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Author Topic: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game  (Read 29395 times)

LordBucket

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You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« on: June 13, 2012, 01:52:30 am »

You are a bay12 forum goer who wants to run a forum game. So far you have four fantastic ideas you're considering:

1) You could do a God game, where players take on the roles of Gods and can do anything. And just to be incredibly new and original, each player will need to choose "domains" of divine influence. Surely nobody has ever thought of that.

2) You could do something creative and philosophically deep, like "You are a cardboard box." Or "You are belly button lint," Or, "You are a rock."

3) You could do something incredibly complicated that requires you to spend several hours per day drawing up maps and processing player turns. The game would involve a great deal of micromanagement, and each turn would be such a tiny portion of  gameplay that it could reasonably be expected to take several thousand turns to finish. And naturally you'd be sure to insist on at least half a dozen or more players. Having that many will help you prevent burnout by the second turn by ensuring that the hours you spend processing turns are at least spent reading a variety of turns submitted by different people.

4) You could something that you know absolutely nothing about. For example, run a 3.5 D&D campaign using maptools, despite never having even played D&D let alone DMd a game, and despite never having used maptools. Maybe you could even require that players have skype to sign up, even though you don't even own a headset. Surely the players will fill in all the gaps in your knowledge and it will all work out.

Or you could run a game about something totally else. The sky is the limit! Of course, you're leaving on a two week vacation tomorrow afternoon, so you'll also need to decide whether to mention that to anyone when you create the forum post. It's probably not that important. Two weeks isn't that long. The players can just roleplay amongst themselves until you get back. It's probably not even worth mentioning, and you certainly can't wait until you to come back to start. Your ideas are so exciting you can't wait!



Your fingers delicately brush across your keyboard as you sit, pondering. What do you do?

lawastooshort

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2012, 02:02:57 am »

It'd probably be best to combine several of the ideas to keep you motivated - how about a god game where the gods take the form of rocks who are worshipped by the non-playing readers and who each control a vast domain requiring equally vast spreadsheet-based micro- and asset-management? Be sure to throw in some scope for casual violence and also a map of each rock. Each rock could, to add to its physical domain, have a "domain" of divine rocky influence, and have an animate cardboard box as its own personal shrine. Have a maptools session each Wednesday at 6.00am CET.
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LordBucket

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2012, 02:21:01 am »

It'd probably be best to combine several of the ideas to keep you motivated - how about a god game where the gods take the form of rocks who are worshipped by the non-playing readers and who each control a vast domain requiring equally vast spreadsheet-based micro- and asset-management? Be sure to throw in some scope for casual violence and also a map of each rock. Each rock could, to add to its physical domain, have a "domain" of divine rocky influence, and have an animate cardboard box as its own personal shrine. Have a maptools session each Wednesday at 6.00am CET.

"Yes! yes! The muse of inspiration is upon me!" you cackle in front of your keyboard. "I will combine all these ideas to make the greatest forum game bay 12 has ever seen! Muahahahah!!!!"

Your cat looks at you skeptically, but you pay him no mind,

Your fingers begin typing frantically. So great is your inspiration, you confidently finish and click the "post" button without so much as a second read, let alone a spellcheck.



You aer rockgods: Teh gratest forum game evar!"

k guise i hav an idea for an awesum forum game. You are gods! But not just any, boring old ordanery gods...your ROCK GODS!!!!!

Izzat awesum or wut? :)

So here are teh rulez:

1) To submit a rockgod:

Name
Domains
backstory
typ of rok yu are

2) all playurs must create a  google docx spreadsheets to track ur turns and worshipperz. Use my sample template, but I dun no how too makes google sheets so could someones pleeze help me first? kthnx

3) wheel be playin with maptools. I dun no which version yet cuz I havent figurd it out yet so please tell me how ok? well play evry wensday starting at 6am sharp! make sure thats 6am my time ill figur out which time zon thats so il'l let u know when I do so we cn play!



