Guidelines for Designing LAW Events
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2023 4:00 am
People typically have very broad ideas for LAW events. But it's not often that users think of how they'll actually go about implementing those ideas, how the event they have in mind will be structured, how it will play out, so on and so forth. This guide is meant to explain what things one should give consideration towards when it comes to putting together pitches for your events. I'll explain those things by voicing my own thought process for them.
Generally speaking, my approach toward ironing out details for events is to consider four factors
This subject is broad. Generally speaking, events require a certain format or structure to follow, especially in a play-by-post community like LAW. Structure is often borrowed from concepts in irl wrestling and fight sports. When considering structure, the two biggest things you should consider are 1) what the event will look like in kayfabe, and 2) how the event will be arranged on the forums
You're not limited to the following structures, but I'll briefly summarize the commonplace structures we've seen from special events and attractions on LAW
- A single big match or big, continuous thread - such examples include things like the lightweight war, the Karen Comeuppance thread, and the Belly War. The idea of a single match that incorporates multiple users somehow (could be a tag match or something else) to tell a story pertinent to the event theme or goal
- Supercards & PPVs - A collection of matches that make up a card. In kayfabe, these matches take place consecutively, all on the same day/night, intended to be made up of big matches and headlined by big stars. Sometimes these events are themed
- Tournaments - A collection of matches in which competitors work their way up rankings/the bracket as they win, often having losing wrestlers get eliminated to have the winners advance
- Freeform Events - This encompasses stuff like Apex and The LAWLESS Title Hunt - An event that has users create their own thread(s) and sort things out between themselves (within the rules of the event) at their own pace/leisure to make progress in the event
These are the broad categories into which I'd slot all LAW events up until now. When thinking over event structure, you can use the way we've gone about the above formats as a template. Or you can try to come up with your own layout/structure. But the goal with figuring out event structure and scope of your event, and the questions we should be asking are:
1) What will the event look like on the forums?
2) How many threads will it need?
3) How many users can or should be a part of this?
4) What things could go wrong?
5) Do I have a plan in place to get things back on track in case something goes wrong? and
6) Can something be done to make the event smoother or more feasible?
The more you consider the structure of your event and how small or large it is in scope, the more I think you'll veer towards crafting something that can be feasibly done.
It's important to consider both how long a given event might take to complete in terms of irl time and when a good time would be a kick off an event. Generally speaking, if much of the active player base is involved/entrenched in ongoing events, it'll make it harder to kick off new ones. Waiting for an ideal time and being mindful of fatigue in active players is important. For this reason, if you pitch an event that you want support from the mods and staff for, the leadership at LAW will decide when the event can be put together once it's approved.
Things happen, and it's almost always better to account for the possibility of things going wrong and to have a game plan to navigate those situations rather than get caught up in a bad situation with no idea of what to do to get things back on track. We want to avoid a scenario where the entire event falls apart because one or two people either can't post actively or have to drop out for one reason or another. It's for this reason that I advocate for having some sort of entry criteria for events and/or fail-safes in place
Most users will sign up for an event as soon as they are able. There's nothing wrong with this excitement. But the reality is that it takes time, effort, and commitment to work your way through any given thread. In my experience, it's pretty vital to vet entrants for events that are generally larger commitments like tournaments, and for events that strongly encourage completion like PPVs. My experience is that having some sort of entry criteria that must be satisfied helps encourage the inclusion/participation of users who tend to be active and that having a plan for a scenario in which someone must drop out goes a long way
This includes things like qualifying rounds barring entry into tournaments/other events a required number of completed matches, alternates or substitutes handy in the event that someone has to bail.
