Future Events

[Plantae]

For those of you who had not access or who were not informed, we had what was intended to be a forum-wide meeting occured several days ago. I have taken notes, and since everyone deserves to be informed of what has been proceeding there, organized it in an accessible form for all of you to see. If not otherwise mentioned, all the ideas herein are mostly from either Bulbasaur4, Tsukasa, or Roy Karrde.

The first discussion was about a tournament. I apologize to take the thunder away from those who came up with the idea.

The intention is of a tournament spanning three forums, actually. It will be cross-forum, including the Anime Style Battling and Polls, Clubs, and Games' Adopted and Captured Pokemon section. It will be a series of battles like ASB, or so I am informed, and is likely to bring a few people who are not originally roleplayers to this forum where it is to be hosted. Posts by these newcomers, though roleplayers themselves are well-invited to participate, will be judged on a number of obvious criteria (quality, word choice, and others). This is to be organized by the moderators, though only as of now Tsukasa and Bulbasaur4. It is to occur in Late April or May. Roleplayers will also be allowed to participate by sending in popular vote for who they think was best, adding bonus points to that person's score.

On a similar note, the RPG Tournament of old which was (by the data I have been given) a battle royale between roleplayers' varied characters, is in consideration to be revived at a later time. This may also include a popular vote, and the basic premise may change.

There has been more talk of getting an archive for RPG's, and possibly merging with Fanfiction's archive to achieve this.

The new RPG News is in the works for some point in the near future. This is a bit presumptious, but to stem interest, Bulbasaur4 is likely to be much helped by suggestions for articles or by those willing to write for the News. This may even speed up the process.

Future awards are also go, even with the slightly disappointing turnout last time. And on a more random note, there is idea of a Lax Topic similar to Fanfiction's Smiley Town where roleplayers can go to take a load off and talk about anything they please, and to enjoy being a community.

And last but most certainly not least- the ranking system is nearing completion! Bulbasaur4 had informed us in the meeting that she will be creating a topic with all the registered users, and if you have not yet, I advise it! A roleplayer may review one person per week, and no roleplayer may do a person that has already been done that week. The reviews will be based on several criteria, post quality, inactivity, and various others, and will not be so long as you would suppose by this pretense. Scores will be a letter grade of a standard A,B,C,D,F scale and the scores as well as the recent reviews will be listed near each roleplayer's name. If reviewing, cited examples are advised and be warned that an average D or F grade between all reviews will result in that roleplayer's future inability to start a topic in the forum.

That is all the information currently, but one of those credited to those ideas here will be sure to keep you informed in the future. Feel free to correct me on any misinformation. As it is, this topic is open to discussion on anything listed and welcome to anything new. The two moderators credited are sure to find value in any input, and will take it in to due consideration. With that, critique or comment as you like.

[Fai D. Flowright]

[color=#990A66]I would also like to point out that the ASBRPG idea is being reorganized by a group of people, to which we owe the thanks of Weasel Overlord for bringing it back up as a development for the forum. At this point, her, Ryan, Crystal Tears, and myself are a part of this team (as Jenn and I worked on it before the subform was turned into the Lounge). The projected ideas for this activity will, proposedly, take place in both RPG and ASB, with the plot, events, and other specific topics related to it will be here and battle will take place in ASB with special headings for the battles and other whatnot-topics that wouldn't fit the RPG forum.

I would also like to add to Plantae's list who proposed each idea mentioned in his list. The members are as follows:

ASB/AC Tournament - Roy Karrde
RPG Tournament - Plantae
Archive - Roy Karrde
RPG News - Bulbasaur4
Awards - Tsukasa
Lax Topic - Bulbasaur 4
Rank System - Heald
ASB/RPG Mode - Weasel Overlord

This should hopefully help to give credit where credit is respectively due.

