Keeping TEW Fun Suggestion Thread

[lazorbeak]

I just thought we'd have a thread with ideas to keep people from experiencing the burnout that comes with playing the same three promotions identically over in over in a sandbox game that you can't really "win." Ideally this is a resource for people to either explain their situation and ask for help or offer advice on how to keep things fun. While "fun" is different for everyone, this thread is not here to be a "this is how I exploit game mechanics" thread. The goal is to be accessible and make a booking game more fun to book.

 

 

I'll start with a suggestion: don't look at numbers other than show grades. And don't agonize over show grades, either.

 

TEW's depth is one of the great things about the game, but it's easy to get bogged down assigning "rules" and focusing too much on the minutiae of numbers. All these numbers are meant to serve the game, not to be a means of themselves. Book based on your roster and your simplified aggregates. The supplement to this is don't feel obligated to book every show according to the exact same formula. That gets tedious to watch when real promotions do it, and it gets tedious for the booker, too. Mix up the occasional short/squash type main event, book based around story not around show grade, and otherwise treat this like a game that's meant to be fun, not a game that's meant to be "won" (unfortunately, you don't get a prize for "winning" TEW). This is the best way to make happy discoveries about what your workers are and aren't capable of, and it will make you a better TEW player in addition to being more fun.

 

That leads into another suggestion: book stories for yourself, not random great matches for the computer.

 

Humans are programmed to love stories, but TEW unfortunately isn't programmed to notice how cool a story is, so there's a tendency to book in a way that pleases the machine, not the user. But if you're not telling stories, either in a diary or to yourself, you're just figuring out a game mechanic and exploiting it over and over. I mean it's not hard to put your best wrestlers in the ring every show, even with the repetitive booking penalty, if your goal is just constant promotion growth (it worked back in EWR, too, when AJ Styles and Low Ki could take you to national by wrestling every month). But telling a story with a beginning, middle and end is far more rewarding to me than a high grade for a match that has no rhyme or reason. Here's an example: in a BSC game I had a main event storyline where Alexis Littlefeather, the current champion, feuded with newcomer Grace Harper. Harper taunted Littlefeather for two straight shows, finally tarring and feathering her after a title defense. This is the story's beginning. Littlefeather agrees to put her title on the line and loses. Grace defends her title successfully for the next couple of shows against other babyface contenders while Littlefeather wins a couple of matches, including a #1 contender match (I hate "former champion automatically gets re-match" stories). Littlefeather promises revenge for her tarring and feathering and tricks Harper into agreeing to any stipulation, choosing a "scalp vs. scalp" match. This is the story's middle. Finally, in a climactic battle, Littlefeather wins the title and Grace gets her head shaved. That climactic final battle earned a whopping "D+" match grade, but I'm more proud of that D+ than getting an A* in some random NOTBPW match.

 

Hopefully this thread is helpful and my two examples explain the sort of thing that I'm talking about. There's plenty of "how do I play TEW better" threads, but unlike those threads, the goal here is having more fun.

[creepshow]

One thing I've done, just to keep the game interesting over time, is switch promotions.

 

If the day-to-day is getting monotonous, why not challenge yourself with a new promotion, new group of workers, new style, maybe even a new country!

 

Take yourself completely out of your element and start fresh without just re-booting the entire game.

 

I've done that a few times, especially when it comes to promotions that I'm actively bankrupting, despite trying my hardest. If I can't keep 'em in the black, by all means...let the AI keep them in business.

[Boltinho]

My favourite way to make things interesting is by building tag teams.

 

Create a bunch of teams making sure that they have some logic to them rather than random pairings (Sergei Kalashnov & Marat Khoklov as Cold War agents. Pitbull brown and New Zealand Pitbull. Giant Redwood & Ali Bloxsome) and build them up to high experience, succesful teams.

 

I just find teams more interesting long-term than individuals and the experience guage gives you a clear indication of progress. Its immensely satisfying to look at my teams page and see 5-6 teams Ive created with B and higher exp.

