Shroomburg (Forum RPG)

zdr was not a good person to start this with
Guys please at least tell me why no one else is joining (and don't use how I've managed zdr as an example he's difficult to deal with)
 
Because you've consistently started threads and projects that you come up with in 5 seconds, and completely abandon within a few days, and as shown by your dismisal of advice to put in more time into this game, you have no intentions to change that.
 
also zdr has pretty much only submitted extremely simple actions that should not be hard to write up a response to. if you feel like he is playing poorly, which i can't at all see considering he is following the rules of your game (the rules you made) and doing freeform rp in a town, at least do him the favor of clarifying and explaining why he's playing poorly to him rather than dragging him through the mud and begging for more players after immediately insulting the only player you currently have

no one is going to want to join a game where the host insults them for seemingly no reason
 
I think ZDR's actions have been too vague or unnecessary
You don't need to look for a science lab or forest, just ask me and I can tell you
okay fine I wasn't being very good at explaining that to him

And I feel demoralized when no one signs up
Not that I'm trying to guilt trip you or anything lmao

I also think this will work a lot better with at least two people since part of it is roleplay.
 
i can't speak for the main roleplay board guys and why they're not joining, but if your one player does not get what to do, then there is a mismatch between what you have in mind and what you've presented for people to be able to do. ZDR has been submitting things and not obeying rules that he or no one else realized even existed; its good to acknowledge you haven't explained that to him but shitting on him for doing his best gets nowhere.

I realize SGOW's post probably comes off as harsh, but FWD told you as much at the beginning in gentler terms, you know? I do think, like.... its good to be enthusiastic and have ideas but it's genuinely important to refine them more. plus it creates a track record of being The Guy Who Doesn't Follow Through, which might also turn people away
 
i think you fundamentally misunderstand part of running a game that involves roleplay, whether something like this or something more structured like a killing game or dungeons and dragons. saying that you "look for a forest" is how you ask the GM stuff like this in-character. he even offered up an alternative. as the GM it is your job to make the game interesting, and as a roleplay, it is the players' job to... roleplay. it sounds like you are mad at him because he's staying in character?

besides, whether he goes to look for the forest or whether he just asks you if there is one, how hard is it to say:

"You look for a forest, but outside of a few wooded areas, a quick glance at the town map indicates that there's not really any 'forest' large enough to house animals worth hunting anywhere nearby. You give up and head to the restaurant instead, where the waiter, Luigi ((fake) (not me)) shows you to a table and informs you that the Soup of the Day is Cream of Mushroom"

Even something like this at least makes the game seem like... a game
 
I just don't really have any interest in joining an endless game with no real goals, especially where consistent participation is ideal. Even if it's not mandatory I feel I'd be doing a disservice to the host and the other players if I just disappeared for chunks of time, so I figured it would be best not to join at all.

And honestly the concept of "endless game with a GM" doesn't sound like a very good idea? If you look at the two main types of games around here, you have the Roleplay board, and you have Mafia/KGs. Roleplay threads are basically "endless games", there's no real goals, the players just do what they want and basically run it themselves. There's no need for a GM here. You don't need LJS around constantly babysitting Mushroom City Car Wash to keep things running. Mafia/KGs on the other hand, there's specific goals you're trying to achieve there to reach an end point, there's actual gameplay mechanics, you absolutely need a GM or the whole thing falls to pieces and gets canceled because there's no way to move forward.

I think I kind of wandered off there so let me get back to my point - if one specific person is responsible for running an endless game, they're going to get burnt out. Imagine running a Mafia game that's somehow endless - it's not pretty. What guarantee is there that the GM isn't just going to lose interest and stop hosting for one reason or another? Assuming there's still a playerbase, do you still see yourself running this a month from now? A year? Two years? Similarly, do you expect people who join now to want and/or be able to consistently play that long?
 
Waluigi Time said:
I just don't really have any interest in joining an endless game with no real goals, especially where consistent participation is ideal. Even if it's not mandatory I feel I'd be doing a disservice to the host and the other players if I just disappeared for chunks of time, so I figured it would be best not to join at all.

