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I have an idea

14 Jun 2012 22:40 #27593 by fats
I have an idea was created by fats
hi all,

I was reading the DC Comics - Cheap Stunts or Good Stories and it got me thinking.

Why not create our very own SWM universe!

This would be a completely open there would be no single mind behind the universe there could be a team of say 4 people who would create the overarching rules of the universe the framework that would hold it together and then rest would be up to you the members as to how the universe would be populated, the character storyline could be developed.

There could be opportunities on new images, I bet that there is a number of artists just lurking looking for something to get the creative juices going, same with authors as well, I bet the idea of writing a large story is daunting to most people, but writing a few panels of a comic book or being involved in a story that has been put together by many people.

I think that this could be the one thing that we need to ignite the imagination of the members here and take SWM to another level.

BTW this idea came to me in the last 10 mins, but I think that we could make this work.

Let me know what you think and lets see if this is a goer or not.

Fats
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15 Jun 2012 10:27 #27605 by eavatar
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I have some practice on writing comic book script format and I always was afraid to send them to SWM because I am sure I was going to get an average to low reception from the members (we are such picky types, but now I think I can send the scripts of my own universe to the site. (The problem is I have just 3 ubbergirls and just one of them is a "starter" character, the other characters are from different tropes and genres).

Going ahead is the only one way to go to the future.

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15 Jun 2012 12:17 #27606 by njae
Replied by njae on topic Re: I have an idea
I like the idea of having a SWM universe. Something similar happened before with the Transformatrix interactive story, but personally, my biggest problem with that one was the crossover with DC.

It'll also be challenging to combine the different tastes of the community into one consistent universe.

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16 Jun 2012 12:49 #27610 by oldHarmonyMotion
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This sounds like an idea worth trying.

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16 Jun 2012 13:11 #27611 by Woodclaw
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I'm abit on the fence with this idea. I've seen plenty of shared universes collapsing, still when it works it's usually awesome .

I'm willing to try.

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16 Jun 2012 19:15 #27613 by njae
Replied by njae on topic Re: I have an idea
The first thought I had when looking at Angel Falls was "OMG, too many characters" after taking a look at the character sheet section. Then I considered how many characters I already have for my own series, plus the ones that haven't appeared yet and things didn't look that out of scale anymore.

But the one thing I believe will be really important for a shared universe are the rules. Especially when it comes to the possible origins of the women's powers. Giving the character individuality may be important, but having dozens of ways to get super powers (or being born with them) only makes one wonder how there's still normal people walking around. Thinking about all these possible problems makes me understand why there are reboots in the first place...

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16 Jun 2012 21:23 #27614 by inactive
Replied by inactive on topic Re: I have an idea

njae wrote: The first thought I had when looking at Angel Falls was "OMG, too many characters" after taking a look at the character sheet section. Then I considered how many characters I already have for my own series, plus the ones that haven't appeared yet and things didn't look that out of scale anymore.

But the one thing I believe will be really important for a shared universe are the rules. Especially when it comes to the possible origins of the women's powers. Giving the character individuality may be important, but having dozens of ways to get super powers (or being born with them) only makes one wonder how there's still normal people walking around. Thinking about all these possible problems makes me understand why there are reboots in the first place...


I agree. Another important rule would be to play nice. No omn-powerful villains who kill everyone with a flick of their wrist.

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16 Jun 2012 23:01 #27615 by njae
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geekseven wrote: I agree. Another important rule would be to play nice. No omn-powerful villains who kill everyone with a flick of their wrist.


That's a given, there have to be rules concerning the power levels at play.

I'd also say it's better to start from scratch meaning that none of the stories currently in the bank could be part of the SWM Universe. There can always be a SWM Universe reboot of a character/storyline if necessary. Character's from already established universes (Kryptonians, Velorians, Marvel's Mutants...) should be ruled out as well, it would only get confusing.

If this idea is well-received, then it would be a good idea to make it the topic of the next (normal length) workshop - but first there is/was supposed to be a shortstory workshop.

