Interest Check: SBURB

[Revenent]

I just started reading the comic, now, though I have the feeling it's going to take me a while to get anywhere.

[Meliai]

Awww, no it'll be fine! To be honest two of the most difficult aspects to explain are the inventory system and all the weird machines the game puts in your house, both of which are explained early on in the comic. You'll be totally fine and there's lots of people here who are at least passingly familiar with the comic who can help you out if things get confusing.

[Chrystal]

Okay, well I for one am already confruzzled.

I have to be honest here and say that I very rarely join group games that are in a canon (or is that cannon? I can never remember which) setting. For one, although I know a lot of stuff, it vary rarely ties up with what other people know. I've tried doing group games before in settings where, even though the characters are all OCs, the setting itself is based directly on a book, film or comic, and they just don't work for me.

I thought this was something that the average player didn't need to know about or have read the comics in question, but the more I see in this thread, the less I'm convinced of that.

May I make a suggestion?

Rather than trying to convert the comic into a game, why not create a "sandbox" environment based upon the world the comic is set in, post some rules for character creation - details of each species, their abilities, statistics parameters, appearance parameters, behaviour parameters and the like, create a character creation form, and let us get on with it?

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

I feel like I'm missing something important when half of the conversation is in spoiler boxes...

Sorry, Rev. 

Would it help if I said that if you discover how this works 'in play' you may enjoy some just incredible eye-opening 'Oh WOW.' moments that we're trying to let happen for those people who haven't seen it yet?   

[Chrystal]

Sorry, Rev. 

Would it help if I said that if you discover how this works 'in play' you may enjoy some just incredible eye-opening 'Oh WOW.' moments that we're trying to let happen for those people who haven't seen it yet?   

Another suggestion:

Meliai, you should appoint Carnival as your assistant GM, and discuss the plot and game mechanics via PM or even add each other on one of the various IM clients...? That way, anything that is actually going to "spoil" the plot doesn't get posted here, and you can limit the discussion to things that are relevant to all of us, then spring the surprises when we get there...

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Okay, well I for one am already confruzzled.

I have to be honest here and say that I very rarely join group games that are in a canon (or is that cannon? I can never remember which) setting. For one, although I know a lot of stuff, it vary rarely ties up with what other people know. I've tried doing group games before in settings where, even though the characters are all OCs, the setting itself is based directly on a book, film or comic, and they just don't work for me.

I thought this was something that the average player didn't need to know about or have read the comics in question, but the more I see in this thread, the less I'm convinced of that.

May I make a suggestion?

Rather than trying to convert the comic into a game, why not create a "sandbox" environment based upon the world the comic is set in, post some rules for character creation - details of each species, their abilities, statistics parameters, appearance parameters, behaviour parameters and the like, create a character creation form, and let us get on with it?

Chrystal,

I have had some awful times trying to join canon games I wasn't familiar with, but I think you will find this an exception because of certain peculiarities about its nature. You don't, totally don't, need to know any of this, because the canon characters start out knowing nothing, too. We're spoilering because, because there are these early-on revelation moments of 'OH MY GOD, REALITY WORKS HOW?!' which were really cool and awesome to read...And we don't want to 'ruin' those moments for people who haven't seen it...And therefore might get to experience those revelations firsthand, first-time, with their OCs.

Your OC doesn't need to fit some bizarre backgroundy thing, it will just be an ordinary person. That's part of the beauty of it. Ordinary people from an ordinary world thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

And those of us who know the extraordinary circumstances are trying to discuss how to make sure the game continues if people drop out or want to join...And we don't want to ruin those moments of surprise for you by going 'Well, after event X, it will be easier to justify Y.' and thus spilling the beans about X. Or Y. Our discussion is almost entirely about game continuity.

At the same time, there's so much room for variations that still fit into the canon framework that Meliai should be able to work around whatever situation arises with people dropping or wanting to add. At least that's how I feel about the continuity worries.

I think that whether or not someone knows anything about the comic, they will still be able to be surprised by the flexibility that exists, but I also think that it'd be uncool for us to blab about stuff that might be more fun for people who haven't seen it already to figure out by going through it in-character.

