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Temporary GAF Mafia Thread |OT| In which we scheme

  • Thread starter Deleted member 231381
  • Start date

Darryl

Banned
I agree that ultimately it should be up to the moderator to decide, but with that said there needs to be consistency to the moderator's actions. If the mod kills one person but then replaces the next, that would be very confusing to players. Making it clear "I won't mod kill" or "I'll mod kill after day three" at the start of the game will let players know what to expect.

Even things like stripping or adding roles is something that a mod could do that the players would have no idea. You cannot vote or accuse a player for 2 turns unless someone acts on you first. Etc. They're abstract rules that'll help someone navigate into the flow of it without throwing the flow of the current game off. No "hello. I just read through the board and here are all my reads" subject and pace changers. Replacements should be in the backseat.
 

Palmer_v1

Member
Okay, back to dead thread. There is one reason to possibly consider having separate dead threads for each game. Basically, we can potentially use dead players from one game as replacements in the other. Once a player is tainted by a combined dead thread, however, that is out the window. We also need to be extremely cautious about any powers that actually involve the dead in any way.

Maybe I'm just further pushing myself outside of the mainstream by saying this, but I think it's okay to deviate from the standard template of rules.

I initially set out to just follow the rules template Crab made for the first game. It was when I ran into the "50%+1" part of his rules that I went and googled what that meant, and thought more about the rules and why they are what they are.

In the end, I'm glad I did it the way I did. I personally feel that it worked for my game, but I wouldn't say it's the "right" way to do it all the time. I think just modifying the way people vote could be part of an exciting new setup for a game, and I hope people think about what fits the game best vs. sticking to a one-size-fits-all mechanic.

I was thinking about it from a new player perspective. It seems like it would be a tiny bit alienating every time we have to say, "Oh, sorry, in THIS game it works like so. Ignore the other game".

Also makes it easier to set up new games when you can copy paste the rules out of any previous game.

I'm sure the veterans will adapt to anything new without issue though.
 

squidyj

Member
Even things like stripping or adding roles is something that a mod could do that the players would have no idea. You cannot vote or accuse a player for 2 turns unless someone acts on you first. Etc. They're abstract rules that'll help someone navigate into the flow of it without throwing the flow of the current game off. No "hello. I just read through the board and here are all my reads" subject and pace changers. Replacements should be in the backseat.

I think thats unfair to people who are coming in and just want to play "you can play, but not really" is kind of a shitty thing to do to people.
 

Darryl

Banned
I think thats unfair to people who are coming in and just want to play "you can play, but not really" is kind of a shitty thing to do to people.

it's not a video game or anything. In most social situations in real life you're usually eased in.
 

Karkador

Banned
I was thinking about it from a new player perspective. It seems like it would be a tiny bit alienating every time we have to say, "Oh, sorry, in THIS game it works like so. Ignore the other game".

Also makes it easier to set up new games when you can copy paste the rules out of any previous game.

I'm sure the veterans will adapt to anything new without issue though.

Yeah, I guess the mindset I had at the time was that many of the players of the first game were returning, and so I wanted to do something unusual, so that the experienced players and the newbies might be on more equal footing.

Coming fresh off the first game, I had a lot of reactionary ideas from things I experienced there. I definitely didn't want to use switchers and doctors and such, but just using the other half of the common role line-up would be predictable, too.

Crab firmly steered me away from being too punk rock with my ideas. He was saying the same things about not veering too far away from the basic mafia formula. Ultimately, AC Mafia became a game that was pretty thin and basic in terms of roles, but that's what made room for the complications of the map and such.

IMO, it can be fun to adjust to one or two new wrinkles in these games, but they have to be easy to grasp (which is why I put so much effort into making these vivid maps and such).

But I don't want to come off like "ordinary games are no fun". I'm eager to play in any of the more traditional setups coming up. I also don't want to shut out criticism from things that I did badly. My aim isn't to generate controversy or be the GAF mafia counterculture, I really just want to try my best to make cool and original games. The sooner you tell me how bad AC Mafia is, the sooner I stop trying to inflict more of it on you all :p
 

Darryl

Banned
you're denying them the opportunity to move forward, you're holding them back, that's not easing in.

