24 Hour RPG site live

[Andy Kitkowski]

Man, I hate to turn the Publishing Forum into PR central, but here goes:

The cut of it is that the www.24hourrpg.com site is now live.  Since Phil Reed started the project last year in Indie Game Design, there's been a lot of positive feedback, interest and submissions.  So I went ahead and, having nothing better to do*, went and register the domain and pulled up a site.  Check it out at the above URL.

Basically, the site is a place where the 24 Hour RPG Event will be listed, and will act as a storehouse for the files submitted for the event. I'm also looking to post a simple "Designer area" site with a mini-bio of all the folks who submit an entry to the event.

Anyway, the site's live, and you can check it out at www.24hourrpg.com . You can contact me there (or post comments here) if you have any questions.

Oh, and if you happen to run a webserver with a little free bandwidth and wouldn't mind hosting some files to help share the burden, please PM me.

-Andy

* I always have things to do, but you know how some people play video games or watch TV when they're supposed to be doing something else?  I engineer Web Domains and Media Projects.  Same effect, though, my other work gets stymied. :-)

[ethan_greer]

Andy, you rock. This is a totally cool thing.

One editorial comment: Ack! Frames! Kill the frames!

[timfire]

Since this is something that isn't totally Forge related, you should post a thread over at RPG.net in the 'Art of Game Design' forum. You would probably get a few takers.

[Ben Lehman]

Has anyone notified Scott McCloud about the whole "24-hour RPG" thing?  I think he might be tickled by it.

yrs--
--Ben

[Eero Tuovinen]

This is a good idea. I've always felt that making 24h games a event in the Forge is quite arbitrary - what it is is better supported by a website than a forum.

Now, I see that you're still thinking along the lines of an event "Once every 6-12 months", but consider: wouldn't it be more sensible to structure your site to serve an around the year need? If I decide to take the challenge in, say, next January, why try to convince me otherwise? It seems just awkward to me to try to structure an event out of something that is so personal - there's no social ties in a speed writing challenge, so it's totally meaningless whether somebody else does it at the same time. Much better to choose your own date.

To emphasize, I have nothing against making it an event here in Forge, just to remind people that this is something they can do, too. For the website I however suggest that you structure any material with no "event bias": welcome individuals to take the challenge when they feel like it, and present all contributions without undue emphasis on any "official" Forge 24h material. Open up the site, put up a couple of automatic forms people can use to declare their intent to finish a game, and so on. It's much better that way than as a storehouse for a separate event.

Of course it's your site, and I'm not even going to participate this time due to time constraints. Just a friendly suggestion from the peanut gallery.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

I like the idea of removing the scheduling just as Eero suggests. When Phil ran it as an event here at the Forge, it was fueled by a lot of event-based enthusiasm - "Look everyone, see what we're doing!" which was a fine thing.

But I think the actual concept flies better in the long run as a personally-driven, personally-scheduled thing, with the website being a social touchstone that can serve the same "event enthusiasm" purpose in a different way.

Best,
Ron

[Ben Lehman]

I think it might be possible to have the best of both worlds.

To draw from the source (24-hour comics):
1) Anyone can do a 24 hour comic at any time, and it "counts," for whatever that's worth.
2) But there is a special day set aside once a year for the production of 24 hour comics, where a bunch of people get together and do them.

May I suggest that the one "day" be fixed on the calendar and *after GenCon*

yrs--
--Ben

[philreed]

Hiya,
But I think the actual concept flies better in the long run as a personally-driven, personally-scheduled thing, with the website being a social touchstone that can serve the same "event enthusiasm" purpose in a different way.

Agreed. I think this is the best was to handle it. Ben's suggestion of "once a year special day" is also very good.

[Andy Kitkowski]

Hey, thanks for the feedback, everyone.  I'll post one mass reply here:

One editorial comment: Ack! Frames! Kill the frames!

Frameless navigation is for Uncircumcised Phillistines.

Since this is something that isn't totally Forge related, you should post a thread over at RPG.net in the 'Art of Game Design' forum. You would probably get a few takers.

Totally- Open to all!  And good idea on the Art of Game Design, we might get some takers there.

Now, I see that you're still thinking along the lines of an event "Once every 6-12 months", but consider: wouldn't it be more sensible to structure your site to serve an around the year need?

