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Post Corrected Update)

When I posted this post it was just me trying to bring to attention things that I was concerned about with the sister forum YCM - basically copy+pasting with a few edits, and the YCM post in turn was written shortly before leaving the screen for the day. As Yui illustrated below here, I posted ignorantly - I had no clue that Tormented was the owner of the site and that he's UK based (which defeats the whole point of my post here), I hadn't considered NCM's internet footprint even in relation to YCM, and how the law apparently would not affect people who aren't doing anything shady (which as far as I know, nobody is, or at least I would hope nobody is.) Yui's post in general is much more thought out than my own, and while I do think I can plead ignorance for not knowing the context of NCM properly, I also take responsibility for the bad posting. My apologies to Tormented and everyone else - I've no hard feelings and I hope this doesn't cause any more of them.

I don't back the original post any more for NCM so I deleted it but I kept the video for context sake.. I'm also requesting someone lock this so I can just put this behind me and keep on as usual.

i would post my take but i dont have much of a take except to say that during the entirety of my tie at roblox there was a sitewide rule on no online dating (ODing is what we used to call it, it was basically the strictest rule on the platform), and also given that roblox is famous and popular largely because of (not despite) the pdp problem in their user base for a children's aimed game is unaddressed (IIRCl a family member of John "free players quitting saves us money" Shedletsky got their own scandal - John has been on the team since before I started playing in 2008)

so with this i can safely say i regard roblox as lower than netflix (b/c mvideo-name-redacted controversy back in 2020) and autism speaks (actual fascists) put together, exaberated by the fact that roblox corporation has never backtracked on anything (except the clothes price floor and even they didnt remove it completely just lowered it) and even if they did you can't go straight after something like this 

so the question is, how do you bring the public attention en masse to outcry against this sort of thing all at once and over an extended period of time? this is what i'm hoping to discuss. i should note it's not going to be easy when outrage culture works by moving on to the next big scary looking thing within days if not hours - the only way i can think of is a mass campaign by the US press or getting US/CA law enforcement to investigate with intent to prosecute (which would get attention), although neither is likely, b/c law enforcement might not have a lead to follow or weasel out of it with a law clause, and b/c the media ganged up by netflix's side with movie-name-redacted (probably a decision by the suits and not the reporters).

also someone said in the comments "making it 17+ instead of 18+ makes it easier for roblox to deal with the law, instead of it being strictly an adult space which have legal precedents it is just a space tailored to older teens. Roblox now will not be held at the standard of exposing children to adult content and having the authorities involved. Instead they now can just say that "there are just some creepy people in the space and we are doing our best to get rid of them.'" i dont know how true this is at least in US so if someone could verify that'd be informative.

but in the end, stuff like this makes me thank the LORD for helping me walk away all those years ago, around the time tix ('tickets', free online currency on roblox) got removed, but i never thought it'd quite come to this

[NOTE: I will not tolerate incitements to violence against roblox corporation, or its infrastructure, because that only gives them the martyr card. vigilante action should be reserved for individuals who have been found guilty in a court of law]

Hi everyone - 

So I've been in a bit of a rut recently regarding a writing project I was working on and off for about 2 or so years, then put aside over the past month, and now that I'm revisiting it I'm not sure what to do with it.

For context: My initial main idea that I wanted to write about was a magic system I came up with, where emotions and perspective were just as important an aspect of it as the actual abilities gained. (I'd rather not disclose exactly how it works on the internet.) I thought it was a pretty good expression of what I wanted to share through this story - basically that we need more empathy in the world. I also was intrigued about writing a story w/ an autistic protagonist whose (abundant) empathy would factor heavily into the plot but the plot itself would not center around his autism. (As an autistic person IRL I thought these would go well together, also b/c I haven't been able to find any characters like that in popular fiction...)

(In addition I still intend to use a mountain setting, a la the places I traveled to in the alps this year - that's part of why I went after all, to reuse my experience there into the story.)

I also have/had (more on that later) a lot of moving parts that I included either as 
A. a writing conceit (for example, a team of human antagonist, in this case from far away and intent on seizing the setting) or
B. something I thought would be cool to include without thinking much about how it would affect my workload (e.g. a sympathetic member of that antagonist team w/ redemption arc and some viewpoint chapters, etc.)

But eventually about a month and a week ago I put it aside after 7 chapters (out of an guesstimated 40) over the course of those two or so years, to give myself some distance and see if I would be able to figure out what was railroading my creative process on that story. It worked: I think the problem was that I had a lot of moving parts that I was not willing to let go of, so now I'm trying to simplify the story and cut down heavily on the extraneous ambitions (such as example B above) and focus primarily on those 2 main story ideas in the second paragraph of this post (mainly the magic system, but to a slightly lesser degree the protagonist too, who I was not giving his full due.)

