Difference between revisions of "Ghyll:Main Page"

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==Welcome to the Ghyll game world!==
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Welcome to the world of Ghyll. The basic idea is that each player takes on the role of a scholar, from before scholarly pursuits became professionalized (or possibly after they ceased to be). You are cranky, opinionated, prejudiced, and eccentric. You are also collaborating with a number of your peers -- the other players -- on the construction of an encyclopedia about Ghyll.
  
This is the Gamegrene wiki, where we're creating a world by taking on the role of scholars and defining new in-world subjects alphabetically. Whatever one scholar reports as fact must be accepted as such. The core of the game is based on the principles of [http://www.20by20room.com/2003/11/lexicon_an_rpg.html Neel Krishnaswami's "Lexicon: an RPG"].
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Despite the fact that your peers are self-important, narrow-minded dunderheads, they are honest scholars. No matter how strained their interpretations are, their facts are accurate as historical research can make them. So if you cite an entry, you have to treat its factual content as true! (Though you can argue vociferously with the interpretation and introduce new facts that shade the interpretation.)
  
<big>'''We are currently on Turn 1, defining letters A and B. Turn 2 begins August 31st.'''</big>
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The core of the game is based on the principles of [http://www.20by20room.com/2003/11/lexicon_an_rpg.html Neel Krishnaswami's "Lexicon: an RPG"].
  
==How to Play==
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* '''[[Current events|Next deadline]]''': August 31st, for the letter A.
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* [[Current events]]: News and further information about the state of play.
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* [[Lexicon discussion]]: Talk about the game, rules, questions, and OOG concerns.
  
New players may join in at any time. To sign up, [[Special:Userlogin|create a new account]] and then go to the URL for your new page. For example, if you'd like to define "Crab apples", go to http://www.gamegrene.com/wiki/Crab_apples, click "edit", and begin typing your entry. As in traditional wikis, your edits are available immediately. [[Quezlarian numerals|Here's an example of a decent entry.]]
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==Game Rules==
  
The game rules are defined below and vary slightly from the original Lexicon manifesto (primarily to handle an ever-changing player base, as well as to increase the length of game play indefinitely).
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New players may join in at any time. If you have questions, ask in [[Lexicon discussion]].
  
# On the first turn, each player writes an entry for the letter 'A'. You come up with the name of the entry, and you write 100-200 words on the subject. At the end of the article, you sign your name, and make two ''or more'' citations to other entries in the encyclopedia (''these citations may also be made within the body of your subject''). These citations will be phantoms -- their names exist, but their content will get filled in only on the appropriate turn (''and not necessarily by yourself'').
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# On the first turn, players write an entry starting with the letter A. Entries must refer to two "phantom", not-yet-written, terms.
# On the second and subsequent turns, ''each player'' continues to write entries for B, C, D and so on (''whether brand new entries or a pre-existing phantom entry, although phantom entries are preferred''). However, you need to make three citations: one must be a reference to an already-written entry, and two must be to unwritten entries. It's an academic sin to cite yourself, thus you can never cite an entry you've written. ''However, citing your own sources '''in addition''' to the required three is permitted.''
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# On subsequent turns, players write entries for B, C, D, etc. Entries must refer to one (or more) existing terms, as well as two phantoms.
# Despite the fact that your peers are self-important, narrow-minded dunderheads, they are honest scholars. No matter how strained their interpretations are, their facts are accurate as historical research can make them. So if you cite an entry, you have to treat its factual content as true! (Though you can argue vociferously with the interpretation and introduce new facts that shade the interpretation.)
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# It is an academic sin to cite yourself in the required per-turn citations. You must intermingle with entries not your own.
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# It is also an academic sin to write your own phantom entries. Only other players can write these entries.
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# "Dibbing", i.e. reserving a phantom, prevents two players from writing the same entry. You may only dib on the current letter.
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# All phantoms for a letter should be defined (or have dibs called) before any new entries are created for that letter.
  
