This is a SCREENWRITING exercise that will give you practice collaborating.  The end result is not expected to be a completely logical script but it will be lots of fun to both write and read.

It is based on the following concept:

You’ve been invited to a party on a boat.  Everybody who’s anybody is there, but one of the people on board is not who they seem.  One of them is a blood thirsty killer and before the voyage is over everyone, except for them will be dead.  

Here’s how it works:

A CAST is decided upon.   In our case people will sign up on this thread.  You can sign up on this thread until about a week before our start date.   One of these cast members will be the killer.

Each cast member will have two turns.  They will be notified that it is their turn via PM or email.  They will have no indication of when their turn is before that notification. During a turn a cast member will be expected to write a scene in screenplay format based on the instructions given.  The scene can be no longer than one post in a forum thread.

The first scene will be used to set up the cast member’s character.  How they interact with the other cast members. Since anyone of the cast members can be the murderer, this scene should establish why this particular cast member might want to murder everyone on the boat.

The second scene will always portray the murder of a remaining cast member.   Though the killer is never visible until the last murder, this scene should implicate another remaining cast member as the killer.

Eventually all the cast members will be murdered in the story.  By process of elimination the last man or woman standing is the killer.  Everyone gets to pick the killer by which cast member they choose to murder in their scene.  

A cast member still gets their writing turns even if they are murdered in the story.

Any questions?

Sign up in this thread now and we can start this after the OWC reads die down, have some Halloween fun.

Cheers,

Michael  


Cast so far

Yohn Yohnson
Nik
me
Mr. Ripley
stebrown
GM
Sandra E
Alffy
Blakkwolfe
Dreamscale
MBCgirl
orangelikechaos
Bert

Quoted from mcornetto Everyone who is interested signs up.

To sign up, reply to this thread.  Michael will be running this.

Don

Yep.  Don is 100% correct.  Sign up on this thread.

Sounds good. Count me in!

Consider me in.

Even thought, i'm not 100% sure how it will work.

Hey Yohn, Nik,

Welcome aboard the S.S. Craven.

I'll take this time to try and explain a bit more about the game.

Killer is a traditional party game where you have a group of people and you pick a bunch of cards.  One of the cards indicates that the person who picked it is the killer.  What that person must do is kill everyone in the room before they are caught.   They do this by winking at the person.  If someone sees the killer winking then the killer is caught.  

What we are going to do is take that party game and twist it around a bit and make it a screenwriting exercise.  What will happen is that once we have everyone that is participating, I will choose the killer.  Then I will make a murder list and a turn list. Everyone will have a turn to write at least one (probably two scenes).  You're first scene will likely be a scene to establish your own character.  Your second scene will be a scene where you write about the murder of one of the other characters (I will tell you which character from the murder list).  During this scene you will also point the finger of suspicion at one of the remaining characters (You get to choose which character - this could be thought of as your guess).  

I will let you know when it is your turn by IM or email.   No one will know when they will die or when their next turn is.  No one, not even the murderer, will know who the killer is.

Hope that helps.    

I love a good party, boats and blood thirsty killers.
I'd like to sail along on this cruise.
I'd like a big balcony in my cabin though. Is that a possibility?
You should make Wes the captain...  

Countess Zadora,

Welcome aboard our humble ship. Your first class accommodations await. I hope they are to your liking. I will keep my eye out for this mysterious Captain Wes that you mention and will inform you of his arrival.    

Countess Zadora!!!!  Oooooh, I like that!
Who would ever thunk someone from the slums of Sweden would end up playing a Countess on a message board for writers. I've come a long baby!!  

I like to be a part of this. Been absent for a quite a bit, but I'm close to returning back to this community of screenwriters with a lot of reads to give. .  

Gabe

Welcome back Gabe and welcome aboard.  Mind that first step though, it's a killer.

I'll give this a go too Michael. As long as the boat has a bar.

Cornetto, my friend, I'd go on board with all thesse celebrities, but I'm get sick inside a boat. Sorry, maybe I whould if it was a type of Orient Expres train! Huugouhhhh! Sorry! I have to go, now! Huugoohhh!

Mr. Brown Welcome aboard. I hope you find the S.S. Craven a peaceful place to recover from your, uh, drinking problem.  In addition to every alcoholic beverage know to man, the open bar is stocked with a complete line of non-alcoholic beverages, be sure to check it out.

