USS-Dragon - Guide to Godmodding

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Topic: Guide to Godmodding (Read 223 times)

Jon Mayweather
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Guide to Godmodding
« Thread Started on Nov 15, 2006, 10:21pm »

Godmodding or 'power-playing' as it is sometimes known, occurs when a player does something that forces another player to react in a certain way. It can be divided into several categories, but for now I'll look at the basic types.

Type 1: Miracle-worker

This is the least-commonly occurring one I've seen on these boards, which is good. There is a difference between being one of the best Starfleet officers in the quadrant and being an omnipotent being. The fun is sort of taken out of an RPG when you get a character who does something like this:

Quote:

Captain: Bob, repair the warp drive!
Bob: Done, sir.

Or even worse:

Quote:

Captain: Drat, we'll never catch that Borg cube now!
Bob: Wait sir, I've just modified the warp drive into super-cool hyper-transwarp engines, and increased our phaser efficiency by 200%!

The first type is bad because it leads to mediocre roleplaying. What fun is it when you ask someone to do something, and all they say is, "Done?" Instead, they could do this:

Quote:

Captain: Bob, repair the warp drive!
Bob: *checks the plasma injectors* I'm on it sir.
Bob: *corrects the antimatter flow valves*
Bob: *takes a coffee break*
Captain: Helloooo?
Bob: Almost done! *reboots Windows XP* Done, sir!

You don't necessarily need to even do this in more than one posts. Quality is better than quantity, but you can be a little more verbose.

The second example I showed you is worse, where a player suddenly works a miracle that will save the ship. Writers call this a 'deus ex machina' or 'God from the machine'.

A third example that falls under this category is when your character is fighting another character. It is true that some species are superior, but you can't always assume that. I haven't seen any of this on the Dragon, though.

Type 2: Control of Characters

This is the type of godmodding I see the most on the Dragon. The number 1 rule is that the control of a player's character remains in that person's hands (unless they say otherwise).

For example:

Quote:

John watched as Bob got up from the helm console and entered the turbolift, whose doors closed behind the helmsman.

This would force Bob to go into the turbolift. Yet what if Bob's player wanted Bob to go talk to the engineer on the upper level, or perhaps talk further to John?

By making another person's character do something in your post without their permission, you in effect take control away from them. If you specify their location or their actions as being different from their last post, then you're limiting their options.

Of course, if a player says that you're allowed to do that, then it is okay. Unfortunately the other players can't know this unless you tell them, so I urge other players to assume that the person posting has gotten permission. It'd be nice for the person posting to let us know though.

I know this may seem somewhat difficult to avoid, once again you can't wait seven pages to get a response from someone. But I've seen it happening often enough to get annoyed, and when I get annoyed I get verbose.

Type 3: Goodbye Storyline

The Dragon is definitely one of the most cooperative RPGs I've ever seen, in that every character contributes to the story. Although Captain Mayweather is in charge of the ultimate plot of a mission, I like the level of participation from the players.

Major plot changes remain in the hands of Mayweather for the simple reason that as the creator of the RPG, he's entitled to guide it along a path as he sees fit.

When another player does something that effects a major plot change (eg; when it will potentially affect the mission itself or most of the other characters) then they open up the RPG to the chaos of conflicting plot changes. If you have a plot suggestion, talk to Captain Mayweather.

When such a plot change happens, it is best for the other players to go about as if it was sanctioned, because as far as they know it could be. It is not their fault that the poster did not obtain permission, so they should not be expected to know. If someone posts a major plot change, assume it has been approved unless someone says otherwise. On that note, don't be the one to post a plot change without talking to the captain first.

« Last Edit: Nov 15, 2006, 10:30pm by Jon Mayweather »

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