Interactive Fiction and Me
Reading LiarXAgerate's article about making more use of the Interactive Fiction board, I couldn't help but think...well, let's just say I agreed with it but I felt I could understand why it wasn't being used as much.
Quite honestly, I have my own reasons for not posting on the IF board, and I can boil it down to two issues: people and content. I hope that the issues I bring up are shared by other people who don't visit the IF board, thus shedding some light on the issue.
---
GOSH, IDIOTS!
As Liar said, the IF board can be a GREAT training facility for budding writers. I do get a little annoyed when a new writer takes a story in a direction where I feel it shouldn't go, or makes a few formatting mistakes (each dialogue speaker gets his/her own line for their dialogue, guys). But that's the general nature of the IF board; it's supposed to be FUN, and it's supposed to be a great way to collaborate with the masters of EB fiction. I've got no major seperatist beef with newbie writers who TRY. Some forum-goers may not be great writers, but they do work hard to make their section good; something that adds to the story and encourages other writers to add on to it. I can respect that.
What I absolutely CANNOT abide by are people who think, "Oh, it's just the IF board. I don't have to put any effort into my post." If ANYTHING comes out of this article, I hope that myth gets busted wide open.
Listen. I understand that the IF board is supposed to be a fun place. But just because something is "fun" does not mean it's "carefree". Every time a poster looks at paragraphs of work and dialogue from other posters on the story and decides that the best course of action would be three lines of dialogue and a Jerry Springer reference, then not only has the quality of the story degraded, but it also kills enthusiasm towards posting on the story.
"But Michael! Most of the posters on the IF board are young and immature! They still think Jerry Springer, poop jokes, and loud, unintelligible dialogue is funny!"
And? There are rules for a reason.
"None of what you said is in the rules!"
When somebody tries the above in an immature fashion, it can fall under the giant umbrella rule of "Don't be an idiot." But that's not what I was referring to.
When I say "there are rules for a reason," I'm referring to the fact that I feel there's an implied rule that says that effort should be placed in your posts. This implied rule can be gathered from the two "writing rules" and the umbrella rule listed on the IF board.
"Exactly, IMPLIED. Some people are too young to understand implications!"
So? Set the rule in writing. I don't make many promises about human feelings, but I can tell you that I'm plenty discouraged from posting on the IF board because of those who would play fast and loose there. I think if there was some sort of crackdown on lazy writers, you'll start to see a few more GREAT writers on the board, and aspiring fic writers, people who actually give a hoot about the stories they're telling and are not just in it for cheap and immature kicks, will start learning. And the board will be a more fun place to be in general.
---
THE THING AIN'T THE RING, IT'S THE PLAY
This really boils down to personal preference, but a lot of the stories I see are kind of...well, they're not fun to add on to. I've only been actively involved with four IFs: "Elevator Skirmish", "Tales of the Twoson Rangers", "The Most Boring IF Ever", and "Ness makes a tasty milkshake!" (the last two are currently running). These stories are legible and fun to write for. I know that seeing more stories like that would bring me back to the IF board in a more full-time manner.
On the other hand, seeing more stories about Giygas's return, or Pokey's return, or Mani Mani's return, or anything of that nature...I agree that there could be good ways to handle it but I've seen the ball dropped more times than carried.
Also, you know, I'm all for utilizing secondary characters in IFs, but I'm getting really sick and tired of some of the unimaginative ways that the Chosen Four are being kept out of the loop. Again, it boils down to personal preference, but I hate stories that kill off the Chosen Four or render them permanently incapacitated. Isn't it possible that the C4 are not superheroes and are just...you know...kids? Kids who did a job and are free to live the rest of their lives? Isn't it then possible that other evils that would kill them could fall under the "Not my problem" department?
Honestly, I don't think there's a solid reason to keep "The Chosen Four are Dead!" stories out of the loop, but again, I've seen that ball dropped more times than carried. I just want to see more stories that are clever and fun to write for. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but it's not impossible. Writers just have to keep trying; they're bound to strike gold at some point.
---
That's about all I have to say at this point. Interactive Fiction is a great feature to the site, and it SHOULD be utilized more often. And it can, too. We just gotta figure out the right way. I'm not sure if my way is right, but those are my feelings. Do any of you share them?
