[Ptolus/AD&D] OOC Thread #1

[Cole]

Unmasked (As he is in the Golden Ladder, for example) I think Ulas looks kind of like this:

[Benoist]

Cool!

OK It's official. I fucked up for the first time in a post by mixing up my east and west.

But Bill noticed it in time. No harm done!

[Drohem]

Roger that! Runch has 60' infrav. as well.
I was just ribbing Ben.!
'scuse my frivolity...

:duh:

Hehehe, I didn't get it. I think we'll be fine.

[Sigmund]

All these splintered threads are sidestepping my thread subscriptions. Not sure which one I need to follow.

[Benoist]

One thing I'm noticing is that, because of the nature of the forum medium and how people post and you know, it goes sometimes fast, and sometimes slow, I really can't think of time in the game world on the same grounds as I would at a game table.

For instance here, in theory, taking the basket down is a turn. Taking the basket back up is a turn. And so on. But if we were at a game table, I'd basically let the first down there do one thing for the turn, and if they were hesitating for too long, I would then just move on, right? It's harder to tell on a forum, because for one, I want to have everyone to have a chance to participate meaningfully to the game, but on the other, I have to keep the game moving.

So I can't be thinking in time units that are too rigid. It needs to be much more fluid in a game like this, play by posts.

It's interesting.

Anyway. I think I'm going to let the second group arrive down there, as it seems Gareth and Ylarum are staying put (waiting for Gareth's input basically).

[Benoist]

Hey guys. How do you like the maps?

[Cole]

Hey guys. How do you like the maps?

They're nice. I like the lighting/darkness "layer." That's helpful.

[Benoist]

That's something I found out when I was having trouble describing the room. I could see it in my head had the maps, everything, but I was so tired (two days ago) that I just couldn't put it down in writing (I hate when that happens but hey - such is life). Anyway. Yeah. I like it too. It'll be interesting when we come around to characters using infravision. I have a few ideas on how to represent it on the maps, but haven't tried it out yet. hehe.

[Drohem]

I like the maps.

For me, a picture is worth a thousand words- especially when trying to describe something in a shared imaginary reality.

[Benoist]

I agree. Especially with a medium like this, the forums, we need visual representations, otherwise we are relying only on the written medium, with all it lacks of social interactions, gestures ("it is THAT big!"), signs, facial expressions and so on, so confusion is bound to happen. Maps (and pictures) help mitigate that limitation of PbP games.

[Cole]

I like the maps.

For me, a picture is worth a thousand words- especially when trying to describe something in a shared imaginary reality.

I agree. Especially with a medium like this, the forums, we need visual representations, otherwise we are relying only on the written medium, with all it lacks of social interactions, gestures ("it is THAT big!"), signs, facial expressions and so on, so confusion is bound to happen. Maps (and pictures) help mitigate that limitation of PbP games.

While generally the game feels "realer" to me with verbal description, I think that for play-by-post, map display is a much better way to present it.

[Drohem]

While generally the game feels "realer" to me with verbal description, I think that for play-by-post, map display is a much better way to present it.

In my experience, no matter how detailed an explanation or description I provide the players, they will each have formed a different mental picture of what I outlaid from each other and myself.  It's just natural when there is no visual reference; the mind searches for a mental image of what has been described, and each person's brain has a different file for a particular image.  I feel that providing some kind of visual reference, no matter how simple (i.e. kindergarten level drawings, or stick figures) or cheesy, helps to bridge that natural gap between the different minds and provides an anchoring point for everyone to be in the same metal parking lot, if not on the same mental bus.

[Benoist]

Sometimes, the fact that mental pictures will differ from player to player is a plus, in the sense that's it's exactly what the computer screen cannot replicate in an MMO: your ability to digest the verbal information and make it into a mental picture that suits your particular tastes, instead of submitting your imagination to a bunch of pixels on the screen. This is why a purely verbal game may feel more "real" to some people.

But indeed, for the shared world to exist, these individual mental pictures need some common frame, and that's where visual props come in. It's like throwing the same-sized stone into different ponds, and see the ripples it creates move across the water in different ways. Everybody agrees on the size of the stone, so there is an illusion of reality in the sense this is a shared element between individual/personal imaginary worlds, and at the same time, these imaginary worlds each have slight differences between individuals which, if manipulated skillfully by GMs and players alike, will end up each fitting the particular expectations of each individual, for a greater overall appreciation, and entertainment, in the game.

[Drohem]

For non-critical situations like describing the countryside, then there is not a big need for some physical picture or representation.  If I said this desert is as hot, dry, and desolate as Death Valley, CA., then there is a great need for it because almost everyone has already heard of or seen image of Death Valley and everyone should be in the same mental parking lot.

However, for critical situations (like combat, or when positioning is important) I feel that having a visual reference will cut down on any confusion between the players and the GM and between the players.

[Benoist]

Oh absolutely. Hence miniatures and such. They help nail down the paradigm of critical situations, i.e. combat, most of the time.