==@@todo@@==
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Ghyll is different from previous Lexicons ([http://paranoia.allenvarney.com/index.cgi/ParanoiaLexicon The Toothpaste Disaster], [http://www.respectstartstomorrow.com/oceanwiki/HomePage Nobilis], etc.) because there is no pre-existing world for entries to derive from. We don't know if the world of Ghyll is fantasy, cyberpunk, sci-fi, horror, or all of the above. Ghyll is a blank slate, and will be defined and finessed by our entries. Anything goes until everyone knows.
  
Write up a quick wiki syntax chart for the commonest usage.
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==Using the Wiki==
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To participate in Ghyll, [[Special:Userlogin|create an account]], and login. Defining a new entry is as simple as going to its URL or clicking any of the red links. For example, to create "Crab apples", go to http://gamegrene.com/wiki/Crab_apples, click "edit", and begin typing your entry. More information about wiki syntax (creating headers, links, bold, italic, etc.) can be found at [[Wikipedia:Help:Editing]] (this is a third party site... '''DO NOT''' test your skills on their pages!)
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Each defined entry has a "discussion" page. When discussing an entry (in-game or not), do so on this discussion page and not the actual entry itself. Think of the discussion pages as the footnotes in the encyclopedia's margins. Be warned: other scholars will see your footnotes and may take heated issue with your judgments!
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* [[Special:Allpages|All pages]]: Every page created so far (in-game or not).
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* [[Special:Listusers|All users]]: Users of this wiki, with their own discussion pages.
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* [[Special:Wantedpages|Phantom pages]]: Entries which have yet to be defined.
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* [[Special:Shortpages|Short pages]]: Minimally defined entries that could use fleshing out.

Revision as of 12:08, 20 August 2004

Welcome to the world of Ghyll. The basic idea is that each player takes on the role of a scholar, from before scholarly pursuits became professionalized (or possibly after they ceased to be). You are cranky, opinionated, prejudiced, and eccentric. You are also collaborating with a number of your peers -- the other players -- on the construction of an encyclopedia about Ghyll.

Despite the fact that your peers are self-important, narrow-minded dunderheads, they are honest scholars. No matter how strained their interpretations are, their facts are accurate as historical research can make them. So if you cite an entry, you have to treat its factual content as true! (Though you can argue vociferously with the interpretation and introduce new facts that shade the interpretation.)

The core of the game is based on the principles of Neel Krishnaswami's "Lexicon: an RPG".

Game Rules

New players may join in at any time. If you have questions, ask in Lexicon discussion.

  1. On the first turn, players write an entry starting with the letter A. Entries must refer to two "phantom", not-yet-written, terms.
  2. On subsequent turns, players write entries for B, C, D, etc. Entries must refer to one (or more) existing terms, as well as two phantoms.
  3. It is an academic sin to cite yourself in the required per-turn citations. You must intermingle with entries not your own.
  4. It is also an academic sin to write your own phantom entries. Only other players can write these entries.
  5. "Dibbing", i.e. reserving a phantom, prevents two players from writing the same entry. You may only dib on the current letter.
  6. All phantoms for a letter should be defined (or have dibs called) before any new entries are created for that letter.

Ghyll is different from previous Lexicons (The Toothpaste Disaster, Nobilis, etc.) because there is no pre-existing world for entries to derive from. We don't know if the world of Ghyll is fantasy, cyberpunk, sci-fi, horror, or all of the above. Ghyll is a blank slate, and will be defined and finessed by our entries. Anything goes until everyone knows.

Using the Wiki

To participate in Ghyll, create an account, and login. Defining a new entry is as simple as going to its URL or clicking any of the red links. For example, to create "Crab apples", go to http://gamegrene.com/wiki/Crab_apples, click "edit", and begin typing your entry. More information about wiki syntax (creating headers, links, bold, italic, etc.) can be found at Wikipedia:Help:Editing (this is a third party site... DO NOT test your skills on their pages!)

Each defined entry has a "discussion" page. When discussing an entry (in-game or not), do so on this discussion page and not the actual entry itself. Think of the discussion pages as the footnotes in the encyclopedia's margins. Be warned: other scholars will see your footnotes and may take heated issue with your judgments!

  • All pages: Every page created so far (in-game or not).
  • All users: Users of this wiki, with their own discussion pages.
  • Phantom pages: Entries which have yet to be defined.
  • Short pages: Minimally defined entries that could use fleshing out.