Ho, ho, hum and a bottle of rum!

It's a pirate's life for me. Why do I say that, though? Because writing this article while my good ship, Makin' Bacon, sails the Sea of Nyx probably won't win me any friends. Maybe there's a reason why pirates are usually the bad guys, huh?

Usually, I just send any feedback that I have on the Sea of Nyx directly to the game's GM, Stefan Graf. This time around, though, I decided to write an article, instead, and if there's any feedback of value to be gleaned from these words that collectively comprise this article, then Stefan can simply extract what he likes, and toss the rest overboard, like chum for the sharks.

Sending feedback directly to Stefan provides no articles for PBM Chaos, and the Makin' Bacon is not the only ship that I captain. Aye. Fer upon the Sea 'O PBM, PBM Chaos must sail headlong into the literary dangers that await. And a board crew of PBM Chaos readers might well find mutiny preferable to boredom that comes from not having enough articles to read. So, keep that in mind, as I now proceed to board Stefan Graf's piratical masterpiece, the Sea of Nyx, for coverage purposes.

The Map

I have mixed feelings about the map. On the one hand, it suffices to get the job done. On the other hand, even though it has been improved some over time, it still comes across to me as a bit bland and boring. It is worth nothing and highlighting that the map is the single biggest piece of visual information and eye candy to be found in the entire game. Yet as a visual treasure chest for players to encounter each and every turn, it's largely visually empty - insofar as getting the blood of excitement flowing, whenever new turn results arrive.

Perhaps other pirates in the game feel differently. And if so, such is their nautical right. But I be charting my own course in these literary waters, beholden to no other man, where my thoughts and my opinions are concerned. My gut instinct tells me that the single biggest piece of visual real estate in the game could be better leveraged to the benefit of all.

While the various islands depicted on the map are not all the same size, they all nonetheless share the same visual character. Sure, it takes work to improve the looks of any map, but pirates by their very nature tend to be colorful visual objects, if nothing else. After each turn of Sea of Nyx, I issue my turn orders promptly (I'm much more prompt on getting my turn orders issued for Sea of Nyx, than i am on getting my turn orders issued for either Alamaze or Galac-Tac).

Yet, I then tend to not dwell on my turns and what all might be happening, until the follow turn report arrives in my e-mail in-box. This is known as one gauge of interest in a game. Shouldn't I be obsessing between turns over what that dastardly Richard Lockwood is up to? Shouldn't my mind be racing, as I ponder what that no-good Thurston "Camel Toe" Thorpe is plotting and scheming? Yet, instead, my turns for Sea of Nyx tend to be all neat and tidy - too neat and tidy!

In four of the map's four corners, there are graphics which intrude upon the hexes that form the map's movement spaces. If retained, these need to be either moved off of the hexes and onto the map's border, or the hexes that they overlapped need to be converted into new additions to the map's border.

Of course, it could be argued that they don't really seem to be bothering anything, at present, and I would readily concede on that particular point. However, it could just as easily be argued that no real incentive exists, in-game, for players to sail their pirate ships that close to the edge of the world (as we know it).

Which brings us to another issue - namely, what is the temptation to sail far afield? or is there any? In truth, the game is still in a state of relative infancy, for players have only receive six turn reports, total, for those pirates that have been in it since the game started. So, there's likely much, yet, to be experienced in the way of pretty much everything. Even still, my eye constantly scans the horizon of possibilities and likelihoods (albeit mostly on the days when new turn results arrive).

I'm unlikely to ever get excited about the map's cork border. Not that cork isn't the height of excitement in some parts of the world, but a map doesn't have to visually display just and only the bare minimum in piratical imagery. The map's border is much a part of the game's visual canvas as are the hexes which collectively comprise the game's field of movement. Why not, then, utilize the map's border to launch a visual broadside of piratical imagery or words at the eyes of both players and prospective players, alike? Imagery, after all, is one of the primary mechanisms of the human species to help facilitate the suspension of disbelief, for sight is one of the foremost of the human senses. To me, it's a missed opportunity, and arguably, the map for Sea of Nyx is one of the game's biggest missed opportunities.

That said, the game's map has benefited from various visual enhancements, as it has progressed, thus far. The faded ship movement depictions have really add a nice visual boost to the game. I also like the addition of wind movement arrows for both the current turn's wind direction, as well as the wind direction for the next turn. And the little ships with numbers on them that distinguish the different players' pirate ships from one another is a good example of visual efficiency, where the visual tracking of specific information is concerned.

The addition of merchant ships, a pirate hunter ship, and a ghost ship all make for good visual eye candy for the players. Yet, if one compares the amount of visual space that those individual items take up to the map, itself, then that can aid one in better grasping and understanding how the map in Sea of Nyx visually under-performs, relative to the amount of visual space that it occupies compared to these other visual counterparts in the game.

