Charming and Open: A Week of Interactive Blogging!

Today is the day, adventurers, the special interactive blogging event that I mentioned in my monthly update and that I have teased for the past week! In case you were wondering, no, I did not actually have this planned out when I originally mentioned the idea of doing some kind of interactive event on the blog. But I think I’ve got it all figured out and I hope that you all enjoy what we’ve got coming this week!

As you can see from the title, I decided to call this event Charming and Open. The hints I spread throughout the week were related directly to the title – specifically, where I got it from. How does that work, you might ask?

Well the first hint is Alan A’Dale from Disney’s Robin Hood, better known as “that rooster character that sings.” Alan A’Dale is what we’d call a bard, and that was the first hint. The second one should be pretty obvious if you have any idea who this character is. This villainous Shrek 2 character is none other than Prince Charming. And finally, this clip from Spongebob Squarepants is a reference to a certain tabletop game we all know and love, Dungeons and Dragons. So we have bard, charming, and dungeon…how do they relate? Well turns out that Charming and Open is the name of a starting move used by the bard class in Dungeon World, my favorite tabletop RPG!

“You didn’t legitimately expect anyone to figure that out, I hope.” No, adventurers, I really just wanted to see what wacky stuff people would come up with based on these images. But don’t worry, the reasoning behind WHY this event is called Charming and Open makes a lot more sense.

The Charming and Open move represents the ability of a bard to speak candidly with other characters, pulling information out of them that normally the person would not reveal. Of course, in speaking so candidly, the bard reveals a little bit of herself, too. It’s an exchange of information that, mechanically, takes the form of a pair of questions exchanged by the players. The bard’s player gets to ask a question of the target’s player. The target’s player then gets the ask the bard’s player a question in return. Both players must answer honestly. And that structure, that exchange of questions, is the inspiration for this week’s event!

SO HOW DOES THE EVENT WORK?
This post will serve as the “masterpost,” if you will, for this week. Starting from the moment this is posted, I will be accepting questions from readers that I will answer in the form of a full-length post here on the blog. You can ask me a question by posting it in the comment section OF THIS POST (that’s important!). Whenever you ask me a question, I will in turn ask you a question too! Now if you’re a fellow blogger, this is where things get really fun – I encourage you to post a blog post with your answer to my question. Running with the idea of an equal exchange, by participating in this event you benefit in the following ways:

1. Publicity! You’ll be credited as the asker of the question on my blog, and your own blog linked in the answer post. I share all of my content across the social media sites for Adventure Rules as well. Anyone reading my response to your question will be able to zip right over to your blog and check out your content!
2. Ideas! Ever have trouble coming up with something to post about? By asking me a question, I’ll be asking you one in return. Answering the question in post form will give you something to talk about on your blog, maybe even something that’s a little different from your day-to-day content!
3. Community! A post like this with multiple people asking questions and providing answers is a chance for you to check out all the bloggers in the comment section. The WordPress blogging community is crazy supportive and we often share each other’s content on social media and mention each other in posts. By commenting, following, and interacting with people as part of this event, you can meet new people and strengthen that network of support!

WHAT IF I’M NOT A BLOGGER?
Hey, I’m all about inclusiveness! This event isn’t restricted to fellow bloggers by any means. If you like to read blogs but don’t blog yourself, feel free to still comment and ask me a question. Just let me know in your comment that you won’t be writing a post of your own – that’s totally okay! I’ll still credit you as the person asking me the question. And if you don’t even have a WordPress account, all you have to do to comment is leave an e-mail address. So don’t feel like you can’t be part of the event just because you don’t have a blog!

SO WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS WILL YOU ANSWER?
There will be some ground rules for the questions I’m actually willing to address here on the blog. Most of these should be pretty straightforward, and every rule exists for the purpose of making this event accessible and enjoyable!