Reading LiarXAgerate's article about making more use of the Interactive Fiction board, I couldn't help but think...well, let's just say I agreed with it but I felt I could understand why it wasn't being used as much.
Quite honestly, I have my own reasons for not posting on the IF board, and I can boil it down to two issues: people and content. I hope that the issues I bring up are shared by other people who don't visit the IF board, thus shedding some light on the issue.
---
GOSH, IDIOTS!
As Liar said, the IF board can be a GREAT training facility for budding writers. I do get a little annoyed when a new writer takes a story in a direction where I feel it shouldn't go, or makes a few formatting mistakes (each dialogue speaker gets his/her own line for their dialogue, guys). But that's the general nature of the IF board; it's supposed to be FUN, and it's supposed to be a great way to collaborate with the masters of EB fiction. I've got no major seperatist beef with newbie writers who TRY. Some forum-goers may not be great writers, but they do work hard to make their section good; something that adds to the story and encourages other writers to add on to it. I can respect that.
What I absolutely CANNOT abide by are people who think, "Oh, it's just the IF board. I don't have to put any effort into my post." If ANYTHING comes out of this article, I hope that myth gets busted wide open.
Listen. I understand that the IF board is supposed to be a fun place. But just because something is "fun" does not mean it's "carefree". Every time a poster looks at paragraphs of work and dialogue from other posters on the story and decides that the best course of action would be three lines of dialogue and a Jerry Springer reference, then not only has the quality of the story degraded, but it also kills enthusiasm towards posting on the story.
"But Michael! Most of the posters on the IF board are young and immature! They still think Jerry Springer, poop jokes, and loud, unintelligible dialogue is funny!"
And? There are rules for a reason.
"None of what you said is in the rules!"
When somebody tries the above in an immature fashion, it can fall under the giant umbrella rule of "Don't be an idiot." But that's not what I was referring to.
When I say "there are rules for a reason," I'm referring to the fact that I feel there's an implied rule that says that effort should be placed in your posts. This implied rule can be gathered from the two "writing rules" and the umbrella rule listed on the IF board.
"Exactly, IMPLIED. Some people are too young to understand implications!"
So? Set the rule in writing. I don't make many promises about human feelings, but I can tell you that I'm plenty discouraged from posting on the IF board because of those who would play fast and loose there. I think if there was some sort of crackdown on lazy writers, you'll start to see a few more GREAT writers on the board, and aspiring fic writers, people who actually give a hoot about the stories they're telling and are not just in it for cheap and immature kicks, will start learning. And the board will be a more fun place to be in general.
---
THE THING AIN'T THE RING, IT'S THE PLAY
This really boils down to personal preference, but a lot of the stories I see are kind of...well, they're not fun to add on to. I've only been actively involved with four IFs: "Elevator Skirmish", "Tales of the Twoson Rangers", "The Most Boring IF Ever", and "Ness makes a tasty milkshake!" (the last two are currently running). These stories are legible and fun to write for. I know that seeing more stories like that would bring me back to the IF board in a more full-time manner.
On the other hand, seeing more stories about Giygas's return, or Pokey's return, or Mani Mani's return, or anything of that nature...I agree that there could be good ways to handle it but I've seen the ball dropped more times than carried.
Also, you know, I'm all for utilizing secondary characters in IFs, but I'm getting really sick and tired of some of the unimaginative ways that the Chosen Four are being kept out of the loop. Again, it boils down to personal preference, but I hate stories that kill off the Chosen Four or render them permanently incapacitated. Isn't it possible that the C4 are not superheroes and are just...you know...kids? Kids who did a job and are free to live the rest of their lives? Isn't it then possible that other evils that would kill them could fall under the "Not my problem" department?
Honestly, I don't think there's a solid reason to keep "The Chosen Four are Dead!" stories out of the loop, but again, I've seen that ball dropped more times than carried. I just want to see more stories that are clever and fun to write for. Obviously, this is easier said than done, but it's not impossible. Writers just have to keep trying; they're bound to strike gold at some point.
---
That's about all I have to say at this point. Interactive Fiction is a great feature to the site, and it SHOULD be utilized more often. And it can, too. We just gotta figure out the right way. I'm not sure if my way is right, but those are my feelings. Do any of you share them?