You know that moment in the original From Dusk til Dawn movie when it stops being a hard-boiled bank robbery movie and suddenly WHOA WAIT VAMPIRES!!!?! It's like that. Except that you didn't see all the commercials that gave away the surprise before you got to the theatre. :)

Species and characters will be average human beings in our average, normal, real, modern world setting. Or even possibly, if you want, exceptional human beings from our average, normal, real, modern world setting! It won't matter all that much if you bring in a college student or a commando, a cashier or a political candidate. You should play a character whose personality you enjoy! This is one of those modern/mythic settings where the player characters suddenly get to see what is behind the curtains of normalcy/banality.

Some spoiler-free examples from the character introductions of the canon. Hopefully they will help:
"Your name is JOHN. As was previously mentioned it is your BIRTHDAY. A number of CAKES are scattered about your room. You have a variety of INTERESTS. You have a passion for REALLY TERRIBLE MOVIES. You like to program computers but you are NOT VERY GOOD AT IT. You have a fondness for PARANORMAL LORE, and are an aspiring AMATEUR MAGICIAN. You also like to play GAMES sometimes."

"Your name is ROSE LALONDE. You have a variety of INTERESTS. You have a passion for RATHER OBSCURE LITERATURE. You enjoy creative writing and are SOMEWHAT SECRETIVE ABOUT IT. You have a fondness for the BESTIALLY STRANGE AND FICTITIOUS, and sometimes dabble in PSYCHOANALYSIS. You also like to KNIT, and your room is a BIT OF A MESS. And on occasion, if just the right one strikes your fancy, you like to play VIDEO GAMES with your friends. Due to a violent storm, your house has just lost power, along with your wireless internet connection, although your LAPTOP COMPUTER still functions on BATTERY POWER. This has severed your link to a POPULAR VIDEO GAME you were playing with a YOUNG MAN at a CRITICAL MOMENT. That young man is relying on you to reestablish a connection somehow."

"Your name is DAVE. It is an UNSEASONABLY WARM April day. Your BEDROOM WINDOW is open to let some air in, and your FAN is cranked. Arguably even more cranked would be your FLY BEATS, which brings us to your variety of INTERESTS. A cool dude like you is sure to have plenty. You have a penchant for spinning out UNBELIEVABLY ILL JAMS with your TURNTABLES AND MIXING GEAR. You like to rave about BANDS NO ONE'S EVER HEARD OF BUT YOU. You collect WEIRD DEAD THINGS PRESERVED IN VARIOUS WAYS. You are an AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER and operate your own MAKESHIFT DARKROOM. You maintain a number of IRONICALLY HUMOROUS BLOGS, WEBSITES, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILES. And if the inspiration strikes, you won't hesitate to drop some PHAT RHYMES on a mofo and REPRESENT."

"Your name is JADE. You have just woken from a restful nap, and as usual, you have no recollection of having fallen asleep. You have quite a number of INTERESTS. So many in fact, you have trouble keeping track of them all, even with an assortment of COLORFUL REMINDERS on your fingers to help you sort out everything on your mind. Nevertheless, when you spend time in your GARDEN ATRIUM, the only thing on your mind is your deep passion for HORTICULTURE."

Hopefully these examples will be helpful, and even reassuring. I have heard a few people talk about an RPG based on the comic, but I don't know that there is one (or a dozen fan-made variations) and I don't know if Meliai plans to use one if there is/are! I confess I don't think that it will matter that much, compared to the interaction and creativity which the players bring to the table.

Oh man that was a lot of text!

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Another suggestion:

Meliai, you should appoint Carnival as your assistant GM, and discuss the plot and game mechanics via PM or even add each other on one of the various IM clients...? That way, anything that is actually going to "spoil" the plot doesn't get posted here, and you can limit the discussion to things that are relevant to all of us, then spring the surprises when we get there...

Eeek. I appreciate the vote of confidence but there are others here who know it better than I do. I've only read maybe the first half or so? I'm just talky/chatty and have very little to do this afternoon. I apologize for the big wall of spoilers, earlier.

I think I'm going to step away from the computer and go for a bike ride while there's still good light so I'm not tempted to spam the forum more.

I'm an enthusiastic amateur, that's all!

[Meliai]

Alright, here's your skeleton profile! Replace the "black" in the color tags around "GIVEN NAME" and the character's screenname with whatever your character's associated color is.

