Post by Mike on May 8, 2005 14:45:01 GMT -5
It's been brought to our attention that there's a little bit of..."meh-ness" about the game. Some are worried and it's not what they've expected. This is what I'll say to address those concerns.
I think that right now, a lot of people that have joined, want to join, or are thinking about joining are saying, "Well, what can I do?"
For one, I'll concede to you that yes, it does seem like our story is pretty rigid and in place. The only reason it seems like that, I assure you, is that it's frozen. Our previous players (that were around when we were still SWRP) have either all left or have schedules/problems that make it hard to roleplay. Also, our game was on a scale of grandeur (galactic war), and with six or so people, it's not very easy to do that.
For those that don't know or weren't around, we decided to freeze the game purposely until closer to the movie date. We knew that we could find more people to flesh out our game. I've heard concern that it may seem that the only characters doing anything (which isn't true, because no one is doing anything right now) are those that are moving along the main plot, played by Becca and myself.
I promise you that this game is full of potential and fun. When the final installment of Star Wars is released, old and new players alike will storm Yahoo! chats, looking for some semblance of organized SW RP. We already have been getting more requests, submissions, and IM's in the past week than we have since Christmas.
So how do you get in?
First and foremost, characters need to interact with each other. Once you've gotten the "OK" on your character (we're lenient as long as you're not ressurrected, a clone of Yoda, or a Master of the Force starting right out of the gates), you're absolutely 100% free to RP with each other. If you've RPed in the past, such as EotF, find one of your old friends and re-introduce yourselves through roleplaying. Make bonds, relationships, and enemies - make the Star Wars universe into what it should be. There have always been intricate webs of character conflict and relations in Star Wars, and that's what made it great.
Now, we also do have a backstory. The story is everything that's huge - Mekhetu, Phobos, the Protectorate, the AFS. Those are big, big things. But you can get into that, too - they won't go anywhere without players to interact with them, oppose them, or ally with them - all you need to do is talk to us, and I'll give you some ideas later on in this post.
I like analogies, which will be evident as you get to know me more. In ANH, Vader storms Leia's ship. Vader, in our case, is much like a plot-NPC. He's a lot like an Ith'li or a Phobos. The Empire is like the Protectorate or the AFS.
Leia, however, is an extremely important character. We need characters to be our "Leias," our Lukes and Hans. We need Chewies, we need R2-D2's (the real hero, if you ask me), and we need Admiral Pietts. Landos...you get the picture.
So where am I going with this? Han and Chewie are long-time friends, and have a relationship with each other. They meet Obi-Wan and Luke, and they're off for adventure...then they happen on the Death Star.
The cantina scenes, the things with the Jawas and sand people...these are all things where we could be if you'd like (playing supporting cast, such as bartenders and the like), but we're really not needed. Those scenes are meant to flesh out the characters and their relationships.
The Death Star scene, like rescuing Leia, is much more of a plot scene. This is where you would play the Lukes, Hans, Leias, and Chewies of the adventure. We would be the officers, we would play Vader coming to investigate the disturbance he feels. We would even be the TK-421's, there to play for mere seconds, right before you shoot us and take our clothes (sexy).
Then it's off to Yavin. This is where the players can collaborate. They interact and stuff, and they even form the "Rebellion" - a very important part of the movies. The Rebellion is powerful, too, but it is something formed by the players. Then finally, there is a battle, where the first Death Star is destroyed.
Do we want this to be exactly like the movies? Of course not, but we have many similarities. Mekhetu is much like the Death Star. "Look at the size of that thing!" Surely, a one-manned fighter doesn't look like much against the Death Star, but a proton torpedo the size of my head ended up destroying a small moon-sized space station that can blow up planets.
Now, let's jump to RotJ.
Without players, this is what the movie would look like:
Yoda would be sitting in his house, waiting...waiting for someone to come along and destroy the Emporer, sitting pretty with Vader at Endor in their "fully operational battlestation." The fleet, also, would be waiting.
This is what the movie would be like without the GM's:
You'd have Han, Luke, and Leia, all sitting around...talking. Maybe getting some caf, maybe paying off a debt or two, with the occasional Boba Fett attack or Jabba scene. Sure, that could stand as a movie, but would it really be the tale that Star Wars has become?
Put them together, and you have love, you have rebel attacks, rescues, conflicts, fights against the seemingly impossible, moral dilemmas, and a kickass movie series that has blown away all competition in its genre.
It's a novel compared to one of the public rooms you'll see in the "Games" section. Together, you get something awesome, with differences in RP, writing, style, character, and personality.
So just get on board and get Rping. I promise you that this will be an awesome game and an awesome experience. If you have some qualms with how the game is set up...well, put it like this: You can't be shoved off the gangplank before you board the ship. We're not trying to run anyone's lives here, even if things seem to be portrayed differently.
