OngoingWorlds blog

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

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The new OngoingWorlds Discord server

Discord

How many of you make use of the Chatbox up there in the corner of the site? Judging by what I’ve seen I would guess not very many. Which is a shame because I think there is real potential for better roleplay, for getting your game noticed, and for meeting new people if it was used.

So, with that in mind, I have set up a Discord server for Ongoing Worlds, and it would be great if people could start to join. Read More

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Online Role Players & Pokémon Go

Editor’s Note: This article was published shortly before Pokémon Go’s February 16, 2017 Gen 2 update.

The mobile application Pokémon Go was released a little over seven months ago today.  Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know what a big hit it was.  Indeed, almost immediately it broke multiple download and revenue records for mobile apps.   Read More

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Announcing the latest Simming Prize laureates

The Trustees of the Simming Prize are honored to announce our latest laureates:

* Charles Star of Independence Fleet – For his unprecedented contributions to the simming community. As a founder and long time leader within Independence Fleet, Charles has personally sponsored the launch of 21 sims and commanded 10 within the club. During his time as IDF CinC in the early 2000s and as Chief of Fleet Ops from 2010 – 12 he oversaw exceptional growth within the club. More recently, Charles has been a primary a leader within the larger simming community, serving as the administrator/coordinator for SciWorld, FallFest, the Tournament of Simulations, and the Squiddie and OWCH awards. He is a member of the OngoingWorlds Board of Advisers, and has been the instigator of community wide April Fools jokes. Charles is also a storehouse of simming knowledge, and has been a primary contributor to the Roleplay Wiki and the OngoingWorlds Blog. Read More

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It’s time for the 2016 Tournament of Simulations (ToS)

ToS2016That’s right, it’s time for our annual Tournament of Simulations (ToS) competition!  Role players, hosts, and club leaders alike are all hereby invited to enter their games/sims/role plays in the the oldest and most prestigious competition of the entire simming and online roleplaying universe (yes, it’s ToS!).  Indeed, Ongoing Worlds is officially calling on on YOU (yes, you!) to enter your simulations and online role plays in the 2016 edition of ToS.  This will be the 12th tournament to be held (the first happened in 1999).  Nominations will be accepted through January 31st, 2017. Winners will be announced sometime later.  Here’s how to enter: Read More

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Simming Prize nomination season!

The Simming Prize

The Simming Prize

Tis’ the end of the year!  Which means it’s impossible to take a step around here without stumbling across someone trying to hand out an award.

And guess what?  I’m pleased to announce the Simming Prizes are now accepting nominations, which you can submit by going here.  The deadline for nominations is January 7.

So what are the Simming Prizes?  Well those of us at the Prizes like to think of them as the Nobel Prizes of the simming and play-by-post online role-playing community.  (We have a healthy ego!)  By this, we mean the Prizes are intended to honor people & organizations that have made significant contributions to our collective gaming community.  We are not in the business of evaluating and finding the best sim of the year (we leave that task to our able friends at the Tournament of Simulations).

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How to Win a Squiddie (and other awards too)!

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Role Playing

We have received a few questions about how we choose the Squiddies winners (20162017, 2018) and what makes a good candidate.  Before we get to that, I want to do two things first:  1) Explain the Squiddies to anyone who might not be familiar with them, and 2) Provide a brief overview of some of the other major annual awards within the greater simming and online role playing community.

  1. The Squiddie (officially the “Ongoing Worlds Medal for Superior Online Roleplaying”) is presented annually to three entities: one person, one sim, and one sim club.  It also consists of three categories: Excellence in Roleplaying, Originality & Innovation, and Facilitating the Community Experience.  The award is sponsored by us, Ongoing Worlds, and was first presented in 2013.
  2. The Squiddie is one of three families of major community-level awards.  The oldest is the Simming Prize (officially the “Prize for Simming and Online Role Playing in Memory of Seth Cotis“), dating back to 1999.  Originally awarded by the Simming League and later by Ongoing Worlds, it is now bestowed by a group of trustees.  It is presented to up to five entities each year and is named in memory of an early influential simming leader.  ToS (“Tournament of Simulations”) is the final group of awards.  In ToS, volunteer judges from around the community read posts form participating games and choose winners in different categories that may vary from year to year.  ToS also dates back to 1999.  It is currently presented by Ongoing Worlds, but began in the Simming League as well.

Clear as mud?  Fantastic!  So here’s how we choose Squiddie winners… Read More

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FallFest VI is in the books & another OWCH

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2016 Simming Fall Festival
image by Myrkul Sharr

What a FallFest!  Indeed, the 2016 Simming Fall Festival was one for the ages.  For those who missed it on Saturday, we had a schedule full of provocative discussions, live role plays, and interactive trivia games.  Attendance was strong throughout, with some individual events registering as many as 40 participants.  It’s a real testament to the power of our broader community.  And it was a blast! For book related information go and check this.

I’d like to personally thank everyone who had a part in making FallFest 2016 happen–everyone from chair Myrkul Sharr and his leadership team at Obsidian Fleet to the event hosts to anyone who had a role behind the scenes, be it IT support, graphics design, advertising, or something else.  Finally, I’d also like to thank everyone who attended and participated.  Simply put, without you bringing your energy & ideas, there would be no FallFest.

For those of you who unfortunately missed FallFest this year, we’ll see you in 2017.
Read More

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2016 Simming Fall Festival

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2016 Simming Fall Festival
image by Myrkul Sharr

Head on over now to join FallFest 2016.  Lots of interactive discussions, trivia games, live role plays, and more.

This is simming.  This is community.  This is FallFest.  https://discord.gg/86ENTZ5

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4 Reasons You Should Attend FallFest Tomorrow

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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!

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Announcing FallFest VI

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