Over the last few weeks, a small group of open setup enthusiasts have been speaking with T-Bone in an effort to make some tweaks to the way the Open Queue works. It's my great honour to be making this post on behalf of the newly-formed
Open Review Committee
!Besides the formation of the committee, we haven't made any formal changes yet. Once we've locked in the plan, there will be a more detailed announcement and a full review of the current Approved Open Game list. But before we went down this path, we wanted to get some feedback from the wider open game community.
Talking Point 1: What is the purpose of the approved games list? How do we keep it relevant?
The Approved Open Setup list was originally formed by LlamaFluff as an effort to ensure balanced games were run by unproven moderators. Over time, site meta has shifted and some setups have been either proven broken or fallen out of favour. Some approved setups really just need to be retired. Some stellar new opens have not been considered properly for approval. This creates an awkward situation where approved (allegedly balanced) games which new moderators can run aren't filling, and experimental unknown (possibly unbalanced) opens run by veteran mods are firing within a day. We feel it's time to both review the approved opens, but also re-invigorate the original idea of the Approved Open Setup list.
What makes the Open Queue unique? What is the "open setup experience"?
Several points were made around what makes the open queue unique. This ideology lends well to the secondary task of reviewing the Approved Open Setups list. However, to ensure our vision is carried through the process we've summarised our vision as follows:
- Open games have the opportunity to create an expected alteration of the core game of mafia. You can't run Noughts & Crosses Mafia as a closed game. You can't run The Coalition as a closed game. It is possible to create an altered experience in a theme game, but opens have the unique additions of replayability, and an expectation of how the game's structure will be altered.
- Open games should prompt a high level of skill. This is pretty self-explanatory; you can't fake-claim doctor and coast through Vanilla 8-ball. You can't rely on an investigative to seize the day in Black Flag Nightless. These setups reward strong day-play (and night-play, where appropriate).
- Open games remove mod meta & mod WIFOM from the equation. There is a limited amount of fun in attempting to outguess setup design in closed games. However, playing "guess the setup" is a different experience from playing a game of Mafia. Open games separate the experience.
How do we restructure the Approved Open Setup list to meet with this vision?
We feel that there needs to be a better review of new open setups, and whether they should be approved. Ultimately, this will be part of the responsibility of the Open Review Committee. In order to do so though, we are considering changing the structure of how open games are categorised.
- The Approved List
Setups which have been approved to be run by new moderators. These games should be considered fun (likely to fill), and are expected to be balanced.
Why do we have this list?
This list would be semi-regularly monitored to ensure it suits our vision. Setups which are out of fashion or broken should be considered for retirement from this list.
Who can mod games from this list?
Anyone. To re-iterate: the intention of this list is that it is filled with games which are considered balanced & likely to fill in the queue.
- Untested
Setups which could functionally be approved, but require playtesting to ensure it meets the Approved Setup criteria.
Why do we have this list?
This category would be the list which the ORC consider new Approved setups from, and should be accessible to open setup designers.
Who can mod games from this list?
We are considering conditionally allowing first time moderators to run games from this list.
We will elaborate on the suggested method for making a setup "Untested" further down in this post.
- Retired Approved Opens
A home for legacy approved setups. In many cases, setups will be retired because they have been upgraded or just aren't appropriate for current site culture.
Why do we have this list?
They could still be balanced and/or fun! They just aren't setups which we feel are appropriate for first-time moderators at the moment.
Who can mod games from this list?
Veteran moderators are welcome to run games from here, but should be aware that these setups have been retired for varying reasons.
- Unapproved
Setups which fall outside of the other categories. This is everything from setups designed for theoretical/EV purposes, to setups which are not necessarily designed to be balanced.
Why do we have this list?
To categorise games which fall outside of the other lists.
Who can mod games from this list?
Veteran moderators can run games from this list.
... So what exactly is the purpose of the Open Review Committee?
