[LP CYOA] Test-Run

[treave]

So, if I were to offer a semi-continuation of this LP, the planned superpowers LP, and a LP where you play an overlord and conquer nations with necromancy, you'd pick the first choice?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

yep. why not? I mean, most of our main characters are dead, maimed or otherwise ascended to a higher plane of racist existence, so how much longer could it last?

besides, it's fun.

 

[treave]

Semi-continuation, which means I'm going to reboot it with new characters that have more than 10 seconds of thought put into them, and a setting that's a bit more designed.

An actual continuation would have Francesca bleeding out, Caitlyn imprisoned in the dome forever, Edgar dying in combat, and Quack-Quack starving to death in the dark in the next update.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Huh, ok. But it would be nice to see quack-quack die with only Aaron's voice in his head to comfort him.

Oh, well, I suppose Aaron must leave this mortal realm and be reborn into a more powerful form.

edit: actually, treave, what if it was a combination semi-continuation? Super-hero LP with the same mechanic of players picking their own superhero to back. Hearing each other's thoughts optional.

I want to be "The Masked Racist"

 

[ScubaV]

So, if I were to offer a semi-continuation of this LP, the planned superpowers LP, and a LP where you play an overlord and conquer nations with necromancy, you'd pick the first choice?

These all sound good. Personally I'd probably choose Overlord > Multiplayer > Superpowers.

 

[Baltika9]

These all sound good. Personally I'd probably choose Overlord > Multiplayer > Superpowers.

Seconded.

 

[treave]

actually, treave, what if it was a combination semi-continuation? Super-hero LP with the same mechanic of players picking their own superhero to back. Hearing each other's thoughts optional.

I want to be "The Masked Racist"

I'm not sure it'd succeed. It works here because people getting killed off is part of the premise and the numbers become more manageable. Given the scope, I'd effectively have to write five LPs or more simultaneously, even if they team up from time to time. Now that I've done the test run, I have a clearer idea of what it'd involve. I'd have to balance the time and plot importance for multiple characters equally over a long duration, since no one would like to be that character that only makes an important choice once every ten updates. (E.g. Francesca, who didn't really get to do much)

Not that it can't be done, I just don't see myself as being able to make the effort to pull it off.

 

[Baltika9]

Something of that scope would require multiple GMs (ideally, one for every group), but the logistics would become very complicated, very fast. Unless you have one main GM running the show with subordinate GMs coordinating the stories through him.

 

[Tigranes]

As always, I vote for whatever you want to do. But I do miss the whole Ean/Senya/Jing stuff, when the Codex was united (that is, bitching endlessly) in its (sort of) Chaotic Good romp against Evil. I guess that'd be superpowers LP at this point?

 

[Cassidy]

Semi-continuation, which means I'm going to reboot it with new characters that have more than 10 seconds of thought put into them, and a setting that's a bit more designed.

An actual continuation would have Francesca bleeding out, Caitlyn imprisoned in the dome forever, Edgar dying in combat, and Quack-Quack starving to death in the dark in the next update.

How about the "real deal" reboot having characters created by the participants first, and only then pre-made characters if nobody bothers to come up with them?

 

[treave]

As always, I vote for whatever you want to do. But I do miss the whole Ean/Senya/Jing stuff, when the Codex was united (that is, bitching endlessly) in its (sort of) Chaotic Good romp against Evil. I guess that'd be superpowers LP at this point?

I suppose it'd be somewhat like this:

Superpower stuff = Chaotic Good romp against evil.

Overlord stuff = Chaotic Shades of Dark Grey romp against everything.

How about the "real deal" reboot having characters created by the participants first, and only then pre-made characters if nobody bothers to come up with them?

In the original plan, which is something that crossed my mind a few years back, the characters would have backstories tied into the setting, not just being some random schmoes thrown in together for sadistic fun and games. Also, all of them would be subject to that wonderfully overused plot device, selective amnesia. Through discovering their background, they also discover the reason why they are here.

But I don't mind utilizing user-made characters so yeah, this proposal is fine with me. I can fit them in one way or another.

 

[Baltika9]

So long as I can play another gang banger. LARPing Benton was pretty fun, actually.

 

[Azira]

I'll be voting for superpowers Hobo Rider>overlord>MP

 

[Kipeci]

Overlord>Hobo Rider>Multiplayer

 

[Esquilax]

I want to be "The Masked Racist"

Excellent. We'll LARP Clayton Bigsby.

 

[Nevill]

That was surprisingly fun even despite barebone characters. I guess anything that makes the players interact with each other is fine in my book, and I liked the choices that incentified this kind of voting. The idea of group choices and personal choices was fun, too - perhaps there could be a 'convincement' mechanics, such as that if the characters in the group can't come to a consensus, the players' votes are counted individually and the choice with most gets selected as a compromise that the characters feel like making. Group decisions really don't work very well in groups of 2 characters if they have different agendas (and sometimes even when they don't - still laughing about C&F ruler of the world dispute).

