Former Leo player here! First of all, I wanna say that in my experience you guys have been really receptive to both player feedback and suggestions. If there was a voiced problem, I always thought you guys were at least consistently fair in addressing it. This is proof of that! Also, seeing the Void refer to themselves as Kyo made me so unbelievably tired oh my god
That being said, I did end up dropping due to a combination of factors. Some of that was due to RL circumstances which ended up hitting RP motivation, but I won't lie and say that the some aspects of the game didn't contribute to that! I think it's definitely something on both sides though, because I absolutely could have submitted more things to the organic imprints page and tried to facilitate more interactions with the setting, but at times it felt like the results of that wouldn't move things much. I think it's partially a misunderstanding on my part of Tabu's meaning of "metaplot", like you said, rather than a lack of one -- but I also feel like it's a matter of pacing.
The difference between Tabu and other games is, obviously, that the players completely construct what the game is and what direction it takes, and I think that's one of its most interesting points. But I also think that's one of it's weakest points too, because when you're starting with a blank slate it makes the build up feel very, very long. There's long stretches of time where it feels as if there's not many prompts to work with... You have to wait for player input, then integrate that player input... Then juggle that with imprints and setting changes in the queue (that the players save up for, so that's at least two months of waiting time just to get the opportunity to have your idea implemented... and that's another month, at least), which meant everything came out in a trickle. Personally, I felt Tabu was a game that would be incredibly fun to play with later on down the road -- but a little bit tedious to begin with. Also, all the different directions a game like this could take means it's difficult for progress to be streamlined in one singular direction. I'm sure what Tabu is means a lot of different things to different people, and I know that this confusing identity is one thing that made potential applicants hesitant.
I understand that a game like this takes a huge amount of work, because you're essentially constructing the game in real time based on player input. I agree that smaller hints about what you're plotting or what you've taken in would definitely help keep players engaged so they're aware of your direction, but I also think smaller, more minor changes to the world on a more frequent basis would be nice. Taking a nice example that you did previously... the small hints of a voice in the Void near Leo's scores were something I really enjoyed, because it gave me the general idea that a concept of Void sentience was being developed. It facilitated discussion on Leo's end. I preferred these kind of minor developments, rather than the various amount of setting and species imprints... and I'm of the opinion that metaplot is better distributed through minor changes like that, rather than one giant dump of an imprint or change that would end up being bi-monthly. It can still lead to that, of course -- the timeframe between relevant events just ended up being difficult for me to keep engaged with. Again, I know that's a tonnn of work... it was just how I ended up enjoying the setting most.
This is all my personal experience, of course! I enjoyed the time I did have in the game, and I appreciate all the work you guys put into it, and the work you continue to put into it. I wish you the best of luck!
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That being said, I did end up dropping due to a combination of factors. Some of that was due to RL circumstances which ended up hitting RP motivation, but I won't lie and say that the some aspects of the game didn't contribute to that! I think it's definitely something on both sides though, because I absolutely could have submitted more things to the organic imprints page and tried to facilitate more interactions with the setting, but at times it felt like the results of that wouldn't move things much. I think it's partially a misunderstanding on my part of Tabu's meaning of "metaplot", like you said, rather than a lack of one -- but I also feel like it's a matter of pacing.
The difference between Tabu and other games is, obviously, that the players completely construct what the game is and what direction it takes, and I think that's one of its most interesting points. But I also think that's one of it's weakest points too, because when you're starting with a blank slate it makes the build up feel very, very long. There's long stretches of time where it feels as if there's not many prompts to work with... You have to wait for player input, then integrate that player input... Then juggle that with imprints and setting changes in the queue (that the players save up for, so that's at least two months of waiting time just to get the opportunity to have your idea implemented... and that's another month, at least), which meant everything came out in a trickle. Personally, I felt Tabu was a game that would be incredibly fun to play with later on down the road -- but a little bit tedious to begin with. Also, all the different directions a game like this could take means it's difficult for progress to be streamlined in one singular direction. I'm sure what Tabu is means a lot of different things to different people, and I know that this confusing identity is one thing that made potential applicants hesitant.
I understand that a game like this takes a huge amount of work, because you're essentially constructing the game in real time based on player input. I agree that smaller hints about what you're plotting or what you've taken in would definitely help keep players engaged so they're aware of your direction, but I also think smaller, more minor changes to the world on a more frequent basis would be nice. Taking a nice example that you did previously... the small hints of a voice in the Void near Leo's scores were something I really enjoyed, because it gave me the general idea that a concept of Void sentience was being developed. It facilitated discussion on Leo's end. I preferred these kind of minor developments, rather than the various amount of setting and species imprints... and I'm of the opinion that metaplot is better distributed through minor changes like that, rather than one giant dump of an imprint or change that would end up being bi-monthly. It can still lead to that, of course -- the timeframe between relevant events just ended up being difficult for me to keep engaged with. Again, I know that's a tonnn of work... it was just how I ended up enjoying the setting most.
This is all my personal experience, of course! I enjoyed the time I did have in the game, and I appreciate all the work you guys put into it, and the work you continue to put into it. I wish you the best of luck!