So you've played the games. You've enjoyed the stories. You've had ideas of your own.
Now's your chance to make them happen.
It's time to put together the story schedule for WESTFINDER SEASON FOUR! And that means we need stories! So if you've ever had an idea for a story, and thought, "oh man, that'd make such a cool game/tavern scene!" this is the email for you! We welcome submissions from everyone, experienced or otherwise. Also, though we're not inherently opposed to it (as shown by our game history) try to stay away from adapting existing stories into games. We prefer pure originality.
WHEN DO I NEED TO SUBMIT BY?
We'll be taking submissions up through midnight on the night of May 9th, after which we'll publish the schedule, so you've got plenty of time to get writing!
WHAT GOES IN A SUBMISSION?
A few things!
WORLD BACKGROUND
Where does the game take place? What is the world like? Who inhabits it? What is the sociopolitical history? Is there relevant religion? The more fleshed-out this is, the cooler your game will be.
PC TEAM BACKGROUNDS
Who are the groups in the game? What brings them to where they are? What is their motivation? This is really important!
FLOW
What actually happens in the game? Who does what? This can take a number of forms—paragraph narration, a chart organized by time of event, a series of separate goal lists for each group, whatever. Flow is a pretty open-ended thing, and everyone writes it differently. It's VERY important, though. It needs catalysts and events and oftentimes a few pre-planned scenes. It also needs an ending! Endings are important!
GAME CONVENTIONS
What sorts of magic are there? Any other interesting systems out of the usual?
OPTIONAL (but encouraged!):
TEASER
The first thing players will see. This can be almost anything—a short story, a myth, a poster, or even a short movie! So long as it teases.
RE
Who's sitting around in the woods sending dead folk back? Re is often a major part of game, and can play into the Flow.
Also, please note whether the submission is a Game or a Tavern Scene. The two are different in subtly important ways. Tavern Scenes are much like Games, only generally with no adventuring. The action takes place in one location, and there's no combat (except for maybe a ceremonial duel or somesuch). This doesn't necessarily mean there's no Flow, though—mysteries and drama can abound at a social gathering every bit as much as they can in the wilderness! See: No Murder Please!
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We pick games based on a number of things! Most important among these is that it be a fun game! We look for games that people will enjoy, and come away from with really cool stories. This of course means different things to different people--some people have the most fun at horror games, some at comedy games, some at really dramatic intense games, and so on.
As such, one of the things we try to do is find a good balance and mix. Some comedic games, some fantasy games, some modern-day games, and so on. Keep things interesting for everyone! What this means is that even if you wrote an incredibly fantastic awesome game that we want to play, there just might not be the right fit for it in the schedule.
No one thing makes every game amazing. Some games are chosen for their subtle and elegantly crafted Flows, some for their creative and new game mechanics, and some for detailed and original settings.
Also, there are plans for there to be a Gamewriting Workshop sometime soon! I also intend to send out some rambles of my own thoughts on gamewriting and what makes a good game! Hopefully I'll get that done soon!
If you want help or advice on your games, you can talk to several different people. Many of the current staff have run games, if not several games, at Westfinder and even Wayfinder. Other people in the community have run games these past years, so you might want to talk with them: what went well, what was the most difficult, and what they would have done differently! Getting more than one person's input on the development of your game is often helpful.
Finally, some words of advice from Gen Casagrande, head of Wayfinder stories:
"Please keep in mind that our stories are different from movies, books, comic books, or other forms of art. The major difference is that in our stories the main characters are the groups of PCs and not any individual hero. The PCs groups are there to take action, not to watch the action, and should feel empowered at all times."
"And now, a happy word of inspiration. Writing stories is one of the hardest, ridiculous, funnest, and most rewarding experiences of life. Remember all of the magical moments that you have experienced in game, and think about what a great opportunity it is to be able to give that experience to others! Some stories are designed to make you laugh, some to make you think, some to make you cry, and some to make you believe in magic again. But all of the good ones should elicit distinct and passionate feelings within the hearts of their participants, and all of them should, in some way, make the world a better place."