For anyone worried that this game just doesn't have Star Wars "Feel," we have an Empire, a Rebellion, Jedi, Sith, moral dilemmas, and even a Skywalker or two.
So, the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you can all get together and RP, but here's a few ways you can get involved with the plot. If you like an idea here or have one of your own, you can post something on the OOC board and try to get everyone together for RP. Just to let you know, today (Mother's Day) we should be RPing on Obroa-Skai.
Obroa-Skai: Through your contacts, whether seedy or legitimate, you've heard of a secret, underground movement called, creatively, "The Resistance." It's in nuetral territory, so it's seemingly safe from the AFS or the Protectorate. Here, you may have a chance to make money, fight against the galactic powers, or expose a group to the faction you're loyal to.
The Cave: The smuggler's holiday. Here, you might be able to get in on a little something...if you're the type of scum who hangs in places like this, you may have caught a whiff of a Hutt...a hutt who wants to be back in power, and will reward those who help to fight the Protectorate and liberate the Rim/Hutt Space when he sees power once more.
Bastion: The headquarters of the AFS. Anything you want to do with the AFS could be done right here. It's also rumored that Ith'li, the High Councilor, has ties to Sith Philosophy, if you're interested...
Naboo: The 'Jedi' Protectorate's seat. If you are a Jedi (or a Dark Jedi with a little information) and you want to join up for whatever reason, go right ahead.
Dantooine: We don't have many Jedi (that are currently available), but certainly there are people who want to play Jedi. If you think the Protectorate is corrupt and the rumors of Moonrider (Phobos) being of the Dark Side, there may be a meeting here.
(You can make 'posts' on the HoloNet (in the In Character Forum) if you want to do anything like bounties needing to be claimed, as well.)
Any other place you could think of that you'd like to somehow get involved in the main story in, you can post here.
I encourage everyone who is interested in any of these ideas, any others, or wants to roleplay with other players to get introduced before jumping into the plot (or if you don't even think you want to get into the plot right away), you should post some dates on the OOC board. To let you know right now, in advance, I'll be on late (probably starting around 6 or 7, maybe even later) Monday-Friday of this upcoming week. From the 26th - 31st of May, I'll be out of state and away from a computer. Today (Mother's Day), there will be a continuation of some Obroa-Skai RP, PM if interested.
Try posting for people to Rp with for this weekend, as well!
I think that right now, a lot of people that have joined, want to join, or are thinking about joining are saying, "Well, what can I do?"
For one, I'll concede to you that yes, it does seem like our story is pretty rigid and in place. The only reason it seems like that, I assure you, is that it's frozen. Our previous players (that were around when we were still SWRP) have either all left or have schedules/problems that make it hard to roleplay. Also, our game was on a scale of grandeur (galactic war), and with six or so people, it's not very easy to do that.
For those that don't know or weren't around, we decided to freeze the game purposely until closer to the movie date. We knew that we could find more people to flesh out our game. I've heard concern that it may seem that the only characters doing anything (which isn't true, because no one is doing anything right now) are those that are moving along the main plot, played by Becca and myself.
I promise you that this game is full of potential and fun. When the final installment of Star Wars is released, old and new players alike will storm Yahoo! chats, looking for some semblance of organized SW RP. We already have been getting more requests, submissions, and IM's in the past week than we have since Christmas.
So how do you get in?
First and foremost, characters need to interact with each other. Once you've gotten the "OK" on your character (we're lenient as long as you're not ressurrected, a clone of Yoda, or a Master of the Force starting right out of the gates), you're absolutely 100% free to RP with each other. If you've RPed in the past, such as EotF, find one of your old friends and re-introduce yourselves through roleplaying. Make bonds, relationships, and enemies - make the Star Wars universe into what it should be. There have always been intricate webs of character conflict and relations in Star Wars, and that's what made it great.
Now, we also do have a backstory. The story is everything that's huge - Mekhetu, Phobos, the Protectorate, the AFS. Those are big, big things. But you can get into that, too - they won't go anywhere without players to interact with them, oppose them, or ally with them - all you need to do is talk to us, and I'll give you some ideas later on in this post.
I like analogies, which will be evident as you get to know me more. In ANH, Vader storms Leia's ship. Vader, in our case, is much like a plot-NPC. He's a lot like an Ith'li or a Phobos. The Empire is like the Protectorate or the AFS.
Leia, however, is an extremely important character. We need characters to be our "Leias," our Lukes and Hans. We need Chewies, we need R2-D2's (the real hero, if you ask me), and we need Admiral Pietts. Landos...you get the picture.
