Builder

Builders are players that have expressed an interest in helping submit descriptions for rooms, items, creatures and other content in the game. Those with an interest in volunteering to build for the game can send an email to cogg@contrarium.net expressing their interest and giving some samples of their building work.

Note: There was a time in the past where builders had in-game OOC avatars to do work directly with, but due to a combination of training, turnover, and accidental in-game incidents we have decided to move to the simpler system of just having interested players email their ideas and description work.

Builder Info

• Builders aren't GMs, and being a builder is not a segue to becoming a GM.
• Builders on Discord can get the Builder role which gives access to the #builder channel. (It's mostly inactive, but it's there!)
• Any of a builder's work may be altered at any time by a GM.
• Any of a builder's work will be maintained by the game even upon that builder's departure from the project.
• There is no claim to exclusive rights to any of a builder's work, so builders are free to use their work done for this game in other projects of theirs or however else they'd like. This does not extend to related intellectual properties not owned by the builder, however - terms and references unique to this game must be replaced or removed from a builder's own material that is being used outside this project.

Some general room-building guidelines

Room Description Don'ts

• Don't use "As you stand," "As you walk." What if they're sitting?
• Don't use "You also notice", or "You also see". These phrases are for the listing of items in a room that aren't part of the description - dropped lockboxes, wagons, handcarts, anything a player character drops, etc.
• Don't use directional phrases that assume which way someone is facing, like "Directly ahead of you".
• Don't assume players have been in any other room when they're looking at a particular room. You might be painting a 100-room trail, but remember they'll sometimes walk it one way, sometimes the other. And sometimes they'll log in at the middle of it.
• Don't use specific modern/real-world references, like French doors - there's no France in this world! Because language is funny, some are more acceptable than others - when in doubt, ask on BuildChat or the Builder forums.

Room Description Do Sparingly

• Avoid using the word "you." Who else would it be?
• Avoid using the word "here." Where else would it be?
• Avoid using exact dimensions, unless it's crucial to your intention.
• Avoid "expositionary lumps," or rooms that merely list items that exist there.
• Avoid specific people/animal activity mentions. Good for a change or for atmosphere, but don't use too frequently. Often better in the room's idle scripts than the description, but general mentions of activity in busy and crowded areas is acceptable.
• Avoid telling people how they think or feel in reaction to your descriptions. Occasional minor/supernaturally-influenced cases are acceptable.

Style Tips

• Use multiple senses. Describe smells and sounds, mention humidity, and so on. Be cautious of overuse, but with only visual cues an area can feel dead.
• Plan portals carefully. Too many doors are difficult to negotiate, and we use "climb" instead of "go" for things like stairs and ladders.
• Remember that hunting areas require more repetitive movement than other areas when you map them out.
• Not every item in the area requires a long description, but players do appreciate the effort put into them. The presence of interesting items that can be LOOKed at make the area seem more a labor of love. Feel free to pick some nouns mentioned in the room text that should be props people can look at and those you feel should get a long description.
• Avoid repetition. Try never to use a particular word twice in a single sentence, and avoid idiosyncratic vocabulary choices more than once in a particular area.
• Avoid overly flowery language. It's nice to stretch the player's vocabulary now and again, and we certainly don't want to deny the writers the pleasure of a well-chosen word. We just don't want players to have to find a dictionary to figure out what they are looking at.