Helio, Brazillian novelist extraordinaire,  no need to cancel the trip.  Our ships doctor has a fresh supply of extra strength Dramamine - guaranteed to cure even the worst cases of sea sickness.  Though I would be careful not to overdose as it can cause peculiar side-effects, black-outs for instance.  I do hope you'll reconsider and join us on this journey.  

Count me in, I'll probably join Stephen at the bar. I'll bring the mint and we can have Mojitos.

Would it be very uncountess like to chug a few beers?

Not for you, Countess Zadora.  I'm sure you chug your beer quite elegantly.

And you, Ordinary Seaman Murphy.  You're late!  There will be no mingling with the guests for our crew members.  And stop giving me that 'I have a criminal record' stare. I won't have it on my watch!

Please Note:
I've decided to make a slight change in the way this will be played.  Rather than choosing a killer and making a murder list up front.  I am going to allow the author of the scene to decide who gets murdered out of the remaining cast members. I think this will make things a bit more fun and a bit more unpredictable.  Ultimately the cast will determine the killer.  I will keep track of turns though and will give you additional instructions for the scene if necessary.

We are looking for at least 10 people (so far we have 6) in order to play but the more the merrier.

Quoted from mcornetto And you, Ordinary Seaman Murphy.

I can live with that, just thankful my name is not Staines I guess.

I get the feeling people still aren’t getting what this game of killer is about.   This is a SCREENWRITING exercise that will give you practice collaborating.  The end result is not expected to be a completely logical script but it will be lots of fun to both write and read.  

Here’s how it works:

A CAST is decided upon.   In our case people will sign up on this thread.  You can sign up on this thread until about a week before our start date.   One of these cast members will be the killer.

Each cast member will have two turns.  They will be notified that it is their turn via PM or email.  They will have no indication of when their turn is before that notification. During a turn a cast member will be expected to write a scene in screenplay format based on the instructions given.  The scene can be no longer than one post in a forum thread.

The first scene will be used to set up the cast member’s character.  How they interact with the other cast members. Since anyone of the cast members can be the murderer, this scene should establish why this particular cast member might want to murder everyone on the boat.

The second scene will always portray the murder of a remaining cast member.   Though the killer is never visible until the last murder, this scene should implicate another remaining cast member as the killer.

Eventually all the cast members will be murdered in the story.  By process of elimination the last man or woman standing is the killer.  Everyone gets to pick the killer by which cast member they choose to murder in their scene.  

A cast member still gets their writing turns even if they are murdered in the story.

Hope this helps.

Quoted from mcornetto Each cast member will have two turns.  They will be notified that it is their turn via PM or email.  They will have no indication of when their turn is before that notification. During a turn a cast member will be expected to write a scene in screenplay format based on the instructions given.  The scene can be no longer than one post in a forum thread.

Are we talking exact margins here Michael, or just roughly correct format? Sounds a laugh anyways.

My question is whether your "cast" members are going to be imaginary characters, or simply an extension of their on-board personna.

Is your cruise a gathering of SS members on a boat, or is Pia a visiting countess, and Murphy a ship's steward, and things of that nature?  Or are they simply the common, beer-swilling SS members we know them to be ( ) who happen to be taking the same cruise?

In a nutshell, are your writers writing as themselves, or as casted members of your ship's crew?

Hi Michael,

This does sound like an interesting project.  I wouldn't mind reading a few scripts before saying yes.  I've never heard of this game and have no idea as to the structure of the game.  I know you're trying to change the premise.  Maybe that's where the collaboration comes in?  For people like me.

I'll keep an eye out for the progress of this screenwriting excercise.

You can count me on board, Michael. Getting the complete gist of it, I'm sure will come like in any other game-- by playing it.

Sandra

Quoted from bert My question is whether your "cast" members are going to be imaginary characters, or simply an extension of their on-board personna. Is your cruise a gathering of SS members on a boat, or is Pia a visiting countess, and Murphy a ship's steward, and things of that nature?  Or are they simply the common, beer-swilling SS members we know them to be ( ) who happen to be taking the same cruise? In a nutshell, are your writers writing as themselves, or as casted members of your ship's crew?

