Post by Shiro Usagi on Feb 27, 2016 9:48:57 GMT -5
I am not exactly sure how to explain myself here...but I will try my best to convey some thoughts.
I think there was discussion on this once, but I do not really remember all that was said about it. I think the site needs to consider a site wide story arc thing. What I mean by that is simply....well what is really the point of building up characters from a story (not a skill/stats) point of view if nothing is really leading anywhere?
I present the Kings Key event which I felt really came across as more of a minor story note then the major site wide event it should of been. I mean...the Kings Key is summoned, holes ripping through reality...and hardly anyone really participated?
Anyway I just think that the site should encourage member powered story arcs like we do....but there needs to be more organization for it. Instead of just letting Kings Key event threads being posted with regular threads maybe a separate Event forum is needed where post relating to an event can be posted so as not to be lost among the everyday threads?
I am not doing this wording very well but I think my thoughts are somewhat conveyed...just when another race wide or site wide event occurs maybe we need a special event forum for post relating to it to be posted rather than the normal ones. I dunno.
So when the next event is to occur maybe have a information thread about it a month or two before the event is planned to start. That way people can read up on what is happening and can decide not only IF they want to participate directly in the events, but also give them plenty of time to get their characters positioned to be involved in it from both a location and motivations point.
Like for a pure hypothetical example...say Weylin looks to create a Quincy/Variant organization under his iron fist. Information on what will occur is posted and people with variant/quincy characters are encouraged to participate since this is something that concerns them. So now Quincy/Variant character's can start positioning/prepairing themselves for Weylin's conquest of them. Even characters who either do not want to/can't participate in the event directly can at least make a thread about why they are indisposed for the event or something.
The site encourage individual growth which is why we love it yea? But it has to be leading somewhere for it to mean anything. Like I think Soul Society should be on super max lock down following the Kings Key event...and some may not like that since it would limit what they can and can't do character wise....but sometimes the overarching story has to take over individual ones...for a while at least.
Last Edit: Feb 27, 2016 10:07:12 GMT -5 by Shiro Usagi
The first issue regarding a site wide story arc is that being a Game Master of an event is a pain in the ass and time consuming as fuck-- not to mention incredibly frustrating on an OOC level when you have players whining/bitching/etc into your ear about favoring one or two groups over another or being lazy, boring, etc. GM/DM/STing is only a rewarding task for as long as you're open for feedback and your players learn that they're not going to get their way/it's not always going to be about them/their wants/their needs as a character/player.
This is, by the way, talking about GM/etcing for a group of 3-5 players. And one player in that group of five can turn things into a complete clusterfuck.
We have well over 30 members at this point in time; think of your typical D&D/World of Darkness/Pathfinder/Exalted/Scion game and the pace of most campaigns. Now magnify that number several times over.
It's not impossible to do-- but it requires a very specific type of personality to do it and, most importantly, do it well.
The second is that it requires the community, both old and new, to agree upon the event, its conditions, and be appropriately included without derision or mocking while giving everyone of varying "levels" (fuck it, going straight D&D/tabletop talk here.) an opportunity to shine, develop, and otherwise participate without having to hold their hand or be the sole one driving one or two particular paths.
The third issue, and arguably the most important? Agreeing on what defines a "major" event vs a "minor" event-- you're going to hit this problem faster than you can blink because everyone considers their idea worthy of a major event. Everyone can argue that their idea is a "major" event and to their own personal story/little group? It's massive! For the rest of the site? Not so much.
Fourth Issue; no one here is working within the same timeline/time frame in terms of personal plot. It's not possible to sync it all up with everyone's present point in 'headcanon' placing and we've had multiple headaches trying to work things like this out in a way that doesn't end up pissing someone off/causing a shitfit to be thrown in some regard or another.
Fifth Issue: While you're correct that we're not here our character's personal stories... you also are at the same time. You're here to roleplay; supposed to be collaborating to tell a multi-person, multidimensional story with other people with everyone hopefully contributing and not riding on the coattails of someone else or even pushing their own plots as the "main" one and putting everyone else "beneath them" as secondary/tertiary "cast members". This is something that comes with a lot of hard work, patience, effort, and communication with your partners in roleplaying. If you're unhappy with the way your character's progression is going? Fix it! Talk out what issues you're having, get some feedback, and then work on it.
However; being strong enough to develop and carry your character forward without aid of others is a necessity too. Contrary to popular belief, plot and character development don't just fall into your lap-- you have to put in the proverbial (and sometimes literal!) blood, sweat, and tears into it yourself to make it happen and to drive things not only with your own tale, but that of others' as well, forward.
As that old saying goes; if at first you don't succeed? Make some changes and try again.
