Wednesday, December 2, 2009

A quick note about "Pic Based" E-Feds

For the most part I've shied away from pic based e-feds over the years....

-BUT-

If you are going to use them, it's got to be pic bases that make sense.

I wouldn't want to see Chris Jericho but be expected to call him Ralph Xtreme or some crap. Instead, find some really hot fitness models, lesser known athletes, b or c rated celebrities, independent wrestlers that look like they should get that call from WWE or TNA any time now, etc..

Get creative with the pic bases, hell use the actual names of the people you scouted/discovered. Go the alternate universe route. Blur the line as best you can between fantasy and reality. I think it would really kick ass if there was an e-fed so realistic (and realistic LOOKING) it was often confused for a real wrestling promotion.

Let's see more slick packaging to accompany the great writing. The "posers", "micros", "Heromachines", and even hand drawn stuff all have their own unique look, feel, and place. I just want to run across more people with a better imagination then my own.

Impress me.

Inspire me.

Allow me to suspend my disbelief your e-federation is more than an just another computerized/cyberized WWE or TNA wanna-be in gaudy mega pixels.

Thoughts and comments on this subject welcome.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Should there be bias in determining e-wrestling champions?

I'd submit it should be a non-issue either way. Who someone chooses to be their champion(s) is that individual e-fed's business. That even includes how those champion(s) is/are decided.

However... and this is where the contradictions to the above statement begins:

Does this bias exist today? Yes, why else would this topic be brought up?

Should such a bias exist? Answering yes or no to this question really is irrelevant since there isn't a single individual outside of an e-federation with the power/stroke to dictate how another e-federation should or shouldn't operate.

The reality is e-feds are not real companies therefore they do NOT have to adhere to any set of rules or structure to be considered successful. Conversely, an e-fed simply has to EXIST.... and that in itself is successful enough. Who is or isn't champion doesn't [I]really[/I] mean a damn thing in the grand scheme of things. The writing has to be good. The story has to make sense. The "competition" or the illusion of competition is more or less a device to draw new people in.

Behind the scenes, especially in angle e-feds, whoever wears the championship is a storyline in and of itself. In roleplay e-feds can anyone say it's really that much different? It's friendships, politics, and then TALENT that determines who is where. This isn't just true in e-wrestling, like it or not, it's true everywhere. Sports. Business. Relationships. Hell, even crappy little hobbys like e-wrestling that imitate both life and art: Shit happens.

At the end of the day, you're a champion if you BELIEVE you're a champion. Your friend gave you a fictious belt and that makes you a great roleplayer? Yeah, keep believing that. I'm sure being 20 time cyber wrestling champ will look great on a real world resume. Your "belts" are about as valuable a sticky wad of used condoms. Mmm... the memories.

Like the old Metalicca song says: Where's your crown King Nothing?

It's in your pants after looking at yourselves in the distorted mirror. You won your trophy on the bias of best friends or the whims of online strangers.

Poser. Go outside. Breath some fresh air. Get some sunshine on your pasty white Sheamus lookin' skin for the first time in your life.

Not that I should tell anyone how they should or shouldn't decide who a champion is. No, not at all. Bias is what it is. When defining truth, it's totally useless, limiting, and short sided. Perhaps competition should be at the heart of your game. You never know, handing out an award actually worth having could be more fun.

That just my two cents with change to spare to the homeless on this fine Sunday afternoon.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Opening A New Angle E-Fed

Bubba James McCoy wrote:

I remeber one fedration I thought was really cool and that was OSW.

The fed I have in my head is simmiler to that with a mix of a few others...


I wonder though would a full blown Angle fed work.

And if so maybe some advice on how a person would run one.


My response:

Let's see... there's the angle feds mentioned like the FWO and ACW. There's also LoC and the cWo. I'm sure there are others that are currently active out there. Those are just the first to come to mind off the top of my head.

A "full blown" angle fed would work, just based on the overall quality seen from those e-feds.

How would a person run one?

1) Network
2) Make friends
3) Discuss storylines/angles for the e-wrestlers your friends either have or have in mind.
4) Make some sexy graphics. Everyone loves sexy graphics.
5) Have an over-arching story about the e-fed.
6)Make sure that every character's individual story is interwoven into that story's tapestry.
7) Find additional creative writers that prefer writing well developed/well rounded characters over handlers that feel they must win every match.
8) Build a website. Update it as often as possible.
9) Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
10) Once you have what you feel will be a reliable roster, select storyline/angle/feud partners, book the first card, and plan for the next series of cards leading up to a pay per view.

That's just for starters....

Did I leave anything out?

Also, I should mention when you are networking and making friends to recruit for a new e-fed (angle, rp, or otherwise) try to meet people who aren't already involved in another e-fed.

