Out of the many roleplaying games on BYOND, a select few stand out as the defining figures. I believe Mugen234's Shinobi Story Online would at least make the ranks of the Roleplay Elite here on BYOND.
Gameplay:
Shinobi Story follows suit with most role-playing games on BYOND. The game revolves around the Naruto Universe, taking place long before the events of the series take place. You can run about, and make your way up the ninja ranks, as one would expect from a role-playing game. The game is extremely slow-pace, in order to allow player driven (or more uncommon staff created) events to take place. This could range from a number of Missing-nin attacking a village to a full fledged demon ravaging the countryside. The events allow for players to really get involved with the game on another level than sandbox style gameplay. However, this slow-place style of gameplay gives the game a smaller audience, and a high learning curve to overcome. The game is difficult to grasp at first, although attempts have been made at guides on the forums-- most are not outstanding and don't give you the full run about of the game. The staff team is fair, albeit there is slight drama amongst them and it often spills out onto the world chat. They often respond to your pleas, and create fun story driven events for players to experience.
The Hospital Top Floor.
As far as combat goes, Shinobi Story Online uses more than one style of role-play fighting, which the community lovingly calls "verbing" and "pure-RP". These are exactly what they sound like. "Verbing" is writing a attack warning along with the use of your generic attack, or such and such jutsu to kill the opponent. It is not the most creative way of dealing with these types of scenarios, as from my point of view the combat system is terribly unbalanced. On the other hand, most players use the latter style of fighting. This would consist of writing full roleplay fights, with little to no use of the verbs, beyond visual effects. The game could have encompassed a larger array of ways to handle combat. Some role-playing games favor rolling a die, and this seems to be non-existent here. The game is however, reminiscent of the source it was based upon an older Finale source albeit is heavily modified to suit the Naruto player base. I don't believe this really plays a part in how great the game play be (especially in role-playing games).
Score: 7
Presentation
Perhaps the first thing you notice when you log into Shinobi Story Online, is the bright atmosphere. At least, this was the main reason I stuck around in the first place. The pixel art is very vibrant and inviting. It also doesn't clash, and fit nicely into place throughout the map. They are also remarkably well-done, most of which look as though they had been professionally made.
Konohagakure Academy
The game utilizes a relatively nicely made interface, however it doesn't seem like a large amount of effort was put into making it. The color of the text on most of the labels can strain your eyes, and there is not a lot of functionality in how it was created. However it does look much nicer than the default interface, and it gives the game experience a much nicer feeling. Another let down is that the game does not incorporate the use of sounds or music. This may or may not be to leave the sounds to the player's imagination, but nevertheless-- it would have been nice to see some form of music somewhere around the game. The map presentation of the game is also well done, although some villages seem very small in contrast to others, and there are a few burps here and there. It still remains that feeling that you really are in a big world.
Score: 6
Originality
Shinobi Story Online follows suit with most of the role-playing games on BYOND as it stands. It takes elements from other popular games, but I would imagine this is the community's influence on the game itself. It has it's own original content as far as player interaction though, with players being able to own shops through roleplay, and even player economics. For example, the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village would be given 40,000 Yen to last him the entire game. The money would be tossed around to shops, missions and other places of expense. The village would then imply taxes on all the business in order to gain revenue. It's a very good way of handling how the whole game plays out, and I enjoy it very much.
The local Konoha Ramen Shop.
There are many other factors which influence it's originality, such as the need to maintain your character by consistently attending your Academy classes when you are an Academy Student; or even interacting with your squad as a Genin. The limits as far as originality could expand to encompass many things, and is limited only by your imagination.
Score: 7
Overall
Overall, I believe this game excels in the category it is in. It meets and even surpasses the benchmark of it's category, bringing many original ideas to BYOND and influencing other games around it. Although it's background and the many times it has shifted hands, it maintains it's quality of gameplay and I believe will continue to do so for a while to come. A must try for any roleplayers on BYOND. I definitely recommend you try this one.
Overall Score: 7