The guests are imaginary but they will have the name of the author and may have some traits of the author.  They should capture the interest of those writing and reading. It's Halloween, you're supposed to dress up.  

I threw out some suggestions to have fun with some of the people joining and to give an idea of the variety I would like to see - but my suggestions aren't written in stone (I don't think we'd easily get the Countess to give up her title though).  

It is ultimately going to be up to the cast member themselves to determine their actual character, you will decide who you are going to be - you won't have complete control over it because some one may introduce you before you have a chance to write.  That's why we'll need a list of these characters before we begin the actual writing.

Quoted from jayrex Hi Michael, This does sound like an interesting project.  I wouldn't mind reading a few scripts before saying yes.  I've never heard of this game and have no idea as to the structure of the game.  I know you're trying to change the premise.  Maybe that's where the collaboration comes in?  For people like me. I'll keep an eye out for the progress of this screenwriting excercise.

There isn't going to be any scripts.  There is going to be approximately 20 scenes, each scene a separate post in a single thread.  There is no joining in after it starts.  You either need to be on board or you watch from the shore.  Personally, I would like to see you make this voyage.

Welcome aboard Madame Sandra.  It is an honor to have such an esteemed psychic detective on board.  How you manage to find all those missing murder victims is beyond me. -- Danger, you say, on the S.S. Craven?  

If there's room for another alcoholic passenger then I'm sure I can afford a ticket, as long as I have enough change left for a bottle of white spirits, glug ahh! Someone show me the way to my cabin, I don't feel so well.

Ah!   The postman cometh. Hopefully he won't goeth postal. Welcome aboard Alffy.

Just thought I would update you on the

Cast so far

Yohn Yohnson
Nik
me
Mr. Ripley
stebrown
GM
Sandra E
Alffy
Zombie Sean

Including me (mcornetto) we have just the bare minimum to play, so it looks like the game will be on.  It would be good if a few others would sign up in case anyone decides to drop out at the last minute.   So any of you wavering people out there sign up now.  

There will be blood! It will be fun!  

Oh! And I'm still waiting for that mysterious Captain Wes. He must have been delayed by a Nor-Easter or something.

Arrr...If thar be room for one more scurrilous seadog amongst this voyage of the damned...I offer me hook and me good eye if ye be free with the rum...and ye lassess..

An open bar, an esteemed cast of charcaters, and an open ended itinerary...what more could one want?  I'm in damnit!

Hopefully there are numerous bottles of Jagermeister onboard.

Blackbeard, uh, I mean Blakkwolfe.  I hope you find your accommodations to your liking. Some people complain that our beds are so hard that they feel like you're lying on a plank.  Better than walking one, I always say.

And Dreamscale, international ski tutor to the rich and famous.  There's no snow on board the S.S. Craven but I'm sure that won't stop you from giving your lessons.

Welcome aboard!  

Very funny...and very cool!  This sounds like fun.

No fallen snow from the Heavens, but maybe some other forms onboard.  A Swedish Countess?  Numerous alchies?  An International skier?  A rogue?  And...Jagermeister?  Oooh, the plot thickens.

Are you going to start this voyage off for us landlubbers?  May be a good idea to get the initial tone and feeling down.

Still not sure exactly how this is going to work, but I'm game and ready to play along.

Welcome aboard, Maties!!!!!!!!

Other than the exact thread...where is this thing located?  I can't seem to find it.

Maybe I got on board a bit early and that damn bartender has been serving me too many Jagies!  Or the waves...the waves...I'm skier, for God's sake.  Snow..not water...not waves... Jagie...Dramam...Jagie...ice cubes...alcohol...anything!!!!

AHOY!!!!

Hey Jeff,

This will start after the OWC reads die down,  on October 25th.  Then there will be a thread for this.  I'm sending out an initial email tonight - watch for it!

EDIT: Email is sent.  Look for it in your inbox (and your junk mail just in case).  

Everyone else you can still join the game until October 19th.

So I'm currently thinking of some kind of mysterious postal worker. Got my thinking cap well and truely on my head for this one. A postman that's misserable, moody and suspicious...sounds like everyone I work with.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for their Introduction and Background.  I think I'll post them in this thread as they come.  I think that would help stir peoples creativity.  Will start with mine (Even though you've all seen it).

