seireikhaan
08-28-2010, 03:23
In light of recent issues in the gameroom, the moderators have decided it would be prudent to re-highlight a few things. When deciding to create and start a game, there's a few things that hosts must consider.
First of all, hosts must be able to acquiesce to a twenty four hour phase schedule for small games. This might seem difficult, but one thing which we've been noticing is that small games are becoming increasingly complex. While adding complexity can indeed add to the richness of a mafia experience, it can also confuse players and fatigue hosts. While its just a recommendation and not a rule, it may be wise to consider one's own scheduling limitations and the clarity of a game when deciding how complex to make a game. Vanilla games and minimally complex games have their own rewards, particularly(in my opinion) the increased emphasis on thread behavior which can help sustain a game. Another part of game sustenance is making sure that updates are made in a timely, predictable manner. Players appreciate being able to count on a host having the results of night actions and lynches when they anticipate them. Continued delays in getting results posted can demotivate players from an otherwise enjoyable experience.
For large games, sometimes it can be unavoidable that phases might exceed 24 hours, but if this delay exceeds 36 hours multiple times, the moderators will have to step in to make sure that the game can continue. As with small games, continued delays drag games out and increase player fatigue. However, with large games, this is all the more noticeable. This means more than getting phases updated on time- game mechanics should not excessively drag the game out. In other words, mafia should able to me very active from the beginning. Excessive doctors and role blockers or crippling mafia kills can make games stretch out far beyond their 'expiration date'. Another aspect to consider is the "no lynch" mechanism. While I'm not a fan of the concept in general, it can have uses. Using it more than twice in a game, however, can make the game start to spin its wheels in the mud. Mafia's not much fun when the mafia have to kill everyone.
To summarize- mafia is a game that needs to be kept consistent and concise. This doesn't mean complexity is bad- but hosts must have realistic expectation of what they think they can handle. Keep phases to twenty four hours, with a bit more leeway for large games, but approaching 48 hours is dangerous. Games cannot run aimlessly forever and expect to keep the interests of the involved parties. As a last bit, we have decided to, at least temporarily, move back to an "Old-style" queue for small games, as the current large game-style queue was simply not working as we had hoped. Thanks for the attention, this will be stickied for a little bit so as to bring attention to the issue.
First of all, hosts must be able to acquiesce to a twenty four hour phase schedule for small games. This might seem difficult, but one thing which we've been noticing is that small games are becoming increasingly complex. While adding complexity can indeed add to the richness of a mafia experience, it can also confuse players and fatigue hosts. While its just a recommendation and not a rule, it may be wise to consider one's own scheduling limitations and the clarity of a game when deciding how complex to make a game. Vanilla games and minimally complex games have their own rewards, particularly(in my opinion) the increased emphasis on thread behavior which can help sustain a game. Another part of game sustenance is making sure that updates are made in a timely, predictable manner. Players appreciate being able to count on a host having the results of night actions and lynches when they anticipate them. Continued delays in getting results posted can demotivate players from an otherwise enjoyable experience.
For large games, sometimes it can be unavoidable that phases might exceed 24 hours, but if this delay exceeds 36 hours multiple times, the moderators will have to step in to make sure that the game can continue. As with small games, continued delays drag games out and increase player fatigue. However, with large games, this is all the more noticeable. This means more than getting phases updated on time- game mechanics should not excessively drag the game out. In other words, mafia should able to me very active from the beginning. Excessive doctors and role blockers or crippling mafia kills can make games stretch out far beyond their 'expiration date'. Another aspect to consider is the "no lynch" mechanism. While I'm not a fan of the concept in general, it can have uses. Using it more than twice in a game, however, can make the game start to spin its wheels in the mud. Mafia's not much fun when the mafia have to kill everyone.
To summarize- mafia is a game that needs to be kept consistent and concise. This doesn't mean complexity is bad- but hosts must have realistic expectation of what they think they can handle. Keep phases to twenty four hours, with a bit more leeway for large games, but approaching 48 hours is dangerous. Games cannot run aimlessly forever and expect to keep the interests of the involved parties. As a last bit, we have decided to, at least temporarily, move back to an "Old-style" queue for small games, as the current large game-style queue was simply not working as we had hoped. Thanks for the attention, this will be stickied for a little bit so as to bring attention to the issue.