A Not So Brief Overview of the Game
Welcome to Cougar Ridge, a small Colorado town nestled in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. Population . . .
. . . well, that's for you to decide. Fancy spending some time here? Then read the following overview, and proceed to drop in any time!
Every week, a new entry will be posted here on the community. This is where the game itself is played. To participate, you will need to create a LiveJournal account specifically for your character, which you will use to post to the game.
Before creating your character, you should look over the current resident directory and additional available characters/NPC posts to make sure your name - or something very similar - hasn't already been used, and also that your character type is still available (e.g. we don't need two police chiefs).
Your LJ username must be your character's name. First and last name should be separated by an underscore when possible, and - ideally - preface your name with "cr" (eg. cr_james_smith). In the interests of the game you can't choose celebrity names, obvious puns or overtly silly names (so no tom_cruise, ivan_itchyarse or billybob_bumblebutt, please). You'll also need a user ID that depicts your character's face. Similarly these pictures also shouldn't be of famous people. Please try to avoid using copyrighted photos.
LJ requires you to enter an email address for validation and activation. Make sure you edit your profile to hide this address so that other players don't work out which players are in control of which characters. You should use your real birthdate for signing up your character - this is required by LiveJournal - and then make sure to hide your birthdate as well, as it won't necessarily match your character, and may be a clue to your identity. The key to total immersion in this game is for every player to remain anonymous behind his or her characters, to establish the integrity of this fictional world. Don't enter any "real" information that may give you away.
Players can create up to three characters and diversity is encouraged as much as possible, in terms of gender, age, personality and occupation. In other words, a population composed entirely of ultracool Johhny Depp-a-likes, nubile cheerleaders and tough-as-nails ex-cops would get boring pretty quickly. We need a healthy cross-section of townsfolk such as schoolteachers, firefighters, doctors, bookstore owners, accountants, watchmakers, and whatever else you can think of. Surprise your fellow players; even if your occupation is normal, you can be strange as a pink porcupine underneath, right?
Please have each character join the community and add the Game Master (GM) (cougar_ridge_v2) to their friends list. This will ensure that your character is privy to everything happening in the Ridge, and that the GM will be able to contact you through private messages, at least. Also, please copy this onto your character's profile page: I am a character in cougarridgegame.
The GM will post a new entry every Monday, designed to advance the story of Cougar Ridge and its townsfolk. Each character can reply up to FIVE TIMES to each Main Entry by clicking on "Leave Comment" at the bottom of the entry. Replies should be made to the Main Entry only, not in reply to other characters' posts. Characters should also not write story in their own journal. Characters should develop and interact only through commenting on the Main Entry, so that other players can keep track of events and character progression simply through reading this journal and not having to go searching through individual player journals.
Posts must be 600 words or less (spare a thought for those reading through them all) and they must be written in first person, either as standard prose or in the style of a diary entry. Posts over 600 words will be summarily deleted, and you will need to repost them. The GM will keep copies of all posts deleted, so it can be sent to you for reworking.
Your character can be whoever and whatever you want them to be so long as they are normal human beings - no aliens, robots, vampires or lycanthropes; no amazing psychic powers (see the GM if you have questions about this) or astral projection or flying; no talking cats, etc. However, mystery, dark and dirty secrets, salaciousness and disturbed mental states are all welcome, and you'll soon discover that the town itself has its own ambience of the supernatural. Humor is also encouraged, but not slapstick piss-taking that detracts from the game (e.g. a character such as Billybob Buttbumble, the third Baron of Bumchester, will probably be amusing for about ten seconds but will then be utterly annoying. So, please, don't do it).
Another thing to watch in your character creation is your Mary Sue Quotient. Characters who are the best at everything and have no shortcomings are generally no fun. Think how boring Superman would be if he never had to worry about kryptonite.
In some gaming systems, GURPS and Champions for example, you get a number of points to "spend" building your character. Every good trait or skill costs points. You can get yourself more points to spend by taking some negative traits and limiting your skills.
There are no points to spend here in Cougar Ridge, but your character will be more believable, and more interesting, if his strengths are balanced by some weaknesses.
