PBEM Game Testing?

[Christoffer Lernö]

I'm in Taiwan right now. That means I don't have any players, or maybe I could get people interested, but considering my poor Chinese, it would be an exercise in futility to GM stuff here right now.

However, I'd really like to take Ygg for a test drive. So I'm thinking about PBEM. However, I'm a total newbie - I've never tried it. Is it possible to use it for test playing a game in development? Any hints on how to go about it? What are the quirks of the media I should prepare for? What is the easiest way to set it up? Mailing list (moderated or not?) or do-it-yourself with the GM keeping track of e-mails?

[Demonspahn]

Hi Chris,

I think PBEM's are a terrible way to playtest a traditional (read: not freeform) RPG and only a marginally better way to play it once the game is fully developed.  

Many problems arise with this format, the largest of which are overlapping actions, especially when running a combat encounter and even more especially(?) if your game is turn based.  Basically, unless you have everyone committed to posting _at least_ once a day, you will have to make some adjustments to your resolution mechanics and then you are not playtesting your game at all.  

But, you gotta do what you gotta do.  

I personally have become very dissatisfied with PBEM's but those are from my own experiences (both running and playing).   Therefore I would suggest trying to set up some sort of chat based session or at least a set time at which all players are playing via email (say from 4-8pm).  That way you can field questions, actions and comments as they come.

Keep in mind though that while a chat based game or set time would solve most of the problems I have encountered, they can cause problems of their own depending on the players's location.  

Good luck!

Pete

[jllama]

I have run a very sucessful PBEM systemless game, and I am currently running a Call of Cthulhu game, but I would not recommend using PBEM to test out a new system.  PBEM works better when the game is systemless or the GM makes all the roles.  Neither of which is much good for trying out rules.  

I would recommend using MSN Messenger or some other voice chat program.  As long as everyone has a decent connection, this should work out well and it will "feel" more like a table top game.  I've used messenger to run Call of Cthulhu, D&D, and Inspectres, and all of the games went very well.  I usually just trust the players to roll their own dice and not lie about the results, although you could use an online dice roller if you wanted to.

PBEM games can be a LOT of fun, but they aren't really like tabletop RPGs.  They're a whole different kind of creative endevour.

Good luck!

Cody

[Mike Holmes]

We could probably test run it in IndieNet Gaming. You should stop by and take a look at least.

Mike

[Christoffer Lernö]

Since a lot of stuff isn't even testable, it will take some time to set stuff up which might not be appropriate for a "live" session yet anyway. So I'm actually gonna try something free form at first with a few friends (I wanna check out how the world feels "live"), then when the system is ready I could go by indienet or something.

Seems really cool by the way Mike. I haven't played anything in a long time, it would be need to play something online. It would be a first for me.

[Andrew Martin]

So I'm thinking about PBEM.
...
What is the easiest way to set it up? Mailing list (moderated or not?) or do-it-yourself with the GM keeping track of e-mails?

I've tried PBeM both do it yourself and via a mailing list. The do it yourself approach is worse than than a emailing list, because player emails go directly to the GM, bypassing the other players, this means that the other players aren't encouraged to keep up, and find it difficult to keep up with the other players. For example, with five players and GM, if one player proposes a plan, that player needs to send it to the four other players and the GM. Then the other player responds and needs to select reply to all to reply to all players and the GM. If that player misses that point, no one else knows that the player is only responding to the originating player. Players can get very confused very quickly with only a few exchanges of emails. With a email list, I discovered that this confusion is eliminated immediately. IMO, a moderated email list would be a bit too much work.

I hope that helps!