Posted by Kim on September 29, 2011, 3:14pm
Yesterday was national Ask a Stupid Question Day, and you sent me questions from every corner of the internet. Today, I embark on a journey to answer them all!Because there were so many great questions, I'm going to be splitting my answers up over the next several days.
Today: Questions about the RP Repository
Why did you create the RPR? What gave you the idea?
Asked by Experience
Asked by Experience
Originally, and up until very recently, the RPR was really just a mini site maker that was meant to automate and streamline the creation of character profiles.
For years, I'd been seeing people trying to create character profiles on free webpage makers that were intended for much more general uses, and coming out with less than desirable results. The reasons they did this were many and varied;
- The games they were playing didn't have enough room to create a profile as detailed as they desired.
- They had a character they'd been playing for many years, and its narrative had become so compelling and complex they wanted a place to share it with the world.
- They were forgetful and wanted a place to keep notes about what they had been up to IC and who they had met.
- They had a lot of character art and wanted to put it on display.
- They needed a place to store "crunch", I.E. stats, skills, experience points.
There were two reasons why I didn't think that sites like freewebs or wix were adequate to the task back then.
The first was personal: I HATED visiting sites made with those free programs. They are slow loading and often crashed my older computer, they tend to blast unexpected music at me as soon as I arrive, they encourage putting up a lot of glittery junk and other "stickers" that don't have anything to do with RP and make me wade through a lot of irrelevance to find the information about the character I was actually interested in. And I knew I wasn't alone in thinking that these sites were disappointing.
The second was social. To find a site of an interesting character, you pretty much had to already know that character. Even if you and all your friends used the same website builder, the best you could do would be to exchange links with one another. If hundreds of people were already making character sites in the same place, it seemed silly that it would be impossible for them to meet and become a community.
As a web designer, I was certain that I could do better on both counts, but making individual character sites for friends one at a time got to be exhausting and the more I did it, the more requests I got. It was impossible to keep up. The world was crying out for nice looking, free character sites.
So I created the RPR, really only knowing that whatever happened, it needed to have templates specific to RPing characters, and it needed to have a simple drag and drop interface for adding information that was again specifically relevant to RPing characters.
Once we all got here, I realized that the potential for the site was far greater than just making character sites, and we've been expanding slowly but surely ever since.
How do you vote on stuff in the development logs?
Asked by Copper_Dragon
Asked by Copper_Dragon
Great question! It's in the top right, on the same level as the title. I guess maybe it should be moved to the end of the task description, where your eye naturally goes as you are reading.
What colors will the next templates be?
Asked by Heimdall
Asked by Heimdall
I'm not sure! I usually try to put out several color choices at once, or at least in rapid succession.
If you think we're a little thin on a certain color, you're always free to suggest it.
Why these red-grey-brown colors for RPR?
Asked by Heimdall
Asked by Heimdall
I admit that when I started the site, I was more focused on getting everything working than on specific design. At the time, I picked colors a little haphazardly based on first impulses.
So much RP is classically done in settings where ancient things abound. Yellowed parchments, old cracking leather, and entire empires faded with age, falling into disrepair and ruin and crying out for a hero to rise up and lead the world back to glory -- That was what was in my mind in a very vague way, in the midst of all the concerns about making the site work. So I picked out a parchment texture and tried to age it, and the browns because I associate them with leather and old books and the grit of adventure. Since then, I have added a faded aqua, red and off-white to our "official" color scheme to be in keeping with the feeling of age.
As I write this, I am on the cusp of releasing a redesigned version of the site. It will include many feature and technical upgrades, but the most obvious change will be that I have gone back and tried to pay much more attention to design. The color scheme has been refined and even codified into a special "style guide" so I remember what and why I made certain design decisions, so everything will stay consistent.
Browns will still plays a major role, along with the faded green accent color. But the parchment will be a lighter, friendlier color that is easier to read on.
Here is a preview of the new palette!
is there a place that has a very very very (Okay, put in laments terms, 2nd grader style) dumbed down version of how to use CSS code for the Templates? Or step by step coding guide to follow and template making to follow?
Asked by silver_wolf98
Asked by silver_wolf98
Not quite. Or perhaps more accurately, not yet.
We have some info on CSS here: http://www.rprepository.com/help/templateQA.php#maketemplate
But really, it's just got tools for people who already have some working knowledge of CSS, or links to tutorials for people who want to learn. Obviously, that's not really satisfactory.
I've known for a long while that we needed better tutorials that were specific to our site, but I stopped the project to make one a month or two ago. Why? Because I realized the site was about to be completely redesigned, and the video I was making would be totally out of date the moment that happened. So I held on to that project until the site can settle into its new form. As soon as the redesign hits, or at the very latest, within several days, I will release several videos of me explaining how to use CSS to create new character templates, and most likely a short video wherein you can watch me make a simple character template from scratch. I know I've been promising that for awhile. When I first started the project, it wasn't yet clear to me how quickly the redesign would be arriving -- now that it's nearly upon us, so is a proper CSS tutorial.
And when will the new site design be released, along with these mythical tutorial videos, I hear you asking?
We're about 2 weeks away from the momentous day. Less, if everything goes to plan..
Stay tuned tomorrow for more answers to your questions.
Comments
Oh, I love that new colour scheme you have planned! Can't wait to see it in action. 
Oh okay, sweet! Because I like TOTALLY see it now. 
Whoohoo! Voting time for me~!
Whoohoo! Voting time for me~!
I'm glad you asked, Copper_Dragon. It made me realize that that button isn't necessarily in the most intuitive spot.
... Oh. Wow, goodness. How on earth did I miss the voting button? *eyes Fire Fox* Did you do this? DID YOU? I trusted you, browser of fire and fox, to make my RPR adventure glorious!
Thank you for the answer, Kim! Now I feel like less of a dumbdumb.
Thank you for the answer, Kim! Now I feel like less of a dumbdumb.
Some very interesting answers. Can't wait to see the next batch tomorrow!
Javan
September 30, 2011
8:02am