Wil Bunce-Edwards

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Max the Mug at OddTour 4b (2010)

Wil Bunce-Edwards (born 7 October 1987), also known by his screen name Max the Mug, was the Community Manager of Oddworld Inhabitants from 2010 to 2015 and Studio Coordinator at Just Add Water from 2011 to 2014. He is a long-term Oddworld fan with many years of activity in the online fan community prior to becoming an Inhabitant.

Along with Xavier De Coster he co-owns Oddworld Library and along with Nathan Rose he co-administrates the Oddworld Forums.

Oddworld fan

Bunce-Edwards got an original PlayStation on Christmas Day 1997, and on Boxing Day 1997 played the Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee demo on the demo disc that came with it; he got the full game in the summer of 1998.[1][2] It wasn’t until he recognized Mudokons in a magazine he was flicking through that he realized he was a true fan.[1] He joined the GT Interactive Software message boards in 1998 with the username skELUMton to ask what a Greeter looked like (getting Abe’s Exoddus on Easter Sunday 1999), but along with the other regular posters moved to the Exoddus Club when activity on the GTIS boards died down, joining as billy_squeek on 12 February 2000.[3][4]

Bunce-Edwards first came to the attention of Oddworld Inhabitants when he emailed Alf with a collated list of errors regarding the Oddworld Map and was in return made Fan of the Month February–March 2003 on the official Oddworld website.[1][5][6][7][8][9]

Bunce-Edwards has attended several OddTours: OddTour 2 in Amsterdam, 2004;[10] OddTours 3a and 3b in London, 2008;[11] and OddTours 4a and 4b in London, 2010.[12]

Oddworld Forums

Bunce-Edwards joined the Oddworld Forums as Max the Meetle on 4 June 2000[13], changing his screen name to Max the Mug when the Forums moved to Ultimate Bulletin Board.[14]

Bunce-Edwards began being called ‘The Oddworld Dictionary’ and ‘The Oddworld Encyclopedia’ at least as far back as April 2001[15][16], although because the original ezboard Oddworld Forums are not well preserved the terms could pre-date this. The latter nickname became the more popular and longer lasting, being made Bunce-Edwards’s custom title around September 2002[17] and remaining in use until June 2004,[18] after which the term was used in discussions exclusively referring to his fansite. However, his custom status remained ‘Oddworld Encyclopædia’ until at least May 2006,[19] and ‘The Oddworld Encyclopædist’ until at least May 2008.[20]

Key Oddworld Forums features to which Bunce-Edwards has contributed include Stranger’s Wrath-themed titles[21], the current Oddworld-themed reputation levels[22] and the current writeup of the Forums’ rules.[23]

Member of staff

Bunce-Edwards stopped posting on the Oddworld Forums in August 2002 in favour of The Glass Asylum,[24] but returned the following month[25] having missed the Forums-wide moderator elections that saw Xavier De Coster join the moderation team;[26][27] he was elected moderator of General Oddworld Discussion (and by extension the Spoiler Forum) by public election the following year.[28][29] He retired from moderatorship in July 2005[30] only to return as a Super Moderator of Zulag One in February 2007[31] and be promoted to administrator in January 2008 to complement the Oddworld Library’s new sponsorship by the Oddworld Forums.[32]

Sortable table
Role Forum(s) Appointment Retirement
Moderator General Oddworld Discussion 16 September 2003 15 July 2005
Moderator Spoiler Forum 19 June 2004? 15 July 2005
Super Moderator Zulag One 1 February 2007 Still active
Oddworld Administrator N/A 15 January 2008 Still active

Annual Oddworld Forums Poster Awards

Bunce-Edwards has won the following Poster Awards in the following years:

Member With The Best Oddworld Knowledge
2003–2010
Best Advice Giver
2004, 2006
Best Old Dude
2004
Most Meaningful Poster
2004–2006
Most Dedicated Member
2007
Most Valuably Poster (MVP)
2007, 2010
Most Liked
2009
Oddworld Forums Unofficial Mascot
2009

Oddworld Library

Bunce-Edwards’s first attempt at a fansite was a 2000 webpage on Xoom called ‘The Kennels’. It took the form of a conjoined twin Glukkon called Glasp taking the reader on a tour around the Kennels, which hosted one of each Oddworld creature known at the time.[33] By 2001, the project changed to one more formally encyclopædic in nature called ‘The Scrabacombs’,[34] but by 2002 this was renamed to ‘The Oddworld Encyclopedia’ to reflect his Oddworld Forums nickname.[35] Despite numerous promises that the site was coming, only an FAQ appeared (in 2003)[36] before The Oddworld Encyclopædia finally launched in April 2006—although the April Fools’ Day joke articles were little appreciated by members of the Oddworld Forums given the site’s long-awaited appearance.[37]

By this time Bunce-Edwards had already created OddBlog[38]—originally a personal blog but quickly evolving into an Oddworld news blog—and had made plans to have it join with Xavier De Coster’s TOGG and Oddsville’s Oddworld Archives to form ‘The Shaman Network’. Although De Coster eventually assumed Oddsville’s role of creating the Archives and most component subsites were already public, the project—incorporating The Oddworld Encyclopædia and renamed ‘The Oddworld Library’—was formally launched simultaneously with the Encyclopædia.[37] The Oddworld Forums became a sponsor of the Oddworld Library in January 2008 by adding a link to the fansite to the top of its banner alongside links to Oddworld-Web and Oddworld Universe.[32]

In October 2006, Bunce-Edwards and De Coster met Lorne Lanning and Sherry McKenna in person when they were attending the inaugural GameCity festival in Nottingham, U.K., where Lanning was delivering his keynote speech, ‘The Appetite for Escape’.[39]