Introduction:  CAPTAIN CORNETTO laughs.  His jiggling rotund belly and not-quite-grey-bearded face gives the impression of a younger Santa but the anagram lies behind his eyes.

Background:  Captain of the S.S. Craven.  He is currently under investigation for the disappearance of the passengers and crew of the S.S. Romero. He was the only survivor. He claimed it was the “Bermuda Triangle” and that he couldn’t remember what happened on that ship.  In an effort find out he is undergoing regression therapy.  Just this morning he had a breakthrough, he said he could see the face of the person responsible for the S.S. Romero disaster but he couldn’t remember that person’s name – yet.

One thing I noticed is that people are using a name that isn't connected to the player.  Or they are using some character that isn't at all like the author.  This won't work because the character being played needs to connect in some way with the person playing. This should be you playing the character.

* You should use your name, or a play on your name as the character name.
* You should use your physical traits when you describe the character.  The character should be your age.
* You can dress the character however you like or give it whatever background you like but the character needs to connect in some way to you.  

For example here is Nic's character:


Introduction:
NIC BEQIRI, 20's, enters the room and everybody stares. His trusted camera hangs around his neck, one hand on it, ready for action.  His face, a twisted smile, that seems more crazy than angry or happy.

Background:
Nic Beqiri is a journalist photographer who always seems to be "right on the scene" when murders happen. He has made a fortune selling those exclusive scoops to the tabloids. He's a bit of a strange one though, and no one seems to like him very much. One prosecutor disliked him so much that he charged him with one of the murders he was "right on the scene" for.  The charges were dropped but the prosecutor  still insists to this day that Nic is guilty, and he says it's not just the one murder.  Nic wasn't going to show up when he was invited to the S.S. Craven.  But that voice inside his head told him to come, that voice he's never told anyone about practically insisted he be on the ship.  And he should bring his camera.  


I'd be happy to help you with this is you need some help.  Let me know.    

Quoted from mcornetto people are using a name that isn't connected to the player.  Or they are using some character that isn't at all like the author.  This won't work because the character being played needs to connect in some way with the person playing. This should be you playing the character.

Which one of my personalities do you think I should use? I've got seven. Yeah yeah, you've only seen two of them, I know.

Quoted from mcornetto * You should use your name, or a play on your name as the character name.

As long as Pia Zadora won't mind that I revive her career and make her a huge star.

Quoted from mcornetto * You should use your physical traits when you describe the character.  The character should be your age.

I'm obviously very very young since I'm younger than my kids, but I think I'll refrain to mention it here since I'll be a year older by the time this project gets going.

Quoted from mcornetto * You can dress the character however you like or give it whatever background you like but the character needs to connect in some way to you.

A countess in jeans and T-shirts???? I don't think so!! Can't I just make stuff up?  

As long as you connect to the character and we can see a connection between you and the character then you can make up whatever you want.   The connection is so people feel they have a stake in the outcome.  It will make the game much more interesting.  

If you totally make up your character I guarantee someone will kill it right away, whereas if you connect that character to you then people might be likely to let it be for a while - maybe even until the end - for fear of your wrath (The wrath of Pia).  Of course even if you are connected to the character then they might kill the character right away, but being that you have a special interest in the character it will make your revenge even sweeter.

Get it?  If not, I'll keep trying to explain until you do.

Think of it like Halloween dress-up.  It's still you in a costume pretending.

Gabe's Introduction and Background:

Introduction: GABRIEL M. RIPLEY sits alone at the far corner of the room, eating his dinner. He appears as a business man dressed in his suit and with his hair jelled back. But his stern composure reflects something else.  

Background: Considered as one of the wealthiest man in the world, he lives in a mansion up on the hills of Stanches with his butler, Stolas. He rarely goes out except for business. His life story is shrouded in mystery and conspiracy. The most present conspiracy has Mr. Ripley linked to 20 deaths (some say more) including the latest deaths of Mr. Peter Jacobs, head tycoon of the automobile industry; Mr. Randal Williams, owner of Software Tech, the biggest franchise ever in computer software; and Mr. Thomas Pierce, a up and coming senator. However, he was acquitted from all charges due to insufficient evidence.