Send your completed games right here, to westfinder@gmail.com. We'll be waiting eagerly.
~Westfinder
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lost... and Found!
There are several things I found in costuming that definitely not part of costuming.
A small bottle of cologne.
A clear zip bag with burts beez stuff in it.
Reeds green and black striped gloves.
And whats lost... is my phone. I'm pretty sure it was lost at the camp site, but maybe someone picked it up because we did a very thorough search of the place. Its a flippy black verizon phone that makes all sorts of fun noises when you press buttons. And its low on charge.
Did anyone else loose anything? This might be a good place to ask about it.
A small bottle of cologne.
A clear zip bag with burts beez stuff in it.
Reeds green and black striped gloves.
And whats lost... is my phone. I'm pretty sure it was lost at the camp site, but maybe someone picked it up because we did a very thorough search of the place. Its a flippy black verizon phone that makes all sorts of fun noises when you press buttons. And its low on charge.
Did anyone else loose anything? This might be a good place to ask about it.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Waivers
Please bring them signed by your parent/guardian if you are under 18 [http://wayfinderexperience.com/forms/liability.doc ], or by yourself if you are over 18![ http://wayfinderexperience.com/forms/liability-over18.doc ]
EDIT: Nevermind what I said, I think I was misinformed. You can only extend the waivers for CTF, but not for bootlegs.
EDIT: Nevermind what I said, I think I was misinformed. You can only extend the waivers for CTF, but not for bootlegs.
4.5 Costuming
As you should know, 4.5 The Battle of Jaramounte is going down next saturday! Fantastic. This game is going to be mostly self-costuming, so I thought I'd post a list of Who wears What. (The character sheets should be going out tonight, but if they're not its because the Gamewriter is a very busy woman, and you should not pester her about it.)
The Valmonts: "Nice" looking shirts, black recommended for the pants, skirts for the girls (wear shorts underneath, please.) Costuming can provide nice looking jackets as well.
The Browns: Black. Black. Black clothing. Actually practical for a battle, unlike the Valmonts.
The Gutenbergs: Normal clothes, basically whatever you think your character would wear. Please plain shirts with no logos, unless otherwise specified.
Los Garcia: Same as the gutenbergs. Go with whatever you think your character would wear.
*If possible, you should wear clothing that isn't yours. It helps some feel less like themselves and more like their character.
*If you know that you cannot do any self-costuming whatsoever, maybe you should send me an email, and I can see what we can work out! (email: lord.keas@gmail.com)
*Wear shoes that you can run in and beat up.
*Dress warmly!
~Hillary
The Valmonts: "Nice" looking shirts, black recommended for the pants, skirts for the girls (wear shorts underneath, please.) Costuming can provide nice looking jackets as well.
The Browns: Black. Black. Black clothing. Actually practical for a battle, unlike the Valmonts.
The Gutenbergs: Normal clothes, basically whatever you think your character would wear. Please plain shirts with no logos, unless otherwise specified.
Los Garcia: Same as the gutenbergs. Go with whatever you think your character would wear.
*If possible, you should wear clothing that isn't yours. It helps some feel less like themselves and more like their character.
*If you know that you cannot do any self-costuming whatsoever, maybe you should send me an email, and I can see what we can work out! (email: lord.keas@gmail.com)
*Wear shoes that you can run in and beat up.
*Dress warmly!
~Hillary
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Gamewriting!
Many people who aren't staff want to do things previously done only by staff. Games have had an excess of overpowered SPCs and rigid flows lately.
Those two things are related, because they'd both be helped by a Gamewriting Workshop!
And such a thing would be pretty easy to pull off, I think. We've got plenty each of experienced gamewriters and people who have ideas for games. All we really need to do is put them all in the same place, with some writing materials, and maybe a few people to keep them on task, and awesome game submissions will happen!
On the subject of game submissions, let me outline what generally goes into them:
Those two things are related, because they'd both be helped by a Gamewriting Workshop!