Just Add Water

Bunce-Edwards and De Coster visited the office of Just Add Water in August 2010, between OddTours 3a and 3b, meeting Stewart Gilray for the first time. Bunce-Edwards was invited back to the office in November that year where he was offered the task of looking after the official Oddworld Inhabitants website and Facebook Page in his spare time.[40]

At the start of August 2011, Bunce-Edwards began working in the office full-time with the job title of Studio Coordinator. His usual tasks include monitoring of Oddworld fan communities, filing, watering plants and communicating with fans, job applicants, videogames press and potential merchandise partners. During the production of Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath HD he compiled the unlockable extras, contributed to the achievements and decided where to place the easter eggs. Although he had updated his Twitter and Facebook profiles to accurately identify his job with JAW, Bunce-Edwards did not declare his employment on the Oddworld Forums until 23 December 2011.[40]

Oddworld Inhabitants

In August 2014, Bunce-Edwards left Just Add Water and started working for Oddworld Inhabitants directly as its Community Manager. He last worked for Oddworld Inhabitants at PlayExpo in Manchester, U.K., in October 2015.

References

  1. ↑ a b c Odd Wide Web, Oddworld Archives, Oddworld Library (15 August 2010). Archive of Max the Mug (19 February 2003). Fan of the Month February–March 2003. Alf’s Fan Odds N Ends. Alf’s Rehab & Tea. Official Oddworld website.
  2. ↑ Max the Mug (22 June 2004). Post 14 in ‘What made YOU buy your first OW game?’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  3. ↑ Max the Mug (24 August 2001). Post 13 in ‘How did you find Oddworld Forums?’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  4. ↑ Exoddus Club member list. Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups. (accessed 26 November 2010)
  5. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (19 June – 25 August 2002). ‘first Oddworld mail!’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  6. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (29 September – 3 October 2002). ‘Map Of Oddworld’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  7. ↑ Wayback Machine (22 March 2003). Archive of Oddworld Inhabitants (19 February 2003). ‘What’s New’ February–March 2003. Official Oddworld website.
  8. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (19 February – 8 March 2003). ‘Oddworld site updated...HAHA, I beat the fans...!!’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  9. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (1 – 3 March 2003). ‘Map of Oddworld’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  10. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (12 July – 9 August 2004). ‘Amsterdam Oddworld Meeting (The Report) -56K Unfriendly-’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  11. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (2–5 May 2008). ‘OddTour 3’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  12. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (13 September – 8 November 2010). ‘OddTour 4’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  13. ↑ Wayback Machine (1 September 2001). Archive of Profile for Max the Meetle. Oddworld Forums. ezboard.
  14. ↑ Max the Mug (14 April 2001). Post 20 in ‘Welcome to Oddworld General Discussion’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  15. ↑ Danny (19 April 2001). Post 15 in ‘rumours’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  16. ↑ Max the Mug (17 April 2001). Post 19 in ‘hey! vital info on munch to be noted!’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  17. ↑ TheKhanzumer (23 September 2002). Post 11 in ‘Look at this pic.’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  18. ↑ Xavier & Sekto Springs (21 June 2004). Posts 34 & 35 in ‘Centered around the poor side of Oddworld!’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  19. ↑ Wayback Machine (4 May 2006). Archive of Max the Mug (6 May 2004). ‘Oddworld Questions and Answers III’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  20. ↑ Wayback Machine (5 May 2008). Archive of ‘View Profile: Max the Mug’. Oddworld Forums.
  21. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (2–26 April 2006). ‘New Titles System’. Employee Lounge. Oddworld Forums.
  22. ↑ Alcar (20 March 2008). ‘Revamped Reputation Levels’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  23. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (13 July – 23 September 2010). ‘Forum Rules’. Employee Lounge. Oddworld Forums.
  24. ↑ Max the Mug (19 August 2002). Post 44 in ‘Farewell’. Off-Topic Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  25. ↑ Max the Mug (14 September 2002). Post 9 in ‘The slogan game’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  26. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (20–26 August 2002). ‘Moderator Applications now Open!’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  27. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (26 August – 8 September 2002). ‘Voting has begun!’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  28. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (24 August – 17 September 2003). ‘New Moderator Nominations’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  29. ↑ Oddworld Forums members (16–23 September 2003). ‘New Moderators’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  30. ↑ Alcar (15 July 2005). ‘Staff Shifting and New Positions’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  31. ↑ Alcar (1 February 2007). ‘New Off-Topic Mod & Zulag 1 SMod’. Forum Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  32. ↑ a b Alcar (15 January 2008). ‘TOL Sponsorship & Staff Changes’. Forums Suggestions & Help. Oddworld Forums.
  33. ↑ billy_squeek (2 July 2000). ‘My Webpage’. Exoddus Club. Yahoo! Groups.
  34. ↑ Max the Mug (22 April 2001). ‘Coming Soon - The Scrabacombs’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  35. ↑ Max the Mug (7 April 2002). Post 10 in ‘There's more than one Shrink!?’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  36. ↑ Cloverfield (24 June 2003). ‘Oddworld FAQs: READ’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  37. ↑ a b Max the Mug (1 April 2006). ‘The Oddworld Library - grand opening’. Oddworld Discussion. Oddworld Forums.
  38. ↑ Max the Mug (17 August 2003). ‘OddBlog created’. OddBlog. Oddworld Library.
  39. ↑ OddBlog (8 November 2006). ‘Meeting Lorne & Sherry’. OddBlog Specials. OddBlog. Oddworld Library.
  40. ↑ a b Bunce-Edwards, William (23 December 2011). ‘Job’. Post on ‘A Max to Grind’. Blogs. Oddworld Forums.
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