PBM: Death awaits us all!

Death awaits us all.

The magazine has died, it seems. Even this website, itself, is permeated with the stench of death. Few are they that roam its halls, these days. Alas, alack!  The mighty have fallen!

Ahem.....

In a way, strange though it may seem to those of you who may happen upon these words long after I post them, I find myself drawn even more to this website (and its magazine progeny) the more distant that others seem to become to it. Now, that doesn't fix anything, and it certainly doesn't re-gather this website's former cadre of interested parties.

Once upon a time ago, though, this website didn't exist, this forum didn't exist, the PBM Wiki didn't exist, and Suspense & Decision magazine didn't exist.

As if any of that matters now.

Like Middle-earth and Alamaze, my interest seems to run in ages or in cycles. All too often, I am distant from the very hobby that inspired all of my efforts to craft a digital legacy to play by mail gaming.

Legacy? Is that what they call this.....this whole cauldron of mess? This place has fallen into decay. It has sank into ruin. Its users have gone on to other things, to other places, to other interests.

None of which precludes me from taking up the gauntlet, once more!

Will I lose interest, again, at some point down the road? Maybe. Perhaps. Probably even probably.

But, the alternative to trying is to not try at all.

I could just give up the ghost of interest, for once and for all. I could just call it quits, and make this place come crashing down all around me. I could obliterate it to the very last shred of its meager existence.

It all boils down to choice.

And the choice is.....

Mine!

Issue # 12 of Suspense & Decision magazine has never materialized. It doesn't matter who intended what. It doesn't matter what was planned, nor what may have been hoped for. It doesn't even matter who cared and who didn't.

I have decided to re-enter the fray, once more. At worst, I will fail - again.

At best, maybe I can spark a little something in somebody else, somewhere along the way, somewhere a little father down the road.

Feel free to join me, as I set out upon the high road to PBM adventure, yet again.

Or just feel free to observe from a distance. 

Or just not give a whit, at all, for any reason, great or small.

You make your decisions, and I'll make mine.

Suspense & Decision will be resurrected. I will exhume its lifeless body, myself. In all likelihood, it won't be the same as it was, before.

That may be a good thing, or it may be a bad thing, or it may well end up being a little of both.

There are some changes that I will make. You may or may not agree with them. I will do what I deem necessary to get the ball rolling, again.

Period.

It is late in the evening on June 28th, 2016, when I post this message here in this forum. That means that the month of June is almost gone. While it is just a guess on my part, I suspect that we're looking at a tentative time frame of two to three months, before the next issue of Suspense & Decision magazine published by me will materialized. I may be able to beat that estimate.

Or I may not.

Only time will bear it out, either way.

I will start anew with Issue #13. I am perfectly fine with leaving Issue #12, the issue that has never yet managed to materialize, buried in the sands of time. Bernd is still free to publish it, as was his previously stated intention, or he is free to abandon it, entirely. He is also free to just ponder its fate a bit longer, even still, entirely at his own leisure and discretion.

I will draw heavily upon my past first-hand experience with launching Suspense & Decision magazine from scratch, upon my own judgment, and upon my own gut instinct to try and succeed at getting us from the point of this forum posting to the point of Suspense & Decision magazine existing as a reality, once more.

I invite you - each and every last one of you - to join me on this journey. The unknown awaits us, one and all.

Forward, ho!

Hey Grim, don't worry about it.  Ours was always a niche hobby, even more niche these days.

BUT...we are still here.  I await my latest turn of Xott, the fantasy hand run RPG that has been going for a couple decades now.

I've four teams in Duelmasters (Duel2).

I've five games of Hyborean War going.

Not nearly as much as my high playing days, but nowadays, it is more about the quality than the quantity.  RSI just survived a big technology crash.  If things were really "the end", that would have killed them.

They picked up, tooled up, carried on.

It is not over yet.

I don't remember reading issue #11. Where can I find it?

Hi Grim! Welcome back!

What should we think about the articles and such that we previously submitted for issue #12? Some submissions, such as the "Ridin' out the Storm" fictional storyline, really need to be kept in chronological order.

[quote='Davin' pid='136000' dateline='1467167464']
Hi Grim!  Welcome back!