[Asilynne]

Im very much liking the talk of an RPG ARCHIVE!!!!!!!!!!! Ive wondered for a long time why we havent had one sooner, so many RPGs get lost to either time or mysterious circumstances *cries over Dragonball SA and Those who Dream at Sunrise* And are fanfics a higher form of literature than RPGs? NAY I say!!!!!!!!! So good for that, amen brother and all that jazz XD

As for the rating system, I dont know about that....it runs the very dangerous risk of being biased and/or a popularity contest. Some have argued in the past that the RPG awards tend to run that way, and, well, maybe they do to some degree but at least then it was put to a vote to where many people had instant input, and in later years the awards have been privatized. The rating system seems like someone could be having a bad day so they decide to give someone a bad rating---unless safeguards for such a thing have already been worked out. All in all it seems a little too complicated to work. Though in theory its a good idea, it would depend on people being honest and unbiased, and sometimes thats a little too much to ask for unfortunately ^-^()

I have an idea to add, its been said before by some other people in the past but never really been widely used. You know how video games and movies have their rating system where it lets people know whether its suitable for children or not? Well this being a pokemon site, there are bound to be a lot of little ones running around, so I think we should put the RPG rating system into wide use. Maybe before the title in each RPG signup and topic there should be a little thing like [R] [T] and I know some people even now use [M] when its mature. I know theres a lot of us old people around LOL and we tend to like more mature themes but this way someone who is younger doesnt stumble across an unwelcome implied sex scene or anything like that. I know I wouldnt want my nonexistant children to have their 10 year old minds deflowered on a pokemon site LOL (even though schools nowadays do that enough :P)

Anyway Im about to run out of time on this comp so theres my two cents! Keep the ideas flowing all! ^v^

[Plantae]

I can answer the bias problem of the ranking system. The simple safeguard is that the moderators will be reviewing every entry before changing a person's rank, and as the moderators are impartial, there is little chance of someone being affected in any way by popularity or similar variables. It should also be noted that there are base criteria for judging these reviews, which means only complaints that actually hold water are likely to make it through at all.

It is the general assumption, I believe, that most anything here is rated at least Teen (due to its participants). For that reason, the only useful tag is mature, at which most any RPG that contains that subject matter (of which implied sex would be included) is probably properly marked. However, I would support a rule to make such a tag mandatory for safety's sake in the places where it applies.

[Plantae]

The double post is necessary. The ASB/RPG system, as reinstated by Weasel Overlord and others, is progressing at a moderate pace.

All I have heard so far is foldable bikes (that must be bought), gems as currency, and the finalizing of possible starter Pokemon. I believe the current situation is three for fire, water, and grass, and one for the other types.

Starters will come from a Pokemon lab or gym depending on the region. Anything is basically available as a source, an inherited Pokemon or your friend in the forest, but less likely than the typical lab or gym.

The Gym Leaders will be played by moderators on a rotating basis, and by RPGers when the moderators are not available.

Further information on this and other ideas at a later date. Be encouraged to contact any of your three moderators with any questions, which will be addressed as quickly as possible. Ideas and suggestions are still welcome in this thread or via private message.

[Roy Karrde]

Alright things are happening fast these last two days. To start off more and more work is going on with the ASB RPG, all of us are welcome to any and all ideas so if any of you want to PM, IM, or Email us with any idea to make it better, then that would be great! Next we are finishing up the run down for the RP Tournament, I have heard back from Tsukasa on the form for it and he liked it, so I just need to get Bulbasaur to put her imput on it. Oh and we are done on the RPG Winter Awards topic, it should be up very soon! Anyway wanted to keep everybody informed.

[Hatake Kakashi]

Just a quick idea I already shot off to Roy:

For the tourney, perhaps a given scenario you have to RP out further. Y'know, like you're given a basic scenario and the rules. I.e Round 1 might be something like a basic modern setting with your character being a mid-level magic user against a magical beast, like say a griffen. You get the first part of the RP, then you finish it from there. Obviously as the tourney goes on it'd be more demanding(i.e giving you a character to RP with, giving you an opponent from a pre-made 'sign up', etc.)

[Roy Karrde]

Alright I thought I should give a update on how everything is going since alot of news came in today. First I was worried about going into too much depth about it yet since things were not in complete motion yet. Now I can safely say that the wheels are in motion for a RPG Archive. Tony, Kalah, and Myself have already started talking to the mods of the Fan Fiction Archive about it possibly being there, one of the mods there has brought up the idea of the Archive being seperate instead of a Child forum of the Fan Fiction Archive, or possibly hosting it with the RPG Forum. Also I have been talking to Kalah and it looks like the Ranking topic and the Chat topic, she is hopeing to get it up soon so just hold on a little while longer and it will be up. Alright that is all there is for today, hopefully I will have more news later.

