[Discussion] Halloween 2016 Event Planning

[Blake]

While there were plans for this year's Halloween, which I was going to host, there have been complications in actually attempting to execute this. Namely, the death of DN killing one idea, and lack of access to the Look and Feel Module killing the other.

 

There are some ideas that I still have for hosting Halloween, such as having a theme for the monsters (IE: all YGO monsters, all Pokemon, etc.), which could be voted on, or a surprise gimmick or two. I would tell you guys the gimmick up front, but it would defeat the point of it, if it happens.

 

So, discussion about the following should take place:

• Would someone else like to host it? If so, post a pitch here/PM me the pitch, and I'll make sure it gets posted in the Mod Forum.
• Ideas for spicing the event up. It will follow the general monster scheme it has for the past 3 years, but doing new things is fun.
• Do you want to have a theme? Is it too restrictive, or do we just need to find a good one? Why or why not?
• Other things related to the event.

I will say that, as a host, I would actually encourage members to post only as their monster. It would not be a requirement by any stretch, but a complete masquerade sounds fun, and makes it just a little harder to tell who's who.

 

Comments and concerns are greatly appreciated.

[Yui]

Having a theme would be too restrictive on monster choices, I'd imagine. Despite this being a YGO forum, not everybody who comes here does YGO stuff. Similarly, not every YCM member plays Pokemon (though I'll admit there sure are a lot of us). For every possible theme, there's probably somebody who would be a monster, but lacks sufficient knowledge of that theme. I also feel as though I should mention that DN is not the only online dueling platform in the world; YGOPro still exists if monster duelists are to be involved, but I'm not going to get any further into that. I wish I had some ideas for spicing things up with the monster event, but I don't. I'm mostly just here to bring up my concerns with a theme for monsters.

 

It's nice on paper - I love matching monsters just as much as the next guy - but in practice it doesn't feel like it would go over so well.

[Blake]

Having a theme would be too restrictive on monster choices, I'd imagine. Despite this being a YGO forum, not everybody who comes here does YGO stuff. Similarly, not every YCM member plays Pokemon (though I'll admit there sure are a lot of us). For every possible theme, there's probably somebody who would be a monster, but lacks sufficient knowledge of that theme. I also feel as though I should mention that DN is not the only online dueling platform in the world; YGOPro still exists if monster duelists are to be involved, but I'm not going to get any further into that. I wish I had some ideas for spicing things up with the monster event, but I don't. I'm mostly just here to bring up my concerns with a theme for monsters.

 

It's nice on paper - I love matching monsters just as much as the next guy - but in practice it doesn't feel like it would go over so well.

This is why the theme would be up to members to vote on, after we got a few ideas that people seemed to like which i forgot to mention shhhh. If enough common ground was found. I feel similarly to you, but it's still a neat idea to offer, if others want to do it.

 

As for the dueling platform... You're not wrong, but the plan that needed DN needed it to be a non-automatic client >=

[Yui]

This is why the theme would be up to members to vote on, after we got a few ideas that people seemed to like which i forgot to mention shhhh. If enough common ground was found. I feel similarly to you, but it's still a neat idea to offer, if others want to do it.

 

As for the dueling platform... You're not wrong, but the plan that needed DN needed it to be a non-automatic client >=

Well I mean I'm just saying it might flop; no reason we can't still vote on themes and see what happens. I've been wrong before and I'm sure I will be plenty of times in the future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

As for the dueling platform, I forgot monster powers were a thing. That does complicate things a bit. It's buggy as all unholy hell last I checked, but perhaps DP could be of use?

[Blake]

Well I mean I'm just saying it might flop; no reason we can't still vote on themes and see what happens. I've been wrong before and I'm sure I will be plenty of times in the future ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

As for the dueling platform, I forgot monster powers were a thing. That does complicate things a bit. It's buggy as all unholy hell last I checked, but perhaps DP could be of use?

Was considered, but it's not stable enough, really. And the database isn't up to snuff, so people would have to add cards for their decks.

[AGATHODAIMON BANGTAIL COW]

In lieu of DN being down, BGO could be used as an alternative. It isn't Yugioh though; I'm not sure if the game absolutely must be Yugioh or not.

 

And even though I don't participate in these events in the slightest, I'm getting the feeling that the "link the monster to its controlling member" thing is getting a bit... stale. I have no idea what to do about this though.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

What is the Look and Feel Module?

[Blake]

What is the Look and Feel Module?

The part of the Admin CP that allows us to edit the forum itself.