What should we think about the articles and such that we previously submitted for issue #12?  Some submissions, such as the "Ridin' out the Storm" fictional storyline, really need to be kept in chronological order.
[/quote]

Hi Davin,

Well, here's how I will put it to you. We live in an imperfect world. We'll just have to figure something out. As with the original issue, Issue #1, the initial task will be to get us from where we are, currently (the equivalent of nowhere) to where we want to be (somewhere). Currently, with no issues being published, your concern is a moot point. If Bernd chimes in, he can verify whether he intends to publish Issue #12 or not. If he doesn't, or if he isn't sure, then I'll work with you to provide publication in Issue #13.

An imperfect choice is better than no choice, at all, I think.

Since you've brought up the lack of activity hereabouts, then perhaps a little shove might help...

A couple of months ago I made an open offer over on the Galac-Tac forum of plenty of free Galac-Tac play to all the forum denizens provided they signed up to play a game together and post there about their turns.  That offer is still open.  If we can get enough players willing to start up a game, I think that would help revitalize activity hereabouts.

Unfortunately, not very many people are going to see that offer hidden over there.  Is there any way we can post some kind of general announcement or blog on one of the main pages to get people's attention?

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='136001' dateline='1467167947']
Well, here's how I will put it to you. We live in an imperfect world. We'll just have to figure something out. As with the original issue, Issue #1, the initial task will be to get us from where we are, currently (the equivalent of nowhere) to where we want to be (somewhere). Currently, with no issues being published, your concern is a moot point. If Bernd chimes in, he can verify whether he intends to publish Issue #12 or not. If he doesn't, or if he isn't sure, then I'll work with you to provide publication in Issue #13.
[/quote]

Sounds fine to me!  Let's hope Bernd makes an appearance and lets us know his intentions.

S&D recaptured the look and feel of the old PBM mags such as Paper Mayhem. 25 years later, maybe something different would be more effective. I thought a letters to the editor section would be good. From the first, I thought a monthly magazine was a grueling task that would result in editor burnout, as it apparently has.
I remember a game description from an early issue that caught my interest, but now I don't remember the name of the game or the issue number. A directory of active games with short descriptions would be useful.
I quit playing PBM after my last game of Nuclear Destruction ended, after I got married 11 years ago. There was, and is, too many other things that need done. I hope to resume when I retire in a couple years. I never did get into computer or console games, other than Chess. PBM offers long periods of planning and contemplation, not instant gratification.

[quote='Grainpaw' pid='136004' dateline='1467170018']
From the first, I thought a monthly magazine was a grueling task that would result in editor burnout, as it apparently has.
[/quote]

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing less frequent (but reasonably regular) issues, such as every 2 months or quarterly, rather than losing S&D altogether.

[quote='Grainpaw' pid='136004' dateline='1467170018']
From the first, I thought a monthly magazine was a grueling task that would result in editor burnout, as it apparently has.
[/quote]

Everyone is free to think what they want to, of course, but the monthly rate of publication played no role in why it ceased publication. Quite to the contrary, in fact. The monthly rate of publication was, whether you or others realize it or not, one of the primary reasons that the magazine published with regularity, when I first created it.
That said, one of the changes going forward that I will be implementing will be the elimination of an actual publication deadline, monthly or otherwise. The focus will be issue-specific. There may well still be submission deadlines, but I will intentionally make the publication time frame more flexible and less rigid.
Also, it isn't accurate to describe the monthly rate of publication, under which most of the past issues of Suspense & Decision were published, as a grueling task. While that is certainly a colorful way to characterize it, personally speaking and from my vantage point in the process, it just isn't even remotely accurate. Grueling is a pretty harsh term. What David Webber and Elaine Webber faced in the old days, where the publication in print format of Paper Mayhem magazine was concerned, or what Carol Mulholland faced in more recent years with her publication of Flagship magazine in print format, was vastly closer to a grueling task than anything that Suspense & Decision magazine has faced since day one.

[quote='Davin' pid='136002' dateline='1467168658']
Since you've brought up the lack of activity hereabouts, then perhaps a little shove might help...

A couple of months ago I made an open offer over on the Galac-Tac forum of plenty of free Galac-Tac play to all the forum denizens provided they signed up to play a game together and post there about their turns.  That offer is still open.  If we can get enough players willing to start up a game, I think that would help revitalize activity hereabouts.