I would like to participate in this excercise...it beats doing jumping jacks! *wink

I of course will be a female character...and I have lots of reasons to kill everyone
on the boat! =)

Morgan - MBCgirl

I think I shall be Mistress Morgan...English born and bred. (all true) I've had many a captain...most could have been pirates...(Halloween fun) *wink *wink.... or maybe I've peddled a lot of rum to get what I want. =) Whatever it is, I've been up to no good, to be sure!  lol

We shall spin our great tale on the winds of the ocean! This is exciting - a good thread that makes us all "giddy" with expectation on a voyage of no return - just in time for halloween...it's a perfect idea MC!  

I have a few special drinks I'll introduce on our delightful trip...don't expect this English Miss to be anything but seductive and alluring...just be careful of her smile and her charm!  *wink

Cheers to all! =)

Welcome aboard MBCgirl.  Always room for another femme fatale.  If I were one of the men on this boat I'd be shaking in my boots.  Wait a minute...I am one of the men on this boat!

Ohh, this looks like "And There Were None" or "Murder On Orient Express" hehe...

I'm curious to see what it will come up.

MBCgirl's Introduction and Description:


Introduction: Mistress Morgan Cooper's shapely legs appear from the cab as it comes to a stop at the pier.  She's curvy in all the right places and smiles a delicious smile that sparkles in her emerald green eyes while pushing back her auburn hair.  She looks at her watch...so much about life is about timing.  She carries herself with an old school "English proper" way...which somehow gives her a look of classic innocence...even though her life has been anything but that!

Background:  She comes from Swindon, England. No one knows her full background, as it has been mysteriously misplaced.  She claims to have lost her entire family in a devastating storm off the coast of Wales.  These days - she lives a charmed life as the owner of a Marketing firm, wining and dining clients of a number of large companies.  Still, no matter how she has tried to perfect her life on the outside...there is still something brewing just below the surface and it isn't pretty.

Stebrown's Introduction and Description:

Introduction: STE BROWN(20s), sits at the bar with a deck of cards. He shuffles them
without effort as his gaze falls across the other inhabitants of the bar.
A bottle of WILD TURKEY on the bar in front of him, his glass full. He knocks it back.

Background: Ste Brown has three vices; gambling, drink and women. On a recent trip to Vegas, Ste was found to be counting cards at blackjack. Beaten within an inch of his life, Ste went looking for a different life. What he found was a strange Priest in Ireland who promised him all he could ever want; the ability to have as much drink, women and gambling without any consequences. Well, there is one consequence and it is deadly one. People start to wind up dead wherever he goes.

We're getting a lot of interesting characters here. Can't wait to start this.

Gabe

I'm still not sure how to describe myself.

Can I go a little past the real me just to be more interesting?

Everyone may not find a Swedish Countess with a taste for blood and the macabre that interesting.

Yes we will Pia...I think a Swedish Countess will certainly still the pot!!! =))

Stebrown's character seems interesting.

Ste, i'll have my character kill your character ouch..

I'd like to jump in on this. If that's okay I can have a character introduction by tomorrow (technically now, but i'd like to work on it a little more)

Welcome aboard itmightbeorange.  It might be blood orange after we're done.  I'll send you a couple of emails to get you started.

Quoted from NiK Ste, i'll have my character kill your character ouch..

Nik, you kill my character in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.

In the document I sent out I noticed a couple of mistakes.

right aligned should be left aligned

STATEROOM should be DINING ROOM

Dreamscale's introduction and background:


Introduction:
BUSH (40’s), large…maybe too large…obviously notices, as a hot BLONDE , at least half his age, sits down next to him at the otherwise empty bar.  He glances over, smiles…very awkward…but very planned.  She’s already entranced…something about his easy going way…his worldly, honest eyes…maybe his dilated pupils.  A camera flashes behind them…


Background:
Five Gold medals at Sarajevo, three knee reconstructions, and forty pounds are a world away, but the legacy of this sports playboy, and his four revolution “Dreamscale” have stood the test of time.  The fact that his last two wives “mysteriously” died while skiing; leaving him in excess of $25 Million, has been media and camera fodder…much deserved media and camera fodder.  Here we go again…


Blakkwolfe's introduction and background:


Introduction: T. JOE busses tables in the elegant stateroom. His faded Kill 'Em All t-shirt stained with sweat under the requisite plastic apron.  He strains slightly as he picks up the plastic tub of dirty dishes and moves to the next table.

