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RPR Archive The RPF Summer Challenge

Discussion in 'Role Playing Resource Archive' started by Imperial_Hammer , May 16, 2009.

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  1. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Shylock H and Processor Moriarity. That is an amzing CS, Fin. It really is. :cool: Good I did not get my Blade Runner style sheet into the competition. I would be embarassed, by now. :D

    So . . . romance, hm? . . . I don´t know . . . maybe the official Codex team reteams and spices things up a bit? LordT? Ready to get . . . romantic?
     
  2. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Having a supercomputer as a detective certainly sounds like a splendid idea!

    Light', I understand where you are coming from, but if you thought to empathise with the sole judge of these Challenges, you might consider that he may not have time to do all the work that your explanation suggests.

    That said, Shalin! :)

    Hammer', I will follow that advice you gave, and I am relieved I put in the Meerian Vice post. When someone says make a character, I assume they just mean do a character sheet. I'd have been laughed out of the Challenge if that was all I had done. :p

    Well done, all.

    If we do have time for a Public Challenge, how about each RPer posts their own favourite post. I have a candidate, re. 40 Uses of a Dead Jedi's Hand. :D
     
  3. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    So, we submitted, LordT and me. Let´s see what the official foreign-language team can do this time :D
     
  4. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    Alrighty folks!

    The two romantic entries have been posted up in the Portfolio thread. I'll be looking at them tomorrow and will put up my judgment then!

    Feel free to peruse them in the meanwhile!



    And now for the next challenge:

    [color=orangered][b][u]Challenge #12[/u][/b][/color]

    [b]*** Create an original work of gaming philosophy ***[/b]

    This includes game analysis, meta-RPing, board analysis, gaming advice, and any other sort of topic one would find in the RPF.

    [u]Game Design Judging Criteria[/u]

    - Clarity
    - Thoroughness
    - Originality
    - Intelligence

    Send me a PM if you have any questions about what qualifies. Same as always with extensions and such. Just ask and you shall receive.

    -I_H
     
  5. RachelTyrell

    RachelTyrell Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2009
    Oh, another philosophy contest? I´ll take that challenge. And I need to take it today. As I go to holiday tomorrow. So no need to prolong anything for me. And these two romances are really a little . . . different . . . :D LordT . . . Sirak . . . making me proud once more!
     
  6. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    I enjoy the contrast between the two entries. :p
     
  7. LordTroepfchen

    LordTroepfchen Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2007
    Good you find a place for your article, Rachel. And yeah, the contrast is a little . . . funny :p But I like them both in their own way.

    But I would actually prefer to life in Pixies and Busters world instead of Mordred´s and Kyla´s. [face_laugh]
     
  8. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    Alrighty!

    I'm giving this one to the Xan/Sey duet.

    Both of these writings were very good, as expected. All four participants are skilled RPers that know their stuff, so there was nothing structural or seriously at fault with either entry. Likewise, I can't really judge either piece on setting or topic, as they are on totally different sides of the spectrum, both equally respectable. The tragic romance theme is wonderful, and the Sith-Jedi thing is very Romeo-Juliet. Likewise, we should never forget the simple "puppy-love" style of romance as well. Romance can be both tormented and simply joyful.

    So rather than all that, I looked at just the writing and the story and how the characters interacted and all that. Nothing particularly amiss stood out to me when I read the Xan/Sey piece. However, I could not say that for the LordT/Sirak piece.

    Now don't get me wrong. I understand the depth and complexity of the exchange you were trying to go for here. Two people who were once lovers, then became enemies, but never really got over their love for eachother. That's complicated stuff, and would require a lot of shifting emotions. Its a confusing and turbulent time, and I feel, in one sense, this is perfectly reflected in your posts.

    However, I also feel that this series of posts were a little *too* schizophrenic for me to fully endorse. I mapped out what I took to be the major emotional highlights of the exchange.

    Kyla
    Post 1: Hard core evil, to the point of trying to strangle guards
    Post 3: No real evil shown. Admits to missing the Jedi, confesses Sith plans
    Post 5: Re-erupts into anger. Screams into Jedi's face. Bursts into tears
    Post 7: Anger crumbles into hope. Wonders if they could still live together. Wants to be let out.
    Post 9: Doesn't defend self, gives up, and dies. Admits she deserves to die (converts?)

