OngoingWorlds blog

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

Jun
13

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What a SciWorld!

Category: Awards, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplay Systems, Roleplay-related projects, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

A SciWorld for the ages! Where do I even begin? With some of the most diverse topics & panels I’ve ever seen, great ideas & comments from the audience, and a trivia event that felt more like a shark feeding frenzy, this SciWorld had it all. I haven’t even mentioned the hilarious opening ceremony video yet; thank you Charles and the team for that. If you missed SciWorld, we look forwarding to seeing you at FallFest, which will happen sometime later this year. Both events will be held in this discord server moving forward.

Now that TNU Project‘s SimmingHub has officially assumed the management & administration of SciWorld & FallFest with the completion of our first convention, I would like to personally thank Ongoing Worlds and Charles Star for sponsoring the last three SciWorlds and all 10 FallFests. Your service to the community is much appreciated and we hope to live up to the ideals you championed. On behalf of the Ongoing Worlds Board of Advisors and the SimmingHub Organizing Committee it is also an honor of mine to bestow some awards to members of the community, without whom this event would not have been possible.

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Jan
29

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2019 Simming Prize Winners

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

This article was posted at the request of John Nugra, the Administrator of the Simming Prize.

The Simming Prize dates back to 1999 in honoring the very best of the online role playing community.  Up to five Prizes are awarded annually to people, sims, clubs, and other organizations that (1) exemplify service, quality, and dedication within play-by-post online role-playing; or who (2) pioneer new technology or techniques within the community. The Prizes can recognize a significant onetime accomplishment, or sustained contributions over a period of time.  The Simming Prize is presented in the memory of longtime role player and leader Seth Cotis.  

After careful consideration and thoughtful deliberation, the Simming Prize trustees and judges hereby award the 2019 Simming Prize to:

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Feb
7

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Announcing the latest Simming Prize laureates

Category: Awards, Competition, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , , Leave a Comment

The Trustees of the Simming Prize are honored to announce our latest laureates:

* Charles Star of Independence Fleet – For his unprecedented contributions to the simming community. As a founder and long time leader within Independence Fleet, Charles has personally sponsored the launch of 21 sims and commanded 10 within the club. During his time as IDF CinC in the early 2000s and as Chief of Fleet Ops from 2010 – 12 he oversaw exceptional growth within the club. More recently, Charles has been a primary a leader within the larger simming community, serving as the administrator/coordinator for SciWorld, FallFest, the Tournament of Simulations, and the Squiddie and OWCH awards. He is a member of the OngoingWorlds Board of Advisers, and has been the instigator of community wide April Fools jokes. Charles is also a storehouse of simming knowledge, and has been a primary contributor to the Roleplay Wiki and the OngoingWorlds Blog. Read More

Mar
8

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What is Open Role Playing?

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Character Development, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplay Systems, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , , , , , 28 Comments

Captain Dick Sprague, Commanding Officer of the USS Chuck Norris

That’s a question I get a lot when people read or hear about my game, the USS Chuck Norris, as it’s quite different from most other sims out there.  But before I answer that question, I should first explain what the Chuck Norris is to set up the proper context.

The USS Chuck Norris is a play-by-email sim, but we use the NOVA system from Anodyne Productions that came out a few years ago.  Play-by-post seems to be the most popular term today for this type of game.  We launched on January 2nd, 2012, and are a member of Independence Fleet.  There are currently 16 active players on the Chuck Norris, and many have been with us for more than a year.  Although, we also have quite a few players that have been simming for less than six months.

With that out of the way, I’ll finally answer the question! Read More

Jan
1

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Introducing the 2012 Simulation Cup Winners…

Category: Awards, Competition, Events, OngoingWorlds site news Tags: , , , 1 Comment

The Simulation Cup

The Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the winners of the 2012 Simulation Cup!  But before I get into that, I’d like to briefly explain what the Simulation Cup is and how it works.  Filling in this year for the annual Tournament of Simulations, the Sim Cup is a one-time competition allowing role play games of various clubs and genres to compete against each other in a friendly manner for several awards.  Each participating sim first submits one mission/episode/thread/chat session that was completed during 2012.  Next, each sim’s submission is evaluated by two judges on a specific criteria set.  The games receiving the highest marks are then recognized.