So now I'm trying to figure out some ideas for the central conflict, stakes, and antagonist/character web setup. Generally speaking I feel a part of the stakes should involve the community(s) of the setting, and whether they find/keep common ground or (continue to?) turn on each other. Also a single "team bad" I think would be less than ideal, as I'm not sure that would be earnest anymore coming from me, but a natural intrusion (a la Nausicaa) or a faction setup are things I've been weighing. Like I said before, I'm trying to go with whatever best allows Exchanging and the MC to shine as they should, without over-burdening my workload. (These two ideas I'm keeping might put a lot on my plate already.)

What are some ideas for character setups I could possibly use? (I don't mind borrowing from other works if there's a way I can see to put my own spin on it.)

how did you just not think of easy-ins like cyber stein, waking the dragon, etc i mean there's not even a "must be fusion'd with the above materials" clause or anything

14 hours ago, LordCowCow said:

not entirely sure what's going on but it was neat, knock some off cause of being so long and majority not being much, but still 7.5/10 pretty cool

thanks. i considered posting the polished edit, i chose this one mainly because at 1:14 if you look at the bottom right camera you can see the manuever that he used to stabilize his fall (using his arms as brakes) which was oddly missing from the polished edit. that, and i thought the lack of music in the raw cut was less compelling than just watching the thing unfold (i do agree a lot of the raw cut doesn't have much going on.) also some of the polished edit is slowed down particularly at the beginning of the skydive, which i didn't appreciate, but here it in case you or anyone else wants it

chute 4:26, land 9:08

i'd like to say a lot of things, but first and foremost among them, kudos for 1) staying active in the pursuit of your project and 2) recognizing when it's getting too much and taking a step back. that's something that most would-be creators never realize they need, and it's something i struggle with often in my own work.

i recall one of your posts around the time of the project overhaul/switch/whatchamacallit that you were tired of saving the world plots. i agree with that and i think it'd be refreshing to have an RPG with "lower" (i.e. not as heavy) stakes that still engage. if you want, i could provide some feedback of the story plan, but if not that's okay, because in the end it's your game and i don't want to take it over so to speak. not to mention i'm just curious what it is at this stage =P

one other thing - i used to work on video games before switching to written word writing, and while i do own RPGMaker MV, i haven't used it much or really spend much time on it when i was active, so it can be hard for me, who hasn't played much RPGs, to understand what's going on - perhaps a summary at the end of a post could be useful? i'd love to support you on your work but i just don't know how i can when there's so much to take in...

It's been a very long time since I've come to NCM/YCM for advice, but I think this merits it. It's not so much about storytelling craft so much as an ethical concern of mine, and over the years I've come to trust you guys here from the old YCM guard (before the site split in two).

SHORT VERSION: I'm wondering about inspiration and borrowing of specifics in structural material from other works - is that plagiarism, or otherwise unacceptably derivative for a genre work?

LONG VERSION:
I have a concept in my head of two factions in opposition, with a character or two each to represent, and two (or more?) characters outside those factions (the protagonist and a third "antagonist"/team; both come from afar.) I like the way the setup does not judge between, nor caricaturizes, the two 'factions' (a industrial settlement and the natural world around it) and the way it comments on some topics of importance to me (environmentalism, war and overcoming differences, etc.) One problem: these things have already been done by another work I admire, which is where I got the idea for the character dynamics. (This work is not written-word, mine is.)

I intend to make use of a different kind of setting for my work, without much forestry: something that feels more 'otherworldly' but still recognizable/imaginable as a place on Earth. (What it will be, I'm not sure; I was considering Icelandic features, but I haven't decided yet.) I also intend to make the characters themselves different from their counterparts in the other work, but I have trouble seeing how the relations between them can be different without upsetting the balance.

Consulting a loved one on the issue, they noted that while West Side Story borrowed from Romeo & Juliet character dynamics and some commentary throughlines, it also lifted plot too, and yet it's been accepted as a legitimate work. This does not put me at ease, especially since I'm in general having trouble bringing my own structure-level spin to the combination of this character/faction setup, the way that setup intertwines with commentary, and the commentary itself. (Also R&J has had many pastiches and revisits in other works that are accepted as legitimate: for my source text, I can't think of any other example of media that does what it does.)I do intend to make a plot that is not resembelant of the other work, just don't know what it is yet.

Although I believe in what the original work had to say and I want to send that understanding further, I am worried about the ethics of my situation, which brings me to my question:

Is this plagiarism, or copying in spirit, or otherwise an unacceptable level of derivative for genre(-esque) fiction? If so, what can I do to make it fresher, more of me and less of a correlation - or do I have to basically start over? If I'm 'in the clear' or in a 'grey area', how so?

