The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - The Lingering Darkness Planning/Discussion Thread

piosenniel · 10-10-2003, 01:30 AM

Am opening a fresh Discussion Thread for the Game.

I've put the original game plan on this thread and the suggestions by Ealasaide of the direction in which the game should be heading at present.

Before the game starts back up, I would like you to consider the following observations/suggestions on my part. See if you can take your game up a level. You are all good enough writers to give this a try at some point during the game.

This is how I understand good gaming, and how I judge it for myself (on a very basic level):

Participation in it should be fun, exciting, and challenging. Ideally there would be some feeling of chemistry that develops among the gamers.
There should be ‘some’ organization – an understandable beginning, middle, and end to the game. The last two should be flexible, though, and not written completely in stone.

While it’s nice to have a game plan for your RPG, it is more of a guideline than a fiat. When you subscribe to an outline too closely, it becomes as if you are backfilling in the story with your posts.

You are writing your characters, in other words, to conform to the storyline, and not letting the storyline develop in a natural way from the way each player plays their character.
There should be some surprises and twists in the plotline that make it a little unpredictable and encourage the gamers’ characters to work a little harder to overcome or incorporate them.

It can make the game fresh and exciting if one or two of the gamers pick up on something another gamer has written for her character and uses it to put a little twist in the plot. The other characters can then react to the new wrinkle in the storyline and take it from there, without discussing all the ins and outs of it on the discussion thread. (If you are unsure whether this twist might take the game too far off course, then PM Ealasaide, of course and discuss it.)

It can be quite fun, too, when a couple of gamers get together by PM and plan a strategy the others know nothing about and will make them scramble to overcome the barriers/challenges set up before moving on toward their intended goal.

For example:

Vanwe is weak and tied up. And in a location where the Rangers could find her if they looked thoroughly. What would happen if one of them found her, and effected a rescue of sorts. This would offer the opportunity for Naiore and her Henchmen to react to the rescue. The rangers probably couldn’t take Vanwe far – since she is in a weakened state. Naiore would have the opportunity to snatch her back.

This would spice the game up – all the writers would write independently in a sense.

Someone would take the lead for the rangers and start it off, give each other enough room to hook into the situation, without wrapping the details of the action in each scene up so thoroughly. Throw hooks out to each other that another writer can latch onto with their character and take the action from there.

Ideally, none of this would be planned out before hand on the Discussion thread. Though the surprise could have been planned out in advance by the Ranger group in PM.

This is just an example of writing in a little more free-style form, and still accomplishing a goal; i.e., in this part of the Game – Naiore would at the end, have Vanwe, but the Rangers would have made her work a little harder for her prey.
Characters should grow and develop as the game progresses, as they interact with the other characters.

And this is something I firmly believe in – the writer of a character controls the actions, thoughts, feelings of that character completely, and conversely it is not the province of other writers to tell a character’s owner how they think the character should be acting.

Their job is to respond and react to what the character has done and have their own characters rise to the challenge.

[ October 10, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]

10-10-2003, 01:30 AM	#452
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	Am opening a fresh Discussion Thread for the Game. I've put the original game plan on this thread and the suggestions by Ealasaide of the direction in which the game should be heading at present. Before the game starts back up, I would like you to consider the following observations/suggestions on my part. See if you can take your game up a level. You are all good enough writers to give this a try at some point during the game. This is how I understand good gaming, and how I judge it for myself (on a very basic level): Participation in it should be fun, exciting, and challenging. Ideally there would be some feeling of chemistry that develops among the gamers. There should be ‘some’ organization – an understandable beginning, middle, and end to the game. The last two should be flexible, though, and not written completely in stone. While it’s nice to have a game plan for your RPG, it is more of a guideline than a fiat. When you subscribe to an outline too closely, it becomes as if you are backfilling in the story with your posts. You are writing your characters, in other words, to conform to the storyline, and not letting the storyline develop in a natural way from the way each player plays their character. There should be some surprises and twists in the plotline that make it a little unpredictable and encourage the gamers’ characters to work a little harder to overcome or incorporate them. It can make the game fresh and exciting if one or two of the gamers pick up on something another gamer has written for her character and uses it to put a little twist in the plot. The other characters can then react to the new wrinkle in the storyline and take it from there, without discussing all the ins and outs of it on the discussion thread. (If you are unsure whether this twist might take the game too far off course, then PM Ealasaide, of course and discuss it.) It can be quite fun, too, when a couple of gamers get together by PM and plan a strategy the others know nothing about and will make them scramble to overcome the barriers/challenges set up before moving on toward their intended goal. For example: Vanwe is weak and tied up. And in a location where the Rangers could find her if they looked thoroughly. What would happen if one of them found her, and effected a rescue of sorts. This would offer the opportunity for Naiore and her Henchmen to react to the rescue. The rangers probably couldn’t take Vanwe far – since she is in a weakened state. Naiore would have the opportunity to snatch her back. This would spice the game up – all the writers would write independently in a sense. Someone would take the lead for the rangers and start it off, give each other enough room to hook into the situation, without wrapping the details of the action in each scene up so thoroughly. Throw hooks out to each other that another writer can latch onto with their character and take the action from there. Ideally, none of this would be planned out before hand on the Discussion thread. Though the surprise could have been planned out in advance by the Ranger group in PM. This is just an example of writing in a little more free-style form, and still accomplishing a goal; i.e., in this part of the Game – Naiore would at the end, have Vanwe, but the Rangers would have made her work a little harder for her prey. Characters should grow and develop as the game progresses, as they interact with the other characters. And this is something I firmly believe in – the writer of a character controls the actions, thoughts, feelings of that character completely, and conversely it is not the province of other writers to tell a character’s owner how they think the character should be acting. Their job is to respond and react to what the character has done and have their own characters rise to the challenge. [ October 10, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ] __________________ Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.