[Self]

Never renew contracts. Something I'm trying. When someone's contract runs out, he's gone... For 6 months at least. A revolving door of talent so I'm not keeping the old standards on top all the time.

[Bigpapa42]

Completely agree, Lazer. When I focus moreso on results and grades, the games tend to be shorter and less fun. When I focus on the stories, things tend to last longer. So my two recommendations are to focus on the stories and to plan.

 

Planning can be tough with smaller promotions, I realize, but laying out some big moments for down the road can be motivation to keep going and reach that moment. Let's say you are running the SWF and have a big stable war going on - Eric Eisen leading a corporate stable and Jack Bruce leading the babyfaces fighting back. If you know well in advance that a big moment in the feud with be one of the key babyfaces turning heel in a big moment at The Supreme Challenge, buiding toward that moment can motivate you. You know its going to be a pivotal moment that would shock fans and its awesome to finally get to see it play out. Debuting a new star or bringing back an old star can be similar. In my Gen S diary game, the re-debuts of both Sean McFly and Bruce the Giant were like that. Finally getting to book those moments gave me more satisfaction than getting the random A* matches that occured.

[Kluge]

Now this is going to sound silly but I type out what a person's finisher is in their bio.

 

Why? Because it makes the wrestlers feel more personal, almost like the people that give nicknames to their Pokemon.

 

I always end up playing longer games when I have the people's finishers written out.

[Bigpapa42]

Now this is going to sound silly but I type out what a person's finisher is in their bio.

 

Why? Because it makes the wrestlers feel more personal, almost like the people that give nicknames to their Pokemon.

 

I always end up playing longer games when I have the people's finishers written out.

 

Never done the finisher thing, but updating bios as the games evolves can add a surprising amount to the game, I find. You don't necessarily need to redo it completley, but just add in some info. It makes each game feel a bit different, too.

 

Another small thing that can make a surprising difference is using different alts or re-renders of a given worker. Some more popular workers now have multiple re-renders done for them. Switching it up can make games feel different and unique. That by itself may not make you stick with a game, but sometimes the little things can help.

[cappyboy]

Very good thread, Brother Lazorbeak. This is definitely something that comes up a lot and a question with my answers. Here are some of mine.

 

1: Do your own thing.

 

There are examples of this idea even within the C-Verse. Sam Strong likes to take on guys the Big Two have lost interest in and keep them from fading into obscurity. The Stomper is more concerned with keeping the classic style of wrestling alive. Growth isn't nearly as important to him as is letting the old guys who who still want to wrestle have the chance and giving the young guys a place to learn "the right way." Figure out what care about within wrestling and do that. Whether that means you play as the big boys or a Local in Central Australia.

 

 

2: Redefine victory.

 

This is one of the big things I had to do when 2008 came out. Like many, I used to be so caught up in the push to get to the top. To push SWF or WWE aside and be top dog. In 2007, my pet promotion had been TCW. It felt like there was plenty of story material there and yet enough dead weight that one had plenty of room to remake the company in one's own image over the course of the game. Then 2008 comes out. DAVE's fallen. So TCW sweeps up a bunch of those guys. Thereby replacing a lot of the "dead weight". The Syndicate has come into being tying up a lot of the upper card. In short, TCW lost its charm because it felt like the work was done for me.

 

So I found myself having to start from scratch. How was I going to play if I did try to win the race to the top? Nobody else felt like they had a realistic shot of getting there or a opening talent pool I wanted to get there with. I had to find a new way to "win." So I went cold turkey on going to the top. I decided I wasn't even going to try winning the traditional way anymore. I would start playing "training feds" and take my victories from the guys I got noticed who otherwise wouldn't be. So when NOTBPW sees how much I've improved Rob Perkins and signs him to a written, I win. When Bradley Regan goes from random nobody to top ref in the game. I win. When feds larger than me start signing up my talent, my work's over with them and I win. Did I make a profit? Did I win a regional battle? Did I achieve any of the typical goals? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't care. Because my guys are so much better than they were before working for me, I win.