And such a thing would be pretty easy to pull off, I think. We've got plenty each of experienced gamewriters and people who have ideas for games. All we really need to do is put them all in the same place, with some writing materials, and maybe a few people to keep them on task, and awesome game submissions will happen!
On the subject of game submissions, let me outline what generally goes into them:
- World Background. Where do the events of the game occur? A game can take place anywhere from Arkansas to Pluto to a universe of your own creation, but not if you don't describe it! What is the landscape like? Who lives there? What's the history?
- Characters. You can't have a game without them! You don't necessarily have to write a detailed description of every single one, though. A description of each group of characters is fine for a game submission. And there's always the option of letting your players make their own characters.
- Flow. What happens in the game? This one can be a bit confusing, because it's incredibly difficult to predict what the players will do. A good flow is structured enough to give the characters things to do, but flexible enough not to fall apart if the characters do unpredictable things. (Which they do. You can count on it.) A written flow can take a number forms: A chart of events, a narrative, a series of separate goal lists for each group and/or character, even a flow-chart! (Pun definitely intended.)
- Game Conventions. Is there magic? Super-advanced technology? If so, what does it do?
- Teaser. A story, a picture, a short film, anything that people see and, as a result, want to play your game.
- A couple miscellaneous things: Note whether your game is a Bootleg (outdoors with combat and adventures) or Tavern Scene (indoors with no combat and only social adventures). Also, use correct grammar and spelling. It doesn't matter how awesome and fleshed-out your submission is; run-on sentences and a lack of capitalization will make it look silly.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Changing Westfinder
Posted by Sam S.
I'm going to start this out with a quote that I'm sure everyone has seen or heard recently
"Have more people do what are currently considered staff duties. Instead of having staff doing everything, from workshops to making stuff to legal issues, let the community in. They want to. People have expressed interest in most staff activities—workshops, costuming, foamcraft. Let anyone who wants to run workshops—teach them how. Have everyone who wants to foamcraft or sew or make cool stuff. Staff have been doing these things because nobody else has stepped up, but neither has anyone else stepped up. Let's step up. Staff are part of the business, let them do business things. Let them keep track of the budget and inventory as visible google docs. Let them post current issues or news updates on a Westfinder blog where they can mediate discussion or debate. There can be polls on the blog for decisions the community can make, and the staff can confer on business-oriented decisions—business issues like Wayfinder relations and selecting games / staff for the new season. With this new model, it also opens up possibilities for staff locations, as most of the things that are necessarily staff-y simply involve communication. You don't even necessarily need staff keeping the weapons or costuming. Let staff do the things that make Westfinder a business, and let the community do things that bring people together." - Ben Gould
I'd just like to say that I endorse this idea. Westfinder has been having problems with the disconnect between it's staff and it's community recently and this would help with that. As Ben says, this would get the community involved with what goes on in Westfinder. Not only that, but the general production output of Westfinder would probably rise as well. If some of the people who are newer to Productions could make some of the required props for upcoming games, the other people could work on even more stuff and we could have even more cool things in game. This idea allows the community to make the decisions that pertain to it, which it should be doing, but it still allows the Staff to take care of what needs to be taken care of.
This isn't to say that there would be no regulation of general materials or issues with this suggestion. General issues to deal with would include -
- Keeping track of who has what.
- Is your idea for a Workshop going to teach the community something and help everyone have fun, or is it, "How to pickle cucumbers."
- Teaching newer people to make things or teach workshops.
- Resource Allocation: It would be fantastic if all of you could train in the art of foamsmithing, but from personal experience I know that the materials are very expensive and that the only way to get better at it is to practice. At least in this specific case there are only so many people who we could have working on it, so everyone might not get to do everything they want.
So to deal with these problems we assign someone to keep track of things. We have the staff in charge of each division teach other people how to do what that staff can do. These issues can be dealt with, hopefully without much fuss. This is an idea that could radically change Westfinder for the better and I think it could do it without much trouble involved.
