For some fields like genre, subgenre, game system, etc., it's unlikely that we'll think of all options. While there are "custom" fields, I think it might be appropriate to let people say more than just "custom". For instance, I might want to say "modified d20".

So I propose that when sending back a response with a value of other/custom, you are allowed to add another item to the response:

GAMESYSTEM | Custom | Modified d20
or
GENRE | Other | Economic Simulation

Does this sound like a good/bad idea? Should both 'custom' and 'other' be accepted, or should we have 'other' be the standard to indicate that another value might be there?

Could go for d20 Modified or d20-Modified. Would make sense to describe that instance.

Economic Simulation isn't a genre. Simulation should be added to the GAMEPLAY variable though.

The GENRE list ought to be all inclusive with a minimum amount of genres. An Economic simulation would probably have Modern as its genre unless it's futuristic, historic, or has fantasy elements.

The SUBGENRE fields are wide open, and if set to Economic Simulation that would read as: Modern - Economic Simulation or Historical - Economic Simulation. That'd look good I think.

Sorry, I think those are off-topic points, could we maybe discuss those in a separate thread? I'm trying to avoid having the same conversation in 20 different places. The point here is that we aren't going to think of everything and we might need a way to let people fill in blanks for us.

GAMESYSTEM and SUBGENRE have the "Etc" field which is described in the spec as "fill in the blanks". So I think your question has pretty much been answered.

That information is not in the spec articles on this site, and furthermore the "etc." are presented as, well, actual values. I think that we should clarify that eventually.

Also, I think there is some value in keeping the common responses separate from the 'other' responses, but that might be just me.

It was my understanding that GAMESYSTEM and SUBGENRE, like CODEBASE, were fill in the blank items already.

I went ahead and added Simulation to gameplay, and clarified "etc" in the spec.

I guess the main question is how to deal with derived gamesystems, and if the proper notation is "modified d20" "d20 modified" "d20-modified" or something else?



They are, but it may not have been absolute clear that they were.

I was just using game system as an example; the main question here is not how to deal with derived game systems, it's how to deal with things we haven't thought of yet.

I'm happy if we already allow filling in blanks, although to repeat my earlier statement I think there might be value in separating the canonical list from user-supplied values. If anything, it makes people think if they meet a supplied value before throwing in their own.

Well, like with Simulation, I can easily add things to the spec if they show up. A good mud list will add links to the main categories: family, genre, gameplay - and muds that fill in something random will likely get screwed.

I assume popular gamesystems, subgenres, and codebases will be categorized as well.

That attitude completely defeats the purpose of having 'other' as a possible response.

I'm going to wait a bit to get some input from other people on this one. Not sure myself, so would like to hear more opinions…

I'll note on Javelin's community MUSHlist they use genre and source. Genre's are Contemporary, Fantasy, Horror, Historical, Science Fiction and Other. This is not dissimilar to the current MSSP setup, although the listed mud may select multiple genres. I see a Buffy/Angel game with Contemporary, Fantasy, Horror selected, which makes sense. Source seems to be used as both a subgenre and gamesystem. I like having them separate in MSSP. Anyway they get specific with the source as in Harry Potter, Buffy, Song of Fire and Ice, X-Men, etc. In both cases subgenre and gamesystem I think it's best to leave them as fill in the blank because there are no end of possible themes and gamesystems.