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[socksuke_uchiha]

Rundown: rpanons is an anonymous community for role-play related topics. This place serves as a forum for game discussions, canon discussions, RP solicitations (ATP, game ads, open memes), and advice. The occasional off topic comment is inevitable, but please keep heated social and political topics to their respective communities. Posting them here will only get them frozen. Subsequent threads made to bypass a freeze will then be deleted.

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Comments

GAME IDEAS

[socksuke_uchiha]

College in the post-magical apocalypse

[(Anonymous)]

Hello. I'm not a total DWRP newbie, but I've never run a comm or game on here before, or even taken part in the latter. However, I do have an original setting that I've been considering sharing with people, and I figured I'd do an interest check/see if anyone with more experience could give me some pointers about running the community or finding a co-mod to do it with.

As I understand, it would be an AU game. Premise: After a magic nuke went off ~300 years ago, society is beginning to rebuild. The main setting is a university town protected against the wasteland by enchanted walls, and at the centre is... well, the university, where students can learn to harness magic. (Everyone has access to magic in this world, though; you don't have to go to the College to become a mage, it's just the standard way of doing things and graduating has tangible perks.) The most popular course offerings at the College are related to venturing out into the wastes and bringing back artefacts or specimens of flora/fauna mutated by the magical radiation, but anything can happen out in the wastes, so students need to be prepared.

There's somewhat of a loose plot re: the setting, but I'm willing to let it go if folks end up more into the Vibes of Magic School.

Anyway, if this interests anybody, let me know. I've been working on the setting for a couple of years now and have wanted to give it a roleplay "home," so to speak.

Re: College in the post-magical apocalypse

[(Anonymous)]

sorry to leave a very typical "can't mod but would be interested" comment but

that

Re: College in the post-magical apocalypse

[(Anonymous)]

I'd be interested in spitballing ideas for this, anon.

...I am hesitant, but I'd be willing to co-mod. Admittedly if I do this I'd like a reduced role as soon as we collect more staff, but I can commit to helping a game get off the ground. I'm also fine with just being a background advisor

Re: College in the post-magical apocalypse

[(Anonymous)]

yes yes yes yes

i wish we had more AU games

Re: College in the post-magical apocalypse

[(Anonymous)]

the post-apoc setting sounds cool. i like au games and the college being a feature rather the focus is appealing but i'd give magic school vibes approach a chance, too. i can't co-mod but i'd willing to check it out, at least.

pokemon typings for characters

[balladof]

maybe using the terastal phenomenon, characters get a pokemon type and can use powers/abilities associated with that type

not sure whether actual pokemon would also be included, or the setting would be something like... all the pokemon are extinct. OR. somehow game progress unlocks/brings back pokemon into the world. that could also be fun to play with. (the way the game Abzu works to bring back extinct marine animals comes to mind.) and then those Pokemon couldn't be caught for battling, they could only be interacted with in the game world, because the point is to nurture the pokemon population into returning to what it once was.

I haven't run a game in like 15 years so I'm not sure how great I'd be at it but I can't get this idea out of my head and I'm curious what other people think of it (hopefully it hasn't been done before but to my knowledge I haven't seen a game doing this?)

Re: pokemon typings for characters

[(Anonymous)]

I'm sure the idea has been done elsewhere too but reading this reminded me of the old browser collection fangame VDex Project:
https://www.mobygames.com/game/74125/vdex-project/

It had a backstory of taking place in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and Pokemon as they existed were extinct and the remaining Pokemon had been turned into humans. It was based on an unfinished webcomic though I'm not sure if it's still floating around, but maybe it could give some more ideas.

[(Anonymous)]

If there was a space travel game, would you prefer a full AU or a memloss plot?

[(Anonymous)]

memloss probably, but i just like memloss a lot so

[(Anonymous)]

Memloss OR altered memories that makes it seem like an AU but lets you do head fuck stuff

OP

[(Anonymous)]

that's kind of what I was going for
like
people make their AU stories but then things get weird

[(Anonymous)]

memloss

[(Anonymous)]

full au

game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

what kind of advise would you give to someone who's never made or modded a game before but wanting to try?

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

don't do it, or do it anon

[(Anonymous)]

op) lmao but sometimes you have to be your own hunter gatherer ykno?

