Sunday night, I started a public, single-player+ #PlayTest of the #SlipVectorExpeditions 0.1 ruleset called Into The Wild Black Yonder.

I'm writing out Scenes and publishing them with polls as @[email protected], an #ActivityPub micro-blogging provider where I post about my personal life and creative projects. This allows folks on the #Fediverse to play with me, either by influencing the story or writing their own scenes. I don't know that I'm effectively bringing people in to play with me at the moment, but I am more interested in testing the stamina and tilt mechanics as a story-teller so I can invite meat-world folks to give it a shot.

I am currently enjoying a few things about the shape of the game:

1. Polls as prompts for the next Scene are really helpful.
2. Capping each scene at < 800 character mark is good for cadence! It's small enough to work with without getting overwhelmed by the writing process, too!

Some stuff I think I'll explore a bit:

1. It could be cool if the rhythm of the scenes was more varied. A few 200 character scenes; some 800, most somewhere in between? Would shorter scenes tighten up the writing + decision-making?
2. I had forgotten that TILT is not an option to vote for, but a choice that the Player gets to make! I'm going to do a tilt in the next Meta post for sure!

My current design goals for SlipVector: Expeditions are:

1. Center and encourage emotional development of characters and power-with socioeconomic decision-making rather than arbitrary power-growth.
2. Plays well independently or together, and across different preferred communication styles and mediums.
3. Supports players in their practice of individuation and differentiation by giving them safe opportunities to explore and share their character's hopes and fears and wants and needs in contrast with others.
4. Character and story driven. The best SlipVector adventures should feel like The Good Place or Insecure. People making choices and learning and relating to and with one another through those choices.

The opportunity I am exploring with SlipVector is What if we made a Writer's Room that was playful and accessible? What if we nurtured opportunities for people to retell and remix the stories we make up together? What if the collective wealth from those stories was captured in a contributor and community owned basic income cooperative?

I'm available for feedback as @[email protected] on:

1. Any sensitivities that I am approaching, and any guidance or advice on how to navigate them with care.
2. The eye-feal so-to-speak of the actual prose. I don't even know the technical terms for any of the things that actual writers know tho so ELI5.
3. The technical writing style. I am not well-versed in writing and I am happy to learn more about how people think about how to well... uhhh... write?
4. How to more effectively Play in Public in a courteous manner. There's something magical about walking down a sidewalk and seeing a family playing hopscotch or elders playing checkers at the park. How do we make space for that in the #Fediverse?