Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness

tragedyjones

I'm working on finding Headstaff. Those who are qualified rarely want it and those who want it are rarely qualified.

ThatOneDude

@tragedyjones said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

I'm working on finding Headstaff. Those who are qualified rarely want it and those who want it are rarely qualified.

Word, also I'd look to do a lot of automation... That being able to spend XP like in Reno where I can do stuff without a job can cut way down on staff burn out, overhead and player dissatisfaction with waiting FOREVER for someone to add that 1 more dot of Strength to their sheet. I don't think the system was fully implemented but I'm telling you guys, it could help ALOT .

Sunny

Best of luck for this project, it's pretty exciting. If there's anything I can do to help in the not-heavy-commitment way I'd be happy to do so, but I've got my own thing I'm working on presently.

@ThatOneDude

Building a game and running a game are VASTLY different skillsets; his flake doesn't threaten the building of the game, and he's intending to pass it off to folks for running. That certainly satisfies my concerns, and I think you'll be relieved too once you see it start working more. I'm definitely going to second the statement of making it easy easy to run stuff as players.

Arkandel

This may be controversial but it's what I think.

In 'big' multisphere games and assuming everyone is reasonably sane and well mannered the effect of the initial staffing team, perhaps even the staffing team at any given time is important but not crucial. What's more critical is how well the overall project is accepted by and embraced by the community at large (which to be fair the names do play a very important role).

What I mean is, the scale of a large MU* like this is considerable - it needs players manning the political scene, populating coteries and packs, running plot, doing things. So a primary consideration is... do the people involved have the street cred (ahem) to generate enough interest and word of mouth to get people to go over and give it an extended try?

Momentum is critical in these endeavors, far more so than in smaller niche games, and the risk is inherently increased compared to a smaller scope since the playerbase is spread out thinner among all the spheres; if you roll a Vampire and look around to find a deserted wasteland of a sphere you are likely to move on, and so will the person rolling the next day since you won't be around to play with them. On top of that MUSHers tend to be very conservative, they'll sit on their current dying game they're actively bitching about rather than give another prospect a chance... unless it gets a good reputation right around then it's the Next Big Thing in which case players do turn to show up in droves - and then the challenge is keeping them.

For this having well known folks around headlining the project is quite important. It's far harder to pull this off as an untried newcomer no one has heard of even assuming they have the skill - obviously the game itself has to still be high quality, the grid and the metaplot must be well done, but to take advantage of it you do want players to show up in the first place.

That's without counting whether or not you'll get those rare players who'll lead in-game factions and attract others around them to generate roleplay. That's even harder.

tragedyjones

I once shot a man on Reno just to watch him die. How's that for fucking street cred?

ThatGuyThere

@Arkandel said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

I realise that, but I'm trying to tell you two things here.

Some very successful MU* have outlived their original creators.

Some very bad game creators have stuck around their games, preventing them from moving on and becoming better, only so then can be in charge.

I don't argue either of those two points. and I would definitely check out a place TJ made after it entered into a stable situation however before I decide to apply at I place I would want a reasonable expectation of it being stable. I know not many games actually achieve that.
Like I said I applaud TJ for being open about the situation, more information put out the better to make decisions with, long term perspective might not be a priority for you but that does not mean it is not something to discuss for those that it is a priority to.
Edit to Add: In the specific case of this thread I would be happy to look at the situation after passing off but honestly knowing the pass off is coming would not look at it before.

ThatGuyThere

@tragedyjones said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

I once shot a man on Reno just to watch him die. How's that for fucking street cred?

Double post just to say, You are not Johnny Cash.

Arkandel

@tragedyjones said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

I once shot a man on Reno just to watch him die. How's that for fucking street cred?

Did you abandon him to die of neglect, you flake?

tragedyjones

Working title is simply "Angeles"

Daeladras

We totes need a CoD game set in Toronto. Why hasn't this been done yet?

Arkandel

@Daeladras Yes! We should have one like that eh?

Daeladras

@Arkandel Every place always arid and dry. I want to kill someone in the snow.

Thenomain

@ThatOneDude

The system can be 100% automated for XP spends. Even stupid things like "half price if this bloodline and also spirit allies 2 or higher and it's the third Thursday before the first full moon of the month." It's staff who choose what can't be casually bought, such as Willpower dots or Blood Potency 6. Having staff be intimately involved with character advancement is a powerful tool. That some games have to turn it into a bureaucratic chore is unfortunate.

Staff are going to get headaches with Changeling's Clarity trait, which will go up and down so much as to make Harmony seem stable.

I may also force them to be involved when Arcane Beats are being spent, until I can comfortably come up with a solution.

Arkandel

@Thenomain said in Interest/Volunteer Check: Major Multisphere Chronicles of Darkness:

Staff are going to get headaches with Changeling's Clarity trait, which will go up and down so much as to make Harmony seem stable.

What changed in GMC's Changeling about Clarity?

Thenomain

@Arkandel

It's far easier to lose, and your Seeming gives you free ways to increase it. Enjoy!

tragedyjones

UPDATE:

Got the project organized on Google. I probably forgot to add 1-2 people, if you could, introduce yourself there. I'm gonna be doing some thinking on things tonight. Setting is LA, time is modern. Metaplot is concocted (not written, but the basic idea of WHAT it is lives).

What we need:

headstaff 1-2 people to balance me out
Design Specialist: Mage
Design Specialist: Changeling (obviously impossible at this point)
Design Specialist: Werewolf
Design Specialist: Vampire
Design Specialist: The Shadow
Researchers

cirim13

I can't staff to save my life but I already have my character half-planned so consider me a mostly-lurking cheerleader. cheers...lurkily?

Jennkryst

I propose to you an alternate location, good sir. A location so perfect, it is often overlooked.

The World of Darkness is filled with things that want to kill you.
The things that don't want to could do so in the blink of an eye.
Monsters are real.
Things do go bump in the night.

Welcome to Australia, mate. Cart yer arse on over!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmKNqoJXkK8

We don't need guns to kill you.

tragedyjones

@Jennkryst I want to set it in the real world.

Jennkryst

@tragedyjones Australia. Double bonus points because it is also where Mad Max takes place, for all your outside-of-the-city shenanigans.