Background: A few years back, there was a Government type who needed his mistress "taken care of." It was supposed to be an easy hit. It wasn't.
A dozen or so fake names and odd jobs later, he finds himself here.

He's thirty, maybe forty, the handsome type that hates to shave except when he has to. He keeps his streaky grey hair tied in a loose ponytail, more out of necessity than style...Friends used to call him Black Wolf, back in another life. But for right now, T Joe will do just fine.


And our ship's doctor -  Bert's introduction and background:


Introduction: DR. BERT NEWCOMER (40), the ship's physician, exits the infirmary, and with a wry mix of amusement and contempt, he eyes the passengers that mill about the ship.  His slightly graying hair lends him an air of dignity that some might even consider attractive -- were it not for the smug arrogance that infuses his every word.  The crew does not much care for Dr. Newcomer, and most passengers soon follow suit.

Background: Once a respected biochemist, Bert is now exiled from the world of science and academia after falling into disgrace. His unauthorized clinical trials of untested medications in human subjects met with disastrous results.  Bert has now been reduced to this -- dispensing aspirin and Dramamine to dimwitted tourists on a second-rate cruise line.  He is a tired and bitter man.  But there are some who say his clandestine experimentation on human subjects continues to this day...

And me's introduction and background

Introduction: Countess Zadora of Sweden seems to appear magically out of the fog.  She is tall, dressed in black with snow white hair and blue eyes. Blue eyes that frequently change with her mood -- to obsidian black reflecting her true dark nature.

Background: Countess Zadora is originally from Sweden... or so she says...  A nosy reporter once joked that the only Count she'd ever been near was Dracula. No one ever found out what he meant since he died in a freak accident shortly after making that joke. Somehow he managed to trip and impale himself on hundreds of Swedish wooden matches.

There has been many men in her life, most notably the Russian drug lord Vlad the Inhaler and the most famous one of all Vlad the Invader aka Putin. She's been seen playing on both sides of the fence though because when it comes to money and blood, they both taste the same no matter who you extract it from...

There's no lounge singer on this boat!

You offering to be the lounge singer, Shelton?

There we go...just what this cruise needs!

How about a rock band?  And a magician?  And maybe a plethora of hot young "working girls".  Now we're talking!

All aboard!!!!!!!!!

Quoted from mcornetto You offering to be the lounge singer, Shelton?

If somebody would like to use me as a character, they're more than welcome, but I won't be able to participate this go round.

No worries Mike.  Sorry you can't make it this time. Thanks for the suggestion about the lounge singer.

I'm disappointed Mike...  Who will sing us to sleep...or to our untimely death??  

What about having karaoke?

Gabe

itmightbeorange's introduction and background

Introduction: Dana Orange, a 23 year-old insomniac with a short stature and petite frame, sits slovenly on a weathered wooden bench near the edge of the pier. She turns to the boat to see the other guests have started to arrive. She pulls her worn olive jacket closer, picks up the black guitar case sitting near her foot, and approaches the ship. She leans the case on the side of the boat and with one foot on the boat and one hand on the railing, she pulls herself up, momentarily revealing the shiny object tucked purposefully inside her boot.

Background:  Failed writer and musician Dana Orange has had her streaks of bad luck. If it isn't her pets succumbing to horrible accidents involving blenders it's critics reviewing her music with harsh words. With one critic saying, "If it sounds like cats clawing at a radiator, It might be Orange™," Dana has vowed to not let the negativity of others stop her from living her dream. Unfortunately, tourists in floral shirts aren't exactly her prime audience. "Just one more time, "she constantly swears, "If I have to play 'Copa Cabana' one more time I don't know what I'm going to do..."


As yet unreceived introductions and backgrounds

Yohn Yohnson
GM
Sandra E
Alffy
Zombie Sean (who was kind to IM me with the reason)

And just as a note, if before the 20th you would like to fine tune your introductions or backgrounds send me the complete edited version and I will put it up when I post the threads on the 25th.  

I offer to sing.

