So I had an idea that I wanted to run through KHV's Role-Players: It'd kind of be a process of loose collaboration, but it may be a bit difficult to do. Thinking of how movies are made, in a very simplified example, you have: 1. Producers 2. Screenwriters 3. Directors I don't have the idea entirely fleshed out yet, but wanted to get the words out before I lost the thought. Working as a group (or several groups), the three jobs get assigned: Producers come up with an idea for a Role-Play they would like or several different ideas that they're interested in seeing (anything from a basic story to mechanics to a character); the screenwriters write out the story for it (this can be anything from what becomes the first post to the history/background of the world, rules/powers/abilities, plot twists, and maybe even a little bit of the future story developments; and the directors post and lead the Role-Play. There are issues I can already see such as: 1. Who gets credit for it? Whose RP is it really? 2. How much power does the director have over the other two? The three positions don't have to be mutually exclusive (one person, or group depending on size, can be producer and director, etc.) 3. How much commitment would you need from everybody? (If you help, you have to join?) 4. What if the director(s) completely changes something that the writer(s) disagree with? Should some kind of contract-like agreement be in place? Can s/he be usurped, even if s/he is leading the RP? Like I said, I don't have much of the idea itself yet, so maybe you guys can help. It could be risky, but it might be fun having an idea come together that way.
I like this idea a lot. The idea of collaborating with people to create something such as an rp is a unique opportunity here; at least for me. For one thing, I see this idea as a method to help KH-vids users(New and Old) to become closer to one another, and to even introduce new people to the roleplay scene. New roleplayers can learn from the experienced, and the experienced can perhaps gain a new perspective through this. At least that's what came to mind. ;) When it comes to who gets credit, you can always just add the credits (Like movies! :O) Produced By, Directed by, Screenwriters:, etc. That way, people will know that it wasn't just that one person; although the more involved the individual is, then the more noticed that person will become. Commitment wise, I think only the director really needs to be the one joining the RP because who else is going to run it? If the other screenwriters, or producers would like to join, then they can act as Substitute GM for those special occasions when the GM cannot be there. At least that way the rp never truly stops moving forward. When it comes to the directors choice in whether to change something that was not originally intended to be changed, I feel like that has more to do with Professional Ethics. In other words, does the Director respect the writers decisions, enough that they would at the very least have a meeting with them to collaborate the change?
Good points all around. It might need a disclaimer saying that once the thread is posted, it will be up to the director to, well, direct it how s/he seems fit, regardless of the intent of the others involved. That way, everyone involved will hopefully be more inclined to share all of their ideas with each other, allowing for a more fleshed out story in the end. I'm wondering if the studio would function best as a sticky thread where you can post about your idea and recruit others. It'll also be a nice way to see what other people are working on and see if there's an RP whose progress on which you would like to keep an eye. I think it would also have the added benefit of gauging and gaining interest for an idea before it gets posted.
