A Christmas Event for GWF?

[Crystal]

Hi all,

What would we think about doing a Christmas event of some kind for GWF? I know it's a little short notice, but I feel like we could pull something together! @Rachel approached me in a conversation about a few ideas and I love them! I'd like to see if we can come together and make something happen. Let's see if we can have some fun and, who knows, maybe even find a worthy cause to do something fun FOR?

I'll quote Rachel herself to help put this more into context:



What do we think?

 

[Rachel]

Yes, wanted to get a discussion going alongside Crystal to see if there is any interest in something. I think it could be fun. I don't mind taking the reins on something either, but not sure what to do, or if there is interest, until we hear from more people. Any thoughts?

 

[Mark]

I definitely think the Secret Santa idea is a little too late this year considering how scattered everyone is, but the others are great ideas.

 

[Advocate for Ants! Mouth]

I'll be with my in-laws in California for Christmas and won't be able to do too much, but if there's a twitch stream I can try to log in for a bit of that to chat and such.

Maybe in the future we can try to treat it like a GWF fundraiser?

Edit: fundraiser for charity that is. Like a low key version of GDQ filled with casual gamers and from our communities.

 

[Crystal]

I'll be with my in-laws in California for Christmas and won't be able to do too much, but if there's a twitch stream I can try to log in for a bit of that to chat and such.

Maybe in the future we can try to treat it like a GWF fundraiser?

Edit: fundraiser for charity that is. Like a low key version of GDQ filled with casual gamers and from our communities.

That would be great! We just need a charity and gamers to flesh it out. Might need to post this on the discord too

 

[Rachel]

also just wanted to chime in that I wasn't thinking of doing something the day OF Christmas necessarily, could be between Christmas and New Year's, or before, or something like that.

Like a low key version of GDQ filled with casual gamers and from our communities.

Yeah. We're all gamers so that was one angle I was thinking about. Could just hang out in the chat and do some low-key gaming. Or maybe a live game of wolf or a D&D one-shot. Does anyone in the forums have streaming experience?

Edit: or maybe Among Us or that Fall Guys game?

Was thinking we could spend this week in this discussion and then if we do want to move forward with something, the next week would be logistics.

@Raine possibility of something with FFXIV?

Or maybe we don't do an event type thing and just pick a charity and have a fun thread about it. I think some kind of event would be cool though.

 

[Raine]

@Raine possibility of something with FFXIV?

Uhh, you got anything particular in mind? I'm game, but drawing a blank as to what this may look like.

Still got enough advance notice that I could put in for a day or two somewhere and hang out with/for whatever in general.

 

[Kat]

I like the live game of Wolf or similar. DnD is better for a small group, so it depends how many people are interested, and if anyone is willing to DM.

I'd be willing to do a late secret Santa. I absolutely won't have time in December, but we could exchange gifts at the end of January and let people take advantage of sales for their shopping.

I wish we could do a cookie/dessert exchange, but that's tough with everybody spread apart. We'd probably have to ship them all to one person then have them split up the cookies and ship them again.

 

[Mark]

I like the live game of Wolf or similar. DnD is better for a small group, so it depends how many people are interested, and if anyone is willing to DM.

I'd be willing to do a late secret Santa. I absolutely won't have time in December, but we could exchange gifts at the end of January and let people take advantage of sales for their shopping.

I wish we could do a cookie/dessert exchange, but that's tough with everybody spread apart. We'd probably have to ship them all to one person then have them split up the cookies and ship them again.

I think that for this community, the live wolf game would be the best bet to get as many people interested in it as possible. Even if y’all couldn’t pull together a full roster, there’s enough time to tweak the game in such a way to accommodate any number of potential players, and there are enough non-players that are familiar enough with the games to be entertained by a live version of one. Hell, we might even be able to talk @TD into some play-by-play or post-game commentary.

 

[TD]

Hell, we might even be able to talk @TD into some play-by-play or post-game commentary.