 

I'll start with a suggestion: don't look at numbers other than show grades. And don't agonize over show grades, either.

 

Or 3: START looking at the numbers.

 

But change the numbers you're looking at. Since starting the training fed mode of play in 08, I don't bother with show grades any more. A C- card in one of my games is as good as an A* card to those trying to "win". But every month of my games, I start by reviewing my roster's individual stats. Every little gain whether it be in style skills, entertainment or something as mundane as Selling is a mini-victory to me. Every guy I get more over than my user character who otherwise wouldn't be? Another mini-victory. I'm looking for who's benefitting from being on my roster and who isn't. Anybody who consistently doesn't and lacks a purpose gets cut loose. And sometimes, especially early on, I will "reward" the guy who gains the most with a title shot or a new storyline he otherwise wouldn't have had. Then these reviews aren't just mechanical things I do because of the type promotion I'm playing. But a genuine part of the booking process.

 

4: Dig deep into the talent pool.

 

I may generally do the same thing all the time with my training feds. But there are so many guys down at the bottom of the food chain I can have a totally different roster each time. And that's going to change the fine points of how you play even if you always run the same product or same type of fed.

 

If you have say Bob Shrunkle and Sozen Ishinomori near the top of your card, you may want to run the Big John Studd/Andre The Giant slam match storyline from DOTT. Whereas if your upper card is lightweight guys, you probably ignore that storyline altogether and maybe use Matt Hardy vs MVP out of Sonfaro's story pack. But root around. See what ideas strike you for guys that otherwise might not and set up a fed where you can play to those ideas. You may not be catching the big boys any time soon. But you'll be having so much fun you won't care.

[creepshow]

Or 3: START looking at the numbers.

 

But change the numbers you're looking at. Since starting the training fed mode of play in 08, I don't bother with show grades any more. A C- card in one of my games is as good as an A* card to those trying to "win". But every month of my games, I start by reviewing my roster's individual stats. Every little gain whether it be in style skills, entertainment or something as mundane as Selling is a mini-victory to me. Every guy I get more over than my user character who otherwise wouldn't be? Another mini-victory. I'm looking for who's benefitting from being on my roster and who isn't. Anybody who consistently doesn't and lacks a purpose gets cut loose. And sometimes, especially early on, I will "reward" the guy who gains the most with a title shot or a new storyline he otherwise wouldn't have had. Then these reviews aren't just mechanical things I do because of the type promotion I'm playing. But a genuine part of the booking process.

 

I so very agree with this!

 

My favorite thing about having changing from letters to numbers is simply knowing exactly how guys are doing, and how shows are doing.

 

It's extremely gratifying to see two guys working the same match two different times and seeing a 5 point difference in the rating. I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes to me when (and please, don't judge...my game is just kicking my ass) I go from a 38 Main Event to a 44 Main Event. It's much more gratifying than (and I don't know the exact conversion) E to E+. Even a jump from 38 to 40 is a sign of improvement. Something I did worked.

 

On the flipside though, the OP was likely suggesting that those grinding it out and obsessing over the numbers, should give a try to just booking for fun...screw the numbers as long as the promotion is making money. It's really hard to take that "screw the numbers" approach though if you're trying to grow the company...because obviously the performance of the company matters. I wouldn't ever completely take that approach at regional or lower, just because you wind up getting killed because of lousy shows that entertain YOU but not your fans.

[lazorbeak]

Great suggestions on here already. Everybody's definition of "fun" is a little different, so it's not like there's an obligation to do all these things, but all of these suggestions can change a player's outlook.

