Outline
As the title suggests, there are three roles: Müse, Ärtist, and Crytic. As you participate in the game, you may take all three.
The Müse suggests the content of an Ärtwork in 50 characters or fewer in a Müsing.
For Example:
"three squares and a triangle"
"an opinionated goat on a wheelbarrow"
"Apollo, cheekily creating the concept of objective truth"
The Ärtist is provided with other Müses' Müsings and asked to create Ärtworks following their suggestions in a minimal paint-style image editor - think a few sizes of brushes, a paint bucket, straight lines, a colour wheel to choose from and a 500x500 pixel grid.
For example:
Finally, the Crytic is asked to rate Ärtworks by other Ärtists according to several 10-point scales: Faithfulness to the Müsing, originality, personal taste, etc.
The results will be made accessible through rankings based on aggregated Crytiques, such as daily and weekly leaderboards.
Players log on with their AT-Handle and are provided with several tabs of interfaces: Müse mode, Ärtist mode, Crytic mode, an archive, notifications (when their Müsings have been rendered or their Ärtworks crytiqued by other players) and a Gällery to explore leaderboards, other players' contributions, and whatever else we come up with over time. Like wordle or enclose.horse etc., you will have the option to partake in a certain amount of engagement each day: Let's say three Müsings, two Ärtworks and ten Crytiques.
To set the mood, the game provides some advice for all roles:
Advice for Müses: You are loved, you are valid, you are an inspiration.
Advice for Ärtists: You are brilliant, you are talented, you will be admired.
Advice for Crytics: Your taste is impeccable, your judgement is absolute, your sleep is unbothered.
The Idea and Motivation
The Müse, the Ärtist, and their Crytic is an experimental, self-regulating social game meant to mimic the art world and to play with creativity, taste, expectation, quantification, and hubris. It is, of course, inspired by messing around with MS Paint as a child.
I am fascinated by the ATmosphere and, despite not being in IT, I am thinking about contributing for a while. I would very much like it to be a game that helps make the ATmosphere a fun, creative, and rewarding space.
The Catch
We are not allowed to have fun things on the internet anymore, so the game, should it receive any attention at all, is doomed to fail. Someone will, sooner or later, suggest or paint upsetting, bigoted, or illegal things; discussion, bannings, and abandonment of the project will ensue. That's ok and no reason not to build it.
Nevertheless, there are ways to push back against this: A code of conduct will be provided that encourages playfulness, whimsy, even satire and NSFW content, but spells out consequences for illegal and bigoted content. Ärtists will be able to report Müsings, and Crytics will be able to report Ärtworks for community management review. Inappropriate content will be removed; repeated bad-faith contributors will be blocked from participation.
What now?
I have never done something like this before; I barely know how to code, but I would like to vibecode the game into some form of existence (once I find some time, which might not be for a while). I will need some support with technical implementation and possibly legal aspects. So, if you read and like the idea: Are you able to support the project pro bono with your expertise, or know someone who might?