OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

Sep
8

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Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary: Your Favorite Trek

Category: Interviews, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , 10 Comments

The first episode of Star Trek, "The Man Trap," aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.

The first episode of Star Trek, “The Man Trap,” aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.  While it was the sixth episode filmed, the studio elected to show it first because of its horror-based plot.

Fifty years ago today the very first episode of Star Trek aired.  In “The Man Trap,” viewers saw Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew battle a shapeshifting alien attempting to steal the salt in their bodies, which of course would kill them.  (Spoiler Alert: The crew survives and the mission continues… otherwise we probably wouldn’t be publishing this article!)  Reviews of the episode were mixed.  For what it’s worth, I like it.

Most people, including many in the cast and crew, expected the show to last only a season or two and to be nothing more than a footnote in television history.  As they say, the rest is history.  The Star Trek franchise is now valued in the billions of dollars and a cultural phenomenon that permeates many sectors, including the simming and online role playing community that we’re all a part of.  Just imagine, for a moment, simming without Star Trek.  Gene Roddenberry surely could not have foreseen all of this!

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Aug
25

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We’re Now Accepting Host/Chair Applications for FallFest 2016

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Fall Fest 2015

FallFest 2015 logo
Image by Jalana Rajel

That’s right, it’s time once again to plan the online roleplaying community’s premier event: The Simming Fall Festival (aka FallFest).  This will be the 6th festival since our beginnings back in 2011.

For those who may be new to the Ongoing Worlds blog, FallFest is a one-day online convention held annually in IRC chatrooms for anything and everything simming and online role playing.  We remember our past and look to our future.  It generally runs for about seven hours and includes multiple discussions, trivia games, and live role plays.  Originally intended to be a mini-SciWorld more friendly to European timezones, FallFest has since grown into much, much more.

We need a host & chairperson to make it all happen…

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Jul
24

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New Star Trek series has a name familiar to roleplayers

Category: Roleplaying community Tags: , 2 Comments

A trailer has been released for the new Star Trek series, which now has a name “Discovery”. And if you think that name sounds familiar, there’s a Star Trek roleplaying game called Discovery as part of the Star Trek Borderlands community. Here’s what their Discovery looks like:

The USS Discovery

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Jul
13

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25 Years, The Evolution of a Club

Category: Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

star fleet 25 years

A Star Trek fan group and a 90210 fan group went to battle on Prodigy.

Sounds more like a lead-up to a joke than a legacy, but then again, as they say, sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Read More

Jun
27

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Forget the Brexit! What about the Squexit? Top 10 Splits in RP History

Category: Roleplaying community Tags: , , 14 Comments

brexit

On Thursday, June 23rd, voters in Great Britain elected to withdraw from the European Union (EU) with 51.9% of the ballots cast.  This event received wide media coverage and led to the resignation of United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron.  The political, economic, and social repercussions of the “Brexit” (British Exit) continue to be debated by pundants.

OngoingWorlds logo - an alien holding a world

The Squiddie voted to remain our mascot, preventing a possible Squexit.

While the world tuned into the unfolding Brexit decision last week, the media missed another important vote: The Squexit!  Fortunately for us, our very own Squiddie elected to remain the Ongoing Worlds mascot for the foreseeable future.  With both the Brexit & Squexit still very much on our minds, here are the top 10 (+1) splits from simming and online role playing history.

Top RP Splits in Chronological Order

  • 1995: Tigra Tigress, the Chief Editor of Starfleet Online’s (SFOL) official newsletter, is forced to resign by club leadership.  A significant portion of SFOL’s membership then follow Tigress to form Continuum Online.  This is one in a line of multiple splits for SFOL, which struggled to transition from its place as a leader in AOL simming to an Internet-based club.  SFOL is eventually absorbed by Federation Sim Fleet (FSF) in 2005.  It is unclear when Continuum Online went defunct, but it is believed to have occurred circa 2000. Read More

Jun
25

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Anton Yelchin’s top 5 moments as Ensign Chekov

Category: Roleplaying community Tags: , 5 Comments

Anton Yelchin as Chekov

In 2009, J. J. Abrams and a crew of talented actors relaunched the Star Trek franchise with a vengeance, wowing fans with sumptuous special effects, fast-paced action and reimaginations of the Original Series characters that left fans wondering if the two casts had some kind of mental link. Read More

Jun
21

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The 2016 Squiddie Award Winners

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , 3 Comments

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Last month, we asked for nominations for our top award, the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing (aka the Squiddie).  You responded with 29 absolutely outstanding nominations.  For anyone who missed those posts, the Squiddie is presented annually to one person, one game, and one club.  Each of the three winners is awarded for one of the following respective areas:

  • Excellence in Role Playing
  • Originality & Innovation
  • Facilitating the Community Experience

As you can imagine, narrowing the list of 29 nominees down to 3 winners was extremely difficult as there were many top-notch people, games, and clubs recommended.  But we had to do it!  Without and further ado, here are your 2016 winners… Read More

Jun
15

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SciWorld 2016. June 23-24. Be there.

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community, Trivia Tags: Leave a Comment

2016 SciWorld Online Convention

2016 SciWorld Online Convention

SciWorld 2016 is almost upon us!  Indeed, the 14th iteration of the original simming and online role playing convention will be held in chatrooms at www.sciworldonline.com on Thursday, June 23rd and Friday, the 24th.  We plan to kick things off at 5:30pm EST (10:30pm BST) on Thursday and at 4:00pm EST (9:00pm BST) on Friday.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the SciWorld Online Convention, it’s an extravaganza held annually in IRC chatrooms for everything that is simming and online roleplaying.  Typical events include discussions and workshops on issues within the greater simming community, interactive trivia games, and live-action role plays.  There’s something there for everyone!  As always, SciWorld is open to all simmers and online role players, regardless of rank or club affiliation.  The first SciWorld was held in 1999 and sponsored by the Simming League.  Past SciWorlds have also been sponsored by other great organizations, including Ongoing Worlds and SimEnc.  This year’s convention is sponsored by Roleplay Wiki, which also sponsored the previous two.

So what does this all mean for you?

  • First, plan to attend yourself.  What better place to share your own ideas and learn the latest and greatest from the rest of the community?
  • Second, invite your friends.  Let them join in on the fun too!
  • Finally, if you would like to host a one-hour discussion, trivia game, or role play, contact Zania Ja’arda with this form.  But don’t wait too long–the schedule fills up quickly!

See you in a little over a week at SciWorld 2016.

Jun
1

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Congratulations to our 2016 Squiddie Nominees

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, Roleplaying community Tags: 1 Comment

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

The nomination window for the 2016 Squiddies (aka the Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing) closed yesterday.  As some of you will recall, we asked the entire simming & online role playing community to nominate the best people, games, and clubs for the highest honor bestowed by this organization.  You answered with nominations for 29 outstanding people/games/clubs.  And what a fantastic list it is!  Without any further ado, here are your 2016 Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing nominees in no particular order… Read More

May
24

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A few nice words about last year’s Squiddie nominees

Category: Events, Roleplaying community Tags: Leave a Comment

happy finger drawings

As we’re in the midst of the 2016 Squiddie nomination period, I thought it would be helpful to post some of the kind words that we received for last year’s nominees. As you can see, there was quite a bit of talent that we weren’t able to award.

For a reminder, there’s just a week remaining to get your nominations in. See the original post here to submit your favourite role players, games, and clubs for a Squiddie – the top award presented by OngoingWorlds. Read More

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