DescriptionHi, y?all, and Colony is a free-form game which has been going strong for a year and a half. We?re a group of eight active players at present (ranging in age from 25 to 48) and seek one or two more to keep us on our toes. We specifically seek players experienced in free-form play who *care* about their posts ? including content, format, structure, grammar, spelling, and the ability to pay attention to detail ? as they relate to the storyline in general. We also prefer applicants who have *time* for game-play and won?t leave after only a month or two. Interested? The game synopsis, basic format and application instructions follow ?
Colony 'Mr. B.,' the only name the reclusive man has ever been known by, has for years applied his substantial financial resources to the research and building of the largest spacecraft on planet Earth. It has been designed with three major compartments; the first for himself and his hand-picked professionals, the second for a year's supply of most anything anyone would need to begin a new life, and the third for the randomly chosen hundred 'just plain folks' over whom he would rule on his new world. For, you see, Mr. B. has foreseen and planned for the end of civilization as we know it on Earth ... and as the world's governments stand poised for the final button pushing that will begin WW III and effectively end all life, Mr. B. has dispersed his gatherers around the English-speaking world on June 10th to sedate and bring back his 100 to be placed into cryogenic preservation for the long voyage ahead. The year is 2032. The spacecraft lifts off with all passengers in stasis and the onboard computer's autopilot heads for the carefully chosen new home in space, leaving Earth behind to blow itself up at will. Two-hundred and seventy-three years later, a small chunk of asteroid collides with the spacecraft, dents an exterior panel and, just as Fate (and the game's creator) would have it, short-circuits a few wires which short-circuit a few more wires and causes the failure of the cryo units of the first compartment. Another five- hundred and thirty-three years later, the spacecraft lands at its destination and the computers begin the process of deactivating and opening the cryo units of the third compartment. One-hundred 'just plain folks' (characters between the ages of 15 and 45, please) then begin to awaken and emerge into this strange new world with no memory of how they've come to be here and the mystery of sixty-seven mummified human corpses found in another of the mysterious craft's compartments. What will these people do with themselves as they awaken to find themselves amidst strangers and on a strange world? What surprises await them? Will they get along, cooperate to survive on this new world? Or will they fight amongst themselves for whatever individual reasons they may have? Are they alone on this world? Or not? Are they alone in this area of space? Or not? What sort of world is this? And what sort of new world will they build here? Thus began the tale of Colony on June 26th, 2005, and game-play has progressed into the morning hours of the fourth day of the ship's passengers' lives on their new world. Side story-lines, subplots and numerous NPCs have been created, and many more possibilities and opportunities still exist. During our year-plus of game-play, we've remained a core group of creative writers and are seeking other such dedicated folks to give their time and effort to build upon what we've begun (our posting rate ranges from about 50-100+ posts per month ? please be willing and able to post twice per week if game-play calls for it). Another ship has been added to game-play for the convenience of new players. Game-play to date (mid January 2007) has been quite involved, needless to say. <g> Barely having had time to recover from the sinking of their ship into underground ruins and a mass kidnapping of the women and armaments by a group of ruthless ex-military men, Mr. B.?s second ship has arrived some distance from the first. Forces have scattered, numerous dangerous creatures roam the fields and nearby forest, and dissent within the ranks of both ships abounds. A fatal fever brought back by the visitors to the mountains may yet evolve into an epidemic. Natives, cave-dwelling Villagers and an inhabited City on the western continent (from yet another ship launched from Earth and having landed about 200 years previously) are being well developed. Surprises lurk within the second ship. And simply imagine the personal interaction taking place between so many people (most of whom armed themselves early on), complete strangers to each other, having been thrown together sans the planned controlling force of Mr. B.?s contingent! Sound like fun? Join us and add your own creative talents to our ever-evolving storyline! Colony is a free-form, open-ended PBeM RPG written in narrative, third-person, past-tense style with tags, and an emphasis upon very leisurely character development and interaction. Though rather a collaborative fiction writing effort, players maintain complete control over their own characters and post from their characters' own unique perspectives and points of view. The only limit to the storyline is the limits of the players' imaginations and creativity (within some semblance of reason and the game's basic guidelines, please!). This game has been given a rating of MA ? please have a Yahoo profile available. Players must be at least eighteen years of age, considering the game?s content to date and that we've no idea where this story might lead us from here. To apply to join this game, please e-mail a creative writing sample (at least six good paragraphs including both narrative and dialogue) to me at the address above.
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Played the game? You can send me comments to be placed on this page by writing lindahl@pbm.com. But don't write me attempting to join the game -- write the GM, whose address is above.
Are you the GM? Then you can update your listing by writing lindahl@pbm.com, or you can enter an announcement for your game.
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Greg Lindahl