ZEN: Art Of Wrestling

[Lionhart]

<p>Started a ZEN game and I just finished my balance of the roster and storylines. Everyone will be included in a storyline .</p><p> </p><p>

Concerning balance between Tecnicos and Rudos :</p><p> </p><p>

I fired Azazel & Blue Flea like I always does. And their biography seems to be in line with that.</p><p> </p><p>

Now the list of workers who are prepared to turn from Rudos to Technicos, even though most of them, if not all, are better as Rudos :</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Buckminster Snark :</strong> I chose the "good guy" path in his storyline with Kalliope where they finally become a couple to face Casual Violence together. Will put them as a team to have more Tecnicos team.</p><p>

<strong>Mister Hyde and Bruce Strange :</strong>. Turn technicos feuding against Pinkie And The Vane. I imagine that anybody facing the ultra-arrogants Spider and Feather will be a Tecnico by default.</p><p>

<strong>Booster Boy and Auckland Raider :</strong>. Will turn face against HalloWarped when another portal of Vishni goes wrong. I entend to make Booster Boy an Orange Cassidy like character.</p><p> </p><p>

Finally, concerning storylines :</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>ZERO vs Jack :</strong> No change</p><p>

<strong>Cyanide vs Vertigo :</strong> No change</p><p>

<strong>Snark In The Middle </strong>: No change, except for Snark turning Technico.</p><p>

<strong>Dastardly Deeds Done Dirt Cheap :</strong> No change. Guess I'll use Molly Cuddle as a damzel in distress in this one.</p><p>

<strong>Eek! Aliens :</strong> Created a "Defenders of ZEN" Stable and included Ferdy Lloyd in both the stable and the storyline.</p><p>

<strong>Vanity Hunters :</strong> New storyline for the title where The Monster Hunters turn tecnicos against Pinkie and The Vane.</p><p>

<strong>Another Portal Goes Wrong :</strong> After being approached by Guru Vishni, Aukland Raider and Booster Boy will turn tecnicos when another Vishni's shenanigan goes wrong to finally try to prove themselves against Warp-Jump.</p><p>

<strong>It's Serious Being a Clown :</strong> C-W-A begins a feud against Urban Fox just because he hates him for being a fun guy to be around.</p><p> </p><p>

Now the funniest part begin : actually playing.</p>

[Aura]

<p>I just ran through a full year as ZEN, and I want to share how things have gone so far.</p><p> </p><p>

I started by cleaning out the roster of people that I figured I was never going to use, so Blue Flea, Azazel, Crime Buster, Booster Boy, and The Monster Hunters were all sent packing right out of the gate. I might give Booster Boy another chance at some point, but I feel secure in my decision to let the rest of them go. Aside from these early releases, the only other person to leave was Ferdy Lloyd, who handed in his notice halfway through the year.</p><p> </p><p>

Warp-Jump has dominated the tag division since I gave them the belts in February, and they've beaten everyone else in the division at least once. I'm planning on them dropping the belts to Pinkie and the Vane before the midway point of Year 2, just to make sure they don't get stale on top.</p><p> </p><p>

Kalliope Woodchuck held the Conceptual Title for the duration of her and Snark's storyline, but she lost it soon afterward to Karrg the Conqueror, who plans to use it as a springboard for his invasion of ZEN. Since losing, Kalliope has formed a tag team with Snark, and I'm waiting to see how that plays out.</p><p> </p><p>

The ZEN Master title has been the most active, with Pumpkin Jack winning it from ZERO in May, then putting on amazing title defenses for the rest of the year before losing in our very last show to Damian Dastardly, which I hope will lead to a run that firmly establishes him as a top star in the company. He definitely has some big shoes to fill, though. Pumpkin Jack's entire championship reign makes up my seven highest-rated matches so far.</p><p> </p><p>

I mentioned in another thread that I've been considering releasing Urban Fox due to two people getting injured in matches with him. However, fortunes seem to be changing. Over the latter half of the year, both Devilfish and Pink Spider said that Urban Fox has a ton of charisma and will be a future star. Not only that, but Cyanide took him on as a protege, and he turned out to have great tag chemistry with a recently signed Quick Zee. Fox and Zee are probably going to be spending the next year continuing to job on the pre-shows, but I have high hopes for the both of them. And I have to say, after such a rough start, Fox really might turn out to be an asset to ZEN after all.</p><p> </p><p>

