@Arcian : Alting is perfectly fine. I don't mind how people want to participate or on which characters, so long as they find something fun within the community to participate in and contribute to.
@Oli: These are the sorts of questions I was hoping to receive, and thank you for taking the time to type them out. The reason why I posted here on the RPC was for an interest check, after all. Though I have a lot of strong ideas for the direction I want this community to go in, I am also posting here to gather opinions from people, so that those who are interested in the community can help me build it and shape it into the sort of place they'd want to be a part of.
1) Aye, the vague pitch is mostly due to the fact that I am still gathering interest. The biggest difference from this FC and most others is the currency system, which is most important for me to develop in a balanced, interesting, and fair way before I figure out all the details about the FC/linkshell setting and company itself. I will be ironing out all the details within the next couple of days.
2) The transaction system is meant to reward all forms of participation, both in-game and out-of-game. It's designed to actually give people an incentive to do anything- a tangible reward for being actively involved in the creative hobby of roleplaying, storytelling, and art. For, those three things are part of what makes the game fun for some people, myself included.
So, let's say you don't have a lot of time to devote outside of your busy life. If you don't want to log in or RP or anything, you can still earn Feathers (the AWE currency) by posting a quick journal on the forums, or doodling a picture of your character or someone else's character. (I'm thinking of awarding more Feathers for when people draw someone else's character, or making a little comic or RP scene illustration.) The idea is to make a place that no one will forget - a guild which has people actively writing, drawing, and participating in other people's stories.
I've been in a lot of guilds in my time, and I've run a couple, too. One thing I've been noticing lately is a general atmosphere in many RP communities where people are spending more time waiting, hoping, and wondering if someone will participate in their story, rather than going out there, working, and cultivating an experience. So the idea is, you get what you give.Â
The actual rewards that Feathers can give you will never come with IC or OOC power, too, because I want everyone to feel like equals in this community. The rewards will have unique items that will have a plot-hook or be written and designed inspired by the character who bought them. So, for participating and roleplaying and creating stories, you'd be rewarded with more ammunition to create more stories. And it's all designed for your character, so there's the element of surprise, too, in not knowing what you're going to receive.
That's my way of thinking for the currency system, anyway. Do you think you would find any flaws in this, or do you have any bad experiences from RP guilds who've attempted similar currency systems in the past?
3) My idea for this FC and/or LS community is that everyone is encouraged to run plot events at any time. The developing guild story will be formed by everyone.Â
I ran a few plot events for my previous guilds that I've done over the years, and the way I do it is that I design a script with branching paths, so that the community decisions can affect the outcome of the story. Then, other people are free to add on to that story.
One event I ran involved a young, up-and-coming crime lord who bribed children off the street and trained them to be thieves. The company ended up catching the crime lord and some of the children decided to stay with the company because they had no family. Those children became NPCs free for use in other plots.
I think, so long as people are active about communicating the kind of events they want to run with existing plot material that has been established in the community so they don't end up running over each other, it should turn out fine. New plot material is of course always open to be established by members for their own events.Â
I really want this community to be flexible, open, and fun. I don't want to do anything that people would consider creativity-stifling. I'm trying to do just the opposite.
Let me know if this doesn't sufficiently address your concerns, or if you have any suggestions.
@Oli: These are the sorts of questions I was hoping to receive, and thank you for taking the time to type them out. The reason why I posted here on the RPC was for an interest check, after all. Though I have a lot of strong ideas for the direction I want this community to go in, I am also posting here to gather opinions from people, so that those who are interested in the community can help me build it and shape it into the sort of place they'd want to be a part of.
1) Aye, the vague pitch is mostly due to the fact that I am still gathering interest. The biggest difference from this FC and most others is the currency system, which is most important for me to develop in a balanced, interesting, and fair way before I figure out all the details about the FC/linkshell setting and company itself. I will be ironing out all the details within the next couple of days.
2) The transaction system is meant to reward all forms of participation, both in-game and out-of-game. It's designed to actually give people an incentive to do anything- a tangible reward for being actively involved in the creative hobby of roleplaying, storytelling, and art. For, those three things are part of what makes the game fun for some people, myself included.
So, let's say you don't have a lot of time to devote outside of your busy life. If you don't want to log in or RP or anything, you can still earn Feathers (the AWE currency) by posting a quick journal on the forums, or doodling a picture of your character or someone else's character. (I'm thinking of awarding more Feathers for when people draw someone else's character, or making a little comic or RP scene illustration.) The idea is to make a place that no one will forget - a guild which has people actively writing, drawing, and participating in other people's stories.
I've been in a lot of guilds in my time, and I've run a couple, too. One thing I've been noticing lately is a general atmosphere in many RP communities where people are spending more time waiting, hoping, and wondering if someone will participate in their story, rather than going out there, working, and cultivating an experience. So the idea is, you get what you give.Â
The actual rewards that Feathers can give you will never come with IC or OOC power, too, because I want everyone to feel like equals in this community. The rewards will have unique items that will have a plot-hook or be written and designed inspired by the character who bought them. So, for participating and roleplaying and creating stories, you'd be rewarded with more ammunition to create more stories. And it's all designed for your character, so there's the element of surprise, too, in not knowing what you're going to receive.
That's my way of thinking for the currency system, anyway. Do you think you would find any flaws in this, or do you have any bad experiences from RP guilds who've attempted similar currency systems in the past?
3) My idea for this FC and/or LS community is that everyone is encouraged to run plot events at any time. The developing guild story will be formed by everyone.Â
I ran a few plot events for my previous guilds that I've done over the years, and the way I do it is that I design a script with branching paths, so that the community decisions can affect the outcome of the story. Then, other people are free to add on to that story.
One event I ran involved a young, up-and-coming crime lord who bribed children off the street and trained them to be thieves. The company ended up catching the crime lord and some of the children decided to stay with the company because they had no family. Those children became NPCs free for use in other plots.
I think, so long as people are active about communicating the kind of events they want to run with existing plot material that has been established in the community so they don't end up running over each other, it should turn out fine. New plot material is of course always open to be established by members for their own events.Â
I really want this community to be flexible, open, and fun. I don't want to do anything that people would consider creativity-stifling. I'm trying to do just the opposite.
Let me know if this doesn't sufficiently address your concerns, or if you have any suggestions.
