State of the Game

[tabularasa_mods]

State of the Game
Hello, everyone!

It’s been four months since Tabula Rasa opened, and we’re thrilled to see that all of you have been having fun so far. The three of us try to keep our fingers on the pulse regarding what you all think of the game as fellow players, but we wanted to address you all in a mod capacity to give you a peek into what’s coming next and get some feedback in an open forum while also answering some frequently asked questions.

Upcoming Events

For November, we will not be holding any events like we did for September and October and will instead be focusing on catching up on imprints. In the meantime, we'd love to hear any feedback anyone has for our past two events! If there is anything in particular you enjoyed (or did not enjoy) about the memory share and nightmare events, or if there are any types of events you'd like to see in the future, please let us know your thoughts.

We will also not be posting a mod-run mingle post for this month since we are not running any events to center it on. Though we've posted mingle logs without events in the past, without a central event or location to "mingle" around we've had difficulty coming up with prompts that don't feel disjointed. The secondary purpose of these logs, which was to act as an intro log for new players after each app cycle, has also become unnecessary with the changes to our app system. We feel it would be better to leave these non-event months open for players to host their own logs, mingle or otherwise, as most activity seems to go into the mingle logs as soon as they go up.

We will still be posting an imprint update on the 15th as we always do, and this certainly won't be the end of event mingles! We just wanted to give everyone a heads-up in case anyone was expecting a mingle this month.

For December, we will be running a more relaxed, lighthearted event where players will be able to receive an event bonus for their characters. There will be a sign up post for this event within the first week of December. This is all we will say about it for now, but we hope you will all look forward to it!

For January and onward, we have some ideas but nothing is currently set in stone. We will likely be introducing the imprinted concept of either mana or evolution after the holidays, so we are open to suggestions on what sort of chaos could be caused by either (or both!) of these options.

Metaplot & Lore Compliancy (Or Lack Thereof)

Tabula Rasa does not have an existing metaplot, and our intent from the game's conception has been to shape its "plot" purely around character choice and actions. This is something we feel some players may have overlooked, as Tabula Rasa works a bit differently from most typical jamjar games on Dreamwidth. We want to reiterate here that we have no long term plans for the game's direction and no overarching mystery that players must solve.

This isn't to say that there will be no long term plots or mysteries in Tabula for players to explore, however, but that any plots or mysteries that develop will be based entirely on what the characters in the game decide to focus on. We'd like to remind everyone as well to please use the Organic Imprints post whenever possible to keep us updated on what characters are up to. We can't be in every thread at once, so it's a huge help to us if we could see more of that! It also means you can be sure we've seen something if there's a particular goal or concept your character has been working towards.

We'd also like to touch on the idea of lore compliancy, or characters sticking to the rules of the setting such as on the State of the World page. A few times now we've seen players make posts or comments that contradict or misunderstand the rules outlined for the game's setting... and that's great! We want to make it clear to everyone that we care far more about the spirit of the rule being followed rather than the word of the rule - honest mistakes are fine, as is fudging the mechanics a bit for the sake of a fun idea. The nature of the setting means that any discrepancies between characters can be easily explained, so we'd really like to see this embraced as a more active method to pursue organic imprints and expand on the setting. You can see any of our TDM prompts for examples of this: everything used for these prompts is something that is not strictly outlined anywhere in the game's setting, but we would absolutely not mind it if players took similar ideas and ran with them.

You're always welcome to ask us directly if something is okay or not, and we love to see creative questions! We really want to stress that we're interested in working with everyone to build the kind of setting you'd all enjoy, so please don't ever hesitate to bug us about an idea you have or want to work towards. As this is a game driven by character actions, we want to give as much freedom to players as we can in order to achieve that.

Imprints & Influence Points

The way that the imprint system functions in regards to game mechanics is to achieve a means to an end. Tabula Rasa’s setting is a blank slate that requires groundwork to be built before more complex concepts can be introduced in the way that they are intended to work.

We’ve taken note of some OOC concerns about “wasting” influence points, with the fear that what is outlined in a submitted imprint will be misconstrued or not applied in the way that is intended. Although we understand the hesitation, we want to reassure you that there’s no such thing as wasting points! As long as your goal for the imprint is communicated to us in the submission, it will eventually be implemented as such. The road that it takes to get there, however, may not be as direct or immediate as Point A → Point B; what happens in between is where you can let your creativity shine! The world of Tabula Rasa grows with and around the influence of the characters inhabiting it, and will build itself based on previously established concepts and ideas. Reiterating what was stated in the metaplot heading, there’s no harm in asking us whether or not something can be done, and we can tell you right now that the answer will probably be “yes” - the lack of IC structure in the setting is what makes this possible.