{Character portraits are optional. If you
have one stickthe url between the img
tags at the top of the code block,
otherwise delete everything between
the floatright tags. Try and keep them
relatively tall and narrow so they
don't squish your bio. If you can't
resize/crop images yourself I can help
or you can stick a width=300 into the
opening img tag.}

GIVEN NAME (all caps please)

Full name:
Age: {18 - early 20s}
Gender:
Appearance: {Pictures are optional, but you need a written description either way. Players are normal humans and their appearance should reflect that, so no crazy anime hair colors unless they're the type to color their hair. The only exception here is eye color; Players' eye colors matches their associated color (see below) even if is not an eye color that normally occurs in nature.}

Screen name: {This is what your character goes by online. Screen names follow the pattern [lowercasewordUppercaseword] and usually reflect the interests and/or personality of the character. For example in the comic [tentacleTherepist] is a girl interested in amateur psychoanalysis and Cthulhu-esque edritch horrors, [ectoBiologist] likes cheesy movies (including but not limited to the Ghostbusters franchise) and paranormal lore, [gallowsCalibrator] is a big fan of JUSTICE (and subsequent hangings) and is associated with the Libra symbol}
Associated color: {Make sure this is something that isn't too light or bright to read, and try not to pick a color that's too similar to someone else's. Here's a big huge image with a ton of color codes. Alternately, you could pick one of the named web-safe colors if you don't think you'll be able to remember a hex code, but you'll have a much smaller pallet to choose from.. This is a terrible choice. So is this. This is much better!}
Associated symbol: {This should be something small and relatively simple. Here are the symbols of the kids from the comic (In ugly chunky pixel form) for reference.}
Strife Specibus: {This is the type of weapon your character uses! There are lots of normal, practical choices such as bladekind or hammerkind or shotgunkind, but odder things like ladlekind, wrenchkid, and broomkind are also options. You shouldn't have much trouble with a stranger specibus, so feel free to pick something unusually if it fits your character. Characters might gain additional weapon proficiencies later, but start with only one. Here's the big list from the comic, but feel free to make up a new one if you'd like. This can be basically anything, as long as your character could have conceivably come into possession of the proper "weapon" at some point (so no nuclearbombkind)}
Fetch Modus: {Players have an inventory system, like in many classical RPGs, that allows them to carry more/heavier objects than they would normally be capable of lugging around. Here's a brief description from the MSPA wiki because they worded it better than I can: "The Captchalogue Deck is where artifacts are stored to be used later. Artifacts of any size and shape are stored on Captchalogue Cards, and while stored, they have no physical size or weight (so while JOHN EGBERT is unable to actually use a SLEDGEHAMMER on his own, he is still able to carry it around in his Sylladex)"
Your Fetch Modus determines how you retrieve items from your inventory. The simplest fetch modus is the Array Modus, which lets you retrieve any item from any card at any time. If you haven't read Homestuck or just don't want to deal with one of the weirder Moduses (Modi?) just use the Array Modus}

Background: {All characters were only children & raised by a single guardian}

Personality:

Current residence:
Sexual orientation:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Notable hobbies:
Dislikes/Fears:

Code Select Expand

[float=right][img padding=8]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/74926886/Placeholder_McMannequin.jpg[/img][/float]
[font=courier][size=24pt][color=black][b]GIVEN NAME[/b][/color][/size][/font]

[b]Full name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Appearance:[/b]

[b]Screen name:[/b] [color=black][b][lowercaseUppercase][/b][/color]
[b]Associated color:[/b]
[b]Associated symbol:[/b]
[b]Strife Specibus:[/b]
[b]Fetch Modus:[/b]

[b]Background:[/b]

[b]Personality:[/b]

[b]Current residence:[/b]
[b]Sexual Orientation:[/b]
[b]Strengths:[/b]
[b]Weaknesses:[/b]
[b]Notable hobbies:[/b]
[b]Likes:[/b]
[b]Dislikes:[/b]
[b]Fears:[/b]


A Bit of Background...

At some point within the last 8 years you were contacted over the internet by a girl going by the handle [restlessRusalka]. Her grasp on the English language was rather shaky in the early days so you never quite figured out how she got your contact information, but she seemed friendly and more or less harmless. She invited you to join an online forum called the Skain Scions BBS. It was rather small and the user base was eclectic but over the years you kept visiting, at least every once in a while. Not long ago RR posted a new thread gushing excitedly about some new game she'd gotten her hands on the beta files for and insisted that everyone should play together. The torrents she posted have been slow - she seems to live out in the wilderness or something and her internet connection is terrible - but after several days you finally have the programs (or will in an hour or three.)

