Control

[Hobbes]

I just re-read my article, because I forgot what I wrote. Figures.

Westerns are geared towards small groups and individualists, and often in groups loosely strung together. This makes for a bit of a headache for the powers-that-be, who I think benefit from organisation.

I'm wondering what constitutes a proper degree of control for the corps of StoryPlotter in the minds of players out there. Thoughts?

[mikedsc]

In my humble opinion, I think any staff actions have to be deft and subtle, so the players rarely see that the staff is actually doing anything. This might backfire: players might claim the staff does nothing, but if the staff also does ostensible things that cannot be subtle, such as expelling griefers and doing Q&A, then it might nullify that.

[Hobbes]

I like, and don't mind offering, subtlety. The staff will be playing the gods, however, and so you will see some IC tinkering. I think that will mainly be used to facilitate plots and help PCs out of jams, etc. I'm thinking of developing a "Plot Submission Form" for the playing body, so that players will be sure to include all the necessary information when asking for SP assistance for one of their plots. I think we'll set up dynamic guidelines as to what really needs staff assistance and what does not. There will be changes to these, and there will be exceptions. I guess this is what beta is for, eh? *grin*

Myself and the customer and media relations guy (specifically for Nile, not CE) will provide updates on things the staff are working on, if they are not kept secret for your surprise. The coders will let you know about new systems come into place.

Q & A sessions will be held fairly regularly, I'm thinking three sessions quarterly, one most convenient for North America, another for Europe and yet another for Asia-Pacific.

Keep the ideas rolling!

[mikedsc]

Actually, that's exactly what I was planning on doing in my game: make the staff available to players, as per a set of guidelines, to help with plotlining they can't do themselves.

If you're on the MUD-Dev list, there was some discussion on this a week or two ago. I think it's currently down, though.