More Changes! (AC/Endgame)

[ironwood]

(I am so sorry to keep filling up the OOC comm with these posts, we're trying to roll the changes out as they're coming up.)

ONE. Effective immediately, we are removing the double activity requirement for applying for a 4th character and changing it to "having passed the last two consecutive ACs with your full roster". This does not include passes gotten by hiatus or by new character exemption. The strike policy (one per character every six months) has not changed. If this goes well, we may consider expanding to larger rosters in the future.

EDITED TO ADD: If you are on hiatus but have passed the previous two ACs before the hiatus, you can still apply for a 4th character. For example, if you passed January and February's AC normally and were on hiatus for the month of March, you could still apply for a 4th character in April.

TWO. Later in June, the modteam will be reviewing the proposed endgame that was put into effect last year, to see whether it still fits with the plan of the game -- specifically, we will be looking at removing it if that seems feasible. As such, we'd like to invite all our players to express their opinions on that potential change in this post.

Thank you!

Comments

[lostundercover]

That's a really great point and I definitely like the idea of possibly turning things offensive (hunting Malicant down) versus defensive (dealing with him on the turtle).

[gathersnomoss]

I've played in some excellent games* which have had a climactic plot, then closed/gone sandbox afterward, so I'm not really opposed to that model of game-running. Because I like characters feeling that they have Accomplished Things, and not that they are in the limbo where either the Bad Guys keep getting away or the scramble to keep characters around after Malicant is defeated and those who have a desire to go home wonder why they can't.

(I also like the reminder downthread to keep things turned so that characters with a variety of skills can get involved, and that folks aren't feeling left out of plotting. Which so far the mods have been pretty good at.)

Mostly I want there to be meta-plot the characters can work at, as that is a thing I like in games. (I don't mind exploration, but it strikes me as hard to transition from meta-plot to exploration and not have trouble with character motivations.)

* Well, okay, one. And another where I had to bow out near the end.

[lostundercover]

Out of curiosity, would you be interested in a game where the Malicant plot is resolved overall (though perhaps not permanently) and then a new conflict/villain was introduced? A situation or villain which focused less on being ~more evil~ and on a different style of conflict. IE how no one will probs be more buff than Bane, but the Riddler is still as challenging a villain (Batman reference?); the conflict might be with the kedan instead of Malicant, for example.

Honestly randomly asking as a player to try to get a better feel, myself, for what peeps are interested in.

[gathersnomoss]

It depends on the stakes. While I think all three of my current characters are invested enough in the Turtle (and have nothing pressing at home) to be comfortable with hanging around*, as a player I want the problem to be as compelling.

Like... I'll use Zelgadis as an example. His initial involvement in plot was more as 'I don't trust Eshai or Evandu, but I am no stranger to cosmic evil, so let us investigate' dovetailing with Asti making a strong impression on him. Because of that, he's become a lot more invested in Keelai to the point of becoming a regular at the hospital and in his neighborhood. So he now has personal stakes against Malicant in a way that he didn't on application.

While I can retire characters whose arcs have completed and app new characters, ultimately I want some continuity and some interest in the plot. And some feel for similar stakes. Like, to use your example, Bane and the Riddler have different power sets and MOs but ultimately, both are serious threats to Batman and/or things Batman values (though maybe not the same things). If you went from Bane to a villain Batman could address by (as Bruce Wayne) making a call to Commissioner Gordon... well, either it's a short story or the audience wonders why he isn't. Or, say, a problem in Metropolis where we wonder why Batman isn't letting the locals handle it.

I know that's not helpful from a mod perspective, since it's not something a mod can hand me on a platter. I have to figure out why my characters would find this compelling. Interfering with the kedan in 'their' city is a lot less morally clear-cut as Malicant, which is a factor.)

(It also has to answer why Evandu is still having people brought in. 'We have little choice' is morally gray but compelling for a Malicant scale threat. More internal threats are more likely to cast Evandu as an antagonist. Which I wouldn't be opposed to, but needs to be addressed.)

* As opposed to 'well, we killed the thing you wanted us to kill, now back to our lives and our own problems'.

[lostundercover]

Ffft. It's absolutely helpful. You're giving me, at the very least, a lot to think about in terms of ways we could move the game forward if that's what we choose to do. The whole point of this is trying to know what our players are thinking and to have a discussion so we can try to make the best choice to benefit the most people. (Not to mention the heaps of players we have will, as a collective, think of new ideas that we, as only 4 mods, cannot.)

I think investment is one of the most important parts of a game. If a characters isn't invested, then the player isn't, and then it's less likely to be fun and for players to be involved. It's an important thing to be aware of and to take into consideration, especially as we potentially make changes to the game.

Thanks again for taking the time to elaborate and to speak up in the first place. I may come back to this with new thoughts, but for now I'm inspired to mull things over.

[gathersnomoss]

No problem. Game design and running is something I think about, because it helps me as a player figure out which games are likely to be those affairs which I still tell stories about and remember the characters I played and which I'll end up failing activity checks three months in.

(I had aspirations towards game modship, but realistically I can't handle more than administrative duties. I'm not so good at running plots.)