 

A couple more brief suggestions:

 

 

1. Play favorites (not based on skill). When you look at real bookers, most of them have favorites and it's generally not an objective "well he's the best so I'll make him a main eventer." Ron Simmons is made a world champion, Brutus Beefcake is made a major name, Mongo McMichael is a Four Horseman, not because they're great wrestlers (although Simmons is a class above the other two), but because they had connections or bookers liked them. At the start of the game, pick 2-3 guys to be either friends or projects or whatever. Don't just have them win every match, but do put them in regular stories, treat them differently from others backstage, and otherwise give them an in-story reason to be arbitrarily pushed above people they may not be more talented then. What I like about this idea is it can give you diaries totally unique from the half-dozen projects where Rocky Golden drops the title to Tommy Cornell and then Cornell wrestles great wrestlers exclusively. I want to read about American Machine beating Angry Gilmore in a diary in a major match because I haven't seen it 1,004 times. I like playing favorites because it encourages you to play in a way that isn't just seeking great numbers.

 

Change the way or the people you hire:

 

It's all too common to always pick up the same guys in every game, especially when playing as a major promotion. It's easy to steal away Champagne Lover, James Prudence, Davis Wayne Newton, and other regional of foreign stars and immediately put them on your show. After all, they are objectively the most talented available workers. If only real life was that easy. To make things more fun for yourself, hire guys based on need or to serve a story. If you're thinking is "I need a crazy heel for this storyline" you have to revise your search to people who can do a crazy gimmick. Make rules for yourself like "I'm not going to hire another company's champion" and then stick to them.

 

If you're a small promotion, don't use the "working agreement" exploit and actually trade talent if you have an agreement, and take it as an honor and an opportunity to tell new stories when you get the dreaded "your main eventer and current champion has received an offer from a major promotion." It's a feather in your cap every time a guy makes it to the top thanks in part to what they did when they worked for you. I don't think I'd be excited about CM Punk or Samoa Joe working storylines with ROH in 2011 because ROH's bookers cleverly signed working agreements the day they opened.

[lazorbeak]

I so very agree with this!

On the flipside though, the OP was likely suggesting that those grinding it out and obsessing over the numbers, should give a try to just booking for fun...screw the numbers as long as the promotion is making money. It's really hard to take that "screw the numbers" approach though if you're trying to grow the company...because obviously the performance of the company matters. I wouldn't ever completely take that approach at regional or lower, just because you wind up getting killed because of lousy shows that entertain YOU but not your fans.

 

Don't even worry about making money until you are seriously in the red, either! The game doesn't give you things to do with all the fake money you earn. Your avatar isn't going to move into a mansion. But what I'm also saying is you don't need to worry solely about growing the promotion, either. If you are telling good stories with even marginally talented people, it will happen anyway.

[creepshow]

Don't even worry about making money until you are seriously in the red, either! The game doesn't give you things to do with all the fake money you earn. Your avatar isn't going to move into a mansion. But what I'm also saying is you don't need to worry solely about growing the promotion, either. If you are telling good stories with even marginally talented people, it will happen anyway.

 

Oh exactly. I wasn't suggesting that you needed to concentrate on "making money every month"...as long as you're balance is in the black, do whatever you want. Conserve when the purse strings require it.

 

I usually don't even pay attention to my balance until I get a bankruptcy warning

[Eidenhoek]

Amusingly, my longest game that I've run is my NOTBPW game, where I very much exploit the system (rather, I edit the hell out of my contracts).

 

Why? I have a roster at about 150. I sign pretty much everyone (except ACPW guys. Hate them. And "The Quest" guys. Hate them too.). I'm at the top in Influence, now ruling National battles in Canada and USA.

 

It's great. It's fun. I have 21 shows to book per month, some of the best talent in the game, and...it's fun.

 

But I also have a TCW game, also have a 5SSW game, my diaries...

 

So I really think variety is key here. For someone who's never been to the top, getting there is nice. Never worked in the UK? Give it a try.

 

WLW. Forgot about them, but I feel like I'm going to have some fun because I never got to work with their best guys before. So let's rock, I say.