 

So no Christmas Lights, no skin editing, etc.

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

That part's limited to Super Mods only and requires some sort of password now, according to what evilfusion's mentioned a few times in recent days. We need YCMaker to look at those things, but as all of you are aware by now, he isn't here often to check this.

 

We can still modify forums and stuff, but stuff Black noted above cannot be modified until YCMaker gets over here.

 

----

There are some other ideas that I brought up with the other mods, but at present, I cannot explain them in detail due to time constraints.

[Toffee.]

I had an idea at one point to play This out like something in Grease or whatever.

Main jock character with like 4-ish guys who hang around him. Main jock basically acts like a dick, with his pals following up his posts/etc with similar posts.

We also have a main cheerleader with her equal number of friends. Main cheerleader is in love with main jock. They don't attack eachother or anything. Jock tries to win over main cheerleader while said cheerleader plays hard to get. Main cheerleader is an alpha jabroni.

Etc.

 

Near the end of holloween it would turn into a big musical with the main jock/cheerleader falling in love.

 

....

I had scripts for this, which made it better then how I'm explaining it.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Honestly, since I know that last year there were people upset because they weren't terribly familiar with all the monsters, making all the monsters fit a theme would just cause this issue for more people than before.

 

Also it kinda screws people who have been planning ahead.

[Susie]

Also it kinda screws people who have been planning ahead.

 

Yeah I feel this one. Planning ahead is a really good thing for something like this and having the whole theme thing kind of kills all of that preparation. Not only that though but itll suck for the people who want in on it but cant because they dont know the theme well enough, making members vote on what one to have does help improve on that but still it does potentially alienate at least a certain few members.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

I'm tried and brain not entirely working but...

Maybe we can have Monster contests of some sort where different Monsters team up with each other? To make puzzles, or challenges, and so on?

I don't have a lot of ideas atm but I kind of like the ideas of Monsters working together for things.

Also was thinking it might be nice to have Monsters getting rewards (well the actual account once it's over) for performances and such. I think there was SOMEthing for it but can't quite remember.

Oh and nail down a good amount of Monsters well before it actually starts. (maybe with some thrown in later to stir it up)

 

OH and the "post only as monster" thing I don't quite like cause that's a LONG time without posting. (Also messes with RPs hardcore)

[Flash Flyer - Sakura]

1. We can go with some contests that monsters can join/team up for. Right now though, it'd have to be cardmaking unless we get monsters who are adept at doing stuff in Showcase. Suppose you could ask Smear if he'd like to take a role in that if it ever appears. Or some writing stuff; guess that would be an option. 

 

Unless you want a rehash of YCM Weirdmageddon in Miscellaneous, then that can be arranged. Though, it'd be up to you to decide amongst yourselves (in monster form) how you plan to do it. I know Aix had a CC contest back in 2013 when he played Dhampir; if you guys want to make contests in a monster form, go ahead. 

 

2. You got a reward for winning the monster duels when DN was still up and running; not sure about other stuff but yeah. (Don't think we gave points for finding monsters; well, I know you guys got little icons and Cow has his member group for finding everyone last year). 

 

3. How many monsters do you guys think would be a nice number? Ideally, we'd like to keep this open to everyone, but don't want to make it extremely difficult. Though, there can be added monsters as a challenge of sorts, but that'll need to be dealt with later.

 

----

Ah right, I mentioned some ideas I brought up with the other mods earlier on and didn't have the time to post them. Right now, I do have time, so here...

 

[spoiler=Some side ideas]

1. Monster lair / trick'o'treating (stamp event)

 

This was something done a few years ago by the mods during Halloween [i think 2009-ish]. Some of you guys who were around back then might remember.

 

Basically, each of us [whomever was participating] would post a "lair" thread in one of the areas we have control over (i.e. I would post a thread somewhere in CC (or Q/A, Intros), Aix/Nai in Fanfic/RP, Smear with GFX, Flame with Video Games, evilfusion in TCG, Dad in General, etc.). Idea is pretty much a trick'o'treat thing (basically, you try to playfully convince us to make us give you a treat, or a stamp).

 

If you get rejected (and get a trick; which can range from anything), then you can try again tomorrow. 

 

This can probably be adapted for the monster event this year, but will be a lot harder to do. IDK, probably could leave it to the actual staff members to do if they want; or we make a special subsection for monsters to post their lair threads. 

 

2. Scavenger hunt

 

I would probably say this is close to how the Easter Egg thing works, but much more difficult as there will be some tricks that'll lead you nowhere as opposed to the eggs being more/less straight-forward all the time. 