You can't help but smile at the sheer awesomeness of your forum game. Surely it will be the best forum game on bay 12, ever. Still, you need players. You click back to the main forum pages page and click refresh. Hmm. No thread views yet. Well, maybe you'll just take a moment to re-read the post yourself to revel in its awesomeness.

You open the thread in a new browser tab. Quickly glancing through it, you feel a shudder in your spine at how great it is. Wondering how many views the thread has you go back to the forum games tab and click refresh.

ONE VIEW!

You do a happy little jig in your chair and chant to yourself about how awesome you are while your cat pretends to not notice. Realizing that the thread has had one view, surely that means you have a new player in the game, so you switch to the thread tab and click refresh to read the submission.

Strangely, there is no post after yours. That's odd. You were certain you saw a thread view. You go back to the forum games thread list and click refresh.

TWO THREAD VIEWS!!!!!


"Yeah, baby!" you sing to yourself again. By now your cat has left the room but you're very confused because you have two thread views, but no players.

What do you do?

lawastooshort

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2012, 02:23:06 am »

Bump the post. It's been ages. Add "Still recruiting!!!1" to the subject line.
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Doomblade187

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2012, 02:26:08 am »

Apply spellcheck.
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LordBucket

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #5 on: June 13, 2012, 02:36:32 am »

Bump the post. It's been ages. Add "Still recruiting!!!1" to the subject line.

Of course! The thread just needs a bump. Feeling silly that you didn't think of it sooner you go to edit your post (refreshing first to see if a player posted while you were thinking.)



You aer rockgods: Teh gratest forum game evar! Still recruiting!!!1



Yes. Surely that was the problem. With a game as awesome as this, prospective players simply assumed that all the player slots had filled in the 60 seconds since you originally posted.

You frown at that briefly. You understand why they assumed the game was filled, of course, but you assumed that everyone on bay12 would be following the thread even if they couldn't actually play themselves. Even with no player submissions, you're uncertain why the thread hasn't at least had a few posts from people telling you how awesome it is. Well, no matter. Time to bump the thread.




bump giuse theirs still rtoom k? I want at leest 8 playuers cuz this will be so epic!!!!!1



Smiling at your bump, you return to the forum games thread tab in your browser and click refresh. OMG!!!! YOU HAVE A POST!!!!

Quickly, you go back to the thread itself and click refresh, and scroll down. Sure enough, there is a post. Somebody bumped the thread. Well, that's good that people are trying to help advertise the game for you, but-oh. It's your post.

Not to be discouraged you return to the thread list and refresh again.


"OMG YES!!! EIGHT VIEWS!!!!" you cry out.

You're not certain, but you think you hear a cat mewling in agony in the next room. Also, while you're even less certain because math was never your best skill, you suspect that 8 thread views means that at least someone has read the thread by now.

What do you do?

Apply spellcheck.

Oh, spellcheck. Yes, you could do that. But unfortunately for you, you don't actually know how to use spellcheck. But that's what the players are for, so you post again to your thread:



hey guise how do yu use spelcheck?



Bay12 is full of helpful people. You're sure to get a response soon. But even bay12ers might take a few minutes to type out a reply.

What do you do?

lawastooshort

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #6 on: June 13, 2012, 02:48:51 am »

Go next door and ask the cat to be quiet as there incessant mewling is stifling your creativity. Then start drawing up a map on paint.
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LordBucket

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #7 on: June 13, 2012, 03:03:14 am »

Go next door and ask the cat to be quiet as there incessant mewling is
stifling your creativity. Then start drawing up a map on paint.

You leave to go looking for your cat, but she gets suddenly quiet as soon as you enter. Taking a guess, you poke your head beneath the couch and ask her to please be quiet. After a moment a furry paw reaches out and bats you on the nose.

You decide to take that as agreement.

Returning to your room you refresh the page again to see 9 thread views, but still no replies. So you begin crafting your map:




Because of your masterful paint skills it takes only 40 minutes to draw this masterpiece. As you go to post it, you quickly refresh the page, and...oh, heavenly joy! You have two player submissions!



