Well, I figured this is the best place to put in a half advertisement, half plea for help. The thing is, there is a lack of quality roleplaying on BYOND.
I'm an avid roleplayer, which I'm glad I am, because I came to BYOND as an anime fanboy (An obsession I've gladly moved past). I played games with "h1t dat lawg akshun* and given myself horrible wrist pains clicking the "attack" verb.
So I tried something else. One day, I logged on a game called Hidden Wind Clan, which I thought was a naruto game. It was. However this game did a lot of things differently than those games I played before, including some other roleplaying games. It had a sort of different take on the roleplaying perspctive, one that (with trouble) I learned to happily embrace. The icons are very well done, I'd say GBA level (and once you see them, it's not much of a surprise why). It has a browser based music system, that makes it so no resources have to be downloaded to play a song (:D), and a fairly active community currently experiencing a complete structural overhaul.
If you don't like Naruto, please don't turn this game away. Aside from the ninja aspect of a game, this structural overhaul is making it much easier to roleplay as a villager. Playing as a villager will remove you from most of the narutoness, leaving you with raw roleplaying opportunity, depending on what you'd like to do. Mabye own a clothing shop, mabye be a doctor, mabye be a waiter. It'd be up to you.
However, this game does have an issue I am currently adressing by posting here. The shops are bare, and the streets are empty, because despite our good roleplaying, the game has a very small player base. We are currently adressing this by adding many new systems to the game in an effort to create a better anchor for players to latch onto and roleplay from.
If you're interested on how we keep what many refer to as "noobs" out of the game, than you'll get your answer. We have a unique system of how we keep the roleplaying good.
First off, you'll have to post an application in the forums. You'll find the templates, and some guides stickied in the app section, found here; http://z14.invisionfree.com/Hidden_Wind_Forums/ index.php?showforum=3
After that, an administrator will either accept or decline you, and tell you what needs to be done next. If you're accepted, you'll go on the game for a 10 - 15 minute entrance exam given by the same administrator who accepted you. If you pass, you're a full member as a villager or academy student, depending on what you chose to be.
Please, give it a try. If you're looking for quality rp, ignore the naruto tag. The roleplaying here is some of the best on BYOND (a view expressed by some members of the Roleplaying Guild).
Thanks for reading, check out this game here; http://www.byond.com/games/Nightmare3/HiddenWindClan
ID:182164
 Nov 25 2008, 10:25 am
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Just a thought... But maybe the reason why you're not getting many new players is because... You're denying access to the game if these new players do not meet your exact standards?
Also, a game where you pretend to own a clothes shop, or be a waiter doesn't exactly sound like much fun to me! If you want to advertise a game it might be smart to say exciting things about it. Being a waiter does not sound exciting to anyone. | |
I don't really want to have to fill out an application to play a game, even if it does sound intresting. Also why does anyone even have to pass the exam? The fact is, not every person in the Naruto universe took the exam, because the exam was for a very specific purpose. It would seem to be that the exam would be a role playing aspect like everything else, not a requirement to play.
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To be fair, I've seen this kind of thing do very well in the Garry's Mod community. A server of 24 people will rollplay an entire small town(and there are a lot of servers doing it). I don't see the fun in it myself, but they clearly have a good time.
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Well, about the applications.
I know many people are turned off by the applications section, and that's ok. However, I'd be doing a bad job if I didn't try to explain and clarify the application part. 1: You do not need to be a good roleplayer to start up, we only deny access to those who lack basic grammar (periods, capitals and even then only when it's really bad), they make themselves uber powerful and antisocial, or they kill everyone in their family and hardly talk at all. 2: The exam is mabye fifteen minutes, and basicly shows us you don't metagame, god mode, or any of that stuff. Sucess in the game is entirely based off skill, disposition, creativeness, etc. The more involved, helpful, roleplayish you are, the better off you'll be no matter what the career. Sorry if you felt we were trying to block you out, we just don't want to spoil it for people who roleplay well, and would suffer because a horrid person who can barely type decides to do something stupid. It's happened, and it's no fun. Did I mention in my above post that events are weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) with very active admins who always help? | |
Danial.Beta wrote:
To be fair, I've seen this kind of thing do very well in the Garry's Mod community. A server of 24 people will rollplay an entire small town(and there are a lot of servers doing it). I don't see the fun in it myself, but they clearly have a good time. Indeed, it's quite possible to be done. It has been done up to this point in time. However, for it to really become an interesting roleplay from many perspectives. I feel that more players will be much more than beneficial to the server, and roleplayers alike. The "Villager" aspect of the game has been greatly increased over the past couple months. If you are in need of any help, or really turned off about the application you can find Himotaru Shimogatu's information on the forums for help. Simple PM to get it all sorted out. | |
they make themselves uber powerful and antisocial, or they kill everyone in their family and hardly talk at all.
But why not? There ARE characters like that in the naruto series, people should be able to play those kinds of characters. | |
Trosh Kubyo wrote:
they make themselves uber powerful and antisocial, or they kill everyone in their family and hardly talk at all. Because HWC offers a roleplaying game from two aspects: When it comes to the more popular "Ninja" sort of path, it's got to be built around a certain degree of fairness. Especially the way the game is laid out. All the things done to your character, that change them, are done in roleplay. And mind you, the game is based off the idea of Naruto, not the feel or whatever you'd like to call it. So if we had this village, filled with people whose parents all died, and they're all anti-social.. Where would we get? The Magic Man wrote: Just a thought... But maybe the reason why you're not getting many new players is because... You're denying access to the game if these new players do not meet your exact standards? This is only a basic gist of some of the things available. Keep in mind, these are very small roles. The IDEA of the game is to build up a character from day one in a fair role playing environment, to enjoy yourself and relax amongst your peers. Also, keep in mind that it's not a matter of apply and deny, the only people who we really don't "like" to have in the game are people who come in and refuse to drop the /hit log perspective of roleplay. Again, it's very very difficult to put in words. (Especially with a belly full of turkey and a drowsy mind) | |
You are right about that to an extent, but then you should just add a limit to the anti-social power houses.