Beside being a photographer i can be the terrible singer of the ship, so you guys will have one more reason to get rid of me. Hehe

This is shaping up to be a really cool idea Michael.

Last night I woke up and laid in bed thinking of different ways to kill people. I came up with some good ideas.  

Alffy's introduction and background.

Introduction: Alffy Hudson, a young looking 30 year old, hurries up the boarding ramp. He struggles with two large suit cases as he follows behind a well dressed business man. He looks on at the man with contempt through his dark shallow eyes. Once aboard he shuffles down a corridor and stops outside a cabin door. He drops the cases and extends his hand and waits for a tip, a fake smile plastered across his mush. The man ignores his gesture and enters his quarters. Alffy smiles and swaggers off down the corridor, removing a wallet from his pocket. He pulls out a handful of crispy notes, stuffs them in his uniform pocket and tosses the rest overboard.

Background: Forced to leave his previous job as a Postman after allergations of stealing mail. All charges were dropped after the accuser, manager of the office, abruptly left town for no apparent reason. He left behind only a note which stated he had family issues and needed some space, he has not been heard of since. Alffy thought it best to leave and start a fresh, nothing to taxing as he is financially sound for the time being, twelve years of stealing birthday cards can add up to a tidy some.

Just a quick note about the introduction.  I notice most of you provide introductions from the pier.  This is understandable because I didn't tell you where you would be introduced.  However, since I've started the first scene I now know where you will be introduced. The story will start in the middle of the voyage with everyone in the Dining Room.  In order to leave the Dining Room you will need to be introduced.

Also the introductions tend to have lots of specific actions in them.  It's ok because the author introducing you can edit your introduction, however, after trying to use some of the introductions myself I can tell that a number of them are going to need to be heavily edited.  I hate to ask anyone to change their introductions because they all do a good job of telling us about the character, but if you want to have more control over how your character is introduced then you may think of sending me a more generic introduction before the 20th.

Cheers,

Michael    

Michael, so we need to introduce our characters in the dining room? Should they not include any interaction with any other character then either? Sorry for getting it wrong but I'm a bit of a sheep and followed everyones lead of introducing my character before the cruise set sail.

Yeah, I just assumed since there was a trend of introducing before the cruise set sail that we were keeping all the introductions in line with one another. I am definitely going to edit my introduction  so i'm all for a starting point clarification.

It isn't wrong and there was a trend but there's no way we could start the script on the pier introducing everyone.  Because of the nature of the game we need to start right in on the action.  That's everyone in the dining room.  

When I tried to use the intros I noticed there was lots of actions and specific locations in them that would never match up with where the characters need to be introduced and therefore they had to be edited quite a bit.  

You don't have to change your intros to make them more generic (relying less on location and action) but I did want to warn you that some of them would need to be edited quite severely in order to be used.

Can you say who needs to change their intros? I won't mind If I have to, I'll move my food to the dining area.

Gabe

Yeah perhaps individual suggestions so we are all on the same boat? Hah, I made a funny...same boat...heh.

It's coming, been a busy couple of weeks but I will have something v soon.

I apologise for my absense, been bogged down with other things.

I'll try to have my character up later today.

Hey GM, Yohn,

No worries. You have until the 20th, though it would be nice to get an earlier look at your characters.  Cheers for keeping us updated.

A reminder that today is the last day you can submit your character introductions and backgrounds for the killer game.   All ashore that's going ashore!

So, are we cool with our intros then?  Does anyone need to rework theirs?

Looking forward to the cruise...I need a nice, relaxing vacation!

GM's introduction and background:

Introduction: Patrick (Spud) Murphy stands behind the bar polishing glasses and watches the first class passengers eat. his smart black suit and white shirt give him an air of someone important. To many he in fact would be the most important person on the ship, he is the head barman, he alone holds the keys to the booze store.

Background: His name badge may say Patrick Murphy, his application form lodged with the cruise company may say Patrick Murphy, but this is Michael O'Neil, once a semi-pro boxer from Galway, Ireland. Mixed up with the wrong crowd north of the border he was paid to throw a fight and he is adamant he had every intention of throwing that fight. He cannot quite remember what exactly happened but when the final bell rang he had not only won but his opponent was in a coma, one he would not recover from. Fearing for his life Michael fled for the US that night and has never returned to Ireland, now Patrick Murphy he is keeping himself hidden on cruise ships serving drinks to rich Americans and occasionally serving rich American widows.