We also want to reiterate that if something is submitted to us that we already have in the works, we won't accept the submission and "waste" those points either. New and unexpected changes to the setting may spring up through character actions, but we don't want anyone to worry about wasting influence because they submitted something that would've happened anyway! If something is already being planned for the near future that's overly similar to a player submitted imprint, we'll tell you this before we decline your submission. Once the change has occurred in the game, you're welcome to resubmit the imprint again if you feel your goals were different enough to build off it.

As a quick side note, we always select one imprint from an accepted application; any unused imprint suggestions (if applicable) are discarded and can be re-submitted with influence points.

Open Discussion

That’s about all we wanted to address, so we will leave the discussion floor to you with a few questions! There’s no need to answer all of them; feel free to elaborate on as few or as many as you like if you have feedback. You’re also welcome to bring up topics we may not have mentioned.

• How are you enjoying the game so far?
• Are you comfortable with the daily life/event ratio?
• Are there any sorts of events that you’d like to see in the future?
• What are your thoughts on the imprint/influence system?
• Are there any game mechanics that you think need more clarification?
• What parts of the game setting would you like to see expanded on the most? (ie. building on existing locations vs. creating new ones, concepts, species, etc.)

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Comments

[blue_eyed_obsession]

‣ How are you enjoying the game so far?

Yes! I've been enjoying the game a great deal. You never quite know what to expect and there's a lot of flexibility with the imprints and character contributions. The playerbase certainly helps, and I feel as if the mods are always open to plotting and providing clarification when needed. It's very organized and easy to adapt to.

‣ Are you comfortable with the daily life/event ratio?

For the most part. I will say that initially I was surprised when the nightmare event directly proceeded another major event in the form of the memory-share but despite uncertainty I thoroughly enjoyed both. There is a regularity to new items being introduced to the game so even in less event-centered months there is plenty to do and get into, plus the down time allows for player-run shenanigans.

‣ Are there any sorts of events that you’d like to see in the future?

This one is difficult to pin down since I also like when they are linked to what's being imprinted and I never know what's coming up next in the queue! Duel Monsters invasion like in the 4th season of Yu-gi-oh.. COUGH. I need to write up things.. to submit... Thirding that a holiday event of some form would be nice, but I'm flexible on that. Definitely looking forward to a light-hearted deal after all the emotional ones!

Maybe a short-term deal involving species manipulation for some generally 'what the heck is going on'-ery. Another event that requires unlikely characters to team up would be amusing. Sheesh, the possibilities are endless really.

‣ What are your thoughts on the imprint/influence system?

I think it's well thought out and moves fluidly. It's one of the better point systems I've encountered in games (possibly the best actually), and I like that there is a set amount you can earn each month with occasional bonuses. That way it doesn't become too stressful trying to manage an overabundance of threads just to rack up influence which my muse would try to make me do o_o. Trust me, he is relentless like that. The time it takes to accumulate points also helps to trickle in the changes, which is nice, and if gives ample opportunity for those ideas to come from the playbase as a whole.

‣ Are there any game mechanics that you think need more clarification?

I can't really think of anything that needs further clarification.

‣ What parts of the game setting would you like to see expanded on the most? (ie. building on existing locations vs. creating new ones, concepts, species, etc.)

I would like to see some of the locations fleshed out more on the interiors, but I also want to see new locations too. I'm greedy like that. The reason being that some places need something to draw them there... like the lemon cello church has CAKE. Boom, it's got a draw. The Underground academy has a lot going for it, plenty of reasons to go there. I think most the current locations have a lure with only a few exceptions. Then again, those places might appeal to some characters more than others. So mostly I just think a balance in between is the way to go.

I love that the void interprets some concepts in peculiar ways, like night being a localized and personal experience. That adds so much flavor in a subtle way.

Eh- for the most part I would say don't change a thing. But I wouldn't be opposed to adding a map.. updating a map could be a pain though so I won't press it.

[realway]

+1 to areas having a hook to them. I think it's no surprise the cafe is one of the most popular locations to set a thread in, as it has a very concrete purpose to it. Not every location has to be a hotspot, but it helps for generating prompt ideas to give a reason why a character would be there/go there.