- Try to find people who are interested in wrestling and creative writing. The hobby could use more new players (and a fresh perspective) rather than the same circle or group of players spread across a number of promotions.

- Go outside of conventional e-wrestling circles. This could be pro wrestling websites, gaming sites, and creative writing sites. You also have tools like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Yahoo Groups, and social networking sites at your disposal to find and connect with people.

- There's also the Field of Dreams method. "If you build it.... they will come." This works great for upstart porn sites. Why not for new e-feds too? More experienced players will see what you've put together, may want to try something new, see a new challenge, and give you the quality locker room leader(s) you're looking for.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Hello Everyone. A question to the masses....

Bubba James McCoy writes:

Once apon a time there was a fed floating around called Global. before that it was GW and before that GWF

Not so long ago the place closed down as my life out side this world of E feding was in a spril motion of no return.

Alot and i mean alot of things went down.

I miss this game alot. alot of things have been taken care of in my life.. and things are pretty steady right now.

So ive been tossing ideas around in my head.


One idea was to start a new fed. Or should i re open the old one..


Or would it be plausable to open a new fed under the old name i ran with for years

What i miss alot i think is Workign the website, Working the Posers, Makeing it all blend togther.

I miss workign with people to crate angles and intresting storys for the whole fed. and i miss seeing the reation of when i could shock and suprise the roster.

But i am not sure if there is rpers alentley like when i first started that old fed years ago.


So i recon my question is a sort of a multt choice one

A Should i Create a Brand new Company and start from ground zero.

B Should i reopen the old Company / Or New company with the same look and name as the old one[ Sort of a hit the restart button]

C should i just find a fpartner that would let me kinda work the site and posers

D Return but as a rper in a fed?

E Just keep my thoughts in my head and continue to play world of warcraft?


My response:

This sounds like one of my infamous surveys. Speaking from experience, these are questions you can only answer for yourself. If you don't know the answers to what YOU should do, don't bother asking them in public. You might get some replies you're not expecting. They'll be mean/nasty replies that'll just make you want to jump off a bridge if you take them to heart.

In summary: Ask YOURSELF those questions, as you are the only one who has the answers to them.

This is honestly the best advice I can give to save you the torment of trying to figure out what your next step in e-wrestling should be. Take things one step at a time. Rediscover what you find enjoyable in the many facets of this hobby. Get your legs back underneath you first, then decide where to go from there.

When I say get your legs underneath you, start small. Write a roleplay just for yourself. Then maybe come up with a second character and then a match between those two characters. Hell, write a whole show just to see if you can do it. Do some poser work just for some shits and giggles. There's no need to show it off.... yet. Just put it in your Photo Album here on PTC. (Cheap pop thumbs up to Argyle) If you're proud of your new portfolio then show it off.

If you want to join an e-fed, join one. If you want to be a fed head, develop one piece by piece. Try not to do both right off the bat. You really should make a choice between the two. Both take time and energy, A LOT of it. Real life can be a bitch sometimes.

If you're going the fed head route, play around with some site design, coding, form creation, etc. Notice I keep saying play around. This is so you can decide if that's what you want to do before you get other people involved. If you're on the fence what your goal should be long term, you'll be wasting people's time short term.

McCoy your post makes it too obvious that your indecisive. Leaders in this hobby can't be like that or they won't be leaders for long. Fed heads are leaders. They can't keep asking their roster, "What should I do next?" Hey you over there, "Do I look fat in these jeans?" If people wanted that sort of aggrevation they'd be married. Hold on a sec, I need to close my closet door and readjust my night light to finish typing this.

Just do your thing man. Handle your business. "Man up or shut up" as I've heard it said.

I've been in your situation before and wanted to relate a few things to you. I hope what I wrote helped.

Once you do set a goal, kick ass and take names. "You can do it Bobby Boucher!" (Waterboy reference)

Good luck to you.

This was taken from Primetime Central. I just thought I'd share it with the rest of the class.

Have a nice day!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

1 Application

Hello,

Yeah, it's always polite to start off a blog with "Hello". It's me, David Daniel Tyrrell - D D T. As the title indicates I'm about to talk about one application.

One application?

As some of you may or may not know, I've been putting together the Future Wrestling League for quite some time now. I've been advertising it on various sites and spreading the word out a bit. By my standards, I haven't done that much hyping, pushing, or prodding but I've put FWL's name out there. Let's just say that. There should be enough awareness that if people like what they see, they'll apply. Right? RIGHT? Well instead, as of today I have.... wait for it....

One application!

!@#$!??! DAMN IT TO HELL WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!??!

I've heard nothing but nice things about the concept of the Future Wrestling League. It's original. It's unique. It's interesting. It's something a lot of people are going to be keeping an eye on. Where are these people's applications for pete's sake? Are they in Hungry with that german guy in the Snickers commercials? I want the FWL to successfully launch but that can't happen without your help.