 

Variety. There you go. And pushing Big Smack Scott he's the greatest woo.

[Fleisch]

I must admit TEW was becoming VERY stale to me. However since I've been doing my diary, which is more an unconventional story than a promotion gaining exposure, it's breathed a new life into it for me. Most matches never hit C- but because it's fun to write, the grading doesn't bother me in the slightest as I'm not trying to take over the world but merely tell a story that will probably eventually end and then... start a new one!

 

I occassionally fired up my TNA save (before hard drive failure) but never really enjoyed it as it bored me within 30 minutes.

[cappyboy]

 

 

1. Play favorites (not based on skill). When you look at real bookers, most of them have favorites and it's generally not an objective "well he's the best so I'll make him a main eventer." Ron Simmons is made a world champion, Brutus Beefcake is made a major name, Mongo McMichael is a Four Horseman, not because they're great wrestlers (although Simmons is a class above the other two), but because they had connections or bookers liked them. At the start of the game, pick 2-3 guys to be either friends or projects or whatever. Don't just have them win every match, but do put them in regular stories, treat them differently from others backstage, and otherwise give them an in-story reason to be arbitrarily pushed above people they may not be more talented then. What I like about this idea is it can give you diaries totally unique from the half-dozen projects where Rocky Golden drops the title to Tommy Cornell and then Cornell wrestles great wrestlers exclusively. I want to read about American Machine beating Angry Gilmore in a diary in a major match because I haven't seen it 1,004 times. I like playing favorites because it encourages you to play in a way that isn't just seeking great numbers.

 

This is something I do all the time in my training fed games. I may hire the same predictable guys, most notably Bob Casey and Ted Brady, to head up my promotion at the beginning. But under those old predictables I mix up a lot of the undercard and will have guys I put more effort into developing than others. Like recently I've been really wanting to book Fuzzy Freeman. So I may hire him and favor him the way Brother Lazorbeak's describing. Giving him constant story exposure so that by the time Casey and Brady have finished their war over the world title, Freeman's ready to step in and take the belt in new directions.

[Astil]

Use the 'copy saved game' feature

 

I use it often to create 'alternate realities' of the same save game. Run both saves at the same time and try to keep them current. Make sure there is something big and different between them each time.

 

Right now I started a vanilla CZCW game with Charles Avatar (renamed Charles Natural). I have two alt reality offshoots one where Avatar had a huge fight with Donnie J (already had a hatred with James Prudence in the save.) left CZCW, moved to Spain and took the newly opened UEW job. I even created a Spanish tag team (Mario de Mardrid and Ignacio de Barcelona) to be Charles' "friends" in Spain. The second was a simple alt reality, I am trying to kill off Cliff Anderson.

 

Running all three at the same time in insanely fun, as the little differences in them become bigger and bigger each month.

[Guest SMcCallum32]

something i just tried and has been fun for me is sim the game without a job for a year or two and then take over a job that has opened up. I just took over the SWF job halfway through 2012 after they fell to cult and it's been a mess but a fun one. Losing tv and ppv. And it seems like all my contracts are coming up at the same time, it's chaos but very fun, for me anyways

[Blake Trask]

If you're a small promotion, don't use the "working agreement" exploit and actually trade talent if you have an agreement, and take it as an honor and an opportunity to tell new stories when you get the dreaded "your main eventer and current champion has received an offer from a major promotion." It's a feather in your cap every time a guy makes it to the top thanks in part to what they did when they worked for you. I don't think I'd be excited about CM Punk or Samoa Joe working storylines with ROH in 2011 because ROH's bookers cleverly signed working agreements the day they opened.

 

This is one of the things that drew me to playing a 0/0/0/0. Specifically, I read Dragonmack's NYCW diary and was fascinated by how he kept on having to juggle losing various talent.

