IRC Protocol and online RPGs

[Marco]

5) During combat, state your action and roll the dice* at the same time and without regard to order.  The GM will then parse this based on initiative and ask questions if necessary to clarify who did what when.  There's nothing more stupid than people sitting around idle, waiting for the GM to say "It's your turn" before they start typing.
* I have typically had people roll the dice at home and tell me what they got.  Ultimately, IRC options for dice-rolling proved more of a hassle than they were worth, and I wouldn't play with someone I didn't trust anyway.

Although I came out in favor of online dice systems, I agree with Justin's comments here. I'll go into a little more depth:

1. I was mostly suggesting just rolling before being asked to and stating the roll ASAP. If the game system makes moderate or heavy use of GM-defined modifiers or stated difficulty classes then there can be a lot of back-and-forth "I roll stealth, what's the DC" "It's 15" "<roll>" If people are not typing fast then just doing the roll is speedier.

2. Rolling in game is interesting since there is no GM's screen (assuming the GM does it too, which is how I've played) and if you know the parameters of the roll it creates an interesting transcript (i.e. one in which you can see what was rolled for, what the number was, and how it effected play). This has been useful for me during playtests.

3. I agree with Justin. I wouldn't play with people I didn't trust nor would I cheat at dice (as a player or GM) if it was outside the social contract--so it isn't necessary.

ADDITIONAL NOTE
When I GM'd I would write some stuff out ahead of time in a text-editor (this included descriptions, snatches of dialog, openings of framing scenes/events, and the dice-rolling code).

This allowed me to cut and paste during play to get stuff out there that woulda taken time to type.

In some cases I had to modify things substantially (or just not use them) since my text no longer applied--but it did help somewhat, I think.

-Marco

[JamesDJIII]

Wow.

Great replies. I am still parsing them for specifics. If and when I get it written, I'll pos the IRC Social Contract here.

Still if any one else has ideas, please, keep 'em coming!

[b_bankhead]

Working though things can take quite a bit longer on IRC, one thing you need to be aware of is spotlight time. If you have a sizeable group it can take quite a while to work back around to someone. On one recent IRC game I was left hanging for 2 1/2 hours! I had time to take a nap and watch Star Trek and nobody noticed I had left the keyboard......

[greyorm]

1) Character dialogue always goes in "" marks, while player dialogue is normal.  Character actions can be done with a /me command or just said as player dialogue.  This greatly clarifies what characters actually say out loud.  I prefer not to use two different channels, but I can see where that would also help.

During IRC play, we have always prefaced our non-character statements/actions with "OOC:"

This does help one parse through the text looking for things, since you can ignore anything prefaced with that particular notation safely.

3) If you have something long to type, start by saying "typing..." so we know to look for something from you soon.  If you can't finish it at once, end with "..." or "more..." to let us know that.  GMs should try to write out key descriptions ahead of time (like, the day before if possible).

This is an excellent suggestion, and something we constantly forget to do in our group (sometimes to our detriment as we sit and wonder if the person is typing).

Along with this, if you are getting up from the computer for a few minutes because the phone rang, or you have to use the bathroom, or your wife is losing her mind trying to get all the kids to stay in bed, for gods' sakes tell everyone -- a simple "AFK" note ("Away From Keyboard") is good, and let everyone know about how long.

4a) As an addendum, always state the intent of your action.  "I move over beside the gap" is not as good as "I want to be in position to ambush the enemies as they come through the gap."

Yes YES YES YES. This is an excellent suggestion. Something my group (including me) is still working on. The GM should also do this.

Oh, and I've had enormous problems with attendance over IRC vs regular gaming.  For example, in my regular groups we get about 90% attendance (one person missing every other game or so), but in IRC games, it runs more like 50%. On top of that, I often have people show up an hour late and then leave two hours early in a four-hour session.

Make sure the attendance policy is clear up-front: players attend at the scheduled times or they are out. Don't be lenient, be a jerk about it -- everyone who sticks around will appreciate it, and you will too. Obviously, emergencies are forgivable. However, players who are consistently late, consistently have "emergencies" and never give you warning of no-shows ahead of time should simply be dropped. Tell them "thank you for playing with us, but it isn't working out." (This is another reason why the attendance requirements should be up front, so no one gets side-swiped later by and feels singled out...they'll have no excuse of "not knowing.")

Note that I had players who were consistently late or absent until we dealt with it as a group, and put our foot down: "no more absences, not without letting the GM know, or you're out." If the player wants to play, really, honestly wants to play, they'll make sure they show up. If they don't, if they regularly have other things they feel more obligated or desire to do, you're better off.

I have given this very ultimatum to good friends, so "sparing someone's feelings" by not coming down on them is no excuse -- after all, it shows no respect to anyone else at the table (including you) if they aren't showing up on time -- they aren't worrying about you or anyone else in the group, either.

