What is this ?

**MrRaverX** Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:13 am

play-by-post game (PbP game, also called a sim or simming) is an online text-based role-playing game
in which players (also called writers or simmers) interact with each
other and a predefined environment via text. It is a subset of the
online role-playing community which caters to both gamers and creative writers. PbP games may be based on other role-playing games, non-game fiction including books, television and movies, or original settings. This activity is closely related to both interactive fiction and collaborative writing.

History

PbP has its origins on the large computer networks and bulletin board systems
of major universities in the United States in the 1980s, and drew
heavily upon the traditions of fanzines and off-line role-playing games.^{[citation needed]} The introduction of IRC enabled users to engage in real-time chat-based role-playing and resulted in the establishment of open communities.

Development of forum hosting software and browser-based chat services such as AOL and Yahoo Chat
increased the availability of these mediums to the public and improved
accessibility to the general public. The popularity of PbP games peaked
in the early 2000s with online chat services and free remotely hosted
message boards such as invisionFree and ProBoards, and has seen a decline in favor of graphical MMORPGs in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

Rules

See also: Role-playing game system
Unlike other forms of online role-playing games such as MUDs or MMORPGs,
the events in play-by-post games are rarely handled by software and
instead rely on participants or moderators to make decisions or
improvise. Players create their own descriptions of events and their
surroundings during play. Results of combat, which may include Player versus player encounters, may be determined by chance through dice
rolls or software designed to provide a random result. The results of
random chance may need to be provided to the players in order to avoid
disputes that may be a result of cheating or favoritism. Alternatively a forum may be diceless and rely on cooperation between players to agree on outcomes of events and thus forgo the use of randomisers.

In the latter case, combat and other measures are handled by
requiring players to avoid detailing the results of their actions, and
thus leave an opening for a response by other involved players. Consider
the following possible post from a character named Bob attacking Joe:

Bob punched Joe in the chest, knocking him over.

This post makes the assumption that Joe takes no further action to
avoid the attack from Bob and that he will drop as a result. These types
of actions are often called "autohits" as they "automatically hit"
without allowing for a response by the affected character, and there may
be rules against such actions. Alternatively, Bob may be required to
write something like the following:

Bob swung a punch at Joe's chest, attempting to knock him over.

This allows Joe to respond to the action without contradicting the post.

Depending on the rules established on the forum, role-playing and story can be pushed forward through moderation by a gamemaster, specific rules (often existing role-playing game systems), or by mutual agreement between players.

Some games allow members of any writing proficiency to join, while
others may require members to provide a sample of writing for review
before allowing participation. In addition, a minimum word-count for
each post may be required in order to encourage more detailed writing.
Forums that cater to all levels of role-playing may have specific
sections for various difficulty levels.

Characters

See also: Character_creation
In general, each player plays and develops his or her own character.
Characters may be original creations of the player, or may be based on a
character taken from canon
if the setting and rules provide this option. Each community may have
its own rules regarding the process of character creation and either
allow characters to be liberally created and used with minimal review,
or require characters to undergo a review process in which
administrators examine the character application and decide whether to
approve or reject the application.

In many cases, characters are regarded as belonging to the players
who created them, and others are not allowed to make drastic changes to
them without the creator's consent.

In addition to standard characters, games may also incorporate non-player characters (NPCs). Some NPCs have recurring roles, while others appear only briefly to aid in the writing of a scene.

Setting

See also: Campaign_setting
Games vary in the degree to which the setting is established; some go
as far as to include a virtual "world" to roleplay in, while others
allow players to improvise the setting as they progress. Settings may be
derived from novels, TV shows or movies (often resulting in
collaborative fan-fiction) or may be unique to the game.

Style

Play-by-post games are frequently written in the third person perspective
due to the fact that multiple players must share each scene, each with
his or her character as the focus of attention. Common online game terms
such as OOC (Out of character) or OOG (Out of Game) are used to differentiate in-character from personal posting.

The opening message or post of each scene typically lays down the
scenario and describes a scene, or continues from a previously started
scene. Threads then become an ongoing story in which players
periodically advance the plot by reading the latest reply and then
responding with what their character does and how the environment
changes in response. These replies are often open-ended so that other
players can continue.

Mediums

Message-board role-playing

Internet forums are the most common medium for Play-by-Post gaming.^{[citation needed]}
Forums may provide features such as online dice rolling, maps,
character profiling and game history. Using a forum (as opposed to a
live-chat interface) allows players to re-read what they have previously
written at a later date, and to read posts made by players in other threads. Many online services provide free game hosting specifically for gamemasters, or provide general forum services that can be used for role-playing purposes (such as Proboards or Invisionfree).

As an asynchronous collaborative editing tool, forums lack safeguards to prevent two writers from posting simultaneously and contradicting each other. House Rules
may require players to take turns sequentially in order to avoid such
conflicts, or players may require posts to be edited or deleted to
rectify the situation which may result in dispute and intervention from a
moderator if one is available.

In certain play-by-post gaming circles larger-scale boards exist
where the entire board is devoted to advancing a single storyline,
rather than many different stories proceeding in separate threads. They
vary in organization, but many include a full set of rules governing
role-playing and combat between players, threads detailing a set
storyline (often contributed to by plot-advancing, staff-organized
events, or player roleplays), character approval forums, and a full
staff with admin(s) and moderators. Larger boards set in a single
setting are often organized by cutting up the setting into separate
forums, each based on locations within the setting.

Many message board
based games establish a hierarchy of moderators to manage plot flow and
continuity. To keep story threads organised the message board is often
organised into forums based on geographical location within the game
setting.

Guest Thu Feb 14, 2013 1:46 pm

I'm sorry I still dont get it. What
Do you type? Are there buttons? i'm lost.

**MrRaverX** Thu Feb 14, 2013 5:14 pm

well untlil all elements are complete shod right now all you can do is an attack but that may change we're just playing with if for now, Each Quest/Mission/ Adventure would come out more like a written story with a touch of chance to keep it game like as of right now theres only the one options Attack it shows on a reply below the tips when you post