26th Spell [Video]

[friendyousohard]

So, we're in the first week of the new month and we'll probably be getting new people for a while... and it's occurred to me that there's something about that I've been thinking about for some time now, but have never really addressed.

[Twilight folds her arms a bit, frowning in consideration at the screen.]

Most of us ought to know by now about the helpful guide that Riku, the owner of the training center and the new breeding center, wrote about this world some time ago. It's still a useful resource despite needing some updating, and it's where I got the seed of my idea, but it's a bit... oversized for a newcomer, no offense Riku.

Is there a way to maybe... [She pauses a moment to grope for words.] Create some sort of collective document where we all put in our thoughts on what a new arrival should know about this world right away? Something simple and straightforward, that gives them a grounding point for their first few days. I always worry I've forgotten to mention something important when I talk to someone new, and I think that's a problem we all share. This could fix that, and give them a bit of a leg up in adapting to this world. And as long as we all know about it we can be sure someone's going to show it to them when they arrive.

It might not seem like much, but if you think back on how we all felt when we first arrived, I think most of us would have really liked something like that to at least be available.

Comments

[video]

[paladinlost]

There is the option of gathering all interested parties in a room, writing down everyone's ideas, and copying that to the network, but I suppose that would be too chaotic to be practical.

[It's also too low-tech to be practical, but he's trying.]

[video]

[friendyousohard]

We'd need transportation, a big enough area to hold us all without getting in anyone else's way, and enough people interested in making the trip. I'm not going to say it's completely unfeasible, but I'm not sure about the odds of getting that to work.

[Really, a solution over the network is more likely, though she's not sure if that'll work either.]

[video]

[paladinlost]

Extremely low, without the added incentive of the prom or a foreign hotel. Yet it would be such a great service done for all who will join us... Someone could volunteer to receive and type down everyone's suggestions, but a true discussion would be more productive.

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[in_praetego]

You mean... Like some sort of travel guide or pamphlet?

[ yeah, that would be handy for newcomers. ]

if we do manage to get one made, we'll also need a way to get it to newcomers. Probably people willing to act as greeters and stay in New Bark Town in shifts.

Video;

[friendyousohard]

That's one option. It might be easier if we can transfer the information onto the network once we have it, that way all we'd need to do is give them a link to it. Ideally, we'd make it so it would open up on their gear automatically when they first used it, but I don't know if that's actually possible.

Of course, that's all getting ahead of ourselves a bit. The first thing we should be thinking about is what information we need in there in the first place.

Video;

[in_praetego]

Yeah. I suppose distribution is something we can worry about later.

[ There's a small hum of thought there. ]

I guess there's a lot to consider... Everything that the trainer manual doesn't cover. And maybe something to explain what pokemon are to those who haven't played the games.

[audio]

[stonebones]

[New people! That meant him! He still wasn't 100% sure how to use the 'gear, but... Well, kids can only talk to themselves for entertainment for so long.]

There's really a lot to learn... Could you really make something that covers what you need to know that isn't oversized?

[audio]

[friendyousohard]

That's what I'm hoping to do. The problem is that if I try to make this myself, I'm pretty much guaranteed to get bogged down in minutiae probably to an even greater extent than the current guide. There's no question that I need a bit of help on this one. Being concise is perhaps my greatest weakness when explaining things.

[And that's why people fall asleep when she talks.]

[audio]

[stonebones]

[He laughs a little, but not in a mean way.]

So you're more organizing it. [That seemed fair.] Oh, but... Even if it takes longer to learn everything, I think I like the way we do it now! You get to meet more people, you know?

[islandshore]

Hey, give me some credit. I just updated it, Twilight.

[There's a playful roll of the eyes, though he does see her point.]

I guess a more condensed guide would come in handy. It's just that there's so much to cover. That's part of why my guide got so huge.

[friendyousohard]

Oh, did you? I haven't actually checked it in a while. Sorry about that.

[Then again, why would she be looking through that guide anymore? She's long ago memorized it.]

I know, that's why I feel like we really need more than one person working on this. I just don't think I could cut down enough minutiae on my own.

[islandshore]

[He flaps his hand.]

No big deal. I figured it got lost in the shuffle with all my talk about the Breeding Center.

[He even included a link, heh...]

But there actually was a survival guide. Think it's still available if you dig. Just hasn't been updated in a while...

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

I haven't been here all that long, but I can easily make a document file. We could even separate it out by topic, if that would be better. I have my laptop here, and while it's going to take a bit more work and swapping out parts to make it compatible with this world's computers, I should be able to at least get the file transfer capabilities up and running at some point soon. Making the actual files compatible might take a bit more time, but I should be able to handle it.

What I'm essentially saying is that I can handle distribution once we get everything written down.

[Video]

[friendyousohard]

Superb, that solves one problem then. And I absolutely agree with sorting things out by topic. I was thinking we should start with the questions everyone seems to ask, you know, "where am I", "why is this animal following me", "how did I get here and how do I go home", that sort of thing.

[Video]

[crouching_sin]

Agreed. We can provide more detailed information for those who want it, but I doubt most people want to read an entire instruction manual their first day here.

[He would, but he's... weird, and he's aware of that.]

Things like type advantages can always be looked up on their own for those interested, though we might want to make a mention of it. It wouldn't do for someone to end up being crushed by a low level Pokemon as soon as they step into the tall grass.

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[failnought]

I think a comprehensive document is an amazing idea. That way, we can not only pool our ideas, but someone might have suggestions or insights that someone else might not have thought of. Maybe someone could even draw up some simple maps, like with notable places that a new trainer should visit.

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[friendyousohard]

A map might be a good idea actually. One of the path from New Bark to Cherrygrove, one from Pallet to Viridian, so they can compare their choices and not get lost.

We don't want to go too overboard, though. This is going to be something they can digest over the first day without too much difficulty, and that's going to be the tricky part. Most people aren't in any mood to assimilate information when they've just arrived, even when they're demanding it.

text

[failnought]

I'm not much of an artist, but surely someone around here is. Maps are the most important thing, aren't they?

Hm... Maybe we could put the most important stuff in front. Then have the other stuff in the back, that way they can access a good amount of information but won't get overwhelmed.

video;

[loveisanopendoor]

That's actually a really good idea! Maybe we can get, like, a nice big sign in New Bark Town? Kind of like a bulletin board or something! And we can give it all kinds of posts and stuff and update it every now and again with important stuff so that everyone who just got here can see it? I think if I saw something like that when I got here the first time it'd answer some more of my questions!

Maybe we can go around and do some kind of a survey to make sure we put everything on there that new people would want to know?

video;

[friendyousohard]

Now that's an interesting idea. I was thinking of a document we could put up on the network, but something more physical might be more helpful, especially as I don't think there's any way we can get a network document to open itself on a newcomer's gear. It won't help much if they never see it.

[loveisanopendoor]

Well, that might be easier to change quickly and add new stuff to, but I mean, if you're someone like me who came from the 1800s, it might be hard to figure out how to work the Gear at first glance! So I think something they see right off the bat would be pretty good, even if it's just teaching them the basics!

Video

[the_pilgrim]

Like a guide book for outsiders, eh? That's...not too bad an idea at all.

Video

[friendyousohard]

More like a welcome flier, really. There's already a guide book, the one I mentioned by Riku. It's just too long and dense for a newcomer to read quickly.

video;

[paopuprincess]

As long as we advertise the Training Center in it, I don't see why not.

[Gotta get that paper, y'know.]

video;

[friendyousohard]

I'll provide a link to Riku's guide in it, that should count. A newcomer isn't going to be able to make use of the Training Center anyway.