Sea of Nyx is free to play, but the question should still be asked, what are you getting for your visual money? Visual money is not currency that you spend, either in-game or in real life. Rather, it's part of what is used to purchase a player's continued interest in playing.



Exploration



In my two most recent turns in Sea of Nyx, one of my two actions in each of the last two turns has been spent on exploring an island. In both of those instances, what my ship's crew discovered were chickens. Yes, chickens.



Now, I've nothing against chickens, and I've no doubt that there are likely a variety of other things that can be discovered by players, while exploring the numerous islands scattered across the game's map. Even still, I am souring on exploring, already. Which is why I have decided to stop exploring the island that my ship sits offshore at, and weigh anchor, that I and my crew might take to the sea, once more.



My starting ship has a cargo hold that can carry two units. Not exactly anything to get excited about, nor to make grand plans over. But all starting players find themselves in the same boat, insofar as we all currently sport the exact same ship type to fly our colors from. Meh.



Not exactly the height of excitement. But that's just it, a pirate-themed game should ooze excitement, shouldn't it? Of course, it could easily be said that in this day and age, gamers can't realistically expect lots of excitement from every aspect of a given game, right? Plus, too, Sea of Nyx is a game that players play for free. So, beggars can't be choosy, right?



Then again, in this day and age, they don't have to beg. After all, there's tons of different gaming options available to gamers. If time is money, as the old saying goes, and if gamers value their time, and if it's as quick and as easy to depart a game as it is to join a game, then perhaps there's some food for thought to be found in there for all PBM companies and GMs of the current era.

GMs of games are always free to design their games as they each see fit. They are equally free to accept or reject suggestions for "improvement" for any or all of their games. And Stephan Graf has already demonstrated a willingness to ponder (and even accept) suggestions for Sea of Nyx. One of the funny things about playing a given game, though, is how the mind begins to wonder to itself about other possibilities. A similar thing also happens when one writes about a game.

For instance, after Turn #6 (but not before), my mind began populating hexes on the Sea of Nyx map with question marks. Thus far, I've only explored two hexes on the entire map. Moving one's ship across the map doesn't seem to yield any exploration opportunities, because the entire map is already visible to all players each and every turn. I find myself asking myself, is this another missed opportunity?

On the one hand, if you don't know where on the map other players' ships are sailing, how do you know which direction to chart a course for, in order to engage with and to interact with other players in the game (rather than just spend an inordinate amount of time exploring and finding chickens)?

Perhaps the single greatest challenge for all game designers and GMs is keeping players mentally engaged with a game between turns. Life and the world are chock full of distractions of every size and shape imaginable. I can't help but to ask myself, what about this game (insert your game of choice here) keeps me engaged in thought about it? What about Sea of Nyx succeeds or fails to keep its players engaged?

Movement

Movement in Sea of Nyx is not unduly over-complicated. To the contrary, it's a fairly straightforward affair.  And that part of it, I have no problem with.

But as I sat and I studied the game map after receiving my Turn #6 results, I couldn't help but to notice how movement limits help to ensure that player-to-player interaction ends up being substantially less than it otherwise could be.

Now, I don't favor unlimited movement distances for ships in Sea of Nyx. But to guard against boredom that inevitably comes from players not interacting with one another in a game, I can't help but to question whether the movement allowance for ships in Sea of Nyx is currently sufficient to preserve and to facilitate player-to-player interaction? Or said another way, if I were to set my mind to it, how many turns would it take for me to intercept ships on the other end of the map from where my own ship currently resides?

Granted, one of the grand challenges of game design is finding a functionally workable balance between a given concept based in reality (aka ship movement) and how implementation and execution of that very same concept play out in-game.

Thus far, at least, movement comes up short for me in Sea of Nyx. Not as much as actions, though.

Actions

I comprehend that there's typically a necessity that inheres in game design to impose some kind of limit or limits upon player choices in any given turn. That said and conceded upfront, the current limit of just two actions per turn (ship movement is a distinct and separate thing from actions in Sea of Nyx) leaves me wondering whether that current limit lends itself well to building and growing my enthusiasm as a player for the game, or whether the game ends up feeling diminished because of it?

Currently, my gut feeling leans towards the latter - and this I find troublesome.

Why? Because the pirate spirit that lives within me cries out to do more. More, more, more, dammit! Full speed ahead! I like Sea of Nyx, but I want to LOVE Sea of Nyx. And two meager actions per turn don't seem to give my mind much time to flirt with this game, each turn.

My mind now finds itself wondering why Actions and Movement couldn't be merged together, somehow. If I'm on an island, I want to explore more of it, and if I'm at sea, I want to sail further and faster. In both PBMville and The PBM maze, I am no stranger to incrementalism - for I intentionally crafted it into both of those game experiments.