This change isn't going to happen if I'm the only one up here talking to myself, so to speak. So if you like this idea, parts of this idea, or have some way to make it even better then speak up! Let's change things!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
What is Staff? - by Greg
It's strange to think that we're more than halfway through this Westfinder season, but already thoughts are turning toward next year. Recently, there's been a lot of talk about Westfinder's growth, not only about where we're going, but where we are in relationship to our past. A lot of people have expressed concern that Westfinder isn't what it used to be, and that there's a feeling of informality and spontaneity that's slowly disappeared over the last year. Whether or not you feel this way probably won't change by reading this post, but I'd like to talk to you about What Staff Is, because while Staff's organization has certainly developed since Westfinder's beginning, its purpose has always remained the same. As I see it, Staff has changed, but it's changed in response to our community changing.
I first came to Westfinder in time for the last game of Westfinder's first season. At the time, Ben S. and Khy M. were the only "staff members". We didn't play in Cordonices, though -- we played around the grounds of College Preparatory School, which was open for a volleyball game. The game was attended by about 10 people, including myself. We're talking old school -- and in this case, that means small.
Without launching into a montage with pump-up background music, Westfinder has come a very long way since then. In one year, we went from bringing 6 people to Advanced Camp to bringing 17. Our last game, EVI, had 32 people in attendance, and that's only 3/4 of the highest attendance we've ever had.
This fantastic growth is not the result of any staff organization. We've grown because you have all told your friends how much fun you think Westfinder is, and they've given it a shot; at least 80% of all of you heard about Westfinder from a friend. Westfinder has grown so much, if we ran things even close to how we did a year ago, our events would buckle under their own weight.
So let's get to why this is called "What is Staff?" (I'll try and keep it concise.) Staff's duties are, order of most to least importance:
More recent activities have continued this trend. Waivers (and talks with Wayfinder) help make sure that Westfinder can keep running, even if someone's parent decides that we're responsible for their kid's broken leg and sues us for all we're worth. As recently as Black Honor - if someone had gotten hurt and their parent decided to sue - there would have been no more bootlegs or CTFs. (And then what would you do with your Sunday afternoons, HRRRMM?)
One last point. We've never had a community like this before. We never had a game with more than 25 people last year. Last year's staff was picked just because we need a few more people. The criteria for selection? They'd been to events before, showed a solid grasp of what goes on, and committed themselves to the work. Our current community has outgrown this method, and I personally guarantee you that Staff selection and organization will evolve once more to fit the community Westfinder has become.
Welcome to the stage where you are the process. The community meetings, this blog, this post, and your reactions to it are all the beginning of some fantastic changes. It all may be a bit overdue, but I promise you that we are working harder than ever to make up for all the lost time.
Thanks,
Greg
I first came to Westfinder in time for the last game of Westfinder's first season. At the time, Ben S. and Khy M. were the only "staff members". We didn't play in Cordonices, though -- we played around the grounds of College Preparatory School, which was open for a volleyball game. The game was attended by about 10 people, including myself. We're talking old school -- and in this case, that means small.
Without launching into a montage with pump-up background music, Westfinder has come a very long way since then. In one year, we went from bringing 6 people to Advanced Camp to bringing 17. Our last game, EVI, had 32 people in attendance, and that's only 3/4 of the highest attendance we've ever had.
This fantastic growth is not the result of any staff organization. We've grown because you have all told your friends how much fun you think Westfinder is, and they've given it a shot; at least 80% of all of you heard about Westfinder from a friend. Westfinder has grown so much, if we ran things even close to how we did a year ago, our events would buckle under their own weight.
So let's get to why this is called "What is Staff?" (I'll try and keep it concise.) Staff's duties are, order of most to least importance:
- Ensuring the safety and health of all Westfinders. This ranges from being able to give you guys a band-aid to teaching you safe play-fighting to making sure that you'll be able to ease into AND OUT OF a character you're given to play.
- Making sure everyone has fun. This means, for example, designing workshops that are simultaneously fresh, engaging, and educational.
- Including Everyone. Unless you are at risk for danger or are a danger to others, you'll never be turned away from an event. However, as I'll explain soon, "Including Everyone" doesn't mean that random Westfinder Wilkins gets to teach Intro to Swords.