 

To be fair, this was the alternative form that the stamp thing would've taken (if you guys don't want to have it a trick or treat house); basically, each of the staff members (or the monsters, however we go about this) would make a stamp or some logo that represents them, then they get hidden somewhere on the forum. 

 

Your job would be to find them, and you'd receive a prize for every stamp/logo that you find by the deadline. 

 

---

I don't know; not really keen on this one. 

 

 

[Catterjune]

I always had an idea for some sort of Bizarro YCM.

 

You take every single forum and make it hidden. You also have some sort of Bizarro Anti-Forums created. Maybe the Bizarro YCM either the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be (Fanfics? No we post Public Domain written works here!) or take it to a ridiculous extreme or make everyone in it retarded or something. (The Perfect Deck: 52 cards: Ace of Spades, 2 of Spades, 3 of Spades... etc etc etc)

 

If you want to tie an event or something to "Restore the Forums!" or something, go ahead. Otherwise it's just a wacky side-trip, and then we all go back to normal on November 1st.

 

 

Pro:

- It's really easy to get into. You should be able to tell at a glance that something's not quite right with YCM.

- It's... original? At least it's not another funking collect-a-thon scavanger thing.

 

 

Cons:

- If you're not in on it, you'd just be confused.

- If you were looking forward to something or you lost something important... it would take a week to get it back (depending on how it's done of course)

- It would take a lot of work and may not be worth it for just a week of mischief

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

My weirdmageddon... sorry, Bill's weirdmageddon, included a small scavenger hunt as stage 2, after the minions were defeated.

 

From what I gathered, the hunt for the books was well received (props to Sakura for making it happen, as well as being a fantastic sport all the way through). Perhaps something similar could be done?

 

Alternatively, each monster could devise their own kind of challenge or puzzle. It makes it a bit harder for them, but can you imagine how cool it would be? Weirdmageddon was tons of fun, despite being poorly planned on my behalf, so if stuff is figured out ahead of time, and a bit of cooperation goes on, we could have something really great.

 

Also, people with monster accounts should be excluded from the guessing game. Their advantage is decided, and (in my experience) it distracted me enough to cause some slip ups.

 

As for total monsters, I would say to stick on a standard 20, and not add more later. In the past, later additions just made it more confusing.

[King K. Azo]

1. I don't know about a theme. I'm pretty sure most of us were trying to get unusual characters to play, and they all probably don't fit in a theme.

 

2. How about a hidden message? Have the monsters hold a word, and of a person guesses a monster, they PM their real account, and we give them a word. Person who gets the message wins... Something.

[Blake]

My weirdmageddon... sorry, Bill's weirdmageddon, included a small scavenger hunt as stage 2, after the minions were defeated.

 

From what I gathered, the hunt for the books was well received (props to Sakura for making it happen, as well as being a fantastic sport all the way through). Perhaps something similar could be done?

 

Alternatively, each monster could devise their own kind of challenge or puzzle. It makes it a bit harder for them, but can you imagine how cool it would be? Weirdmageddon was tons of fun, despite being poorly planned on my behalf, so if stuff is figured out ahead of time, and a bit of cooperation goes on, we could have something really great.

 

Also, people with monster accounts should be excluded from the guessing game. Their advantage is decided, and (in my experience) it distracted me enough to cause some slip ups.

 

As for total monsters, I would say to stick on a standard 20, and not add more later. In the past, later additions just made it more confusing.

This was actually part of what I was going to do. If I'm honest, both of my plans were inspired by Weirdmageddon, with the hopes of expanding on it. One being a takeover (Hostile or not-so-hostile, had plans for both), other being a scavenger/competition series, with clues hidden in places/held by monsters/etc. To find the villain behind the monsters.

 

And a thought occured to me about DP: The monsters' powers could be made into cards on there. So while it is a hassle... I could go forward with my main plan, provided people were willing to use DP. It's not quite what was planned, especially since I haven't properly prepared given the death of DN (started planning the takeover, but only just learned about L&F), but it could work. Not a pure scavenger hunt, though, seems kinda dull.

 

 

I always had an idea for some sort of Bizarro YCM.

 

You take every single forum and make it hidden. You also have some sort of Bizarro Anti-Forums created. Maybe the Bizarro YCM either the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be (Fanfics? No we post Public Domain written works here!) or take it to a ridiculous extreme or make everyone in it retarded or something. (The Perfect Deck: 52 cards: Ace of Spades, 2 of Spades, 3 of Spades... etc etc etc)

 

If you want to tie an event or something to "Restore the Forums!" or something, go ahead. Otherwise it's just a wacky side-trip, and then we all go back to normal on November 1st.