 

[Tommy Boy]

I am really intrigued by the live game of wolf. I would be both enthralled and anxious at the same time. You can easily pump out a live game of wolf in a 20-30 minute period. If I was to guess based on how we used to do "live" games on IRC:

Day phases are ~10 minutes with voice enabled (and optionally video), night phases capped at ~5 minutes or when everyone has submitted their actions, voice/video disabled during this time period. That way, wolves can have time to chat and not make it obvious they're the only ones typing kind of thing. Lynch votes occur at the end of the 10 minute day phase and you must vote within 2 minutes. No minimum to lynch, person with most votes dies. Repeat until winner.

This would obviously require a really good GM that can stay on top of everything, or maybe they have wolf bot's for discord we could do to make it automated. Is this feasible?

 

[TD]

This would obviously require a really good GM that can stay on top of everything, or maybe they have wolf bot's for discord we could do to make it automated. Is this feasible?

I don't know how customizable it would be but I know Wolvesville has "Play with Friends" up to 16 people.

It's what Zell's game is mostly based off and they're live quick games.

 

[Kat]

Hmm, when I've played live games they've been IRL, so voting was pretty easy because everybody just points at who they vote for. We could maybe use a poll to make that easier to track.

 

[Kat]

I don't know how customizable it would be but I know Wolvesville has "Play with Friends" up to 16 people.

It's what Zell's game is mostly based off and they're live quick games.

That's probably the best solution.

 

[Tommy Boy]

I don't know how customizable it would be but I know Wolvesville has "Play with Friends" up to 16 people.

It's what Zell's game is mostly based off and they're live quick games.

YO THIS IS SO COOL WHAT

 

[TD]

YO THIS IS SO COOL WHAT

Would need to investigate how it works more or maybe Zell can shed some light but I also found this:

Custom Games

Create unlimited games, select which roles appear and host private game parties!In-game description Custom games is one of the game modes in Wolvesville. Creating a custom game costs 2000 or 680 . On purchase, the player also unlocks a special Mechanic outfit and receives 25 . Buying custom...

wolvesville.fandom.com

 

[Tommy Boy]

I just played a pick up game with randoms and I can definitely see this working for us with some slight moderation. Totally down for this, would totally throw down some $ if necessary also.

 

[Kat]

I just played a pick up game with randoms and I can definitely see this working for us with some slight moderation. Totally down for this, would totally throw down some $ if necessary also.

I'm guessing for people to spectate, somebody will need to stream? Or does it have support for that, too?

 

[Tommy Boy]

I'm guessing for people to spectate, somebody will need to stream? Or does it have support for that, too?

It looks like it allows it natively.

 

[Kat]

Nice! Sounds like that's the perfect solution.

I'm excited.

 

[Crystal]

Sounds like everyone's on board for the live Wolf game, that'll be interesting!

 

[Rachel]

Uhh, you got anything particular in mind? I'm game, but drawing a blank as to what this may look like.

Still got enough advance notice that I could put in for a day or two somewhere and hang out with/for whatever in general.

obviously I'm talking about the Fall Guys crossover event.

No I am not please don't hurt me

No I'm not sure. It would have to be something people would watch and be interested in. I still haven't finished Palace of the Dead, could get four people together for that run. Just offering something as a possibility for something to watch and chat that involves four GW people. Maybe people would like to see an alliance run?

DnD is better for a small group, so it depends how many people are interested, and if anyone is willing to DM.

I actually had a thought about this. I wouldn't mind being the DM. What I was thinking was a one-shot murder mystery that doesn't involve much combat, it's more about solving the mystery. And what I thought would be neat is if the group consists of an all-women group from GW. I know there aren't many of us. But I thought it could be fun.

This would obviously require a really good GM that can stay on top of everything, or maybe they have wolf bot's for discord we could do to make it automated. Is this feasible?

Yeah, we will need people to volunteer to run this and maybe mod the chat in case we get brigaded by GameFAQs

I don't know anything about Twitch, I know they have those little charity indicator frame things. If we go that route someone would need to hook it up etc.