5 hours ago, Hina's Simp said:

Does it need to match? It seems to me that your focus is trying to posit both of these ideas at the same time without developing everything that is going on within the world. Stakes only matter when there is a form of uncertainty for the main character to establish, and that is already set: her internal and external stakes are already side by side, that the conflict should be just about navigating that form of uncertainty. First, to navigate the story, you need to establish clear ideas of what the motivation/curiosity are. The main character shouldn't have other focuses, especially at a young age; the character, instead, should focus more directly on the ignorance of that curiosity, since there is nothing else in front of her. 

With this introduction: "soon after arriving she discovers and befriends a creature who takes care of the life on the island", have the main character focus on building that relationship. How does the main character learn to communicate? Why is she curious in this creature? How do they meet? The biggest concern that needs to be addressed in your story, before you develop their separation, is this relation and freedom. This main character has the ability, freedom, and curiosity to explore the area of her vacation. In that, she needs to have motivations that push her to explore. In My Neighbor Totoro, the relationship was a matter of curiosity and child wonder, nothing more: there was a sense of freedom and safety that push the character forward. In Kiki's Delivery Service, the main character was pushed into the world and had to discover it alongside her journey. There was not "stakes", but a idea to explore.

The one thing that comes to mind with this idea, that you should focus on, is the internal conflict that pushes the main character to first explore and pursue the relationship with the creature. Look at what pushes your character out into the "world" to explore, to traverse, and what sparks her wonder toward the character. To help with this, think of what characteristics the character has and how that aligns with this journey. In this, the stakes start to develop on their own; The relationship and what separates them becomes more clear. If it is like Gravity Falls, then it is that there is a limited amount of time that pushes the relationship away. If it is The Chronicles of Narnia, then the idea is that characters grow up and grow out into the real world away from the fantasy space.

If we develop this relationship between the creature and the main character: they are brought together by some idea that motivates the main character, yet the creature lacks something as well. The creature doesn't need to have internal motivation, but needs to express something outwardly toward the main character. It needs to be something that connects them: what makes the creature safe/certain/understanding of the main character? If we take something like The Jungle Book, then it is because the main character needs to be taken care of by the jungle, and only knows of the jungle from a young age. If it is something like Kara from Superman, then the Kal-el cousin is both the learner and the mentor as she connects Superman to Krypton and Superman connects Kara to Earth.

In all of these stories: the stakes are not separated by internal/external binaries. They are separate in the ways that they are explored. If your main character is navigating the "vacation" space on her own, even with the creature, it is a lonely and exclusive journey, a sense of escape. The parents/guardians/adults have no knowledge of this, so the main character lives "two" moments in her revelation, her life home and her exploration home. This already develops a form of stakes: learning but with limited time, friendship with an end, etc. Something to more reference will be closely related with Where the Wild Things Are: The kid was punished to a room, and yet was able to escape through imagination: the limits of the world were only the limits of the punishment, but this hadn't mattered, as the main character sought to explore and develop a relationship with the creature. It wasn't a matter of escape, it was something more aligned with the freedom to travel. Upon returning from that imaginative space hadn't mean a return to punishment, but a way to bring that journey back with him and invite his mother back into that space.

My advice is: Build the stakes of the relationship. What connects them together? What pushes them away? Why is the main character interested? What makes the creature certain or safe? Sure, this implies the idea of both internal/external stakes, but that shouldn't be where the concern is, as it undermines the main focus in which this idea seems more fruitful.

thanks for stopping in! even though i've moved on to newer projects i'm grateful that people here still care about helping out - it encourages me to share more in the future. i'm sorry i don't have much else to say, b/c i've put this on the shelf a while ago but might revisit it to learn lessons for a possible future idea i have, which does have a more relationship-based angle than how i was viewing this project or how i view my current one. (if you wish to discuss the current one further, i'd rather make a new thread about it though)

but i do have to ask - and that is quite a bit to take in so sorry if i miss something or if my response post has been too short but - how can I find out the most 'fruitful' (as you put it) aspects of a given project(s) i have going, without delving into details i may not be ready to share?

