As most of you know by now, Joana has asked me to run a sim for you fine folks and I am delighted to do so.

That being said, that means I have to ‘write’ a sim. I’ve already begun but we are a bit away from a solid start date. So I though I would take a break from researching and story boarding and introduce myself to you and to my style of simming.

I joined the club in May of 2009 and was placed in the academy as a security cadet under the command of the late great Brian A. Olinski. My DH was none other than our own Jerome Davis. The GM running the current sim was Gene Gibbs. I grew close to all three of them. So to say I was reared by some of the best and brightest STF has to offer is a bit of an understatement. I still regard my time in the academy as some of the best I’ve had in the club.

I fell in love with GG’s style of simming and he became a sort of idol for me. It wasn’t long before I was studying for the GM exam. I passed and was placed on the USS Draco for my GMT sim. Amanda Noon was my GMM. How lucky am I? She taught me so much and didn’t hesitate to give me a good swift kick in the butt when I needed it. She was such a great mentor, and friend, that I won my first of three ‘Best Sim’ awards. Awards are pretty much meaningless to me. The best sims are due to the best crews. I firmly believe that. But there is one award I have secretly coveted for the last 10 years but it eludes me. ‘Most Evil Gamemaster’ is the only award I truly long to add to my resume.

That’s where you all come in… <BEG>

Now, don’t worry. I’m not going to kidnap the crew, strip you down, and torture you for information, THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!!!, but I am going to put everything I have into this sim. I think what I have planned is pretty good, but of course that depends on all of you. It’s always been my belief and practice that I provide the skeleton for the story but you all provide the meat. And from what I can tell so far, our sim body is going to be jacked, bro! (I don’t actually talk like that.)

My style of simming is fairly simple. I come up with the premise, the characters, the objectives, the obstacles and plan a kind of ‘road map’ leading to the inevitable super dramatic conclusion and pay off and you all do all of the work! See, how I did that? I am not a dice and paper GM. i present puzzles and choices and reward you based on several factors: teamwork, originality, and effort. If your reply to an objective is ‘My character goes in and does some stuff,’ your character is most likely going to end up in sickbay or stranded on a deserted planet. However, if you write a detailed post, full of imagery, that presents a solution that I had never even considered, while invoking within me an emotional response when I’m reading it, and do all of that while collaborating with the other characters on the ship, then your character has a real chance of saving the ship and everyone on board and becoming the most decorated officer in STF history! (I tend to exaggerate.)

I try my best to provide regular sim updates that I will post links to on the MOTD. My goal is a summary every month. I usually do them at the same time I am submitting my ship report. So be looking for that around the first of every month.

Finally, (about time right?) I am extremely approachable and open to suggestions or ideas. If you have an awesome idea for your character in the sim or you need a little help navigating everything that is going on, feel free (and I know Joana supports me in this) to contact me or any of the command staff, as Joana and I, plus the eventual XO, will be in constant communication regarding the sim. My email is hlevismiley (at) gmail or contact me on facebook. Or even a short OOC comment if that will suffice. I will strive to provide a timely response.

The timeline Joana and I have agreed upon is that a week from now, around 19 July, I will post the prologue to the sim. If command agrees we are ready then we are off! But our ultimate goal is to begin the sim no later than 1 August.

I thank you all so much for having me on board and allowing me to tell you a story. I look forward to yours as well.

If you have any questions for me before we begin, now is the time to ask. Go ahead and ask in this thread.

I can’t wait to torment and dismember you all!

-Captain Harley (Hyena) Smiley
aka, Gamemaster OZ