[DonathinFrye]

Atonement supports a very detailed, non-linear storyline that is spread over Wikipedia Documentation, Short Stories and many, many logs of major in-game events on the website. It's always my wish that new players come prepared to the game, to help ease the learning curve that exists for all RPIs; by throwing its name out there now, I'm hopeful that new folks will come with a firm understanding of the gameworld by the time we re-open this Fall. Part of what makes a veteran a veteran on an RPI is that they have been around long enough to absorb the intricacies of the gameworld and its canon; encouraging potential new players to read before they leap is an effort to help make it easier for them to become veteran players of the future.

On another note, I'll repeat what I think that I said a long time ago; I don't really care who calls their game an RPI. I think that it has the potential to confuse a large niche of players who have preconceived notions about what an 'RPI' should be, but the name of your game is ultimately not much more than the cover sheet of its marketing plan. IRE claims to have the most in-depth roleplay and complex player-killing in the universe; just because I heartily disagree with this statement does not mean that they don't have the right to advertise whatever they would like to help bring folks to their games. When I first started playing IRE, I quit shortly after I realized that it was not what I thought that it was going to be; if a player is looking for a new RPI and plays a game calling itself an RPI that doesn't fit their pre-conceived notions, they will either be happy with the game or unhappy with their expectations not being met. It's not a judgement on which approach to design is better, in my mind. Players can make up their own minds, and it's simply not something that deserves to be continually argued over.