I think the eventual goal (long-term, not in time for this particular game) will be to have a Discourse plug-in type thing wherein a GM can select a certain number of attributes with stat ranges and combat multipliers and all those variables at the beginning of a game, and then when the game gets going, each round the players have an interface wherein they input their data (purchases, upgrade choices, mission numbers, etc), and at each round’s deadline the GM idiot-checks the entries for shenanigans or mistakes, then triggers the randomized rolls, interprets the results, then writes them up.
But until that point, I think we still need to keep the data processing centralized to maintain everyone’s confidence in the integrity of the game. As long as everyone’s entries include a standardized dataset in addition to their rhetorical flourishes for each round, the data entry should be manageable enough for @penguinchris and @JonasEggeater to stay on top of, assuming their spreadsheet is robust and well-thought-out (which I’ll take as a given) and as long as we maintain a reasonable number of players. I’m thinking of capping that number at 30, but if anyone thinks that number is too high (or low, for that matter, though that strikes me as unlikely, given the personalized writeups we’ll need to do every round), let me know.
It’s true that our goal is similar to BSD’s unspoken Mission Statement: a hell of a good time along the way is much more important than “winning” or “losing,” but the fun does still come in the structure of a game, so reliable refereeing (with a healthy helping of liberal interpretation to encourage creativity) should be in place.