Characters can freely interact with any of the other townsfolk, with only one provision - you cannot impose direct consequences on another player's character. Your character can do whatever you want them to do in your posts, such as talking to other characters, and even doing something to them, and you can have these other characters talking back to you or doing something in turn. What you cannot do is change that other character's status quo, by killing them, or figuring out that they are a cross-dresser, or a secret agent, or something else equally important to their story without good reason. It's a question of common sense.
If a male character has said in game - including in internal monologue - that he dresses in women's clothing and you figure out a reasonable way for your character to have discovered this quirk (Bob lives alone, you're visiting, something happens to him and while searching for bandages or whatnot you find a pair of size 13 sequined, high-heeled pumps), that's fair. If this character has never said anything in game to that effect, and you post that you have pictures of him doing a burlesque striptease, complete with pasties, your post will be deleted.
The spreading of rumors, and just plain conjecture, are another matter entirely, as long as you make it clear that is what you are doing ("I don't know what it is, but there's something weird about Bob. He's always commenting on how nice my clothes are. I wonder if he's a cross-dresser.") It's the responsibility of other players to respond to whatever scenario is presented to them and their characters. It's often a lot of fun to pick up the threads other players leave and run with them, but sometimes a player will want to steer their character clear of a potential storyline rather than embrace it and they should always have the courtesy of that option.
For another example, you could write that Susie (your character) and Mary (someone else's character) are walking in the park, and they meet Mike (again, someone else's character). You can say that Mary and Mike are both uncomfortable with the meeting, but that Susie doesn't know why. That's fine. What you can't do is state an exact reason why they're uncomfortable. That's up to Mary and Mike's individual players (for whom the first they know about all this is when they read your post). A big part of a game like this is that players can place other players' characters in all manner of difficult, dangerous and compromising situations, whilst hinting at mysteries and secrets, but they can't detail what comes next for any character that doesn't belong to them.
Do keep in mind that if you figure out all of another character's quirks - or solve all of his problems - right off the bat, that doesn't leave much for either of you to do, and rather spoils the game.
Another thing to remember is that here in Cougar Ridge time is very fluid. You may be writing about events happening on Tuesday, while another character is writing about Friday. This might take a little getting used to, but it allows different storylines to evolve at their own pace. Players are encouraged to not write too far in advance (and never to write beyond the dates of the current entry), or stay too far in the past. If you are still writing about prior weeks in the current entry, please make sure you are using past tense.
In the interests of the game, all posts will be strictly moderated. If any character posts more than five times against an entry, the additional posts will be deleted. If a player posts out of character, either by accident or design, that post will be deleted. If anyone sets out to flame another player or character the post will be deleted and that character banned. If any post flagrantly contravenes the No Direct Consequences (NDC) rule, the post will be deleted after the GM checks with the player who is on the receiving end to see if it is okay to be left as is. If any character does not post at least once in three entries they will be removed from the game. A player has the right to permanently remove any of his own characters from the game at any time.
If you want to leave the game temporarily but want your character to continue to exist, send your LJ account password to the GM and he will take over for you for the interim. If you particpiate in this game for a period but then decide you want to stop completely, through boredom or lack of time or for any reason, please show fellow players a measure of courtesy by either attempting to close out any storylines you may be involved in or by sending the GM your account details at the above address. The game suffers from characters vanishing mid-story as players drift away, and this is unfair to other players.
As the voice of the town the GM also has to abide by the NDC rule, but can introduce story elements in the entries at any time that will inevitably encroach upon the lives of your characters. The GM can personally create and control more than three characters at any time for the express purposes of the game. The tone that will be strived for is an edgy, twisted version of The Sims, with elements of quirky T.V. shows such as Twin Peaks, Lost and Northern Exposure - and maybe some X Files and Millenium thrown in for good measure - but the potential is always there for the narrative to head off in completely unanticipated directions.
It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to create a character account, including finding a photograph. Thereafter it's up to you how much you interact with other characters, how creative you are, or how often you post (provided it's at least once every three entries per character just to check in). That's not much effort on your part to enter into what could prove to be a very rewarding and entertaining environment. So what are you waiting for? Go create! New players and characters can join in at any time.
NOTE: If you wish to read the original Cougar Ridge game it can be found here, and the first fifteen Chapters of the second version can be found here. The rest of the second version, and all of the third (and current) are here on this community. Reading these is not necessary, but may give you some more insight into some of the characters and situations in the current game.