Unfortunately, not very many people are going to see that offer hidden over there.  Is there any way we can post some kind of general announcement or blog on one of the main pages to get people's attention?
[/quote]

It's something that we can address in the coming days. I think that we'll be able to find a solution that you are amenable to, Davin.

I can't find this forum, the link does not work. In general I am not into space games, but I wish you luck in getting the players you seek, Davin.

There are many good games out there, I would contribute with an article in S-and-D on Drakensang Online.

I signed up with Harlequin for a Legends game, but playing around with the ones on offer I pulled out. My memory is no longer a good as it was. Isn't this part of the problem, that many of us are oldies?

Elder Scrolls Online is another game that looks interesting. There is plenty out there for any PBM gamer to get their teeth into.

I played pbems a life long and run our portal www.pbem-spiele.de over 10 years. We host many games on ourself, or coperated with other GMs (they host the game but we start closed rounds). We have several hundred visitors per day. Mostly are players, but many comes from backlinks like wikipedia. But one thing I can give as hint: Dont give up! Its tricky to host games and some games wont get in much players. No problem, then we run smaller rounds. Lucky there are few players they want to play THIS game. Some other games running like hell (ork Starweb). Some good games will never start. I tried to get 5-6 player together for a closed round http://www.pbemgame.com/ for free. But chanceless, only 1-2 raised their hands. But the game is nice. Worry, but I dont give up.  :cool: I love this damn kind of games...  :)

Worry my english is to bad to set up pbem-spiele.de to multilanguage. But several games we host are in english, like Olympa: The age of Gods: http://www.pbem-spiele.de/tag/1/ Some games like Ork can play in german and english in the same game.

[quote='Tregonsee' pid='135999' dateline='1467164916']
I don't remember reading issue #11.  Where can I find it?
[/quote]

OK, I am stupid.  I found it.  I had thought the poll message was the only thing in the thread.

[quote='Greybeard' pid='136009' dateline='1467178235']
I can't find this forum, the link does not work. In general I am not into space games, but I wish you luck in getting the players you seek, Davin.
[/quote]

Thanks, Greybeard.  I wonder why the link doesn't work for you - it seems to be fine for me.  I wonder if anyone else is having trouble with it.  You (or they) should be able to see Galac-Tac as a sub-forum under Play By Mail Games, if needed.

[quote='GrimFinger' pid='135997' dateline='1467157488']
It all boils down to choice.
And the choice is.....
Mine!
[/quote]

Hail GrimFinger,
That's the spirit. I created a game system because I love the game and I want it live. The choice was mine.
That's the only real reason for us to keep going on... because we want to.

-- 
GM Team
All feedback is appreciated.
Join new games at: [color=#1155cc]http://clashlegends.com/
[/color]

[quote='tstone' pid='135998' dateline='1467159747']
BUT...we are still here.  I await my latest turn of Xott, the fantasy hand run RPG that has been going for a couple decades now.

I've four teams in Duelmasters (Duel2).

I've five games of Hyborean War going.
[/quote]

It strikes me that those ten things provide more than ample opportunity for you to write something of interest about them for the magazine.

It greatly facilitates the process of making an issue of the magazine a reality, when other people actually submit material for it, whether articles or art or photographs or letters to the editor.

[quote='Tregonsee' pid='135999' dateline='1467164916']
I don't remember reading issue #11.  Where can I find it?
[/quote]

http://playbymail.net/SuspenseAndDecision/Issue-11-Suspense&Decision-PBM-Magazine.pdf

[quote='Grainpaw' pid='136004' dateline='1467170018']
S&D recaptured the look and feel of the old PBM mags such as Paper Mayhem. 25 years later, maybe something different would be more effective. I thought a letters to the editor section would be good. From the first, I thought a monthly magazine was a grueling task that would result in editor burnout, as it apparently has.
I remember a game description from an early issue that caught my interest, but now I don't remember the name of the game or the issue number. A directory of active games with short descriptions would be useful.
I quit playing PBM after my last game of Nuclear Destruction ended, after I got married 11 years ago. There was, and is, too many other things that need done. I hope to resume when I retire in a couple years. I never did get into computer or console games, other than Chess. PBM offers long periods of planning and contemplation, not instant gratification.
[/quote]

A Letters to the Editor section would work best, if people actually submitted letters. That's the real key, where that concept is concerned.