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17 Jun 2012 01:14 #27616 by Jabbrwock
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geekseven wrote: I agree. Another important rule would be to play nice. No omn-powerful villains who kill everyone with a flick of their wrist.


As much as it goes against the grain of the site, I think a better rule would be no omni-powerful anything. Heroine or villain, it is pretty much guaranteed to break a shared universe.

You can have infinitely powerful beings in a shared universe, but they need to be hands off. No author actually gets to use them. Their roles are decided in advance and agreed to at the start of the series, and they absolutely never show up except when those roles are invoked.

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17 Jun 2012 04:10 #27618 by inactive
Replied by inactive on topic Re: I have an idea
Some thinking out loud on world building.

Comic book universe (superheroines and supervillainesses in colorful costumes facing off) or "normal" universe that looks like ours except that some women have superpowers?

How long have super-powered women been around? Centuries? Decades? Or are our characters the first to appear?

How has history been affected by the presence of superwomen?

Are there super-powered men as well? If so, are superwomen in the majority, or the minority?

How are superwomen viewed by society? As heroes, as villains, as menaces, as vigilantes? Is their presence a secret, or widely known?

- GeekSeven

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17 Jun 2012 04:47 - 17 Jun 2012 04:49 #27619 by ChaozCloud
Replied by ChaozCloud on topic Re: I have an idea

geekseven wrote: Some thinking out loud on world building.

Comic book universe (superheroines and supervillainesses in colorful costumes facing off) or "normal" universe that looks like ours except that some women have superpowers?

How long have super-powered women been around? Centuries? Decades? Or are our characters the first to appear?

How has history been affected by the presence of superwomen?

Are there super-powered men as well? If so, are superwomen in the majority, or the minority?

How are superwomen viewed by society? As heroes, as villains, as menaces, as vigilantes? Is their presence a secret, or widely known?


Hmmm... I probably won't be joining this due to a lack of artistic sense, but I'll give my opinion on some of these things.

1. Maybe a little mix of them both. There may be a lot of super powered people, but maybe they are a lot more spread out on the earth than it is in DC and Marvel comics.

2. Since the birth of mankind. Maybe some important people in history had access to super powers? Maybe gods and goddesses of myth were actually just people with super powers?

3. Except some changes in how things happened, it pretty much happened as it happened in the real world. Like WW2 with supers from both sides?

4. I say yes. Mostly because the only reason for men not to have super powers would come down the Y chromosome or magic. I mean, if a government has access to a super soldier serum then it makes no sense for them to only use it on women.

5. Some heroes may be a bit more brutish in their way of solving crime that may not be so appreciated by the public, while some heroes does everything by the book and are sanctioned by the government as well. Villains will most likely be viewed as menaces.

On the no omnipotent thing. If there is going to be team ups then there is going to be a need of a villain that can stand up to the combined might of several heroes. Though this depends fully on how powerful heroes that exists. If everyone has a Superman level character then there'll definitely be a need of a villain close to omnipotent levels.

I'll also say that killing characters should be allowed but only if you have permission from the characters creator and if you do it in a well written way. Let the person whos character is going to be killed agree to the way the character dies. Killing your own characters should be allowed without any penalty, unless you make someone elses character do it in a way that's out of character. For example, having Superman kill Batman.

Just my 2 cents.
Last edit: 17 Jun 2012 04:49 by ChaozCloud.

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17 Jun 2012 06:00 #27621 by argonaut
Replied by argonaut on topic Re: I have an idea

geekseven wrote: Some thinking out loud on world building.

Comic book universe (superheroines and supervillainesses in colorful costumes facing off) or "normal" universe that looks like ours except that some women have superpowers?

How long have super-powered women been around? Centuries? Decades? Or are our characters the first to appear?

How has history been affected by the presence of superwomen?

Are there super-powered men as well? If so, are superwomen in the majority, or the minority?

