From: rg577@thor.albany.edu (Roderick Grau)
Subject: NET.rpg
Originator: rg577@thor.albany.edu
Keywords: Pick on the little guy. 
Organization: State University of New York at Albany
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 16:18:37 GMT

I have been watching what has been going on here, and it seems that the
simplest solutions to half of these problems are so elusive I have almost
puked.

1. Character generation: simply have a die roll determine initial values,
allow say 5 rerolls, among the things rolled are stats, skills, and
adjustment credit.  Then once the player feels that he has got the best
stats he can roll, he can then move points from one stats to another stat,
one skill to another skill, and from the adjustment credit to any of the
others.  There should be some reasonable exchange rate, possibly based on
the ratio of the stats/skills (ie increasing and 18 to a 19, by using a
stat of 5 would require 3 points making the 5 a 2.)

2. Skills by the above method could be arranged to creat specialization.
Using some published ranges the game determines your class based on the
speciallization you, the player, did.]

3. Genres: A game should be multi genre, but it should be possible for a
player to choose one genre and just play in that one.  The whole idea of
playing a game is to relax from the stresses of life and have fun.  If a
game is not enjoyable then no one will play it.

4. Most importantly: The process of designing a game is like that of
writing a book.  If we fight about how to write the game, then that is what
the game should be about.  For example one of the genres could be that you
are a frustrated author, who has been fighting with your editor for weeks
now.  Your agents wants to drop you, and well life is a bitch.  You want to
go to your editors office, but you apartment is downtown and he is uptown.
You have navigate through the city using your wits, fists, a trusty can of
mace, and $50.
	Now that is a story line.  Along the way there are entrances to
other story lines, like some mysterious stairway that leads down into some
unknow depths, or a bus that will take you to another city, the
possiblilities of more stories goes crazy, and with each new story it
becomes possible to vary the genres just a little until the person who
started in a 1980's city finds himself in a 2002's space ports drinking a
Laskarian whiskey and watching the nude four legged blue dancing girl on
his table.  I think you get the idea.  


	What someone should do is maintain a mailing list of those
i9nterested in working on the NET.rpg and what genre they are interested
in.  Then people in the same genre can get together and work out the bugs
in e-mail, and some people who have a lot of good ideas on stat generation
can get together and determine how the character generation should be done.
Once a list of general skills are made it then becomes simple to have
"hidden" talents.  These are calculated whenever the player enters another
genre.  They would only be used in a given genre.  This allows links to be
built bettween seperate genres, without making the initial character
generation cumbersome.

I will compile a mailing list of all those interested in working on the net
role playing game.  Please send me your mailing address, genres you are
interested in, and anything else you may see as pertainent.

RG577@thor.albany.edu
 
 
Newsgroups: rec.games.design