- Doing it all over again. Staff is Westfinders, just like you -- in fact, we wouldn't be staff if it didn't mean we love it so much, we're willing to devote extra time and effort to making sure that we can have safe fun again. And again. And again.
More recent activities have continued this trend. Waivers (and talks with Wayfinder) help make sure that Westfinder can keep running, even if someone's parent decides that we're responsible for their kid's broken leg and sues us for all we're worth. As recently as Black Honor - if someone had gotten hurt and their parent decided to sue - there would have been no more bootlegs or CTFs. (And then what would you do with your Sunday afternoons, HRRRMM?)
One last point. We've never had a community like this before. We never had a game with more than 25 people last year. Last year's staff was picked just because we need a few more people. The criteria for selection? They'd been to events before, showed a solid grasp of what goes on, and committed themselves to the work. Our current community has outgrown this method, and I personally guarantee you that Staff selection and organization will evolve once more to fit the community Westfinder has become.
Welcome to the stage where you are the process. The community meetings, this blog, this post, and your reactions to it are all the beginning of some fantastic changes. It all may be a bit overdue, but I promise you that we are working harder than ever to make up for all the lost time.
Thanks,
Greg
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hillary: A few more things I forgot
1) People have felt that staff are too arrogant, or power hungry, or just shut other people out. This is a fair response and feeling. There is something to consider that we haven't discussed before (and I'm not sure people are aware of it):
When we are organizing a game, we are not everyone's friend. This does not mean that we strive to be exclusive, it means that we cannot be you friend first, we have to be Staff. This means sending people away when they have lice, and dealing with the (sometimes harsh) discussions about wellness. Are these people's actions appropriate, etc?
Are other people who want to run workshops willing to take on that responsibility? It can be very stressing at times. Are they willing to put the good of the community and westfinder before their personal feelings, their friends, and even personal opinions? Sometimes we have to be harsh about these things, and its not fun at all.
(However, if other people helped to run workshops and the Staff did the organizing and channeling focus, this problem wouldn't come up as much. But it would still be there.)
2) Um, I forgot this one too. Give me a minute to remember (sorry!)
When we are organizing a game, we are not everyone's friend. This does not mean that we strive to be exclusive, it means that we cannot be you friend first, we have to be Staff. This means sending people away when they have lice, and dealing with the (sometimes harsh) discussions about wellness. Are these people's actions appropriate, etc?
Are other people who want to run workshops willing to take on that responsibility? It can be very stressing at times. Are they willing to put the good of the community and westfinder before their personal feelings, their friends, and even personal opinions? Sometimes we have to be harsh about these things, and its not fun at all.
(However, if other people helped to run workshops and the Staff did the organizing and channeling focus, this problem wouldn't come up as much. But it would still be there.)
2) Um, I forgot this one too. Give me a minute to remember (sorry!)
Re-organizing Westfinder/the community [also $$]
[Bold bits are important.]
Hillary here. Hello!
Munnies update: we have 398 dollars and 9 cents. I'm not sure where the cents came from actually.
What money will be spent this month before Jenna's game: Not a whole lot. There aren't many costuming items to buy or make, and I'm trying very hard to make some of the little props out of items I already have in my house. I will update this blog EVERY TIME we spend money, and on what!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read a recommendation on the structure of Westfinder from Ben Gould, and would like to discuss how I think it could be accomplished.
__My italics
This is a thing that looks easier in words to accomplish than it might be in actuality. I'm going to talk about how this could potentially work for costuming. (Note: I'll let Sam talk about production. He works with his foam, so until that becomes westfidner foam, and I don't know what's up with that, he can decide that he doesn't want other people to work with his foam.)
