How's My Driving | July 2013

[ironwood]

Three months have already passed since the last HMD? You betcha! This means that it's time to kick off the fourth quarterly gamewide HMD here in Tu Shanshu! Things are getting structured a little differently this time, so read on for details.

How's My Driving?
While each and every character must have an HMD page available, we offer a gamewide HMD once every calendar quarter. This is an opportunity to get together and discuss IC interpretations and portrayals in a respectful, beneficial fashion. In a nutshell, it's a chance to see how we're doing in the grand scheme of things.

There are a few ground rules to cover off before we can start:

• Participation in the quarterly HMD is 100% optional.
  
• Be respectful, anon or not. It's a lot easier to give and receive crit if all parties are making it a discussion of it rather than an argument.
  
• IP logging is off and anonymous commenting is on. You can offer crit signed-in if you like, but the option's there.
  
• New! We ask that each concrit provided consist of one positive and one constructive bit of feedback. Bring up something that you like about that player, and in the same comment provide something that you feel they could work on. This is to help round out the feedback and provide a better experience all around.
  

That's it, that's all!

And, to make things easier, here's a handy-dandy codeset:

<big><b><i>Player Name</i></b></big> <i>Character Name:</i> <i>Canon:</i> <i>User Name:</i> <I>Focus:</i> Optional. Do you have particular concerns about your portrayal that you'd like to be the focus of crit? You can link any threads you'd like a second opinion on here. If you're looking for structural feedback, or would prefer things like grammar not be mentioned, put it here.

Comments

[jirk]

I really enjoy your characters. You do quiet intensity really well, and I feel like you put a lot of thought into what they do in game.

Crit-wise, I'd like to maybe see you a bit more willing to compromise, especially in regards to Bean? I know he's a Super Uber Genius, but I feel like maybe he's coming to conclusions about other characters sometimes that edge into the territory of infomodding (just ftr, this isn't about any of my characters, it's just something I've casually observed across other threads so feel free to correct me, I might be totally off base) Tushan is a game full of Super Genius type characters, so I can see where it might be frustrating for other characters to be perpetually shown up by a kid, even if it's technically IC for Bean.

That said, it's totally possible I'm missing an element of OOC communication or pre-arranged CR here, this is honestly kind of a shot in the dark and really the only element I can really think of to crit.

[jirk]

I really love Terry and I feel like you're an absolute joy to thread against. You really dig into the meat of his characterization to justify his thoughts/motives and I love that, it's amazing to see. I think you're a really phenomenal writer and I always love having your tags hit my inbox!

Really, my one concern is that you have a tendency to promise threads or posts that either don't happen, or happen a month later when the scenario/situation may no longer be applicable. I know this comes back to your schedule, but maybe try not to commit yourself to certain tags or posts, just write them naturally when or as they come? That way you can stay up to date and current without worrying about maybe having to backdate something to a few weeks ago, and it also cuts out some of the guilt and/or feelings of being obligated or locked in to specific scenarios you may no longer have the time or energy for.

[jirk]

I absolutely adore your grasp of Westley's voice. I can hear him super clearly when I read all your tags and that is so excellent? Seriously my crit would be 'WORRY LESS BECAUSE YOU'RE AWESOME'. You're engaging and fun and you go out of your way to make threads fun for other people, so loosen up and trust yourself! I've never seen you touch a character you didn't play well. <3


One thing I'd like to see a bit of is his charisma and his tendency to draw people to him. Turtle needs a pirate crew! and maybe a boat!

[jirk]

Having now read most of Sora's appearances, I really do love how you write her. She comes across as pitch-perfect to the canon and it's a joy and a delight to see you running with her development and forging new territory while still staying true to the source material!

I'd maybe like to see you try and put her into situations where she has to interact a little outside of her comfort zone? Sora's a character who seems to grow or flourish the best under a bit of adversity, and although the CR she has is pretty damn strong, I'd love to see if you could net her a slightly wider array of it? But that's not really crit so much as 'NEEDS MORE AMMAY IN THE WORLD' so take it as you will.

Everything else is p. much fantastic. You're an engaging player, your tags have a good balance of introspection and dialogue, and I feel like you really care and put effort into where you're taking her character. Plus, you're fabulous. /chinhands

[alphatar]

I want CR with your characters so badly, but I have no idea how to start it and don't want to overburden your inbox with more tags.

I try to catch my mistakes in edits. But yeah, sometimes I don't see them until after a response and I'm all "NOOooo, it's supposed to be "their" not "they're"! /facedesk

I tend to miss some words while I'm typing too, then when I go back I just see
"KORRA LIKE FRIEND."

THANK YOU~ I will try to hold in my eagerness to post and actually proofread stuff.

[traumatizing]

Yeah, that's a pattern I've started to notice in myself recently. (With a side order of, "have I always been like this? I'M A MONSTER!!!") I think it's probably the reason I find myself feeling overwhelmed even when I only have about two tags I need to do.

I appreciate you pointing it out! It's helpful to know it's not something that's just in my head because of reasons and I'm definitely gonna take that advice on board. I think Rica gave me some ideas a ways back that I forgot, so the combination of the two should helpfully help me keep on top of things.

[backinakidflash]

Yes! He should have all things going at once was what I meant, but I don't think I made that clear. My point was, a lot of people focus on just one and it's almost NEVER science. Sadly.

Also, I figured it was because Bart jumped in with stuff about the space-time continuum. He's got an interesting powerset, from a scientist's point of view. It was more him being a kid when Tony doesn't have much experience - I dunno, I was grasping at straws for something constructive. It's a pity I didn't pull him a little later, or he'd be teaming up with Tony to build a VR chamber by now.

[epigrammatical]

Thanks for the feedback! And I think you're right—more threads with a definite goal would definitely help. I'll work on that.