UPDATED: 6/26/11
. . . well, that's for you to decide. Fancy spending some time here? Then read the following overview, and proceed to drop in any time!
Every week, a new entry will be posted here on the community. This is where the game itself is played. To participate, you will need to create a LiveJournal account specifically for your character, which you will use to post to the game.
Before creating your character, you should look over the current resident directory and additional available characters/NPC posts to make sure your name - or something very similar - hasn't already been used, and also that your character type is still available (e.g. we don't need two police chiefs).
Your LJ username must be your character's name. First and last name should be separated by an underscore when possible, and - ideally - preface your name with "cr" (eg. cr_james_smith). In the interests of the game you can't choose celebrity names, obvious puns or overtly silly names (so no tom_cruise, ivan_itchyarse or billybob_bumblebutt, please). You'll also need a user ID that depicts your character's face. Similarly these pictures also shouldn't be of famous people. Please try to avoid using copyrighted photos.
LJ requires you to enter an email address for validation and activation. Make sure you edit your profile to hide this address so that other players don't work out which players are in control of which characters. You should use your real birthdate for signing up your character - this is required by LiveJournal - and then make sure to hide your birthdate as well, as it won't necessarily match your character, and may be a clue to your identity. The key to total immersion in this game is for every player to remain anonymous behind his or her characters, to establish the integrity of this fictional world. Don't enter any "real" information that may give you away.
Players can create up to three characters and diversity is encouraged as much as possible, in terms of gender, age, personality and occupation. In other words, a population composed entirely of ultracool Johhny Depp-a-likes, nubile cheerleaders and tough-as-nails ex-cops would get boring pretty quickly. We need a healthy cross-section of townsfolk such as schoolteachers, firefighters, doctors, bookstore owners, accountants, watchmakers, and whatever else you can think of. Surprise your fellow players; even if your occupation is normal, you can be strange as a pink porcupine underneath, right?
Please have each character join the community and add the Game Master (GM) (cougar_ridge_v2) to their friends list. This will ensure that your character is privy to everything happening in the Ridge, and that the GM will be able to contact you through private messages, at least. Also, please copy this onto your character's profile page: I am a character in cougarridgegame.
The GM will post a new entry every Monday, designed to advance the story of Cougar Ridge and its townsfolk. Each character can reply up to FIVE TIMES to each Main Entry by clicking on "Leave Comment" at the bottom of the entry. Replies should be made to the Main Entry only, not in reply to other characters' posts. Characters should also not write story in their own journal. Characters should develop and interact only through commenting on the Main Entry, so that other players can keep track of events and character progression simply through reading this journal and not having to go searching through individual player journals.
Posts must be 600 words or less (spare a thought for those reading through them all) and they must be written in first person, either as standard prose or in the style of a diary entry. Posts over 600 words will be summarily deleted, and you will need to repost them. The GM will keep copies of all posts deleted, so it can be sent to you for reworking.
Your character can be whoever and whatever you want them to be so long as they are normal human beings - no aliens, robots, vampires or lycanthropes; no amazing psychic powers (see the GM if you have questions about this) or astral projection or flying; no talking cats, etc. However, mystery, dark and dirty secrets, salaciousness and disturbed mental states are all welcome, and you'll soon discover that the town itself has its own ambience of the supernatural. Humor is also encouraged, but not slapstick piss-taking that detracts from the game (e.g. a character such as Billybob Buttbumble, the third Baron of Bumchester, will probably be amusing for about ten seconds but will then be utterly annoying. So, please, don't do it).
Another thing to watch in your character creation is your Mary Sue Quotient. Characters who are the best at everything and have no shortcomings are generally no fun. Think how boring Superman would be if he never had to worry about kryptonite.
In some gaming systems, GURPS and Champions for example, you get a number of points to "spend" building your character. Every good trait or skill costs points. You can get yourself more points to spend by taking some negative traits and limiting your skills.
There are no points to spend here in Cougar Ridge, but your character will be more believable, and more interesting, if his strengths are balanced by some weaknesses.
Characters can freely interact with any of the other townsfolk, with only one provision - you cannot impose direct consequences on another player's character. Your character can do whatever you want them to do in your posts, such as talking to other characters, and even doing something to them, and you can have these other characters talking back to you or doing something in turn. What you cannot do is change that other character's status quo, by killing them, or figuring out that they are a cross-dresser, or a secret agent, or something else equally important to their story without good reason. It's a question of common sense.
