So. Skay recently pointed out some of what she sees as faults with the play by post system, it's difficult to carry any kind of reputation as a character from thread to thread being the most important one. The difference to video game rpgs where NPCs eventually come to hail you as the saviour of the world and such. So, I thought it might be worth a little thought to ruminate on the whys and wherefores.

First, let's look at the differences between the two. A video game will (almost always) have a set storyline which you're not so much shaping as tagging along with, whereas a pbp will always have the potential for the PC going off script as it were. One of the other advantages is that the video game will usually have a large, single storyline (there may be minor side plots, but the focus is on the single storyline). A play by post like the one we have here doesn't focus on campaigns the same way, with several minor storylines being the focus and the overall story of the character often being something that kind of happens between these storylines.

Every thread is a separate entity unto itself. In a good pbp they should be relying on each other and work together in various obvious and not so obvious ways. But let's face it, each one is a separate story, with often separate people, so it can be difficult for someone to know what has happened to a PC in other threads, hence the problem of carrying things like reputation across. Sometimes people will know, because they like to read other threads, sometimes they will not.

So. The question becomes. How do you overcome the limitations inherent in the system? I think the key here is communication. Sure, it'd be possible to build a series of checks and balances where people can store notes from threads past and let people know about them. But.... why?

Threads are never supposed to happen in a vacuum. I know metagame chatter is something that is often reviled, but it is sometimes necessary. I mean, no one is going to know the circumstances of their character better than the player, the player should always be the person to go to about information about that character. If only to point out that "Hey, I did a favour for NPC B a few threads back, I'm sure he'd remember me". So, my point is, communication needs to happen between people in a thread. It's not supposed to be one person doling out the plot and the other just sitting back and taking it, like video games. That becomes more or less a railroad plot.

You have to move up and beyond that, let everyone help shape the story that is taking place.

Play by posts owe more to tabletop games than to video games, really. But one of the things we've lost in the transition to the internet is the people sitting around a table, with the chatter being able to pass back and forth. Writing someone a PM going "Hey, you know what... I have this idea.." is a lot more more work than just saying the same thing out loud, but it can certainly be worth it.

I think that's the major message of this little rumination here really. Communicate more, communicate better and you get a better game for it.