in discussion RPG Systems Forum / RPGSystems Wikidot » //Still// active?
would like to contribute. but it seems I can't join. Is this place shutting down?
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would like to contribute. but it seems I can't join. Is this place shutting down?
Like I said last year this project has been a slow-burner and I'm not currently in a position to dedicate any time to it as I have several other major projects ongoing including among others getting a masters degree and developing roleplaying games, but I would love to expand on this site and bring it up to date and ideally make it even more useful as a communite driven information source for roleplaying systems. Thus if you want to join just let me know, but expect more of a quiet monastery of contemplation than a bustling bazaar of activity - at least for now.
This site is pretty cool, but not many recent posts. If you do read this I want to let you know that I have been aware of this site for a few months and thought I might join. looks nice.
Anyone wondering this site is on the slow-burner, but I still update it and new members who want to help get to grips with all the roleplaying systems out there are welcome to join the effort. I will periodically check for any new signups, but don't despair if it takes a while for me to notice as I'm very busy these days with a lot of projects going.
Hi Wilcoxon,
I've approved you now. Not sure why I didn't get a notification for the application, but I did get a notification for your forum post.
There has been a couple of additions since 2009, Don't Rest Your Head in 2010 and Fantasy Dice in 2011, but it has certainly been hibernating for a while. It is not abandoned though, so please make yourself at home and help build a useful wiki for roleplaying systems.
Cheers,
Claus
This site looks like a really good start at a very useful web site. However, I notice no updated since September 2009 and no response to application for editing permissions.
Is this site still active?
You bring up a very good point.
The best way to tackle this that I can think of is to do both (i.e. keep a complete list, but also have a system families list).
I've already tried to provide links from Mouse Guard to Burning Wheel to Burning Empires in my introduction of the rules, but this can probably be taken further by having a section with links for similar systems. So far I've listed MG, BW and BE as three different systems and from what Luke Crane has been saying on his forums he considers them completely separate systems with only superficial similarities. Yet we can clearly see that there are many common features in these games and it makes sense to group them together. Maybe even to highlight the common and distinct features of each and how they affect play.
At the moment there is a table on the first page which lists all systems alphabetically. I think I would like to keep this as a complete list, but maybe add above it a new system grid which groups systems by family. Each system family would have its own page with sections describing common features and with prominent links to each of the systems in that family. Eventually if the complete list grows very big it might be moved to its own page and only the system family list remains on the front page.
Deciding the "name" of such a system family and which systems belong to which families may be trickier. One approach would be to assign super families like D20 Systems, Burner Systems, ICE Systems (Ice Crown Enterprises), etc. and then have sub-groups. These sub-groups may for example be a system with versions which are very different from each other (e.g. D20 could have the sub-group D&D which would contain D&D 3.5 and D&D 4E among others).
It is all wonderfully complicated, but that is exactly why I started this wiki. In order to try and get some sort of overview and understanding of what is out there, and there sure is a lot out there!
PS! We could of course group systems under other criteria as well, such as Gamist, Narrativist and Simulationist, but I think the lines are too blurred. Especially in modern indie games which tie narration and game mechanics closely together.
PS! PS! There is also a House Rules section which I'm now thinking should probably be renamed Hacks, Derivate Systems or something like that.
The introduction contains a brief discussion of 'System versus Settings' and 'One System - Many Names', but what about System versus System family (i.e. related systems).
For example 'Basic Roleplaying' (BRP) is listed as a system, yet most people's experience with it is probably as Call of Cthulhu, Stormbringer, etc. Now, whilst very similar, each of these games has a slight variation on mechanics as the system has evolved (as well as a different setting).
Another example is Burning Wheel, Burning Empires, Mouse Guard. BE and MG are both derivatives of BW as well as being a unique setting. They are obviously all variations of one system and quite similar and the system description/analysis for them would be similar, yet they are listed differently.
A similar issue is pointed out under the section on different editions in that sometimes they can be lumped together and sometimes not. e.g. D&D 3.5 and D&D 4E have parts in common, but also quite different (much more so than say 3.0 and 3.5). Also in this 'family' should probably be systems like SIEGE and other d20 derivates which have many mechanical similarities.
My question is if there a need to explicitly identify 'System family' to group related system together, and how/where do we draw the boundaries?
<heart of the system, a few lines that will give an initial impression of how it works>
<brief description>
<brief description>
<brief description, but only if different or more detailed than the general task resoltuion as is often the case>
<brief description, but only if different or more detailed than the general task resoltuion. It may also go together with combat resolution if the same mechanics are used.>
<brief description of experience point system>
System for magic, psionics, superpowers, etc.
<publishing company, author if self published>
<brief analysis>
<any additional information>
You can post what you're planning to do. Concerns about entries or effort. Opinions. Anything to do with the efforts of this wiki.
New groups will be created as needed for specific types of rules decisions or specific systems or groups of systems if they prove very popular.