0
Intro
Welcome, welcome to this entry of my non-premier blog. For awhile I’ve been watching as the COT RPG status fell and more and more ask the sky ‘what can I do to make a RPG that works? Why can’t mine be like Reality, To Save the World?’ Some look towards the RPG Judges to ask for tips, but even the Judges aren’t sure why things are failing. It’s like the digital RPG Black Death, sweeping across COT and killing off RPGs. Only the strongest can survive. So when this happens, the newbies get angry and go ‘the only reason those RPGs are working is because the starters are loved, that they have no enemies.’ I can say for a fact that I once felt this, if only for a short period. So this leads us on to the rest of the topic, how to make a RPG. This will largely be describing my troubles and experiences, as there’s no better way to make something than watch it be made. Read on.
Surviving the Storm (How I Did It)
This could also be called ‘you have to be lucky’, or ‘it’s a matter of chance’, but I called it this for a reason. I was lucky. A member named Rockhound back then sent me a PM saying that’d be like to join up before it even got approved. He sent me his profile and it worked out fairly well. When the RPG was posted, I gained another important player; Exo. His character Emily would change the whole course of RPG. A member called Zarwin joined up, bringing to the RPG a character that would change the rest of the RPG too. And then the last important player (no offence other players; you’re just as special and shaped the RPG in your own ways; I’m just listing the ones with the biggest changes.
), Half-Dragon. He was known as something else back then, but I forget just what it was.It was by chance these players stumbled over the RPG, joined with their characters, and made sure the ship didn’t sink. Soon these players created a six-pages-every-day RPG, and in a mere month or two I had reached a hundred pages. And these characters created balance in things. Exo’s character created a threat to all Outbreakers. HD’s character created a humorous relief when there was a battle going on. Rock’s characters created a sub-plot that went deep and Zarwin’s created a general ripple, also leading to a few sub-plots. All these things went together with my idea to make a successful RPG. It was by sheer luck I got a blockbuster hit RPG, not skill.
Making Your Ship (The Troubles I Faced Making Outbreak)
When I made Outbreak, I faced heavy criticism. Well it got by all the RPG Judges with no troubles, almost all of the Judges felt that the RPG would never make it. In a talk with Spink a few months ago, he himself admitted that he doubted Outbreak when it first came out, even though he had agreed to be the co-host. When I talked to Robo and Teebs a little while later, they too confirmed it. Wrack herself stated back when she approved that Outbreak wouldn’t last. I don’t know about the other three judges back then, but still, of half of the RPG Judges felt that this RPG wouldn’t last. Many newbies go to the RPG Judges in the RPG Topic and go ‘hey guys, do you think this’ll work’ and the Judges come and go ‘nah, we don’t think would really fly.’ I mean no offence to any member of the Judges, but incase no one’s noticed, the Judges can’t predict the future. Otherwise Outbreak wouldn’t be around. So what is the point of the Judges? Spink has told me that the point of them is to find the errors in a RPG, and, if they feel like the RPG won’t fly, deny it from being approved. I was lucky. I posted for approval when the Judges were new to their job and not completely sure what to let through or not. Once again, chance came in.
So Does It Not Matter How Good Your Ship Is Built?
Yes and no. Even the lamest, stupidest, most grammar horrid fly eaten piece of junk pulled out of the landfill on a rainy day can work. As best said by Spock, ‘the chance of our shields holding out is 23577842 to 1. The chance of our weapons firing before we’re hit is 45678302 to 1. The only logical answer would be to take a hit to our shields.’ The chance of your horrid RPG working is small, but it can. There’s always a chance, it’s just sometimes it’s too small to even wonder about. You need to make a good RPG, but even if you’re the best writer out there, have the most epic of plots, have the best and easiest to read paragraphing, you’re RPG can still fail. Why? Because if people don’t want to play, you ain’t getting anywhere. However, if someone wants to play your horrid RPG, it lives.
So What Do I Need To Do?
In the following, I will give a list of things you can use to increase your RPG’s chances of success.
1)Play in it every day. This is important. With out it’s GM, a RPG dies.
2)Be loyal to it. Don’t play for two minutes a day. Devote time to it.
3)If you have lots of homework or your life is very busy, it’s best not to have a RPG.
4)Stick with it to the end. If it has to die, then be with it on it’s death bed. Don’t ditch it.
5)Listen to your staff and players. This is extremely important, more important than anything else. They have amazing ideas sometimes.
6)Don’t give up when someone tells you your RPG sucks. Just remember that if they can’t give you any real reason, it doesn’t fail.
7)Have good players. This is where everything comes down to luck. And this is by far the most important of things.
Closing Words
I understand that some of you may be going, ‘hey, you don’t even follow your own list!’ Many players in Outbreak probably agree that I don’t listen to their word. But I do, even if it doesn’t seem like it sometimes. I really do take it into thought, and most of the time I make a compromise. The worse thing a GM could do is to go his own way and force the players to follow. I learned this the hard way. The GM has the job of making the ideas; the players have the job of pointing out the mistakes. Never forget this, newbies. So, that’s the end. Hope you enjoyed this short little guide.
-Inferna, Guardian Mistress