From: utzoo!decvax!pur-ee!purdue!Physics:luz
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Title: On line FRPG's
Article-I.D.: pur-phy.381
Posted: Wed Jul  7 15:35:14 1982
Received: Thu Jul  8 01:49:41 1982


	I have a suggestion. There seems to be quite a few gamers
on the net and I was thinking that an on-line (or on-net) play-by-
mail game might be something novel and exciting. I have heard of
the standard play-by-mail games where the players mail in their
actions once every month and the Game (or Dungeon) Master responds
with the results of such actions and other simultaneous events in
a follow-up newsletter that is sent to all players. Such an concept
is intriguing but has a major fault: the time delay; 12 melee rounds
would take a year! So, with the 'new' technology of electronic mail
that allows individuals to correspond across the planet in a matter
of minutes and days, the time delay could be removed on such a net-
work as "net". Therefore, if enough interest could be obtained, the
net could become the medium for a 'play-by-mail' Adventure.
	A typical game would consist of a DM requesting about 5-10
adventurers, the DM posting a scenario on a newsgroup such as net.-
games.frp.Joe's World, the players mailing their responses to events
to the DM {a nightmare in pathnames}, and the DM rewriting the next
scenario on net.games.frp.Joe's {or whoever} World.
	A good enough adventure would be interesting to non-playing
spectators; at least I think it would for I like reading fantasy
novels and that is what a good adventure should resemble {or at least
resemble reality...}
	Although I have heard that the net is heavily loaded as it
is and such an on-line game might be too much... I don't know...
	I would be willing to attempt a trial game but it might not
last more than a month as I am moving to the Univ. Of Illinios U-C
in the fall and I don't know if there is a net path to the campus.
	Respond either to me {luz at Purdue University, Physics} or
on the net. I would like to see such a game, eventually.


			Lonnie Van Zandt III
			      {luz}