All characters in the game are at least passingly familiar with each other, though they've probably only ever talked online. I'll get the OOC/Discussion thread up as soon as we get a few profiles so everyone can start working out what sort of relationships they have with each other going in.

[Revenent]

Only one question: how is Given Name different from Full Name as far as this character sheet goes?

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Because the full list is in ridiculsmall font, I have taken my best shot at interpreting it.
Spoilered NOT because it is a spoiler, but because it is SO tall since I am not entirely sure I understand how tables work.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

pizzactrkind
batkind
rollpinkind
yoyokind
scissorkind
peprsprykind
chainsawkind
crowbarkind
broomkind
pokerkind
icepickkind
golfclubkind
hammerkind
ropekind?
shovelkind?
machetkind?
spoonkind
statuekind
spatulakind
scrwdrvrkind
bladekind
pistolkind
lampkind
stungunkind
ballkind
rakekind
plankkind
glovekind
forkkind
candlkind
curlironkind
chainkind
knifekind
tablelegkind
shotgunkind
needlekind
peprmillkind
dmbellkind
hckystckkind
vacuumkind
mapkind
trophykind
fncysntakind?
ladlekind
cordkind
ironkind
sawkind
cleaverkind
iceskatekind
wrenchkind
umbrellakind
plungerkind
hosekind
bookkind
bustkind
spadekind
pipekind
nailgunkind
hairdryrkind
lcrsstckkind
thrwstarkind
tongskind
razorkind
fireextkind
branchkind
bwlgpinkind
bombkind
woodwindkind
staplerkind
riflekind
candlstkkind
paddlekind
bowkind
barbwirekind
dartkind
marblekind
plierkind
fireworkkind
chiselkind
aerosolkind
shoekind
puppetkind
fankind
brasskind
rockkind
scythekind

Most of these should be pretty obvious, but a few (fncysntakind?) I have no idea about, and the batch right below hammerkind are 'best guess' because the cursor is on top of them.

Many of them appear rather silly. There's nothing wrong with that.

[who149]

JACK SELLEK

Full name: Jackson Sellek
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Appearance: A young male who loves has a secret passion for dressing up in suits, and will be often found over dressing in any given chance. He has short dark brown hair, pale skin, and purple eyes, which he never found odd for his brother shares a similar pigment. He can often be found with a dull look on him in most social situations, but is no stranger to a satisfied smirk when things go his way. Due to a accident with an iron on his 18th birthday, most of his white shirts now have an image of a dice in the middle, which he mostly hides with his jacket.

Screen name: [buisnessGamer]
Associated color:  Purple
Associated symbol: 20-sided Die
Strife Specibus: Bookkind

Fetch Modus: Dice Moduses (8 slots. When any object is picked up, it is put into one of the slots numbered 1-8. At any given time if an Item is to be used, an 8 sided die will be rolled, and whichever number shows, is the item that will be used. Should only be used by those who are extremely lucky, or have strange dice superstitions)

Background: Jack lived his entire life with his brother, in a New York apartment. While the two got along pretty well, over the years there friendly games that the had played had gradually turned into a vicious rivalry, to the point where items had begun to be gambled. It was a constant battle for how had the best Magic the Gathering deck, who could be who at chess, and games of Risk had come close to ending in blood shed. As a result, Jack had learned to be analytical, a person who thinks about his every move, and plays accordingly.

He found dressing in suits seemed to have raised his confidence, made like he should be taken seriously as he played his brother's mind games, and he had his first real Chess victory against his brother when he first wore his suit, so started his superstitious love of fancy dressing.

While Jack's brother introduced him to Tabletop games, he rarely plays those with him. Jack mostly plays games like D&D with people online, most of the time playing as the DM. Sharing his brothers love of Mind Games and control though, people either love his unsuspecting traps, difficult foes, and over the top Gambits, or much more often, find them infuriating. He himself still loves the game more then anything else really.

For a few years now, he had kept a  yellow Cockatiel named Sunshine as a pet, which he seems to talk to whenever he's bored. He is very attached to the bird, thinking of him as something of a best friend. Jack tends to discuss his various strategies he has against his foes with his bird, mostly to say them out loud without seeming too crazy. Talking strategy with his bird is just one of his many customs and superstitions.


He has been recently itching for a new game too play, and a friend on a forum he goes too had insisted he play some new game, which your pretty excited about. It had taken literally days to download, but it got here just in time, you kind of have a Job Interview this late afternoon and are pretty worried about it. A nice game will ease you right up.