How are superwomen viewed by society? As heroes, as villains, as menaces, as vigilantes? Is their presence a secret, or widely known?


My two cents:

I'd prefer a world that was just like ours until about 15 years ago, when a tiny percentage of women began to develop super-powers -- a phenomenon that has continued to the present and shows no sign of stopping or slowing down. The affected women begin manifesting super-powers in their late teens, so the first omes are now in their early 30's. That would allow writers some latitude in assigning ages to their characters. (If super-women have been around for centuries, someome would have to outline the world's alternate history, which I think would make this project more complicated.) And no super-powered men. (Something to do with the Y-chromosome inibiting the development of powers.)

I envision a world with maybe 1000 super-women (with their number growing slightly every year). Some of them (a very few) might decide to become costumed super-heroines. Others might join the military, or the FBI, or a disaster-relief team. Some maintain a low profile, either keeping their powers a secret from the world at large, or trying to live something close to a normal life. I'd like to see writers explore possibilities beyond super-heroines and super-sociopaths.
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17 Jun 2012 06:08 #27622 by Artnico
Replied by Artnico on topic Re: I have an idea
This is a very good idea. :)
You can count on me even though my problem is to communicate because of my bad English. I have some SW characters I would like to submit this project if it goes. ;)

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17 Jun 2012 11:25 #27623 by Gliblord
Replied by Gliblord on topic Re: I have an idea
The way I see it, the following are a lot of the variables to be tweaked in a supergirl world. My own preferences are in the spoiler tags.

a) How common supergirls are, and whether or not there are also male supers.

Warning: Spoiler!


b) The setting and history: Earth as we know it, fantasy setting, etc.

Warning: Spoiler!


c) How are supergirls born? Science or magic?

Warning: Spoiler!


d) Do the supergirls each have their own unique powers besides the default super strength/senses/speed?

Warning: Spoiler!


e) How much more intelligent, on average, are supergirls? Do they have enhanced/perfect memory and recall?

Warning: Spoiler!


f) How much variation is there in power levels? Can supergirls be classified in separate class categories of sheer power, or are they all on a roughly even playing field?

g) Are all supergirls conventionally attractive? Does the supergirl transformation make her beautiful as well?

h) Do supergirls age normally, or do they age more slowly than normal people?

i) How resistant are supergirls to attacks normal people might resort to, such as nuclear weapons or engineered plagues?

j) Do supergirls need more sleep, food, drink, and air than the average person, or do they need less (or even none at all)?

k) The healing factor: Do most supergirls get bloody and roughed up when fighting, or do they heal instantaneously?

l) Approximately how powerful are a supergirl's senses? 10X? 100X? More? Is her sensual pleasure (e.g., sexual bliss, enjoying gourmet food, receiving a super massage, etc.) similarly magnified?
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17 Jun 2012 19:01 - 17 Jun 2012 19:02 #27624 by njae
Replied by njae on topic Re: I have an idea
Here's my two cents about the variables in question.

a) How common supergirls are, and whether or not there are also male supers.


I'd say small but steadily growing number of supers. As for male supers this directly depends on the number of supers in general. With a dozen supers it may be handwaved that there aren't any men among them, but with a hundred there better be a good explanation.

b) The setting and history: Earth as we know it, fantasy setting, etc.


Definetely Earth as we know it adapting to whatever caused the appearance of supers in the first place. The fact that it's 2012 almost begs to be used.

c) How are supergirls born? Science or magic?


Science, but as long as it's funcional magic is just as good. For MMM I'm using an alien plant as the power source which is kind of a combination of both since the character's don't know all the rules that apply here yet. For a shared universe these rules have to be cleared before, so that the authors can apply them.

d) Do the supergirls each have their own unique powers besides the default super strength/senses/speed?


Yes, it would be better to have a bit of variation here. Maybe there are a few distinct categories like being based on the four elements or something.

e) How much more intelligent, on average, are supergirls? Do they have enhanced/perfect memory and recall?


