OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

Nov
11

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4 Reasons You Should Attend FallFest Tomorrow

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , Leave a Comment

fallfestvi-500

2016 Simming Fall Festival
image by Myrkul Sharr

In case you live under a rock and haven’t yet heard, FallFest VI is tomorrow.  That’s right, on Saturday, November 12th at 15:30 United Kingdom / 10:30 am New York / 7:30 am San Francisco time, we’ll officially kick off the 2016 Simming Fall Festival.  Click here to see the current line up of events and how to join the festivities.  Myrkul Sharr and his leadership team from Obsidian Fleet and other clubs have quite extravaganza scheduled for us.

It doesn’t matter if you’re into Star Trek, Star Wars, or Dr. Who.  Or if you prefer chat sims, play by e-mail, or message boards.  If you’re a simmer or online role player of any persuasion, there will be something for you!  So what do you really get out of FallFest?  Here are 4 reasons you should attend tomorrow:

  • 1) You’ll get to rub elbows with many prominent members of our community.  In fact, some of the most successful and influential role players and simming leaders in history will be attending and facilitating events.  Learn from the best!
  • 2) You’ll hear about the latest and most innovative techniques and strategies for leading a successful role play.  Indeed, there will be multiple events dedicated to running better games.  Discover what’s working for others now!
  • 3) You’ll be able to role play with others from different clubs and genres.  With a diverse set of hosts and settings, you’ll experience a wide range of concepts and ideas.  Challenge the simming norms and help break barriers!
  • 4) You’ll have fun!  All simmers and online role players, regardless of rank or club affiliation, are invited to attend and participate.  There’s no way to energize your sim than to come back with a fresh perspective.

See you there!

Oct
15

By

Announcing FallFest VI

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , , , 3 Comments

2016 Simming Fall Festival

2016 Simming Fall Festival
image by Myrkul Sharr

It is time to officially announce the 2016 Simming Fall Festival…  The sixth annual FallFest will be held on November 12, 2016 from 15:30 United Kingdom time (10:30 am New York / 7:30 am San Francisco) through 02:00 the next morning (9 pm NY / 6 pm SF).  We’re proud to have Obsidian Fleet serving as club host and Myrkul Sharr as chair.  Myrkul and his team from Obsidian Fleet and other groups are putting together quite a show for us this year!

For anyone not familiar with FallFest, this is a time when the entire simming and online roleplaying community comes together for a few hours in online chat rooms for engaging discussions, interactive trivia games, and live chat role plays.  In short, we share ideas and energy! Read More

Sep
19

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Ancient Myths Fuel Creative Storytelling

Category: Inspiration for writing Tags: 1 Comment

Return of Heracles gameMythology has thrilled and inspired legions of fans for thousands of years and continues to be a major influence today. Greek myths specifically continue to be a part of popular culture, in both overt and subtle ways. It’s the overarching themes of Greek mythology such as heroism, love and sacrifice, that provide such potent fuel for storytellers. For writers looking to create powerful characters with strong ideals facing difficult obstacles there are few better places to mine for ideas than in ancient mythology. Read More

Sep
8

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Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary: Your Favorite Trek

Category: Interviews, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , 10 Comments

The first episode of Star Trek, "The Man Trap," aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.

The first episode of Star Trek, “The Man Trap,” aired on NBC on September 8, 1966.  While it was the sixth episode filmed, the studio elected to show it first because of its horror-based plot.

Fifty years ago today the very first episode of Star Trek aired.  In “The Man Trap,” viewers saw Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the USS Enterprise crew battle a shapeshifting alien attempting to steal the salt in their bodies, which of course would kill them.  (Spoiler Alert: The crew survives and the mission continues… otherwise we probably wouldn’t be publishing this article!)  Reviews of the episode were mixed.  For what it’s worth, I like it.

Most people, including many in the cast and crew, expected the show to last only a season or two and to be nothing more than a footnote in television history.  As they say, the rest is history.  The Star Trek franchise is now valued in the billions of dollars and a cultural phenomenon that permeates many sectors, including the simming and online role playing community that we’re all a part of.  Just imagine, for a moment, simming without Star Trek.  Gene Roddenberry surely could not have foreseen all of this!

Read More

Aug
25

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We’re Now Accepting Host/Chair Applications for FallFest 2016

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , , Leave a Comment

Fall Fest 2015

FallFest 2015 logo
Image by Jalana Rajel

That’s right, it’s time once again to plan the online roleplaying community’s premier event: The Simming Fall Festival (aka FallFest).  This will be the 6th festival since our beginnings back in 2011.

