Oct Nov Dec 2007

October - December 2007

This newsletter is posted via the XMR Wiki. To sign-up for your own account, visit http://xmr.dune.net/wiki/index.php/Main/SignUp.

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And XMR is also located on both LiveJournal and Vox. Visit us there at http://www.livejournal.com/community/xmr/ and http://xmr.groups.vox.com/ respectively.

And finally, our web forum can be found at: http://www.debbo.org/xmr (anyone still using the btvs.ca domain to access the forum needs to update their bookmarks to debbo.org, since btvs.ca will be expiring soon!)

Layout Board

(Table of Contents)

1. The Looking Glass - a word from the editor
2. Headers & Footers - articles written by XMR players and staff. This Month: RPing With a Sense of Space and Environment (Alice)
3. State of the Plot - highlights from recent plotlines
4. There Goes the Neighbourhood - who's new on the grid?
5. In the Margins - bits and bobs
6. Feedback Loop - your letters
7. Classifieds

The Looking Glass

We’re coming up on the end of yet another year and XMR is going strong. Show us how strong by posting your logs and letting us know about them! Many of our players already post their logs to various blogs they have set up for their RP in general or specifically for the game. We, the staff, love this initiative that people have taken and encourage it to continue! Don’t have a blog? No problem. Some popular (free!) blogging sites are:

• LiveJournal (www.livejournal.com)
• Vox (www.vox.com)
• WordPress.com (wordpress.com)

There are no doubt others, but these are the more popular ones at the current moment.

Other people post them to private websites, which is also acceptable!

We’d like to take the moment to remind you of two services XMR offers:

1. Our log tracking site: http://xmr.dune.net/logs.php?page=1

1. Our central log mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/xmr-mush

So keep those logs coming! We have some truly great plots going on; let’s share the entertainment around a little! ☺

~ Alice ~
Editor

Back to the Top.

Headers & Footers: RPing With a Sense of Space and Environment

By Alice

One of the biggest draw-backs to a text-based game is the lack of graphical cues. Despite there being some very wonderful builders out there who fill their room descriptions full of beautifully descriptive prose, it’s not very likely that you will enter a ‘room’ on the MUSH in question and see something telling you the exact dimensions of the space your character is standing in. If someone builds a living room, chances are, they’re going to use descriptive phrases such as, “This room is spacious and sprawling,” or “The cramped space of the living room barely allows for the small two-seater love-seat and television across from it, let alone the coffee table which leaves no room to move”. What you likely won’t see is something to the effect of, “This living room is twelve feet by fifteen feet with twelve-foot ceilings and houses an eight-foot long couch,” and so on.

Because of this, the players and staff running NPCs or scenes need to come to some kind of conclusion about the general size and scope of the ‘room’ they are utilizing versus where their character might be set within that space. This can be pretty tough sometimes, so it’s best to follow a few ‘best practice’ guidelines to help figure that out.

1. Actually read the room description. Sometimes it’s long and spammy and you might not feel up to reading it or it’s not the most verbose and gives off few clues, but it’s useful to at least read through just once as you enter a scene so you know what to expect. Are you playing within an indoors room or are you doing so outdoors? Is it a small room? Large? Does it have a low ceiling or vaulted ceiling? Are there any windows? What is the décor like – is there much furniture or other obstacles such as trees or cars in a parking lot to navigate around? These sorts of questions can help give you a better idea about the scope of the area.
2. Pay heed to other players’ poses. Sometimes, the description and room name aren’t enough and you need to take clues from the other players within that space. Perhaps they spend a lot of time in that room or even built it themselves. Perhaps they have set up the scene to actually take place in a very specific location in that environment, such as a space behind a waterfall in the room which has been named ‘Large Valley’. Judging by their poses, you might not only be able to figure out what the scope of the space is in size, but also their characters’ relative positions to you. (More on this below.)
3. Ask questions OOCly. If the description and name of the room doesn’t help and the other players’ poses don’t help either, it’s okay to OOCly ask about specifics of the room. No one will mind you asking for clarifications.

With this in mind, it’s important to not only roleplay (RP) with the environment in mind, but also in respect to other characters’ locations within that space as well as the contents of that space.

1. Are their characters are located near the entrance your character used to enter the space or have they moved off to a slightly more secluded location, or are there more than one entrance perhaps and they are at the other entrance?
2. Will your character see them immediately, or would something be barring them from view initially? (E.g. are they behind that waterfall or perhaps around a corner or behind a cubicle wall?)
3. Would they simply be too far away from your character initially to be able to comfortably and respectfully start a conversation with them or would your character need to approach them first, find them first or work his or her way around some obstacles?

And speaking of movement within that space, it is very important to keep in mind the size and contents of that space especially in particularly active scenes (e.g. riots, dance club settings, combat scenes, book signings, etc.).

Before making a move, consider that a single pose likely represents a matter of seconds. Yes, a lot can happen in a matter of seconds, but what fills those seconds in that space with the people and objects filling up that space must fall within reasonable, human limits. The only exception to this rule would be if something were to happen to the reality of the space and time either due to a supernatural occurrence (as in magical or sci-fi effect, mutation, etc.).