Of course, no plan is perfect. The downside to this approach is that a small handful of users come to view things like qualifying rounds and other entry criteria as hoops to jump through, which they find discouraging. I've always seen entry criteria as opportunities to add details to stories or to even tell additional stories that branch off from the premises and backdrops brought on by wrestling events, but I understand this perspective
I'm not saying that every event needs these kinds of mechanisms. But I am saying that doing something along these lines is often helpful. I've seen others try and guarantee activity in their events by only including/only extending invitations to users they deem active, by timeboxing specific rounds/threads (and removing characters/users who, for one reason or another, are unable to engage within the time window). There's no one "right" answer. Every option has pros and cons and when you oversee an event, it's important to choose options that fit your event best
For users that may not want to commit fully to an event, but still want to be adjacent to it, stuff like the cruise ship threads section for the most recent Fight The LAW is a good middle ground, I feel
There's a lot that can be said here but my experience has taught me that in practice, while users may often express interest in specific event ideas, this is often fleeting. My perception is that most users simply want to be a part of something they think is cool. Regardless of what the event might be, as long as folks think the event is neat, there will be users who express interest.
Part of the goal of the discourse here is to review how much interest the greater player base has in specific ideas, themes, and events. We want to focus on what events we feel LAW needs and what the players want.
Walking through the logistics of how we can make events happen may make it easy to forget about the kayfabe implications. There should be stories for every participant/character in an event to either begin or advance, but that's helped in large part by the premise introduced by the event and by the rules the event imposes in-universe. Pretty much every part of what makes an event sound cool to our users comes down to how the event will affect their characters and how their characters will conduct themselves and interact while taking part in the event. Whether it's being made to team up like in the Wildcard Tag Event or an event where characters have a chance to cement themselves as a big deal or rising stars like in the Queen of The Ring Tourney or Young Lioness Cup, the bulk of what makes any event interest is what it can do for people's stories and the scenarios that can be crafted to include people's characters
A very small/vocal minority is tired of them but tourneys are a mainstay at LAW. There's almost always interest in them at all times so I thought it would be useful to put a note here about them. I've never attempted a tourney with more than 8 users. Coordinating a tournament is a challenge in its own right. Generally speaking, I've booked tournaments by privately gathering the preferences of all the entrants (desired matchups, RP partners, desired final placement, etc). Some users have conducted their own tourneys using RNG/dice. There are pros and cons to both. I can speak at length on those in a separate post or in DM's.
This concludes the primer. If you would like to put together an event, please follow the instructions for pitching threads detailed in this thread
Generally speaking, my approach toward ironing out details for events is to consider four factors
- Scope/Structure
- Time/Timing - As in the amount of irl time the event will time
- Entry Criteria/Failsafes
- User Interest
- Kayfabe
Scope/Structure
This subject is broad. Generally speaking, events require a certain format or structure to follow, especially in a play-by-post community like LAW. Structure is often borrowed from concepts in irl wrestling and fight sports. When considering structure, the two biggest things you should consider are 1) what the event will look like in kayfabe, and 2) how the event will be arranged on the forums
You're not limited to the following structures, but I'll briefly summarize the commonplace structures we've seen from special events and attractions on LAW
- A single big match or big, continuous thread - such examples include things like the lightweight war, the Karen Comeuppance thread, and the Belly War. The idea of a single match that incorporates multiple users somehow (could be a tag match or something else) to tell a story pertinent to the event theme or goal
- Supercards & PPVs - A collection of matches that make up a card. In kayfabe, these matches take place consecutively, all on the same day/night, intended to be made up of big matches and headlined by big stars. Sometimes these events are themed
- Tournaments - A collection of matches in which competitors work their way up rankings/the bracket as they win, often having losing wrestlers get eliminated to have the winners advance
- Freeform Events - This encompasses stuff like Apex and The LAWLESS Title Hunt - An event that has users create their own thread(s) and sort things out between themselves (within the rules of the event) at their own pace/leisure to make progress in the event
These are the broad categories into which I'd slot all LAW events up until now. When thinking over event structure, you can use the way we've gone about the above formats as a template. Or you can try to come up with your own layout/structure. But the goal with figuring out event structure and scope of your event, and the questions we should be asking are:
1) What will the event look like on the forums?
2) How many threads will it need?
3) How many users can or should be a part of this?
4) What things could go wrong?
5) Do I have a plan in place to get things back on track in case something goes wrong? and
6) Can something be done to make the event smoother or more feasible?
