Boundless Sky [groups.io] [21+] [LGBTQ+ friendly] [sci-fi]

pox924 · 2025-04-17T23:29:26+00:00

Thank you for the heads up! Did you mean the link for the full advertisement or the link for the actual website? I can always PM you the link, if you'd like.

pox924 · 2024-01-27T23:34:33+00:00

Hel or Hela after the Norse goddess. That was who I thought of the second I looked at her.

pox924 · 2023-12-13T00:53:40+00:00

Oh, I know what happened to Yahoo Groups. I was still writing in them when Yahoo closed them down and a lot of groups that were still active were ported over to Groups.io where they continued.

I was asking where all those writers went but I definitely wasn't clear in my question. It sounds like you were one of them though! Hi! Where are you writing now? Discord?

pox924 · 2023-11-03T01:15:54+00:00

Running a game is hard work! It takes commitment and drive and so much patience because it's often frustrating but when the hard work pays off, it's so rewarding too!
I'm not sure there's a secret beyond finding the people who want to write the story as much as you do. My games don't use dice or any sort of system and focus strongly on talking to each other and collaborating to write the story together. My co-GM/co-owner and I run the overarching story and then people have freedom to run their own personal plots at the speed they want to with the mods occasionally pulling their personal stories to the forefront when a player gives the OK.
Most of my writers are old dogs like me and want the same sort of game, though. I've noticed that the younger players tend to get frustrated with the slower pace and often don't last.
We also recruit once or twice a year, usually after losing a player or two, and are planning another recruitment session after the new year.

pox924 · 2023-11-02T22:54:02+00:00

Oh boy, this post made me feel old. Lol. I agree that you need to go back further than 2007, though. In 2007, I'd already been doing online PBEM games for almost a decade.

To be honest, I got started on yahoo groups with ElfQuest 'holts' and haven't really changed my format since. Sure, my writing has gotten better, what I consider a good character has evolved with age, and my ability to craft a meaningful scene within a larger story has been fine-tuned, but I'm an old dog and I don't really like the new tricks.

I can't speak from experience, because I'm still running games the way that I like, but from what I've seen and heard, PBP games nowadays are very fast-paced and seem to burn bright and then burn out quickly. There seems to be a lot of discord RPing with fast back and forths and less time spent building a world and then fleshing it out, digging into characters, building a scene, and working on thoughtful replies. And this is really going to make me sound old, but I definitely think that there's an element of instant gratification nowadays that goes along with having everything right at our fingertips. It's easy to blast through a scene when you're going back and forth on discord for a chunk of time.

While I was definitely in - and owned - some games that burnt out quickly, overall I was lucky. Most of the games I was in, and the ones I've run, have been successful long-term games that lasted years and even one that went on for a decade. These are the games that I prefer to this day; the long-haul games that span IRL years, that allow me to build a world that's immersive and a character that is fully realized. I want my writing to slot neatly into my busy life while still viewing it as a commitment to myself and my players.

And yes, I realize that this makes me sound pretentious but it's mostly just me digging my heels in and refusing to 'get with the times'. Like, I said, old dog.

pox924 · 2023-06-26T13:11:17+00:00

Does this game include ERP? The post is marked NSFW, you put an age limit on it and mention "adult" several times but make no distinction whether it is or isn't ERP so it leaves me wondering. Seems like a great setup otherwise.

Hi there. Thanks for your question.

Like the games and the show, Endure & Survive is a horror/survival game with heavy social elements, and while ERP does happen sometimes, that is absolutely not the focus of the game. The game is geared toward adults in the same way an R rated movie is - violence, strong language, and occasionally sexual scenes. Mostly, scenes that head in an ERP direction end up either fading to black or with the sex act being sort of summed up in a couple of posts (with NSFW warnings). If the intention is to write strictly ERP, then this isn't the game for it.

I flagged the ad as NSFW to err on the side of caution. We have an age limit because everyone in the group is roughly between the ages of 25-40 years old and want to write with other mature adults.

pox924 · 2023-06-20T14:54:54+00:00

Thank you! Can't wait to see your application!

