[REQUEST] Comprehensive MUSH experience

[Roz]

@mietze said:

Though I don't know. I have run into players who definitely see themselves less as collaborators in the joint story (the scene) and more as primary authors who are giving you the privilege of interacting with their story in the scene.

I call that protagonist syndrome. It's one of the reasons I say that skilled writers (as in fiction writers) don't necessarily translate to skilled RPers, because they're used to having control over the narrative. (RP, on the other hand, is more like text-based, long-form improv.)

[JaySherman]

@Roz I have roleplayed with someone who was a professional writer, and this is absolutely true. I'd have to wait upwards of 45-90 minutes per pose, and the poses would break the buffer on the game. They were great to read but often were jammed with what was going on his character's head, or the environment around him, which had almost nothing to do with the actual action of the pose. And oh my word would he powergame. He just expected us to come up with an equally powergamey response to undo his original power gaming.

When I asked him if he could cut his poses shorter for purposes of time management (it took us a week to finish a single scene), he got hyper offended that I would interfere with his art and left.

[Coin]

@JaySherman said:

@Roz I have roleplayed with someone who was a professional writer, and this is absolutely true. I'd have to wait upwards of 45-90 minutes per pose, and the poses would break the buffer on the game. They were great to read but often were jammed with what was going on his character's head, or the environment around him, which had almost nothing to do with the actual action of the pose. And oh my word would he powergame. He just expected us to come up with an equally powergamey response to undo his original power gaming.

When I asked him if he could cut his poses shorter for purposes of time management (it took us a week to finish a single scene), he got hyper offended that I would interfere with his art and left.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA--fuck that dude.

[Silver]

@JaySherman said:

@Roz I have roleplayed with someone who was a professional writer, and this is absolutely true. I'd have to wait upwards of 45-90 minutes per pose, and the poses would break the buffer on the game. They were great to read but often were jammed with what was going on his character's head, or the environment around him, which had almost nothing to do with the actual action of the pose. And oh my word would he powergame. He just expected us to come up with an equally powergamey response to undo his original power gaming.

When I asked him if he could cut his poses shorter for purposes of time management (it took us a week to finish a single scene), he got hyper offended that I would interfere with his art and left.

Who the hell was he, Robert Jordan?

[Coin]

I once RPed with someone who took forever to pose, but her poses weren't huge chapter-length entries, but instead like, a short paragraph. Really? You needed an hour for two sentences?

After the third scene I was like, 'Nope.'

[Silver]

@Coin said:

I once RPed with someone who took forever to pose, but her poses weren't huge chapter-length entries, but instead like, a short paragraph. Really? You needed an hour for two sentences?

After the third scene I was like, 'Nope.'

There was a similar person I used to RP with now and then who would write super long paragraphs every time filled with colorful metaphor and vocabulary choices that were so varied and esoteric that it was sometimes difficult to tell if she was even using her words correctly. I recall one pose where she walked across a street but thanks to her overflowing language choices it seemed like she was floating across a river and sliding along the edge of a wooden fence instead.

Simple is best. When in doubt Hemingway that bitch.

[Coin]

@Silver said:

Simple is best. When in doubt Hemingway that bitch.

Damn straight, son.

[Three-Eyed Crow]

@Coin said:

I once RPed with someone who took forever to pose, but her poses weren't huge chapter-length entries, but instead like, a short paragraph. Really? You needed an hour for two sentences?

After the third scene I was like, 'Nope.'

Most of the torturous slow posers I've played with aren't the florid sort who are crafting little pieces of screen-length art. They're serial-editors. They obsess over every comma until the pose is worked to death and has taken 45 minutes to write. And then they'll find a 'mistake' and repose it with like two different words.

Not my idea of fun, this.

I'm happy to put up with a florid writer in a one-on-one scene (bigger/plottier stuff that has to go somewhere, I feel like it becomes indulgent, but that's something else), though it's not what I personally do or most enjoy. Then again, my professional training was first in newspapers, then in technical writing, so I've been paid for brevity. And consider myself better for it, but I also read Hemingway for pleasure, so mileage varies.

[Arkandel]

@Three-Eyed-Crow said:

Most of the torturous slow posers I've played with aren't the florid sort who are crafting little pieces of screen-length art. They're serial-editors.

Most of the slow posers I've played with are simply doing other things at the same time. They have more than one scene or chatting on another window or playing a game or... whatever. So the 20 minutes I'm sitting there waiting for a pose aren't spent making said pose great - which might not excuse the delay entirely but greatly redeems them in my mind. It's like playing Magic with someone iRL but they're messing around on their phone instead of taking their turn, making you wait for them. It's disrespectful.

I won't play with that kind of people for long. Focus on the scene and I'll do the same, don't... and for what it's worth, there won't be another.

