Shorticus

Music & Roleplaying (What kind of music do you listen to when writing?)

Really depends on the roleplay or the scene. But...

Medieval fantasy typically demands medieval music or video game soundtracks. Weirder, darker, or more sci-fi related medieval settings call for the seriously amazing Endless Legend Soundtrack. This game has a nice variety of tracks I can pick and choose, and none of them are intrusive. They let me think as I write, and they all sound beautiful. Other video games with good medieval soundtracks include Battle Brothers and (for exploration stuff) Expeditions Conquistador.

(If you like weird fantasy music, you may also like some of Keith Zizza's work, like this playlist, or maybe this one.)

Civilization 5 has some amazing soundtracks, too, but you need to really know what you're looking for when you start making playlists out of anything that game has. Its soundtrack covers music meant to represent the ancient era to music meant to represent the modern era.

If you want to listen to some neat sci-fi tunes, Endless Space has some AMAZING tunes. One of my personal favorites - one that's really easy to relax to - is this track. These are the same guys who made Endless Legend, so I guess it's not surprising that both games have great soundtracks. The Mass Effect series also has some good tracks.

Character-focused music is a common thing I use when I write. I.E. angry music for an angry character, or medieval Italian music for a medieval merchant / schemer. I've been preparing two playlists for a raptor superhero I made in an RP. Her battle music has stuff like this sweet Killer Instinct track and also some select hip-hop / techno that fits fight scenes.

But the general rule of thumb is to find music that gets the message across and is non-intrusive. Sometimes you need to break that rule, but most times you need something that lets you think while you listen.

Why Do You Like Undertale?

<Snipped quote by R0bE0>

Do you know what kind of person hates things because they're popular?


HIPSTERS.

@Chrononaut

Well... With Indie games I actually err on the side of caution when a game is hyped, probably similarly to how the OP does. The Indie community can sometimes get some odd ideas about what makes something good, just as the AAA industry can get dumb ideas about how if you throw more money at a game it'll magically get better.

Undertale worked out, but let's talk about Starbound. Remember how MEGA HYPED a lot of the Indie crowd was with Starbound? How long did it take for Starbound to actually get to a point where it had some content? And then to the point where the content was properly balanced and wasn't a chore to level through? And is it yet what I'd call a good game? (The answer to the last one is "No.")

Now, the Indie industry has also produced some games that I will cherish forever. This War of Mine is one of them. Thea: The Awakening, Battle Brothers, Never Alone... Love 'em. I find Barony oddly replayable, I poured tons of hours into Terraria, and Chroma Squad is a fun little distraction. But the Indie industry also produces some games that I'd call utter crap, and people are willing to forgive the games that are utter crap because they're Indie. It's boggling.

Undertale turned out to be a really fun, really thought-provoking game, but if the OP is cautious about a hyped Indie game, I'd say that caution is wise.

American Dream: A Shattered Union

@ShorticusThat was actually my post and I thought the number was something like only 3 thousand :P

@ClocktowerEchos

See, I was only mostly wrong.

American Dream: A Shattered Union

And seeing some places routinely go through famines and food shortages, that's nothing to sneeze at in terms of trade opportunities.

Yeah, I know a few of the nations in this RP are among that number. One nation had 30,000 people starve to death in their first post, and mine is in a constant state of rationing.

The Absent King

<Snipped quote by ZB1996>

Yeah I understand, it was just a precautionary statement.

<Snipped quote by Shorticus>

I'm hoping for at least one or two posts a week from everyone, depending on how quickly things move.

@Life in Stasis

Awesome, 1-2 times a week is actually what I'm shooting for in my RPs, and I've got it in my head to try making a more morally gray elf-lover to balance out what we've got. I'll get something cooked up.

The Absent King

I... Hm.

I've been watching this thread and want to know how often you want updates. The frequency you want players to post is very important to me. I'd rather not join something I can't keep up with.

There's another thread that I'm interested in, but if it doesn't kick off I may try joining another thread (such as yours). Four threads is the maximum I'm letting myself participate in.

American Dream: A Shattered Union

I only have one word for your nation, Emprah.

WAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

I really want to play some Dawn of War now.

EDIT: Could the WAAAGH be the national anthem?

Superheroics 101

Okay. I only JUST noticed Wiseguy, but I feel like that guy's wisdom is needed. Sorely.

He busied himself trying to guess his cohorts' talents. Raptor girl and rabbit-in-a-hat were both confirmed. He assumed the rat's powers were just... being a rat. Which was cool. The scowling one probably had some sort of toxins in her skin or something, like one of those rainforest frogs. The one he'd smiled at, with her question about success, either came from a background of insurance agents or she had a non-combat power. Mr. Rock'em Sock'em arms had the ability to give himself a bloody nose, plus he got to have metal arms. He snickered.

This is a good paragraph. This is a paragraph that makes me smile. A lot.

I guess we can add Mr. Rock'em Sock'em to the list of names for RED...

American Dream: A Shattered Union

Speaking of which:

When it comes to regions that haven't been claimed by anyone, are we to flesh 'em out ourselves as we RP (such as if invading or sending diplomats or being attacked by them), or do you reserve the rights to define what the regions are like, @ClocktowerEchos?

American Dream: A Shattered Union

One more aside... We were told to mention any ideas we had for monsters, aye?

I started thinking about monsters in the world, especially in relation to real-world mythology. I dreamt up these two thingies.

Chupacabra

Chupacabras look much like humans whose backs and limbs have been bent so they run on all fours, except their skin is gray and covered in thick chitin that can deflect bullets. They thankfully do not grow very large, perhaps stunted by the heavy chitin that sprouts from their bodies, and are comparable in size to wolves. They can use their hands to pick things up, but they only grab such things as clubs and metal pipes for use in clubbing other life to death. The most dangerous things about them, though, are their human-like cunning and the large insectoid horns jutting from their skulls.

Perhaps Chupacabras were once human, but these monsters don't think like people do anymore. Whatever brought life to these depraved human-rhinoceros beetle hybrids has made them utterly mad. They are cannibals that seem to prefer to eat humans and large mammals. They typically creep after their prey in silence, set up ambushes, and then charge at them before they can react. They have also been known to dig tunnels somehow and can be found throughout the deserts of the western United States.

Thunderbird

These massive birds of the northern United States are most likely some form of mutated eagle. While not inherently aggressive towards humans, these creatures are both very territorial and more than eager to devour an unsuspecting rancher's cattle. They are dangerous not just for their size (accounts suggest they could have a wingspan of up to 20 feet), but because freakish events seem to happen near them. More than one story talks of how a man about to shoot down a Thunderbird found himself struck by lightning, or how a hunter about to finish one off with a knife was electrocuted to death as soon as the blade touched the beast. Needless to say, Thunderbirds are best dealt with from a very, very long distance.

EDIT:

I've certainly known radios to last a long-ass time. I got an early transistor one hanging around at the kitchen bar.

...Nice.