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Pacific Rim interest check & brainstorming


Jaxx
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Sometimes you gotta uppercut a monster with a shipping container. And sometimes you just get an idea in your head and have to put it somewhere. Gotta love ideas you can't get rid of, right? This is an interest check both for the concept in general and for co-staffers of any type. 

What I have in mind is something set in the Los Angeles Shatterdome, possibly with other locations opening later in the game according to interest and the movement of the plot. Ten years after the events of the previous film, the Jaeger program and the PPDC have been largely shut down since there hasn't been a single kaiju seen since the closing of the breach. The world is at peace, with children only knowing kaiju through their history lessons, and cities damaged in attacks rebuilt to heights beyond their former glory. As far as everyone knows, the threat of kaiju has been permanently ended with Pentecost and Hanson's sacrifice, and the destruction of Gipsy Danger. 

Then worldwide panic ensues as a pair of category three kaiju attack Los Angeles and kill hundreds of people. Heavy damage is done to the anti-kaiju wall, and it's only by sheer luck that two Jaegers are active in the city at the time for a military demonstration. Nobody thought they'd be needed again, but now everyone is on edge. In a matter of days, the program and PPDC are fully reinstated, and new Jaeger pilots are sought after in addition to former PPDC staff being re-enlisted. In the United States, the PPDC has the full support of the military, and the Los Angeles Shatterdome forms an active alliance with the local Air Force base, which offers to supply pilots and planes as needed. 

Any canons from the first film would be available to play, and there would likely be a number of site canons made to fill in various high-ranking Shatterdome positions. Jaeger pilots would probably be restricted to one per player, at least at first, since there's not a lot of Jaegers to go around, and to encourage other types of characters. Other character types would include civilians, soldiers from the Los Angeles Air Force base, and any PPDC positions listed here (Jaeger Academy, K-Science, J-Tech, Strike Group, and so on). Unlike in Pacific Rim: Uprising, candidates for any would have to be above the age of eighteen. Seriously, who thought it was a good idea to put a bunch of teenagers in giant robots to fight alien creatures? 

Though this would, obviously, be a fandom site, I'd still like to have a quick start/reference guide giving a quick rundown of terms, positions, and the timeline. Both for the benefit of anyone who likes the concept but is unfamiliar with the movies, and for existing members' easy access. I think the site would likely start out sticking exclusively to established canon in terms of organisations and kaiju, but I'd like to add things that would be unique to the site as the plot progresses. 

One problem with this idea is that most people seem attracted to 3/3/3 sites and I'm not in a financial position to pay for Jcink premium on my own, and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable running a site on a third-party platform that I'm not familiar with. I'm also not sure yet as to what direction to move the plot in long term, or later subplots or events, besides the inevitable digging into finding out what happened to make the breach open again. 

But apart from that - thoughts? What would you like to see in terms of rules, plot, setting, and characters? What do you think the site should avoid including? Think it would even get off the ground?

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I can't completely, totally, 100% say I would be able to join, as I am trying to get my own game off the ground before the next century, but this has long been one of my favorite game ideas and I would be VERY INCLINED. Back in the day, I even put together some world building and lore similar to what you've detailed here, but I just never had the time to create a full game.

 

I will say that I personally would prefer 3/3/3, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker because this is literally a game I've wanted to be in for years. If I really felt it necessary to write smut with someone, we could find somewhere else to do it. That said, I do think you're right in thinking it could be less appealing to folks generally if it's not 3/3/3, which could be a detriment when you're talking about an older canon like this.

 

I like pretty much everything you've sketched out here. It seems like you've given the foundation actual thought, and it should be relatively easy to build on. I don't really know if anybody else would be interested, but I do think a well-crafted start can make a huge difference in attracting folks.

 

For me personally, low or no AC would be preferred. I'm more from the school of "give folks a positive environment with lots of encouragement to play, and AC isn't as needed." I prefer looser overarching plot that gives a starting point, with lots of room to play out interpersonal relationships and basically adapt to your personal preferences.

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1 hour ago, Keaton said:

For me personally, low or no AC would be preferred. I'm more from the school of "give folks a positive environment with lots of encouragement to play, and AC isn't as needed." I prefer looser overarching plot that gives a starting point, with lots of room to play out interpersonal relationships and basically adapt to your personal preferences.

 

Agreed on both points!

 

I do activity requirements of one post per month (is that still considered low? idk). They're done behind the scenes instead of making people post in a thread with links to recent posts or whatever. I think the only looser requirements I've seen are a post every three months, or no AC at all, and those are a bit too lax for my personal preferences. So I don't think I'd use something that relaxed on a site I was running. 

 

And loose plots are definitely a lot more attractive because there's a lot more room to be doing personal plots instead of feeling, for example, that your characters are only there to react/be NPCs to staff plots. I like to run subplots and events to where participation is optional if you don't want to be involved. Especially if characters' actions could directly influence the plot and what happens next, because I feel like that adds to community and player experience, you know? 

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8 minutes ago, Jaxx said:

And loose plots are definitely a lot more attractive because there's a lot more room to be doing personal plots instead of feeling, for example, that your characters are only there to react/be NPCs to staff plots. I like to run subplots and events to where participation is optional if you don't want to be involved.

 

This exactly, yes. Lots of flexibility, but still a framework and guiding hand for those who need/want it.

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  • 2 months later...

I've put up a Discord for anyone interested in pre-opening brainstorming! You can find it here. Feel free to share the link with whoever you think might be interested! I've set it up to where there's four channels. A general channel, one where I'll occasionally put up polls, one where I'll collect any questions answered for future reference, and one where I'll collect any suggestions made for future reference. The site should be up soon! 

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