Forum Simulator: help me develop this game

[Independent voter]

Yesterday there was a "Why aren't you a game developer" thread and that gave me this idea. It might be a terrible idea but that's where you guys come in, your job as devs is to make this bad idea a great idea.

I don't have many details worked out, but you might play a forum mod, your job is to grow a healthy community. The site makes it's money from advertising so the more eyeballs the better. Or perhaps you're the disruptive type and you want to start huge flame wars and make the mods job as difficult as possible, this would reduce the forum's population and hurt advertising.

So possibly, there are two ways to play.

Todo

1. how would you simulate posting and thread discussions?
2. how would you make this challenging?
3. lots and lots of other things.

[xskarma]

I don't think a forum works without a reason for the forum to be there. Meaning there has to be a source of news and discussion that leads to the forum being there. I think that source of news and discussion is far more instrumental in how the forum operates then anything else. Sports, politics, games they all lead to very different forums, and very different forum dynamics.

Something to keep in mind while developing this idea, perhaps.

[Ripster42]

It needs lots of creative swearing.

[Independent voter]

No, no, no! Let's not use this tread to comment on MMO-C!

Epiphany! Card games to simulate forum threads, like the Magic the Gathering card game. Then you could have cards like "The Flamer", "The Pseudo Intellectual", "The Clueless" etc.

You guys should be paying me for this stuff.

[Ripster42]

No, no, no! Let's not use this tread to comment on MMO-C!

Epiphany! Card games to simulate forum threads, like the Magic the Gathering card game. Then you could have cards like "The Flamer", "The Pseudo Intellectual", "The Clueless" etc.

You guys should be paying me for this stuff.

No, just by commenting in this thread I'm imparting my genius, and if you ever make the game without paying me I'm going to sue you for a part of the profits.

[Independent voter]

No, just by commenting in this thread I'm imparting my genius, and if you ever make the game without paying me I'm going to sue you for a part of the profits.

Fair enough, if I lose money on it I'll send you the bill.

[Belhaven]

This already exists, it's called Forumwarz. It's kinda cool too.

[minteK917]

OP i kinda have an idea for you, if you put my name on the product once its finished. How about this, remember that computer things that answer back. Kinda make it like that but multiple of them with different style. Some are shitty rape appologist, others are weirdos vegan animal lovers, Fat Paranoid American gun purist, Racist black people in disguises, Star women warrior fighting against the patriarchy, list goes on. But there is a goal to it, in order to win you have to force the computer to use the godwin law in the discussion.

[Ripster42]

Fair enough, if I lose money on it I'll send you the bill.

That's actually not how that works! IP laws are crazy.

You're also going to need a whole stack of separate cards for logical fallacies. And memes.

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This already exists, it's called Forumwarz. It's kinda cool too.

Look, you can't just go using someone's forum as a game. Its unconstitutional! Oh god, if forgot the invisible text code! That was sarcasm btw.

[Independent voter]

And there I was thinking this was a bad idea...

http://www.forumwarz.com/