And honestly the concept of "endless game with a GM" doesn't sound like a very good idea? If you look at the two main types of games around here, you have the Roleplay board, and you have Mafia/KGs. Roleplay threads are basically "endless games", there's no real goals, the players just do what they want and basically run it themselves. There's no need for a GM here. You don't need LJS around constantly babysitting Mushroom City Car Wash to keep things running. Mafia/KGs on the other hand, there's specific goals you're trying to achieve there to reach an end point, there's actual gameplay mechanics, you absolutely need a GM or the whole thing falls to pieces and gets canceled because there's no way to move forward.

I think I kind of wandered off there so let me get back to my point - if one specific person is responsible for running an endless game, they're going to get burnt out. Imagine running a Mafia game that's somehow endless - it's not pretty. What guarantee is there that the GM isn't just going to lose interest and stop hosting for one reason or another? Assuming there's still a playerbase, do you still see yourself running this a month from now? A year? Two years? Similarly, do you expect people who join now to want and/or be able to consistently play that long?
Click to expand...
What about D&D? That's kind of an"endless game with a GM".

GAH! I'M SO BAD AT THIS KIND OF STUFF AND I WANT TO DO IT SO BAD KAVFMBKRVMLLVMLVM
ignore my little temper tantrum lmao
 
Yesterday's Actions!
@Zdrmonster Productions
You found a new location! Tanooki Grove
You spend an hour or two looking around the nearby forest, Tanooki Grove. It's rather skimpy and all you can see are a couple of wild Goombas (these, unlike their more civilized cousins, not-wild Goombas, are fairly primitive). Disappointed, you head back to Shroomburg and decide to eat at the local Kellonald's.

Time for an announcement!
From now on, actions will become even more free form! You will have an unlimited amount of them. However, you will still have to wait for action results, and some actions will have waits before them. Working will still be added as an automatic action each day as long as you have a job and are capable/willing to work.​
 
I'm gonna be a bit honest, giving people unlimited actions isn't going to make them join your experimental forum game, being a good host is. I'd like you to understand the concept of good faith. People are more willing to try experimental games if the core idea is sound and the host has a good reputation, and has shown that they can handle their own commitments and host good games on their own, so they can join in good faith that their time won't be wasted. As it stands, people aren't going to give you the benefit of the doubt right now since this is being run straight after the already subversive Midnight Hotel―a game which required similar levels of host input that flopped because of a few reasons, but the primary one being lack of host communication and consistency, which seems to already be causing the same problems right now.

Following that game, admitting you've only put a few hours of thought into this game, and claiming its something which you intend to run endlessly, doesn't inspire confidence the game will be sustainable for you or its potential players at all. As WT succinctly put it, there's nothing to stop everyone from thinking you'll just get bored of the project and move on, and nothing inspires faith that you will commit to the idea fully in the first place.

W.D. Blathers said:
What about D&D? That's kind of an"endless game with a GM".

GAH! I'M SO BAD AT THIS KIND OF STUFF AND I WANT TO DO IT SO BAD KAVFMBKRVMLLVMLVM
ignore my little temper tantrum lmao
Click to expand...
D&D is not normally endless. There is usually an endgame planned from the start, and many quests and goals to reach in the meantime. A game lasting for 38 years is a massive outlier, and even then, the campaign likely still has proper goals that can be reached, but likely exists as "endless" because the world setting never changes and new villains show up.

Slight tangent: good faith does not involve acting entitled. Even if you want to do it so bad, complaining that no one is joining your game while insulting the one who is actually trying your game isn't right and will actually drive away people who might be interested.

Lastly, good faith aside, people might just not be interested in the core ideas. Midnight Hotel was occasionally fun and with a bit of advice, I definitely think you have the potential to host something great in the future, but I would take the feedback others have provided, develop your ideas a little more, and maybe try hosting some other games that actually have goals and can be completed (and complete them) to perhaps garner a better reputation. At the end of the day, we only have so much free time on our hands, and can only commit to a certain number of forum games at once. If people don't think it's worth their time, they won't join, so there needs to be confidence that the host will make it worth their time before sign-ups occur. :ashley:
 
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