How's My Driving | April 2014

[ironwood]

HELLO CHELONAUTS! We've reached spring (despite all efforts of winter to the contrary!!) and it's once again time for the quarterly HMD post.

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.

To make things easier, here's a handy-dandy code box:

<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

[ironwood]

MODS
Character Name: Evandau, Milyn, Evastelei, Asti, Baby Turtles, Lieuen and Malicant
Canon: NPCs
User Name: alderwood, cherrywood, wroughtiron, tuvishan, telvishani, hazelwood, malicant
Focus: This can also be used for a general crit in terms of plot or game maintenance/mechanics or anything else you've noticed and would like to discuss in a public forum. Alternately, our MOD HMD is always open and available.

ADDITIONALLY if you have any feedback on the Kithika Landfall event, they can be replied to here.

**Please note that Roy is AFK this week due to RL things so some replies may be delayed.

[browbeater]

I guess I will level in some feedback. At first, I thought this was me, what with my being in another country, but in general I feel like the breaks were hit hard starting back in February.

While I can't pinpoint exactly why that is, I do have some suggestions for improvements.

The mod missions could be improved with more mods hands on involvement. That doesn't have to be something like, "Hey, we'll play out the opposing objective that you're supposed to be solving!" But it CAN be in the form of an active player chosen from the mission getting more in depth information on how these NPCs should act, so that we as a group aren't grasping at guesses based off of the information given in the signups.

I also think it might be wise to get another plot mod. Most games have at least three mods, and while you're both doing an excellent job, I think the game as a whole could benefit from some more constant mod attention to drive plot at the moment. At best, it works, at worst, there is someone else that could take the load off during big plot things!

That is all I had.

RE: GAME CHANGES

[ironwood]

We welcome feedback on the two major changes that were implemented in the game in the last month, those being the new Activity Check format and also on the Missions. Each have had one month to test the waters as it were so we're looking for some initial feedback, since we're still learning with them!

Activity Check

[(Anonymous)]

I feel like the tightened AC is pretty harsh. It is actually intimidating. RP is supposed to be fun, and has always been my de-stress mechanic. Feeling like I have a giant obstacle if I happen to be a little quiet in that month makes it far less fun, and may discourage others/new players.

I also feel like some of how it works may discourage tagging into things from the end of the month. For example, if a post went up on March 31st, and work or life kept you from tagging until the 2nd, but that thread doesn't count for April for you, it might make you ignore that in favor of things that will count.

I do understand that with plot ramping up, you're looking for a certain level of commitment. It still feels stressful.

[unobtainableredemption]

Kaitie
Character Name: Mark Grayson
Canon: Invincible
User Name: shorttempered | Private HMD
Focus: I think I'm doing okay with him, but sometimes I wonder about my personal ability to keep a thread going. I feel like sometimes I rely too heavily on the other person, though I am trying to fix this.

Character Name: Kaine (Parker)
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: unobtainableredemption | Private HMD
Focus: I actually feel pretty comfortable with Kaine and his voice right now, but I'm sure there's always some way I could improve.

Additionally, please let me know of anything else you might see/would like to point out in general. Their private HMDs are linked next to their user names if you'd prefer anon.

[strategisch]

Otter

Character Name: Armin Arlert
Canon: Attack on Titan
User Name: strategisch
Focus: I've been trying to branch him out a bit in order to get more CR, so I hope I've been doing a good job at that!

There's still the problem of my threads getting dropped sometimes, so if it has something to do with my playstyle I'd still like to know about it! Know that if you just can't think of anything else for the thread, it's okay to let me know that you're done! I won't take any offense at all! Even if it's because I'm boring or something! Seriously!

Otherwise, I feel pretty okay this time around. I've been enjoying playing up his mental instability a little bit more, as that has been revealed to be a large part of his character in newer parts of the manga.

[unetrustworthy]

Hina

Character Name: Midii Une
Canon: Gundam Wing: Episode Zero
User Name: unetrustworthy
Focus: My biggest concern with her is trying to balance her tragic past with the development she's shown on the Turtle. Since she is so young (12. A "mature" 12, but still 12), there would be a much greater difference. Not to mention...the forever trials of working with a character with Limited Canon.