Personality: Very contemplative young man, who plays Passive Aggressive mind games with his brother, and in extension, his friends too at times.  He has a habit of taking his games very seriously, and expects his foes to take it just as seriously most of the time. Besides being competitive, he is very superstitious, he takes strange very good care of his dice, wears suits whenever he feels a game is going to be challenging or he feels he needs an intellectual edge, and he stays away from ALL cats (They are the unluckiest animal in his opinion).

Current residence: New York Apartment
Sexual Orientation: Female-Male Preference: 75/25 %
Strengths: Intellectual, Good at games of thought, good with numbers.
Weaknesses:  Physically weak, Can be socially awkward, gets a bit too obsessed with his games.
Notable hobbies:  Games of Intellect and Strategy (Chess, D&D, Magic the Gathering, Risk, Turn Based Strategy video games). Collecting statues, action figures, Posters, and dolls of things he likes. Collecting Dice and keeping them safe and untouched until use. Drawing terrible fan-art.
Likes: Board Games, Tabletop Games, Cartoons (all of them), Suits, Books, Toys Collectible figures, the Internet, good art and animation, his pet Bird.
Dislikes: Cats, people who put no effort into there work, people who throw games, games of complete luck (Especially Candy-land), misused roman numerals, people who cheat.
Fears: Cats, Broken windows, heights, water, small spaces, the dark, large fish.

[who149]

Because the full list is in ridiculsmall font, I have taken my best shot at interpreting it.
Spoilered NOT because it is a spoiler, but because it is SO tall since I am not entirely sure I understand how tables work.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

pizzactrkind
batkind
rollpinkind
yoyokind
scissorkind
peprsprykind
chainsawkind
crowbarkind
broomkind
pokerkind
icepickkind
golfclubkind
hammerkind
ropekind?
shovelkind?
machetkind?
spoonkind
statuekind
spatulakind
scrwdrvrkind
bladekind
pistolkind
lampkind
stungunkind
ballkind
rakekind
plankkind
glovekind
forkkind
candlkind
curlironkind
chainkind
knifekind
tablelegkind
shotgunkind
needlekind
peprmillkind
dmbellkind
hckystckkind
vacuumkind
mapkind
trophykind
fncysntakind?
ladlekind
cordkind
ironkind
sawkind
cleaverkind
iceskatekind
wrenchkind
umbrellakind
plungerkind
hosekind
bookkind
bustkind
spadekind
pipekind
nailgunkind
hairdryrkind
lcrsstckkind
thrwstarkind
tongskind
razorkind
fireextkind
branchkind
bwlgpinkind
bombkind
woodwindkind
staplerkind
riflekind
candlstkkind
paddlekind
bowkind
barbwirekind
dartkind
marblekind
plierkind
fireworkkind
chiselkind
aerosolkind
shoekind
puppetkind
fankind
brasskind
rockkind
scythekind

Most of these should be pretty obvious, but a few (fncysntakind?) I have no idea about, and the batch right below hammerkind are 'best guess' because the cursor is on top of them.

Many of them appear rather silly. There's nothing wrong with that.

Fancy Santa Kind.


In my opinion, the duedliest weapon there is.

I'm warning you about them Santa's bro, I'm warning you dog.

[Chrystal]

Is there an unkind?

Just kidding.

Okay, I'm going to give this a shot, because I'm intrigued and because I don't want to loose touch with the only other persoin I've ever met who actually used the phrase "On the Gripping Hand"...

I do have a serious question though:

What sort of character pics are you expecting (other than tall and thin)? Art work? Photos? If you want original art, then I'm going to respectfully submit a picture of my character wearing a white suit with her face painted white out walking during a blizzard!

Also, do you specifically want PG15 safe pics or are you going to create a thread to post them in, or should we PM them to you?



