Finding a game is like looking for a book to read. There are hundreds of choices out there, but only a few are going to be what you're looking for. This time around, we're going to look at a few things you might want to keep in mind when hunting for a game that might help make your search a lot easier.

Genre: This is possibly the easiest thing you’ll consider when looking for a game. In fact, chances are pretty good you’ll move past this step so fast you won’t even realize you’ve chosen a genre. This question boils down to what type of game are you looking for? Are you looking for science fiction? Fantasy? Horror? Or something else entirely? Chances are pretty good that if you can think of something, there’s a game that’ll fit what you’re looking for.

RP vs. Social: Are you looking to play a character or are you looking to socialize with maybe some mild RP tossed in? There are games that are aimed at both tastes with variations in between that combine role-playing with areas for out of character social interaction.

Playerbase: This could also be looked at as game size. Playerbase refers to the total number of people who play on a game. A game’s playerbase can range from a handful of people for a very small game to a couple thousand people for a very large game. Generally, only a certain percentage of players are logged on at any one given time. There are advantages and disadvantages to small and large games. By and large, it’s going to boil down to what you are most comfortable with but here are some things to consider:

Small games tend to be more intimate than larger games. Response times by staff tend to be faster, since they have a smaller volume of requests to work with. Interactions between staff and players are more one on one and you have a greater chance to get to know the people you’re playing with on an out of character basis. On the down side, depending on when you log in, you might find it difficult to find people to role-play with. If most of the players on the game live in one time zone and you live in another, finding people to play with may be difficult to downright impossible.

Larger games, on the other hand, tend to have people on them 24/7 from a variety of time zones making it easy to find people who are logged on. Whether or not they’re willing to play with you depends on how hard it is to break into the established role-play circles (this can also be a problem on smaller games). It can be more difficult to work with staff, since they have a larger volume of requests and problems to work with and response times may be longer than they would be on a smaller game.

Content: Some games don’t allow players under 18 to play there because they feel that minors either shouldn’t be playing there (in the case of games of a sexual nature). Others don’t allow minors because they feel the themes are inappropriate for younger players (a lot of World of Darkness games, for example, prefer that players be 18 or older because of the dark nature of the game world). Others are open to just about everyone, which can mean that they restrict certain language (mainly profanity) or certain themes (sex, graphic violence, suicide, etc.). There are also games that fall somewhere in between, allowing some activities but not others.

Character Creation: There are several systems for creating a character on a MU*. I’ll be talking more about creating characters in future columns, but here is a brief look at three types of character creation:

Application Only: You fill out a questionnaire for your character, describing your character’s background and stats. Some applications may ask for your thoughts about the game world, your gaming experience, or what you think about things like consensual role-play (more on this in a bit). Once you’re finished, you send the application to the appropriate staff member who will read the application and (hopefully) approve you. Turn around times on applications can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days to a week at the most. If you’re waiting longer than that, generally something’s wrong.

Open Character Generation: You log onto the game and go through a series of steps that allow you to create a character on the game without having to run that character through staff approval. The plus side of this system is that you can get onto the game and playing a lot faster than you can with an application only game. This is sometimes seen as a downside, since because characters are easy to obtain, there isn’t necessarily the same feeling of attachment that a player might have if they had to put more effort into getting the character.

Open Character Generation with Approval: This system mixes aspects of the first two. You are able to log onto the game and create the character’s stats, which can be seen as the bare bones of the character. However, before you’re allowed into the game (or ‘on the grid’) your character’s background needs to be approved by a member of staff. This is sort of the middle ground between Open Chargen and Application Only.

Age of the Game: Newer games tend to be smaller and sometimes slower to build up speed than older games. Which can mean that you’ll be spending a good portion of your time sitting idle while you wait for chances to role-play. On the other hand, newer games also tend to have a certain level of enthusiasm and you get the chance to be in on the ground floor of a potentially exciting new game. You may also get the chance to help shape the flavor and history of the game.

Older games are somewhat more stable and sometimes more stagnant than newer games. Some have been going on for years and can be harder to break into, since there can be a wide gap between the power levels of older players and those of newer players.

Consent vs. Non-Consent: Consent refers to how much control you, as a player, have over your character’s fate. It most commonly refers to how much say you have over whether your character dies or ends up in deep trouble. Consent is a rather broad spectrum anchored by the ideas of full consent and full non-consent.

Full Consent means that you as a player have total control over what happens to you while you’re in character. If you want to take it to it’s fullest, most ridiculous extreme, it means another player cannot pose putting a hand on your shoulder without first asking you out of character if it is okay. Most games do not take full consent that far, since it would slow gameplay down to a speed that would make sloths look like cheetahs.

Full Non-Consent is the opposite tack. You have no say in what happens to your character. If someone decides to kill your character, they don’t have to ask your permission before they fire the first shot or take the first swing. Your only recourse is to fight back to the best of your character’s abilities.

Many games seem to use a mix of consent and non-consent. When all is going well, you control your character’s fate. However, if you do something that would logically lead to your character being killed or punished, such as breaking into an enemy stronghold, you give up your right to consensual death if you’re caught.

Dice vs. Diceless: Some games have a system that allows you to roll virtual dice to help decide whether or not you succeed or fail at an action. This could be a complex setup that takes your character’s abilities and attributes into consideration or a relatively simple virtual coin toss. Other games have no randomizing system set up, instead relying on players to resolve things themselves.

And the last thing to consider is the overall “Feel” you get for the game. Do you like the theme, are the other players friendly (or at least tolerable), and does it fit what you’re looking for in an on-line role-playing experience? If the tally adds up to yes, then stick around. If not, try again and better luck next time. Either way, good luck.

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