The more you consider the structure of your event and how small or large it is in scope, the more I think you'll veer towards crafting something that can be feasibly done.
Time/Timing
It's important to consider both how long a given event might take to complete in terms of irl time and when a good time would be a kick off an event. Generally speaking, if much of the active player base is involved/entrenched in ongoing events, it'll make it harder to kick off new ones. Waiting for an ideal time and being mindful of fatigue in active players is important. For this reason, if you pitch an event that you want support from the mods and staff for, the leadership at LAW will decide when the event can be put together once it's approved.
Entry Criteria/Failsafes
Things happen, and it's almost always better to account for the possibility of things going wrong and to have a game plan to navigate those situations rather than get caught up in a bad situation with no idea of what to do to get things back on track. We want to avoid a scenario where the entire event falls apart because one or two people either can't post actively or have to drop out for one reason or another. It's for this reason that I advocate for having some sort of entry criteria for events and/or fail-safes in place
Most users will sign up for an event as soon as they are able. There's nothing wrong with this excitement. But the reality is that it takes time, effort, and commitment to work your way through any given thread. In my experience, it's pretty vital to vet entrants for events that are generally larger commitments like tournaments, and for events that strongly encourage completion like PPVs. My experience is that having some sort of entry criteria that must be satisfied helps encourage the inclusion/participation of users who tend to be active and that having a plan for a scenario in which someone must drop out goes a long way
This includes things like qualifying rounds barring entry into tournaments/other events a required number of completed matches, alternates or substitutes handy in the event that someone has to bail.
Of course, no plan is perfect. The downside to this approach is that a small handful of users come to view things like qualifying rounds and other entry criteria as hoops to jump through, which they find discouraging. I've always seen entry criteria as opportunities to add details to stories or to even tell additional stories that branch off from the premises and backdrops brought on by wrestling events, but I understand this perspective
I'm not saying that every event needs these kinds of mechanisms. But I am saying that doing something along these lines is often helpful. I've seen others try and guarantee activity in their events by only including/only extending invitations to users they deem active, by timeboxing specific rounds/threads (and removing characters/users who, for one reason or another, are unable to engage within the time window). There's no one "right" answer. Every option has pros and cons and when you oversee an event, it's important to choose options that fit your event best
For users that may not want to commit fully to an event, but still want to be adjacent to it, stuff like the cruise ship threads section for the most recent Fight The LAW is a good middle ground, I feel
User Interest
There's a lot that can be said here but my experience has taught me that in practice, while users may often express interest in specific event ideas, this is often fleeting. My perception is that most users simply want to be a part of something they think is cool. Regardless of what the event might be, as long as folks think the event is neat, there will be users who express interest.
Part of the goal of the discourse here is to review how much interest the greater player base has in specific ideas, themes, and events. We want to focus on what events we feel LAW needs and what the players want.
Kayfabe
Walking through the logistics of how we can make events happen may make it easy to forget about the kayfabe implications. There should be stories for every participant/character in an event to either begin or advance, but that's helped in large part by the premise introduced by the event and by the rules the event imposes in-universe. Pretty much every part of what makes an event sound cool to our users comes down to how the event will affect their characters and how their characters will conduct themselves and interact while taking part in the event. Whether it's being made to team up like in the Wildcard Tag Event or an event where characters have a chance to cement themselves as a big deal or rising stars like in the Queen of The Ring Tourney or Young Lioness Cup, the bulk of what makes any event interest is what it can do for people's stories and the scenarios that can be crafted to include people's characters
Tournaments
A very small/vocal minority is tired of them but tourneys are a mainstay at LAW. There's almost always interest in them at all times so I thought it would be useful to put a note here about them. I've never attempted a tourney with more than 8 users. Coordinating a tournament is a challenge in its own right. Generally speaking, I've booked tournaments by privately gathering the preferences of all the entrants (desired matchups, RP partners, desired final placement, etc). Some users have conducted their own tourneys using RNG/dice. There are pros and cons to both. I can speak at length on those in a separate post or in DM's.
This concludes the primer. If you would like to put together an event, please follow the instructions for pitching threads detailed in this thread