OngoingWorlds blog

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

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Reggie’s Writing Tips: #1 – 10

This article was written by Reggie from Cathedral: The Thieves Guild.

Sara Chase Blackwood in Game Cathedral: The Thieves Guild image Cathedral: The Thieves Guild

Reggie’s character in Cathedral: The Thieves Guild is Sara Chase Blackwood

I decided to post a rather large but simple list of writing tips/tricks/advice that was shared with me while working with professional screenwriters in LA. I have a background doing script coverage with 20th century Fox and was able to meet many successful screenwriters, some whom were highly acclaimed artists in the film industry. A lot of the knowledge they shared carries on to creative writing in general. Read More

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Glossary of play-by-post terms

glossary of play-by-post terms

To a newcomer, the wordswe use in roleplaying can seem bizarre and confusing. So here’s a glossary of terminology commonly used in play-by-post roleplaying. Read More

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Recent activity feed

Here’s a new feature which I think was first requested by Alex Solvay ages ago, so thanks go to him for the suggestion. Quite simply this shows a feed of game activity which is shown in the left column on all game pages.

recent-activity-aro

Recent activity will also show on your logged-in profile, alongside each game you’re a member of.  Read More

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11 Reasons Why Play-by-Post Games are better than MMORPGs

Star Trek Online away team

I realize that this statement may be controversial, if not heretical. Many fans cling to their MMOs with great pride, whether it’s Star Trek Online, the Old Republic, World of Warcraft, or Elder Scrolls Online’s Beta. However, as cool as it is to have that level 60 Paladin/Jedi Knight/Klingon Captain/Battlemage, there are a few downsides you should be aware of. Read More

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The story of New Worlds Project: #7 – Rebooting New Worlds Project through visual art

Life slowly returned to normal

By Kim Smouter, Co-Founder of New Worlds Project. See part 1 of the story of New Worlds Project here.

Fast forward to 2013 and a series of circumstances led to a rekindling of interest in revisiting the concept of New Worlds Project. It had been nearly three years since I as a co-founder had done anything substantive on the site, aside from answering the odd customer service request from a user unable to access their account… but in any case, the circumstances came together and the admins came together to discuss whether it was time to bring back our community to life. Read More

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50 Years in the Vortex: Roleplaying in the worlds of ‘Doctor Who’

TARDIS

“Let me get this straight. A thing that looks like a police box, standing in a junkyard, it can move anywhere in time and space?”

Ian Chesterton, Doctor Who “An Unearthly Child” (23 November 1963)

On 23 November 2013, Doctor Who, the world’s longest running sci-fi show, turns 50, with a spectacular special episode airing in 70 countries at the same time.

With 800 episodes to the end of this year with more to come and hundreds of expanded universe works, the multiverse of the show is a hugely developed one with lots of ideas for roleplaying.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. Read More

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Roleplaying Focus – Plot and Storylines

Leon Archer

Leon Archer, GM of Spellbound

Hey hey hey! Leon Archer here, more commonly known as Phantasmagoria on Ongoing Worlds. It’s time for another Roleplaying Focus. The topic of discussion is Plot & Storylines.

  • So, a big question I’ve been asked to talk about is how much should you plan your roleplay?
  • Is it’s appropriate to make an epic arc storyline that spans for several years worth of roleplay and continues for years to come furthermore?
  • Is it more appropriate to simply just wing it, and go with whatever you think out of your head? Read More

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Games Lacking Members

themurdergameIt’s Mike again with a post about a common problem in the Play by Post RPG community: a lack in members. This could be anything from only having two members, to having fifty and only six actually post. This article will cover the strains of operating a game without many members, and feature several games that are currently lacking members on Ongoing Worlds. If you don’t want to read my advice, the I URGE you to read through the list of games lacking members! These guys have worked hard on their games and would love nothing better than to have you join!

Read More

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Official Ongoing Worlds Skype Group

Hey All! Tibby here once again but not for a Tib’s Corner post but to announce the official Ongoing Worlds Skype Group! If you don’t know what skype is [because you live under a rock.] It’s a free contact service that does video, voice, and sms communication. Read More

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Randomizing and RPGs

This article was written by Steven Savage, creator of the awesome random generator site Seventh Sanctum

Look Back In Randomness . . .

Steven Savage from Seventh SanctumIn 1999 at a gathering of anime and Mystery Science Theater Fans, I commented how some anime attacks sounded randomly generated by computer. Suddenly it struck me that it would be easy to write a program to do that, as I’d written code to do superhero names and names in the vein of Elfquest characters. A few notes later I had enough ideas to try and I made an Anime Power Generator. Read More