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

1) don't do it alone. always have someone you can bounce things off, help with the load, take over when you need a break, etc.
2) do not be afraid to have a small overall game cap, especially at the beginning. a new game is expected to have growing pains, and starting small gives you the chance to figure out if you're capable of handling a smaller number and if you enjoy doing it. you can always expand if you start to get your groove.
3) DO NOT BE AFRAID TO CURATE YOUR GAME BY SAYING NO TO APPS. personally, i'm tired of mods constantly being treated like they're in customer service and they have to allow for anyone who's interested, no matter what. you can say no to an app because you don't like the player. or you don't like the canon/character. or they're just that bad. there is no guarantee that someone trying to reserve or app should automatically get in just because they're the only x that apped or they really want that spot. if you can already tell they're going to be a pain in the ass to mod or play with (constant pedantic useless questions, wanky behavior, bad characterization, etc), there is zero reason to accept them. say no.
4) I repeat: SAY NO. it's okay to say no to player requests or suggestions. it's your game. people need to understand that mods are the main people in any given game that need to be satisfied. if you keep constantly pissing off the mods by shitting on their game/plot/rules/whatever, then stop pretending to be shocked and upset when a mod is burned out from all the bullshit and opts to just drop the game.
5) don't overdo it. don't get too complicated with rules or layouts for games. open access stuff gives people things to do between events. it's okay to not have an event every two weeks. it's okay to make a sandboxy game. you don't have to reinvent the wheel.

i'm sure there's more, but those are the immediate ones that come to mind.

[(Anonymous)]

op) thanks so much for all these, especially #5! i was legit just now worrying over the pacing of the game if i do end up making it lmao. just feels like sometimes (especially with dwrp atm) you have to go dig your own lake to catch the fish you want which is why im vaguethinking about it here!

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

aware of the irony of saying this here but you don't need to constantly ask your players for advice or feedback. have some confidence in your own ideas and doing things your own way. allow yourself or your mod team to make decisions for the good of your game and stand by them. you'll never get your players to universally agree on anything and it will just eat up time and energy if you're always trying to wrangle them.

if there is a big change your players need to know about, then it's a good idea to tell them in advance. but you don't need to ask permission for everything.

the same goes for interest check plurks or early game tdms. the only thing you'll get is a group of people trying to turn your game into what they want.

op

[(Anonymous)]

confidence is something i lack so i dont even know why or how im even thinking about running a game lol, but its also helpful sorta? in that i wasnt even thinking about early tdms or interest check ... if its ready to be run ill open it and see how it pans out!

thanks so much for all the helpful tips!

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

jumping onto this, how much of the metaplot do you have planned out before the game opens?

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

old veteran player who only modded once but...in my experience the games that lastest the longest with high marks from players had the biggest beats planned out and at least a sketchy idea of what endgame would look like, but didn't micro-plan down to exactly how each beat of plot should play out and when. That way, if a player plot gave them new ideas to work with, they weren't rigidly held to prior plans and could incorporate those ideas, setting changes, etc. It also let them adjust spacing between events meant to drive the plot forward, either to stretch it because players were still doing investigations or compress it when the playerbase was getting restless and needed another plot dump. tbh the only complaints I ever saw from either side of the mod hat was when the plot railroaded everyone into an outcome regardless of character input. being able to be flexible means you can get away with having an outline for the general plot and vague endgame idea, rather than a fully-fleshed novel to adhere to on schedule.

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

I'm in the same boat as you, OP. Right now I'm trying to keep this game checklist in mind, with making sure everything is ready and looks good:
https://tessisamess.insanejournal.com/data/customview?styleid=16470

Re: game making advice

[(Anonymous)]

Bouncing off that 'don't be afraid to say no,' people will ask you stupid questions and try to push back on your decisions. You'll have your AC be ten comments and someone will try to fight you and say that eight comments is good enough. You'll say that characters can't have any weapons on them when they arrive in the game and someone will make a case for their character's emotional support sword. It's not you, it's that for a certain type of DWrper, if you give an inch, then they'll take a mile. Even if you're the world's greatest mod with the world's most planned out game, someone will respond to your faq post with "I know you said that this game doesn't have cars, but what about trucks?" Accept that, tell them that this game doesn't have trucks, and vent to your co-mods/best friends/someone IRL in a private space.