P.S. Mike I saw your post above and I've gotten PMs from others about the idea. I think it's pretty good and hopefully we can impliment it in a way with the old tournament so that everyone is happy.

[Plantae]

I have come up with some tournament ideas, so here they are. Please critique.

- The tournament is not purely action; the scene is determined by a number of preset characteristics given forth each round and decided upon by the hosts and judges. For example, the first round could be a romantic scene in a castle, the second being lost in a forest. They could be simple or complex, place or event or time period, and straying from the setting would detract from the final score.
- The role-player is still made to interact with other’s characters in all the new suggestions given below.
- The role-player is instead given a role to assume on occasion, not every round, a character they must play. Judging how well in the spirit and letter of the character the role-player posted would be the primary point of the round.
- If not given a character to assume, the player may be given an NPC that they must interact with in some way. How well they portrayed this character would factor into the judging for this type of round.
- A new character must be played for each round, some points being given for construction of a sign-up, as it is one of the valuable skills required of a role-player.
- Popular vote by the entire forum is implemented. The winner of this will have points added to their score and stand a better chance of winning the round.
- Only one element of a character’s sign-up is provided by the judges (though it must be viable) and must be played correctly. This is most likely to take place in a dramatic flaw.
- Instead of typing a character’s victory (either in battle or in other endeavors), a role-player must instead post on their defeat. This ties in with the tragic flaw idea of the former.
- Plotline crafting: the role-player would demonstrate their talents not in writing posts, but in creating role-playing games themselves. This could even stimulate the creator to start these at some point in the future.
- Theme. Instead of one particular aspect for each round, the entire RPG Tournament could be centered on a plot or larger detail. The user would craft their posts by this guideline, and would be made to interact with other characters as a player would in a normal role-playing game.
- A defeated bracket for those who have lost their round’s challenge in which by winning this they may become the wild card later in the tournament.
- Winning the tournament would be owing to some prestige; perhaps the winner is given an arbitrary raise in grade in the ranking system or some sort of special privilege to go with their bragging rights.

The ideas given above might be implemented simultaneously, that is to say several in one round, or possibly singly. These are suggestions of which I hope will serve to increase the versatility of the RPG Tournament, and to allow it to better judge who is most skilled all-around, rather than in the painfully specific action area.

You might immediately notice that some of these ideas make it seem more like the user is writing a story rather than role-playing. It should be equally noted that the previous method was no better. They were writing a story in that there were two sides, both depicting themselves as the victor in the last RPG Tournament, and only being made to include other’s characters. This point then is moot.

I also realize that due to the nature of these ideas, the RPG Tournament is likely to become a periodic affair rather than a spontaneous creation every now and then. That is the intention, as in the long run this is more likely to stimulate activity.

[Fai D. Flowright]

After reading through this, as well as through the conversation we had earilier, this completely contradicts what we discussed. Of course, these are merely coming from my own thoughts and opinions.

- The tournament is not purely action; the scene is determined by a number of preset characteristics given forth each round and decided upon by the hosts and judges. For example, the first round could be a romantic scene in a castle, the second being lost in a forest. They could be simple or complex, place or event or time period, and straying from the setting would detract from the final score.

This was something that we discussed. It sounds reasonable and rather interesting. Obviously, it veers away from the repetition of doing battle scenes over and over with the added aspect of being able to add in fighting if the situation proves fruitful. Something that we could definitely incorporate.

- The role-player is still made to interact with other’s characters in all the new suggestions given below.

Let's see how this pans out:

- The role-player is instead given a role to assume on occasion, not every round, a character they must play. Judging how well in the spirit and letter of the character the role-player posted would be the primary point of the round.

While I agree that varying situations would be interesting, it's not often, if at all, that RPers are forced into a position where they have to play a character that is not of their own design. While it adds in the aspect of being original in a tight pinch, it's just not realistic for a tournament as involved as these get and would only cause confusion among the participants.

- If not given a character to assume, the player may be given an NPC that they must interact with in some way. How well they portrayed this character would factor into the judging for this type of round.

