Post by Administration on Feb 11, 2010 16:55:07 GMT -5
Here are some helpful guidelines to think about when creating your character and playing with others. This will help give you insight to how the administration thinks, operates, and makes decisions through the whole game’s progression.
The Administration Gazette
On the 1st of every month The Administration Gazette will be posted at the top of the forums. This is a must-read for all players because it informs them of things to pay attention to, updates to rules, progression points, awards, notices, and events. This is also when new rules will be officially implemented, policy changes, “housekeeping”, and any new player introductions.
Justify Your Claims
One of the things that this particular administration is a complete stickler with is justifying your claims within the character applications. We are all about creative exploration and trying out new things as long as it can be justified with enough substantial abilities and reasoning to make it so. For example, if you claim that your character is a grand master culinary chef when it comes to cooking, we’re going to be looking for signs in the rest of your application that supplements that claim. Being a grand master chef takes an insane amount of time and dedication to the craft. If you have a ton of other activities and hobbies listed that don’t encompass cooking, we’re going to call you out on it. Another thing we’ll tend to red flag is mastery of certain abilities at an insanely young age. Prodigal geniuses are one thing, but blasting past even that realistic assessment is something that the administration is going to do the math on and put their foot down. If you’re not sure about an idea then TALK TO US about it. Often times we’ll be able to provide additional ideas or information that will help you build a character that allows you to implement your idea while passing the administration’s expectations. A win-win for everyone!
To put it simply, if you’re going to have skills at anything, make sure the application reflects how, where and to what capacity your character will realistically have them.
Do Your Research
If there is something you want your character to do or become, and you haven’t the first idea of what it’s actually like then RESEARCH IT! If you’re lacking ideas on what kind of attacks or word combinations to use for a power or physical attribute, look it up. Grab some books on fashion design, rifle through hair styling magazines, utilize your Google-fu on the internet, and buy a thesaurus if you want to. The best characters come from individuals who take the time to shape and craft them by spending a few moments researching elements they’re not familiar with but want to utilize. It makes your character more believable, and adds an element of depth that’ll bring a great deal to the table in-game.
For a quick listing of attributes that have already been covered, check out the ATTRIBUTE CHART for the rundown.
Researching does not JUST stop at the application process. Sometimes you have to bust out the ‘Encyclopedia Internet-ia’ to post a response that’ll make sense and seem appropriate. An added bonus to researching things about your characters is that you learn new things along the way.
Avoid What Has Already Been Done
Yeah, we understand that there are a ton of characters in this game. Going through every single one tends to be a bit of a nightmare, but a well-worth time investment in the long run. While we don’t expect you to read in detail every single profile posted (although we would love if you did), it’s best for you to at least skim each one and check off any idea that you initially had that might already be covered.
Variety is the spice of life, so we don’t need to remind people “having twenty copies of one particular character makes for a boring game”. When applying for a character in this game, the administration tends to adhere to a first-come, first-serve rule with unique ideas and specific traits. Each persona brings distinctive challenges and plot twists to the game, so we’ll often let one copy of a particular background or quirk to be approved for that exact reason. But more than one can often be over-saturation and a waste of an opportunity to explore other character archetypes; so don’t be discouraged if the administration goes “Sorry, already been done. Try something else.”
Always remember that while you might not know every little detail about every character approved in this game so far, the administration does (for the most part). Usually the reason why we annex an idea being duplicated a second time is because we want your character to shine on their own by being a unique concept instead of a doppelganger idea of someone else’s character.
We WANT You to Succeed
A lot of times players mistake administrative feedback as blatant criticisms to you as a person. Role-playing in games like these are always trial-and-error ordeals for people, administration included. Our outlook on this game comes from the perspective of “What’s good for everyone” as opposed to what makes one particular person happy. So when we reject ideas or come to a decision on any aspect of this game, keep in mind that our decisions stem from the outlook based on everyone’s habits, ideas, and writing capabilities. We want to push you to go further with your concepts in ways that make sense, challenge other players in a positive manner, push progression, and make for a great storyline. Without our players this game is only a single-author fanfic, so believe us when we say that we WANT you to succeed…because we do!