Character Name: Aya
Canon: Green Lantern: The Animated Series
User Name: looksfine
Focus: VOCABULARY. I think I'm doing a bit better about integrating her into Turtle Life, but the biggest challenge of playing a SUPER SMART character is the fact that I'm...not quite so smart. But hopefully I'm able to fudge it well enough to pass?

Character Name: Zatanna Zatara
Canon: Young Justice
User Name: backwordscompatible
Focus: Nothing at this point in time, really. If there's something I'm not doing right with her, then it's something I'm just missing completely and am always open to thoughts/opinions/suggestions. I do tend to take more liberties with headcanon for her (yes, even compared to Midii), and I've done my best to make sure it matches up with what we saw in the series (as well as bits and pieces of what we know about her alternate universe counterparts).

[maipokerface]

Melon
Character Name: Mai
Canon: Avatar: the Last Airbender
User Name: maipokerface
Focus: Mention whatever you like. Since she's so new I imagine there won't be a lot but if there's something you wish to point out, please do. My private HMD is at the top of her journal as well.

[backinakidflash]

Player Name
Character Name: Bart Allen | Julio Richter | Connor Hawke
Canon: DC Comics (New Earth) | Marvel Comics (Earth 616) | Connor Hawke
User Name: backinakidflash | fuckcable | mendelian
Focus: I know that I am a slower tagger than most, but I do the best I can. I'm not worried about anything in particular, though at times I wonder if Connor is as boring as club soda or if Ric sounds too much like Bart.

[denyamenti]

Li

Character Name: Jack Frost
Canon: Rise of the Guardians
User Name: wintershepherd
Focus: No particular focus, he's been kind of quiet in March due to a lot of disappearances and some continuing tension with Zatanna because of Things.

Character Name: River Tam
Canon: Firefly
User Name: problematical
Focus: Definitely concerned about how her dialogue is coming across, her speech is tough to emulate and worrying about her sounding TOO disjointed is always going to be a thing.

Character Name: Yami no Bakura
Canon: Yuugiou
User Name: denyamenti
Focus: YAY REVEAL~ no seriously, I am thrilled to develop whole new sets of CR because of this. I don't have any particular concerns for him but if anything seems off, tell me!

Collective private HMD post for my characters is HERE.

[iwannabeadragon]

Shane
Character Name: Garrett Hawke
Canon: Dragon Age 2
User Name: iwannabeadragon
Focus: For the most part I'm pretty confident in his voice but there are moments I wonder if I'm wavering. An outside opinion would be great to have.

Beyond that, I know I have got to work on my proofreading. I'm catching why too many of my tags with some kind of grammar or spelling mistake in them.

[beunbroken]

Shea
Character Name: Elizabeth Comstock
Canon: BioShock: Infinite
User Name: beunbroken

Character Name: Éponine Thénardier
Canon: Les Misérables
User Name: jondrette

[definingfuture]

Tea
Character Name: Tony Stark
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: definingfuture | Private HMD
Focus: Nothing springs to mind, but I'm always open to input and ideas. Anything you feel I need to know, feel free to let me know.

[werethatgood]

Kiki

Character Name: Damian Wayne
Canon: DCU
User Name: demon_brat

Character Name: Bucky Barnes
Canon: MCU
User Name: trainwrecked

Character Name: Cassie Lang
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: werethatgood

Focus: I think I've been doing better in the are of timely responses; if I've been neglecting something, or you think the quality/engagedness of what I write has dropped, or anything else, please let me know!

[looksfine]

I've spent the last few days trying to figure out how to word this exactly, not wanting to come off the wrong way, but ultimately I think that it's best if I just come out and say it:

Damian's most recent thread with Aya. I would link it, but you already know the one, I'm sure. While I have absolutely NO problems with Negative CR, or even of him being so dismissive and/or doubtful of her, I think you went way too far with his reaction to the revelation that Kyle had "shared" a lot of information with her. To the point where not only the thread, but Damian's characterization as a whole suffered greatly from it.

