Creating a Play by Post Village From Scratch!
I have an idea, but before I implement it I want to get some feedback.
We had a game here called "Cozyville" That I disabled and may bring back in the future. Basically, it allowed Members to create a small city through their actions. Well in this case it will be similar but a Medieval Village.
Basically, the way it works is this, each Participant:
* Will be their own GM and in charge of their Posts
* Will have their own Thread where they talk about their 'part' in the Village and their plans through Play By Post
* Will allow other participants to be able to participate in your Thread but when they do they will sort of be under your 'game' or 'domain' as a visitor
* Will have their actions affect a main Map of the Village and thus they have the chance to 'build it up' as it were
Here is an example:
In the start we will have a plain grassland (An actual map) and a group of you (Participants) will decide to start a village. You then start a Thread, for instance: JB's Hut. I can then talk about what happens in my hut and other people can pass through to 'visit'.
A hut will then appear on the map and be clickable so someone can go from your map straight to your Thread (Or in my case my hut). Thus making the 'Village' interactive.
There will be no limitations on what you choose to make your character to be or what you want to do save for one thing only: FP will be used to upgrade your position in the Village. For example I might need to spend 100 FP to make an extension of my hut so I can hire a Blacksmith. I will then incorporate it in my story and it will also be shown on the map!
Graphics and what not will be used. How far you go with this is dependent on how much FP you are willing to spend on your area of the map.
Thoughts?
In my opinion this is a good idea, a Play by Post version of "The Sims". I think that the layout should include objectives and achievements, to keep the game alive and interesting. A gardening contest or whatever with prizes (either in FP or gadgets for the hut). Otherwise, people will enjoy the novelty but get bored after some time because of the lack of a real challenge.
You are sounding more like what we had in Cozyville. I used to do that in the Cozyville Role-playing Game and even coded a control interface where the Player could get a job, work, get married, have children and the works, BUT I want this to be different and without input from me. This is meant to be purely Play By Post and managed through individual Threads. The challenge is seeing your part in the Village on the map (in the form of whatever building you can afford) and your influence via your Thread (these will not be like normal threads, they will contain pictures of your building, character, and description) which you can make popular by providing a character that people do want to visit.
You will only need FP to buy a plot on the map and then construct buildings. In other words for each participant / GM who starts a Thread he / she will now have a 'say' into what is happening in the Village via their own Thread as it relates to their building. However this does not stop participants from visiting other Threads.
For example:
I have my hut and you might have a stable. In my hut (Thread) I talk about my plans and so forth. If you post in my thread that means you have left your stable to come visit me at my hut. From there a conversation can begin in Play By Post format within my hut. In my hut I will have a description of what is there, the type of building, etc. This will be based on what I was able to buy using FP.
Well this isn't about combat so I don't think you will be needing those. This is supposed to be a peaceful village, however it does not stop anyone from telling 'wild' stories about their character's adventures to anyone willing to listen.
Hmm, how intersting, this more like the Windows PC game Sims, like Bruconero said before. If a member becomes a GM will he or she will have to make a map of the village too?