I do costuming because I am good at it, I have the materials to do it, I have the motivation and (more or less) time for that. I also have the money so its easy to buy costuming or fabric. Below I'm going to describe a system in which I would be organizing Costuming and people could help out and work in costuming with me:
I would love help with costuming. I really would, especially for next months game in which I'll have to make more items. I know a few people who would help me with costuming, and who have expressed interest in that. So, how would that work? Would I split up the costuming lists and give people smaller jobs to do, so it's less work for all? The thing is, I know that I can spend all night the day before a bootleg and organize and finish all costuming, but if people were to also help with costuming I would have to know that they could get the items to me the day before the game. ((Also, sometimes costuming involves spoilers which I am privy too a good deal of the time. I suppose I would cover those.))
An easier situation would be to have a sewing/costuming making day where we could all work on these things together. I could organize the costuming, and have a few Fashion Gangsters to help out with the work. They could also help distribute costuming during events, which would be a HUGE help!
Well, what about payment? I work costuming every single month, but I only will take payment when I also help run the events workshops, etc. For compensation, I sometimes use the extra fabric to make things for myself, and I don't pay the 20$ for bootlegs. Is this fair? (I think so. Tell me if it's not.)
Are there people who are willing to put in time and effort to help with costuming without being paid? Can they prioritize costuming so that I can trust that it will get done, and I wont have to track my Fashion Gangsters down and learn that, oops, I didn't have time to do this? I'm a bit nervous about that idea, that's just how I am.
Ok, what if people were paid? If I had three people helping out with costuming, would I pay them for each piece? How much does a cloak cost (besides the cost of fabric) or a tunic, or a sash? Or do we just split the 60$?
Please let me know if you are interested in becoming a Fashion Gangster (part of costuming) and your opinions on how that would best work for you.
You can email me at: lord.keas@gmail.com (Its pronounced "chaos"... listen, I know I always have dorky emails! Sorry!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Related order of business: paying us in costuming/getting paid for costuming.
It has happened (in the past) that I have taken costuming from a player, and they did not have to pay for that event. The amount of costuming was well over 20$, and all there agreed that was fair. I'm not sure how other staff feel about this, but we could have a Westfinder Costuming Tab: if you give us pieces of costuming, you'd get a discount on your next event.
Measuring how much costuming is worth is a bit tricky. Do we go by sine-exchange value? Comertial-value? (oh, goddamnit marxist critisism.) What I mean is... it would be like going to Urban Ore. I'd examine your items of costuming, and judge as best I can how much that would be worth. Its not an exact science really.
I think that it would be better to give people discounts or even free events than just pay them for costuming. Like... money that goes towards your next Westfinder event! Any thoughts on that?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
COSTUMING FOR 4.5: BATTLE OF JARAMONTE
This can also be used as a reference for self costuming. When character sheets go out I'll post a similar thing again.
Valmonts: Military Gear (which we have plenty of)
Browns: Black clothing (we also have a great deal of)
Gutenbergs: ...? [I'll update]
Costuming to make:
*5-6 amulets: probably out of string and those big, gaudy fake jewels you wore as a little girl. I have some, but does anyone know a place where I can get some more at?
*Julio's chess shirt: knight on front in spanish "international chess championship 2268", back: make up names for starting matches
*Dimensionist cross-circle necklaces: probably cardboard and string! Hurrah.
*Messenger bag for [spoilers]. Does any of the staff have one? Do we have one in military gear? Costuming needs their own so that I can make it look all [spoilers]
~Hillary
-------------------------------------------
Colorshock the way too long novel: www.colorshock.blogspot.com
Hillary here. Hello!
Munnies update: we have 398 dollars and 9 cents. I'm not sure where the cents came from actually.
What money will be spent this month before Jenna's game: Not a whole lot. There aren't many costuming items to buy or make, and I'm trying very hard to make some of the little props out of items I already have in my house. I will update this blog EVERY TIME we spend money, and on what!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I read a recommendation on the structure of Westfinder from Ben Gould, and would like to discuss how I think it could be accomplished.
