01-10-2011, 05:28 AM
I have a query. I'm not opposed to a new stat system in the least, I think it will be a good, fresh start, and all that jazz, and I don't really want to throw away all of this work we've done.
But at what point is it the stat system's fault and at what point is it the problem of people losing inspiration?
This is why I decided, earlier tonight, that my favorite part of this new proposal is static events. I think, and I'm sure those who read my writing would agree, that I do my best writing in a saga. I really grew as a writer during my extended time in the second Dante's Abyss I participated in and during FoF3, and I think I churned out some of my best work ever during Kill Town. To add to that, I'm having the time of my life in The Invasion.
I think that my worst work comes when I don't have some sort of concrete inspiration, something to bounce off of, a world to live in, breathe in, and be involved in. My first topic as Juno, "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire," was, to me, an astonishing success. It's the only personal storyline I've ever been able to finish, and the idea piggybacked off of a small subplot I'd included in my Zangya storyline.
Branching off of that, when I was Zangya, I was, for a time, one of the most active role-players on the site. I remember a day when I posted eight separate, six to seven hundred word posts. They were kind of crappy, but I posted them, and that was because I had a concrete platform to bounce off of (in this case, training for Telepathy on Namek).
People have talked about how they don't want to lose the DBZ aspect -- others have a position that completely abhors the idea of a DBZRPG at all, but mostly, it's the former. The major complaint is that aside from the special powers, the planets, and the Dragon Balls, the world doesn't really feel like DBZ anymore, it doesn't really feel like we're a bunch of warriors set to fight mystical foes, and save worlds. A lot of people have complained that it's become too much like X-Men.
Static events could save that. Something could be done, these static events could be used to redefine the world in a more DBZ way -- not, "oh, hey, a swarm of aliens is invading" (although, as a sci fi fan, I don't mind branching off from DBZ occasionally) but something more DBZ focused. I'm not creative enough to come up with a relevant example, but something like that.
I know that activity bursts when people have a solid platform to bounce off of. Creative freedom is obviously preferred and needed, but no one will argue with having a world that shapes itself and changes around them (sometimes even because of them). I think that if The Invasion continues to work, this idea will have even more credibility, and if we apply it specifically to DBZ, if this ever-changing world is ever-changed by things that feel like DBZ, then I think we win two battles: giving people an outlet for inspiration and giving people a return to form.
So yeah. That's my opinion. I'm pretty much beating a horse that has already been beaten and agreed on, but I'm dreading that it's going to be overlooked in all of this mess about new stat systems and grading systems. And I think that it's one of the few items proposed that has an awesome chance of succeeding in beefing up inspiration and, subsequently, activity.
But at what point is it the stat system's fault and at what point is it the problem of people losing inspiration?
This is why I decided, earlier tonight, that my favorite part of this new proposal is static events. I think, and I'm sure those who read my writing would agree, that I do my best writing in a saga. I really grew as a writer during my extended time in the second Dante's Abyss I participated in and during FoF3, and I think I churned out some of my best work ever during Kill Town. To add to that, I'm having the time of my life in The Invasion.
I think that my worst work comes when I don't have some sort of concrete inspiration, something to bounce off of, a world to live in, breathe in, and be involved in. My first topic as Juno, "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire," was, to me, an astonishing success. It's the only personal storyline I've ever been able to finish, and the idea piggybacked off of a small subplot I'd included in my Zangya storyline.
Branching off of that, when I was Zangya, I was, for a time, one of the most active role-players on the site. I remember a day when I posted eight separate, six to seven hundred word posts. They were kind of crappy, but I posted them, and that was because I had a concrete platform to bounce off of (in this case, training for Telepathy on Namek).
People have talked about how they don't want to lose the DBZ aspect -- others have a position that completely abhors the idea of a DBZRPG at all, but mostly, it's the former. The major complaint is that aside from the special powers, the planets, and the Dragon Balls, the world doesn't really feel like DBZ anymore, it doesn't really feel like we're a bunch of warriors set to fight mystical foes, and save worlds. A lot of people have complained that it's become too much like X-Men.
Static events could save that. Something could be done, these static events could be used to redefine the world in a more DBZ way -- not, "oh, hey, a swarm of aliens is invading" (although, as a sci fi fan, I don't mind branching off from DBZ occasionally) but something more DBZ focused. I'm not creative enough to come up with a relevant example, but something like that.
I know that activity bursts when people have a solid platform to bounce off of. Creative freedom is obviously preferred and needed, but no one will argue with having a world that shapes itself and changes around them (sometimes even because of them). I think that if The Invasion continues to work, this idea will have even more credibility, and if we apply it specifically to DBZ, if this ever-changing world is ever-changed by things that feel like DBZ, then I think we win two battles: giving people an outlet for inspiration and giving people a return to form.
So yeah. That's my opinion. I'm pretty much beating a horse that has already been beaten and agreed on, but I'm dreading that it's going to be overlooked in all of this mess about new stat systems and grading systems. And I think that it's one of the few items proposed that has an awesome chance of succeeding in beefing up inspiration and, subsequently, activity.