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Why Naruto?
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Just a thought... But maybe the reason why you're not getting many new players is because... You're denying access to the game if these new players do not meet your exact standards? That's exactly what I thought. Let's not also forget that most people don't feel like filling out random forms just to play a simple game! | |
SuperAntx wrote:
Why Naruto? Well, to be honest: Back when the game was originally created I was a binge anime watcher for this specific anime. More of a social thing to do with some of my online friends. One day I decided I was going to just create an environment to play out of, then eventually made it public. Jeff8500 wrote: Just a thought... But maybe the reason why you're not getting many new players is because... You're denying access to the game if these new players do not meet your exact standards? I completely understand that, the application is the easiest way to root out people we don't need in a mature leisurely community. Basically, it can help define how good their sentence structuring is.. and just get an idea on what kind of person they are. Mind you, I don't try to sound like some sort of elitist when I'm saying this stuff because it's not like we get an application and automatically deny it because they misspelled the word omnivorous. Trosh Kubyo wrote: You are right about that to an extent, but then you should just add a limit to the anti-social power houses. We have freedom in character creation, and it's really not as "strict" as it's made out to be. However, knowing the story line of the show.. We get alot of people coming in "hi im rly strong, my bruther killed my parents, im rly sad and mad and want 2 get revenge!!". Even in situations like that, we work out a compromise. Again, if we had 20 people like that.. Where would the normality be? I believe we've come to a happy median. Edit: Also, many of the people who have started like that and reformed their character would agree in the long run that it's more fun. | |
Swimchao wrote:
(...) the application is the easiest way to root out people we don't need in a mature leisurely community. Basically, it can help define how good their sentence structuring is (...) I would not call it the easiest way, for neither you nor the potential future customer. A non automatic system relies on spare case handling, whereas you want to enlarge your community. There are several ways to sort out some type of user you do not want. The first one, any maybe most successful, is avoiding to carter for their needs. If you take a look at StolenLands, you find yourself with a decent example for this sorting process. People frequently create characters, find themselves without a suiting environment and log out again within a minute, never to come back. A second way to achieve customized users is in providing them with a sort of interface that they aren't used to. Dream Forge handles interaction with the world (and especially NPCs) in a non common way (for BYOND games). You might even separate newcomers and have them make their way through some sort of dream city, in which they have to prove being able to interact with NPCs in a roleplaying manner. | |
Hmm, sounds a lot like Hazordhu.
-Also supports a seasonal tileset change. (Season names are original, too! :o) -Strong(small(ish :P)) community, mature and literate roleplaying. It hasn't been hosted lately(one very busy host), but it's basically a fantasy world(original, not a fangame. yay!) where the players live however they want to. Races are separate, enemies according to the storyline, which can be very flexible. Join a guild(for humans) or clan(for orcs). Work as a team within that group of players to build a community. Players begin with choosing 3 skills from a list. All but one skill are required for a functioning community(tailoring, in case you like having a nude society ;)). Because of this, an actual group of players with a variety of skills is required for progress. | |
Schnitzelnagler wrote:
Swimchao wrote: I've thought of this sort of idea, with a dream sort of tutorial. However, something like this wouldn't be possible to convey the player on player only action that the game offers. Which is why I've put it towards an application sort of set up. Kaiochao wrote: Hmm, sounds a lot like Hazordhu. A handful of our players at HWC play Hazordhu and enjoy it alot. However, the difference between that game and HWC is that HWC has a basic structure that in the event you want to be a ninja, you must follow. This doesn't mean your character isn't customized, it is however done all in roleplay. Alot of new players don't understand that -- Or don't have the patience for that. | |
Swimchao wrote:
However, something like this wouldn't be possible to convey the player on player only action that the game offers. I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand what you mean to say here. Could you give me an example, or rephrase it? What is "player only action"? | |
Schnitzelnagler wrote:
Swimchao wrote: I mean, basically when players join we don't want to influence them with a little AI system- or something along those lines. To get the full feel, they have to understand that the game has 0 npcs and is completely player run. (Meaning players own shops, players own buildings, etc) I thought about a sort of mix of the idea and perhaps just a simple, but cleanly done walkthrough system directly readable on the game. No big deal. | |
Well I have been wanting some good role playing for awhile anyways, so I put an application in.
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-HWC is one of the few games that supports a seasonal tileset change.
-HWC is one of the few games with a strong (but small) community that aims for mature and literate levels of roleplay.
-HWC uses many systems to create an easy environment to play in.
So, if you are a roleplayer.. OR know roleplayers, I highly suggest checking the game out.
-As an elaboration on "Villagers":
Now, as queer as it may sound, in a "Ninja" village there are several structural components. Citizens, Ninja and Political figures. Generally, Citizens are the majority of the population with no special skills and nothing out of the ordinary. Ninja, trailing in as a minority with the politicians.
As a "Villager" on the game, you are free to adapt yourself to a convenient system of roleplaying to work with a pleasant community. Options of shop owning, house owning and business owning in general are open.
So, great to see someone post about it:
Check it out.