In other words, I know it (incrementalism) when I see it. If players were allotted points in a turn, and they were more free to allocate them to their preferred priorities, then such an approach would, I think (whether correctly or incorrectly), help to facilitate player-to-player interaction within Sea of Nyx.

Barring such a merging of the two concepts, an increase in movement and actions would, I think, stand to benefit both the players and the game greatly.

Game Design

While there may occasionally be exceptions, generally speaking, game design tends to be an inherently difficult thing to get right. Most of us that occupy space on this planet aren't genius game designers. I'm certainly not. A lot of it is trial and error, and Sea of Nyx is currently both a game and a playtest, simultaneously. The game's rulebook reinforces this, wherein it states: These rules are still in the process of being developed. Therefore, changes or extensions can occur at any time. As a player, you will of course be informed should that happen.

In and of itself, that's not a bad thing. There will never be too many pirate games in this world, and no one pirate game aspires to be everything piratical to all people. Even though Sea of Nyx is still in a form of playtest, nonetheless, I feel that it warrants articles to be written about it. For one thing, articles can help to "get the word out" about the game, and for another thing, articles can help to provide "food for thought" to the game's designer. As the old saying goes, two heads are better than one, and more heads are likely better than two.

If you're out there and you're reading this, then I encourage you to give Sea of Nyx a try. Other than a little time, it's not gonna cost you anything, and who knows? You just might enjoy it.

Besides, how many times in your life have you ever had a chance to send Richard Lockwood's sorry excuse for a ship to Davy Jones' locker?

Me? I'm heading elsewhere, even as the bulk of the PBM industry and the PBM hobby remains right where they presently are. In order to carry on and to proceed forth into the great PBM unknown of what lies ahead, a parting of the ways is in order.

A revamping of my internal PBM engine that drives me forward past obstacles and challenges of every sort, both imaginable and unimaginable. When all is said and done, it may end up looking exactly the same.

Who knows?!

But as long as I believe its new or that its matter or that its relevant in a PBM sense, that's all that really matters (to me). If the PBM Powers That Be want ads for their PBM gaming products and services to appear in future issues of PBM Chaos, then they can send them in to me. Otherwise, advertisements for such PBM fare will only appear at my whim. What this will likely translate into will be a significant reduction in PBM ads for quite a few different PBM games. If silence is truly golden, then they can rest confident in knowing that their chosen path for promoting or not-promoting their PBM games can glow as brightly as their conscious choice allows.

Me? I don't like anchors about my neck.

By getting this issue out the door and into the hands of whatever of our readership remains, following this couple of months lapse in publication, I can begin working in earnest towards reestablishing with a greater degree of regularity something PBM-related. Less reliance upon others and a renewed vigor to drag the PBM Kraken from the PBM depths will hopefully happen, but in a more narrowly-tailored way.

At worst, I fail. Nothing new there. But better to have tried and failed than to have never tried at all, I say. In pursuit of this grand objective, I shall likely have to unleash the Great PBM Badger upon an unsuspecting and utterly unprepared PBM world. So, get ready to get badgered, you PBM slack offs!

And yes, Old Man Weatherhead, I am talking specifically about you - but not just about you. Don't you dare think, even for a moment, that I've forgotten that you are out there somewhere in the Great PBM Beyond, just lurking for the next PBM apple that falls from the PBM tree.

Part of this verbal barrage is an attempt to motivate myself, to rouse myself from the Catacombs of Do-Nothing. The fire that burns deep in the iron belly of PBM heart cannot be allowed to evaporate entirely, or to get clogged by the dust of the real world and all of its many planned and unplanned distractions.

But what of more PBM navel-gazing? You're damned right! Navel-gazing is the fuel that the PBMer in me runs on. You don't like navel-gazing? Then don't drink the water. Go find you something else to read. May I suggest any of a number of the other current era PBM publications that currently await you to take up your page-flipping routine?

How about less ads, but bigger ads? What about less ads, but better ads? What about if I make it rain a whole storm of new PBM ads that washes you away in a deluge of PBM madness?

At the end of the day, all that I really have in my arsenal are the PBM tricks that I teach myself. After all, it's not like I can work PBM magic with that undersized "wand" of yours, you know. Please pardon the innuendo, but a new day dawns on the PBM horizon, and my sky chariot awaits.

Rise, you cantankerous old coots! Rise ye sons and daughters who have survived the terrible PBM Plague! Either make some noise, or drown in your silence. I shall strive to derive inspiration from the great actor, Geoffrey Rush, and his portrayal of Ra in the massively entertaining movie production called Gods of Egypt.

And if you don't like that movie, then to hell wit you, as well!

Pah!! I'm back.

Write to PBM Chaos at
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