So barring any extraneous circumstances, ask yourself the following questions before hitting enter on that pose:

1. Can my character feasibly do this in a matter of seconds? Be honest. You won’t be fooling anyone but yourself if you’re not, because if you’re not, someone will likely speak up and you’ll find yourself adjusting your pose. If it’s completely, humanly feasible, then feel free to go forward with it and try it; just remember that there are other people in the scene and they will want their own turn in the limelight or just a chance to let their characters do what they want them to do.
2. Can my character feasibly do this considering the other contents of the space in which I’m RPing? Look at the room description. Read over people’s poses (really read them to pick up the clues and hints). Consider what’s happening in the action of the scene in progress. Then make a decision. Is your character at opposite ends of the room, which he or she might be able to sprint across in those few seconds, but might get slowed down by things such as crowds, crossfire and / or other chaos or obstacles?
3. Are my actions fair to all those who are also in this scene? This is a little tougher to judge (when in doubt, feel free to ask others what they think or ask a staffer). Think about all the action, what’s happening to everyone else and what should feasibly and fairly happen to your character considering the environment as a whole (not just the space but what’s in it and what’s happening within it).

Ultimately, as you can likely see, this isn’t an exact science but certainly gets easier over time and with collaboration with those who you are RPing with. Just remember, however, that a room on a MUSH isn’t just a 12x12 foot box in a building; it could represent something as small as a janitor’s closet or locker, or something as large as a forest. Just remember to do your best to pick up on the clues provided by the room description and what other players have established regarding the type of space you’re RPing in, where their characters live and breathe in that space at that time, as well as the contents and situation within that space. If everyone’s clear, nothing is muddled and gameplay shouldn’t get slowed down due to miscommunications and misunderstandings. And of course, remember to ask when things are unclear.

Happy RPing!

Back to the Top.

State of the Plot

A synopsis of recent public plotlines...

• August Plot Logs

• September Plot Logs

• October Plot Logs

Back to the Top.

There Goes the Neighbourhood

Here's just a quick listing of who joined us since May:

• Jubilee
• Gideon
• Elliot
• Amy
• Damia
• Durante
• Zeferino
• Harry
• Attrition
• Cassandra
• Logan
• Lucinda

Back to the Top.

In the Margins

Nikki currently leads in +salutes with 231 salutes. Congrats Nikki! Keep up the good work.

Salutes Top 5:

1. Nikki 231
2. Adam 175
3. Rahne 154
4. Pietro 151
5. Marrow 146

===

+thought as of June 1st: "'I'm on the Brute Squad.' 'You ARE the Brute Squad!'" - Set by Marrow
To set your own +thought, see '+help thought'.

===

+roster stats as of November 1st:

• Brotherhood: 9 members
• Independent: 9 members
• Xavier's School: 29 members
• Xavier's Institute: 11 members
• X-Men: 5 members

We 63 characters.

===

Currently approved feature characters: Betsy, Bobby, Clarice, Emma, Jean, Jono, Jubilee, Kurt, Logan, Lorna, Magneto, Marrow, Pietro, Rahne, Remy, Rogue, Scott, Theresa, Wade, Wanda, Xavier

For a current feature character listing, type +fcs on-game.

===

• Renai: October 21
• Zachary: October 27
• Lorna: November 1
• Frankie: November 14
• Adam: November 15
• Josie: December 1
• Washington: December 8
• Mason: December 9
• Devon: December 17
• Bobby: December 21

See '+help birthday' to set your IC birthday.

===

We've had 26 logs submitted since August 1/07 to the Logs Listing Page, located at http://xmr.dune.net/logs.php Link your own logs for +tokens!

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Feedback Loop

In the future, this will be a space for you to have your say. You can ask questions or give opinions and they will be addressed here also by staff. We will strive to include every question and opinion, but may need to withhold or edit some for content or to reduce repetition. If your question is not addressed here, you may always contact staff for a private answer.

To submit a question, @mail *EDITOR or email alicexmr AT gmail.com (remember to cc xmrstaff AT debbo.org), with the words 'Feedback Loop' in the subject line.
===
We haven't yet received any feedback on our newsletter. Please feel free to write in and let us know what you think. Is there anything that should be included that isn't? Do you find it useful or no? Any changes you propose in light of the reopening?

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Classifieds

In the future, this will be a space for players to post classifieds. You can submit birthday wishes or other such greetings for specific players, put out ads for characters/concepts you'd like to see played, bring attention to sites or other games, or any other myriad messages.

To submit a classified ad, @mail *EDITOR or email alicexmr AT gmail.com (remember to cc xmrstaff AT debbo.org), with the words 'Newsletter Classifieds' in the subject line.

===

OOC:
Jono's player is still looking for someone to play Angelo Espinosa aka "Skin", Jono's best bud from the Generation X comics. If you're interested, speak with him or email him at xmrjono AT gmail DOT com if you'd like to tie in Skin's background at all with Jono.

===

IC:
Goth / industrial musician looking for gig. Vocal, piano, drums. If interested, call (518)356-0714 (OOCly: @mail or page Brianna).

LIVE BANDS! Jazz, Caribbean, Blues, Jazz, Hip-Hop and Rock -- all local talent! Stop by for fine Jamaican food by day, drinks and entertainment by night, greeted by our friendly staff! Stop by Howl at the Moon in Brooklyn to show you're part of the pack! (OOCly: Theresa's bartending at Howl at the Moon and could be available for scenes this way -- talking to a bartender can be a fun introduction scene! Also available for NYU student-encounters. Page or @mail if you're interested!)

SUBMISSIONS FOR NEXT ISSUE DUE: December 27, 2007