In one friend's case, this immediately fixed the problem, they show up for every game, and everyone is much, much happier. I've had friends in game groups in the past who, given the ultimatum because of consistent no-shows simply decided not to come anymore. No big deal.

[M. J. Young]

We actually did have a player in a live game years ago who would frequently show up several hours late, pick up his character papers, find out what was happening, and then announce that he had to be somewhere so he couldn't stay. We thought it very funny.

Our means of handling such situations was simple: if you're not there, the referee has full rights to run your character with the advice and consent of the other players, and whatever happens to him, for better or worse, happens. Players who were concerned about maintaining the integrity of their characters were present consistently; those who were there to socialize with friends came when they could and got briefed on what they missed. It worked well for us.

Of course, you have to have some regular players for the game to work; I think, though, that if you've got a solid core group a few less committed players don't kill a game if the characters are handled this way.

--M. J. Young

[Green]

I've done a lot of online gaming in the past.  In fact, up until recently, it was all I could do since compatible local groups were hard to come by.  Most of the online gaming I've done before was of the free association variety, concentrated mostly on the setting and character interaction.  Some of these were freeform; some of them were dice-based.  I have since grown disenchanted with this set-up.  Hopefully, you'll be able to see my reasons as I talk about my current IRC game.

I run a bi-weekly IRC game using Decipher's CODA system based off of The Silmarillion.  We've been going strong for about a year now, with no major conflicts.  I'm sure that a variety of factors goes into this, but I'll just share with you what I did on my part to make things work.

First, I sent an invitation out on forums where I'd likely find players who shared my interest in the type of game I'd be running.  I did my best to include as much information as possible so that players could determine for themselves whether they'd like to join in the endeavor.  Besides stylistic aspects, I included pragmatic information such as what days and times are best for me to game, the location of the game, and how to contact me via email.  I only had 2 players reply to me, but the lack of numbers was more than adequately compensated with the quality of the experience.  Later, we had a new member join the group, much to our benefit.

Because keeping tabs on everything via email alone was becoming tedious and more trouble than it's worth, I created a Yahoo group for the game and did my best to utilize the tools at my disposal.  I use Files for character information, NPC write-ups, house rules, game information, and session logs for the games.  Links is used to point people toward resources that contain vital and trivial information related to the game.  I use Photos to store pictures of the various characters (both actual photographs and drawings taken from online).  Database is used mostly for character names, but I may expand it to include equipment stats as well.  Calendar is a godsend because it allows us to see what's on the agenda for all the players, and it's easy to make small changes and remind the group about them.  Last but not least, post keeps me in contact with my players and my players in contact with each other without having to rely on a lot of emails being sent (or not sent) to everyone.  I'm pretty sure I could manage the game without a Yahoo group, but I don't think I'd have as much to enhance the experience.

A while ago, I changed the schedule from weekly to biweekly because of real-life issues.  One of the players is married, and he wanted to be able to spend more time with his wife, especially on the weekends.  Rather than balk and deliver ultamatims, I did what I could to work with this player, even soliciting the others for their input.  It took barely any time at all to come to an agreement to meet bi-weekly.  I'm glad for the two-week reprieve, especially as my life has gotten busier, because I am not rushed to come up with something or to keep my GM motor running week after week.  Within the past couple of months, I had to be firmer about attendance.  I simply told the players that I'm starting at the scheduled time whether they are present or not.  If they get there late, they'll have to wait for me to smoothly integrate their characters into the events.  While attendance isn't perfect, I am less frustrated because I can still GM with the players who show up on time.

While this does not put things into a larger theoretical framework, I hope that it can be of some help to you as you determine what can and can't work for your own game.

[Callan S.]

Ron, its not so much an IC vs OOC difference.

Its a "this has officially occured in the SIS" vs. this is still being negotiated and worked out.

That way everying posted in the IC channel is clearly something that has happened and its not cluttered up with rules queries, debates, IIEE issues, mechanics, etc.

I can't help but think the two channels are like the two vocal tones you get in a face to face game. Discussions about the game seem to happen in one tone, mostly, while SIS stuff usually gets another tone (usually a bit deep and louder).

[GaryTP]

Hi,

Been off line for a bit due to son's medical issues. Everything's ok.

In regards to the multi-channel chat verses single channel chat, each works in its own way. For games that have intense rules and dice rolling, I prefer the two-channel game. But for simplier games (such as Code of Unaris) the single channel does it for me. Code of Unaris can be incredibly fast. The adrenalin rush that happens from it is very fun. Players have told me that the speed and creative chaos that occurs mimics what happens in realtime situations. I would say that it's more like chugging a soda than sipping tea. I enjoy games that let me sit back and contemplate issues, but I also enjoy fast, fluid games.

Anyone who would like me to gamemaster a Unaris session just email me at gary@goldleafgames.com. I'd be happy to schedule one for you. The rulebook is not needed for the demo.

Gary