--
That said, I am fond of the idea of having future multi-race impacting events (Occupation of Las Noches, Seireitei Massacre, and the Karakura Town Incursion.) potentially popped into a special events forum/subforum with information/highlights being posted as major developments occur. That's a suggestion I'd be open to seeing more discussion on for sure.
Last Edit: Feb 27, 2016 11:11:02 GMT -5 by Kireon: Forum coding <3< Kireon: RETURN OF THE OTP.
It could be. Tokiyo could state that he wants the Seiretei locked down and the characters in those positions of authority could acknowledge that.
However: it isn't.
The King's Key event happened, it's been acknowledged. Other big events will happen, but the big difference will be that most of these giant events will have a limited number of people engaging directly with it. Other big events will happen, and it will depend on whether or not they're acknowledged by the rest of the site. If you think that there's a big enough event that should be told to everyone and such, then feel free to mention it or promote it so that people are aware of it.
One thing that was missed in Kireon's post is that people don't read every thread on the site. I doubt anyone really does. So creating an event with a large impact will require additional promotion and acknowledgment from (I hate to use this statement but...) "the people that matter." If I say I blow up the Fourth Division, then Shun and other people in authority need to acknowledge that it happened, otherwise it effectively didn't. It then follows that any further impact needs to follow from other players: not from the event itself.
Just writing an event is not enough. It must be acknowledged and seen in order to realize an impact, or restrict other character's actions.
Post by Shun Minamoto on Feb 27, 2016 15:01:20 GMT -5
Munin out of no where with the headshot.
That's exactly it.
Saying an event is happening just isn't enough. "Events" and "site-wide plots" (I really hate using the word plot for this) happen because players make them happen and other players band together. Over the years, Bleach Gotei has gotten better and better at making these things happen successfully. Right now we've got a lot happening in the Seireitei, for instance. There's Tokiyo's promotion, the matter of Vaizards, and a whole laundry list of other political, social, and personal forces at play.
These things require a lot of ingredients to come together in order to happen. You need conflicting player-characters, you need enthusiasm and drive, and yes: You need sales skills. You need other people to buy what you're selling, otherwise it goes no where. King's Key, for instance, is acknowledged. But it kind of fizzled in execution because that sort of thing is hard.
Part of why I'm hyper-motivated to kick ass with my new Arrancar is to bring some of that to Las Noches, to have more Arrancar and Hollows making the radar.
We create our own stories. They're driven by enterprising players and they're supported by everyone.
The more people who are part of one of those two groups, the more cool stuff happens!
Post by Kenshou Ine on Feb 27, 2016 16:21:14 GMT -5
Having seen a variety of types of plots and what there involvement requires and where they start to fail I'll go over a few real quick. I may add some linked examples at some point.
Solo: Easiest, you get what you want. Probably not really recognized because it means little to anyone else.
Duo: Similar to solo, but can be a curve ball if your partner and you don't plan things out. Usually only has secondary and rarely tertiary effects.
Organization Group: Limited to an organization often times this will involve leadership and affect the entire organization in some manner. Will sometimes affect other organizations pending on the outcome.
Group: A mix of races, this is where things get crazy. Often times this is conflict based (Unless you're a bitch [Takua]). This will often have tertiary affects.
Overarching Plot: This involves multiple threads, several people often 10+ individuals and heavily affects the site. These are not easy to pull off for multiple reasons. Getting people involved can be difficult and easily fail.
Site Plot: A plot forced by staff, no longer done because of past reason. While it seems like a good idea to do because it gives everyone something to focus on you often need some dues ex reason or something unnatural. Often times introducing some god like villain pulling the strings.
This is only somewhat related to the topic at hand, but I do in fact read every post in every thread on BG. I used to have an excel spreadsheet just for GP claims when I was on staff. Now I just do it out of habit.
Registering an official complaint: the Recent Threads sidebar is still broken. It will often lead me to random threads that are not the thread I wanted to go to, and I wanted to see if a fix was on the way or not.
Post by Shun Minamoto on Feb 29, 2016 13:07:49 GMT -5
Unfortunately, as Kyousuke has stated somewhere else before, there's no way to make the plugin work any better than it is now. This is the most efficient implementation that can exist for technical reasons.
So far, people have just been working around some of the inaccuracies. If people want, though, we can just replace it with a link to the Recent Threads page, which is always 100% accurate.
The Recent Threads page is what I've been using most often, seeing as it's much more accurate, and as such I'd be okay with switching out the plugin for that. I will think on my opinion a bit more before saying that I want it absolutely to change or not, seeing as adding another link on the sidebar makes it a bit more annoying.
BG /really/ doesn't agree with images larger than what it wants to allow width-wise, but apparently only in Firefox? They seem to be resized normally to fit in Chrome.
Any update on this?
We're singing I believe that lovers should be chained together and thrown into a fire with their songs and letters, and left there to burn. Left there to burn in their arrogance.
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