Best posts made by sibermaus

• Don't be a jerk. Don't harass or stalk others.
• Don't cheat or exploit loopholes in the code.
• Keep IC and OOC separate.

Those are the top three I usually start with.

Like the 'specialized staff' concepts. Once upon a time, games used to have app staff, plot staff, theme staff, player relations staff, etc. I don't remember what the arguments were against it, but I remember it was widespread, and then it suddenly wasn't. Like, seemingly overnight that setup was abandoned in favor of more generalists.

There used to be a lot more people who were a) willing to staff, b) capable of doing it (proper mindset, personality, etc.) and c) had time to do it. Now there are less players overall, we're all getting older and having kids, working lots of hours at RL jobs. So those still willing, able, and have the time do a lot more for the game they work on.

I'm in the beginning stages of making an alt-history horror game that would offer a simplified roleplaying preferences system where one can earmark different types of scenes or roleplaying tropes and in-scene roles. Players could choose whether they're a) seeking or b) avoiding those parameters, and the preferences could be searched. (Since the comparison is inevitable, yes, it's basically kinks code for regular RP scenes.)

It would also offer an "active" scene style that the player is wanting seeking, that would last for the duration of a login; when you disconnect, it would reset for next time.

What I'm looking for is suggestions of your favorite scene styles and in-scene roles. I've got some ideas in my head, but I'll never be able to come up with a comprehensive list alone.

Since I'd like to make the code available to others, it doesn't have to be limited to just the kinds of scenes that would make sense on the game I'm building. Feel free to include scenes or roles that wouldn't make sense on a horror game.

Example Styles/Tropes

• Action
• Adventure
• Comedy
• Crime
• Drama
• Horror
• Mystery
• Occult
• Romance
• Social
• Thriller
• Tragedy

Example Roles

• Storyteller
• NPC Support
• Hero
• Villain
• Damsel
• Sidekick
• Foil

@surreality IGU was me, aka sibermaus aka a lot of other selves over the years; ran the place on my old linux box with one of the early incarnations of Wordpress. I might even still have a zip file of it somewhere. For some reason I have been nostalgic of late and poking around trying to find some logs I read once upon a time. Stumbled on MSB.

I like the OOC room because it gives you a place to stage things and link other spaces together such as the building nexus, charGen, etc.

To summarize: The game idea I am working on is set in Manhattan, New York City—potentially in the "vague" 1970s or 1980s; haven't decided for sure yet. One moment I lean toward a That 70s Show desire for disco and Hell's Angels and the other I ponder the nostalgic approach of The Goldbergs' pop culture silliness.

Regardless, the game setting would be centered upon a fictional, magical "pocket realm" neighborhood populated by modern fantasy characters.

Question/Loose Opinion Poll: As a potential player of such a game, would you be satisfied if only the fictional neighborhood was fully fleshed out as grid rooms? If "Outer New York" were built as a small network of vague neighborhood/borough rooms surrounding contemporary landmarks or potentially centered on city parks. If +Temproom code were made available to allow people to make more specific locations for the duration of play within those areas.

Your thoughts as new or veteran gamers?

(Edit to fix a typo.)

@surreality Thanks, that'll help me get going.

Cranberry Jello Salad

• 1 lb. fresh ground cranberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 small boxes of "red" jello
• 2 cups (No. 2½ can) crushed pineapple
• 1 cup nuts (optional)
• 2-4 cups chopped celery

Mix jello and 2 cups hot water until gelatin is completely dissolved; add 1 cup cold water (or 1 cup pineapple juice). Add remaining ingredients and mix very well. Chill until set. I like to finely chop the celery and cranberries in a food processor.

Big Grids with Player Builds - In some of the modern systems like Ares, you have the option of creating what is essentially a virtual temproom. How big of a grid is too big? How small of a grid is too small? With the ability to summon an additional space basically at the press of a command, is there a reason to still do player builds? (In my experience, they tend to clog the grids fairly rapidly, and often include rooms that never see RP anyway. I am not a personal fan.)

If the game provides a means for players to save the descriptions of "permanent" / personal builds somewhere (such as in room-description attributes on their character object) then I see no reason not to use temprooms rather than sites that hang around all the time.

Chargen 'Rooms' - Similarly, chargen and advancement can often be completed via a command that starts some kind of program, or possibly teleports you to some predefined area in which you can do the chargen thing. Is there really a need for a chargen room itself, if the chargen command comes with help files?

No reason not to offer CharGen that is universally available. My only request as an old fashioned MUXer is: Make sure all the help files are somewhere on the MU. I don't always want to have to open a PDF or a web browser to remind me how to use the game's CharGen.

NOLA The Game That Care Forgot is fun and has active players: http://nola.orcpie.fun/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Edit to Add: It is Chronicles of Darkness 2e and offers Changeling.