1. I will accept questions that are related to Video Games, Tabletop Games, and Blogging. If your question doesn’t somehow relate to one of these topics, I’m probably not gonna answer. My blog is not a lifestyle blog and details about my job, personal life, etc. aren’t really the focus of my posts. However, if you’re clever, you might just be able to connect your real question with one of the topics above and get the answer you want! 😉
2. I will NOT accept questions that are flat-out hateful. Questions that have obvious tones of racism, misogyny, misandry, or homophobia will be ignored. Anything that takes a bladed stance against a particular religion (or lack thereof) or political party will be ignored. Hateful questions geared towards a specific console or developer will be ignored. And any other kind of overt prejudice that I haven’t mentioned yet will be ignored. Adventure Rules is a gaming blog, and who plays video games? Everyone. So this blog should be safe for everyone to visit without feeling hostility.
3. If your question is already a post, I won’t answer it a second time. This applies not just to repeat questions during this event but also anything I’ve already posted somewhat recently. For example, the question “what’d you think of Breath of the Wild?” would not be appropriate because I posted a review of the game within the last month. If a question like that is asked, I’ll probably just link you the original post and give you the opportunity to ask something else if you want!
4. Please just ask one question. I am going to do everything I can to address EVERY question that I receive on this post. However, I am ultimately one person who works a full time job and has a family to tend to. If I accept three or four questions a person, I probably wouldn’t be able to realistically answer all of them. So please just ask one, that way I know I can answer you in a timely fashion and give you a thought-out response.
5. My questions to you will follow these guidelines too. I will do my best not to ask you a question that you’ve already “answered” through an existing blog post, and I’ll do my best not to ask you something you find offensive. I do apologize if I unknowingly say something harmful. Finally, I’ll try to keep my question related to YOUR blog – I won’t ask a game blogger about their fashion sense, and I won’t ask a fashion blogger their favorite console generation. If you want to set additional guidelines for my question to you, please include them in your comment!
6. Finally, I reserve the right to reject any question. On the off-chance that someone somehow asks a question that I’m uncomfortable answering that isn’t already addressed above, I am saying now that I can reject ANY question if I feel like it. But chances are if you follow the guidelines above and use a little common sense, you’ll be asking a question that I will gladly answer!

GOT ANY EXAMPLES?
Of course I do! Here are some examples of the kinds of questions that would be appropriate. Feel free to steal these and definitely feel free to ask your own, probably cleverer questions:
What games do you think Nintendo will reveal at E3 this year?
What’s your favorite gaming console?
What type of character do you never play in tabletop games?
What is your process when coming up with a campaign for your players?
What crazy blog promotion ideas have you had but not tried?
What advice would you give to a blogger who’s just starting out?
Don’t feel limited to questions “like these.” As I said in the guidelines, if you can find a way to relate your question to video games, tabletops, or blogging, there are a lot of possible questions you can ask. Of course, if you really do just want to know the answer to something like “what’s your favorite video game?” that’s totally cool too. No question shaming here!

ASKED AND ANSWERED
Once this post has been posted and I start receiving some questions, I’ll be linking all of my responses and the responses of others to my questions in this section here. So if at any time you want to see what posts have resulted from this event, all you have to do is check back here. I AM NO LONGER TAKING QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME, but all answers resulting from this week’s event will be posted here, so keep your eye on this post as it will be expanding throughout the week. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the Charming and Open event!

“What is One Video Game Character that You Feel Spiritually Connected to?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“How Should Games Handle Falling from Ledges?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“What is the First Game You Ever Beat, and Do You Have Special Memories with It?” – answered by Hundstrasse

“What is Your Guilty Pleasure Game?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“If You Could Develop Your Own Game, What Kind of Game Would You Make?” – answered by PIXELDUMP Gaming

“What Are You Most Ashamed of in Your Gaming Experience?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“What is Your Least Favorite Game in Your Favorite Series?” – answered by Games and Stuff

“If You Could Visit Any World Within a Video Game, Where Would You Go?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“What Three Video Games Would You Take to a Deserted Island?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“What is Your Opinion on Silent Versus Voiced Protagonists?” – answered by Adventure Rules

“What Video Game Character Grinds Your Gears the Most?” – answered by PIXELDUMP Gaming

“What is The Secret of Monkey Island and What Are Your Memories with it?” – answered by Kim at Later Levels