So where am I going with this? Han and Chewie are long-time friends, and have a relationship with each other. They meet Obi-Wan and Luke, and they're off for adventure...then they happen on the Death Star.
The cantina scenes, the things with the Jawas and sand people...these are all things where we could be if you'd like (playing supporting cast, such as bartenders and the like), but we're really not needed. Those scenes are meant to flesh out the characters and their relationships.
The Death Star scene, like rescuing Leia, is much more of a plot scene. This is where you would play the Lukes, Hans, Leias, and Chewies of the adventure. We would be the officers, we would play Vader coming to investigate the disturbance he feels. We would even be the TK-421's, there to play for mere seconds, right before you shoot us and take our clothes (sexy).
Then it's off to Yavin. This is where the players can collaborate. They interact and stuff, and they even form the "Rebellion" - a very important part of the movies. The Rebellion is powerful, too, but it is something formed by the players. Then finally, there is a battle, where the first Death Star is destroyed.
Do we want this to be exactly like the movies? Of course not, but we have many similarities. Mekhetu is much like the Death Star. "Look at the size of that thing!" Surely, a one-manned fighter doesn't look like much against the Death Star, but a proton torpedo the size of my head ended up destroying a small moon-sized space station that can blow up planets.
Now, let's jump to RotJ.
Without players, this is what the movie would look like:
Yoda would be sitting in his house, waiting...waiting for someone to come along and destroy the Emporer, sitting pretty with Vader at Endor in their "fully operational battlestation." The fleet, also, would be waiting.
This is what the movie would be like without the GM's:
You'd have Han, Luke, and Leia, all sitting around...talking. Maybe getting some caf, maybe paying off a debt or two, with the occasional Boba Fett attack or Jabba scene. Sure, that could stand as a movie, but would it really be the tale that Star Wars has become?
Put them together, and you have love, you have rebel attacks, rescues, conflicts, fights against the seemingly impossible, moral dilemmas, and a kickass movie series that has blown away all competition in its genre.
It's a novel compared to one of the public rooms you'll see in the "Games" section. Together, you get something awesome, with differences in RP, writing, style, character, and personality.
So just get on board and get Rping. I promise you that this will be an awesome game and an awesome experience. If you have some qualms with how the game is set up...well, put it like this: You can't be shoved off the gangplank before you board the ship. We're not trying to run anyone's lives here, even if things seem to be portrayed differently.
For anyone worried that this game just doesn't have Star Wars "Feel," we have an Empire, a Rebellion, Jedi, Sith, moral dilemmas, and even a Skywalker or two.
So, the possibilities are endless when it comes to how you can all get together and RP, but here's a few ways you can get involved with the plot. If you like an idea here or have one of your own, you can post something on the OOC board and try to get everyone together for RP. Just to let you know, today (Mother's Day) we should be RPing on Obroa-Skai.
Obroa-Skai: Through your contacts, whether seedy or legitimate, you've heard of a secret, underground movement called, creatively, "The Resistance." It's in nuetral territory, so it's seemingly safe from the AFS or the Protectorate. Here, you may have a chance to make money, fight against the galactic powers, or expose a group to the faction you're loyal to.
The Cave: The smuggler's holiday. Here, you might be able to get in on a little something...if you're the type of scum who hangs in places like this, you may have caught a whiff of a Hutt...a hutt who wants to be back in power, and will reward those who help to fight the Protectorate and liberate the Rim/Hutt Space when he sees power once more.
Bastion: The headquarters of the AFS. Anything you want to do with the AFS could be done right here. It's also rumored that Ith'li, the High Councilor, has ties to Sith Philosophy, if you're interested...
Naboo: The 'Jedi' Protectorate's seat. If you are a Jedi (or a Dark Jedi with a little information) and you want to join up for whatever reason, go right ahead.
Dantooine: We don't have many Jedi (that are currently available), but certainly there are people who want to play Jedi. If you think the Protectorate is corrupt and the rumors of Moonrider (Phobos) being of the Dark Side, there may be a meeting here.
(You can make 'posts' on the HoloNet (in the In Character Forum) if you want to do anything like bounties needing to be claimed, as well.)
Any other place you could think of that you'd like to somehow get involved in the main story in, you can post here.
I encourage everyone who is interested in any of these ideas, any others, or wants to roleplay with other players to get introduced before jumping into the plot (or if you don't even think you want to get into the plot right away), you should post some dates on the OOC board. To let you know right now, in advance, I'll be on late (probably starting around 6 or 7, maybe even later) Monday-Friday of this upcoming week. From the 26th - 31st of May, I'll be out of state and away from a computer. Today (Mother's Day), there will be a continuation of some Obroa-Skai RP, PM if interested.
Try posting for people to Rp with for this weekend, as well!
