Monday 1 January 2018

Introductions and Rules

Hello all! I'm FatePlaysGames and this blog serves primarily for hosting my Blind Let's Play runs of various video games (mostly RPGs) and perhaps some little asides. It is secondarily an ideal tool to archive my posts.


A few things before we get started.

What is a Blind Let's Play? A Blind Let's Play is, most simply, me playing a game I know little to nothing of beforehand, and reporting how I find the experience.

Why would I (the blogger) do this and what's in it for me (the reader)? I enjoy playing video games, and while RPGs are normally a solitary affair, involving a communal aspect can be rewarding. It can also help me form more coherent insights into a game than I would normally get.

Okay, and what's it in for me again? Whatever you want from it! Some of the most common attractions include: the feeling you are playing a beloved game again for the first time, tears of hilarity when I make terrible predictions about where I think the game is going, tears of joy when I get something right or overcome difficult parts of the game, a nice place to hang out and chat about video games, and many more besides. Nuns too.

Do you have any rules we need to follow? Yes, actually I do. To be clear, while I am not officially associated with the websites Mark Reads/Watches and Mark Spoils, I am a member of them and my posts will initially go up there. Many of you may have found this blog from those sites. There is a lot of crossover in the rules for all these sites, so if you wish to inspect and join the Mark Does Stuff community keep in mind he will have similar* rules about spoilers/conduct.

Regardless this blog is built on two pillars: Absolutely no spoilers and being respectful towards other users.

Spoilers:

This whole blog works on the assumption that I don't know details about what games I am playing, and don't get them revealed to me before I can experience them myself. There some few exceptions, and there are still ways to comment and enjoy yourselves, but please familiarize yourself with all these conditions.

1) Posting about something (an event, a character, a game mechanic, or linking/embedding such material) that hasn't happened yet is an absolute no-no. Have I reached that point in the game? No? Then don't post about it.

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames: Character A dies on disc two, it's so sad."

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames: Here's some cool fanart of all the characters (even though you only have the first three)."

2) Hinting at future events in the game. This removes the element of surprise for me and affects the sincerity of my posts.

E.g.:"FatePlaysGames: I can't wait till you get to Character C's hometown!"

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames: The game explains why magic is running out in the world later on."

3) Pointing out either upcoming or past events that are significant later in the game. This is particularly true if I didn't pick up on it myself/misinterpreted something.

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames: Did you make sure to catch that look Character B gave Character C in that scene?"

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames: You forgot about that time when Character A said such-and-such."

4) Somewhat related to the above. Correcting mistakes I make about events/people/mechanics/etc. Half the fun is that I'm going to get things wrong, for you and for me. I realize it can be annoying at times to see me flail so far from the truth, but it's still an essential part of doing Blind Let's Plays.

5) The difference between me asking rhetorical and non-rhetorical questions. This one is on me as much as it is on you. We're all there early on in a game, so unfamiliar with the plot/characters/mechanics and thinking:

"What's going on? How does this work? Did they really say that... what do they mean?"

The difference is, I will be including most of these thoughts in my posts. As such, I will do my best to make it clear when these are rhetorical game observations and when I am genuinely asking a non-rhetorical question I'd like you guys to answer.

Okay, so how do you comment with these restrictions? Often hopefully. These rules are not meant to stifle your desire to comment, only to protect the integrity of the experience for myself and other readers.

And you may in-fact (relatively) ignore the above rules by doing one simple thing: using rot13.com! Nuns.

What is rot13.com? It is a substitution cipher that uses the same algorithm to encode and decode text. Put simply, if you come across unreadable text you copy it into rot13.com and it shows what someone has said. Want to post something spoilery? Copy it into rot13.com then paste the new text into your post. Easy!

Are there any rules governing use of rot13? Yes. It is good form to indicate prior to your rot13 text a general idea of what you are going to be talking about. This better allows people to determine whether they want to use rot13.com to obtain the original text and your comment. If you are replying to someone's rot13 post with rot13 and the main subject doesn't change, it is fine to skip labelling it.

E.g.: "How do you think FatePlaysGames will handle such-and-such boss' unique attack pattern? Will FatePlaysGames die on such-and-such boss?"

