Style and Taste

[ZamuelNow]

Starting a new thread based off of discussion elsewhere.  What style of author are you and what arcs do you seek out for play?  Personally, I feel I'm theoretically split 50/50 when it comes to wanting to create comedic or serious arcs but a serious project often leads to a longer arc.  Oddly, I think I'm more strict on mistakes and structure on my comedic arcs.  I lean more What If?/Elseworlds than hard canon or wholly disconnected from canon.  I prefer a breadth of ideas and settings than focusing on one thing.  I'm also willing to play with mechanics that may not always be wise.

 

As a player, I'm also 50/50 on comedy and seriousness but I'm more cautious on long serious arcs.  I prefer arcs be complete and have fully built sequels than be "To Be Continued" serial blocks.  Since I didn't start Issue 1 (or Issue 6) and haven't played every arc in the main game, I prefer arcs that connect to canon be written with mild refreshers in their narrative.  Praetoria is a turn off.  Those stories can be well done but isn't part of the game that interests me.

[cranebump]

As a player. I’ll play just about anything. As an author, I tend toward noir.

[Clave Dark 5]

I've made silly, I've made fairly straight forward, and I've made surreal stuff.

 

I'll play any, really admire a strongly put-together story, because I know how much hard work it is (hence the silly and surreal options in my portfolio ha ha).

[Darmian]

19 hours ago, ZamuelNow said:

 Praetoria is a turn off.  Those stories can be well done but isn't part of the game that interests me.

BOOO!  HISSS!

[Police Woman]

I mostly write comedy.  I've dabbled in more serious stories but I'll tend to add easter eggs or in-jokes even in those.

 

I'll play almost anything, but I especially love story arcs with a strong genre theme, and my hero is transported into this story and is immersed in it.  I strive to do this in some of my own story arcs, and I'm happiest with the arcs I've written where I feel this is successful.

Edited Thursday at 09:07 PM by Police Woman

[Darmian]

Hmm.  Nowadays I've little time to write but I still have my notes for my final Praetorian Trilogy somewhere.  It's Responsibility Loyalist.  I've done trilogies of the other three factions and really tried to make them fit (a) into the lore of pre War Praetoria/edging into the start of the actual War; and (b) fitting into a "gap" between Neutropolis and First Ward events.  The Responsibility Loyalist is my fave path through Praetoria so I've been very self critical on what I want to put out there in order to satisfy myself on how well it fits in.  Eventually I'll get it done I suppose.  I'd happily write more Praetorian stuff set later in First Ward and Night Ward if we had any of those maps. We don't.

 

Other than that I've tried to write a long NPC team driven work that spans 50 missions.  I had a lot of fun writing it and keeping track of all the spinning plates and I envisaged it as a combo TV series format with a Prequel and three "seasons" that has you engage with a mid level NPC super team and generally get to know them while their world is spinning out of control.  I think it works.  

 

Comedy is so subjective that I won't even attempt that.  And kudos to those who can do it. 

 

For things I look for?  I'll try almost anything but a solid story and good character interaction will always hook me in.  And when I say anything, well look at some of the Christmas AEs that are available!  Some of those are insane.

 

And even in an AE that might be 90% awful to me you can find something that shines, that makes me think "how the hell did they do that?"  I've been lucky enough that several people have asked me that question about my stuff but here's a little known secret: sometimes the AE's borkiness produces strange and fun things you can find while testing and then the trick is to figure out (usually by redrafting the story bit) how to make it look like I MEANT that to happen  😄

 

And by now some of the newer AE writers might be discovering how @cranebump and @Ankylosaur are damn good at what they do.  It's that they keep doing it.  Carnegie Hall, folks!

[Clave Dark 5]

20 hours ago, Darmian said:

BOOO!  HISSS!

Welp, Zam's cancelled now yep.