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[Digital Hellhound]

I'm glad to see this thread getting used, and bigtime.

I'd have to say story/setting is most important to me, though nifty concepts and mechanics are nice too. I still miss a very shortlived freeform RP (like, 2 pages) from years ago where we had a good thing going, RP-wise. Pure story interest there.

[kj1225]

Kadzar that is a great idea and I hope it goes well in getting Bay 12 to cooperate, I've tried.

Anyways, since it seems that my previous game has died to the inactivity of players I have an idea for a new game.

So you (The players) are the outcasts of a school full of stuck-up jocks, future whores, and lawyers... Doesn't getting beat up suck? So take over the school by beating the yammering quims up! Ignore the fact your principal is telling you this by the way.

[Fniff]

I did once have an idea similiar to that, KJ, but it was kinda different.

You see, not only did you have to handle the school side of things without having a nervous breakdown, you'd also have to stop supernatural monsters from invading. There'd be two meters for the schoolwork side of things (if that reaches 10, you have a nervous breakdown from stress) and for the monster side of things (if that reaches 10, monsters invade in a huge number). You'd also get your own special abilities for both mundane and supernatural things.

I must do that sometime.

Edit: on good forum games.

I like games that do things differently and don't get too much into one-upping. Take You Are A Hitchhiker. I liked how it worked out that no-one was going "LAWLZ MURDER HIM AND RAPE HIM TO DEATH" or "TURN IT ALL INTO CLOWNS SO RANDOM", but it was still interesting. This applies to forum roleplays as well. Anything Can Happen is another example of this. I think in both cases it primarily worked because it was a small collection of people who were somewhat on the same wavelength. If there's too many people trying to one-up themselves as the craziest/coolest (depending if it's a forum game or a roleplay), then it tends to get harder to make it interesting.

[Furtuka]

So that GWG thread got me thinking. What if we made an organized suggestion game where there was a different GM every day?

[Solifuge]

-snip-

Well, I guess, thinking about it, your game has great illustrations and an interesting setting, but there really isn't all that much happening; there isn't much of a plot.

Zany games can get away with a bare bones plot because there's enough happening due to player character antics to keep up interest. If running a more serious game with a reasonably-minded character, like Blunderbuss, you need to add some interesting events going on in the game environment to shake things up a bit (which you seem to be doing with the last update). My philosophy for forum games is that, whether it's a suggestion game or a multiplayer rp, every update should leave players feeling like they have something important they need to react to.

Yeah. I'm actually still learning how to Write write as it is, and at the same time am learning GMing, and what hooks to leave and how to leave them at the same time. It depends on your players a lot; what sort of things interest them or work as hooks, and what things they'll ignore. Regarding slow starts, I've seen them done elsewhere to decent effect. I mostly wanted to handle the background and exposition through the events of the intro chapter, rather than doing plot dumps... the story as it exists now is just set-up for the story I'm hoping to tell. But I'm starting to get to stuff that feels more plot-like, I hope.

On that note, I'm not sure if so much background info is even necessary, sometimes. Maybe it's better for people to be flung into a setting and cast of characters without any backdrop. But I think you need a certain minimum of backdrop presented, or the situation and characters become unrelatable, and lack clear direction.

[Kaferian]

Do you think that players would be able to create plausible nations for an alternate history game?

[Nerjin]

Do you think that players would be able to create plausible nations for an alternate history game?

I would like to think so yes. It depends, to my way of thinking, how much you want for the nations though.

[Xantalos]

So that GWG thread got me thinking. What if we made an organized suggestion game where there was a different GM every day?

Like Roll to GM?

[Kaferian]

Do you think that players would be able to create plausible nations for an alternate history game?

I would like to think so yes. It depends, to my way of thinking, how much you want for the nations though.

I'm expecting them to just write a history of their nation why it is what it is while I make the stats for their nations so that no transcontinental empires will be vastly overpowered and perfect. I can just fill in whatever I feel that needs to be filled in to make their nation plausible. The problem with this approach, though, is that players might expect me to do most of the work for them.

[Furtuka]

So that GWG thread got me thinking. What if we made an organized suggestion game where there was a different GM every day?

Like Roll to GM?

I suppose, but with daily/half-daily changes instead of by turn like I mentioned, and my original idea involved sign-ups or something. The GMs would also be free to change the mechanics however they want when it is their turn.

[Digital Hellhound]

Do you think that players would be able to create plausible nations for an alternate history game?

I would like to think so yes. It depends, to my way of thinking, how much you want for the nations though.

I'm expecting them to just write a history of their nation why it is what it is while I make the stats for their nations so that no transcontinental empires will be vastly overpowered and perfect. I can just fill in whatever I feel that needs to be filled in to make their nation plausible. The problem with this approach, though, is that players might expect me to do most of the work for them.

I don't know about plausible, but certainly interesting. You'd have to go by app quality in player selection, but that's never a bad thing. What sort of time period would this be set in, by the way?

[Kaferian]

Do you think that players would be able to create plausible nations for an alternate history game?

I would like to think so yes. It depends, to my way of thinking, how much you want for the nations though.

I'm expecting them to just write a history of their nation why it is what it is while I make the stats for their nations so that no transcontinental empires will be vastly overpowered and perfect. I can just fill in whatever I feel that needs to be filled in to make their nation plausible. The problem with this approach, though, is that players might expect me to do most of the work for them.

I don't know about plausible, but certainly interesting. You'd have to go by app quality in player selection, but that's never a bad thing. What sort of time period would this be set in, by the way?

The 18th to 19th Century as that would allow players who are not really into the whole dynastic succession shenanigans to fully enjoy playing the game.

