Hey guys, so I was looking through the broken links at the top, and the About page looks like the hardest to fix. I mean, Library and Enroll just need re-routes to current threads, and Contact just needs... well, I don't really know what that needs, but I figured that I could do something now about the "About" page. Here's a rough draft I just sketched up. Let me know what you think; any suggestions / critiques you have would be much appreciated. Also, remember it is a Rough Draft, so don't be like "wth Quill this sucks" lol. Thanks! ----- Hyrule Castle is a Roleplay Forum based in the Legend of Zelda universe. However, the world of Hyrule our characters inhabit can't be found in any one Zelda title. Our Hyrule is a unique blend of information from all over the Zelda series; for example, Windfall Island is set off the coast of North Hyrule, which includes the Snowhead Mountain Range, and is located near the glacier housing the portal to the mythical land of Subrosia in its depths. In this Hyrule, a Kikwi, Tokay, and Gerudo could all quite literally walk into a bar. Our current events and past lore are based on events and ideas in the Zelda series, but everything is quite unique to us. For example, while in the first Zelda title Ganon controls Death Mountain, here we also deal with the Gorons being thusly driven out of their ancient homes and forced to live in the slums of Hyrule Castle Town. Hyrule Castle also sports a unique Treasure system. Nearly every classical item from the Zelda series is represented in our expansive Library of Treasures, which indexes everything from canonical items like the Hookshot or Hero's Charm to member-created items like the Capture Staff or Deku Ironwood. These items can be purchased for our characters using the rupees we earn by completing Roleplays. Rupees can be earned by Roleplaying in the typical fashion, i.e. by creating and completing a thread in some area of Hyrule, or by Roleplaying in what we call "Classic Dungeons." Anyone who's played a Zelda game has wondered what it would be like to wander the halls of the Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time, to stare down Majora and give the chaotic demon a sound thrashing, or to become so frustrated with the infamous Water Temple that a few Powder Kegs are 'accidently' allowed to explode and bring the whole structure crumbling down on itself. Well, the Classic Dungeon forum is your opportunity to do just that! Any dungeon from any Zelda title is fair game for you to Roleplay in. By beginning a Roleplay, either in a Classic Dungeon or in Hyrule-main, you earn rupees that can be used to purchase treasures for your characters. By venturing through the Water Temple, you could have your character obtain the Longshot, or you could choose to have him (or her) find a long-lost scroll to a spell unique to these forums. That's Hyrule Castle in a nutshell. If you want to know more, check out our Tutorial section for more information. Or, if you want to see HC in action, just scroll down the forums and click on anything you like. The Treasure Creation forum, the Character Creation forum, the player vs. player Battle Arena, or even the Out of Character Discussion Forums- everything's waiting for you to sign up and jump in. Happy hunting, and welcome aboard!
Overall, I like it. However, there are a few slight tweaks I feel would be appropriate. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but... First, the Capture Staff is not actually a member original. While not canon, the reason it exists on HC is because a "Capture Staff" is mentioned by name and used in The Legend of Zelda animated series. Second, this is something I've always been a bit irked about, but you don't "purchase" a treasure through a quest. You "earn" it. Obviously, you don't earn rupees in a quest, then spend them to purchase the treasure. Rather, you quest to earn a treasure or two, and anything left over you earn as rupees. When you quest for an high-cost treasure, excess rupees are lost to make up for the fact one quest isn't enough for a treasure so grand. This is partly my fault for designing Quests to use "rupees." I still think a quest should earn you "XP," and any XP you don't spend is instead converted into rupees. (I suppose it's too late for a change like that, though.) In the first paragraph, the last pair of sentences seem to have awkward phrasing, particularly with the placement of "thusly." I would alter it like so: "For example, in the first Zelda game, Ganon controls Death Mountain. Here, Ganon overtook Death Mountain by force from the Gorons, driving them out to live in the slums of Castle Town." I feel like this introduction should explain the kinds of character(s) a player would be able to play. Hyrule is explained extensively, but a newbie might not immediately realize that he could be a skilled Rito sorcerer, a cunning Business Scrub, or something other than another Hylian with a sword. ...Finally, I think "Roleplay" and "Treasure" shouldn't be capitalized.