The ORC would schedule meetings semiannually, at a minimum. We will be responsible for monitoring community feedback, and with T-Bone as our
Uruk-hai
Simply, we will be:
- Monitoring community feedback on Approved & Untested setups.
- Reviewing all existing setups in the Approved list to ensure they are still fit for purpose (balanced and likely to fill).
- Reviewing games in the Untested category to determine whether they should be Approved.
This talking point was the bulk of the purpose of our original discussion. The rest of the talking points are suggested action points, and are a lot more succinct.
Talking Point 2: What is the Open Queue experience for a first-time moderator?
It is extremely important that newbie mods' games aren't pulled from the open queue. Open micros are firing in the micro queue, while mini opens are stalling in the open queue. This isn't really the purpose of the Micro queue, and diverts a lot of traffic which should really be going through the open queue.
Obviously, first and foremost, giving newbie mods a new list of Approved games is the first step in fixing this. Setups in the new Approved list should meet the following criteria:
- Fun and popular setups. First-time mods' games need to fill nearly-all of the time.
- Balanced. First-time moderators shouldn't be thrown into unbalanced setups.
- Low complexity. First-time moderators should be able to understand the mechanics fairly easily if flying solo.
- Tested. Precedent helps a lot with a debut modding experience; this also lends into balance.
We have been throwing around the idea of implementing a "moderator IC" system.
The Open Queue would keep a queue of experienced moderators who are willing to be backups for first-time moderators. They would be available to help with day-to-day running of the game (drafting setup posts & PTs, VCs if the primary mod is unavailable, etc.) but would most importantly be there as backup for more complex setups.
If a first-time moderator is using a setup from the Approved list, this would be a mutually-voluntary arrangement. The new moderator may request a Mod IC, who would be allocated by the Open Queue. The first-time moderator may also source their own co-mod/backup mod.
However, if the first-time moderator wishes, they may request to run a setup from the Untested list. If they take this option, then they will be required to have a Mod IC.
Talking Point 3: What is the process for approving open setups?
We would like to provide an opportunity for open setup designers to have their games flagged to be Approved. This process also makes the ORC's life a whole lot easier.
To be brief:
- The setup is drafted & posted in the Open Setup sub-forum, whether independent or part of a design contest.
- The setup is passed for fun and balance. Part of this consideration should be whether it should be reviewed for Approval. It would need to receive a minimum of two 'passes'.
- The designer of the setup would create a Wiki page for it, or find someone who is willing to do so.
- Once this is done, please raise it the ORC's attention: we will decide if the setup is appropriate for Approval, and shift the setup from Unapproved to Untested.
- We will aim to run the setup to gather game-play data, and see what people think of the setup in practice.
- The ORC will review whether the setup should be Approved. These meetings should happen a minimum of semiannually.
Talking Point 4: If we proceed with the new list structure, are there better ways to generate playtest data?
This one is pretty important, but also the most abstract by far. I think community feedback is probably going to decide exactly how we tackle playtesting Untested setups.
Should the Open Queue, as an institution, be taking more direct responsibility for the design contests?
At the moment these are run by the awesome people of the Open Setup Discussion sub-forum.
I don't think any of us want to change the structure of the contests. The way they're run right now is fantastic.
What we were wondering, is whether the Open Queue should incentivise entering the contest.
- Should winners be immediately considered for the Untested list?
- Should outstanding well-liked setups from the contest be immediately considered for the Untested list?
- Should we queue these as 'to-be-run setups' in the Open Queue, as well as the regular moderator queue?
- Should these setups be open to first-time moderators using a Mod IC? These generally, in practice, fill quite quickly so make for exciting modding debuts!
We will always have regular Marathon Weekends, and The Marathon Weekend Open Crew will be very well-positioned to do this! Join now!
#shamelessplug
If you've read this far, thank you! We're excited to engage with the community about the way we tackle this project.
How do you feel about our suggested changes?
