WhatsUpBrotendo Deputy Loremaster App

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

Ckey/BYOND Username: WhatsUpBrotendo
Position Being Applied For: Deputy Loremaster
Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes
Past Experiences/Knowledge: Skrell Lore Deputy from 2021 to 2022. Currently the Skrell Lore Writer.
Examples of Past Work:

Most Skrell lore that's been added or updated since 2021 has had my contribution in some form. I've also recently contributed to the Skrell side of the Ouerea rewrite.

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/WhatsUpBrotendo

1) A brief note (such as a roadmap with additional descriptions) identifying the course and creative direction that you'd hopefully like to pursue;

From my previous application:

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Continuing the development of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate and its place in the setting. I'd like to see the nations of the Spur have more "teeth" as it were and be more of an obstacle than they already are that the SCC has to contend with. I wouldn't want to see an end to the Phoron scarcity and its impact on the setting anytime soon, but at some point I'd like to see more attempts at addressing the crisis as well as this part of the setting being continuously and actively developed.

The direction and focus I'd like to go in hasn't changed since I last applied. I could go into more detail if needed, but as I said in my previous application I like to keep my ideas broad until I know what would work.

2) Criticism of the current state of lore

Honestly very little. I think the team has been good the last few years on keeping up with what my main issues would be. Making sure lore is updated as things develop would be my main general gripe, but that's a Sisyphus situation. Interspecies interaction is another area where I feel we don't utilise as often as we should. There are also certain areas that can feel as though they don't receive much attention such as the megacorporation's inner workings or inter-corp relations, which is something that I'd like to see done as a teamwide project in the future. 

3) What do you believe you can bring to the team as Deputy Loremaster.

I have experience managing teams in my work as well as working on team projects, and I regularly try to stay up to date with each species' lore and try to contribute where I can. As deputy loremaster I believe having that knowledge and the motivation to assist teams with their work is important, and when not working on a project myself I'd like to assist where I can elsewhere.

4) Your thoughts on me as a loremaster, and how best you think you can assist me.

You've not been loremaster for long so I can't comment on that really. I've interacted with you plenty since you joined the team and I'm glad you got the position. While I'm not the best, I think I'd be good as a consistent proofreader for any work we do together. I'm fairly certain your writing ability is better than mine, but having another set of eyes check your work is always vital. I can also see myself being someone who would be able to look at work objectively and feel comfortable enough to tell you if I think something would work or should be done in a different way.

I believe you have a different writing style to mine, and Unathi lore is definitely different to elsewhere on the wiki. I think having someone be able to identify that and make sure that the flow of a page stays consistent would definitely be important while you're still new to the loremaster position.

Additional Comments:

I'm starting University on the 25th which might make me less available. Based on the provisional timetable and what people have said about the course though I don't believe I'll have a difficult time managing it and Aurora.

Also, Starfield.

Edited September 3, 2023 by WhatsUpBrotendo

[KingOfThePing]

I still fully support this application 👍

[Caelphon]

As said in the previous application, Brotendo was a strong contender for Deputy Loremaster during my holding of the position. I have no doubt they'd make an excellent Deputy Loremaster. This application has my support. 

[canon35]

Have any of your responses or views shared to answer these questions changed? If so, why?

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

9 minutes ago, canon35 said:

Have any of your responses or views shared to answer these questions changed? If so, why?

I wouldn't say changed, but I've had more time to think on question 5:

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5. How will you try to make lore more accessible for new players?

My original response:

The concept of a "new player planet" was discussed on Trio's app and I've been thinking about it a little bit. Biesel is good as a new player origin, but having a planet/region that's specifically for new players to use as they get used to the server and its lore might be a good idea. I've been chipping away at a OOC information page for Skrell lore that I should probably finish at some point too. Diona lore and synth lore have similar pages, which basically explain from a OOC perspective how you should play that species as well as certain concepts. Making sure ghost roles for species ships have at least one non-whitelisted role as standard would also help give new players the opportunity to interact with lore outside of human lore too.

I mentioned having a OOC write-up of standards and expectations for Skrell whitelist holders that I've been working on and off on for a while. After giving it some thought I'd very much like to see something like this done by every team eventually, either lodged by the loremaster team or of the species teams' own volition. At the very least I think it's worth discussing.

Other than that though I think my views have stayed the same since my original application.

[GeneralCamo]

Honestly I think the lack of change is why I must -1 this app. The difficulty of digesting existing lore is a problem I feel, especially for accessibility for new players. You haven't addressed this at all, and for that reason I cannot support this. You're a great skrell writer, but we need a clear direction overall I feel. 

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

12 minutes ago, GeneralCamo said:

Honestly I think the lack of change is why I must -1 this app. The difficulty of digesting existing lore is a problem I feel, especially for accessibility for new players. You haven't addressed this at all, and for that reason I cannot support this. You're a great skrell writer, but we need a clear direction overall I feel. 

I disagree for the most part. Reading the entirety of the setting's lore has never been a requirement, and we do have our lore primer and new player section of the wiki to help new players. I firmly believe that new players are able to get a basic understanding of the setting and see which parts of the lore interest them.