Yea but they're actually at an advantage, socially. So they should be held back. It's no shock that some of the most troubling players this game were all late entrants.

Also hopefully it will make people feel bad about leaving to begin with.
 

Zatoth

Member
Dealing with inactive users. Not really sure what the best option is here. Just killing them or replacing them. Both options are not ideal.

I did not follow the AC thread too close. But I think there were quite a few replacements, right? Any Mafia player among them? My guess would be that Mafia players are less likely to leave the game. Which would be bad for the game.
 

nin1000

Banned
Medieval Mafia ftw ! Witches and Wizards ! Orcs and Ghuls ! Behold GAF!
ian_abercrombie_as_spinach_chin_in_army_of_darkness.jpg
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
Dealing with inactive users. Not really sure what the best option is here. Just killing them or replacing them. Both options are not ideal.

I did not follow the AC thread too close. But I think there were quite a few replacements, right? Any Mafia player among them? My guess would be that Mafia players are less likely to leave the game. Which would be bad for the game.

Actually, over a sample size pf ~250 games, mafiascum's community concluded that individually, scum were very marginally more likely to go inactive. Thing is there's more town so obviously more inactives are going to be town as a whole, but it's not really a tell in and of itself either way.
 

Zatoth

Member
Actually, over a sample size pf ~250 games, mafiascum's community concluded that individually, scum were very marginally more likely to go inactive. Thing is there's more town so obviously more inactives are going to be town as a whole, but it's not really a tell in and of itself either way.

Interesting. I thought that playing as Mafia may more exciting and that the peer pressure is bigger.

Did any players with a power leave the AC game?

Btw. did you receive my message about the CoC game?
 

Karkador

Banned
Interesting. I thought that playing as Mafia may more exciting and that the peer pressure is bigger.

Did any players with a power leave the AC game?

Btw. did you receive my message about the CoC game?

One of the mafia bailed the first day (they were new and felt overwhelmed), one of the gossips went inactive before being replaced by retro, and squidyj's role went inactive before he took it up (such an important role, too).
 

Zatoth

Member
What about using players from the secret message board as replacement? Would only work if nobody spoils anything there. Which may be a problem.
 
I hope I can leave my opinion on how to get more people interested on a basic level, with ideas on how to make the OP a touch more newcomer-friendly for recruitment etc.

Maybe some simple how-to-play, beyond the actual rules of the game? Basically just stealing the 'I'm town/scum! What do I do?' sections from this wiki page and dumping them there, but hey.

I feel that it would definitely make it easier and more welcoming for new players if they had some easily accessible pointers somewhere obvious on how to play the game themselves versus just knowing the rules and how the game will play out, if that makes sense?

There's only so much theory can do, and the whole point of a game like this is that it is so dependent on the social dynamic and the infinite permutations based solely on people that there is no easy guide to victory, but having some idea of how to go about things and basic strategy definitely gives people more faith in themselves and makes them feel less intimidated and more willing to throw themselves into it. Just as long as you're sure to stress that above all people should do whatever is natural and that there are no guarantees, no matter how many tells there are, that another player is town/scum.

I think it would also be best if the basic roles were listed in a straightforward manner. Not everything under the sun, but the common ones like Villager/Cop/Doctor/x and Goon/Godfather/Roleblocker/x and then Serial Killer and other neutrals, just to give a quick point of reference as to what other people could be as well as yourself. I also think that Role PMs should probably include the basic role name in brackets next to the flavour text, even if this slightly breaks the illusion of the theme, just so people can Google and look up stuff. Obviously, the problem is that not everything will have easy analogies in some flavours, but I'm kind of clueless as to how to deal with that.

Sorry if this sounds a bit bossy! I look forward to playing with you guys in Season 3.
 

RetroMG

Member
How did Hippie change his name? I want to change my name too. (Nothing drastic,I just want to shorten it. Maybe RetroMG to match my PSN tag.)
 
