So you want to run a Play-by-Post RPG?
-Part 2- "Keep it Simple, Stupid"

You may want to get really fancy with storylines and add a whole slew of different genres and influences to game-play, but you need to think small. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, and don’t let you eyes become bigger than your belly. It’s alright to have ambitions, that’s what’s keeping this type of play going, whereas Play-by-chat hasn’t had a facelift in some time, and it’s starting lose popularity over types of play that allow more room for thought and ‘thinking ahead’ instead of constant flaming in a chat room (Play-by-chat isn’t all bad though). Start with a really basic concept, easy rules, easy character creation and a quick transition into game-play. The goal is after a person signs up they need to be able to make a character and ideally be playing same-day. If not you could lose potential new members. This is usually where Play-by-post games die, they don’t get started. There are a lot of good ideas for games floating around out there; the problem is there aren’t enough players to go around –even if you’re doubling up.

That said I advise against media-based games, while I personally have run several I can easily say from experience unless there is an enormous group of people who are interested in the media that your game is based on you’re going to have a hard time finding people to play. So general Sci-fi and general fantasy are the most advisable courses for your first game –if only to feel out how you want to organize and to meet people who have been playing or running these types of games for a while. You also want to think long and hard about your setting and story, make it appealing, easy to change and add upon. Not all games need a ‘goal’ but sometimes a short-term goal that’s available for anyone to participate in can fan posting and increase public interest. Whereas if you have the same concept being played out again and again public interest will falter and the game could go down the tubes in a short period of time without hope of resurrection.

So the rule of thumb, so-to-speak, is KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid. If you spend too long explaining an aspect of the game, then people are bound to have to spend a bit of time reading it. Gamers are lazy and are probably gaming because they’re bored; get ‘em to the action fast. Sure it might take ‘em a while to get used to the game-play, and the characters or the people, but if they’re writing posts (even OOC) in the first few hours of discovering the site you may have a keeper. I find, however, that the ratio of members that aren’t what I call ‘floaters’ –people who sign up, post once and never login again—is about 1 in 10. I’ve seen but one or two games break the 1 in 5 mark, and that’s an achievement, but a daunting fact.

--Look for Part 3 soon--
Remmy