The default should be that they're just as intelligent as before so that super intelligence can be an individual super power. Super senses may make them appear more intelligent since they have more time to think of a plan.

f) How much variation is there in power levels? Can supergirls be classified in separate class categories of sheer power, or are they all on a roughly even playing field?


I vote for roughly even, playing field. The women should be able to improve even after becoming super so that there isn't a superpower lottery going on.

g) Are all supergirls conventionally attractive? Does the supergirl transformation make her beautiful as well?


Yes, you can never have enough plain janes transforming into super hot super chicks.

h) Do supergirls age normally, or do they age more slowly than normal people?


If they're all gaining their powers "now" this aspect doesn't really come to play except for drama reasons as they'll outlife their loved ones.

i) How resistant are supergirls to attacks normal people might resort to, such as nuclear weapons or engineered plagues?


True invulnerability should be rare and a nuclear bomb should be at least scary to most supers.

j) Do supergirls need more sleep, food, drink, and air than the average person, or do they need less (or even none at all)?


This can vary together with the powers. For example in MMM the girls need less of everything, and benefit more when they get it. On the other hand certain needs are amplified.

k) The healing factor: Do most supergirls get bloody and roughed up when fighting, or do they heal instantaneously?


That's more of a power level question.

l) Approximately how powerful are a supergirl's senses? 10X? 100X? More? Is her sensual pleasure (e.g., sexual bliss, enjoying gourmet food, receiving a super massage, etc.) similarly magnified?


This can vary, but the sensual pleasure should be magnified. There's also the possibilty that certain senses become less powerful, like a side-effect of invulnerability.
Last edit: 17 Jun 2012 19:02 by njae.

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17 Jun 2012 23:54 #27625 by Woodclaw
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a) How common supergirls are, and whether or not there are also male supers.


On this I agree with Njae, it depends on the numbers. If the total amount of superhumans worldwide is fairly low then I think we can keep male supers as a non-factor, otherwise I think we should include them.

b) The setting and history: Earth as we know it, fantasy setting, etc.


I'm going with Earth here, including other dimensions by deafult might be tricky, so I would advise against it.

c) How are supergirls born? Science or magic?


Neither or both, this vastly depends on

d) Do the supergirls each have their own unique powers besides the default super strength/senses/speed?


Absolutly. I think that some supers might even lack some "dafault" powers for the sake of variety.

e) How much more intelligent, on average, are supergirls? Do they have enhanced/perfect memory and recall?


Again, it depends. Intelligence is very tricky and subjective matter. IQ tests measure different forms of intelligence (mathematical skill, memory etc). the fact of having enhanced brain processing doesn't mean that the quality of thinking improves.

f) How much variation is there in power levels? Can supergirls be classified in separate class categories of sheer power, or are they all on a roughly even playing field?


I'm goign for something different here. I think that there should be a good variety of power levels. As I said above not all supers are the same, so some might be incredibly strong, but not that fast, others might be the opposite etc.
Some might even have very limited powers, but being extremly skilled at using them.

g) Are all supergirls conventionally attractive? Does the supergirl transformation make her beautiful as well?


I think not. While I can't really picture an ugly supergirl. I would love to see some more "unconventional" look.

h) Do supergirls age normally, or do they age more slowly than normal people?


I don't know. it's very likely that a supergirl with enhanced health and/or renerative power will outlive many of her contemporaries (in theory the human body can reach 130 years, but the health problems usually prevent it).

i) How resistant are supergirls to attacks normal people might resort to, such as nuclear weapons or engineered plagues?

j) Do supergirls need more sleep, food, drink, and air than the average person, or do they need less (or even none at all)?

k) The healing factor: Do most supergirls get bloody and roughed up when fighting, or do they heal instantaneously?


It depends from the character and the story.

l) Approximately how powerful are a supergirl's senses? 10X? 100X? More? Is her sensual pleasure (e.g., sexual bliss, enjoying gourmet food, receiving a super massage, etc.) similarly magnified?