    Mordred
    Post 2: Angry (in the post), yet releases the Sith from the chains?
    Post 4: Still angry. Calls her a monster. Kind of doubting, but still seems pretty resolute
    Post 6: Switches to compassionate. Shares story about son. Says he cannot kill the Sith and never could. Seriously doubts the resolve he has been holding in the last 2 posts.
    Post 8: Switches dramatically again to resolved and angry. Has some hints of love from post 6, but its mostly hate and resolve. Kills wife.

    There just doesn't seem to be a stable narrative here. I can understand all of these emotions being in the piece, but they don't flow well. We have Kayla switching from anger to love to resolve and to despair one right after another in mostly short posts. All the while Mordred tries to maintain a serious Jedi tone, but in one post (#6), his whole countenance, including thoughts and doubts, switches over to hopeless romantic.

    I think this feeling of schitzophrenia could have been solved in a couple of ways. One way could be for both characters to carry consistent doubts throughout the whole exchange, having one emotion or the other flare up, but never losing the other. Another could be for longer posts with elaborated psychological progressions. I don't mind having Mordred become all sentimental in the middle of his narrative, but I would like to have a more elaborate story as to his emotional progression towards and then subsequently away from that state. It just seemed to me like the emotions were flipping on and off like a switch, without much rhyme or reason.

    If Dantooine was such a serious event, I felt it should have made this whole decision easier on either side. Either Mordred believes it was serious enough that he doesn't even second-guess himself, *or* he doesn't, and he second-guesses himself over the whole narrative. And Kyla, in doing the event, is either so far gone that she doesn't still hold feelings for Mordred (love, remorse, whatever), *or* she is not that far gone, and holds these feelings over the entire narrative.

    Also, the role of each character's force alignment seemed to be inconsistent. Again, apart of this is to be expected, as the two characters are not exactly following their factions
     
  9. s65horsey

    s65horsey Otter-loving Former EUC Mod star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2006
    *squees!*

    Oh wow! Despite Impy lumping me in with the other forces of the RPF, I've never considered myself one nor been recognized so I'm super excited to win this! I also agree with Impy that as I read more and more CS's I see that a lot of characters were tortured souls and thought that we needed some simple 'awww cute!' stuff in the RPF. :D

    Excellent competition from LordT and Sirak though.=D=
     
  10. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Well, I would have given Sey&Xan the award on the innovative choice of their romance, alone. Despite reading my posts I really think I can´t keep up with the simple beauty of their exchange. I totally was hoping for them winning. :D

    Congrats, girls! [face_peace] I loved that little story.
     
  11. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    *high fives* Yay!

    I'd also like to add that the entire thing was Sey's idea - she came up with the dogs and everything. I just played my part. :D

    Well done Sirak and LordT too! We made Imp work =D=
     
  12. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    Entry sent in for Philosophy question. :cool:

    And congrats to Sey and Xan! That is absolutely awesome, guys!
     
  13. LordTroepfchen

    LordTroepfchen Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2007
    Congrats. I am happy we rushed our entry, we wouldn´t have beaten yours anyway :p Great show, girls!

    Maybe I´ll do some philosophy thing . . . I must see if I find time.
     
  14. Winged_Jedi

    Winged_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2003
    Can we get a few days' extension on the Philosophy Challenge? I'm drafting an entry but I won't be able to get it in today.
     
  15. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    *hand up* Me too. A few days would actually help.
     
  16. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    Thats fine! :)

    Extension until Friday granted.

    -I_H
     
  17. RachelTyrell

    RachelTyrell Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 15, 2009
    Aaah, I actually got online to read the entires, but the whole thing is postponed, I see. Well. I´ll read some games instead. What actually happened . . . in AFAS? *goes reading*
     
  18. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    I really tried to make an entry, but I can´t piece it together. Why has philosophy to be so demanding?
     
  19. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    Well, if Fin doesn't get an entry in, I'll be happier, as I'll have a better chance.

    :p
     
  20. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    Sorry, Sinre, but I send mine in, anyway. used it more as aplatform than as a contest-entry, I must admit. I don´t expect to last against serious competition.
     
  21. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    Well... mine was a little of me throwing ideas at a page and jumbling them around a bit. So... we'll see what happens.

    So far, its conclusions are ringing true.