In rot13 becomes:

E.g.: "[Upcoming boss] Ubj qb lbh guvax SngrCynlfTnzrf jvyy unaqyr fhpu-naq-fhpu obff' havdhr nggnpx cnggrea? Jvyy SngrCynlfTnzrf qvr ba fhpu-naq-fhpu obff?"

I'm not spoiled and can still look into and join in the commenting, and you can hold secret wagers on how many game overs I'll get. Win-win!

What's with all the nuns? Ahahahaha in rot13 is Nunununun. You're probably in for a treat if a post of mine produces many nuns, and once I pass that point, so will I!

A final note on courtesy when using rot13 to cipher spoilers. It is preferred to cipher (big) spoiler material not only for whatever I am doing, but many things such as other video games (especially if you think I may do a Blind Let's Play of it in the future), TV/film and books. There is no age limit on when you can drop these spoilers, you simply can't.

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames Fellow Commenter: Don't you think the events of this post are similar to the plot of last week's episode of such-and-such. Details."

Should be: "FatePlaysGames Fellow Commenter: [Such-and-such TV show spoilers] Qba'g lbh guvax gur riragf bs guvf cbfg ner fvzvyne gb gur cybg bs ynfg jrrx'f rcvfbqr bs fhpu-naq-fhpu. Qrgnvyf."

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames Fellow Commenter: The events of this post reminded of how in FF7/Harry Potter [FF7 Disc 1/Harry Potter Book 6 Spoilers] Nrevf/Nrevgu naq Qhzoyrqber qvrq? Qrgnvyf.

To show how serious this is, I won't post that in clear-text, even though these are some of the most widely known spoilers for big, well known games/books.

I realise this is a lot to process, but take your time, err on the side of caution regarding spoilers if you want to be extra safe and considerate, and remember: we're a friendly bunch!

Conduct:

This blog, and the sites on which I initially post these Let's Plays to are welcoming, embracing, understanding, pleasant and respectful places.

1) No spam. Clean and simple.

2) No bullying/flaming/trolling. If you feel someone is doing any of these to you, use the 'Report' button and the matter will be dealt with accordingly.

3) Intent does not erase effect. You may have meant no disrespect, but that doesn't mean you are completely exempt from responsibility for your words if you do upset someone. This is so much more the case if a disagreement becomes a heated argument.

If someone has (unintentionally or not) upset you, use the 'Report' button or contact the other person (in reply to the particular comment or privately) and resolve the matter in a calm, understanding manner.

If someone has told you that you have upset them, do not react negatively but resolve the matter in a calm, understanding manner (and if you prefer, ask for my involvement). I want the individuals of this site to always feel their voice should be heard, and that we can all feel free to voice our personal views in an understanding community.

E.g.: "FatePlaysGames Commenter A: I find this section of the game quite lame."

"FatePlaysGames Commenter B: Please don't use lame pejoratively, it's an offensive word in respect to disabled individuals. Might I instead suggest you find this section of the game dull."

"FatePlaysGames Commenter A Incorrect Response: Oh come on, it's just a word, everyone uses it. Get of your high horse."

"FatePlaysGames Commenter A Correct Response: Apologies, I hadn't realised people found that would offensive, I'll refrain from using it in the future."

4) No bigotry, racist, sexist, cissexist, transmisogynistic, ableist pejorative slurs will be allowed. There are many more besides these, and often we use or hear them in modern life without even thinking about it. This is a great resource to use when in doubt. There is a lot of content in that link, so peruse at your leisure and just be mindful of the words and phrases you choose to post.

5) No-one is exempt from these rules, including me! If you feel I've said something upsetting, sexist, ableist, rude... whatever (even if that is addressing something inherently in the game itself that I've carried through without thinking), call me on it! Please just remember to do so as non-aggressively as I would like you to address other posters.

Thanks to all who read this extremely long post to the end and making this blog a great place to hang out. Onwards to Blind LPing!

*Similar, but not exact. If you want to post on/join the Mark Does Stuff community please make sure you check the various site rule's and FAQ thread's from the headers below the respective sites' banners first.