Carni, table code works like this:

Code Select Expand


[table]
[tr][td]pizzactrkind[/td][td]batkind[/td][td]rollpinkind[/td][td]yoyokind[/td][td]scissorkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]peprsprykind[/td][td]chainsawkind[/td][td]crowbarkind[/td][td]broomkind[/td][td]pokerkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]icepickkind[/td][td]golfclubkind[/td][td]hammerkind[/td][td]ropekind?[/td][td]shovelkind?[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]machetkind?[/td][td]spoonkind[/td][td]statuekind[/td][td]spatulakind[/td][td]scrwdrvrkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]bladekind[/td][td]pistolkind[/td][td]lampkind[/td][td]stungunkind[/td][td]ballkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]rakekind[/td][td]plankkind[/td][td]glovekind[/td][td]forkkind[/td][td]candlkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]curlironkind[/td][td]chainkind[/td][td]knifekind[/td][td]tablelegkind[/td][td]shotgunkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]needlekind[/td][td]peprmillkind[/td][td]dmbellkind[/td][td]hckystckkind[/td][td]vacuumkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]mapkind[/td][td]trophykind[/td][td]fncysntakind?[/td][td]ladlekind[/td][td]cordkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]ironkind[/td][td]sawkind[/td][td]cleaverkind[/td][td]iceskatekind[/td][td]wrenchkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]umbrellakind[/td][td]plungerkind[/td][td]hosekind[/td][td]bookkind[/td][td]bustkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]spadekind[/td][td]pipekind[/td][td]nailgunkind[/td][td]hairdryrkind[/td][td]lcrsstckkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]thrwstarkind[/td][td]tongskind[/td][td]razorkind[/td][td]fireextkind[/td][td]branchkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]bwlgpinkind[/td][td]bombkind[/td][td]woodwindkind[/td][td]staplerkind[/td][td]riflekind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]candlstkkind[/td][td]paddlekind[/td][td]bowkind[/td][td]barbwirekind[/td][td]dartkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]marblekind[/td][td]plierkind[/td][td]fireworkkind[/td][td]chiselkind[/td][td]aerosolkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]shoekind[/td][td]puppetkind[/td][td]fankind[/td][td]brasskind[/td][td]rockkind[/td][/tr]
[tr][td]scythekind[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][td][/td][/tr]
[/table]


What it looks like

pizzactrkind	batkind	rollpinkind	yoyokind	scissorkind
peprsprykind	chainsawkind	crowbarkind	broomkind	pokerkind
icepickkind	golfclubkind	hammerkind	ropekind?	shovelkind?
machetkind?	spoonkind	statuekind	spatulakind	scrwdrvrkind
bladekind	pistolkind	lampkind	stungunkind	ballkind
rakekind	plankkind	glovekind	forkkind	candlkind
curlironkind	chainkind	knifekind	tablelegkind	shotgunkind
needlekind	peprmillkind	dmbellkind	hckystckkind	vacuumkind
mapkind	trophykind	fncysntakind?	ladlekind	cordkind
ironkind	sawkind	cleaverkind	iceskatekind	wrenchkind
umbrellakind	plungerkind	hosekind	bookkind	bustkind
spadekind	pipekind	nailgunkind	hairdryrkind	lcrsstckkind
thrwstarkind	tongskind	razorkind	fireextkind	branchkind
bwlgpinkind	bombkind	woodwindkind	staplerkind	riflekind
candlstkkind	paddlekind	bowkind	barbwirekind	dartkind
marblekind	plierkind	fireworkkind	chiselkind	aerosolkind
shoekind	puppetkind	fankind	brasskind	rockkind
scythekind

[Revenent]

So I got to the part at the beginning where it shows you Egbert's game collection, says how he's logged hundreds of hours into them, and lets you play a few as branch-off comics.

I didn't know I would actually be logging hundreds of hours into them, too. These things are so long it's absurd.

[who149]

So I got to the part at the beginning where it shows you Egbert's game collection, says how he's logged hundreds of hours into them, and lets you play a few as branch-off comics.

I didn't know I would actually be logging hundreds of hours into them, too. These things are so long it's absurd.

yeah, listen, for the sake of time ignore those for now. Problem Sleuth is a good read, but its pretty time consuming. It was the authors first real comic on the site. (If you don't count Jail Break and Bard Quest, just flat out ignore those unless your REALLY bored)

There won't be a lot of knowledge you really need right off the bat I guess, the first Act or so should give a pretty good understanding of how the game will start, but the universe in Homestuck works in a weird way, which will be apparent as you read.

Take your time and try your best to analyze the information,  You should get all the info you really need to know off the bat before the RP starts.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

LILY

Full name:  Lillian O'Connell
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Appearance: Lily is a slightly tall and gawky girl at 5'7. Her curly hair is a distinctly natural red shaded a bit towards strawberry blonde and her eyes are sea-green. She has the sort of pale skin one might expect to go with it. She likes to wear old dress coats over otherwise casual (jeans/t-shirt/sneakers) garb. Lily doesn't wear makeup unless she has to. Under certain circumstances she wears elaborate Elizabethan, Victorian or Edwardian costumes and sometimes cross-dresses (because bowlers, fancy vests, jackboots and swallow tail officer's coats should be for everybody.

