Before you read: The following prompt is actually one of them. If you have one, PM me. All prompts and OCs will be determined by voting.

Everyone wants to know what I have planned for the collaboration of the OC Slamjam. I feel that I've gathered enough information to share with you my plans for the story.

The collaboration will be a multi-chapter story. Which means I may require your assistance more than once. The story will follow the plot of We Happy Few. What's We Happy Few? We Happy Few is an indie game currently in its beta stage. The story follows the after effects of World War ll in a post apocalyptic world where depression is basically now a disease. Here, you can be happy "by choice."

Do to the major depression, a pill was produced that'd allow you to live happily, but the side-effect was that you're always happy. As a happy, your considered rich and get to live the life of luxury. As a downer, you live in the poorest conditions possible and considered a pest. A criminal. Think of it as one side being a larger Equality.

In the collaboration, the story will follow something similar to that. Only with friendship and community. There'll be major differences between this story and that one. For one, ponies wouldn't take the "friendship" pills.

The story needs a main character. I've asked around and some have suggested that it should be the first place winner, but Wanderer D is far to busy. So, I'll be looking for another character. It could be Firefly, it could be Lilligold, it could even be you. But I was also thinking that it could be a separate OC from the contest. That's just something that we're going have to find out.

You'll each be given partners to write with. This'll ease the process of matching the dialog with the rest of the story. Your partner is allowed to write about your character, (or any OC in the Slamjam) but the owner of the OC has the freedom to change anything that you write about their character.

There'll be several "directors" on board. Knowing that several people are already handling one chapter at a time is hard enough. So, I'm hunting down people I trust enough to be able to lead everyone in the right direction.

After a few chapters are done, story will be linked to several editing groups for proof-reading. Than the first chapter will be posted.

I'll read through the Slamjam to determine more later.

(So far) Confirmed total: 16 people

Side note: You're also free to write about a character you wanted to enter into the Slamjam, but decided not to. Only as long as you enter your main OC.

Double side note: Actually, a few main characters will be selected. It could be anyone.

Yeah, I'll have to pass on this. I really do have too much on my plate atm both here and IRL. I'll definitely be reading it, so best of luck!

4687198 Thanks for letting me know!

That's a very specific premise and heavily restricts authorial freedom in a collaboration like this. There was a round where I couldn't think of an idea even when the only requirement was "Redwood and Evergreen must both be involved". And now I have to have to generate ideas based specifically on a crossover of a game I haven't played?

And to be honest, it really doesn't help that I don't like the sound of the crossover in the first place. How does one fit post-World War Two depression (or equivalent) into a setting like Equestria? While also incorporating all these OCs and their various conflicting backstories? This has all the warning signs of being a huge mess. I don't mean to be blunt, but this sounds like the kind of hastily conceived idea that I see thrown about like confetti every day in the big FimFiction groups.

For a collaborative work like Ponemurdered, incoherency is forgivable, because it's not meant to be super serious, but you're talking about a single continuous narrative, based on a specific and consistent premise, written by potentially up to sixteen authors of varying skill-levels and writing preferences. That requires more careful planning, and it requires that all participants be onboard with the idea and agree on what they're writing first. In other words, the parameters of this collab should've been decided by committee rather than handed down like this.

4687463 this is actually ONE of the prompts. And no, it's not a crossover. It just uses the same Ida. The story itself will be extremely different, and the writers do have complete freedom. This was just my idea for the prompt. If you have one, I'll eventually ask you for it.

4687463 everything will also be determined by voting. So there's your authorial freedom.

4687472

That just makes it a conceptual crossover. But let's not split hairs on that, because it's really not the issue here. In the OP, you did not make any reference to the idea of other prompts. You said, "This will be the story. Are you in or not?" If that's just your idea for the prompt, and the participants will be considering other possible prompts later, then you should really state as such in the OP. Because as it's worded right now, it just sounds like you've already decided everything. Anybody who doesn't like your prompt may be inclined to bail immediately if they think they're not going to get to decide anything, and I'm presuming you want as many people onboard with this as possible.

Edit:

Nevermind. Seems you already added the disclaimer. Good work.

