Post by Colin Arascain on Sept 18, 2014 19:39:18 GMT -5
All the other departments are making announcements, why not me?
There's sometimes a gap between things that are common knowledge to staff and what you guys actually know, so this is my attempt to both demystify and impose some order on how things work in the mechanics department; how it's structured, who you should go to for what, what the positions mean, and so on.
Hi. I'm the Mechanics Administrator. My job has three parts. First and foremost, I'm the final word on everything related to our site's mechanical systems. If moderators can't agree, or if there's something so unique or controversial that no one can work out how to mechanize it, it falls in my lap. Secondly, I'm responsible for the system itself. I do an insane amount of theorycrafting to identify and solve potential problems that people could exploit or that make it plain unfun to play here. I post fairly frequent patches that make small but often fundamental changes to how combat works, or to individual skills or effects, and update the rules threads accordingly. Thirdly, I'm responsible for the overall makeup of the department itself; hiring, firing, and posts like this one. While I'll frequently do other staff work, such as working with members one-on-one in their mechanics pages or explaining the systems to new players, other people in the department can handle those things as well as I can and most simpler questions are better directed towards them.
Hatred, formerly Jomyaku Umi, formerly Garra Desalmados, is my Expert Moderator. His main responsibility is to provide a distinctly different mindset from my own when it comes to game design, and help me on problems I can't crack. Additionally, if I'm ever unavailable, the tough calls I talked about earlier fall to him. While you're certainly welcome to go to him for help, results may vary; he deals with the day-to-day aspects of the department less often than most.
Nazomi and Souta Suzuki are the current Mechanics Moderators. Their job is to handle the complicated things. If you need help designing a skill from scratch or translating something into mechanics that doesn't seem to be covered by the Mechanical Effects page, they are who you should probably go to. Garra and I also do this sort of work, if we're available. They've done extensive work with our Broken Royal characters, for example.
Yaksha, Ezekiel, and Nothing (formerly Tenko & Kirishi) are the current Mechanics Deputies. Their job is to handle the simpler, day-to-day aspects of the division. They approve techniques, powers, GP claims... pretty much everything but the more complicated kinds of custom skills. They're frequently available both on the forums and in the chatbox to help familiarize you with our mechanical systems, and will be able to handle most of your concerns.
And finally, a definition of Mechanics themselves: The numbers, the nuts and bolts that turn combat on Bleach Gotei into more than a an exercise in freeform writing. We aim to create a cohesive world by giving you the power your character should have and letting you use it in battle. While we do offer judged battles in the event of a dispute, our systems run fine without it; your stats, skills, techniques, and powers or releases represent the level of power your character has earned and take most judgement calls out of the equation.
You're free to use mechanics as much or as little as you like: We don't care if you bend the rules if the person you're fighting is okay with it! Some of the most impressive fights in Bleach Gotei's history have been done almost entirely without mechanics, using them to gain an idea of their opponent's power level and nothing more. The important part is, they'll be there when you need them. If your character is killed in battle, it will be because you faced a stronger and more ruthless opponent, not because of exploitation or godmodding.
If I'm wrong about that? I haven't done my job right.
