Prime Time MUSH is a free text-based, online roleplaying game. On this MUSH, players don't merely take on the roles of characters in a world. Rather, players collaboratively create the millieu of a TV series; the conceptual structures of television are used as the game's framework.
The game consists of one or more shows. Each show has cast members, who are the players who each control one or more characters on the show. Each show is divided into weekly episodes. Every episode has a producer, who is in charge of the episode; the producer changes each episode, rotating between the active cast members of the show. The producer chooses the episode's theme, which serves as the "A-plot" guiding storyline or general theme for that week, and is responsible for settling any disputes between cast members. In-character play takes place in scenes on sets.
Conceptually, cast members should think not just about their own characters, but about the show as a whole; they are, essentially, the screenwriters for the show. Players are encouraged to think about the "external audience", and as such, there are in-game scene-logging and automatic log-posting facilities to make it easy to share scenes with other people. Fellow players can award fan mail to characters, indicating their enjoyment.
Characters are created by establishing some facts about them, defining a character's strengths and weaknesses and carving out their "niche" in the cast. A player can "spend" a character's fan mail to establish additional facts. Whenever characters clash and their players cannot agree which of them should prevail, the one with a relevant fact wins. If players cannot agree on a reasonable outcome, they all formally propose a "what happens next". Then, three factors are weighted into a final score that lets the computer choose the outcome — a random die roll, each player's optional expenditure of fan mail, and an instant poll of the connected players (who are instructed to vote based on which outcome they think is coolest). If the outcome is still in dispute, the producer can be asked to settle the matter. Disputes that simply cannot be settled end with the outcome remaining unknown; the camera fades to black and the audience is left with the mystery unsolved.
This is not a game for everyone. It's deliberately structured around the tropes of television and the collective responsibilities of a screenwriting team to make every character worthy of fans and the whole show generally awesome. There are plenty of MUSHes which have traditional designs and approaches, so if this doesn't appeal, we encourage you to find something more to your taste. You are in fact your brother's keeper here, and each show is a collaborative effort; this is not the place to write your novel and expect others to guest-star in your moments of glory. Similarly, this game is likely to support multiple shows over time. If you don't like the style of one show, try another one. However, we'll explicitly note that this game is about story and character. Conflict between characters is strongly encouraged as part of the game. If you're not comfortable with edges, darkness, pain, and conflict, this is not likely to be the game for you.
The MUSH is inspired by the Prime Time Adventures roleplaying game, but it is not actually based on that game.