I think this would work best with 2 or 3 characters, though. Could be more, but then they'd really need a reason to stay together and not run off on their own. The whole point of the MP game is the inter-character interaction - but our players ended up split and acting by themselves, and the number of scenes quickly grew out of proportions. There was also great potential for tensions between the characters (Aaron&Berton, Caitlyn&Edgar, Aaron&Caitlyn), but it all got resolved very fast in a really anticlimactic way.

The character jumping mechanics was fine here, where the characters were meant to die, but I don't think it would work in a bigger LP. Kill a character, let players take over another active character, and you run the risk of new players overwriting the old characters' decisions and development that the previous players have made. Not saying that it has to end this way, but the potential for butthurt is there.

The TP excuse to hear the other players' thoughts during the discussion worked when they were all together, but quickly lost its relevance once they split up yet the others were still able to read the votes and the decision making process leading to them. So you can end up with a character deciding on another one's murder, and the other reacting to it even though they would not realistically be able to. Perhaps there could be a mechanics where some votes are private and hidden from the others - with the next updates containing a few hints as to what the decision was (or it could be a total surprise). That might spice things up.

I want my somewhat-but-not-quite villain LP, so I'll be voting for the Overlord (probably to sacrifice him for lolis in a glorious redemption attempt). I don't really have an interest in the Superheroes, sadly - frankly, I find the setting a bit silly (that's probably the point). Still, I am sure any misgivings I might have would be blown away the moment we meet the obligatory tsundere character (seriously, Sekhie, Kyrie, Yunzi, Maeda - the Codex is drawn to this stuff like bees to honey; must be some interesting chemistry going on).

So, Overlord > MP > SupaHiros

 

[Baltika9]

I want my somewhat-but-not-quite villain LP, so I'll be voting for the Overlord (probably to sacrifice him for lolis in a glorious redemption attempt).

What is this half and half bullshit? If we're going to play a villain, we're going to do it right.
Anthony Sommers will live again!

 

[Nevill]

What is this half and half bullshit? If we're going to play a villain, we're going to do it right.

A villain with lolis is a villain done right!

Fighting for world domination is so cliché. Kidnapping kids for the future harem is where it's at. Ask Muammar al Asad.

 

[Baltika9]

Uh, how about no. This:

Is a harem done right.

 

[Nevill]

And where will that harem be in 10 years? With wrinkles and crows feet creeping behind their eyes, bitching endlessly in a futile attempt to preserve their vaning influence. Yikes!

Discard them all once they outlive their usefulness, I say. A true villain plans ahead. He has a harem for now, and a harem for the future.

So, if I were to offer a semi-continuation of this LP

I am not sure how I feel about the semi-continuation. This was interesting, sure, but I am still hoping for the 'two protagoinists in a semi-open, semi-normal world' LP. Maybe that cop buddy drama in HongKong? :D

I probably just want more NPCs to interact with.

 

[asxetos]

I'd go for Hobo Rider > Overlord > Multiplayer.

The super hero setting in the preview seemed very interesting and treave is the absolute master of CYOAs of this type.
Overlord seems like a cool idea, but it might get very wide and technical if we get too involved in empire management. Depends on how treave would plan it. Maybe we could get a small preview?
Multiplayer will be fun but if participation drops, then fun will drop too.

 

[treave]

I think this would work best with 2 or 3 characters, though. Could be more, but then they'd really need a reason to stay together and not run off on their own. The whole point of the MP game is the inter-character interaction - but our players ended up split and acting by themselves, and the number of scenes quickly grew out of proportions. There was also great potential for tensions between the characters (Aaron&Berton, Caitlyn&Edgar, Aaron&Caitlyn), but it all got resolved very fast in a really anticlimactic way.

I made the conscious decision to split people up early in order to see how it would be like writing at least two different groups, and kill characters off quickly to see how people would handle the shift from one character to another. It's manageable, I think up to three different perspectives can be done, but I wouldn't split it more than that.

Good analysis all in all, I'll definitely take a lot of that into consideration when/if we do a bigger scale LP of this sort.

The super hero setting in the preview seemed very interesting and treave is the absolute master of CYOAs of this type.
Overlord seems like a cool idea, but it might get very wide and technical if we get too involved in empire management. Depends on how treave would plan it. Maybe we could get a small preview?
Multiplayer will be fun but if participation drops, then fun will drop too.

Overlord's style would depend on how hands-on you are, since there's always the option to delegate. You could leave all bureaucratic planning to your hot succubus secretaries and go on incognito quests in the human kingdoms, or be the reclusive micro-manager observing and manipulating things remotely. It's more Dragon Quest (except you're the villain) than Dungeon Keeper, I think.

I'll draw up new previews for both the superhero and the overlord concepts during the weekend.

 

[wjw]

I agree on narrowing down the number of characters. Makes for more discussion. Overlord stuff sounds promising.

 

[Nevill]

You could leave all bureaucratic planning to your hot succubus secretaries and go on incognito quests in the human kingdoms

This. This, this, this. And take the hot succubi secretaries with you.

I don't think Codex ever refused the lure of adventure, given the chance. What kind of quests, though, are we talking about? Doubt the 'Dex could stomach much more than an occasional kidnapped princess and a genocidal rampage through some unsuspecting country.

 

[Kz3r0]

Spiral>Hobo Rider