@Crystal I think what we should do is have a poll after this discussion to pick a date. Maybe with the ability to select more than one date if people are available for more than one date. Then we can see what looks best. Do you think it'd be best to make an announcement to direct people here? Only saying this because first we needed to figure out if there was any interest and it seems that there is.

 

[Crystal]

@Crystal I think what we should do is have a poll after this discussion to pick a date. Maybe with the ability to select more than one date if people are available for more than one date. Then we can see what looks best. Do you think it'd be best to make an announcement to direct people here? Only saying this because first we needed to figure out if there was any interest and it seems that there is.

Yeah, we need to get this on Discord, too, I'll try and get both up as soon as I've got some free time.

 

[Kat]

I actually had a thought about this. I wouldn't mind being the DM. What I was thinking was a one-shot murder mystery that doesn't involve much combat, it's more about solving the mystery. And what I thought would be neat is if the group consists of an all-women group from GW. I know there aren't many of us. But I thought it could be fun.

I'd play that.

 

[Jon]

I haven't followed this thread closely, but I may be interested in something depending on what and when. if we decide on something, will there be a sign up thread separately, so I don't miss it? lol

 

[Crystal]

I haven't followed this thread closely, but I may be interested in something depending on what and when. if we decide on something, will there be a sign up thread separately, so I don't miss it? lol

Pretty sure we'll have an announcement and sign ups going on soon

 

[Gloom-is-good]

Hi all!

A few years ago, my friends and I used the app called Elfster to do our secret santa-ish exchange. It's fairly easy to use. You just set a limit and create a wishlist for yourself. Then your "Santa" uses the app to ask you questions and get you something from your list. I believe the shipping address is shared only with your Santa and not with the whole group. When we did it, we actually didn't do a whole "guess who" because we didn't have a specific time where we could all get online and hang out with each other which I understand isn't in the spirit of Secret Santa but it's still an option.

 

[Kat]

When we did it, we actually didn't do a whole "guess who" because we didn't have a specific time where we could all get online and hang out with each other which I understand isn't in the spirit of Secret Santa but it's still an option.

I didn't realize this was a thing people usually do in secret Santa. My experience is people usually (but not always) sign the card when they give the gift or say it's them after you open it. If they don't then you may never know! So it's definitely not a deal breaker IMO.

I wouldn't expect people to share their addresses with the whole group. Another option if you don't want anybody, not even your Santa, to have your address is to use Amazon wish lists. They let you ship to the recipient without exposing the address. I think there's also a way to set up the list so people can mail you things not on it, but I'm not 100% sure. We could have it as an option for people who are concerned about sharing personal information, and people who are comfortable sharing an address can do that instead, so their Santa isn't limited to mailing directly from Amazon.

I think we'd want to leave sign ups open for a couple of weeks, so that doesn't leave much time to shop and mail items before Christmas this year. If people don't mind getting presents in January (I sure don't), then it could work.

 

[Elusive]

With this thread, countless other ideas have come up for future events which I absolutely love. I'm down for absolutely anything myself. We could have multi event nights too for the future. But I love every idea people have suggested thus far. Would be open to a small donation pool too for charity/website upkeep too.

 

[TD]

One other game idea whether for this or other "events" are the Jackbox games - between active players and audience you can fit quite a lot.

 

[Mark]

One other game idea whether for this or other "events" are the Jackbox games - between active players and audience you can fit quite a lot.

This idea has come up a couple times, especially during early talks of the gaming club.

 

[Elusive]

That and tabletop simulator. It can incorporate numerous games

 

[Raine]

obviously I'm talking about the Fall Guys crossover event.

No I am not please don't hurt me

I mean technically that's available to Free Trial players to suffer at starting around lv15, which isn't too far... but boy would that require a ton of alcohol! lol

No I'm not sure. It would have to be something people would watch and be interested in. I still haven't finished Palace of the Dead, could get four people together for that run. Just offering something as a possibility for something to watch and chat that involves four GW people. Maybe people would like to see an alliance run?