8 people.... just 8 REAL handlers is all the FWL needs to get officially underway. So far I have a loyal follower of my work who's joined every e-fed idea I've ever conceived. His 80's character sounds cool. He wants to roleplay in the time period being depicted. He wants to have fun. He wants a new place to express his creativity in a way no other e-fed could offer. Christian Colde is waiting on you to finally send in that app!

I've been characterized as impatient in the past. My reputation as a fed head is the biggest hurdle I'm having to overcome in this process. It's like I hit a brick wall sometimes. I'm not giving up this time, not this early. I'll keep plugging along until the end of this month. If I haven't received and accepted 8 (Just 8!) applications by December 1st then the Future Wrestling League just won't be happening. That's the deadline. That's the game plan. Period.

Do I find a way to turn the corner? Can I repair an otherwise bad rep? I have my work cut out for me. Some of you hope I'll succeed. Unfortunately, there are other people out there that would rather see me fail. Why? I guess to them it's more entertaining. It's something they can talk about, laugh, and go back to their own e-feds feeling better about themselves. Apparently an example of mediocrity makes them feel superior.

Well ladies and gentlemen... I refuse to be mediocre. I'm determined. Failure is only a setback. I will become a successful e-wrestling fed head. One day...

One application at a time.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Ben Halkum FIRED!


BOOHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Yep, Donald Trump style.

I'll explain later.

Trick or treat.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Organized Chaos - The Process of Match Writing

Hello,

What you are about to read is intended to help generate a discussion on how a written wrestling match is crafted and how everyone besides an overburdened fed head can get involved in putting together a wrestling show. If matchwriting isn't a fed head's strength there are plenty of members who love to do just that, write matches. A "match writing" e-fed where each handler turns in their version of the upcoming match could work. Add the idea of taking the best elements of each match version, grafting them together to make each handler's character look strong, and putting the desired moves and spots from each participant to play by play commentary or novel style form. This would provide match content with a minimum amount of creative work by the fed head. Knowing who gets put over can still be a surprise for the participants until the show is released to the general public or the viewing internet audience.

Putting together the best elements of each version of the same match is more of a three way collaberation with everyone having an opportunity to contribute. You have the fed head deciding the best/most creative/logical outcome keeping that element of surprise and anticipation for the two participants. Both participants/handlers are going to want to read the match to see what ideas submitted were used and which ones were not. Anything that isn't used by either handler could always be resubmitted or elaborated on to make that wrestler's next match better. Especially if it's those same two wrestlers going at it with a better understanding of each other next time around. Who wins? Whoever makes the tastiest sammich for the fed head. I think you know what I'm implying here.

We are all creative writers in the context of e-wrestling. I've noticed in a lot of e-federations it seems the fed head is on his own guessing who does what in any given match, normally missing the mark. A move list submitted on an application form doesn't tell a match writer the wrestlers in-ring psychology. It doesn't tell a fed head or match writer how a wrestler would counter a certain move. The fed head or assigned match writer again has to guess. This leaves the handlers either satisified or dissatisfied with the single perspective decided outcome. Where is the opportunity to say what you want to see happen?

I'm not saying this idea of collaberative involvement is flawless. I have my theories though this is as close to the real thing behind the scenes of a pro wrestling organization as it gets. I can only imagine. Just add an entire creative team, road agents, acting coaches, camera men, stolen ideas from e-federations by those real pro wrestling federations, etc. When real pro wrestling organizations take notice of the way a match is written in a fantasy e-federation you know you and your team are on to something.

With the emphasis on what's been written so far on my views on the construction of a match maybe it's sounding as if roleplaying has absolutely no barring on a match's outcome or an e-wrestlers overall career. This is not the case. I hope there wasn't any confusion there. Roleplaying/character development is equally as important as it relates to a wrestler's push and placement on a card.

In the real wrestling world promos/interviews aren't what determines the winner of any particular match. Promos are actually meant to sell the viewer on watching the upcoming encounter or buying the pay per view. I seriously doubt there is an agent or an owner in the back saying to himself "That guy talked a lot of smack about his opponent during the week, let's make sure we put him over tonight." Most promos (I hate to say it) are scripted by someone else besides the wrestler anyway.

Everyone has their own methods of writing a wrestling match and determing who wins. There aren't necessarily any right or wrong answers here. No one is getting paid for any of this at least that I know of. E-wrestling is just meant to be fun and sometimes just to let off some steam. One group has their methods for determining who wins and loses and another has theirs. I'd encourage everyone to help your fed head out in any way that you can. You'll get out of something exactly what you put into it. Teamwork, compromise, and learning from each other - It's a three way dance that can produce the best results.

All opinions on this subject matter are welcome.

Thanks for reading,

Dave