Many people start simming and are immediately impressed with the idea of their own game, with wielding the power of a CO, with designing the game from top to bottom. What these people may not realise is the amount of careful thought, planning, and work that goes into running a good sim.

Yes, running a game is a very fun and rewarding experiance, but RPing a CO requires more raw simming skill than any other in game position. Not only must you RP your own character, but you must RP the NPCs, keep track of every line of action in the game, use actions and such appropriately to nudge the plot along and in the right direction without using too much power and taking the fun and mystery away from the players. The in-game aspect of COing is difficult enough, but that's the best part. Now, you need to set up the game, plan out the first few missions, set up the web site, make sure the site is accessible and answers all the player's questions, recruit players for your game, write and send out mailings, update the site every week or so, send in CO reports to your supervisors, handle player quarrels, supervise in character RPs if you allow them, and more!

Having told you of the horrors of running a game, it is only fair to tell you about some of the rewards. First off, it is your sim, your plot, your world. Love Star Wars? Hate Jedis? No Jedis in your Star Wars sim, then. You can make the site In Character or Out of Character. In short: CONTROL. Not everyone's a control freak, their sims tend to resemble RPs more, but COing can certainly be rewarding for the OCD role player. (((I'm writing this. I have OCD. Untwist any twisted knickers.))). Being a CO is incredibly rewarding, and really, the only demands are the ones nessecary to keep your game cracking. So don't be too intimidated, either. Acting as CO, you'll have to talk to your players and coordinate with them. This gives you a chance to get to know more players and meet more interesting people (((This has been one my favorite parts of being a CO. I made some friendships when I started the ASA and they've survived until today!)))

If you haven't been scared away yet, getting your own game is as easy as 1. 2. 3!:

1. Don't approach a superior about starting your own game unless you either A) have a game you are currently running outside the ASA that you want to bring into the ASA, B) Have extensiveexperiance running games ON LINE, or C) are at or above the rank of Lt Commander.
2. If you meet one or more of the above conditions and have a unique and new idea for a game send an email to a CO, division head, or administrator whom you know and talk to them about it. The email should summarize the general backstory and plot of the game, it should list any players who you have told about your sim that are interested. It should state whether you'll be able to take care of the page construction or if you'll need help - and whether you have that helper already or not. Your administrator or CO friend will make suggestions on things you should clarify, remove, or add. Make sure you have removed spelling errors, grammar errors, and have it nicely formatted before leaving this step.
3. OK, send your proofread letter to BossManAlfaASA@yahoo.com or biggeorg@warwick.net. Introduce yourself, make yourself available for them to ask questions, reply to their emails swiftly. They may tell you they don't think you or the ASA is ready at this point, or they may say yes. If they say yes, they will ask you to construct the webpage and send them even more details about the game. They (or an assistant) will help you flesh out all the details of your game and set it up.

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