Torn between replacing Capture Staff with either Skulltula Paste or Holy Bolt, just based on the attraction in the name. I'll fix the other stuff sometime tomorrow, I think.
I think you need something shorter. Once they see how long that is, they simply put will stop reading. Just give a history of the site, the mission of the site, and what it strives to be. And it needs to be very concise. I basically write vision and mission statements for a life, and if it's not concise and to the point people will not care to read it. One to two paragraphs, max.
While that's probably the best way to have an "about page" for a large site and one that is much more than what HC is, I'd like more than just a simple "Hey, we're a Zelda RP!" I like Quill's write up because its about us, which is more of what I want it to be. Yes, it may not be the most professional approach, but I don't think an about page that has more meat to it is going to chase people away from RPing here. RPers usually don't care about that sort of stuff, and would likely appreciate something that Quill wrote a little more than a one paragraph statement of what we are. I appreciate the suggestion, though, dark.
I feel like the 'earned' thing is a little complicated to get into for someone who's so new that he's looking at the About page. Expanding on it in later threads is definitely a good idea, but it may be a little too down-and-dirty for an overview like this. ---- Hyrule Castle is a Roleplay Forum based in the Legend of Zelda universe. However, the world of Hyrule our characters inhabit can't be found in any one Zelda title. Our Hyrule is a unique blend of information from all over the Zelda series; for example, Windfall Island is set off the coast of North Hyrule, which includes the Snowhead Mountain Range, and is located near the glacier housing the portal to the mythical land of Subrosia in its depths. In this Hyrule, a Kikwi, Tokay, and Gerudo could all quite literally walk into a bar. Our current events and past lore are based on events and ideas in the Zelda series, but everything is quite unique to us. For example, in the first Zelda game, Ganon controls Death Mountain. Here, Ganon overtook Death Mountain by force from the Gorons, driving them out to live in the slums of Castle Town. But what kind of characters can you make in this world? As long as a proposed character isn't totally ridiculous and doesn't break the setting, the possibilities are unlimited. By totally ridiculous, I mean things like a Goron who was born with the blood of a forgotten goddes, a Goron with enough power to easily destroy Ganon and conquer the known world. Other than things like that, though, you can make virtually any kind of character you want. Got an idea for an exiled Rito who dabbled too deeply into dark magic? Sounds great! Like the sound of a cunning Business Scrub who kills his customers and takes both their money and his merchandise back? Go for it. Want to make a Kokiri who, disgusted by the vices of the world outside the Forest, makes it his mission to cleanse Hyrule of all evil? Draft it up. Hyrule Castle also sports a unique Treasure system. Nearly every classical item from the Zelda series is represented in our expansive Library of Treasures, which indexes everything from canonical items like the Hookshot or Hero's Charm to member-created items like Skulltula Paste or Deku Ironwood. These items can be purchased for our characters using the rupees we earn by completing Roleplays. Rupees can be earned by Roleplaying in the typical fashion, i.e. by creating and completing a thread in some area of Hyrule, or by Roleplaying in what we call "Classic Dungeons." Anyone who's played a Zelda game has wondered what it would be like to wander the halls of the Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time, to stare down Majora and give the chaotic demon a sound thrashing, or to become so frustrated with the infamous Water Temple that a few Powder Kegs are 'accidently' allowed to explode and bring the whole structure crumbling down on itself. Well, the Classic Dungeon forum is your opportunity to do just that! Any dungeon from any Zelda title is fair game for you to Roleplay in. By beginning a Roleplay, either in a Classic Dungeon or in Hyrule-main, you earn rupees that can be used to purchase treasures for your characters. By venturing through the Water Temple, you could have your character obtain the Longshot, or you could choose to have him (or her) find a long-lost scroll to a spell unique to these forums. That's Hyrule Castle in a nutshell. If you want to know more, check out our Tutorial section for more information. Or, if you want to see HC in action, just scroll down the forums and click on anything you like. The Treasure Creation forum, the Character Creation forum, the player vs. player Battle Arena, or even the Out of Character Discussion Forums- everything's waiting for you to sign up and jump in. Happy hunting, and welcome aboard!