[freeformschooler]

Spoiler: Concept: Forum Stories (click to show/hide)

Knytt Stories is a game about stories. Any story, really. "Juni" acts as an interchangeable protagonist in the platformer version, hopping and skipping throughout the world to collect items, dodge traps and solve people's problems. Even though it's a simplistic game, it has a lot of appeal. The drive to leave no stone unturned throughout the simplistic but aesthetically-pleasing environments keeps you playing more and more.

What would Knytt Stories be like as a forum game?

Primary focus: player stories. Each player would join with a small story behind their character and a goal they still want to accomplish. This could be finding a lost artifact, rescuing the lost child of a friend or even ascending to godhood. Throughout the RTD, they could either assist other players in their quest or head out on their own, attempting to achieve a personal goal solo.
Secondary focus: exploration and world-building. Level design is a big part of KS, so I think it should be similar for Forum Stories. The players would all start out in a peaceful, somewhat generic area - maybe a town or a hill side - and as they explore outward, they find surroundings built specifically for them. If a mother's lost child is "in a cloud city," expect a cloud city to take up quite a few spaces on the mini-map. The players would be able to easily visit previous areas and explore new ones.
Tertiary focus: skill and intelligence. Puzzles are a big part of KS, but having it in forum format gives me new opportunities. Since I wouldn't be using dice rolls, players would be free to try lots of combinations of actions until they start to get the gist of a problem. Items would also be important for puzzles, but visually intuitive: if a player sees a long gap they can't quite cross, they might try coming back once an umbrella is found.

I also don't think that death should be a big factor in the game. As each player's "story" would be short and easily completable, it makes sense that a "death" would merely serve to boot the player back to where they were last, forcing them to think of another way around a problem.

If you have any input or ideas to improve this I'd love to hear it. Don't plan to start this, but I wanted to write it out just in case I ever did.

[monk12]

Spoiler: Concept: Forum Stories (click to show/hide)

Knytt Stories is a game about stories. Any story, really. "Juni" acts as an interchangeable protagonist in the platformer version, hopping and skipping throughout the world to collect items, dodge traps and solve people's problems. Even though it's a simplistic game, it has a lot of appeal. The drive to leave no stone unturned throughout the simplistic but aesthetically-pleasing environments keeps you playing more and more.

What would Knytt Stories be like as a forum game?

Primary focus: player stories. Each player would join with a small story behind their character and a goal they still want to accomplish. This could be finding a lost artifact, rescuing the lost child of a friend or even ascending to godhood. Throughout the RTD, they could either assist other players in their quest or head out on their own, attempting to achieve a personal goal solo.
Secondary focus: exploration and world-building. Level design is a big part of KS, so I think it should be similar for Forum Stories. The players would all start out in a peaceful, somewhat generic area - maybe a town or a hill side - and as they explore outward, they find surroundings built specifically for them. If a mother's lost child is "in a cloud city," expect a cloud city to take up quite a few spaces on the mini-map. The players would be able to easily visit previous areas and explore new ones.
Tertiary focus: skill and intelligence. Puzzles are a big part of KS, but having it in forum format gives me new opportunities. Since I wouldn't be using dice rolls, players would be free to try lots of combinations of actions until they start to get the gist of a problem. Items would also be important for puzzles, but visually intuitive: if a player sees a long gap they can't quite cross, they might try coming back once an umbrella is found.

I also don't think that death should be a big factor in the game. As each player's "story" would be short and easily completable, it makes sense that a "death" would merely serve to boot the player back to where they were last, forcing them to think of another way around a problem.

If you have any input or ideas to improve this I'd love to hear it. Don't plan to start this, but I wanted to write it out just in case I ever did.

Hella

Sweet

[Furtuka]

Spoiler: Concept: Forum Stories (click to show/hide)

Knytt Stories is a game about stories. Any story, really. "Juni" acts as an interchangeable protagonist in the platformer version, hopping and skipping throughout the world to collect items, dodge traps and solve people's problems. Even though it's a simplistic game, it has a lot of appeal. The drive to leave no stone unturned throughout the simplistic but aesthetically-pleasing environments keeps you playing more and more.

What would Knytt Stories be like as a forum game?

Primary focus: player stories. Each player would join with a small story behind their character and a goal they still want to accomplish. This could be finding a lost artifact, rescuing the lost child of a friend or even ascending to godhood. Throughout the RTD, they could either assist other players in their quest or head out on their own, attempting to achieve a personal goal solo.
Secondary focus: exploration and world-building. Level design is a big part of KS, so I think it should be similar for Forum Stories. The players would all start out in a peaceful, somewhat generic area - maybe a town or a hill side - and as they explore outward, they find surroundings built specifically for them. If a mother's lost child is "in a cloud city," expect a cloud city to take up quite a few spaces on the mini-map. The players would be able to easily visit previous areas and explore new ones.
Tertiary focus: skill and intelligence. Puzzles are a big part of KS, but having it in forum format gives me new opportunities. Since I wouldn't be using dice rolls, players would be free to try lots of combinations of actions until they start to get the gist of a problem. Items would also be important for puzzles, but visually intuitive: if a player sees a long gap they can't quite cross, they might try coming back once an umbrella is found.

I also don't think that death should be a big factor in the game. As each player's "story" would be short and easily completable, it makes sense that a "death" would merely serve to boot the player back to where they were last, forcing them to think of another way around a problem.

If you have any input or ideas to improve this I'd love to hear it. Don't plan to start this, but I wanted to write it out just in case I ever did.

Hella

Sweet