    *muses on that*
     
  22. Winged_Jedi

    Winged_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2003
    Yaarrrr, couldn't get something together in time, alas. I'm going to just have to pull out all the stops for the final 3 challenges!
     
  23. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    The Philosophy Entries are up. Three pretty good ones. I've read through 'em, and I think I know who I'm giving it to, but I think I will sleep on it to be sure. I'll post the results tomorrow.

    Likewise, the next challenge is a game design one, and that too will be up tomorrow. This challenge isn't planned to be a community-submitted one, but I think for these last two before the final, I will entertain suggestions from the crowd. If you have an idea for the next game design challenge, PM it to me before tomorrow night sometime and I'll give it some thought.

    -I_H
     
  24. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    Alrighty...

    I'm giving this one to RachellTyrell. As always with you guys, it was a pretty tough call. Fins' entry falls out first, as his own post above predicts. Its a little short, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but it could use some detailing and some added argumentation. It also does a lot of speculation, and I (predictably) find its argumentation questionable. I think there is a thresh-hold where an RPG ceases to be an RPG and drifts back towards fanfiction (as less players stick around, the GM takes a greater percentage of the story/characters/NPCs on, and the style of writing gets closer to fanfiction). While this is certainly up to debate, I think it absolutely should have been addressed.

    As to the example of the chess game, I wonder about how representative that is. It was launched as a 2 player + GM game. Everyone knew that was what they were signing on to. So to compare it to a large scale game that has lost its players seems not to be a great fit. I also think the idea of character consent for a game-lock should be addressed. If you don't finish it, but all your players are cool with the game being locked (perhaps they continue to post only 1/2 heartedly), don't you get the same advantage as continuing it, plus the added advantage of moving on to more fertile fields?

    Its an interesting idea to play with, but I think it still needs some work.

    Then there is Sinre with his piece on franchises. A few things on this one, which, I think is ironically enough quite negatively slanted towards franchises. I don't think it is quite balanced, which I find particularly amusing. I think, in your advantages, you need to address the idea that there already is alot of crossover between the two Community boards and the RPF. If were to look in ABY, I imagine I would find more RPFers than EUCers or SWCers. Maybe not, but the idea that there is some "home influence" should be recognized there. I think your essay could also be considerably stronger if you examine some of the RPFs past franchises. As much as the ABYers seem to deny it sometime ( :p ), IBoP and WotG did franchises too (as well as the untimely UF in NSWRPF). The way the paper was advanced, that we're still sort of waiting on the results of this new experiment, only begs the question as to how these past flagships fit into the relationship with ABY. Can you learn from these games? What do they illuminate about the general principles you advance in the piece? Also, I think the essay in itself degenerated a bit at the end. I had a hard time following what you were referencing, and you were probably making a lot of points that make sense in your head, but not in any of ours ( :p ). Might have been good to give the last bit a little more love.

    Which leaves Tyrells piece. It certainly has places for improvement. Like a bunch of the pieces being put out these days, I crave for the larger picture. It revolves around AFAS and ABY, which is well and good, but wide ranging pieces like this really demand a more global outlook. Thankfully, you do expand your focus in the second to the last paragraph of your hypothesis section, and this was well appreciated, but it doesn't seem you apply your hypothesis to these games, which is too bad. *However*, I think your idea is simple enough that I, and the reader, can easily do alot of the universalization in our heads. Reflecting on my own games, it seems that most do, as you foreshadow, the classical/suspense hypothesis. But I also can think of some games I've been in that do the curiosity hypothesis. Perhaps Ktala's current game is like that, with its interest in the Sith genocide set in the past. In any event, the observation is relatively simple and straightforward, but hasn't been done before really. I've never stopped to think about it that way, and to me, that is a hallmark of a good paper. The win, she is yours.




    Now as for the rest of you alls...

    I often hear about the need for a good Sith game. One that doesn't degenerate into hacking and slashing and Jedi stomping and etc, etc, etc. So lets see
     
  25. LordTroepfchen

    LordTroepfchen Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2007
    Can I throw in my existing one? Because it fits the demands to the letter :p

    And Rachel, I was a little dissappointed you began by Point A. and not a little further down the line. I guess the Micro-Hypothesis bow is what is interesting to most here. Cues&Gaps Chapters need to get online :) Now!
     
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