Queue times would be my concern with something like Alliance Raids. It's not particularly fun waiting as the player, I would imagine it's far worse as a spectator.

I can hard carry PotD up through floor 150 without breaking much of a sweat, so, as like background noise or something that could work.

 

[Kat]

One other game idea whether for this or other "events" are the Jackbox games - between active players and audience you can fit quite a lot.

There's a fun game we play at work called skribbl.io (and that's also the URL). It's basically pictionary. You can set up private rooms and create your own word lists, and it's worked well for every size crowd we've tried it with.

 

[Jon]

There's a fun game we play at work called skribbl.io (and that's also the URL). It's basically pictionary. You can set up private rooms and create your own word lists, and it's worked well for every size crowd we've tried it with.

Oh god. nothing with drawing... I can't even do stick figures.

 

[Gloom-is-good]

I didn't realize this was a thing people usually do in secret Santa. My experience is people usually (but not always) sign the card when they give the gift or say it's them after you open it. If they don't then you may never know! So it's definitely not a deal breaker IMO.

I think we'd want to leave sign ups open for a couple of weeks, so that doesn't leave much time to shop and mail items before Christmas this year. If people don't mind getting presents in January (I sure don't), then it could work.

The first time I played Secret Santa, I had to give a small gift and a hint each day throughout the week and then the last day was when we would go up to them and be like "yo I'm your Santa, sucka!"

I also wouldn't mind putting it together for January.

Another idea would be to do a virtual white elephant. My work did that before (but the department contributed all the gifts). People basically picked a wrapped "gift" on the screen to open or steal an opened gift from someone else. I think there's a few online services for that actually... I can look it up. That might eliminate having anyone share their address.

One other game idea whether for this or other "events" are the Jackbox games - between active players and audience you can fit quite a lot.

I have Jackbox games! I'm sure if I ask my husband nicely he'll help me figure out how to host in on the Discord chat or something.

 

[Rachel]

The Jackbox games are just going to remind me of corporate icebreaker meetings but maybe with GW people they would actually be fun

Queue times would be my concern with something like Alliance Raids. It's not particularly fun waiting as the player, I would imagine it's far worse as a spectator.

Not with that attitude! Obviously we would be a group and you would be a healer lmao

I thought I would post a summary of outstanding items:

1. Determine if we are doing this as a charity thing, and if so what should be the cause (not sure if this would need a poll)
2. Figure out which date works best for the most people, Crystal makes a poll with a forum announcement
3. Only THEN should we have signups because people need to know what the date will be
4. Post sign up threads and figure out which activity can go forward, options:
   • Wolf game - who would run it, maybe more than one person if playing multiple games? X number of games for X number of hours? Make sure we have a good understanding of the software being used...also if we use software do we need someone to "run" it? Maybe nobody needs to actually be the narrator like how it is in the forum? But a main person would need to stream
   • A late secret santa? If we use some of the ideas mentioned we don't need to give out our addresses - who takes point on that
   • Possible DnD one-shot - if Kat and myself are in, maybe try to recruit at least two others? Three? Need to decide possible software
   • A thread for general gaming recruitment - together as a group playing something like an MMO or a party game, and also a call for anyone who would like to stream a game solo for a little bit
   • A recruitment thread for gathering information about streaming and helping it all run smoothly...hooking it into donations, how would hand off work, adding a frame.
     • Crystal creates the twitch account and somehow we can use it or share it, or she grants us access - not sure if twitch has a "team" concept - more questions may open up here
5. Crystal makes an announcement for the above sign ups - people who sign up should post what their time zone is
6. Depending on what has interest, figure out if we can do this in one day and those timeslots. I think the wolf game would probably be "the grand finale?" If it's too much maybe certain stuff can be done for another event
7. Probably figure out what needs to have a trial run

Hopefully that's about right. Seems like a lot typed out but we could do one step at a time.

