the masses thirst for the smallest drop of wank

[socksuke_uchiha]

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Comments

[(Anonymous)]

How do you start preparing for a game? I'm a long term player, first time potential mod, and I was wondering what veteran mods would suggest. Especially considering this is, so far, a solo project and I don't plan to start looking for mods until I have most things set up.

So far I have a general setting ready, a document list of ideas and everything, but when I get to the point of writing formal pages for everything I feel like I don't know where to begin. I know what I want from the setting, I know what I want the metaplot to be generally about considering players are supposed to have heavy influence over it). What do you think the most important bits to start with are?

[(Anonymous)]

in your case, if metaplot is important and players have an impact app system/how you want to get players/how you're filtering for players

and no, slapping on mod plurk invite only won't do the job in itself, for the same reason why you can't ask your plurk list for a small group plot and automatically expect it to whip along merrily with engaged tags and great communication and everyone getting along

you can start there, but have a plan for when your plurk list inevitably flakes and you need 25 more apps for a functional game

ayrt

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know... while this sounds incredibly important, I also want to make sure I have an enjoyable game ready before thinking about how to find players for it.

And, I mean- for players I think my first step would still be an interest check in EMP and here. I just want to have the concepts down and things on paper before testing the waters. That being said, I will keep this in mind! Thank you for your input!

[(Anonymous)]

~tessisamess on ij has a pre-game checklist that helped me on that server as a first time mod.

[(Anonymous)]

this will seem backward, but trust me, bro: write your first game event (or tdm if same thing).

it'll give you a solid idea of:
- what you actually want your game to look like and focus on (which can then feed into your setting and pitch)
- the types of characters that'd do well in your game (are your plot ideas providing prompts for action, thinky, silent and support characters, or steering more in what directions?), which can shape your application form
- how much you want to pile into your event, which'll indicate your game's pacing
- how long you take to piece an event together and how much follow-up you need to do by way of OOC guidance or NPC interaction (which will show you if you need to pre-write a couple of events or even enlist further mods)

everything else is honestly frills. your game will live or die based on the quality of your events, so see where you're at and take honest stock of whether you're delivering something people would have fun playing with - if not, go back to the drawing board and tinker. if you push a game out with a mid tdm or first event and there's no immediate enthusiasm, you will be at a major disadvantage to get the momentum a fledgling game needs during its teething period.

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you. Truly. I started writing it and it's flowing a lot better than my attempt of working on a FAQ page right now. I still understand nothing of html formatting, so it's very rough, but it's giving my idea a much better shape than anything else I attempted during the day.

I'm a former tabletop game master, writing stuff with the idea of 'my players may enjoy this' is what I love. I am nowhere done with anything, but this is helping a lot.

[(Anonymous)]

sure thing, best of luck. i wouldn't stress too much about html - figure out how you can do a div area or a table so you can center your text neatly, throw an image in, and you're golden. you don't need frills. people give a bombastic side-eye if you put absolutely 0 effort in, but your coding doesn't need to be anything more than clean and competent.

DA

[(Anonymous)]

Additionally! Writing your TDM and 1st event early will give you that much more time to edit them. Doing second passes as you figure out your mechanics. Then third passes as you find ways to tighten up the prose. THEN fourth passes as you shuffle ideas around and rewrite entire prompts.

By the fourth or fifth pass, hopefully those events will look nice and sparkly and you'll have that confidence of "this is as good as I can get it. Up to the player base on how much they like it."

True, you can't control what people like and find interesting. But you can still give it your best shot... at least that's what I'm clinging to as I finish the edits on my own TDM.

ayrt

[(Anonymous)]

i think it honestly depends how you work. personally, i've never done more than one edit to tdms/events, but that's not how i function. i mention it hopefully not to invalidate your point, just to provide perspective that if op (or others!) aren't the type to edit in increments, they don't need to necessarily put themselves through the process. that said, it seems to be what works for you and gives you that confidence boost: good luck, anon!

[(Anonymous)]

many moons ago I was brought on to write the info pages for a head mod that only had, like you, sketched out ideas and setting. the first thing I did was look at other successful games' navigation and FAQ to see what they thought was important, and what was missing, what players asked about the most. It wasn't a quick glance, so if you want to really do some work, it's a good way to waste hours some weekend evening. there are code templates with cookie-cutter sections but my job was to parse what, from the head mod's guide, could be cut out or should be added to this game's info. e.g. there's no gimmick so let's cut that huge section on how arcana works, but oh it's better to put the character suitability here since it's complicated, etc. also, looking at other FAQs will help you remember, oh yes, I need to dot a lot of Is and cross a lot of Ts before it's ready to launch. have I addressed as many possible questions as I can before someone inevitably rolls in with something I didn't think of?