Patrick still watches the passengers eat, one seems to be getting much more of his attention than the rest. He drops a glass with a SMASH, the sound is hidden by the noises from the passengers, only one or two seem to notice. Patrick stares at the unseen person in the dining room, he looks like he has seen a ghost.

Sandra E. introduction and background:

Introduction: Sandra rushes to the ship at last. Her long brown hair is tucked up under a turquoise scarf; around her neck dangles a small leather pouch and she's carrying a small piece of luggage. She clutches at the pouch momentarily, closes her eyes and whispers something before boarding the ship.



Background: Sandra is a private cook and counselor to an esteemed military officer who likes to keep his affairs private. Her confidence is golden, but after discovering a family secret, the stew pot has thickened. It seems Sandra is carrying more aboard than just luggage. This is her sabbatical- a time to sort everything out, but things are about to get more complicated.


Yohn Yohnson's introduction and background:

Introduction:
YOHN presses the half dangling fake moustache firmly back on to his face. He glances across the room from behind the bar... no one saw. He continues to clean a glass. A curvy blonde catches his eye. He smiles and tries to impress her with a display of his bartender skills. He throws a glass over his shoulder and spins around to catch it... the glass smashes on the floor. Yohn keeps his cool demeanor and continues to smile as the blonde walks away laughing.

Yohn fixes his side parting and uncomfortably adjusts a bulge in his pants... a gun shaped bulge.

Background:
Yohn Yohnson, or atleast that's his current undercover alias.  Yohn is a hot shot PI out to make a name for himself.  His current case has him investigating the death of a Mr Randal Williams, believed to be linked to one GABRIEL M. RIPLEY.  This case has brought Yohn to the boat as he trails Mr Ripley and tries to find adequete evidence to link Ripley to Williams' demise.  Yohn has been come under heavy scrutiny in the past for allegedly placing evidence where there was none to be found, in order to send down those he was investigating.


Welcome aboard guys and girls.

The gangplank has been raised. The anchor has been weighed.  And the vessel has set sail.  

The game starts Saturday the 25th.

Michael, thank you so much for hosting this screenwriting game. I think we will all learn from it and have a lot of fun in the process!

I'm a little bit scared though- I can't swim and I keep thinking about The Titanic!

Sandra

Hey Sandra,

No worries.  I'm looking forward to hosting it.

And you shouldn't be concerned about drowning.  We have room in the lifeboats for 11 people.

BTW, here's the complete cast of 14.

Alffy/Alffy Hudson
Bert/Dr. Bert Newcomer
Blakkwolfe/T. Joe
Dreamscale/Bush
GM/Patrick (Spud) Murphy
Itmightbeorange/Dana Orange
MBCgirl/Mistress Morgan Cooper
mcornetto/Captain Cornetto
Me/Countess Zadora
Mr. Ripley/Gabriel M. Ripley
Nic/Nic Beqiri
Sandra E/Sandra
Stebrown/Ste Brown
Yohn Yohnson/Yohn Yohnson

Cheers,

Michael

Hey Michael, this sounds fun.  Good job, man.

I'm assuming that you will be getting us going with an initial post, right?  Are you going to go over the rules again, or do we need to reread this thread?  It's been awhile, and I've kind of forgotten.

Thanks.  

Quoted from Dreamscale I'm assuming that you will be getting us going with an initial post, right?  Are you going to go over the rules again, or do we need to reread this thread?  It's been awhile, and I've kind of forgotten.

I will be starting the game thread with an initial scene and I will post the complete cast list and abbreviated rules in the discussion thread.

So if the game starts Saturday, we should be quite far out to sea by then right? Too far to swim back anyway I'm guessing.

This should be interesting to see how it goes. If it goes well, I could see a few more ships sailing out of port.

I LOVE Sandra E's character discription!  Good job Miss S.   

I am ready to shove off to those mysterious waters of Bermuda...Bermuda triangle that is...maybe what we do while we are there will stay there...and when we come out of the "zone"...maybe nothing will have happened at all...

Hmmmmmmmm...there's a story in there somewhere!   lol

Chips ahoy maties!