Oh, totally!  Sorry if the site doesn't convey that yet, but I'm basing the shape of the event on Phil's comments in the Design forum- In other words, setting a date as a "Share Date", just to get that solidarity and comraderie up. But the project is open 24/7, 365, for anyone who wants to participate on their own time.

Yeah, I just checked. The site doesn't specifically say that yet- I'll make that change in 1-2 days when I upload some files.

To draw from the source (24-hour comics):
1) Anyone can do a 24 hour comic at any time, and it "counts," for whatever that's worth.
2) But there is a special day set aside once a year for the production of 24 hour comics, where a bunch of people get together and do them.

Ahh, exactly.  At least, this was the jist of the Design thread.  Sorry that my site wasn't clear on that. Again, I'll update that as soon as I can.

May I suggest that the one "day" be fixed on the calendar and *after GenCon*

Heh. I'll leave that in Phil's capable hands.  It actually looked like Phil was aiming at a date close to... say... this weekend.  Or perhaps a 2-week period starting this weekend, or something.  I'd actually prefer that, because I actually have some free time this weekend. :)

Again, though, ANY day is kosher.  It's just that Solidarity occours on that one day or 2-week period or whatever.

Personally, I like the idea of the 2-week period (or "4 weekend days") rather than the one day, simply because there's breathing room there.

Finally, I think I'd rather take the project in the direction of Ben's suggestion over a "no set date" direction. Personally, I'm a lazy ass, and deadlines get my blood flowing and the synapses pulsing. For me, "24 Hours: ANY TIME YOU WANT!" would be a license for me to push my involvement back indefinitely ("Oh, this weekend I gotta watch Firefly again and brush the cat. Maybe next month."), but a "special day" or whatever would be like a gun duel between my willpower and designer motivation. I like the sound of that.

-Andy

[ethan_greer]

Frameless navigation is for Uncircumcised Phillistines.

Oh, the hell you say. :)

Frames screw up bookmarking.
Frames screw up search engines.
Frames screw up people browsing the web on a PDA.
Frames screw up printing.

Here's an article about this subject:
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/frames/goodorbad.html

Anyway, it's your site, and it looks fine*, so if you're all about the frames then leave it as is. But I would advise against it.

* Except I had to resize my browser window in order to see the entire nav bar. You used scrolling=no, didn't you? Bad Andy! No cookie!

[Andy Kitkowski]

Except I had to resize my browser window in order to see the entire nav bar. You used scrolling=no, didn't you? Bad Andy! No cookie!

On the left nav bar?  Wow, what are you using to browse the web, a Game Boy? :)  j/k, it's all good. I prob will try a "frameless" version of the site later.  I'd go with includes, but the submission and contact codes I use would be a pain to retrace.

And on the "back to the real" tip, I rewrote most of the site to correspond with what was brought up on this thread.  

From here on, I refer to a single person who decides to engage in the project an "Event": "Participate in the 24 Hour RPG Event", etc. For the single date or range that we choose to have a bunch of folks go in and do it together, I am calling that the "Grand Act": "Participate in the Grand Act", etc.

I watch too much anime.

[Emily Care]

Has anyone notified Scott McCloud about the whole "24-hour RPG" thing?  I think he might be tickled by it.

Don't know if anybody's done it already but I have a mutual acquaintanceship with Scott, so I sent him a note about the 24 rpgs.  

There's links to 24hr plays and 48hour films on his site. I think he'd want to hear about rpgs too.

--Em

[Andy Kitkowski]

Rock on, Emily, thanks!

I haven't had time to write a decent PR, I will in a day or two, but until then:

Look, ma, the 24 Hour RPG Grand Act begins this weekend (and last for three weekends total).

Thanks!
-Andy

[Mike Holmes]

That's a cool kind of schedule. You are bastids for doing this just before GenCon, however. :-)

I have to disagree with the idea of people personally scheduling these things for themselves. I think that what makes them work is the idea that there are others out there at the same time making the same effort at the same time. That it is, in fact, an event, and not just something you do on your own.

One can run marathons on one's own, and compare times with other runners. So why do they all run together?

Mike

[philreed]

That's a cool kind of schedule. You are bastids for doing this just before GenCon, however. :-)

Look at it this way: If you create an especially cool game you've got time before GenCon to print a few copies and try to sell them at the show.