Now, admittedly, some of the fault does lie with me in that particular instance. That one tag was worded awkwardly, and I will own up to that much. However, it doesn't excuse the problems that had started to brew even before we got to that point. For one, having Damian immediately accuse Aya of mind rape--and yes, while that wasn't the phrase he used in the tag itself, it was exactly how you phrased it in my own plurk about the post--when her exact words spoke of nothing but a mutual consensus and voluntary actions on Kyle's part...it was both off-putting and more than a little insulting. IC and OOC.

The fact that Aya very plainly explained herself, sophisticated vocabulary/phrasing aside, after each of his subsequent accusations, only for him to blatantly ignore every single word in favor of basically going WELL I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT KYLE WOULD HAVE DONE SO YOU MUCH BE LYING AND ACTUALLY DID THIS TO HIM? That's not Damian. Damian is a brat, yes. He's rude and stubborn and has his own opinions about everything and every one, often less than positive. He would have more likely scoffed at the notion of her (naively) thinking that Kyle would share everything with someone like her. He would be quick to point out that couldn't be the case, and that she was wrong, so own up to it and fix your mistake, A.I. At worst, he would get frustrated and immediately demand every detail about the how, why, and what even if it wasn't actually his business (not all of it). I never once expected him to take that news gracefully, but I definitely didn't expect for you to have him subsequently shut down all logic and reason in favor of an overabundance of paranoia and childish ignorance.

You have him, to put it simply, blatantly disregarding the reality presented to him, regardless of degree of truth, and substituting his own. Simply because he doesn't like it, or won't believe it. It's as if you, Kiki, are reading a single line of certain tags I give you, and then ignoring the several paragraphs below it, even though that's the most important part of the tag. Damian would listen. He wouldn't show ignorance by dismissing anything told to him in no uncertain terms. He might not like it or believe it, but he would LISTEN. You're not having him listen.

This wasn't the first instance, either. He's also done this both to, and regarding Zatanna. On multiple occasions. I let those slide because I do understand that it would be IC for the two of them to clash greatly. She is on the irresponsible side, and she's not always right. But any arguments Damian might have had in his favor are completely diminished by his (or, rather, your) words and actions. Literally threatening to kill her because she lost her memories of Dick...even if she already had one strike against her because of the MisSpell event itself...that was overkill, if you'll forgive the pun. Even for Damian.

And, Kiki, what bothers me the most about all of this is that you've been confronted about these things in the past oocly. By me, and by others in conversations I've witnessed first-hand, and you have repeatedly dismissed or even ignored these comments by just quoting back lines of canon or tags and saying "BUT NO SEE HE'S TOTALLY RIGHT TO BE ACTING THIS WAY". You argued with me that morning about the Aya thread. In my own plurk. Inserting a topic and language that was shockingly triggering for what the thread was supposed to be about, with no warning whatsoever. Even though I explained OOCly, and Aya explained ICly, in no uncertain terms, what she had (or hadn't) done, you outright stated that it was two single words at the top of a tag that negated the subsequent paragraphs' worth of explanation/clarification on what those two words were actually referencing.

It's as if you genuinely believe that Damian was right to act this way, has been right to act the way you have him acting, and it's a serious IC/OOC divide that is affecting your RPing in a far more negative way than you may be aware of. It's also making it very difficult to tag with you at times.

...except when it comes to Midii, because you approach her tags in such a different manner that I KNOW you can do better with him. I've seen it. I'm not sure why Midii is so different for you, but I can actually see the mixture of canon personality and game growth he's had. Damian's been on the Turtle for OVER A YEAR now, and it should show. With Midii, it does. But when you tag or talk about him in reference to the other girls...it's like having him back at Square Zero.

Like I said above, I hope I was able to articular the issue as best as possible, and if you have any further questions about what I'm talking about, please do ask. Because I really want to see you improve and resolve this now.

