Expiation Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
expiationmods) wrote2023-01-01 11:30 pm
expiationmods) wrote2023-01-01 11:30 pm
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First, I'd like to thank you guys for how speedy you are, and how you are open to suggestions and questions, no matter how long or how specific they are! Because of this, I'd like to bring forward some points I myself have, and I also heard from others, regarding the pacing and events!
While I understand the need for patience asked in the discord chat, and the need to establish a setting, culture, and allow characters to set into their new homes, I feel as if the current state of things for the past two months doesn't reflect very well the premise given to us... In the first month, we were given the parchment stating the crimes given to characters, but it hasn't been touched again ever since the character's arrival, which means that characters have that sentence looming on top of their heads, and nothing to cling onto regarding that. As per the premise, we are set to deal with "concepts of crime versus innocence, definition of atonement, and reflection of self".
The previous event touched this a little, with the possibilities of theft being included in one of the prompts - while there is OOC reasoning to do it, as it would have repercussions down the line for those who chose to do so, I feel like there could have been more IC reason to resort to that in the first place. would like to suggest some pushing and reasoning for characters to take these more risky decisions, as on its own, I believe it might not land as well as expected for characters to go for them, which brings me to my next point! It's been said that all things current in the game have purposes and reasons behind them, but as players, when we don't see anything at all of what it could be behind the plots, the wait, or the limitations, it becomes a little difficult to stay motivated and try to interact with the setting, and the pacing hasn't been very welcoming for action either. It's great for those who have limited RP time, but for others who look into making Expiation our main game, there's a bit of a lack of content for us to engage with during this wait time, which also can lead to a lack of connection with the game.
I hope these make any sense, and I'd like to thank you for reading them, I'd happily explain any point in better detail if needed! I wish to see the game succeed, and I'd like to thank you guys for the chance to play in your game and for the hard work and consideration you put into it! It matters a lot, and I know it's a hard job, so thank you so much for doing it!
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We have repeatedly asked for patience because the game is just starting out and it is still very much getting its footing and we will continue to ask for patience due to that, especially considering we've only had exactly one event. That said, we're hearing the input and it is something to consider. We are already planning to adjust how we present future events and considering ways to make it more apparent as to how things will end up based on actions taken, though we really don't want to spill everything out because we don't necessarily want meta information to colour what may or may not be IC for characters.
The moderator team has an idea of various events that we can and will use going forward, the 'when' really being determined by actions that the playerbase takes, and thus the poll and how everyone responds to it is the driving force behind that. It's also already been discussed that said poll will go up the same day as the event for characters to input and we're going to give poll results and change of game one week after the event is live, so that players and characters are not in limbo.
Regarding the parchment and its sentencing, we have stated in the game info on the info/faq page that the sentencing mechanic will come into play June of 2023 and that was because we needed time to establish a footing and felt most comfortable doing it on a month that is opposite of an event and we wanted to put down two events before getting into that.
We want to be more forthcoming about the storyline and where it is leading to, but unfortunately a lot of the information we have would be potentially too revealing. If we need to update our info / faq page to better reflect what the events are doing, we can do that. For now, we'll lay that out for you here and if you find it satisfactory, we'll add it to that page for other players.
The themes behind Expiation are indeed assessment, evaluation, reflection of self and one's actions in their home world. The events of Expiation are tribulations that force characters to either unify or divide (or potentially break the mould entirely—this too is an option), and this is meant to give them additional fodder to reassess themselves in times of adversity and what necessity dictates from an individual in a situation. (i.e., Do the ends justify the means? Is there a better way to approach this? Is it truly survival of the fittest?) The parchment and sentencings are also tribulations that individual characters will take on and acquire overarching game information (should they pass their tribulation), and can use that information to help guide them forward in events, and its information that can be [and should be] shared game-wide.
The moderator team wants to see the players and characters alike take the hints that we are dropping in the events and piece things together. Right now because we've had exactly one event, of course, you (and whoever you've been gathering feedback from) feel like you're not getting anywhere. Once again, we ask for patience as we drop events and put in information that is pivotal to the overarching storyline and where we are gently guiding players and characters alike.
Expiation will never be a convenient pay-off game. It was not designed to be that way and that will not change. It will require compromise from the players as much as it does the moderator team, which does mean patience. It also means that players and characters will have to work for that information. We are willing to share what we can without giving too much of it away, but as we reiterate again, it's a singular event in a game that is barely three months in.
Ultimately, all we can ask for is patience. That said, if you feel you need more clarification on Expiation's purpose, what the events are meant to do, more details on parchment / sentencing, or other things, feel free to inquire.
no subject
As a whole, I find myself agreeing with a lot of what Jade has said. I feel like what's happening is that some of the playerbase (myself included) aren't sure what we're meant to be catching onto and what the mod team is looking for in terms of introspection, dealing with events, dealing with downtime, etc. I don't think this is a fault with what the mod team is doing, or a fault with the playerbase, so much as it might be a miscommunication of sorts.
I wonder if it might be useful to have a state-of-game/feedback discussion, either formal (in a post in the comm) or maybe informal (in the discord/plurk/something?) to brainstorm ways to get the players on the same page as you guys, whether that be a change in pacing, a different way (or more varieties) of disseminating information, or maybe just all of us getting a good feel for what we're supposed to be looking for/where you guys might want to concentrate your efforts in future events, as well as during event downtime.
This isn't something I was thinking about until I read it in your response, but in general, I do also think it would be beneficial to look back over the event/FAQ page and maybe add some more detail about what's happening, both post-event (for now and for events in the future - what characters can expect, etc) and between events (what are characters expected to do, and able to do, on a day-to-day basis). I get the feeling that Exp is meant to be a very freeform setting, but a bit more structure and boundaries of what characters can, can't, should, "should not" (put in quotes because they're all criminals, someone's bound to break some rules lol) be doing could be really useful to help a lot of us understand the setting and how to utilize it better.
I really appreciate the thought that's going into the character experience, so to speak, and where you'd like to go with the questions at the heart of the character journeys in the game. I just worry that maybe I'm not picking up on things I should, and Jade's comment makes me think I might not be the only one who could use some clarity, to make sure we're utilizing the game mechanics in the way you intend. I do think it could be useful, if others are having similar problems, for the mod team to get some feedback from players, to see what we're "picking up" from what you're "throwing down" and how it could better align with your intentions.
Again, if there's a better venue for me to talk about some of these things, please do let me know! There's so much about this game that I enjoy (the players! the mods! the characters! I could go on forever!) and I really want to give it my all. I just might need a little bit of guidance in doing so, and I think maybe others could use that, too. Thanks very much for your thoughtfulness and for reading my 2 gil on things.
no subject
A lot of this is going to be addressed in greater detail in the State of the Game, which will go up at some point today once it's all put together and cohesive, but we will very concisely run through the list of bullet points here to sparsely address plans of action.
- As a result of players potentially not being able to grapple the information put into events, we are eliminating the OOC need to sleuth much of anything and instead will leave that an IC thing only.
- We will address further 'downtime.' (Aka event aftermath.)
- This was already planned before it was brought up here, however, this month's SotG and all future SotGs were going to include information from the FAQ that players may find beneficial.
- Further clarification will be provided regarding the setting and the continent at the fingertips of the players for what is available. (The short of this is that there are made available plenty of other areas that can potentially be explored to some extent in between events and other such things.)
Again, please consider the above a cliff notes version of what we'll be providing in the SotG post (as we anticipate it may be quite long), so hopefully it will tide you over until the actual post is ready and available today.
Thank you again for your input and your insight.