This is definitely something that should be included. NPCs are a frequent occurance in RPGs. Villains, villagers, other travelers, and even shopkeeps. Being able to make NPCs believeable is what makes the realm of an RPG all the more ethereal.

- A new character must be played for each round, some points being given for construction of a sign-up, as it is one of the valuable skills required of a role-player.

Yes, the sign-up form for an RPG is crucial, even I have trouble creating characters (as wel as a full blown post) in as short a time as the tournament would take place. For most people that really want to put feeling into a character, it takes more than a couple hours. The other problem here is that it can be difficult to put out something as involved as a post like these with a character you have just created, especially in certain and particular scenarios. I think adding this aspect would make the tournament more of a hastle than a pleasure...

- Popular vote by the entire forum is implemented. The winner of this will have points added to their score and stand a better chance of winning the round.

Of course, forum involvement is always an intriquing factor, especially when your decision could help someone get the credit they deserve.

- Only one element of a character’s sign-up is provided by the judges (though it must be viable) and must be played correctly. This is most likely to take place in a dramatic flaw.

Again, the whole sign-up aspect requires far too much from the players for this sort of event. Unless the sign-up is the only submission needed for a round, I think so much would only cause the participant's posts to be more shallow and thinly-spread that desired. In the event that the sign-up IS the only thing submitted, this would be an adequate way to deciding how each member should create their character.

- Instead of typing a character’s victory (either in battle or in other endeavors), a role-player must instead post on their defeat. This ties in with the tragic flaw idea of the former.

Since the idea here is to aim for particular situation instead of a way to progress through victory, I think this is a rather interesting idea for a round of posts from the members. I know that in the last one, I thought about doing a demise post, but turned it down because of the set up for the tournament.

- Plotline crafting: the role-player would demonstrate their talents not in writing posts, but in creating role-playing games themselves. This could even stimulate the creator to start these at some point in the future.

Depending on the person and the situation and requirement in which these RPGs would be created, it may be rather taxing or advantageous. I know that personally, I usually require weeks of planning before I actually get an opening plot down for a sign-up topic. But, as I said, many people are different. I have seen people on this forum that can pop out 4 or 5 RPGs in 2 weeks, albeit the quality and longevity of the RPG itself.

- Theme. Instead of one particular aspect for each round, the entire RPG Tournament could be centered on a plot or larger detail. The user would craft their posts by this guideline, and would be made to interact with other characters as a player would in a normal role-playing game.

I'm slightly confused on what you mean here... Do you mean an overtone theme that would have to be included in the minor themes/requisites for each round? Or would the entire Tournament have one style of posting that deals with a particular underlying theme? Please, elaborate.

- A defeated bracket for those who have lost their round’s challenge in which by winning this they may become the wild card later in the tournament.

Depending on how things are actually run, this would be an acceptable aspect to include. Most bracket-style tournaments typically have a Loser's Bracket that will toss a player or two back into the run for the main bracket.

- Winning the tournament would be owing to some prestige; perhaps the winner is given an arbitrary raise in grade in the ranking system or some sort of special privilege to go with their bragging rights.

I could definitely see some of this happening. Sometimes, a little banner pic isn't enough to show your success, especially in something as involved as RPGs are. I'm interested to hear what some of the "special privileges" you have in mind are...

Overall, I would say that most of it seems quite reasonable, but there are a couple aspects that could use tweaking or complete removal, due to over-complexity... That's the last thing we need right now. Heh... ^^;

[Hatake Kakashi]

That's almost exactly what I said.

[Plantae]

I do not like the original idea of the previous RPG Tournaments to use previous characters. For something such as this, allowing comfortable characters is only hampering the true display. Competition is about being uncomfortable, and succeeding anyway; the challenge is not present if previous sign-ups are used.

The counter-points:

Role Assumption: I disagree. Your point is valid, yes, that the situation does not come up; however, if it does not, the role-players seldom test themselves. We fall into our stereotypes, and allowing them their own sign-up to the letter is allowing them to be comfortable, lowering the challenge. The obvious idea is that this is "role-playing" and is about, at the fundamental level, assuming a role- in which this is a way to test that ability in its entirety. The issue of confusion is moot really- for both host and player- as the information will be right there, clear as crystal. I do understand the possible difficulty in doing this repeatedly, however, so it would obviously only be for a single round or a scant number.

