Friday, December 21, 2007

The Wikiland meta-RPG

Here's my idea for a new meta-RPG, called Wikiland.

In it's simplest stages, Wikiland is an online version of any other pen-and-paper RPG. You play it on the official wiki for that RPG, with everybody posting their actions via the wiki instead of email or instant-message. You start with a page that defines that you're playing Wikiland, and includes links to as-yet-unbuilt pages for character sheets and an a page that is the campaign's narrative, where players can post their actions. So far, so simple. What makes wikiland special?

In wikiland, the only valid source material is what's on that Wiki. That applies to both setting info and rules systems. If you want to have a power from a rulebook, you'd better hope someone has wiki'd the gist of it. If only one monster (presumably homebrewed) has stats on the wiki, then that's the only monster you can fight. Clearly, some sort of character creation rules need to be posted to the wiki right away.

Furthermore, if something is on the wiki, it's treated as canonical and is considered applicable to the narrative. When the wiki contradicts itself (and it will, in fact it probably did long before you got there) each player gets to decide personally which version he or she will use at any given time.

Which sounds like a scary amount of power in the hands of the players (can't they just go wiki some new broken house rule that totally makes them ubermunchkins?) until you realize there is no GM in wikiland. Since anyone can alter the narrative, or post new rules, you all have GMing powers. Everyone is a player and a GM. As a result, the story would go crazy places, the rules would mutate constantly, and sometimes the history would shift without you noticing.
(If the Narcissist: Crash Free RPG had a wiki, it would be the perfect match for Wikiland)

Depending on who was playing and what their play style is, Wikiland could result in rapid, abundant (and healthy) growth to that wiki, with much of the rulebooks being paraphrased and summarized, and tons of new house rules being authored. The trick is, where does copyright law draw the line? You want enough info to play a fast-and-loose version of the game. What you don't want is to make purchase of the rulebook irrelevant and hurt the financial bottom-line of your Host.

On the other hand, unscrupulous players could author broken rules or pages that assert craziness in stark contrast to the official setting of the host RPG. In that way, Wikiland is a guerrilla RPG. It's a meme that has the potential to go toxic at any moment. Wikiland directly tests (challenges?) the hypothesis that the implied social structure of a wiki overcomes (i.e.: edits back to a semblance of reality) the extravagances of overzealous editors and the inaccuracies of manipulative editors. How long can Wikiland exist before someone deletes all references to it on it's Host's wiki?

Wikiland probably needs some more form. Depending on whether I decide to ever try it, I may expend some more energy on this topic, hashing out formatting rules. Here's one I'd like some feedback on: One way to reduce the toxic potential of Wikiland is to restrict players freedom to post outside the narrative page. Another way would be to require any rules or stats posted purely for use in Wikiland to carry a disclaimer so the wiki remains usable to non-Wikiland players. Should either such restriction be applied/enforced? Or is that guerrilla potential the very thing that makes Wikiland tick? Is it better to straight-jacket the game, or to run the risks inherent to the honor-system?

5 comments:

Jeremy Rice said...

Restricting the ability to post is not The Wiki Way.

Rather, restricting who can access the wiki at all may be preferable. If the wiki were subdivided into "realms", where a predetermined group of people were allowed to contribute, happiness may ensue.

I did a lot of collaborative writing stuff online in my "youth", and quickly discovered that a single bad apple ruins it for everyone else. Posting a bouncer at the door improves the party for everyone. ...But once you're in, there's little need to restrict further.

rbbergstrom said...

But the point wasn't to set up a seperate Wiki to play in. That's fairly mundane.

The point was to co-opt an existing Wiki and transform it into a game. So, the bouncer idea won't work, at least not as presented.

I agree with you though about restricting how people can post contradicts both The Wiki Way and what the Wikiland meta-RPG idea was trying to do.

So, all considered, it's probably best to just accept the risks.

rbbergstrom said...

What if you buried the Wikiland campaign page in deep? You could change what other pages link to it from time to time, orphaning it as you see fit.

Only someone who was really looking for it could find it and know the campaign even existed. That would sort of be like a bouncer, except a very passive one. Any persistent or inquisitive person could get past.

That might do the trick.

Jeremy Rice said...

Depends on the Wiki. This wouldn't work (nor would it be allowed) on Wikipedia, for example, because so many people are watching the "recent edits" pages. (Also, because you cannot create new pages without admin rights, heh.)

On a quieter wiki, like the Fudge Wiki, you could certainly get away with it, and there are actually rules to start with, there. But I have a feeling you're looking to do something more subversive. Like some random math wiki or something.

Finding the proper host would probably be a day-long endeavor.

rbbergstrom said...

Finding the proper host would probably be a day-long endeavor.

But fun, no doubt.