"Hey guys! Welcome back again to The Freeheart Fantasy Guide! My name is Hastur I'm here to get started on the second part of the frestyle adventuring lesson."
"This time we will be addressing some new topics, so I hope you are ready for this new ride."
3.4 Add side-characters to the mix
"First let's talk about side characters. No adventure, that dares to call itself that, can live without friends and foes. Both have a major role in storytelling, and they should be taken into account every time we plan a game of this type."
"Planning and presenting helping characters and enemies in an efficient and imaginative way will no doubt enhance the player experience and raise the overall level of the game."
"The main thing to consider is DIFFERENCES. Fat and slim. Tall and short. Wide and Long. Big and Small. Difference will bring contrast, and contrast will not only add flavor to our game, but also help the players understand and quickly recognice the function of each character in the story."
"This is a fun thing to do too, and it will prevent your game from looking rather flat."
"Just imagine the possibilities!!!"
"Your goblins character could have a full cast of foes waiting for him to find them! And how about a huge final boss that more than doubles him in size? That certainly would make the players go nuts."
"But you can use this to give the player a sense of power and companionship too. From big to small: surrounding your player with allies and NPCs will make him feel he's accomplishing something, and that he's not alone in his quest."
"Difference is key. Think about it like this: Look at the first line of squares and then at the last line of faces. Which one is more compelling?"
"Of course, you don't have to vary them that much either. Differences in shape could be enough. Or differences in color could do the job too. The main goal is to create an interesting setting, and this is one way of doing it. Don't underestimate it!"
3.5 Dealing with replies
"This is one of the most important parts of your job: your relationship with the players."
"You never know what's gonna happen in this type of games. As you don't know who or what the directions will be. So I think it's good to be mentally prepared for it."
"I'm almost sure that 90% of the time you will get awesome replies and orders to do. They will blow your mind and make you laugh your arse off more than once."
"This is what we are looking for and what we should listen too. But everything within certain boundaries: If you want to run a serious game, with drama an suspense, you are better off ignoring the funny jokes. You could use them once in a while and give them a grim twist too, just to let the players know how things are going to be."
"Have fun with them and don't be afraid of the unexpected!"
"And then you will get the annoying ones. The ones that don't intend on building anything: some people just want to see the world burn."
"Don't be upset by these. Just ignore them and go on with the game. Even if some troll says something rude to you or about your game. In this type of game you will (with luck) get responses from many, many different people. Maybe even from users that tag along on turn 73. So don't be surprised nor alarmed. Go with the directions that are useful to the characters and the story, and you'll be just fine."
3.6 Taking the passenger seat
"And here we are, in the final part of this lesson. And this just might be the most important statement. We've been covering the whats and the hows and the whys of adventure crafting in forum games. But another important thing is to just relax and have a good time."
"You might drive yourself crazy about the next deadline, about that combat in which you miscalculated the damage, or about that pose you just can't get right."
"You may feel bad because the players are talking your game in a direction you didn't plan out, or maybe you just think your not good enough to do this and you shouldn't have started a game in the first place."
"It happens. It's normal:"
"But don't be so hard on yourself. Allow yourself to take the passenger seat. Let the story write itself and burst in laughter if you main character ends up doing something silly because the players said so."
"You are supposed to be doing this for fun. So do just that: let yourself and the game go, give yourself a break if you need it and then come back strong once again. Have a good time. That's the hole point of this game mastering thing."
"Maybe you thought about ten different paths for the story to go. And maybe you have no idea where you are going. Or maybe you've been planing a trap or an encounter for a whole day and the players just miss it. Or solve it in a whimp."
"No biggie. Freestyle Adventures are about that, in the end. If you just impose your will and give the illusion of choice to the players, the masquerade won't last long and the game might just fail. Don't go down that road."
"Instead, do your best, have fun, draw to your heart's content, and make the most awesome adventure ever. You can do it."
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I can only advise to get rid of it, else you might end up cathegorized as "meh, another comic-sans noob". It would be a shame as you clearly worth a lot more than that. )
