Overlord's Orders Commentary

[Jukka the Sling]

Good game, you guys!

[Mhera]

@Jukka: Most definitely. Also, I'll probably be laughing about Mrs. Damon, Esmeralda, and Jukka the Finn for forever

@Sky: You're fine. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the next round (and you too, Soren )

@James: That looks like a good rule, and I'll attempt to implement it. With that said, I might have trouble judging if overflow occurs, given that last round is the only one I've participated in and as far as I know long posts are the norm. I'll take a closer look at previous rounds to get a better idea of what you mean. Also, if you think I slip up in some way during the game or could do something to make it run more smoothly please let me know.

[James Gryphon]

OO2 through 4 (some of my all-time favorites) and most of OO12 aren't bad stories to read for reference. What a prospective Overlord should remember is that a good part of their job involves judging writing quality, and for the most part, somebody writing more shouldn't be able to help them. One 750 word post isn't the problem, as much as when people string together three or four posts like that in a row, feeling that they have to counter every tiny little thing.

[Søren]

Also remember that prior to OO 11, each story from each round was connected. (E.g. Round 7 has a 9 players who blow up a McDonald's and get chased by 8 people to a Starbucks. In round 8, 8 players are chasing 9 people who blew up a McDonald's and chased the to a Starbucks.) All rounds after 10 are independent.

[James Gryphon]

Ehh, I can't say I agree with that. The only real connection most of these stories had is that the Overlord was described as succeeding a previous one. The only round I can think of which did anything like what you mention is actually OO11 itself, and that was a special case; I was actively trying to revisit old situations as a homage to the game's history.

[Søren]

Oooh, ok. It wasn't fully explained.

[Mhera]

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to check out some of the older rounds. I have an idea for what the plot will be, but the thread won't get posted until sometime next week as I want to think it through some more (plus I'll be gone )

[Skyblade]

I must say that I kind of like the style of Overlord's Orders 8. Instead of writing long posts, people take turns filling in what happened in the story and justifying themselves. I'm not sure how it would work, but just saying.

[Mhera]

That's interesting. I'm not sure how well it would work when not every player wants to write in that style, but if you want to give it a shot there's nothing stopping you.

I'm pretty much ready to start the thread, but I was wondering what you guys think the the best way to describe the new rule (since no one has opposed it, I'm assuming it's in) is. Maybe something like this?

Likely, the Overlord will choose the best defenses as survivors.

Player defenses may not exceed 750 words per post. Unless your post has gotten noticeably quite long, you are unlikely to be hitting this limit.

Don't overflow the round. Player defenses will be judged on quality, not length or frequency.

Any thoughts?

[Skyblade]

That sounds good.... it'll be difficult for me to adjust from long, unfettered creative stories to sharp brevity, but so be it.

[James Gryphon]

Well, you can still post a big post if you want to, but this way, you don't need four 750-word posts to get the job done. Look back at rounds 2 through 4 -- Daniel, Music, Tagg and Matthias packed some of the greatest and most creative performances in the game's history into relatively short defenses. In fact, my favorite post of all time from any round of OO was only two sentences long. Think of it as extra freedom, not a restriction.

[Skyblade]

Hmm, I will try!

[James Gryphon]

I have to confess I was a little confused by the order of events here. I'm not sure what's supposed to be going on with the Walmartans or any of that.

[Søren]

I'll post tonight.

[James Gryphon]

Wanted to comment: the problem that results in these back-and-forth exchanges is blaming things on the same person each time. If you attack somebody, they respond, and you want to post again, it's better for readability and game flow if you attack somebody else (especially if your new target is someone that hasn't posted yet).