My main concerns with accessibility to the lore are species/species whitelists, which can be intimidating for players, and having a location that new players can use to ease themselves into the lore without being isolated from the wider setting like you would with a headcanon location. For whitelists, I think an OOC guide would be helpful, and some teams have already gone ahead and created one for their respective species that are good examples of what I'd like to see (IPC, Diona). As for a new player location, Biesel was that place for a time but it has evolved past it now I think. A new location that can act as the new player-friendly place and stay that way is something I find worth looking into. The Corporate Reconstruction Zone offers a place that would be semi-isolated while still allowing new players to engage with the setting in my opinion, so that would be where I'd start drafting something.

 

[GeneralCamo]

4 hours ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said:

I firmly believe that new players are able to get a basic understanding of the setting and see which parts of the lore interest them.

This is not the reality I have seen on the server. I covered it more in Kyres's post, but your mention of "species" lore isn't the problem. By the time that becomes relevant, a player will likely have become well-established. The issue is the sheer scale of human lore, and the difficulty of keeping track of -that- lore. It's huge and disorganized, and there's no way to tie anything on the forums in-game especially with the removal of the ties between the forums and the newscasters. That is the issue I am seeing. 

[Butterrobber202]

I am a brotendo stan. 

+1

He's done a great job as Skrellmaster. (Skraster, if you will.) It would be my pleasure to see our local angry British man ascend to the (smaller) throne.

[NewOriginalSchwann]

Hello, and thank you for applying! I just have a few questions to ask. 

 

1). Have your answers to any of my previously-asked questions changed?

 

2). Is there a place in our lore for less readily approachable factions or locations? Should there be a limit on how complex or “esoteric” a faction/location can be?

 

3). Do any of our current factions or origins have too much of a focus? Alternatively, do any have too little of a focus?

 

4). How would you deal with a member of the lore team who was confrontational in discussions?

 

5). How would you deal with a member of the lore team who refuses to work with other teams? 

 

6). How would you deal with inactivity by members of teams, or by an entire team?

 

7). Assuming you are hired, would you remain in your current position or hand it off to another? Why?

 

Thank you for your time, and good luck!

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

1. No, my answers from before have stayed the same.
2. Yes, but I'd say there's not much room. Now that we're a mobile setting, we need to keep that in mind when it comes to developing new factions or locations. We shouldn't strive to make every faction or every location in the setting something that can be used by players or visited by the Horizon, but our focus should definitely be on things that can be used or have an impact on characters and the setting as a whole. As for limiting how complex a faction/location should be, I'd say no, but only because what I'd consider "too complex" would be something that would definitely not be released before edits. If there were a trend on the team of writing lore that was too "out there" for players to approach I'd be able to tell you where the line is, but as it stands I couldn't really give a good example of where I'd set the limit.
3. I sometimes think that megacorporations can suffer from being too restrictive or too broad. NanoTrasen suffers from being quite broad in what it specialises in I feel, while Zavodskoi feels too niche - at least in terms of what can be represented in the game. We've alleviated this somewhat by expanding on megacorporation branches, but it still needs to be worked on.
4. If it's a constant behaviour then it shouldn't be tolerated and their place on the team needs to be discussed. If it's a one-off it can be discussed privately and escalate from there if it continues.
5. Unlike the previous question, this is just not tolerable to me. You either work with the other teams or there's no point in having a space as staff on the team.
6. Message them and see what the issue is, then discuss whether or not they should stay on the team. If it's a temporary issue then I think I'd normally be fine with it, but if it's something that will mean they can't contribute for months at a time I'd have to discuss them leaving the team, including what to do about any projects that are still works in progress.
7. I'd rather stay on as Skrell developer because at least from my perspective, it seems like there's little interest in developing for the species. I also believe that it should be a long-term position in order to properly give the species direction and ensure a quality of work. I still have things I'd like to do before I leave the position, so I don't see myself wanting to leave it anytime soon.

[Boggle08]

Hello, DMed Brotendo questions, I will post the responses as well:

 

1. What are some ways you think lore can improve the immediate setting of the horizon itself? This also includes the sector overmap, and locations characters can access offscreen.

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I don't believe that's entirely lore jurisdiction, but from the lore side of things we can write up lore regarding existing and perhaps new overmap hazards and locations that would be common out in the depths of space that the Horizon explores. We could potentially add more outposts/ports that the Horizon can dock with that are independent or owned by the local authorities. This would be good to give more offship interaction with members of the crew that would normally not have an excuse to leave the Horizon. Inter-corporate conflict has been something that's been discussed in the past, and maybe adding more offships affiliated with the separate corporations would add some conflict that would improve the general state of the Horizon's immediate surroundings feeling a bit lackluster to some.

2. How do you think lore can improve character retention?

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Honestly I don't think we can - at least not in any way that'll noticeably impact character retention. From my discussions with players it mostly comes down to feeling burned out with a certain character or concept, and that's my issue with my own characters too. That said, there's a reason the relay is active or why people play off-duty. You're able to develop your character in a more relaxed environment where obligations and round times don't rush you to reach a conclusion in a certain amount of time. I don't believe my ideas are reasonable or would be accepted by the rest of the team, but I think a playable section of the map acting as the residential deck (a concept that was discussed during a conversation in one of the discords) would help with this. Unfortunately the biggest concern with that for me would be how populated the round would be, as everyone would just be on the residential deck. I've seen arguments that those playing on the residential deck would probably not be playing that round anyway, which is fair.

Bottom line, a residential deck with more lore surrounding how that section of the ship works would be how I'd approach the issue of character retention. But again that would be a collaborative effort that from my POV will be quite divisive. It's all worth discussing formally at the very least though.