For Una, I was thinking that after the current events concludes, I might try to have her attempt to get her time machine working. Possibly with unusual/hilarious results. I'll chew on that some more and get back to y'all.

[hackingyoursensors]

Ellie
Character Name: Dick Grayson
Canon: Young Justice
User Name: hackingyoursensors
Focus:

I'm concerned that I'm going too far from canon and not displaying all aspects of his personality. I'm also a bit worried that I'm sticking too close to canonmates and not getting the cross-canon CR I should.

Any crit would be fantastic, though. Feel free to hit me up on my personal HMD if you prefer.

[definingfuture]

Yeah, that space-time talk right away absolutely helped. Tony cannot resist. I'm glad they are getting along, though. This turned out to be an unexpected and wonderful CR.

I really appreciate the constructive straw too. XD It's good to think about! And Tony can continue to try to rope Bart into space-time stuff anyway. Or new and wonderful ways to take risks. >_> Sorry, Bart.

[alpha_squad_leader]

I'm really enjoying the CR with Johnny too. Their interactions are some of my favorite.

I was thinking something similar and I've been looking around for some ways to push him into new areas. I've got a couple plans for when I get off hiatus that'll hopefully start him along that way. Thanks for the suggestion, it helped focus plans a bit.

[ironwood]

The feedback is forever appreciated, Chel. <3

Roy and I are both looking at taking on official tagging help on a consistent basis. That is the single largest timedrain on the mod side of things. I think it'll come up either after this event or during the six month discussions, though she and I need to sit down and hash out some details. Do you have any suggestions regarding how we might organise such a group? For example: Say we picked up 3-4 tagging helpers, how could we organise them to avoid overlap?

[ironwood]

So. FUNNY STORY. About a day into facilitating the event, we realised that it would have been smart logistically on all sides to shut down apps -- plus, we had perfectly good IC reason: No turtle, no arrivals. That would have, as you pointed out, made things a lot smoother on both the players and the mods.

That said, we're definitely considering it for future metaplot events. Clueventure is the first event of its kind in Tu Shanshu and we really appreciate the feedback because it helps us stay on the right page and figure out how to best execute larger events.

The final sets of clues (with outcomes) will start being released come the morrow and we're hoping that'll start freeing up characters for open interaction once more. BUT, as noted! We really appreciate the feedback and will keep it in mind for the future.

[anomia]

ANY TIME.

I actually have thought about this already because I am an organization champion. I would suggest making a gdoc with dates listed by week and having people check them off with their name when they do it. That way people can just do them as they have time and there's no overlap, and no aggravating organizational hassle of trying to assign date ranges to people who may or may not have time to do it that month.

I would also suggest having a minimum amount of time passed before it could be officially marked as done, like say a week since initial posting or even two, just to give everyone a chance to tag in that's going to.

ETA: And also have them mark "in progress" so no one does the same thing at the same time.

[ironwood]

Understandable concerns! As noted in our reply to Li, we realised in hindsight that shutting down apps would have made the entire event run a little more smoothly. We're looking at doing that for the future and are hoping that everyone can hold out for the little while longer necessary to get the last set of clues (and, with that, the final outcomes) so that their characters can be freed up for new CR.

[ironwood]

That's a good set of points and counterpoints. Roy and I are going to think on them because we do have the August event that we're considering shutting down or limiting apps during. We might put this to a gamewide vote as well.

Thanks so much for the feedback. <3

[ironwood]

During the most recent app period, we included a note regarding the full powerdown and that accouncements would be made as that changes. Beyond that, we've been relying on people checking the OOC comm and the recent entries before diving too deeply in. We'll definitely look at the best way to raise the awareness of major events for newcomers in the future though.

[ironwood]

Thank you so much for the feedback, Kate. <3

Your suggestion is very valid and we're going to look a little more closely at which characters get involved in the future. The lapse was my (Alex) bad this time as I failed to account for multiple characters per player when setting the final teams. Definitely something I personally will be keeping an eye out for in the future.

[ironwood]

These are good suggestions. We'll keep them all in mind when we discuss the logistics. Thanks!

[anomia]

NO PROBLEM. Keep on keepin' on. B)

[storm_warning]

Aww, bb. /HUGS

I admit that I'm bad for not making much in the way of open posts (every second month or so). There're a lot of factors there, but I think I'm just going to get a better hold of my time management and try to increase the number that I make.

[justlittle]

Could you give me a specific example? I really don't want to overstep any bounds with Bean, so I'm grateful you said something, and an example of where I'm doing it would help me make sure to stop.

[jirk]

Hmmm, the one that comes to mind was something on plurk, where you mentioned that there was no way Clark/Superman could have a secret identity around him. I'm not sure if you ever followed through with Al on that one or not, but it struck me a bit at the time.

Re: Mods & NPCs

[backinakidflash]

I know I've heard that its on the docket but a lifting of the canon cap when it can be demonstrated the playercest would not occur, as CR between two characters is limited to nonexistent in canon.

Re: Chiqui | Marius Pontmercy and Leo Valdez

[dracobin]

I don't know PJO at all so don't have much to say about Leo (although I love Temrer's CR with him so \o/), but MARIUUSUUU

Honestly, I think you're doing a great job with him! His reaction to Cosette's disappearance is definitely in-character for a guy whose response to hearing Cosette was moving to England was to head to the nearest barricade, and I love that you write his awkwardness and introversion in a way that makes him really interesting to read.

As far as crit is concerned, I guess giving him something to do that he can really care about would be a good way to transition him out of mourning for Cosette? Even accidentally--I mean, this is also the guy who headed to the barricades to die but ended up getting really into it, haha. He probably needs to find something to do that will hold his interest long enough to draw it away from Cosette's Not Being There, and after that--we'll see!