I am planning a few things for the future as well. I'm considering having Damian "graduate" from Skullduggery by having him face the whole stable in his first title defense. Meanwhile, Monster Ishimura walked out of 5SSW, so I'm considering having her debut as a new member of Skullduggery, becoming Rekha's new tag partner while Lerone starts doing more singles work. In another storyline idea, I'm planning on having Guru Vishni betray Warp-Jump in favor of Pinky and the Vane, leading to a comedic storyline of him being constantly exasperated by their over-the-top annoying antics.</p><p> </p><p>

The save's been going great so far, and I'm really hyped to keep growing ZEN!</p>

[outb0undflight]

<p>Figured I would share what's going on in my ZEN! game here, too since the thread's been pretty quiet. </p><p> </p><p>

This is my first game as ZEN! and I'm finding it incredibly intuitive to book. The characters having such bold identities makes it really easy to come up with ideas. I stuck with most of the main stories although a lot of them didn't make it all the way through to Way of the Warrior, the season finale event.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Defenders of ZEN! vs. The Alien Armada:</strong> This story kicked off the new year with a bang as the Alien Armada "abducted" Halloween Knight at Way of the Dreamer. Next month at Way of the Scholar he reappears, costing Devilfish & Crime Buster a match against Warp-Jump, but before the Alien Armada can lay a beatdown on the duo they're stopped by HalloWarped who stands up to his mentor. </p><p> </p><p>

At Way of the Philosopher, the remnants of the Defenders of ZEN! try to enlist the help of Warp-Jump, but Guru Vishni tells Warp-Jump not to get involved. Later, as Halloween Knight beats down Crime Buster after a match, Warp-Jump turn their backs on Guru Vishni, saving Crime Buster. </p><p> </p><p>

Warp-Jump encourages the DOZ! to try out heel tactics, arguing that the Alien Armada doesn't fight fair, and they're not going to rescue Halloween Knight unless they play by their rules. This encourages the DOZ! to take out the individual members of Alien Armada throughout the show, resulting in the planned eight-man tag turning into a 4v2 handicapped match where DOZ! quickly get the advantage and use it to kidnap Halloween Knight back from the Armada. This allows them to break him free of their alien mind control and, at Way of the Warrior, Halloween Knight delivers the greatest setback to the Armada's plans yet, when he defeats Karrg the Conqueror in a casket match. </p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Snark in the Middle:</strong> I went into this storyline intending to unite Kalliope and Snark but discovered they have absolutely zero tag chemistry so, instead, I decided to cut my losses and give Snark the belt off this feud. I went with the headcanon that Snark had revealed his love for Kalliope in November, at Way of the Assassin, assuming that there had been some small buildup to this at the December show where Kalliope says she doesn't trust Buckminster but agrees to team with him against Casual Violence, and Way of the Dreamer is where it really picks up steam.</p><p> </p><p>

When the two team up to face off against Casual Violence the two seem close to victory until a miscommunication from Snark allows CV to pick up the win. Kalliope takes it personally and, after the match, she tells Snark she knew she couldn't trust him and storms off. </p><p> </p><p>

The next month she puts her ZEN Conceptual Title on the line against Lerone Slim but quickly finds herself outmatched by the ringside antics of Rekha. Snark evens the odds at the end though, allowing Kalliope to retain. She still refuses to reconcile with Snark, but does seem torn up about it, and it doesn't stop her from interfering on his behalf when he appears to be outmatched by Rekha. </p><p> </p><p>

The two finally reconcile at Way of the Philosopher with Kalliope agreeing to team with Buckminster against Casual Violence one more time. The two seal a clean victory this time, but in the post match celebration Snark hits a Snark Bite on Kalliope, leaving her laid out in the center of the ring. He tells the Alex Arturro Experience in an interview that this was the plan all along, to give Kalliope everything she wanted and then take it away, first the joy of victory, then himself, then finally her ZEN Conceptual Title. Kalliope attacks Snark the next month, challenging him to a match at Way of the Warrior where she is, unfortunately, unable to win, leading to Snark gaining the ZEN Conceptual title. </p><p> </p><p>

These were the two main storylines I had going on, I had to do some reshuffling in the tag scene to even create viable contenders for the Ghost Hunters, leading to taking the suggestion someone else on the thread made to team up Auckland Raider and Booster Boy into a team I called "Tailgate Party," they had a brief run to get some experience but quickly got into a mini-feud with The Ghost Hunters and took the title at Way of the Warrior. </p><p> </p><p>

The ZEN Master title also changed hands at Way of the Healer. The lack of viable babyfaces at the top of the card led me to hotshot the title back onto Pumpkin Jack, where he feuded with Cyanide and Skullduggery throughout the majority of spring, defeating Cyanide at Way of the Warrior.</p>

[Matt_Black]

I decided to spam tag matches with Azazel, trying to find good chemistry with various babyfaces, as he was the only heel not involved in a storyline who could also work face. I eventually found it with Devilfish, so we turned him face and he was the fourth man alongside Halloween Knight, Devilfish, and Crimebuster against Alien Armada at the Way Of The Warrior. Then, I set him in fish in a storyline with the goal of getting them to the tag titles...