 

 

Pro:

- It's really easy to get into. You should be able to tell at a glance that something's not quite right with YCM.

- It's... original? At least it's not another funking collect-a-thon scavanger thing.

 

 

Cons:

- If you're not in on it, you'd just be confused.

- If you were looking forward to something or you lost something important... it would take a week to get it back (depending on how it's done of course)

- It would take a lot of work and may not be worth it for just a week of mischief

Honestly, I funking love this idea, I just don't think it works. This is the sort of thing I really do want to do, but between L&F being down (which lowers the atmosphere), and the sheer amount of work that is required, I just don't think it would work in practice.

 

SO, BIG QUESTION:

 

Would y'all be fine using Duel Portal for monster duels?

1. I don't know about a theme. I'm pretty sure most of us were trying to get unusual characters to play, and they all probably don't fit in a theme.

 

2. How about a hidden message? Have the monsters hold a word, and of a person guesses a monster, they PM their real account, and we give them a word. Person who gets the message wins... Something.

actually part of the plan, but you ninja'd me. I swear, despite me saiyng "I planned that!", I really did pitch this back in April ^^;

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Went with yes. I have relatively extensive experience with the program, and assuming we would be designing the cards for our monsters, it could be a lot of fun.

[Blake]

Went with yes. I have relatively extensive experience with the program, and assuming we would be designing the cards for our monsters, it could be a lot of fun.

I wouldn't say outright designing cards. Maybe part of the gimmick would be 1 created card, which would obviously be checked by me before being put in.

 

I also wanted to do Deck Masters. We could easily have re-uploads of cards with a part with a deck master ability added... Or we could just make cards with the monster ability on them. Presumably with the monster's avi.

 

I wouldn't really like to go into using CCs for the first event using DP, overall, though. Seems a bit haphazard.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Deck masters are also a fun avenue to explore, albeit a slight headache to implement given DP's limitations. I'm all for it, nonetheless.

 

If we do deckmasters, would they be previous existing cards (I.E. cards that well represent the monster) or just starting from scratch with something new?

 

And would only the monsters have deckmasters? That seems like a reasonable way to give them an edge. The banned card thing was a neat idea, but considering what I made of it I wouldn't exactly call it fair.

[Blake]

Deck masters are also a fun avenue to explore, albeit a slight headache to implement given DP's limitations. I'm all for it, nonetheless.

 

If we do deckmasters, would they be previous existing cards (I.E. cards that well represent the monster) or just starting from scratch with something new?

 

And would only the monsters have deckmasters? That seems like a reasonable way to give them an edge. The banned card thing was a neat idea, but considering what I made of it I wouldn't exactly call it fair.

Yeah, I'd have to redo deck master rules based on what I did in the past, but hat's the general idea. Monsters get them instead of the regular members, like they had a power before.

 

They'd be existing cards. AS I said, custom cards feel a bit shaky for DP's first site event, if this goes through.

 

The powers could also be made into super cards that are (Banished for posterity, as Deck Masters would be) that just create an effect on the gamestate. Based on the monster, as opposed to the deck, which is probably more fun and less headache causing.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

So I don't really know much about DP stuff and likely this time around wouldn't be able to duel anyone (cause time stuff but...wait is that the one that needs to be downloaded?) but I think that it would work just fine.

However I don't really know much about DP or duels or w/e so would it be bad for me to vote?

[Blake]

So I don't really know much about DP stuff and likely this time around wouldn't be able to duel anyone (cause time stuff but...wait is that the one that needs to be downloaded?) but I think that it would work just fine.

However I don't really know much about DP or duels or w/e so would it be bad for me to vote?

The UI isn't hard to use, and the intent is for EVERYONE to be able to do it, as beating monsters in competitions (of any sort) would

 

I'd be willing to go ahead with this plan if, say... 20(?) total yes votes happen, because that is, theoretically, enough for monsters and members to participate.

 

However, I would also encourage other monster comps. Contests (1v1 or monster hosted in short time spans), Graphic Comps, etc.

 

So if you have intent to participate/feel like learning, then yes, feel free.

[~British Soul~]

If I understand correctly, for people to become monsters this year, partaking in monster duels on DP is compulsory? I might have to download and get used to it if that is the case.