All-Star VHL Moments of Vandelay's Career

[Gustav 6,434]

Good evening VHL!

 

I thought about doing a few different things for all-star week, but none were really clicking for me. Could I do an article where I try to select my own dream team? Sure, but I'm sure everyone else is doing that too. Could I make one where I select a dream team out of players past or present? I have done that three times already. Really, anything to do with players is an idea that's bound to be worn out.

 

But what's more valuable than our players? We're a community of individuals and a community of friends. That's bound to make some moments happen. And with Vandelay gone for good after this week (and that's weird, isn't it?), there's been some stuff in the past almost-two years (which is even weirder) that's worth remembering.

 

That's right, we're not talking about all-star players but all-star moments. The types of things I'll remember long after Vandelay and all the ways the league has changed over his career. Let's name a few.

 

• The Great AI Takeover: In one of the dumbest moves I've ever seen, many of you have approached the task of cheating on your submissions with unwavering determination. It's a stain on the league to constantly watch people get punished for this, and it's also a slap in the face to the idea that you earn well by applying your mind to creating content that people enjoy. Don't be part of this.
• Town of Salem #27: possibly my favorite one ever. For those unfamiliar, this one featured @omgitshim winning with a role that doesn't usually win, in a game that went right down to the wire and had one big play after another. We also saw something we'll probably never see again in @jhatty8 waking up from surgery and telling everyone he was evil while under the influence.
• Delete the E: My favorite incentive. This wasn't even the point of the thread I linked, but it did spawn some productive discussion on a controversial subject. More specifically, and not related to the title, GMs who don't scout their players are stupid.
• The Very First Vandelay: I've spent basically my entire career thinking that I came up with the art of writing Vandelay in game threads--most of the time, if I go 2-0 in a given sim and/or record a shutout, I'll simply comment "Art Vandelay" under the sim thread. I've also known @jacobcarson877 to follow suit this whole time, which consistently flatters me--but imagine my surprise when I found that he was the first one ever to comment my player's name, and only his name, on anything (at least on the forum). Regardless of origin, I'm glad that Vandelay has something that makes him more visible (and hopefully more likable).
• Town of Pallet: an incredibly in-depth Pokemon game created entirely by @Ptyrell, this ultimately failed because it required 100% participation from all players and was also even more incredibly work-intensive from the game mod end. It was fun while it lasted, though, and was a huge testament to one person's creativity and drive to have fun.
• Hybrid Attributes: Easily the league's largest change since I created Vandelay, this dropped a week after he first hit the ice in Ottawa. I was part of the planning for this and partly created a goaler because I wasn't sure what to think, but it's worked well enough since it was (against my wishes) implemented that I think it's been a positive change. Nothing is ever perfect, so we'll see how this holds up in S192, but everyone needs to know the context behind this and understand why it's important.

 

I didn't even know before I created this article that I created Vandelay before I'd left undergrad. That feels like forever ago. Since then, I've moved, started earning my own living, gone through all my grad classes, wasted all of last spring semester on a side project that went nowhere, talked about my research at a big conference, started working out (and still stayed single, dammit, I'm 23 and it's February tomorrow), and made tens of new friends who not only are amazing people but who also come from all over the world and have taught me lots of things I never knew. I'm excited and worried and overall really interested in what the next almost-two years are going to bring real-life Gustav. But I think the VHL has grown just as much, and I think it's important that we feel the same ways about it. It's time for a whole other player, and hopefully it's going to be an all-star one.

[jacobcarson877 2,541]

54 minutes ago, Gustav said:

Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay
 

54 minutes ago, Gustav said:

he was the first one ever to comment my player's name, and only his name, on anything (at least on the forum).

I also didn't know that! I guess we've just always been saying Art Vandelay!

[omgitshim 902]

Bring back Town of Pallet!