But is Cyber Jar banned?

What about Monster Reborn?

Pot of Greed?

Change of Heart would be cool. Slightly OP if used against mafia.

Having some way to have the pieces of Exodia get together for some autowin would be hilarious. Or you could have the Egyptian God Cards just be the mafia.
 
Change of Heart would be cool. Slightly OP if used against mafia.

Having some way to have the pieces of Exodia get together for some autowin would be hilarious. Or you could have the Egyptian God Cards just be the mafia.

If I were to do this, I would make the mafia the Rare Hunters. Center the whole thing around the Battle City arc, probably.
 
On the subject of name changes, to LoC and anyone else keeping a player list, I just got mine changed as well.

Nothing too drastic, it used to be RatsOffToYa and now it's Rats Off To Ya.

Just in case that will cause any complications.
 

Timeaisis

Member
I recently changed my name from Timeaisis to Timeaisis, in case anyone was wondering what was going on with the weird spelling.
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
This is what I was getting at, yes. It limits discussion, but I kind of wish the deadline was the deadline. Barring abilities like Traube's, I'd like it if players had to stop posting once time hits.

Edit: Say the deadline is 5pm. Nobody should post or vote after 5pm, and the mods should give a general buffer of about an hour before declaring results, so that players with abilities like Traube can have time to do their thing, then at 6pm one of the moderators would declare the result and role reveal, etc.

This is fair. The reason I left it at is is because there are quite a few roles that operate in the "Twilight" Phase - for example, the Governor can operate than, and so can the Hunter (they get to kill someone when they get lynched). Traditionally, these effects both happen after the lynch so it's important to allow for discussion.

I think a way around this to satisfy this community might be to explicitly work the Twilight Phase into their role description, rather than having a largely useless Twilight Phase in every game/day.

Absolutely cannot agree with this at least on the stated argument. I think if you want to avoid giving away that sort of information you simply codify the progression based on players remaining and it doesn't give anything away at all. I also don't think putting it on players to convince everyone to vote majority is correct either, particularly in certain maths.

That's fair enough. Again, this probably comes from my background. I played most mafia games in a community where a Day Phase was two weeks long. People would start talking from the word go, and when conversation died down into a lull, we'd settle on a lynch. As such, days very rarely hit the deadline. However, while that's a useful skill to have, I guess expecting everyone to play this way is too much.

What I think I'll do on this one is leave phase length up to the moderator, both in terms of whether they keep 4/3 or some other format, and whether it gets slower/faster over time. What I will insist on is that the day lengthening/shortening are clearly established before the game begins, rather than done at a whim. I'll also insist on a minimum day phase and night phase length - probably 3 days and 1 day respectively.

To try to drag that other thread into here, at least one of the games should be something people are familiar with. I went fuxk yeah when I got assigned to Animal Crossing. I hate Star Wars and I hardly know anything about it. I didn't keep up with it because I don't get the references. Don't know what Hutt is, Imperial, blah. Altho I read the parts where Blargonaut was dropping pure knowledge.

Honestly, if the games are well designed, the theme doesn't matter. Hutt is just Star Wars-ese for mafia, and you know that right from the OT. I think Karkador and MattyG both did brilliant jobs at their themes, in terms of that you can just pick up and go with them. I have absolutely no Animal Crossing knowledge. Never played any of the games. I don't think it worried me. Honestly, on this particular subject I think you just have to trust your moderator and the ur-moderators to do a good job.

As somebody who started reading Season Two a little ways into it, I would suggest people not put spoilers in their avatars after they are dead. I knew Blarg would be detained in Star Wars because of his avatar, and I haven't read much of Animal Crossing yet but I can only assume Ourobolus was Mafia.

Just a heads up. I'm sure I wasn't the only lurker, and new spectators could be coming at any time.

That's a very good suggestion, thanks.