The Administration Gazette
On the 1st of every month The Administration Gazette will be posted at the top of the forums. This is a must-read for all players because it informs them of things to pay attention to, updates to rules, progression points, awards, notices, and events. This is also when new rules will be officially implemented, policy changes, “housekeeping”, and any new player introductions.
Justify Your Claims
One of the things that this particular administration is a complete stickler with is justifying your claims within the character applications. We are all about creative exploration and trying out new things as long as it can be justified with enough substantial abilities and reasoning to make it so. For example, if you claim that your character is a grand master culinary chef when it comes to cooking, we’re going to be looking for signs in the rest of your application that supplements that claim. Being a grand master chef takes an insane amount of time and dedication to the craft. If you have a ton of other activities and hobbies listed that don’t encompass cooking, we’re going to call you out on it. Another thing we’ll tend to red flag is mastery of certain abilities at an insanely young age. Prodigal geniuses are one thing, but blasting past even that realistic assessment is something that the administration is going to do the math on and put their foot down. If you’re not sure about an idea then TALK TO US about it. Often times we’ll be able to provide additional ideas or information that will help you build a character that allows you to implement your idea while passing the administration’s expectations. A win-win for everyone!
To put it simply, if you’re going to have skills at anything, make sure the application reflects how, where and to what capacity your character will realistically have them.
Do Your Research
If there is something you want your character to do or become, and you haven’t the first idea of what it’s actually like then RESEARCH IT! If you’re lacking ideas on what kind of attacks or word combinations to use for a power or physical attribute, look it up. Grab some books on fashion design, rifle through hair styling magazines, utilize your Google-fu on the internet, and buy a thesaurus if you want to. The best characters come from individuals who take the time to shape and craft them by spending a few moments researching elements they’re not familiar with but want to utilize. It makes your character more believable, and adds an element of depth that’ll bring a great deal to the table in-game.
For a quick listing of attributes that have already been covered, check out the ATTRIBUTE CHART for the rundown.
Researching does not JUST stop at the application process. Sometimes you have to bust out the ‘Encyclopedia Internet-ia’ to post a response that’ll make sense and seem appropriate. An added bonus to researching things about your characters is that you learn new things along the way.
Avoid What Has Already Been Done
Yeah, we understand that there are a ton of characters in this game. Going through every single one tends to be a bit of a nightmare, but a well-worth time investment in the long run. While we don’t expect you to read in detail every single profile posted (although we would love if you did), it’s best for you to at least skim each one and check off any idea that you initially had that might already be covered.
Variety is the spice of life, so we don’t need to remind people “having twenty copies of one particular character makes for a boring game”. When applying for a character in this game, the administration tends to adhere to a first-come, first-serve rule with unique ideas and specific traits. Each persona brings distinctive challenges and plot twists to the game, so we’ll often let one copy of a particular background or quirk to be approved for that exact reason. But more than one can often be over-saturation and a waste of an opportunity to explore other character archetypes; so don’t be discouraged if the administration goes “Sorry, already been done. Try something else.”
Always remember that while you might not know every little detail about every character approved in this game so far, the administration does (for the most part). Usually the reason why we annex an idea being duplicated a second time is because we want your character to shine on their own by being a unique concept instead of a doppelganger idea of someone else’s character.
We WANT You to Succeed
A lot of times players mistake administrative feedback as blatant criticisms to you as a person. Role-playing in games like these are always trial-and-error ordeals for people, administration included. Our outlook on this game comes from the perspective of “What’s good for everyone” as opposed to what makes one particular person happy. So when we reject ideas or come to a decision on any aspect of this game, keep in mind that our decisions stem from the outlook based on everyone’s habits, ideas, and writing capabilities. We want to push you to go further with your concepts in ways that make sense, challenge other players in a positive manner, push progression, and make for a great storyline. Without our players this game is only a single-author fanfic, so believe us when we say that we WANT you to succeed…because we do!