As a general rule I love super-senses. They are one of the most underestimated power in existance. A character with super-senses is likely to experience enhanced sensations, both good and bad.

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18 Jun 2012 01:27 #27626 by inactive
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How do we want to proceed? Njae has choosing rights for the next workshop. Should we all put in our two cents and then njae could make the final decision on the initial "Bible" for the universe as the basis of the workshop. Maybe?

- GeekSeven

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18 Jun 2012 03:42 #27627 by njae
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geekseven wrote: How do we want to proceed? Njae has choosing rights for the next workshop. Should we all put in our two cents and then njae could make the final decision on the initial "Bible" for the universe as the basis of the workshop. Maybe?


I don't think my choosing rights for the workshop extend to the contents of the "bible" that sets the rules for this universe. If enough people are interested in participating the next workshop theme will be "Write a story settled in the SWM univere". The rules themselves should be worked out by more than one person, and they should be quite detailed. It may be helpful to use the channel #superwomenmania on webchat.freenode.net/ for a bit more direct communication while working out the rules, but the different timezones seem to be a bit of a problem.

For now it's good if everybody gave their opinion about the various questions so that we can find a good middle ground.

One point that's missing on the list of variables is

m) How many different ways to become super are there?

The typical universes have so many origin stories, it's quite confusing. Having only one way would make it hard to write origin stories since there isn't much room for variety then.

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18 Jun 2012 05:38 #27629 by argonaut
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How about conducting a poll in the form of a questionnaire allowing members to express their preferences regarding the ground-rules of this universe? Then someone could use the winning options to draw up an outline explaining how long super-women have been in existence, whether there's a common origin for their powers, whether there are men with super-powers, etc. (If someone will write the questinnaire, I'll volunteer to write the outline.)

Once the ground-rules are settled, the next workshop challenge could be to write a story set in the "SWMU."

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18 Jun 2012 05:45 #27630 by inactive
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argonaut wrote: How about conducting a poll in the form of a questionnaire allowing members to express their preferences regarding the ground-rules of this universe? Then someone could use the winning options to draw up an outline explaining how long super-women have been in existence, whether there's a common origin for their powers, whether there are men with super-powers, etc. (If someone will write the questinnaire, I'll volunteer to write the outline.)

Once the ground-rules are settled, the next workshop challenge could be to write a story set in the "SWMU."


I think that's the best way to do it. I can write, or at least contribute to, the questionnaire.

- GeekSeven

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18 Jun 2012 06:00 #27631 by argonaut
Replied by argonaut on topic Re: I have an idea
A lot of the basic questions have already been raised on this thread, so you'd just have to gather them and list choices for each one. Can anyone think of anything else for the questionnaire?

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18 Jun 2012 13:23 #27633 by njae
Replied by njae on topic Re: I have an idea
One thing that comes to mind for the questionaire are story/character plans. If an author has already specific plans for a story, these plans could be considered so that it fits the SWMU.

Other than that I'd be willing to help with the outline as well.

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18 Jun 2012 18:28 #27634 by dave147
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hi everyone

good ideas i luv idea of lots of women esp famous beautiful gaing superpowers i luv 2 see a story where a singer gains SUPERPOWERS as well

dave

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18 Jun 2012 19:36 #27636 by njae
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dave147 wrote: hi everyone

good ideas i luv idea of lots of women esp famous beautiful gaing superpowers i luv 2 see a story where a singer gains SUPERPOWERS as well

dave


This brings up another question for the questionaire:

"How are real life celebrities depicted in the universe?"

My preference would be that they aren't. If someone wants a superpowered singer/actor/politician/rich mans daughter the character has to be built from scratch. Can become really important in the case of politicians who may be used by more than one author.

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18 Jun 2012 21:08 #27637 by Katherine Dettwiller
Replied by Katherine Dettwiller on topic Re: I have an idea
Personally,I wouldn't mind some superpowered celebrities. Charlize Theron would be at the top of my list followed by Olivia Wilde.

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