I just want to comment that it is kind of weird remembering that to an extent these events are not just a game for the players, but a performance/show for lurkers as well. Not bad by any means, but much of my mafia playing was done on an old forum made specifically for mafia, with only one major game done on a general forum. Realizing that we're essentially on stage kinda adds yet another layer of thrill imo.

It is slightly disconcerting, yes, but it's another reason we get all this right.

Maybe I'm just further pushing myself outside of the mainstream by saying this, but I think it's okay to deviate from the standard template of rules.

I initially set out to just follow the rules template Crab made for the first game. It was when I ran into the "50%+1" part of his rules that I went and googled what that meant, and thought more about the rules and why they are what they are.

In the end, I'm glad I did it the way I did. I personally feel that it worked for my game, but I wouldn't say it's the "right" way to do it all the time. I think just modifying the way people vote could be part of an exciting new setup for a game, and I hope people think about what fits the game best vs. sticking to a one-size-fits-all mechanic.

I agree completely. Mafia is a fantastic game, and in my opinion, much better like competitors like Resistance because fundamentally you can do anything you want with Mafia. It would be an absolute waste not to exploit that versatility.

However, I do understand people might have a preference for more normal/less normal games, so I think if you approached me again about your particular set-up, I'd have allowed people to choose between it and MattyG's "normal" one.

Okay, back to dead thread. There is one reason to possibly consider having separate dead threads for each game. Basically, we can potentially use dead players from one game as replacements in the other. Once a player is tainted by a combined dead thread, however, that is out the window. We also need to be extremely cautious about any powers that actually involve the dead in any way.

I'm very cautious about this because I thought a joint dead thread was absolutely fantastic in terms of keeping our community together.

Btw. did you receive my message about the CoC game?

I did, yes. Thank you!

I hope I can leave my opinion on how to get more people interested on a basic level, with ideas on how to make the OP a touch more newcomer-friendly for recruitment etc.

Maybe some simple how-to-play, beyond the actual rules of the game? Basically just stealing the 'I'm town/scum! What do I do?' sections from this wiki page and dumping them there, but hey.

That's a good idea. I'll write one.

I think it would also be best if the basic roles were listed in a straightforward manner. Not everything under the sun, but the common ones like Villager/Cop/Doctor/x and Goon/Godfather/Roleblocker/x and then Serial Killer and other neutrals, just to give a quick point of reference as to what other people could be as well as yourself. I also think that Role PMs should probably include the basic role name in brackets next to the flavour text, even if this slightly breaks the illusion of the theme, just so people can Google and look up stuff. Obviously, the problem is that not everything will have easy analogies in some flavours, but I'm kind of clueless as to how to deal with that.

I'm not sure I'll write up individual ones, it's a lot of effort when many of these roles will only loosely be used, but I'll probably include links to mafiascum's wiki so people can read at their own leisure.

Sorry if this sounds a bit bossy! I look forward to playing with you guys in Season 3.

Not at all, it's definitely useful and I look forwar to playing with you.
 

Kevyt

Member
I'm very cautious about this because I thought a joint dead thread was absolutely fantastic in terms of keeping our community together.

Ummm... my idea suggestion has two dead threads essentially. The Shadow Realm and the Graveyard.

Mafia and those targeted by Mafia go to the Shadow Realm. Those that get evicted that are townsfolk (not Mafia) go to the graveyard.

This is because there's an ability to bring back a dead player, but only from the graveyard. That's all I can say at this moment. :p

But is Cyber Jar banned?

What about Monster Reborn?

Pot of Greed?

See above, yes Monster Reborn is there. The other two... I don't think so.
 
I'm very cautious about this because I thought a joint dead thread was absolutely fantastic in terms of keeping our community together.

I agree completely. While I didn't have access to the dead thread until after both games had completed, I still got this feeling from seeing everybody post about it in the general thread, and I would hate to lose that.
 

Palmer_v1

Member
I do prefer one dead thread myself. Just throwing the idea out there.

Another alternative is that if we know game X needs a replacement, we can just wait until a player dies in game Y, and swap them over rather than giving them dead thread access.
 
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