Screen name: [maskedSeamstress]
Associated color: Seagreen
Associated symbol:
Strife Specibus: Scissorkind

(14.5" bladed shears are skeery.)

Fetch Modus: Logical Vector Structure: Each vector is distinguished by characteristic(s) and boolean operators, and contains a FIFO queue. Some of her current vectors are =Hat, =Mask, =Costume, =Sewing, =Prop, =Book, and =Other.

Background: LILY lives in a mid-size house outside of GRAND RAPIDS. She is a costumer and sometimes plays bit parts for a local AMATEUR THEATRE COMPANY, and is also very into HISTORICAL RE-ENACTMENT, especially VICTORIAN and EDWARDIAN DANCE and HIGH TEA. Her closet is one-quarter full of NORMAL CASUAL CLOTHING, one-quarter full of MISSING THEATRE PROPS and the rest is CLOTHING THAT HASN'T BEEN STYLISH FOR A CENTURY OR SO. She has a large collection of MASKS, VIZARDS and ARCHAIC HATS. She also has a small collection of TEAPOTS. She also has far too many scraps and bolts of cloth and bits of lace and ribbon, but thinks of these as SUPPLIES rather than a COLLECTION, offerings to be made on the altar of her beat-up USED SEWING MACHINE. Because costuming is such an expensive hobby, her other hobby is papercraft, or as she calls it in her snootier moments, KIRIGAMI, because origami is so passe'. Because of her interest in KIRIGAMI and COSTUMING she has a diverse array of all sorts of SCISSORS scattered around her room. Her pet ferret SNOWBALL spends most of his time avoiding SCISSORS while stalking DUST BUNNIES among the scattered piles of CLOTH and COSTUMERY. She has had to learn some simple programming, mostly for websites and spreadsheets, due to work on her BACHELOR'S DEGREE in THEATER ARTS, which promises to be useless, even if the programming is likely one of the more useful skills she has accumulated from it, and sometimes plays MULTIPLAYER ONLINE GAMES. She still lives with her MOTHER who BREEDS RARE ORCHIDS and who constantly tries to turn the house into a STEAMY TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN. It is exceedingly difficult to iron SEAMS for SEWING in a STEAMY TROPICAL BOTANICAL GARDEN.

Personality: Dashing Escapist hidden inside Shy Daydreamer. While she can totally chew the scenery in a ROLE with a COSTUME and a MASK she's much less confident in day-to-day life. If she could wander around town with a definite known ROLE and the mysterious vizard and accompany flamboyant costume, she could be entirely extroverted and ebullient, but in the rather unfriendly seeming modern world where she's never quite sure what she's supposed to be doing in large public gatherings she tends to become a wallflower.

Current residence: 3 bedroom house in a relatively pleasant suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Sexual Orientation: Bi
Strengths: Crafting, performance, dance. Fine manipulation. Poise. Balance.
Weaknesses: Hostile or overly fluid social situations, endurance, math, plants.
Notable hobbies: Collecting masks, costuming, re-enactment, sewing, papercraft, High Tea, killing plants.
Likes: Elaborate dress, snobbish social re-enactment, high and low fantasy novels, small fluffy cute things. Gothic and orchestral music.
Dislikes: Drabness. Hard work that isn't creative. Rain. Competitive sports. Modern art and fashion. Plants.
Fears: Heights, awkward social situations, bugs (especially spiders), deep water.

[Chrystal]

Okay, well, I tried...

I got as far as the modus thingy and gave up.

Perhaps if you could make that simpler?

[who149]

The Modus is basically just the inventory system.

The comic this is based off of, is essentially a parody of video game cliche's, and that having inventory systems, and the shenanigans that go with it, are just an average day to day thing people in this world have to deal with.

For you, I'd just say Array.
Its simple and lacks any sort of shenanigans.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Okay, well, I tried...

I got as far as the modus thingy and gave up.

Perhaps if you could make that simpler?

I second the choice of Array. Array means you can grab whatever you like, whenever you like it.

This is a computer-geek running joke, kind of, with one of the characters who has a Queue inventory. So every time they pick up an item, it goes onto the top of a sort of stack...And they drop the item at the bottom of the stack.

