Apr
17
Six months ago I wrote an article about the last Multiverse roleplaying event. The event happens every six months, and the next event will be Friday May 13th – Sunday May 15th 2011.
Apr
10
Mary Sue characters are common in roleplaying and fanfiction, especially if the writer is an amateur and doesn’t yet know the error of their ways. Mary Sue characters are perfect in every way, they’re written so that everyone likes them, they’re smart, incredibly beautiful, incredibly useful, and can do just about anything. They don’t have any character flaws so can tackle any situation in their stride. After a while this behaviour becomes very boring and we’re reminded why decent stories have characters with just the right amount of interesting traits to add realism.
We call these types of characters “Mary Sue” after a Star Trek parody of a fanfiction story (see here for the origins of Mary Sue), but it’s not just females that make Mary Sues, the same annoying qualities can be given to males.
Apr
5
When you’re creating a new character you need to think about their age. Are they young or old? There are many different ways characters will act depending on their age, so it’s crucial you get it right for your character to be realistic.
Mar
23
Mary Sue characters have been around long before there was a term to describe them. The original mention of the term Mary Sue came from a Star Trek fanfiction story called “A Trekkies Tale”. This story was a parody of other fanfiction stories written by hardcore Trekkies who insert a new character into the Star Trek universe and make them the bigger hero of the story than the original main characters.
Mar
20
If you’re creating a new roleplaying game, you might have given a lot of thought into the game you’re creating and the world where it all takes place. This might involve you doing a lot of worldbuilding to create a really imaginative but believable fantasy world. But remember that if you’re the next Tolkien or George Lucas, your members might not have the time to read the 10 pages of backstory and description about your world, how it was created and who each of the species are who inhabit it.
Mar
14
If you’re a member of a text-based roleplaying game, or have ever been involved with one, you might have heard of the term God Modder. There’s an article explaining what this means here, but have you ever wondered where the term originated and why we use it in roleplaying games?
This article has been written by SMAndy, who is a GM of Reapers union and HMS Sovereign, and one of the moderators for Blue Dwarf.
Mar
10
Gothic Horror roleplaying game Terrifyingly Yours is the first game on OngoingWorlds to reach over 100 posts. The game is set in the fictional Sweet Dreams Asylum where some patients realise they have special abilities, and that something isn’t right about the asylum.
The game is written in third person and reads like a gripping story that is created by its members.
The game was created by Duri Aspire, who I was able to ask some questions about her game.
Mar
6
You might have seen the mockups that I’ve put on Facebook already, showing a peek at a new feature in OngoingWorlds that allow moderators to give Awards to their most worthy members.
As a GM there are times when you might want to reward your members for some really exceptional storywriting, or maybe some good collaboration with another member, or going above and beyond to help out with a group event or competition. These are the times when you might want to give them something to say thanks.
Feb
28
God Modders can ruin a roleplaying experience for all other players, read my other article about godmodders here. But they’re most frustrating for the GM of a game, as they are the ones who have made the decision to totally ban these offenders, or help mould them into a decent player. The latter taking a lot more effort, and risking annoying every other member in the process.
For this article I’ve been helped out by several roleplaying veterans! Here are 12 tips for dealing with a God Modder:
Feb
25
Zero Sum Game is one of Mack's novels in the Star Trek: Typhon Pact series
I was recently told by Miles Unam from the PBEM group Starbase 118 that he’d managed to get an interview with Star Trek author David Mack.
David Mack is the national bestselling author of more than twenty novels and novellas, including Wildfire, Harbinger, Reap the Whirlwind, Precipice, Road of Bones, Promises Broken, and the Star Trek Destiny trilogy: Gods of Night, Mere Mortals, and Lost Souls. He developed the Star Trek Vanguard series concept with editor Marco Palmieri. His first work of original fiction is the critically acclaimed supernatural thriller The Calling.
In addition to novels, Mr. Mack’s writing credits span several media, including television (for episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), film, short fiction, magazines, newspapers, comic books, computer games, radio, and the Internet.
Mr. Mack was gracious enough to talk with Tallis Rhul, a member of UFOP: StarBase 118, about his experiences with writing for Star Trek and his advice for aspiring writers. This is the first time I’ve seen a member of a PBEM game get an interview with a professional author, and it’s really interesting to read about how he has created new villain aliens in the Star Trek universe, as well as expanding on existing races, like the Breen, which was a race only barely mentioned in Star Trek: DS9.
You can read the full interview at StarBase 118’s website here
