, not the wyrms themselves.

It's so surreal. We have a chat I adore, photos/art/etc. I love to look at, and all in all great handlers. Everyone is super nice to me. I couldn't get a wyrm? Somebody picked one up for me. I couldn't trade for my dream wyrm? Shy stepped up to the plate and helped me. I couldn't afford a breeding? GT helped me pay for it. And many other instances (Kai I'm looking at you Miss 200-feet-of-bubble-wrap-mail) where handlers have done me a kindness. Even our lovely founder D has extended to me such a warm welcome, even giving me my moderator status since I'm an active community member. I absolutely adore helping out new handlers because I always think back to my time when I too had to ask Zia a million questions. I always say to anyone if they need help, my inbox is always open!

Hmm... Another thing is the fluffs are just SO DANG ADDICTIVE! Not only are our handlers sweeties, but there is a ton to discover in the game. Combining the same two wyrms multiple times may not turn out the same genetics. Then there's the whole aspect of breeding projects, striving to create your own unique type of wyrm that will be added officially to the game. Stats, achievements, collecting, etc. as you'd expect are also aspects.

BUT MOSTLY I just do this because it's a lot of fun~

[Berryhappy]

Thank you two for your replies, I'm very appreciative of the time and effort you took in answering my queries. I'm gaining more of an appreciation for it, the more I learn.

[Aurilyn]

For me it started as a Lucky Draw at FF. I ended up as an Attendee guest of honor and Met D on stage. Curiosity drew me to her table and the little pile of eggs. To be completely honest I thought The eggs would make a Great LARP Prop and Pick one with colors I liked. I Ended Up with The most perfect Growler ever. I named him 'Ivan'. I had this whole plan to make 'him' a prop at home but the next morning I had it pined to my backpack and I ended up in the Wrym meetup. where Year, D and everyone else made the idea just sound like fun. Then D dropped the final stone in the bucket. A silver Pipefox... My Fursona is a Silver fox. It was meant to be. I snagged Mac at the same time Because 'Ivan' needed a friend. Then I found out 'Ivan' was a girl... whoops She became Isabella. I fled the con early to avoid the hurricane and a few days later I was on the forums filling out info. The minute Varric went up I got swarmed with breed requests. Apparently Foxes were rare. Huh Live and Learn. So I agreed to one and then Chaos. Basically a handler dropped out of the breeding giving me a Pipefox I was unready for My Saria. I waited for the Orders from Winter with I hope good grace. I picked Up Kali at Random after logging in to FA Before work. I Picked them Up at FF This year and got Figment, Tristan and Iris. Then I saw Bacardi.... My husband may never let me go to con alone ever again. Who needs food when there are Pipefoxes to collect. Zoey was a Lucky Draw again. D had her as a Raffle to raise money for the Charity. Winning her put me at TEN wryms.
I have had a really lucky year. The game to me is about making friends and building relationships. I can't tell you how much I enjoy coming home from a rough day and logging into my Comp to find Fun art photos stories and conversations. Even if the Wrym's don't catch your eye its worth it to Haunt the Forums just for the laughter and good people.