Out Time Days [was Re: PBM games how do they work?]

From: bigmac@erg.sri.com (Bryan McDonald)

Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1991 03:03:22 +0000

In article <1991Nov19.112257.6401@daimi.aau.dk> rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen) writes:
>Let's make this clear: games that are suited for pbm are not good
>as mud games, and mud games are not useful as pbm's. Which lead us
>to my question: are there any pbm's in which a fantasy setting plays
>an important role that can compete with fantasy mud's (fantasy
>setting defined as an environment where people (and other creatures)
>walk around and use middleage weapons and magic).

Ah HA!  Now I get to plug my favorite game! ;-)

There is a game called Out Time Days.  It is a weekly PBM based in San Jose,
CA., that is in many, many respects a fantasy setting.  In fact, it is a
science fiction game, if one were to honestly evaluate it, but it is one
of those games that is so difficult to define that saying it is fantasy
or science fiction is sort of pointless.

The premise of the game is this: You play a character who is a member of the
Time Force, a sort of universal police agency.  In your first move you make
a bad time jump and are stranded on a strange world called Kolob, where your
Time Belt is rendered mostly useless, and there are many, many other Time
Travelers from the Time Force also stranded on this world.  Many of them are
hell bent on controlling the world, some on getting off the world, and a few on
kicking all Time Travelers off the world in order to return it to its normal time
stream and remove the Time travelers "infection."

The kicker is this.  Kolob is not your ordinary world.  The nature of science, magic,
mental abilities and bardic abilities is very real and completely different
from anything you have ever known.  Skills on this world are totally unique, and
the new trapped TT is a relative infant on this world.

You land initially in the 600's century, and can only use your Time Belt to move
from century to century in 100 year increments, and then only to a few other centuries,
as an "evil" force has errected Time Barriers both up and down the time stream.

The 600's is a very Middle Age century.  The weapon of the era is the Sword or
the Neverbreak Sword, and the armor is mostly Leather.  As you jump back
to earlier centuries, the weapons of the time become even more primitive, while
in the 800's Rifles have been invented and Plate Mail Armor is the cutting edge.

To do anything you must join a Sect, an affiliation of players that work together
to further their goals.  Some are militaristic, some oriented to the pursuit of
knowledge or wisdom, and all think they are Right and the others are wrong.

Living on this planet from day to day (there are 50 days in a Kolobian
year, and 50 turns run each year our time, convinient that way) is a unique
task.  You must learn to live and move forward within the constraints of
each era, adapt to the technology level, cope with changes in climate and terrain,
and over all try to figure out just what the h*ll is going on.

Now, this is not a strictly fantasy game, but it is the first PBM game I have
ever playerd that actually forced you to think about your actions within the
constraints of the era.  You walk of ride horse-like animals called Hacks from
city to city, and if you run out of food, you go hungry.  The roads are dirt, and
characters get dirty.  If you over extend yourself and do not sleep enough, you
get sick.  The cure is akin to Witch-Doctory.  In war, you must fight with weapons
of the era or pay a large penalty.  You must build a home or forever live in hotels
and pubs in the various cities.  If you want to build a city, you can, but you must
first spend time and money building up the assets ans the population of the town.
You must have money, and there are ways to get it.

It is by far the best attempt at creating a world in which characters _live_ that I have
ever seen or played.

But enough plugging...

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Bryan McDonald        |   Computer, Hardware, And Operations Support
Postmaster            |                     CHAOS
Systems Administrator |            ITAD - SRI International
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Internet: bigmac@erg.sri.com                   Compuserve: 71321,552

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person."

References

Re: PBM games how do they work?
skrenta@cbnewsg.att.com (Rich Skrenta)
Mon, 18 Nov 1991 21:34:32 +0000
Re: PBM games how do they work?
rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen)
Tue, 19 Nov 1991 11:22:57 +0000
Re: PBM games how do they work?
rorschak@daimi.aau.dk (Jesper Lauridsen)
Mon, 18 Nov 1991 20:44:41 +0000