[Misadventure]

Then there are those who have to read everything that is posed before they begin to compose, and you have their complete attention and it still takes too long and you never want to play with them again.

runs off crying

[Coin]

@Arkandel

There are degrees. It really depends on how long it takes. I can multi-task two scenes and if you don't know, you won't suspect. Or do some jobs on the side. Whatever. But if you're in two huge scenes where attention must be paid, it's not just one scene that'll suffer, it's all of them.

[Miss Demeanor]

I can be slow to pose sometimes. Not because I'm choosing to do something else, but because I have two kids that love to drag their every little problem to me for solving. Also all requests are apparently to be sent my way. And a mother who loves to wait until I'm doing something to remind me that X, Y, and Z still need to be done. Then comes the lovely conversation of 'yes, I know, I will do it when I'm done with this' and its related skepticism. I try to let people know when I'm going to be dragged away, but sometimes it seems like a quick little thing that gets dragged out 20 minutes. I will, however, always apologize, and if it gets to be recurring, offer to reschedule so I can deal with RL.

[Gingerlily]

@Coin

The only way to properly Hemmingway it is if no one ever tagged their dialogue, forcing you to count up to see who was talking and/or dislike your English teacher.

Also it would always have to be raining.

[Coin]

@Gingerlily
I refuse to acknowledge criticism about a man from a person who can't spell his name!º

Also, what are you talking about? Hemingway tagged his dialogue all the time. There are a few instances of stories in which he didn't, but they are by far less than otherwise. His grammar, in fact, actually tended towards the correct a large percentage of the time.

And it wasn't always raining, god dammit.

Sometimes it was snowing.

ºThis struck me, minutes later, as a rather Hemingway-ish phrase.

[Gingerlily]

@Coin

Bah! Heavy fingers late at night in my commenting frenzy. Also I never criticized his grammar! I just recall in high school instances of having to count back to remember who was saying what. Love Hemmmmmingway with all of your heart. I don't judge. Not to your face I mean, that would be so rude.

Also does anyone remember a MU* that had something to do with characters being reincarnations of famous writers? There was a plot but I forget it. I only remember a friend pulling me along and somehow convincing me to play the Anais Nin. I enjoyed it especially because I dislike Anais Nin, so all of my scenes were me acting pretentious and 'deep'. But I never did figure out what to do besides that. Or maybe it was just too much fun being mock Anais Nin to bother. There was a Heminngway too, and he suggested we have a backstory as exes. I went with it ONLY if he promised to dump my character in Paris, in the rain, using short sentences.

[Coin]

@Gingerlily said:

@Coin

Bah! Heavy fingers late at night in my commenting frenzy. Also I never criticized his grammar! I just recall in high school instances of having to count back to remember who was saying what. Love Hemmmmmingway with all of your heart. I don't judge. Not to your face I mean, that would be so rude.

Also does anyone remember a MU* that had something to do with characters being reincarnations of famous writers? There was a plot but I forget it. I only remember a friend pulling me along and somehow convincing me to play the Anais Nin. I enjoyed it especially because I dislike Anais Nin, so all of my scenes were me acting pretentious and 'deep'. But I never did figure out what to do besides that. Or maybe it was just too much fun being mock Anais Nin to bother. There was a Heminngway too, and he suggested we have a backstory as exes. I went with it ONLY if he promised to dump my character in Paris, in the rain, using short sentences.

Uhm.

<.<

Hi. It's been a while.

That was a super fun scene. Epic dumping!

[Jeshin]

This thread has transcended its original purpose and gone somewhere special. Never did I think such a text-based game would exist. It brought a tear to my eye (not being sarcastic, am exaggerating the tear).

Question for MUSHes

MUSHes appear to have a fairly high amount of player sharing. However the chargen is a little rough (at least for a MUD guy coming in). Have tutorial/newbie friendly chargens ever been explored as a means to increase new player retention? You know the people who find your game, never played any text-based games, try it out and might be overwhelmed immediately if not handheld?

[Coin]

@Jeshin said:

MUSHes appear to have a fairly high amount of player sharing. However the chargen is a little rough (at least for a MUD guy coming in). Have tutorial/newbie friendly chargens ever been explored as a means to increase new player retention? You know the people who find your game, never played any text-based games, try it out and might be overwhelmed immediately if not handheld?

Yes. That's why Eldritch has a chargen guide for pretty much every type of character you can play.

[Rook]

@Jeshin
Staff and Helpers usually get immediately involved if someone mentions their lack of experience. So it isn't a CharGen issue, it is a customer relations issue helping a new player. Most of the games represented here are not simple systems. World of Darkness is a very complex system, that is even MORE complex the more that is included/allowed as races on the game. It is one of those systems that you cannot begin to play without some sort of reference material, be it a book, a wiki or so.

[Coin]

@Rook said:

World of Darkness is a very complex system, that is even MORE complex the more that is included/allowed as races on the game. It is one of those systems that you cannot begin to play without some sort of reference material, be it a book, a wiki or so.

This, sadly, does not prevent people from trying.