4687518 lol to that last part.

4687518 I actually think you're right. I was a little forawrd with this. Everything you see maybe changed or added.

4687546

I'll keep an eye on your progress, in any case. Like I said before, I may still be ultimately unavailable due to timing reasons, but definitely keep me posted on this project until that's a sure thing.

I feel that any prompt—if there even is a particular prompt, the contest being what it was—would have to be less specific than that. Which is saying something, because for all that you described We Happy Few, you were pretty vague on the details of what writers would have to do, even saying that what they would do would somehow (left unexplained) contradict the things you described.

I'm also not comfortable with this vague concept of "directors".

There'll be several "directors" on board. Knowing that several people are already handling one chapter at a time is hard enough. So, I'm hunting down people I trust enough to be able to lead everyone in the right direction.

From the sound of it (namely the "hunting down" part), they won't necessarily be people who were involved in the competition? Moreover, you say that it's "hard enough" having several people handling one chapter, and your solution is to have additional people come on to handle it?

I'm also also a bit troubled by the structure of the whole thing, and how it goes against the spirit of the original competition. There, I was free to write someone's character how I saw fit, but here, I would have to depend entirely on his or her approval, to the extent that whatever I wrote about it is free to be tossed out at a whim? There, I had the freedom to change tactics, plotlines, styles, characterizations, and most anything else from round to round, but here, I'd be locked in to most of those (even if it's in a prompt I happened to put forward, I'd be just as limited) from chapter to chapter? The very nature of the Slamjam was competition, and so I don't feel that a strictly collaborative project is a good idea, unless the only thing we care about is writing our own characters. And if that was all I cared about, I'd only bother writing my own stories anyway, where I'd have that full control.

Also also also, I'm getting a little skeptical of your own involvement, to be frank. If everyone else comes up with a prompt and votes on "everything else", too, what exactly is your role?

4687668 It doesn't seem that people know what I'm going for. Alright, I'll post a more discriptive blog later.

yeah um

not sure what the idea was here but

Oh, you never said it was going to be a specific plot. I've never played that game, so I'll have to pass.

I'm still totally down for a collaboration, but it might be a good idea to allow for a little more freedom for the authors.

Maybe there's a crisis happening across Equestria, and an author can say 'Hey, ****'s usually in Detrot, and I can easily see ***, ****, and **** there too. Who wants to work on what happens there ?'

Possibly something like that that's still open for brainstorming and such might be a bit more appealing.

Still interested though : )

4688274 You don't have to pass. The plot really doesn't have to be specific at all. Mine was just an idea. You don't even have to play the game. It just uses the idea of it. Nothing else.

4689447
Your video is marked as private. We can't view it, currently.

Also, please stop making a bunch of threads and then deleting them. You've already got two living threads on this topic, which was probably one more than you really needed.

4689457 I stopped. The second thread I deleted because I'm editing it.

4689457 There, I marked it as unlisted. Forgive me for my bad engrish.

4689447
A running thing you say throughout this is that you feel our criticism is unwarranted (I think?), or that we're guessing at your meanings incorrectly, or that we're claiming you've said things that you haven't. I hope you understand that we're only responding to the things you say, and it's unfortunate that there seems to be a language barrier, but what you say to us and our interpretation of that (likely what the common interpretation would be) is all that we have to work with.

And if our response to your suggestions is upsetting you as much as it sounds like it is, it really might be best for you to leave this all to someone else.

4689500 I understand. But I'm not just going to leave because I'm upset. I just had a hard day.

4689500 I tried to detail it as much as possible, but I was tired and couldn't think. I was kind of misusing the word criticism. It's more bombing than anything.

As interesting as this sounds, I'm going to have to pass. The idea of doing an overarching theme with the stories isn't a bad idea, but this theme is way too specific to give the authors much room in the way of creative freedom. And while the idea of making the stories connect as a multiple chapters is intriguing, it again raises too many restrictions for various authors.

Bottom line: I'll certainly read it if you get enough people to go through with it, but I'm not going to participate myself.

4689959 Actually, stay tuned. I'm releasing another blog soon that will make way more sense!