Role Creation: Each round was overstated in the original form. Maybe only one or a couple rounds, but the idea is the same as the former. The haste heightens the challenge and it seems not much an issue. Posts in the RPG Tournament last time took weeks at certain points, so set a deadline of two days or so for a sign-up to be completed. That seems a fair amount, slightly more pushing it; the real core here is the challenge of having to complete a form in such a way.

One Element: If a new sign-up is not used (and I believe at least one should be at the start of the RPG) then it can be but added or exemplified.

Plotline Crafting: The same sort of point again is applicable here. The challenge is the haste.

Theme: I was referring to an underlying theme for the entire round.

Defeated Bracket: I am mostly convinced to the point system now, so this idea is mostly moot, if still likeable.

To the victor the spoils: Special privileges is more in a moderator's position to decide as to what would be acceptable. A raise in grade in the ranking system is a nice enough reward, as is the experience itself. I have yet to brainstorm much else besides these.

[Roy Karrde]

Gah I figured I should give an update on everything that is happening. Tsukasa and Plantae are working hard on this RPG Tournament, I think they will turn out some really great stuff and it should be up within the next week hopefully. Although that will be up to them. Oh and negotiations are still going on for the ASB RPG, right now it is looking like we will have a ASB RPG Subforum in which all the stuff will take place. Hopefully we will have a decision on that or have it created within the next day. Well I cant think of anything else that is really happening at this moment. Just wanted to pop in and tell everyone what has been happening.

[Plantae]

An update on the progression of the RPG Tournament.

Thread Format
Rules - These are all rather standard.
Descriptions of Rounds and Possible Rounds - Rounds will probably consist of a given scene with additional criteria from the approved ideas listed below.
Grading System Description
Character Creation Guidelines - These will be a number of required elements which you may choose some, and must implement in your new character.
Character Form (For New Character)

Point System Categories/Point Values (For Each Round)
Creativity (15)
Requirements (15)
Linguistics (15)
Enjoyability (5)

Approved Ideas
- The tournament is not purely action; the scene is determined by a number of preset characteristics given forth each round and decided upon by the hosts and judges. 50/50 Action/Other split.
- The role-player is instead given a role to assume on occasion, not every round, a character they must play. Judging how well in the spirit and letter of the character the role-player posted would be the primary point of the round.
- If not given a character to assume, the player may be given an NPC that they must interact with in some way (not every round). How well they portrayed this character would factor into the judging for this type of round.
- An entirely new character is played in a round (not every round), some points being given for construction of a sign-up, as it is one of the valuable skills required of a role-player.
- Popular vote by the entire forum is implemented. The winner of this will have points added to their score and stand a better chance of winning the round.
- Characters must choose from several required elements when creating a character (in the form of tragic flaws and odd traits).
- Defeat instead of Victory Posts
- [Simple] Plotline Crafting (as a round)
- Winning the tournament would be owing to some prestige; perhaps the winner is given an arbitrary raise in grade in the ranking system or some sort of special privilege to go with their bragging rights.
- One Old Character, One New
- Point System (Low Point Elimination Each Round)
- Winner Replaces as Fourth Judge

=

This is the final (I believe) outline version of the RPG Tournament thread. As of now, the thread itself is being written and proofreaded. If anyone has any further questions or comments based upon the given format above, please discuss them here or send Tsukasa or myself a private message within the next week.

I must apologize for the lack of detail.

[Roy Karrde]

Alright just wanted to post some of the events that have been happening. For one the RPG Tournament will be starting tomarrow evening so keep a eye out for that! Next we have the Summer 'Out of School' Party Bash that will be happening in the next few weeks so be prepared for that and be sure to bring Water Balloons and Squirt Guns. RPG News seems to have started which is great and it's awesome to see Kalah working hard on that. Tomarrow there are going to be a few changes happening to the ASBRPG Forum so expect to see more info about that in the Coffee House in a few minutes. Other than that, the other tournament we have is being put on hold till we can get the RPG Tournament and the ASBRPG going full steam so the earliest should be around say July. Anyway I cant think of anything else, I will try and post more tomarrow night.