More poll questions

[chacusha]

Hey everyone, two more things we'd like community input on:

1) moogle_workshop has a rule that fic featuring original characters will not be given points. But the Final Fantasy MMOs, FFXI and FFXIV, were brought up, and we weren't sure if fic set in the world of those games but featuring player characters rather than the canon NPCs would fall under the original character rule or no. So basically, should FFXI/FFXIV fic set in the game worlds but only featuring original characters be given points? (Note: in either case, fic of that type can definitely be posted, but we're just trying to figure out if they'll be awarded points like other fanfic would be given.)

2) lightofeilia had an idea for ff_minigames based on Munchkin that would actually be, well, more of a community-wide mega-game that would involve fighting monsters and leveling up! We want to know if people would be interested.

From lightofeilia:

All members of the community start out at Level 1. Monsters you kill will give you exp. I will be keeping track of each character's exp. I will either tell you how much exp you have or gained, depending on the responses. I will also inform you when you've leveled up.

Encounters will occur randomly and will occur when a member posts an entry/comment, depending on the probability rate. Not all posts will get an encounter.

To defeat a monster, your "effective" level must be higher than the monsters. Effective levels are calculated by the player's level PLUS item bonuses. (Example: Level 3 lightofeilia has a Buster Sword (Item bonus: +2)= Effective level 5. If I fight a level 3 monster, I win because level 5 > level 3).

Monsters will drop items (for example, the Buster Sword) and higher level monsters will drop higher level stuff (for example, the Nail Bat). I will be taking select monsters/items from every Final Fantasy possible.

If there are people who don't want to play, I will keep track of their names and will not arrange encounters whenever they post. Also, encounters will NOT happen in the team comms, ff_classchange, or ultima_arena so as to not interfere with sorting and competitions.

Every two weeks, points will be awarded to teams who have defeated a set number of monsters in that period.

So would people be interested in seeing Random Encounters throughout this game? Note that the question is for whether you'd like Random Encounters to happen at all. If we do Random Encounters, every member will still have the chance to opt out at any time and not be randomly attacked by monsters.


Here's the poll:

[Poll #1679475]

If you have any questions / concerns, let us know in the comments, and we'll answer/address them ASAP. :)

Comments

[arivess.livejournal.com]

I actually had a small discussion with sunflower_mynah, which kind of had to do with the first question, where she said it might depend on how much integrated in the canon storyline it is. I'd personally think it's fairer taking that into consideration.

Another question is about art -- pictures are a lot more recognizable as a game character; there aren't that many variations for character creation. Would fanart be treated differently from fic?

Also wondering if you want to extend the case to Crystal Chronicles characters, in case someone wanted to do those, since those are also a choice of characters? The only difference is they're on a slightly smaller scale. But... practically the same thing. (And technically, the MMOs actually have more details about world info to go off of, even...)

[thedrowned.livejournal.com]

I think fanart is typically treated differently than fic, because in fic we get to learn about game-based OCs, which make them more of a character than just a "template", if you will, for your persona. But for fanart, there really isn't anything to go by other than "this is my Lilty, Ganos Lal", or whatever. I don't think the fanart should be treated as highly as something more in-depth like fanfic simply because we don't get to learn about them as much as we could.

[arivess.livejournal.com]

*nods* I do agree too. But, I meant, my question is more on, if fic is too OC to count for points, what about art? Should they count for points because they're essentially a drawing of a game "template", as you put it? And what about things like comics that combine the two? Since that's most likely what I'd be doing. XD;

[thedrowned.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned, and this won't mean much because I'm no mod, but I think a fanart of any FF character should count for points. Maybe not as much because they are "templates", but then I don't think that would be very fair, would it? I believe as long as the spirit and energy and love, or some other mushy feeling, is there, it ought to count for a true fanart.

Besides, technically speaking, at least in FFCC, the character do have personalities and stories, designated by their race and the beginning of their creation. Uh. I should vote that, huh? Haha.

[arivess.livejournal.com]

FFXI technically has a story and race-specific personalities too! :D? XIV... slightly less so because the whole world is really undeveloped except for oh-my-gosh-so-pretty. *coughs*

[chacusha]

This is a good point. Seeing as how I haven't played the MMOs and don't know about the canon storyline, maybe we could have a different judge look at those kinds of fanworks and determine whether each one is enough integrated into canon to receive points?

Regarding fanart: I agree with thedrowned above. I originally wrote "fanworks" for this poll, then decided against it and used "fic" instead. Of course there are possibilities of fanart treading into OC territory ("This is a drawing of my character as I think she'd look in the modern world. I chose these clothes for her because I think they suit her personality, etc. etc." -- that would not get points because it goes too far off canon and into the fanartist's own creation. But most fanart would depict characters as they look in game and that has a basis in official artwork and character designs even if the character is unique, so would usually get points. I think. I admit I'm not very knowledgable about FFXI/XIV!

And sure, I think Crystal Chronicles could be lumped with XI & XIV as well.

[arivess.livejournal.com]

I wonder if that's too much trouble, though... but maybe something just like, "Does it have to do with any canon event or is it just two characters borrowing the setting?" Maybe. I don't know.