"Here's how I think Westfinder would work better:
Have more people do what are currently considered staff duties. Instead of having staff doing everything, from workshops to making stuff to legal issues, let the community in. They want to. People have expressed interest in most staff activities—workshops, costuming, foamcraft. Let anyone who wants to run workshops—teach them how. Have everyone who wants to foamcraft or sew or make cool stuff. Staff have been doing these things because nobody else has stepped up, but neither has anyone else stepped up. Let's step up. Staff are part of the business, let them do business things. Let them keep track of the budget and inventory as visible google docs. Let them post current issues or news updates on a Westfinder blog where they can mediate discussion or debate. There can be polls on the blog for decisions the community can make, and the staff can confer on business-oriented decisions—business issues like Wayfinder relations and selecting games / staff for the new season. With this new model, it also opens up possibilities for staff locations, as most of the things that are necessarily staff-y simply involve communication. You don't even necessarily need staff keeping the weapons or costuming. Let staff do the things that make Westfinder a business, and let the community do things that bring people together."
Have more people do what are currently considered staff duties. Instead of having staff doing everything, from workshops to making stuff to legal issues, let the community in. They want to. People have expressed interest in most staff activities—workshops, costuming, foamcraft. Let anyone who wants to run workshops—teach them how. Have everyone who wants to foamcraft or sew or make cool stuff. Staff have been doing these things because nobody else has stepped up, but neither has anyone else stepped up. Let's step up. Staff are part of the business, let them do business things. Let them keep track of the budget and inventory as visible google docs. Let them post current issues or news updates on a Westfinder blog where they can mediate discussion or debate. There can be polls on the blog for decisions the community can make, and the staff can confer on business-oriented decisions—business issues like Wayfinder relations and selecting games / staff for the new season. With this new model, it also opens up possibilities for staff locations, as most of the things that are necessarily staff-y simply involve communication. You don't even necessarily need staff keeping the weapons or costuming. Let staff do the things that make Westfinder a business, and let the community do things that bring people together."
__My italics
This is a thing that looks easier in words to accomplish than it might be in actuality. I'm going to talk about how this could potentially work for costuming. (Note: I'll let Sam talk about production. He works with his foam, so until that becomes westfidner foam, and I don't know what's up with that, he can decide that he doesn't want other people to work with his foam.)
I do costuming because I am good at it, I have the materials to do it, I have the motivation and (more or less) time for that. I also have the money so its easy to buy costuming or fabric. Below I'm going to describe a system in which I would be organizing Costuming and people could help out and work in costuming with me:
I would love help with costuming. I really would, especially for next months game in which I'll have to make more items. I know a few people who would help me with costuming, and who have expressed interest in that. So, how would that work? Would I split up the costuming lists and give people smaller jobs to do, so it's less work for all? The thing is, I know that I can spend all night the day before a bootleg and organize and finish all costuming, but if people were to also help with costuming I would have to know that they could get the items to me the day before the game. ((Also, sometimes costuming involves spoilers which I am privy too a good deal of the time. I suppose I would cover those.))
An easier situation would be to have a sewing/costuming making day where we could all work on these things together. I could organize the costuming, and have a few Fashion Gangsters to help out with the work. They could also help distribute costuming during events, which would be a HUGE help!
Well, what about payment? I work costuming every single month, but I only will take payment when I also help run the events workshops, etc. For compensation, I sometimes use the extra fabric to make things for myself, and I don't pay the 20$ for bootlegs. Is this fair? (I think so. Tell me if it's not.)
Are there people who are willing to put in time and effort to help with costuming without being paid? Can they prioritize costuming so that I can trust that it will get done, and I wont have to track my Fashion Gangsters down and learn that, oops, I didn't have time to do this? I'm a bit nervous about that idea, that's just how I am.
Ok, what if people were paid? If I had three people helping out with costuming, would I pay them for each piece? How much does a cloak cost (besides the cost of fabric) or a tunic, or a sash? Or do we just split the 60$?
Please let me know if you are interested in becoming a Fashion Gangster (part of costuming) and your opinions on how that would best work for you.
You can email me at: lord.keas@gmail.com (Its pronounced "chaos"... listen, I know I always have dorky emails! Sorry!)
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Related order of business: paying us in costuming/getting paid for costuming.
