Post by Hank McCoy on Nov 4, 2004 13:36:59 GMT -4
The Situation:
A while back, the moderators decided to put on hold any applications for new non-canon characters. It was decided for a variety of reasons that many - if not most - of the Original Characters we allowed into our game presented many more problems, distractions, and frustrations than they make up for. First and foremost, this game's celebration and focus is the various versions (whether from cartoons, comics or movies) of the X-Men and their supporting characters. So many great characters that already exist in the real stories do not have players. We needed to do something to get the focus back on the X-Men.
So we chose not to allow characters that were not from the original Marvel sources.
The Problem:
Unfortunately, that wasn't the whole issue. Original Characters make the game harder for a great many different reasons. Let's talk about a few of them.
Who are all these people? - Original Characters sometimes quickly outnumber the canon ones. The game is about the X-Men, remember? We lose focus of that and it's no longer about what we're here for. If you have a burning desire to be someone that isn't found in one of the X-Men books...why do it here?
You know me, I don't know you. - Anyone playing in a scene against an Original Character is at a disadvantage. If the creator doesn't tell us the kind of subtle details we know about the X-Men because we've seen them, know them...have many different ideas about how they look and sound.... then we are left with much less to work with when playing opposite them. It should put a heavier burden on the OC player - to tell us what we need to know. I don't have to tell anyone that Beast is blue and furry....most everyone knows that already and it's the one advantage canon players have because they can shortcut just a little. But if Beast is playing a scene against, say, Desperado - then it's up to Desperado to tell me what I can't otherwise know about him.
Most often (not picking on Desperado) this is NOT the case. Original Characters tend to shortcut more...because you know your character you assume the rest of us will.
You never told me you could do that... Original Characters - and their players - have a habit of pulling powers and abilities out of mysterious and unmentionable places. Once in a while, it's a logical and reasonable extrapolation on what's already been agreed upon. Most often, though, it makes no sense at all.
But the other side of the problem is that Original Characters can bring something new. They have the option to change and to be creative where those of us who try to stick close to a canon personality have to be conscious of many more limitations.
The Solution:
We're going to allow applications for Original Characters once more. The catch is: the bar has been raised. You want to make your own character - great! But it's going to have to fit into a much more difficult set of criteria than you would have if you were to play...oh, Iceman for instance.
These are some of the things we as mods will be asking ourselves. They're not all going to play into every case, nor is this a complete list. It's just some things to think about.
Does it fit? - In other words - does this character have the right "feel" for a story that involves the X-Men?
Do they add something? - What does your character bring that's something we can't find in an another character?
Do the powers make sense? - Are they consistent and well-thought? Do they have reasonable limits?
Did you give us enough to form a sense of who your character is?
Does the character duplicate or somehow lessen a canon character? - Very, very often - Original Character creators want to include powers from canon characters into their own creation. Almost always, they want their version to be more powerful. This is something we will look at more closely than anything else.
Except this:
Have you proven that you can roleplay? - Remember, I said we were raising the bar. In order to receive approval to play an original character you're going to have to impress us. We're likely to be a lot more lenient and take a "risk" on someone who chooses a canon character. If it's canon - we know enough to help the writer along. If not, we don't. Simple as that.
Write a scene. Point us to something you've done elsewhere. And be ready to give us more.
AND....
Be ready to accept the decision. One way or another. We'll always allow someone another shot at impressing us, but it's gotta be good or we'll say no.
And that's our right.
See, we've taken a lot of abuse in the past from people who have believed that it was their right to play whatever they want - however they want. And that's not the case.
We want the game to be fair and fun for everyone. And we want it to be about the characters we all know and love. We're more than happy to invite others to play along with us if what they have to offer shows promise.
So go on. Impress us.
A while back, the moderators decided to put on hold any applications for new non-canon characters. It was decided for a variety of reasons that many - if not most - of the Original Characters we allowed into our game presented many more problems, distractions, and frustrations than they make up for. First and foremost, this game's celebration and focus is the various versions (whether from cartoons, comics or movies) of the X-Men and their supporting characters. So many great characters that already exist in the real stories do not have players. We needed to do something to get the focus back on the X-Men.
So we chose not to allow characters that were not from the original Marvel sources.
The Problem:
Unfortunately, that wasn't the whole issue. Original Characters make the game harder for a great many different reasons. Let's talk about a few of them.
Who are all these people? - Original Characters sometimes quickly outnumber the canon ones. The game is about the X-Men, remember? We lose focus of that and it's no longer about what we're here for. If you have a burning desire to be someone that isn't found in one of the X-Men books...why do it here?
You know me, I don't know you. - Anyone playing in a scene against an Original Character is at a disadvantage. If the creator doesn't tell us the kind of subtle details we know about the X-Men because we've seen them, know them...have many different ideas about how they look and sound.... then we are left with much less to work with when playing opposite them. It should put a heavier burden on the OC player - to tell us what we need to know. I don't have to tell anyone that Beast is blue and furry....most everyone knows that already and it's the one advantage canon players have because they can shortcut just a little. But if Beast is playing a scene against, say, Desperado - then it's up to Desperado to tell me what I can't otherwise know about him.
Most often (not picking on Desperado) this is NOT the case. Original Characters tend to shortcut more...because you know your character you assume the rest of us will.
You never told me you could do that... Original Characters - and their players - have a habit of pulling powers and abilities out of mysterious and unmentionable places. Once in a while, it's a logical and reasonable extrapolation on what's already been agreed upon. Most often, though, it makes no sense at all.
But the other side of the problem is that Original Characters can bring something new. They have the option to change and to be creative where those of us who try to stick close to a canon personality have to be conscious of many more limitations.
The Solution:
We're going to allow applications for Original Characters once more. The catch is: the bar has been raised. You want to make your own character - great! But it's going to have to fit into a much more difficult set of criteria than you would have if you were to play...oh, Iceman for instance.
These are some of the things we as mods will be asking ourselves. They're not all going to play into every case, nor is this a complete list. It's just some things to think about.
Does it fit? - In other words - does this character have the right "feel" for a story that involves the X-Men?
Do they add something? - What does your character bring that's something we can't find in an another character?
Do the powers make sense? - Are they consistent and well-thought? Do they have reasonable limits?
Did you give us enough to form a sense of who your character is?
Does the character duplicate or somehow lessen a canon character? - Very, very often - Original Character creators want to include powers from canon characters into their own creation. Almost always, they want their version to be more powerful. This is something we will look at more closely than anything else.
Except this:
Have you proven that you can roleplay? - Remember, I said we were raising the bar. In order to receive approval to play an original character you're going to have to impress us. We're likely to be a lot more lenient and take a "risk" on someone who chooses a canon character. If it's canon - we know enough to help the writer along. If not, we don't. Simple as that.
Write a scene. Point us to something you've done elsewhere. And be ready to give us more.
AND....
Be ready to accept the decision. One way or another. We'll always allow someone another shot at impressing us, but it's gotta be good or we'll say no.
And that's our right.
See, we've taken a lot of abuse in the past from people who have believed that it was their right to play whatever they want - however they want. And that's not the case.
We want the game to be fair and fun for everyone. And we want it to be about the characters we all know and love. We're more than happy to invite others to play along with us if what they have to offer shows promise.
So go on. Impress us.