 

Okay so I might facepalm as SWF raid me for talent yet again, then shake my fist as they add insult to injury by jobbing them to Everest and American Machine... but it also represents challenge. Half the fun of these games, for me, is having to reshuffle and restructure - pick up the boons of unexpected windfall (like Steve DeColt - insane), and improvise with booking. Forging working agreements with everyone is no fun. I've made precisely one in the entire course of this game, and that's with MAW, who are hardly going to steal my talent anytime soon.

 

It also makes having guys stick with you longterm very rewarding, I've found. Darryl Devine got cut from USPW very early on... I can hardly imagine the game I'm playing without him now.

 

And I also love looking at what else is happening in the game world, which playing as a small promotion allows you to do MUCH more quickly (less shows for more time advanced), so you get to see a lot of pretty crazy stuff happen. So I guess it really boils down to - play as a tiny promotion without gaming the system, roll with the punches.

[TakerNGN74]

One of the main things I would suggest to people who were burned out with TEW is to play as a promotion that you have never played as or create your own company.

 

I have had this problem since deciding to put my MSWA game that has gone for 25 years on hiatus. I would start as one promotion play for a few monthes and then delete the game and try to figure out what I could do to make it so that I didn't get bored. My problem is that I always tend to play with the same promotions generally in the US or Canada. I have played in Mexico but I am afraid to play in Japan.

 

But ever since I put my MSWA game on hiatus I had that problem then I decided to start my MSWA game again and I am having fun with it again after hiring tag teams to actually have a tag division. One of the reasons I stopped the game after 25 years was not just because I wanted to try something new but because I had to retire the tag titles because I had only one tag team. Once I got back into the game I was able to hire two tag teams in addition to the one that I already had on the roster so now I have three tag teams for the time being and I was able to reactivate the tag titles and the game has become fun to me again.

 

I also started another game with a 0/0/0 game (Not including the other 0 I started on Rock Hard to give myself a local promotion and then edited my money to give myself the ammount that you would have had I started on easy I wanted the money but not a cult size promotion once I started) That game has been fun so far I have only done two shows so far but it has recharged my interest in TEW because if you get sick of the companies in the game or simply don't want to play as one of them you can always create you own.

 

That's all I have to say on this topic hopefully some of the stuff I said was helpful for some who are looking for things to spark their interest into or back into TEW. Now is the end to my rather long rant of a post.

[James Casey]

Updating bios is fun. I don't do it so much nowadays, but on non-diary games I'd do it as much to remind me what characters had done and how far they'd come as anything else.

 

Finding your characters' theme music and creating a Youtube playlist off it is cool, too.

 

Dropping down the ladder and taking on a 0/0/0/0 challenge is always good - but conversely taking on a huge promotion is fun, too. My SWF diary game? The first time I've put in a serious shift with a company above Cult in four years.

 

Or how about this: Create your own company. Hone it, refine it, make it everything you want - product, location, cash. Bring in the workers you want - no limits at all... And then play it like you mean it. You chose those workers, now stick with them. No firing, no hiring, that's your company, they're loyal to you (long-term written deals? Loyalty turned on?) so be loyal to them as well.

[lazorbeak]

Updating bios is a good one, especially once your game is a couple of years in.

 

Another tip I like to use is I like to deal with real-life incidents, incorporating them into storylines Edge/Matt Hardy style. Since these incidents are always different, it helps keeps things fresh.

 

 

I've got one that might not be for everyone but I think it's an interesting one. Don't book as you, a wrestling savant near-perfect God, book as a character in the world. Basically, in the same way you can role play a character who is very unlike you in an RPG (fun to do in Bioware games if you haven't done it), you can role play yourself as a wrestling booker. Are you a carny hustler, willing to cut bait on anybody and willing to do anything to get a decent payday? Are you "one of the boys" that plays favorites and goes out after the show with some of the more "negative" workers? It's very easy to make TEW a game entirely based on numbers, but as I've tried to emphasize, it can also be about telling fun stories. These stories can even be built around 'bad' booking. It can be fun to maintain a game that's a train-wreck of nonsensical feuds, inconsistent characterization, Vince Russo-esque swerves, referees wrestling on PPV, and other things you can easily see on any given WCW show from 2000.

