Fansite Spotlight: Starmen.Net

Years Online: 18

@Starmennet | Facebook.com/starmennet | Starmen.net

Starmen.Net, originally hosted at EarthBound.net, was established in 1999 by site founders Clyde Mandelin and Reid Young. “It was created to be a large, central EarthBound site to help raise the level of quality of EarthBound-related content on the Internet,” began Brian Jaworski, known as “ShadowX”, a staff member since 2001. “Since then, Starmen.Net has grown into a self-perpetuating community, full of fun and talented individuals that all enjoy the celebration of the Mother/EarthBound series.”

“It was part of a shared effort to unite multiple EarthBound fansites into one collective website,” elaborated Christopher Warriner (user name “KingDarian”), a staff member since 2005. “EarthBound is kind of an off-beat game that has a way of bringing a specific group of people who it clicks with together, and Starmen.Net was a huge cornerstone for the online EarthBound community.”

“Starmen.Net’s community consists mainly of people drawn together by that certain something that EarthBound has,” he continued. Either they played the game as a kid in the ’90s, or they heard about Ness through the Super Smash Bros. series and they wanted to know more. Our community loves to create fanart and other fan created media, participate in annual playthroughs of EarthBound, share and discuss any news that crops up about the series, and generally keep the fire burning for EarthBound.”

One of the unique things that unites the EarthBound fandom—and the Starmen.Net community in particular—is showing their unrelenting love for the franchise through…petitions; the EarthBound community is as organized as they are passionate.

With origins as a JRPG series, not all of the EarthBound iterations have made it state-side. The first organized campaign sought to bring MOTHER to the Game Boy Color. The petition received over 1000 signatures—impressive in 1999—and was featured in IGN’s mailbag. “To us at the time this kind of response was huge and made us all feel like we were part of something, a truly unique and vibrant fan community,” recalled Jaworski. The calls to action continued over the years; the petition to localize Mother 3 garnered 30,000 signatures, and Nintendo even playfully included a fan asking for the game in their Digital Event from E3 2014.

The Starmen.Net team has had interactions with Nintendo outside the rallying cries for their beloved series, according to Jaworski. “In July of 2007 a few of us were invited to the Nintendo Headquarters in Redmond, WA, to meet some great folks from NintendoPower. We brought a bunch of copies of our latest project, the EarthBound Anthology, to give to our gracious hosts. We also brought with us a beautifully sculpted Final Starman figurine and around 150 pieces of envelope art. Needless to say they thought it was pretty cool, as did we for getting the chance to be there.” The team’s visit was mentioned in Volume 220 of Nintendo Power.

Whenever possible, the Starmen.Net community tries to take things offline. “Every summer a large portion of the site staff and community would get together and share a destination vacation somewhere in the heart of EagleLand,” continued Jaworski. “Some of my favorite moments and stories are from these yearly trips. Most contain a plethora of in-jokes, campfire stories, or tales of getting stuck in an elevator at the Sunsphere. Over time, some community members have even married and started families.”

“My favorite EarthBound memories are of playing the game surrounded by friends I made through Starmen.Net,” said Warriner. “It transcends being just a game to me. I’ve met many amazing people because of EarthBound. I don’t think any EarthBound memory will ever top the experience at Camp Fangamer 2015, which was the first major public gathering of EarthBound fans.” Camp Fangamer, organized by Fangamer staff as well as volunteers from Starmen.net and the EarthBound community, spanned several days and consisted of many activities, including a brief keynote from EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi, game playthroughs, a live tribute band, a museum of EarthBound merchandise, arts and crafts, cosplay, and more. “It was inspiring seeing such a large group of fans come together in one place to celebrate the game. Everyone seemed to have an amazing time when gathered with fellow EarthBound fans. The title of the credits song of the game, ‘Smiles and Tears,’ sums it up perfectly.”

“There is something magical about sharing the experience with a group of people,” said Jaworski. “Discussing aspects of the game or discovering things you never knew or thought about before was always a joy. Everyone experiences EarthBound differently and it’s fun to hear someone else’s view on things like Pokey’s motives, or, why Mach Pizza never has any medium pies. Things like this extend the play experience.”

Reminiscing on favorite characters, he explained that “Ness stands out not because he is the silent protagonist, but because you can project your own self onto him and make his journey your own. You start out as a boy from a small town and end up saving the world with friends you meet along the way, and what’s not to like about that?”

“You have to call mom every now and then to cure homesickness because as strong as you become, you can’t save the world on your own,” said Warriner, touching on the subjects that have endeared so many to the series. “The support of family and friends is a powerful theme from the start of your journey, when your mom says it’s okay to go investigate a noise in the middle of the night, to the final battle where everyone’s thoughts and prayers give you the power to persevere through the cold darkness of a pure evil entity. Other subtle themes like faith, through Paula’s prayer command, or the bond between Jeff and his adoring friend Tony, touch upon topics rarely seen in a Nintendo game up to that point.”

“EarthBound’s main narrative theme primary deals with friendship, as well as the kindness people are capable of giving one another,” confirmed Jaworski. “Throughout the journey you come across your core party members and a wide cast of characters. Each has their own unique way of needing your help, or providing it to you.”

“It has taken some time, but I think we are finally starting to see the effects of EarthBound and the community that surrounds it in the gaming industry at large,” concluded Warriner. “Many people who are now developing for the Indie Games scene are applying their own experiences with EarthBound into the creation of their works. You can look at games like Undertale, YIIK, Knuckle Sandwich, and Boot Hill Heroes and really see how someone’s personal experience with EarthBound drip into their creation. It’s hard to deny that there was something magical about this game that you can’t shake its quirky yet charming influence.”