Name: Death
Domain: Death and war and death. Also, killing things.
Type of Rock: Obsidian
Background: Death is the rock god of death. He appears as a jet black rock with dangerous looking dark spikes. He likes to kill things.



Name: Bubbles
Domain: Love, laughter and joy
Type of Rock: Rosequartz
Background: Once, in a former age, the sprites of Leyweln mountain were set upon by a terrible event: they had run out of skittles! Unsure of how their society would cope, they sought out the legendary oracle of the wind and asked for her aid. The oracle told them that their skittles had run out because the elder gods had left this world and none remained to resupply them. The solution was obvious: they would need a new god.

And so the happy sprites conjured up in their minds the most beautiful goddess they could imagine: Bubbles of Rosequartz. For all knew that divine entities draw strength from the faith of their worshippers, and simply by worshipping Bubbles, she would come into being.

Thus, did Bubbles spring into being, and skittles were returned to the sprites of Leyweln mountain where they continue to partake of delicious noming of skittles and acts of devotion to their goddess, Bubbles.



Yes. These players will do very nicely. Their playstyles seem very compatible with each other. Now you just need to give them a backstory for the world. Except that you haven't thought of one yet.

Have you?


Trapezohedron

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #8 on: June 13, 2012, 03:05:09 am »

"This game sucks. I mean, how do you even play this game? And oh gosh, the grammer. It hertz."
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BlastoiseWarlorf

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #9 on: June 13, 2012, 03:11:42 am »

((Right In the Pride!))
Think up a completely ridiculous algorithm in which to roll any and all combat scenarios, regardless of any outside factors.
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LordBucket

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #10 on: June 13, 2012, 03:13:33 am »

"This game sucks. I mean, how do you even play this game? And oh gosh, the grammer. It hertz."

"OMG!" you say to your computer. Your rockgod game is so awesome that trolls are posting nasty things in fits of extreme jealousy!

You briefly consider your options as you try your hardest to stifle back tears. You could respond to the him, explaining what a stupid jealous troll he is. Or you could report him to a moderator. Though you suspect they might be unable to respond, since they're probably all busy making characters to submit to your game right now. Or you could simply cry yourself to sleep, like you do most nights.

What do you do?

Caz

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #11 on: June 13, 2012, 03:17:03 am »

This is epic.

Get Mittens to cheer you up. Also, maybe you should feed him. He's pawing at the bag of cat food.
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lawastooshort

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2012, 03:22:35 am »

Best to ignore him. You have a backstory to think up. And while you're at it, why not submit a character to your game? Best get in whilst you can.

(Anyway, they are only being hurtful due to their jealousy, you could post them a link to some counselling? Or medication?)

Also see if that jealous troll has a game, and if so, why not submit an ironic character to it?
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lawastooshort

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2012, 03:26:26 am »

Name: Emporor of Rocks
Domain: King of ALL rocks
Type of Rock: Magma
Background: The Emperer of ALL rocls rains over you all! He has impotent powers and is omniscented! He created the world and


((bother, sorry for double posting that))

That kind of answers our creation myth problem though! The Emoper of All Roicks created it when he was angry and he spread his magma across the world and it formed in space and there were domains and he changed them into different typos of rocks and different colours and then he breathed life into some other rocks and then there were some rock gods and the he said, lo! For
« Last Edit: June 13, 2012, 03:30:21 am by lawastooshort »
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Trapezohedron

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Re: You are a bay12er who wants to run a forum game
« Reply #14 on: June 13, 2012, 03:27:59 am »

New Guy submits his character:

Neim: Neuos Gyenos Carcafz
Domen: Watts, hertz n maybee flame threweorz.???
Type of Rock: Nonexistium
Backgrondz: Nevoz Gynos Crafacz is a master of space time. And electricity. He eetz rocks for breakfuss, and is totally indestructilable from all kinds of hurts. Nueso Goyns Carface was born, actually no. He is god of all worldz. All gobs bow down too him.

"Does this carhacter sheet work fro diz gaem?"

He grins; doing things like a jerk has never felt so good.
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