Review: Mystical Realms

Forum and chat; Post Nuke php script.

Fantasy - 'travelling' to other genres is possible in character.

Contains some original aspects, although does seem to be your standard fantasy RPG. Nothing jumps out as incredibly unique, nor does it feel re-hashed.

Not specified.

Unknown. There are hundreds of pages of members registered dating back to the start of the RPG in 2001, however, it is impossible to tell whether half of them are active or not. I would suggest pruning the members list because this will also help the site as a whole run better.

2001.

Unknown.

2 - 6 paragraphs based on what is available on the forum, unable to report on the average post length for the chat rooms. It is also not clear if the posts on the forum are chat logs that have been posted or a seperate part of the RPG.

The confusion regarding whether the RP takes place in chat and on the forum makes this difficult to monitor. Based on the forum posts there is a very slow activity level. In comparison the front page of the site is updated very frequently with OOC updates which includes new IC events and new members joining. So it really does depend on what a visitor looks at first - those more used to forum based RPGs may check the forums for signs of activity and thus miss the recent updates.

Original.

The site's layout is pleasing to look at and is only let down by the organisation of the navigation (see below).

Mystical Realms is an RPG that has a lot to offer and this means that there is a lot of things that need to be covered in the navigation. Some of the sub-headings are misleading, such as 'Destinations' which covers 'forum' and 'chat' rather than locations of the RPG. Likewise, important information about the setting of the RPG (The Plane of Zatrikion and the Outer Realms) have been pushed lower down on the menu.

When someone visits your RPG for the first time they are interested in three things; 1) What is the plot? 2) Relevant OOC information such as rules, where it's played, how to create a character, 3) Extra information about the game; locations, species, organisations, characters. There seems to be a lot of unncessary information that is currently taking precedence over these more important section.

I also noticed a few small things that could be tidied up around the site. For example on the FAQ page when you click a question it jumps down to the specific question, which is very useful. However, there is no way to distinguish the questions and the answers. I'd suggest bolding the text so that the question really jumps out.

Easy to find and understandable. My only suggestion is that on the index page and the 'travelling between realms' page you have these lovely buttons for the different genres/realms available but it isn't easy to find information about them. If you hot link these to the 'Outer Realm' page it would be very helpful for visitors searching for information about them.

As mentioned this is an RPG that has a lot to offer and as such goes beyond what most RPGs offer. This can act as both a blessing and a curse depending on the visitor; some will find that the information is too much, too specific and does not allow player creativity. Other RPers will find that Mystical Realms is just what they want in an RPG. As this is a personal choice depending on the visitor it is not something I can really comment on, all I can do is lend my own experience on the subject. I am an RPer who likes a lot of information and even I find this site quite overwelming. It does not really seem to be 'newbie' friendly - by newbie I mean someone new to the RPG, not new to RPing as a whole. I was going to suggest a guide for where to start but eventually found it about 30 minutes later under 'Introduction'. A rename or clarification of this page's purpose would make it much easier to find.

The admins are availble to contact via email or a contact form so I cannot list how quickly or how they reply. On the contact form there is a question asking if the person is a member or a patron which does suggest that guests are not welcome to use it. Changing this to allow a 'guest' option and adding something about guests contacting the admins would be a good idea.

The first step is to fill out an application form and then the staff will contact the applicant by email. There is an example of good and bad applications so that potential members can see what information is required of them. The application requires character information only and no writing sample is needed.

Mystical Realms has been an active site for a very long time which is something that many RPGs lack. I know from personal experience just how difficult it is to keep an RPG active and the admins of this RPG must be commended on their ability to keep it going. There are a lot of suggestions in this review and that is the point of these reviews; to provide an outsiders view of an RPG and how it looks to potential members. It is very easy as an admin to overlook parts of an RPG that aren't always obvious to visitors; I've done this myself many times. Even though Mystical Realms is clearly popular taking my suggestions on board will only improve the RPG and allow it to coax more members to join in the fun.

Chat RPGs are at a distinct disadvantage to forum RPGs because most of their activity takes place behind closed doors. It is quite understandable that the chat rooms are not open to non-registered/non-approved members but I wonder if something could be implemented to allow visitors to experience the RP for themselves before committing to it. Maybe some logs of chat rooms or = hold 'meet the members/see how it's done' events held in a guest friendly room where seasoned members of the RPG can show new members why they love the RPG.