 

So, of course he hands in his notice. $%&@!

[theeaglexiii]

Hey all, I’m a first time converter from the free 2005 version. Catching up on the changes to the game world, not to mention the gameplay itself, is a bit overwhelming. So naturally I wanna start out small. I was gonna go with UEW but ZEN just looked way too much fun. It seems like perfect place to relearn the ropes. It’s cool reading how all your individual games are playing out

 

I’m playing as a rookie booker character. The goal is to start at a small promotion to use as a potential stepping stone. But if I can successfully make ZEN bigger I’ll probably stick around.

 

For some reason, when first checking out the roster and company info, I was under the impression ZEN had no starting storylines. So I devised my long-term booking plans and was surprised when I found 5 active storylines. I considered holding my plans off for a while but figured, hey, I’m the booker now, we’re calling an audible!

 

I’ve ended all but the ZERO v Pumpkin Jack feud. But I’m still gonna use the basis of the others to influence my plans moving forward, rather than acting like they never happened.

 

My big, long term feud is going to be Skullduggery vs Halloween Knight/ZEN. Cyanide decides he wants ZEN for himself, declaring a war for the company whilst also trying to ruin Knight on a personal level. He wants to install Dastardly as their Master Champion and Slim/Rekha as Conceptual and Harmony champs. Skullduggery beat down Halloween Knight, and Cyanide says he’s become a joke wasting his time preventing alien invasions when Skullduggery have been the real threat all along. He tells him to assemble his troops and fight them in ring for the company, either way they’re taking it by force. Knight will go on to make a temporary stable of himself and 3 other long serving members - kinda like an ECW Originals deal. Vertigo will be one. I’m not sure who #3 will be (I don’t want too much star power in this stable) and the last member will be Pumpkin Jack - who will be reluctant to join for a while, leaving them outnumbered. He will eventually join after wining the Master Championship from Zero when that feud ends. That‘ll bring the title into the storyline. My other long term plans for the feud will be dependant on how things develop over time, but I do intend to bring Alien Armada back into the fold.

 

I’m continuing the Kalliope/Snark infatuation. I’m not a fan of popular female wrestlers being stuck in these types of story, but it’s pre-established and it’ll help my end goal: turning Snark, then teaming them up to add a much needed tecnico tag team. To start they’ll feud over the Conceptual belt, and their attraction is mutual - as is their respective uneasiness about it. However it will affect both of their focus and another rudo contender will seek to take advantage to snatch the title. Possibly CWA or someone else menacing. He won’t be successful, leading to a Kalliope/Snark title rematch. CWA will attack Kalliope behind the refs back giving Snark an easy victory... but his feelings for her take over and he just can’t pin her this way. So he DQs himself and officially turns face in a gimmick I’m gonna name ‘Noble Rudo in Love’. They never become anything more than an alliance, both knowing deep down their types don’t mix.

 

As for Alien Armada... rather than be very angry Halloween Knight’s attention is diverted elsewhere, Karrg sees the advantage of him being distracted. He eyes lower and midcard domination, before setting his sights on the top. Hopefully this will eventually make them important enough for the end destination: a three way stable war for control of ZEN with intergalactic consequences! In the meantime, they’ll start by attempting to ‘abduct’ Killer B post-match, for the sole purpose of reintroducing SubUrban Legend (and adding a tecnico tag team). I envision the abduction attempt involving Karrg using a tractor beam... which in reality is just him standing at the entrance under a spotlight, palm powerfully outstretched, making SciFi sound effects into the mic whilst Man O ‘War, Laguna and Beetle literally carry a deadweight Killer B up the isle.

 

Other minor notes: Blue Flea released (temporarily leaving zero tecnico teams). Improved a couple minor production aspects. Signed a deal for events to be aired on graveyard time slot on medium-sized NZ commercial broadcaster. (Despite being C-verse I like having real life broadcasters, so imported them all from The Who’s real world mod).

 

Let’s see how this unfolds!