I hear it's regarded as a good idea to know how to write and draw.
Also a typing speed of at least 80wpm, but if you're here you probably already have that.

Driblis!!WuAJD3MJZj 2009/07/16(Thu)05:31 No. 309 ID: 1afd58
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>>1089
I have run two quests with similar amounts of success.

I don't think quest running requires stellar art. Several successful quests aren't masterpieces or even consistently drawn.

Decent writing is more important, because people won't care about a story or world that makes no sense, but you can have a basically freeform experience and people will still play it.

I suppose what is needed most for a successful quest thread is dedication, which happens to be what I lack. I also lack drawing and writing skills, but that is neither here nor there. If you only update weekly with a single image, no one is going to get all that interested unless your art or story is phenomenal. If you only post three threads before quitting (See: Driblis Quest) then people are going to forget about your short-running questlet. You have to stick with it.

It's fairly different from DMing an actual rules-based system. There's no game mechanic for success or failure. In D&D, you know if your guy wins or loses by the roll of a die. In a quest, there is just some guy on the other end of the line dictating it. If he likes the main character or the way the quest is going, you win! If not, you die! It feels arbitrary to die in a quest where there is no win/loss mechanic.

I would tell you how to stay sane but frankly I'm unemployed with a quickly growing neckbeard, all I do is chat on IRC all day, and I'm not entirely certain I'm the person to give lifestyle advice.

Anonymous 2009/07/16(Thu)13:56 No. 310 ID: 63f46a
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Well, I once ran something similar to quest.
Quests can be tiring. Very tiring. After 200 images the quest begins to suffer.
So, keep breaks and don't burn yourself out in few first threads.
The art doesn't have to be good but better art attracts more readers. Of course you can make your quest a text-quest without images.
Quest has to be funny or interesting. Or both.
Endure the trolls and sagefags. When someone talks loud so you can't be heard, talk louder.

Pic unrelated.

Anonymous 2009/07/20(Mon)10:30 No. 311 ID: 1faaca
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Well I've made many quest at different occasions. 1 with the best success (/x/ quest) so far its only spanned 15 threads and 500 custom made images. For me all I do is draw a map, and add things (Example; people walking around in the background and creating situations you are not involved with that end up interfering with the quest.) The best piece of advice I can give is to KEEP THEM INTERESTED. I have had many quest's die because it wasn't going anywhere fast. Also it would be a good idea to add other characters near to the start of the game, if you only have 1 then they may get bored (Ex. The main character for my current quest has no name or written gender, BUT the severed hand we got at the beginning was the most memorable character.)

tldr; Keep them interested, have characters, you really don't need to draw well.

(Pic is an example of a map system)

Gnome!94Ud9yTfxQ 2009/07/21(Tue)19:10 No. 312 ID: bde1b8
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My advices:

1) If an action sounds reasonable, go through with it. If they are trapped in a wooden room with a crowbar, go ahead, let them pull up the floorboards, for example.

2) In combat, its easiest to do it in 'turns.' and by 'turns' I mean let them suggest an action, then post it. Then post the bad guy's response to the action before letting them go again.

3) Read ____ hug _____

4) When people post stuff like 3), take it in stride. Just because they're referencing something else does not mean they love you less, it means you need to roll with it like a man. I am looking at you, Cast Quest, and your rage at the MSPA references.

5) Update promptly. Sessions tend to work best for this - a series of updates in a short time with long waits between is better than one update a day.

>>1153
I am looking at you, Gnome, and I do not like what I see.

Totallynotsamefag!!V1AJL5LzHl 2009/07/26(Sun)13:30 No. 314 ID: fda774
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>>1228
>OR YOU KNOW I COULD JUST LET HIM BE COMPLETELY FUCKING INVINCIBLE AND NEGATE ANY POINT OF HAVING ANYTHING MORE THAN A STRAIGHT WALK TO THE GOD DAMN EXIT

>5) Update promptly. Sessions tend to work best for this - a series of updates in a short time with long waits between is better than one update a day.
That's assuming you even get a suggestion a day.

I think something that might help with that is an autonomous quest. Err, no one important here, just a potential quest maker. In any case, the characters have personal drive and ambition, they're not just blank slates for the audience to act through, right? So, in cases where there is a lull in the action, a significant one of course, would it not be sensible for the characters to go about, doing what is only natural for them to do?

This encourages the audience in a fashion. As new events occur, they suddenly have new material to interact with. A problem with many scenes is that there's truly nothing to add, or there's nothing interesting to add rather. For example, traveling scene. What's the audience supposed to say, walk faster? Don't tittle around with such simple things, just do it.

In fact, this is probably the best thing I can say about a quest with no audience response. Do not take it as a 'this quest is unpopular and doomed to failure' thing, take it as a 'there's no interesting action for the audience to take at the moment'. Then go with it.

Or at least, those are my intentions in the event of my debut, ahah. Hope this helped.

>>1246
This man is pretty wise, listen to him.

>>1246
While this is very wise insight and advice, having the PCs take initiative, especially in an open-ended situation, can be a tricky thing if you are worried about claims of railroading. If no one is suggesting anything to do, rather than having the characters do something anyway, it can help to change the circumstances, instead. Introduce something to make a either an existing course of action a better choice, or make a new one possible. How much control the author should have over the characters is dubious, but don't forget they have complete control over the enviroment.

Mneme!CRITTerXzI 2010/06/29(Tue)00:01 No. 18731 ID: c4c313
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>>314

>>328531
>One year and three hundred thousand posts later...

>>328531
Mneme, you are a bag of dicks.

>>328532
Hate to break it to you, but the board with most posts is /quest/ at 200k, over here it's just a numbers glitch.

>>328581
That I will fix eventually shut up.

I press buttons and hope I eventually type something good.

Mneme!CRITTerXzI 2010/06/30(Wed)22:18 No. 18862 ID: c4c313
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This is my new avatar guys.

>>328662

http://tgchan.org/wiki/Mneme

Hmm

>>328665
i like it

>>328662
I fapped to this.

>>328662
Now we can save time by telling you to go eat yourself!

>>328678
unfortunately, that would actually take longer. But it would definitely be more fun.

you know you want me.