If a male character has said in game - including in internal monologue - that he dresses in women's clothing and you figure out a reasonable way for your character to have discovered this quirk (Bob lives alone, you're visiting, something happens to him and while searching for bandages or whatnot you find a pair of size 13 sequined, high-heeled pumps), that's fair. If this character has never said anything in game to that effect, and you post that you have pictures of him doing a burlesque striptease, complete with pasties, your post will be deleted.
The spreading of rumors, and just plain conjecture, are another matter entirely, as long as you make it clear that is what you are doing ("I don't know what it is, but there's something weird about Bob. He's always commenting on how nice my clothes are. I wonder if he's a cross-dresser.") It's the responsibility of other players to respond to whatever scenario is presented to them and their characters. It's often a lot of fun to pick up the threads other players leave and run with them, but sometimes a player will want to steer their character clear of a potential storyline rather than embrace it and they should always have the courtesy of that option.
For another example, you could write that Susie (your character) and Mary (someone else's character) are walking in the park, and they meet Mike (again, someone else's character). You can say that Mary and Mike are both uncomfortable with the meeting, but that Susie doesn't know why. That's fine. What you can't do is state an exact reason why they're uncomfortable. That's up to Mary and Mike's individual players (for whom the first they know about all this is when they read your post). A big part of a game like this is that players can place other players' characters in all manner of difficult, dangerous and compromising situations, whilst hinting at mysteries and secrets, but they can't detail what comes next for any character that doesn't belong to them.
Do keep in mind that if you figure out all of another character's quirks - or solve all of his problems - right off the bat, that doesn't leave much for either of you to do, and rather spoils the game.
Another thing to remember is that here in Cougar Ridge time is very fluid. You may be writing about events happening on Tuesday, while another character is writing about Friday. This might take a little getting used to, but it allows different storylines to evolve at their own pace. Players are encouraged to not write too far in advance (and never to write beyond the dates of the current entry), or stay too far in the past. If you are still writing about prior weeks in the current entry, please make sure you are using past tense.
In the interests of the game, all posts will be strictly moderated. If any character posts more than five times against an entry, the additional posts will be deleted. If a player posts out of character, either by accident or design, that post will be deleted. If anyone sets out to flame another player or character the post will be deleted and that character banned. If any post flagrantly contravenes the No Direct Consequences (NDC) rule, the post will be deleted after the GM checks with the player who is on the receiving end to see if it is okay to be left as is. If any character does not post at least once in three entries they will be removed from the game. A player has the right to permanently remove any of his own characters from the game at any time.
If you want to leave the game temporarily but want your character to continue to exist, send your LJ account password to the GM and he will take over for you for the interim. If you particpiate in this game for a period but then decide you want to stop completely, through boredom or lack of time or for any reason, please show fellow players a measure of courtesy by either attempting to close out any storylines you may be involved in or by sending the GM your account details at the above address. The game suffers from characters vanishing mid-story as players drift away, and this is unfair to other players.
As the voice of the town the GM also has to abide by the NDC rule, but can introduce story elements in the entries at any time that will inevitably encroach upon the lives of your characters. The GM can personally create and control more than three characters at any time for the express purposes of the game. The tone that will be strived for is an edgy, twisted version of The Sims, with elements of quirky T.V. shows such as Twin Peaks, Lost and Northern Exposure - and maybe some X Files and Millenium thrown in for good measure - but the potential is always there for the narrative to head off in completely unanticipated directions.
It shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to create a character account, including finding a photograph. Thereafter it's up to you how much you interact with other characters, how creative you are, or how often you post (provided it's at least once every three entries per character just to check in). That's not much effort on your part to enter into what could prove to be a very rewarding and entertaining environment. So what are you waiting for? Go create! New players and characters can join in at any time.
NOTE: If you wish to read the original Cougar Ridge game it can be found here, and the first fifteen Chapters of the second version can be found here. The rest of the second version, and all of the third (and current) are here on this community. Reading these is not necessary, but may give you some more insight into some of the characters and situations in the current game.
UPDATED: 6/26/11