[TheOmniWarrior]

Play with lots of money... not "limitless" but like 2-3 million and create a promotion no pop/prestige/momentum.

 

Im still in the first month of my current game but im having a blast so far with my large roster (around 54 guys. Unfortunately havnt been able to use panda mask yet )

 

but the initial start of having to use guys like ant-man, hugh de aske etc. but also being able to afford some name value (The Big Flop, Greg Gauge, Rayne Man, etc.) has kept my interest because im familiar with about half the roster and I dont think ive used the other half before.

i

Also I like the pick favorites suggestion. Thats kinda what im doing in mine (Namely The Big Flop as a lesnar-esque beast and Rayne Man as Hulk Hogan/John Cena )

 

 

Also another one:

Scatter dojos. (so long as you dont have the no gens til 2026 thing activated) I like to build like one dojo in each territory available to me (so for example in my current game 1 in each part of America... maybe if I rise up a bit ill open some in canada... at national some around the rest of the world. What I did was I set my money stupid high, opened the dojos and set my money back down to 2mil. Extra points if you use a d100 to determine their prestige. D20 multiplied by 5 also works)

 

Its always fun especially if you play with a rule like: Must hire any workers who debut through one of your dojos. They must be used in atleast 10 matches if you want to fire/release them

[JackKnifed72]

I'm not really the type who plans alot ahead of time but I'd like to suggest using "Super Mega Massive Long Range Storylines" to keep the game interesting

 

- In MSW 1983 (DOTT Mod) I had a sixth months long "super" storyline (actually 3 seperate unchained 8 man storylines) that saw promoter Bill Watts go heel and align himself with the main heel stable that included Ted Dibiase, Ernie Ladd, Jake Roberts and more...

 

- Modern day TNA - My user character debuted as a heel authority type and feuded with a face Hulk Hogan, the "war" lasted for months only to see Dixie Carter turn heel and side with my character

 

The point being, having a far away point or event to build to keeps it interesting along the way

 

 

[Erock]

Create your own user character. Give him a story. Or use your favorite character from a book, movie, TV, etc.,. For example my current favorite user character is supposed to be A.J. Crowley from the book Good Omens. Also, give your characters their own theme music, and use other things to immerse yourself.

[Sigilistic]

LOVE this thread.

 

In my recently ended, long-running TCW game, I signed Sean McFly about halfway through 2010. He debuted the show after Total Mayhem. Rather than just throwing him in with Cornell right away, I played on the fact that everybody KNOWS these are the two best wrestlers in the world. Only one stage can contain them. Total Mayhem. So I prebooked Cornell-McFly 1 for exactly one year later, and the two spent that year teasing encounters with each other. The delayed gratification made that game so much more fun.

 

Now I'm trying something different with my CZCW game. I've set up a point system:

• Winning a regular match earns 1 point

• Winning an Xtreme Rules match earns 2 points

• Winning a cage match, a battle royal or defeating a reigning champ in a non-title bout earns 3 points.

• Losing a match costs 2 points.

 

Both singles workers and established tag teams earn points, separately. So Frankie Perez may have 4 points while the Cali Dragons only have 3.

 

Only workers with 3 points or more can challenge for the Xtreme/Tag Team titles. Only workers with 5 points or more can challenge for the Coastal Zone Championship.

 

This has reinvigorated my enthusiasm for the game, by solving the problem I always have about determining who challenges for what and when. It also fits in well with CZCW's greater focus on realism and competition.

 

It gives me a good sense of who to book against whom. Book two 4-point wrestlers in a match; the winner gets a title shot, the loser gets set back a few months. Often, if I'm not invested in a match's outcome I'll leave the result to the road agent and workers and simply catalog the result in my notepad.

 

I'm so enthused about this game, I can almost wait for TEW2013 to come out. Almost.