Edit: Also I am mentioning Twitch but it's also true some of this could be Discord

Edit again: Also perhaps certain games would not need stringent recruitment, for example if we want to do a Jackbox type game, we set a slot for that and see who wants to participate day-of

 

[Kat]

Oh god. nothing with drawing... I can't even do stick figures.

Me either, but that's half the fun. It also requires spelling things correctly, which is a skill a lot of my co-workers apparently don't have.

 

[GwJumpman]

I'm not totally sure what's going on but whatever it is, I'm in.

 

[Gloom-is-good]

The Jackbox games are just going to remind me of corporate icebreaker meetings but maybe with GW people they would actually be fun

It really does depend on the people and setting. I've played it tame around acquaintances. I've also hosted games with my coworkers and had to remind them to keep things PG13 rated There are certain games you definitely don't want to play with your kids even if they are grown-up!

• A late secret santa? If we use some of the ideas mentioned we don't need to give out our addresses - who takes point on that

I don't mind taking point on this one!

 

[Mark]

I'm not totally sure what's going on but whatever it is, I'm in.

Hey, at least you got the spirit.

It really does depend on the people and setting. I've played it tame around acquaintances. I've also hosted games with my coworkers and had to remind them to keep things PG13 rated There are certain games you definitely don't want to play with your kids even if they are grown-up!

We just played Cards Against Humanity with teenage boys the other week, had to learn them a few things about vulgarity.

I don't mind taking point on this one!

Anything you need from us on the forum side of things, feel free to reach out privately or tag us.

 

[Crystal]

Yep, anything we need to do, anything we can do to help facilitate this we're on board! I'm excited to see what we can get to take shape!

 

[Gloom-is-good]

We just played Cards Against Humanity with teenage boys the other week, had to learn them a few things about vulgarity.

If you haven't played that in public with a sweet Korean lady enthusiastically exclaiming "JIZZ!!" because she did not know what that word meant, have you even played it?? (I'm still trying to figure out who submitted that card Like why did they do that to her? It was hilarious and mortifying at the same time.)

 

[canadaguy]

I definitely remember at least once doing a gift exchange on OG GW. This was preAmazon so it took a little more work.

Yes to wolf
Yes to Jackbox

 

[Crystal]

I definitely remember at least once doing a gift exchange on OG GW. This was preAmazon so it took a little more work.

Yes to wolf
Yes to Jackbox

There was a...a pre-Amazon?!? How is that possible? How did people live? HOW DID THEY PRIME!?!?!?!

 

[Smacktard]

I have serious dog energy:
I don't know what it is we're doing, but whatever it is, I'm down for it.

 

[Rachel]

I'll post this before bed, anyone feel strongly about the charity question? If not perhaps Crystal and I can just make a decision to speed things along.

I thought about raising money for the forums but maybe Crystal would like to speak for or against that. Whatever it is I want it to be simple, something that doesn't take too much coordination. And something that will really help out somebody or an organization. I know money is tight for everyone but perhaps collectively we could help a cause a little bit.

 

[Kat]

Personally I already donate to the charities I care about, so I probably wouldn't participate. I don't have any objections to it if other people would like to be charitable and don't already have an organization chosen, though. So put me in the "no strong feelings" camp.

 

[Lee]

I know I am not a prolific poster, but I do read almost everything posted here and would love to join in with whatever you organise.

 

[Crystal]

I'll post this before bed, anyone feel strongly about the charity question? If not perhaps Crystal and I can just make a decision to speed things along.

I thought about raising money for the forums but maybe Crystal would like to speak for or against that. Whatever it is I want it to be simple, something that doesn't take too much coordination. And something that will really help out somebody or an organization. I know money is tight for everyone but perhaps collectively we could help a cause a little bit.

I'll leave this at everyone else's discretion, I'm sure there's a charity worthy of a little help. I have ideas, but I'd rather leave it to everyone else as my choices could open up political discussions best left elsewhere. So whatever everyone else prefers.