The current definition of "Normal" as applies to are Queue rules are here: MafiaWiki: Normal Game.
To start with, if you are running a game on one of the Normal lists (which includes Newbie games), and you are not following these,
you are breaking the rules
. I understand that some people disagree with the guidelines, but I think we could find someone to disagree with just about any rule we have, whether Queue rule or Game rule or Forum rule or otherwise.I'm getting tired of checking a forum on occasion and seeing that several of the mods are ignoring these rules. I was just looking at Little Italy a moment ago, where we currently have Early Morning, Western, Anime, Futuristic, Vampire, and Ogre games. That's
two thirds
of the games currently active from the Mini Normal list. These all have themes, by any reasonable definition.Now, a lot of you will say "But mith, it's just
flavor
, it's not really
a theme." And I can understand where you're coming from, to a point. The themed "Mini Normal" games generally do have basic roles, just with renaming/flavor on top.However, while we
could
make that distinction, I will restate that currently we do not
.So, two main points:
One, I'm not sure what the answer is, but the blatant disregard for the rules has got to stop. We can discuss changing the rules (as I'll get to in point two), but unless/until the rules are changed, the rules need to be enforced.
Allowing people to break this particular rule is unfair on the mods who are following it - for example, those joining the Mini Theme queue with its generally longer wait (though at the moment it's apparently shorter... so I'm baffled by mods with the appropriate experience going to the Mini Normal queue to run their theme games!). It's unfair on the mods that I've sent messages to in the past asking them to remove things from their games that break the rules. It's unfair on the players who sign up for a Normal game expecting what's in those guidelines and getting stuck with something else. And it's unfair on me and the List Mods, because we really don't want to have to police the forums for stuff like this.
Two, this is an oppotunity for discussion of this particular rule. Believe it or not, I do have reasons for these guidelines. I didn't just arbitrarily come up with them. That doesn't mean they're set in stone. I am always willing to consider changing pretty much anything on this site, so long as it is done in the right way - that is, after discussion and consideration, rather than people just choosing to ignore what they don't like.
So, a quick list of reasons, which I will expand on as needed:
a. This is a
Mafia
site. The game we play has plenty of different names, but our "flavor" is Mafia. That doesn't mean we can't have theme games; I like them as much as anyone. But what it does mean is that we have a place for Mafia-themed games, the Normal queues, as that's our mainstay.b. This mostly applies to the Newbie queue, but even some of the bigger themed-posing-as-normal games I've seen (/played in) are confusing to the players. If a new player signs up for this Mafia thing they've been told about, and then finds himself in a game about Invisible Ninja Pirate Tigers, at best they're going to be a little confused until they separate the flavor from the actual game, and at worst they're going to be put off and leave the site.
c. This doesn't apply to open/semi-open games, but adding flavor to a closed game, even if it's just surface element over a normal role, adds something extra to the gameplay (and no, adding something to the gameplay is not always a good thing). It adds role names - generally more confirmable than generic names. It adds a level of outguessing-the-mod ("Would the mod make X a Doc?"). It adds complexity to the fake-claim-game. And all of that is fine in some games; otherwise, we wouldn't have theme games at all. But it shouldn't be in all (or even most) of our games.
d. Minor, but I feel that new players learn better in a more "standard" environment. In part, because it avoids the confusion thing in (b) but also because it gives everyone common ground for discussion. If a player's first experiences are as Townies, Mafia, Cop, Doc, it will be easier for them to discuss those roles, and they have a solid foundation for handling more complicated things in future games. I don't think that foundation would be as solid for someone whose first few roles were "Hotdog", "The Color Green", and "Jellyfish".
e. The same goes for new mods. Part of the reason we have modding requirements is so mods get an idea for how the basics work (on this site)
before
moving on to more complicated things (included non-Mafia flavor). I'm sure some completely new mods can work out the potential pitfalls from (c) and adjust accordingly, but I don't believe all of them can.Anyway, that's a start. Discuss.