This is a job I am sure all of the Game Masters participate in to one extent of another. However this role would take on a pinpointed focus.
A Story Master is a GM whose main focus is the development of the Story of CotH and the involvement of Players in the Lore of the server. The "SM" team would be the ones to approve character stories as actually happening in the world of CotH and to try and integrate an aspect of it into server Lore. Their in-game powers would be limited and they would work hand in hand with the Content GM Staff to get events in motion. The Content GMs could then focus more on the mechanics of the game and server, getting things to work ingame. This role would not exclude all GMs at all, however the SMs would focus on this aspect of the server. They could also have casting calls and players could submit Approved Characters and answer a few questions (as a sort of waiver) to see how much control the SM Staff has over their character. It could range from a Cameo or to rise and fall of characters.
This was just an idea my brain was chewing on and may not work, however I hope it sparks something if it is not plausible.
"Z"
I believe that the Story Master GMs you mention here are actually the Content GMs.
I do know that a large portion of their responsibilities would include some of the above, however it is also an extension to what they already do. The thoughts behind it are also one person can only do so much. The position would help alleviate some of the responsibilities of the Content GMs and allow them to focus on getting things to work. Of course, I do not know all of the responsibilities of the GMs here. >:+)
So, basically, what you're saying is that the GM should have the rights of a Trial GM mechanic-wise, but the storyline-involvement of a Content GM. I'm all fine with that, we could definitely use some people to take care of lore, and offer events to an extend that the current Content GMs cannot.
The content GMs handle just that, content. They handle storylines, etc. They don't really deal with 'mechanics', and by that I assume you mean like.. in-game issues. If it's a major in-game issue, only Kretol and possibly Grakor can fix those problems. Content GMs do items, can spawn stuff, etc. They have powers that are for furthering stories and such. I don't think another rank of GM is really necessary, otherwise we have tons of ranks and no real reason to have them. Pretty sure that was why the Hero rank was removed.
That's just my personal opinion.
Edit: What extent are we talking about? The content GMs on this server do an extreme amount for storylines furthering the server's lore. All of the content GMs work hard to do this, I'm not sure what else you want them to do.
That is part of this idea, Piken. A GM who focus on Lore and Player character involvement in the overall story of CotH without the need of ingame powers. It would help alleviate the workload of the Content GMs.
Writing Lore in time intensive and usually is done out of game. >:+)
EDIT: And the Hero rank was for players and removed because it was not living up to its design, from what I understand. A staff position is different in the regard that the ranks are just to define their roles, not a title to make them look cool. As far as I see, there are only 2 levels of staff: Admin or Lead Game Masters and Game Masters. The titles are just their focus.
I think they're really talking about plot. No offense to the content GMs - great job so far. BUT, if we had a small team dedicated to just plot creation, with the content GMs picking the ones which would work; we could really make CotH unique with it's extended plot. We could fill in all of the crap that Blizz left out, for instance.
EDIT: That was answering Piken.
Yukai Wrote:I think they're really talking about plot. No offense to the content GMs - great job so far. BUT, if we had a small team dedicated to just plot creation, with the content GMs picking the ones which would work; we could really make CotH unique with it's extended plot. We could fill in all of the crap that Blizz left out, for instance.
EDIT: That was answering Piken.
Yeah! Yeah! That's what I am getting at too. >:+)
I tend to ramble and confuse things. The current GM staff is great, but it cannot be all work either. That causes burnouts.
But the in-game powers are used for furthering and helping with storylines during actual RP, and they do the storyline discussions out of game. Separating it just means that if a 'SM' wants to do anything in-game, they need to rely on someone else to be there to, say, spawn something or remove a mob to clear out an area so people can RP there. Just seems unnecessary.
Note: Everything I'm saying is just my opinion.
To Yukai: It still just seems unnecessary to add another rank and separate things when the content GM handles these things. And the taking on of more Trial GMs is to lighten their workload so they can focus storylines and such. I just see no real reason for it. <Shrug>
Thank you for your opinions Piken, and I do see your points. >:+)
Some of the idea is to add to the role of a GM however it was also to try and not give it to a GM who already has a heavy workload. The lore development, from my perspective, does not directly involve the player's characters in the written story. That was one of the primary roles in this concept. >:+) It is a weaver of sorts, bringing players and Server Lore together in a cohesive masterpiece. >:+)
Quote:if we had a small team dedicated to just plot creation, with the content GMs picking the ones which would work; we could really make CotH unique with it's extended plot. We could fill in all of the crap that Blizz left out, for instance.
But we do, the community members! Everyone can come up with an idea for an event, plot or whatever and talk with us about it, if we think it works we'll give what help we can to achieve it, if it seems unsuitable or not possibly to implement we'll say so and why, perhaps help modify the idea so that it fits. I agree with Piken, it seems a bit redundant to have another rank that is centered around plot creation when the whole community already is, wether if it's "smaller" plots revolving around a character or two or world spanning events that changes the world we knew.
Nostra Wrote:Quote:if we had a small team dedicated to just plot creation, with the content GMs picking the ones which would work; we could really make CotH unique with it's extended plot. We could fill in all of the crap that Blizz left out, for instance.
But we do, the community members! Everyone can come up with an idea for an event, plot or whatever and talk with us about it, if we think it works we'll give what help we can to achieve it, if it seems unsuitable or not possibly to implement we'll say so and why, perhaps help modify the idea so that it fits. I agree with Piken, it seems a bit redundant to have another rank that is centered around plot creation when the whole community already is, wether if it's "smaller" plots revolving around a character or two or world spanning events that changes the world we knew.
True, but some folks just lack the incentive to actually utilize that powerful tool. We get do/create minor changes, but most of us just end up doing the "minors of the minors" for XYZ reasons. Why? Heck if I knew.
It's not that we lack the people to create dynamic(or static) story lines.
We lack the people who are motivated and/or are leaders when it comes to being daring and adventurous.
I don't think a rank will incite people to take more initative though, if people want to they can just do it now so a rank wouldn't change much, would it?
Nostra Wrote:I don't think a rank will incite people to take more initative though, if people want to they can just do it now so a rank wouldn't change much, would it?
Must be my wording!
I wasn't agreeing or disagreeing with this here thread. I was pointing out something that is very noticeable if you take the time to read and then compare and contrast what people have been doing/done.
Repetitive things are fine, don't get me wrong on that, but we need folks to "think outside the box" and not just end it there but to be more active with that idea and not just turn it into another "idea for today, another new one for tomorrow."
The trend I see is that the majority of people in online communities will recognize a person with a special title as a leader and not necessarily an equal person with leadership qualities, over the internet.