Profile for Max Power
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Max Power |
| Member number | 4432 |
| Title | Apprentice |
| Postcount | 19 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
Pages
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Friday, May 28 2004 11:56
Profile
quote:And yet scenarios do get finished. Is there more incentive to finish a project alone? I can see that there might be less incentive to finish a collaborative project because, i) you have to relinquish some measure of creative control, which can dampen the thrill of creation; ii) it would be easier to lose momentum, with more potential bottlenecks to progress; and iii) you ultimately have to share the glory. On the other hand, i) you get the thrill of co-creation and scope for surprises in what direction the project takes; ii) participants can help each other through stalls (e.g., if you hate writing dialogue, find a collaborator who loves it); and iii) you ulitmately get to share the glory. I bow before the assembled wisdom of the Elder Aranea—I have no doubt that you’ve seen this approach fail miserably, and the lone-wolf model certainly works for many of you—but I still want to try it. When collaborations work, they work in spades. So assuming that someone wanted to try a collaborative effort, what do you think would be the key to making it work? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Friday, May 28 2004 09:01
Profile
You mean I’m not the first person to have this brilliant idea? Sigh. Well, my proposal is still out there if someone wants to take a gamble and at least listen to my plot. It’s probably better described as smallish than medium-sized; could be done with 5 towns, would be more fun with more like 8-10. Plot-driven, like I said, but with at least one very unusual fight sequence and a couple of I-hope-never-been-done-before challenging plot twists. And as assurances that I’ll hold up my end of the bargain: I’m Canadian and a Mac user and a shareware supporter. How can you go wrong? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Friday, May 28 2004 09:01
Profile
You mean I’m not the first person to have this brilliant idea? Sigh. Well, my proposal is still out there if someone wants to take a gamble and at least listen to my plot. It’s probably better described as smallish than medium-sized; could be done with 5 towns, would be more fun with more like 8-10. Plot-driven, like I said, but with at least one very unusual fight sequence and a couple of I-hope-never-been-done-before challenging plot twists. And as assurances that I’ll hold up my end of the bargain: I’m Canadian and a Mac user and a shareware supporter. How can you go wrong? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Friday, May 28 2004 08:11
Profile
You all make very good points. I’ve never built a collaborative scenario (nor any other kind, for that matter), but I’ve done my share of collaborative writing and I agree—it’s hard. There are many many bad models for collaboration, some of which are listed very poignantly above (thanks, Jeff). But when a collaboration works out, the product can be miles better than either could have produced alone. I have a particularly frustrating example on the go right now, actually: a paper that has been alternately stalled and putting along for over a year now because the various collaborators (myself included) have more pressing things to do, but I’m determined to see it through and when it’s done, modesty aside, it’s going to be a spectacular piece of work. I have to disagree completely with TMR’s blanket statement that "Group projects bring both people down." This CAN be the case, and I don’t doubt that’s been your experience, but it doesn’t have to work that way. I’d also like to challenge the statement (but not to name names, let’s call the author "*j") that "no scenario designer I know wants to invest time in someone else's idea." I hereby challenge the Spiderweb community to produce a successful collaborative scenario. I know it can be done. Divide the effort however you want, but I’m talking about a project with roughly equal contribution from all participants. Maybe I can come up with a prize. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised at the unified front you folks are presenting on this issue. Is this a reflection of a prevalent "lone-wolf hacker" mentality, or simply a lack of good examples? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Friday, May 28 2004 08:11
Profile
You all make very good points. I’ve never built a collaborative scenario (nor any other kind, for that matter), but I’ve done my share of collaborative writing and I agree—it’s hard. There are many many bad models for collaboration, some of which are listed very poignantly above (thanks, Jeff). But when a collaboration works out, the product can be miles better than either could have produced alone. I have a particularly frustrating example on the go right now, actually: a paper that has been alternately stalled and putting along for over a year now because the various collaborators (myself included) have more pressing things to do, but I’m determined to see it through and when it’s done, modesty aside, it’s going to be a spectacular piece of work. I have to disagree completely with TMR’s blanket statement that "Group projects bring both people down." This CAN be the case, and I don’t doubt that’s been your experience, but it doesn’t have to work that way. I’d also like to challenge the statement (but not to name names, let’s call the author "*j") that "no scenario designer I know wants to invest time in someone else's idea." I hereby challenge the Spiderweb community to produce a successful collaborative scenario. I know it can be done. Divide the effort however you want, but I’m talking about a project with roughly equal contribution from all participants. Maybe I can come up with a prize. Frankly, I’m a bit surprised at the unified front you folks are presenting on this issue. Is this a reflection of a prevalent "lone-wolf hacker" mentality, or simply a lack of good examples? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Thursday, May 27 2004 12:32
Profile
Thank you both for your constructive comments. quote:I'm curious: what have been the problems? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Thursday, May 27 2004 12:32
Profile
Thank you both for your constructive comments. quote:I'm curious: what have been the problems? -------------------- He's the man Whose name you'd love to touch, But you musn't touuuuuuch... Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum Editor | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Thursday, May 27 2004 10:05
Profile
Hello all, Long-time lurker, first-time poster with a proposition: I have plans for a medium-sized scenario, plot-driven (a murder mystery), with a few novelties and quirks to keep players on their toes. I have planned out the plot arc(s), the main characters and some key dialogue, and I have rough sketches of how the towns will be. Unfortunately, I have had to accept that I am never going to have the time to put this scenario into code. So I need a partner. Is anyone out there interested in collaborating on this? I need someone who has a pretty good handle on Avernumscript because I really don’t have time to help with the coding at all. I’ll write all the dialogue, plan out the towns and encounters, etc., and of course help with the testing. Anyone? Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |
| A modest proposal in Blades of Avernum | |
|
Apprentice
Member # 4432
|
written Thursday, May 27 2004 10:05
Profile
Hello all, Long-time lurker, first-time poster with a proposition: I have plans for a medium-sized scenario, plot-driven (a murder mystery), with a few novelties and quirks to keep players on their toes. I have planned out the plot arc(s), the main characters and some key dialogue, and I have rough sketches of how the towns will be. Unfortunately, I have had to accept that I am never going to have the time to put this scenario into code. So I need a partner. Is anyone out there interested in collaborating on this? I need someone who has a pretty good handle on Avernumscript because I really don’t have time to help with the coding at all. I’ll write all the dialogue, plan out the towns and encounters, etc., and of course help with the testing. Anyone? Posts: 19 | Registered: Thursday, May 27 2004 07:00 |