*nods* Usually, the fanart is pretty recognizable. From personal experience, I can look at random pictures of catgirls and be able to go "Ohey, this one's a mithra, and she's wearing a [insert equip], which means she's probably a [insert job]!" XD

[thedrowned.livejournal.com]

I think it's fair to assume that if the event is present, with OCs, that it could rake in points. For an example, I'll use a fic I wrote with FFCC characters. It was more based on the OCs rough terms of joining a caravan rather than just the two characters being in Tipa chatting. I think that type of point system would work, and chacusha made a good point that going too far outside of canon would probably take the points away. Ergo all my yapping, I think your wanting to use your OCs is plausible if you intend to do something more than character + outside realistic canon realm. For your fanart, I bet this to be so, no?

[arivess.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* I'd be doing mine as character within the game-world doing game-related things, so yeah. XD

[glacialphoenix]

As chacusha already pointed out, there's possibilities of fanart treading quite heavily into OC territory, but if you're drawing characters within the game-world doing game-related things then it should be more than okay.

The worrisome one is fic: when does something become an OC and when is it not an OC? I'm aware that any kind of fanwork takes effort and care from the person posting it, and I'd like to be able to recognise & reward that effort even if it's only by tagging it eligible for shiny virtual points.

I also noticed you mentioned you're interested in doing fancomics, and again I think that's easier to gauge (besides the issue of how many points we should award for doing fancomics, but that's beside the point of the entire FFXI debate) because it's got art; it's easier to verify whether the character being drawn is part of the FFXI 'verse, especially since you said s/he'd be doing game-related things in the game-world.

I'm sadly not very knowledgeable about the FF MMORPGs (must brush up), but you already know my stance, really. I think canon events is one way to verify it: after all, if your player character takes part in every canon event, then it's fairly safe to say that the character is as much a part of the storyline as any of the established protagonists in other games. That's what MMORPGs are made for, anyway - you getting to be a protagonist and part of that little constructed world. Besides, as you pointed out, MMORPG worlds are usually pretty fleshed out, in no small part because they have to be, I guess, given the way MMORPGs function differently from your standard JRPG.

[arivess.livejournal.com]

*nodnods*

I dunno. I guess it is hard. On the one hand, I think, even I'm not so interested in reading about original characters in FFXI, especially when it doesn't relate to the canon story. XD; But on the other hand... this is slightly different, but there actually is an official novelization of FFXI (and FFXIV, actually), which is kind of like... official OCs almost. XD;

*nods* I guess any kind of art would be easier... XD; Plus, the other comic I was planning to do for it directly follows one of the game stories, just with a group of people in place of the single player-character, so I'm assuming that won't cause a problem at all?

Yeah. I think one thing is, JRPGs only tell you things you need to know, when you need to know them. But MMOs can't program every character to say something different depending on where you are in a number of missions and quests (although a few important ones do?), so most of the world info is available at all times, and there's a lot of background stuff out of game...

[thedrowned.livejournal.com]

Hunts, yes. I used to mess with something similar to shiva_dancing. For that matter, could we also gain a nifty card game? I would looove some sort of minigame off the sides of our minigames.

This wasn't helpful at all, was it? :)

[sai_salamander]

LIKE TRIPLE TRIAD!! *hums with excitement*

[thedrowned.livejournal.com]

Yes, my thoughts exactly. I'd love to see some Quadmist mumbo jumbo up in here.

[sai_salamander]

I said yes to giving the fics points, cos I still think writing something in the world counts! (Then again, I could be incredibly biased cos I'm writing comedians-dumped-in-Spira fic right now, but hey!)

I also think, what about a fic that is more place-centric than character-centric? I've wanted to write something about the Necrohol of Nabudis for soooo long now - the characters who would have lived there are all long dead, so they would technically count as OCs. And then what about a fic about a reaaaalllly minor character (some guy who's mentioned once in the Bestiary in FFXII or something), where the information about them just isn't there but they're still a character in an FF.

Bleh, anyway, I'll stop rambling and just say: YAY MUNCHKIN. GIMME.

[chacusha]

Argh so many grey areas!

There are some factors to consider here:
- Length and purpose of fic. If the fic is a short piece meant to flesh out the history of a place like the Necrohol, that would be more likely to count for points than an epic length fanfiction focused on OCs who lived there, with a storyline that revolves entirely around them.
- Ties to canon. If there are many references to canon characters, events, explaining the why behind certain things in the game world, etc. that would be more likely to count for points than something that starts from scratch with a character people aren't likely to know about.

Sorry this isn't very helpful. :/ I can just see both of those types of fics going anywhere between "OCs that have a tie to canon / OCs placed in an existing world" to "an expansion of the canon itself".

[glacialphoenix]

Place-centric should be fine/more than fine (to me at least), because with a location you don't have to worry about its ties to canon - or rather, lack thereof, since that's the issue here.

The second one, with the really minor character, is admittedly a far, far bigger grey area because as chacusha said, both could go anywhere within the spectrum, but I think the second one is a little more problematic.

[lightofeilia.livejournal.com]

I have it all planned out :D

I just hope it'll be good :X

[glacialphoenix]

I have to say that a Munchkin-esque game sounds awesome to me, in no small part because I play it (although it's hell on earth to finish if you really get into the sabotage when you're in a group of 8. Hooray for level 200+ Kalis.)

[lightofeilia.livejournal.com]

I'll give more details if we actually play the game since I'm running it, but it won't focus on sabotaging... Sorry :X

[glacialphoenix]

No, don't apologise! I can't imagine this being played with sabotage D: and tbh I will be glad of a no-sabotage game for once. xD