Posts made by bear_necessities

The problem I've found with historical fiction - even pseudo-historical - based in "real world" places is that the further back in time you go, the more documentation you need for your theme. It also gets I think harder for people to just come in and play - the more documentation/theme files you have, the more people have to read until they feel comfortable, and that can turn people off. And then you have the players who think they know everything about that era and become like, the czar of YOU ARE PLAYING THIS WRONG and ugh, those people make historical fiction games really difficult to play.

It's also I think hard to introduce a cultural era that a majority of people have little to no knowledge of. Which means that you're going to have people unintentionally being ignorant of the times. Which means you're going to combat that with more documentation and that's going to give people more things to read and it's kind of a vicious balancing cycle and you're still going to have people being culturally ignorant unintentionally (or even intentionally).

Anyway that's just my two cents. Steampunk Lord & Ladies sounds like it'd have a good mass appeal, I would just be really thoughtful on the setting (and I would, honestly, probably go with everyone else's suggestions and make your own world at that point)

@carma Are there that many people that would want to play as a smart fridge? o.O

@saturna said in MU Things I Love:

@saturna said in MU Things I Love:

@krmbm I like pixie fights!

come join us! woodwardagency.com 4201

We're starting to get a good playerbase going and are running some events over the weekday/weekends. One-off contracts right now, but I'm working on a longer-term plot (and then a LONGER longer term plot) that'll be good for both combaty and non-combaty type players. Come join us! The hijinks shall continue!

@krmbm said in MU Things I Love:

@reversed Well, if it is. <.<

I love buy-in. Thanks to the people who've been playing this weekend. Life is stupid right now. RPing pixie-fights helps.

I second this!

@Wizz one time, I was having dinner with my friend and her son who was in kindergarten at the time, and he drew a stick figure of me. And then he drew two big ol' boobs on the stick figure. I laughed it off, his mother chatted to him later about why bodies are private and what things are appropriate to draw and when, and now he's like 18 years old and is perfectly normal and I don't think he remembers that one really awkward time that thing happened

It's okay your kid's drawing naked pictures. Just tell him those things aren't allowed in school.

@pyrephox I definitely agree with that, explaining to people your own expectations / meanings is really important

@reason So me and @krmbm sandboxed for about a year to "test" our concepts and see if they could be playable which I think is a good idea? I mean obviously you don't have to sandbox with people for an entire year to see if it works, but giving the game a test run with a couple of friends isn't entirely unreasonable.

TBH I don't think opening in Beta really means anything to anybody anymore. A game in Beta just tells me that the systems might get tweaked as the game goes on, but I would not expect a huge overhaul of theme in a game that's been opened to the public, whether that's a game in Alpha or Beta or whatever comes after those two things lol

I wouldn't be afraid of failure though. Like, if you have a theme/setting that you're excited about and have some stories to tell ... people'll show up. They might not stick around forever, but that doesn't make your game any less successful.

@testament The grid for me is the hardest part. But I would just start with basics and map them out? Like, if you're doing modern day theme, people will want a bar, a coffee shop, etc. Think of places people are going to RP in a majority of the time and connect them with roads or whatever.

@reason I would never open a MUSH that is not substantially complete. By susbtantially complete, I mean:

1. All necessary theme files are in place so that people coming to your MUSH understand the game and what it is about. This includes any files about different races, places, any magic systems, setting, etc.
2. All policy files are in place, including your expectations for conduct of players and how to report other players
3. The grid is complete and descriptions are done. This doesn't mean that the grid can't be expanded upon, but you should have the basic grid done with a dozen or more places for RP depending on your theme.

That doesn't mean that these things all have to be SET IN STONE and nothing can be changed/updated/etc. All games will need 'polishing' as you kick the tires and see what shakes loose. But putting up a game that doesn't look finished, or where you start crowd-sourcing for a large majority of things (room descs, abilities, monsters-of-the-week,etc.) just spells trouble and I have not seen a game gone up that's done that and lasted very long.

As far as critical mass of initial staffers - ehhh, that's gonna depend on so many variables that it's not worth it. @krmbm and I ran Gray Harbor on just the two of us, but we did eventually ask for help with applications, building and most importantly storytelling as the game got larger. It depends on your own personal ability to run the game. How much time can you invest, etc?

Critical mass of initial players, again that really depends and I wouldn't focus on that. You have to ask yourself what you consider successful as a game runner - that could be a population of 5 or 500, and it's not something you can necessarily control either.

Existing metaplot - ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Metaplot is not something I'm necessarily strong with and it wasn't important to me. It's way more important that people have something to RP about and something to base their own stories off of. That should be in place as of Day 1.

@ominous build it! If you have a good story around the setting or at least things to do, people.will play.

@thesuntsar want to go to the movies

@roz I've lived in Vegas for 10 years and I couldn't begin to build a game here. I'd get everything wrong lol

I don't think I'd ever be willing to build a mush based in a real city. Can you imagine the posts? Omg this street goes north/south, not east/west!! Etc.

It's why I stick to fake places in real states.

@pyrephox you basically said what I've been trying to figure out how to say so ty

@wildbaboons Las Vegas has two but also were built within the past 2 years. Best day of my life.

@krmbm said in Why are there so many MUs set in Maine?:

@thesuntsar said in Why are there so many MUs set in Maine?:

where my Long Island games at, where I can RP holding the door open for people at 7-11 and wondering when road construction is ever going to end on my commute to work

we can set simon: the mush in long island and really fuck up everyone's immersion, how bout dat?

GDI you stole my joke again

@krmbm said in Why are there so many MUs set in Maine?:

@auspice said in Why are there so many MUs set in Maine?:

Every time I drive through New Mexico I think how cool it'd be to set a game there.

I also lived there.

Unless your plan is to set your game in either Albuquerque or Santa Fe, you're gonna have to set it in a small, economically depressed town with a considerable methamphetamine problem and the only store for miles is Walmart.

Or you could pretendy funtime it up.

Excuse you, ABQ also has a problem with meth and walmart was my fav place to go outside of the cracker barrel

I guess the thing is like what does it matter? People complain there are too many small town games, too many east coast games, too many west coast games. Like. Its not hurting anybody you guys.