i never really appreciated the young thug helium verse

personally i prefer this to the young thug verse

it could just be me, but i get the feeling that increasing power creep so steadily and so much is going to make it harder for modern/mainline ygo to grow or to maintain its market as more players move on to more balanced card games (mtg, pokemon, or more niche TCGs.) last time it was comparably bad IMO was with whatever you call the format with perfoma-pal/-ge, where they actually stepped in with an emergency banlist. nowadays with konami taking their time to move the new years banlist to us guys here in north america, it feels kind of like they're hanging us to dry (more so when you consider how maxx c at3, etc. over there affects how cards are designed around them, which trickles down to us.)
another factor i think is going to make it harder for YGO to attract new players (besides sweats) to replace outgoing veterans is how complicated konami makes everything just to sustain the power creep escalation. even as a veteran player myself i probably couldn't recite a single entire tear card's effects to you, how is a newbie going to last if their locals are competitive? you have to make room for all these different rules and conditions added over the years (just look at how many extra deck strats there are) just to know how to play, memorize the opposing deck strats just to play against them, know their weak spots to stop combos at the right time, to build your side deck, etc, and that's assuming you got both the dollars to spare and the will to put it in, and even then it could get upended in months time when new meta or new banlist comes in. in the meantime if you come across a deck that you can't counter, or has its own counter you can't get around, whoop de fucking do.

compare all this to something like chess where yes, there's a lot to remember if you wanna go far, but you can depend on more of it more of the time as you always get the same starting situation every game (more or less) so it's skill against skill alone. or even compare it to the other games i mentioned, where the effects are kept relatively simple (or at least, not walls of text) and there are resource systems (pokemon's energy cards, mtg's mana system, etc.) to keep power creep in check.

maybe it's just that i'm asking myself why i've been playing along with this problem for so many years, as i begin planning to pivot to other hobbies, but why do we play ygo? (i know some of the veteran forum members here don't, but im gonna go ahead anyway.) for some it's nostalgia, which i would get more of if i was hanging out with my former ygo buddies than by playing against more modern crowds. for some it's strategy, but in that case it's so luck based and one-sided you might as well play solitare (i know this is a common joke but roll w/ me for now) or some other oneplayer game that you'd probably get more fulfillment out of. for some it's habit which, i get it, change is hard to do on your own when it regards throwing out a 5+ yr constant. in the end though i don't see how its gonna be worth it at all, now or in the future.

please share your thoughts on the subject here, would really like to hear what the consensus is here

i was thinking about several tracks from sevish but chose this one over some others since "gleam" has some actual active energy to it, and over others like that since this one seems the clearest - it's not too fast like "smashing" is. i don't know if this zone is too discordant for you - i don't feel that way about it but i know others who do - but i did want to put forward a energetic composition that remarkably works instead of more ambient compositions or noodlings (which is what i imagine most ppl think of and tune out b/c of)

i was thinking about several tracks from sevish but chose this one over some others since "gleam" has some actual active energy to it, and over others like that since this one seems the clearest - it's not too fast like "smashing" is. i don't know if this zone is too discordant for you - i don't feel that way about it but i know others who do - but i did want to put forward a energetic composition that remarkably works instead of more ambient compositions or noodlings (which is what i imagine most ppl think of and tune out b/c of)

hi everyone

so my danger gren maju isn't working out the way i hoped it would and i'm dissatisfied. i want to build something else but i can't decide between

• i've been told to do danger dark worlds, as ive already got some danger monsters and the new support in december. i could see it working, but im not sure how much fun ill do playing it - i get laughs out of cheeky plays (see: jank ideas below)
• branded, b/c the structure decks (or whatever it is the one that includes "fallen of albaz" etc,) can get me a good deck with 3 structure decks - about $30 for me.
• convert the current gren maju deck into a eldlich-gren deck. this is my least favorite
• various jank ideas
  • i've been interested in the idea of a deck that largely functions by allowing you to play off of opponent's plays. cards like super poly (can use opponent material), waking the dragon (activates on pop, also makes mind games for facedowns), etc. the idea is that the opponent will have to strategize more than they would in normal tournament play (i only get the chance to play at locals) and thus it'll be more fun for both of us. the problem is, i don't have a concrete win condition/end board, engine, or even enough cards to combine w/ engine to get to 40.
  • another idea that's fascinated me is a deck that can both utilize exodia as well as play for a battle-to-0 win without all five pieces available. in pendulum format i would do this with normal monster pendulums, and normal monsters + tokens seem to still have some level of potential (tenyi field spell, white elephants gift, etc. as well as counterplay like heat wave and skill drain) but i think i would need something more consistent, to the point where getting curb-stomped isn't a foregone conclusion.
• the two jank ideas are my favorites by a good margin as i think they have the most dynamic potential. the problem is i can never find a way to execute the ideas in a way that i can get enjoyment of, as i always get curb-stomped. my next fav option is the branded, b/c of the affordability and the cheeky plays (combos of fusion summons, for example).

do any of you have an opinion on this? (i might not get to reply back until next weekend but i can keep an eye on it in the meantime)