[burnseternal]

Player NameFey
Character Name: Saint Walker
Canon: Green Lantern: The Animated Series
User Name: burnseternal
Focus: Nothing in particular! Saint Walker's still a very new character for me, so I'm just trying to get a handle on his voice. Let me know if anything sticks out at you!

[freeskies]

Sarah
Character Name: Mako
Canon: Legend of Korra
User Name: firethepolice

Character Name: Ellie
Canon: The Last of Us
User Name: mightythinice

Character Name: Balthier
Canon: Final Fantasy XII
User Name: freeskies

Focus: No focuses at this time. Feel free to bring up OOC issues, if necessary.

[6collegecredits]

AmyJack
Character Name: Rapunzel
Canon: Tangled
User Name: watcheslanterns
Focus: So the biggest thing I worry about with Rapunzel is that I lean too much towards her innocent side and less her adventurous and curious side. If you've noticed any problems with that I'd like to hear so. Other than that an other crit. is welcomed.

Character Name: Darcy Lewis
Canon: MCU
User Name: 6collegecredits
Focus: Nothing in particular. Any crit. you can think of is welcomed. :)

[meanandgreen]

Ash
Character Name: Raphael
Canon: TMNT (2k3)
User Name: meanandgreen
Focus: Nothing really. I'm pretty comfy with Raph, but I always love to hear any advice, praise, or criticisms anyone may have to offer.

[sticksaround]

Dani
Character Name: Casey Jones
Canon: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comics)
User Name: sticksaround
Focus: One of my bigger concerns is all-around consistency when it comes to Casey's voice, as it were. He's a newer character and I sometimes have trouble feeling like I'm pinning him down. I know that there's not a ton of threading to go on yet (a thing I'll definitely be working on now that he's good and settled and less prone to hiding his face from folks), but if someone has a thought or concern to offer about anything at all, I'm more than happy to listen!

There's also an HMD post in his journal if you'd prefer to take things up there.

[everylittlegirl]

Kate
Character Name: Billy Costigan
Canon: The Departed
User Name: lostundercover

Character Name: Hayley Stark
Canon: Hard Candy
User Name: everylittlegirl
Focus: Balancing her apathy with the fact that she's starting to trust people and wanting to avoid alienating them.

Character Name: Mike Weston
Canon: The Following
User Name: oneofthegoodguys

[sizzle]

Leigh
Character Name: Zuko
Canon: Avatar: The Last Airbender
User Name: sizzle
Focus: Not one specific thing, but the longer I rp him the more I actually feel like I'm not hitting the character's voice right. I need to do a rewatch of some of the episodes when I get a chance, but any other suggestions on tackling this problem are also very welcome!

[dracobin]

Ireny
Character Name: Temeraire
Canon: Temeraire
User Name: dracobin
Focus: I'm pretty comfortable with Temrer's voice, but I'm totally open to crit, advice, anything of the sort! I'm always looking to improve. :D

[goodanswer]

Amanda
Character Name: Yosuke Hanamura
Canon: Persona 4
User Name: goodanswer
Focus: any and all feedback welcome!

[michaeljangelo]

Bing
Character Name:Aang
Canon:Avatar: The Last Airbender
User Name: 12goingon113

Character Name:Michaelangelo
Canon:Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Vol. 1)
User Name: michaeljangelo

[andaway]

Al
Character Name: Clark Kent
Canon: DC Comics
User Name: andaway
Focus: -

Character Name: Frank Zhang
Canon: PJ:HoO
User Name: iguanasolution
Focus: -

Character Name: Jim Hammod
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: originalflameon
Focus: -

Posting quickly before going to sleep because I completely forgot :,D

[manofiron]

Brandy
Character Name: Tony Stark
Canon: MCU
User Name: manofiron

[starcharter]

Ellie
Character Name: Pavel Chekov
Canon: Star Trek: Into Darkness
User Name: starcharter
Focus: I'd love any and all crit, but I'm worried that Chekov has become too stagnant, so if you have suggestions or ideas, that'd be great.