Over on story games I have been talking about my concerns with the ashcan front and starting to mention the idea of having a site purely dedicated to playtesting.
My idea is that the site would have 2 parts to it.
1) A section for designers looking for playtest teams. This would hopefully consist of somewhere that people can post the types of games they play and the kind of thing they would be interested in playtesting. Also where designers can post their game ideas for pickup.
2) A section where people can read playtest reports on the various games.
Maybe a section regarding playtesting theory, how to go about it, advice for new designers etc.
I have checked out 123 reg and rpgtestsite.com is available as is the .co.uk equivalent. I have tried some other names like provingground etc. but they are all taken for the .com and .co.uk domain names.
I need someone to help me put the thing together. I am thinking it will be quite a simple forum site, I don't think it needs anything particularly fancy.
Volunteers?
Cheers
Iain
First off, let me caution
Submitted by Destriarch on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 10:44.
First off, let me caution against using PHPBB2 as it's notoriously open to bots and spammers.
My site is on a BraveNet account, and they seem like good people for hosting websites, the prices are decent enough and there's database support for PHP which should allow the installation of most types of forum code. If all you want and need is a forum though, you might be better off with just a dedicated forum site, which can be obtained free from some places if you're willing to accept banner ads.
I don't mind helping put something together, but you'll have to arrange the hosting and choose the forum code you want to go with yourself. I used PHPBB2 for a while but it drowned under the spam, so I currently don't know what forum code I should use. I've got DreamWeaver and a Flash equivalent package over here, which may be of use.
Also, don't forget advertising. A site is useless if nobody knows about it.
Ash
Ash beat me to it
Submitted by Neil Gow on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 10:56.
I've used phpbb for years and despite my valiant efforts my sites are succumbing to waves of relentless spam. The new version is coming but it seems to be the favourite target of spammers worldwide.
Neil
Evil Hackers Must Die
Submitted by Destriarch on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 11:14.
The new version is coming but it seems to be the favourite target of spammers worldwide.
Probably because it's open source. Since anyone can look at the code, it's comparatively easy to find ways to circumvent it. The only real way to make PHPBB viable is to code your own hacker deterrents.
Ash
Vanilla's easy to install
Submitted by Graham W on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 11:33.
And run, and things.
Graham
Vanilla works
Submitted by Per Fischer on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 19:31.
If you have the domain name/hosting sorted, then I can install Vanilla for you (or show you how - it's easy as Graham says.) Be sure to get a hosting package with MySQL and PHP included - these are required for almost any kind of forum you decide to run with.
Per
http://darkplaces.squarespace.com
PBP
Submitted by Destriarch on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 21:59.
Can I suggest setting a section of the forums aside for people to play PBP games too?
Ash
Per and Graham are on the
Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 22:12.
Per and Graham are on the money. I think vanilla is a good choice. Some may complain about the seeming ubiquity of vanilla for games fora these days, but I think there is a very good reason behind that.
I would caution against having a PbP section in the first instance. It seems that your (very commendable) vision is to have a place where people can go to find people who will playtest their games face to face. While PbP shouldn't be devalued, I don't think it is something that is vital or desireable when setting up this kind of project.
Cheers
malcolm
Contested Ground Studios
Ash, I would be steering
Submitted by Iain McAllister on Sun, 28/10/2007 - 22:41.
Ash, I would be steering away from Play by Post, I assume that is what you meant by PbP, as an actual method for the forums but not from the point of view of games that utilise it.
If someone is seeking people to playtest PbP games then they can come to the forums, just do the actual playtesting somewhere else then report back.
This will hopefully be moving by the end of the week. Will keep you all updated.
Cheers
Iain
Mob Justice now available!
'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.
Re PBP
Submitted by Destriarch on Mon, 29/10/2007 - 09:36.
My main thought was really just to expand the remit of the site, make it a bit beefier and pull in more people who might then get involved in other forms of playtesting. One thing that PbP is sometimes better than face-to-face playtesting for is ironing out kinks and misunderstandings in the background material, since one thing you're not going to get from face-to-face playtesters is a full account of what everyone said and did. Because PBP tends to focus on the setting over the rules, it'd get a more thorough testing there and may also throw up some interesting ideas.
Anyway, that's my reasoning, but naturally it's up to you what you do with the site. I just think it may be a bit sparse with only playtest requests on it, and that a more economical and broad approach (with more passing trade from other gamers too) would be to incorporate the concept of the open playtest forum into a website with forums on other subjects as well.
Ash
I understand your point, but
Submitted by Iain McAllister on Mon, 29/10/2007 - 18:05.
I understand your point, but the entire point of the site is it is only about playtest requests, playtest teams looking for games as well as reports, feedback and guidance. If it incorporates other subjects then I might as well not bother as I would be just creating another CE or 'Story Games'.
Cheers
Iain
Mob Justice now available!
'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.
How's this coming along
Submitted by Andrew Kenrick on Tue, 06/11/2007 - 15:44.
How's this coming along Iain?
I pointed the domain name at
Submitted by Iain McAllister on Tue, 06/11/2007 - 22:17.
I pointed the domain name at Matt's server today so I should be fiddling with it over this weekend. I will make announcements once I have it put together.
Cheers
Iain
Mob Justice now available!
'The Giant Brain':Small games, big ideas.