Topic

Signposts

Ok, after going all eyes-crossed at the discussion about mining, here's an idea. Could we have signposts that we could stick in the ground when we don't want to be disturbed whilst doing something? I mean, it doesn't even necessarily have to be mining... leave me alone while I'm cooking, please hug me I'm low on mood, guess a number between one and eleventy to win a prize, now recruiting for bog-emptying quest, The End Is Nigh, No Really God Said So, host a barnacle party in your swamp ask me how... whatever. I don't know about everyone else, but I can't resist stopping to read notes, and if it was a deliberately placed sign, I'd definitely have to read that. 

It would be like a whiteboard: write whatever you want on it, erase and re-write at will. But here's the catch: you only get one. Ever. So you've gotta keep track of it, pluck it up and take it with you, or you don't get your sign any more. It's not donate-able, or sellable, or give-able. This is your sign, you will love it because it is yours... and not leave signs cluttering up the world. 

(now I'm thinking about it... we'd immediately have glitchlings lining up 4 or 5 signs ala Burma Shave. Or three for haiku. Teams could make an awesome player-created riddle/quest mechanism, or a scavenger hunt. Lo, the potential!)

Posted 18 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I wouldn't want to have to pick it up and place it each time if I was running around a lot (mining or just don't want to be disturbed or something), but other from that it's a nice idea.
    So I'd like a cardboard version of that which I can hang around myself.

    Ohhh I'd dress up as a beggar and sit (well stand) in a busy street with a sign asking for food :P
    Or a sign that says: Watch it, slept bad, in a bad mood now! (I sort of put on a sleepy outfit a few hours ago, with sleepy eyes - a sign like that, or "bad hair day" would be fun.) It could create more interaction.
    Posted 18 months ago by Miriamele Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You wouldn't necessarily have to pick it up each time, you just couldn't leave it lying around somewhere and expect to get a new one. Just gotta keep track of it... if you want to stick a sign in Bortola but head on down to the Deeps or something, that's fine, but if you want your sign back you'd have to go back to Bortola to pick it up.

    Perhaps an exception could be made for having a sign outside your house in addition to the portable one. That one would be permanent, and you could only "install" it within a certain radius of your front door. Or maybe it could be a welcome mat...
    Posted 18 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink
  • It's a really cool idea! 

    Gnomes work great for the area right outside your front door, and they can be taught phrases (then told to forget them when you want them to say something different). I've often wanted to take my Gnome on the road with me... I think your sign idea is an elegant solution with lots of room to generate funny and playful moments in the world. 

    Maybe you can buy 4-5 signs in a package but only one package of signs at a time. So the world doesn't get littered with signs with no players nearby, maybe they automatically pick themselves up if you log out or accidentally leave them behind when you change streets.
    Posted 18 months ago by Travinara Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Or certain ones could only be "placed" for as long as you're in a particular street? Once you leave, it yoinks itself up and goes back into your inventory, or (if they're inexpensive) disappears altogether. Or a sign that only lasts for one game day, or for as long as you're logged in like Trav said. Some of these ideas kinda kill the scavenger hunt sort of idea, but maybe there could be different kinds of signs for different amounts of currants.
    Posted 18 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like this idea - it seems like a great candidate for Penpersonship II, but I am a little wary of places getting cluttered up by lots of signs. Maybe signs could be rendered invisible to individual Glitches who choose to wear a special type of eyeglasses or "Sign Blinders".

    +1 to the signs automatically being returned to the owner after a certain amount of time. 

    A Note with a bad/malicious/commercial link can be donated to a shrine, but if individual Signs remain the property of the Glitch who created them, maybe a clickable "Report Spam" option for the inevitable attempts to increase traffic at ringtone and viagra sites.
    Posted 18 months ago by The Cat Face Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Or signs that are left too long become vulnerable to graffiti... hehehe
    Posted 18 months ago by Jennyanydots Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cute idea. Reminds me of Larry the Cable Guy though-Here's your sign...It could definitely become misused.
    Posted 18 months ago by Holly Waterfall Subscriber! | Permalink