Burnout isn't nearly so much an issue as missing deadlines and allowing one's self to get carried away by countless other distractions in life. People on the outside looking in conclude that it is due to burnout, that the magazine falls by the wayside. The view from the inside looking out is quite different, I assure you.

What was the game about,t hat the description in an early issue caught your interest? An early issue of Suspense & Decision, you mean, correct?

A directory of active games would be similar to the Galactic View that Flagship magazine used to include in each issue. Actually, the Active PBM Games section of the PBM Wiki was intended to fill a similar role. PBM game companies never took much of an interest in it, though. I'll consider doing something along the lines of what you suggest, though. On a side note, my observation is that there exists far more interest in a renewal of PBM game son the part of players than there exists on the part of the game companies, themselves.

I'll take it under advisement. Frequency isn't really the stumbling block, though. If anything, increased frequency acts as a sort of motivating force.

[quote='sun-e' pid='136010' dateline='1467187593']
Worry my english is to bad to set up pbem-spiele.de to multilanguage. But several games we host are in english, like Olympa: The age of Gods: http://www.pbem-spiele.de/tag/1/ Some games like Ork can play in german and english in the same game.
[/quote]

These days, I use a translator extension in my web browser to automatically translate the postings in the PBEM-Spiele.de forum from German to English, so it is possible for English-speaking visitors to your forum to make heads or tails out of what's posted there, compared to years past.

[quote='Greybeard' pid='136009' dateline='1467178235']
I can't find this forum, the link does not work. In general I am not into space games, but I wish you luck in getting the players you seek, Davin.
[/quote]

The link to the Galact-Tac forum here on the PlayByMail.Net forum site is: http://playbymail.net/mybb/forumdisplay.php?fid=28

[quote='John M' pid='136014' dateline='1467226091']

Thanks, John!

Which scenarios is Clash of Legends currently running?
[/quote]

Hi Grim,

Really good to see you back!

Harlequin

[quote='Harlequin' pid='136038' dateline='1468486781']
Hi Grim,

Really good to see you back!

Harlequin
[/quote]

Thanks! In hindsight, the whole venture has a start-and-go quality about it, but as I scrutinize it a bit, the first nine issues or so did have an air of regularity about them.

We botched a few things. We bungled a bit. Even still, I think that the magazine got a few things right along the way.

I suspect that certain forces are always in play, whether it is on the magazine publishing end of the PBM hobby, or on the game moderator end, or even on the player end of things. Those forces can work to your benefit or to your detriment. Plus, we all have our own respective vantage points, so we all tend to perceive what works and what doesn't differently.

For PBM companies and their lineal descendants, not all games that they created or ran enjoyed the same degree of success. For a PBM magazine, not every issue achieves the same degree of success. Honestly, though, I think that the problems that impacted the magazine the worst tended to have nothing to do with Suspense & Decision, itself.

So, just as when players quit playing PBM games for a bit, only to resume playing later, and just as when PBM companies quit running a given PBM game only to create a new one later, I feel that it's still OK to give the magazine another go, even if the publication lapsed into non-publication, previously.

So, I'll give it another go, and as I proceed about doing that, I will be guided by my own first-hand experience to try and avoid obstacles that I think had a bearing on the magazine not getting published. Granted, ultimately, I may fail yet again. Who knows, though? Maybe I'll stumble upon a better formula, and longevity of publication will emanate from that formula.

Or maybe it will end up just being more of the same, and history will repeat itself, once more. Until and unless it is actually attempted, though, it remains hypothesis and not actual reality.

Some change will be implemented, not because I personally buy into the theory behind it (smaller issues will make burnout less likely), but because multiple people are advocating for it. The primary reason why I do not feel that issue size equates to burnout likelihood is because I have never felt burned out, yet, about publishing the magazine. But here's part of my thinking, Harlequin - perhaps the increased chance of building up potential material for future issues will create a new dynamic, one that brings its own sort of magic into play.

Then again, maybe I should save material like this for the issues, themselves. Of course, if there's anyone out there that's still interested in Suspense & Decision being a regular staple on the PBM scene, again - which there are at least a few indications that there are - then they might want to know upfront at least some of what about the next attempt to resurrect Suspense & Decision magazine will be any more likely to succeed than what was attempted the last time around. Thus, why I bother to plant this nugget of information here, right now.

Will anything actually take root? Only time will ultimately tell.