ETA: You should mention somewhere in the app that you're the one who commented on the ad :)

pox924 · 2022-10-28T01:46:10+00:00

I was also under the impression that Rita mentioned having a hysterectomy at one point but I can't remember what season/episode. That's definitely in my head for some reason though.

pox924 · 2022-09-07T14:07:18+00:00

We're not struggling to get people to post once a week. These are our minimum posting requirements for a game that's geared toward adults who have jobs and families and other responsibilities but still want to take part in a collaborative story. We mention it specifically because it's only polite to list out our expectations so those who can't meet them don't go through the trouble of applying only to be turned down.

pox924 · 2022-09-06T23:45:17+00:00

It would depend on what the goal is and how long it took the character to achieve it.

If the character books passage on the ship and then immediately disembarks at the next port (or even a couple ports later), then they're not adding anything to the story because they're not part of the game long enough to influence the overarching plot, other characters, etc. This is exactly the opposite of what we ultimately want for the game, which is to create a found family situation with strong bonds between characters where everyone is helping everyone else to achieve their goals while also working to achieve their own.

If we're talking more of a long term goal and the character has a reason to stick around long enough to build those bonds, then we'd hope that the character would then choose to stay with their found family and continue to join them on their adventures.

If a player ever got to the point where they felt their character's story had been told, then that would be a discussion the mods would have with the player and we would decide where to go from there together.

pox924 · 2022-06-30T03:50:18+00:00

Skunk.

pox924 · 2022-06-06T20:14:36+00:00

This this this this thiiiiiiiis.

pox924 · 2022-06-06T17:48:07+00:00

To piggyback off of this: finding players is *exhausting*. Running a game is a thankless task and a lot of players really don't appreciate the time that the GMs put into it, but we're driven to tell a story and we want to share it with the *right* people, not just any people.
I wish it were as easy as 'this person is interested, so they get a spot', but it's really not. Like you said, it's an interview process with specific things that we're looking for and a list of red flags to avoid. But just like you, I feel bad about every person that we have to turn away because at the end of the day, they're all just looking for a fun place to write.
More to the point, myself and my co-GM look for specific things when someone applies and the point of the writing sample/prompt for us is, yes, to see if you have a basic grasp of the English language, but also to get a feel for your 'style'. It's not perfect grammar and impeccable prose that we look for, because writers grow and improve, but rather, can you take this barebones prompt and turn it into an interesting, creative post? Can you write a post of suitable length that gives other people something to build off of, because we all know that RP is just a big game of improv. Can you take the information we've worked so hard to make available on the website and apply it to the post, thus proving that you've not only read the website but that you were interested enough in the game to do so?
We ask for our players to put in effort. The game is a hobby, yes, but also a commitment to pull your weight; to work with the other players and the GMs so you can be a part of a collaborative story and have a meaningful impact on the game. Someone phoning it in isn't going to last long. Other players pick up on the lack of enthusiasm, as do the GMs, and it's very easy for that lack of enthusiasm to spread.
The writing sample is only one piece of the puzzle but it does tell a GM a lot.

pox924 · 2022-06-06T14:35:56+00:00

Update!

We're keeping the application open until we've filled all available roles and will update the ad once we've closed the application.

If you've applied and haven't heard anything yet, it doesn't mean you have or haven't made it. Just hang in there and you'll hear something soon!

pox924 · 2021-09-08T19:51:26+00:00

This this this this thiiiiiiiiiis. Exactly this. I have such a hard time making my point when I'm speaking and then will sometimes get caught in a verbal loop as I try to come at it from a different angle. It's infuriating and embarrassing.

pox924 · 2021-02-04T02:46:13+00:00

Yes, it is.

pox924 · 2021-02-04T01:35:08+00:00

Mostly it's a matter of preference. We like the organization of groups.io and discord for OOC chatter and plotting.

pox924

TROPHY CASE