Evaluating sims will always be subjective and this is especially true for the Simulation Cup.  We’re not here to identify the best sim or sims as this is impossible.  Instead, we recognize what we think are the best sims in our opinions.  A different set of judges may very well chose a completely different set of winners.  And that’s fine.  As said earlier, each participating game was graded by two different judges. Read More

Dec
16

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2012 Simulation Cup

Category: Awards, Competition Tags: , , , Leave a Comment

The Simulation Cup

It gives me great pleasure to announce that the Simulation Cup is hereby officially open for entrants!  What is the Simulation Cup you might ask?  It’s a one-time competition where sims and role play games have the opportunity to showcase their excellence and compete against each other in a friendly manner to win various prizes.  And here’s how it works…

How to Enter

The sim’s host (or the host’s representative) will submit the following short entry form along with a sample of their role play activity.  Our judges will then rate that sample in several different areas. Once all sims have been evaluated, we’ll announce winners in various categories across the different genres. Sims that do not place will not be named. So if you’d like to enter your sim, please email Charles Star at star.idf@gmail.com with the following information: Read More

Nov
12

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Roleplaying Focus – What’s Your Genre?

Category: Inspiration for writing, Interviews, PBEM games, Story summaries Tags: , , , 2 Comments

Leon Archer

Leon Archer, GM of Spellbound

Hello, and welcome to another Roleplaying Focus.

Today, I’d like to talk about various genres people play in their games, and why they play that particular genre. For this I’m going to need a some of the OngoingWorlds players to join in!

Leon Archer, GM of Spellbound
Spellbound is a high fantasy game involving students at the mage academy of Aetherion.

I’ll shamelessly start with my own game in OngoingWorlds, Spellbound. It’s a game with magic, mages, ethereal creatures. castles, and dragons. I like to split fantasy into two sub-genres into itself, just because fantasy involves such a wide variety of themes. For me, there’s high and low fantasy. High fantasy, such as Spellbound is all about being as far away from the norm as you can. It’s allows players to be completely creative at time, which is why I love it so personally. The tricky part is generally to avoid clichés or becoming so powerful and nothing is ever going to threaten that character. Although, through experience I have certainly have developed ways of doing so, heh heh. For me, I’ve found that because of sheer scope of a high fantasy game, it allows players a much easier time in accessing a roleplay without having to worry so much about the constraints of the world their character is in, or fitting his character perfectly with the lore. It’s a much more flexible genre. Read More

Oct
12

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The Age-Old Debate: Quality vs. Quantity

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Play-by-post discussion Tags: 6 Comments

Rolls Royce vs average cars

So Which Is It?

In all my years of simming I don’t think any single issue has been more divisive in the play by e-mail/post/board worlds than the question of quality vs. quantity.  Unfortunately, since no one conducts scientific studies of online role playing or its participants, we’re forced to rely on basic observation and our own experiences, which can be very deceiving at times.  Nevertheless, I can recall multiple instances when a quality vs. quantity discussion blew up into a full-scale battle, sometimes splitting sims, and even clubs on occasion.  I bet you remember similar episodes too!  So what is it?  Which attribute is more important for the success of a sim?  Is it quality?  Or is it quantity?  Answer that question in your head right now.  Better yet, write it down on a scrap sheet of paper. Read More

Sep
18

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Fallfest 2012 – IRC event for roleplayers

Category: Events Tags: , , 2 Comments

Fallfest banner

DavidThis article was written by Charles Star of Independence Fleet. Fallfest is similar to SciWorld, a chat event that ran a few months ago, but at a much more friendly time for Europeans. This sounds like a good idea to me, I was asleep when the best bits of SciWorld were happening!

Charles StarWe’re less than a week away from FallFest ’12!  What is FallFest, you might ask?  Well, it’s actual name is the Simming Fall Festival, and it’s an annual extravaganza held in online IRC chat rooms.

So this year on Friday, September 21st, role players from around the globe will come together to celebrate their craft: online simming and role playing.  We’ll meet for discussions, trivia games, and live sims hosted by some of the most talented and celebrated role players on the net.  With everything from Star Trek to Buffy, we’re sure to have something for you! Read More