Except it isn't dropped so much as it is forcibly ejected in the direction they are facing.

Usually at high velocity, pointy-end first. This character can't even drop all their inventory at once...At best they pick up 'trash' items until all their 'useful' items are on the floor, then pick them up again in the order they want them to come out (thus ejecting all the 'trash' items).

Another character uses a 'Tree' which branches in different directions, which is all kinds of fun until she removes the trunk...And everything falls out of her inventory, all at once.

Another one uses a hash which organizes their inventory into slots based on the alphanumeric value of the name they are stored under. Which results in the character having to come up with increasingly silly names to avoid stowing things in slots which are already in use.

It's sort of a silly way of showing how STUPID certain data structures would be if the real world really worked the way the guts of a computer game did. <_< If that helps at all. It's only funny for about five or ten pages of the (5000+ page) comic, so not really THAT big a part of the game.

Take 'Array'. It's simplest. It means you can put anything into any open slot in your inventory, and take out anything you want at any time no matter what slot it is in.

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Strife Specibus: Bookkind

Wow.

"Throwing the book" at someone just got a whole lot nastier.

[Chrystal]

OOOOOH I get it now!

*Closet computer geek*

I'm now contemplating how to translate a hashed random file structure into this....

Each item in the structure has a key entry in an index table which gives the address in the file of the record, and the address of the key within the index is calculated from the bit value of that index.

Wait, you already said that one....

Hmm... Relational storage, where only certain items are keyed and each item is placed in a relationship with one or more others... and you have to go via the keyed items to get to the non-keyed ones.

Would that work?

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

OOOOOH I get it now!

*Closet computer geek*

I'm now contemplating how to translate a hashed random file structure into this....

Each item in the structure has a key entry in an index table which gives the address in the file of the record, and the address of the key within the index is calculated from the bit value of that index.

Wait, you already said that one....

Hmm... Relational storage, where only certain items are keyed and each item is placed in a relationship with one or more others... and you have to go via the keyed items to get to the non-keyed ones.

Would that work?

If you can describe the rules of HOW it would work, then you can have it work, even if it isn't REALLY strictly speaking a 'proper' computer data structure.

As you have probably figured out from some of the back and forth, the idea of SBURB is kind of (a little, at first, before things REALLY go sideways) based on the idea of 'what if you discovered that the world was a video game and you were a character in that video game?'

So the Fetch Modus is 'How stupidly abstruse is it to try to code inventory systems?'

The one I threw in for Lily was kind of a 'Yes, I get the joke here, let me go reductio in absurdum on it.' It sorts things by type IF it has a queue for that type using Boolean (+, -, >, <, =) operators if she has a Vector that the picked up thing matches. So if she picks up an 'Attractive Carnival Mask' it would go under '=Mask' (and if she was carrying too many Masks it would drop the oldest previous newest one (I forgot I had specified FIFO)).

Horrible, horrible programmer jokes. I promise that is the last of them. The rest of the comic is about adventure and the idea of worlds within worlds within worlds. It doesn't rely on abstruse hacker in-jokes once you get past the syllabus.

Here, first introduction to Fetch Modus syllabi:
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001907
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001909
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001910
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001913
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001914
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001915
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=001917

Another player's example:
http://mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002126

The only times Fetch Moduses are anything except a throwaway joke are when the ejection feature is used as a weapon, and when one character experiments with a Jenga-based Fetch Modus, and another one has trouble with their Pictionary Fetch modus properly recognizing their hurried attempts to draw the object they want to retrieve.

[Chrystal]

Okay, I have it now. I will try not to think of something original between now and tomorrow night... *winks*

[CarnivalOfTheGoat]

Trying to render complex character ideas in Hussie's style when one has no cartooning experience is haaaaaard!!!

Bother. Webcoloration or some other damn thing ate the secondary and tertiary shading greys on her hands and on the scissors.

Oh well!

I'll have to remember to plan for that next time.

[Winds Of Lust]

Working on my character and a paper and studying for one of my last tests of this semester so I will hope to have Him up by the end of the night.

And darn you Carnival, I was going to do scissors! Though I may pitch a weapon you could possible find/make later in the game, if your interested in hearing it that is.

Well I guess I am going to have to choose between Yoyokind, Stickkind, and lcrsstckkind ( lacrosse stick kind )

decisions decisions....