For those who may be new to the Ongoing Worlds blog, FallFest is a one-day online convention held annually in IRC chatrooms for anything and everything simming and online role playing.  We remember our past and look to our future.  It generally runs for about seven hours and includes multiple discussions, trivia games, and live role plays.  Originally intended to be a mini-SciWorld more friendly to European timezones, FallFest has since grown into much, much more.

We need a host & chairperson to make it all happen…

Read More

Jun
15

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SciWorld 2016. June 23-24. Be there.

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Events, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community, Trivia Tags: Leave a Comment

2016 SciWorld Online Convention

2016 SciWorld Online Convention

SciWorld 2016 is almost upon us!  Indeed, the 14th iteration of the original simming and online role playing convention will be held in chatrooms at www.sciworldonline.com on Thursday, June 23rd and Friday, the 24th.  We plan to kick things off at 5:30pm EST (10:30pm BST) on Thursday and at 4:00pm EST (9:00pm BST) on Friday.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the SciWorld Online Convention, it’s an extravaganza held annually in IRC chatrooms for everything that is simming and online roleplaying.  Typical events include discussions and workshops on issues within the greater simming community, interactive trivia games, and live-action role plays.  There’s something there for everyone!  As always, SciWorld is open to all simmers and online role players, regardless of rank or club affiliation.  The first SciWorld was held in 1999 and sponsored by the Simming League.  Past SciWorlds have also been sponsored by other great organizations, including Ongoing Worlds and SimEnc.  This year’s convention is sponsored by Roleplay Wiki, which also sponsored the previous two.

So what does this all mean for you?

  • First, plan to attend yourself.  What better place to share your own ideas and learn the latest and greatest from the rest of the community?
  • Second, invite your friends.  Let them join in on the fun too!
  • Finally, if you would like to host a one-hour discussion, trivia game, or role play, contact Zania Ja’arda with this form.  But don’t wait too long–the schedule fills up quickly!

See you in a little over a week at SciWorld 2016.

May
27

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30 awesome-sounding Aztec names that you probably can’t pronounce

Category: Inspiration for writing Tags: , Leave a Comment

Aztec or Mayan warriors

Sometimes finding a unique name is difficult, but at least these names aren’t common! If you need Aztec-sounding names, for NPCs or player characters in your story or game, choose from this list.  Read More

Mar
24

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Interview with Mike Bremer

Category: Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Interviews, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community Tags: , 4 Comments

Mike Bremer

Mike Bremer

Last week I had the opportunity to ask simming legend Mike Bremer a few questions.  Mike needs no introduction as he’s arguably one of the most important leaders in simming and online role playing history.  Mike started his career in Allied Electronic Simulations (AES) way back in 1996.  After moving over to Tango Fleet later that year, he then co-founded Bravo Fleet with Pat Weber in 1997.  Mike served as Bravo Fleet Commanding Officer (BFCO) from 1998 to 2004 and grew it into one of the first true mega-clubs of the Internet era.  Mike has received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including the 2011 Simming Prize and, most recently, the 2015 Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing (aka the Squiddie).  Mike also hosts the Starbase 400 sim (SB400, previously known as the USS Pegasus), which is incidentally one of the sims he joined back in 1996!  Starbase 400 has won multiple awards for its high-quality and longevity.  With that, I present to you, Mike Bremer in his own words… Read More

Mar
16

By

THE BEACONS ARE LIT! TIBERIUS CALLS FOR AID!

Category: Advertising your game, Behind the scenes - running RPGs, Character Development, Competition, Events, Inspiration for writing, OngoingWorlds guide, OngoingWorlds site news, Play-by-post discussion, Roleplaying community, Website Improvements Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

beacons1

DID YAH MISS ME? WELL I MISSED YOU!

Hey-o Ongoing Worlds! It’s been a while hasn’t it? Don’t answer that, we’re not actually talking and you talking to a screen with no reply really isn’t flattering. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The beacons are lit and I do call for aid! YOUR AID! Why? BECAUSE THE CHAT BOX NEEDS OUR HELP! Read More

Mar
6

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12 tips for writing Star Trek fanfiction & roleplaying

Category: Character Development, Inspiration for writing, Writing tips Tags: , 2 Comments

Star trek characters comic

Star Trek fanfiction is as old as Star Trek itself, and heavily dominates the world of online roleplaying. There’s many giant Star Trek roleplay clubs, like Starbase 118 and Star Trek: Borderlands. We’ve even got Star Trek games running on OngoingWorlds (see here). Here’s some tips for anyone who wants to write fiction in the Star Trek universe: Read More

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