It has happened (in the past) that I have taken costuming from a player, and they did not have to pay for that event. The amount of costuming was well over 20$, and all there agreed that was fair. I'm not sure how other staff feel about this, but we could have a Westfinder Costuming Tab: if you give us pieces of costuming, you'd get a discount on your next event.
Measuring how much costuming is worth is a bit tricky. Do we go by sine-exchange value? Comertial-value? (oh, goddamnit marxist critisism.) What I mean is... it would be like going to Urban Ore. I'd examine your items of costuming, and judge as best I can how much that would be worth. Its not an exact science really.
I think that it would be better to give people discounts or even free events than just pay them for costuming. Like... money that goes towards your next Westfinder event! Any thoughts on that?
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COSTUMING FOR 4.5: BATTLE OF JARAMONTE
This can also be used as a reference for self costuming. When character sheets go out I'll post a similar thing again.
Valmonts: Military Gear (which we have plenty of)
Browns: Black clothing (we also have a great deal of)
Gutenbergs: ...? [I'll update]
Costuming to make:
*5-6 amulets: probably out of string and those big, gaudy fake jewels you wore as a little girl. I have some, but does anyone know a place where I can get some more at?
*Julio's chess shirt: knight on front in spanish "international chess championship 2268", back: make up names for starting matches
*Dimensionist cross-circle necklaces: probably cardboard and string! Hurrah.
*Messenger bag for [spoilers]. Does any of the staff have one? Do we have one in military gear? Costuming needs their own so that I can make it look all [spoilers]
~Hillary
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Colorshock the way too long novel: www.colorshock.blogspot.com
Meeting Recap and Start of Blog!
Sup, Westfinder! It's your friendly neighborhood Tom Kelly, doing his part to keep our staff and our players on the same page. And how am I doing that?
By blogging, of course! This blog will be a place for Westfinder's staff to publicly talk about the issues that come up in our line of work, and for everyone to formulate educated opinions on such issues.
This idea came out of the Open Community Meeting we had yesterday, in which a number of such issues were discussed:
I also received some concerns after the meeting:
By blogging, of course! This blog will be a place for Westfinder's staff to publicly talk about the issues that come up in our line of work, and for everyone to formulate educated opinions on such issues.
This idea came out of the Open Community Meeting we had yesterday, in which a number of such issues were discussed:
- Not enough communication between staff and everyone else. I'm helping fix this problem right now, but a couple other solutions are in the works. We'll be having more Open Community Meetings, and possibly handing out evaluation surveys after bootlegs, both on a regular basis.
- Money. We don't know how much we have. Hillary will be fixing this problem by counting it. Also, what's done with the money. As of now, it's used for buying more props and costuming, paying staff, and otherwise saved up.
- The hiring of other staff. Eight is plenty enough for now, but we're going to need more in the future, especially when some of the current staff leave their positions. To that end, and since there seem to be a number of aspiring staff members, we'll be creating an application for Westfinder staff, and beginning to train more staff a year before they take up their positions.
- People other than staff working on foamcraft. This will become more feasible when Sam Sher's foam is actually Westfinder foam. As he's production staff, I'll let him talk more in depth about this.
I also received some concerns after the meeting:
- Overt sexuality: Making out, groping, etc. We need less of it, because it's inappropriate, distracts people from activities, and causes jealousy. But I think all I really need to do crack down on it is give a talk about it now and then, basically paraphrasing the last two sentences, and be a better role model than I have been about this.
- Westfinder's games need less overpowered Special Player Characters, and more Player Character empowerment. It's no fun standing around watching two or three SPCs decide the fate of the world in a cutscene. This is something for gamewriters and staff to keep in mind when making and running games.
- Characters with the potential to give psychological problems to the people who play them: The casting of them needs to be watched more closely, so that these roles are given to players who are less susceptible to de-roling problems. Once again, this is something for gamewriters and staff to keep in mind when making and running games.
- De-roling: It should always be available and encouraged, but perhaps we shouldn't encourage the kind of role-playing that can keep players stuck in their characters after the game ends.
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