The Creator

The word limit is arbitary and of course I can't enforce it. I'm just saying that as the BIGGEST violator of this (before I stopped working on it, Obliteration was...11,000 words long and I was only 50% through, if that...), without a word limit, I and others would be likely to just keep going longer/detailed. I have a tendency to do this, but with a word limit, I wouldn't and others shouldn't either. 2,000 was a benchmark number (and trust me, I know that sounds impossible to achieve). Maybe we can test this month/seasonal system out without a word limit, and then if it still drags a bit, enforce a word limit of anywhere from 6,000-10,000. Glad to see you guys taking on to this proposal. Again, it is all of ours, so we can all come up with the developments of it. The seasonal idea works excellently. I think we could cram Jan-March probably in one season because Jan and February will be pretty minor months, and then see where to go from there. Hope this works and again keep posting suggestions or anything that can help with these proposals and keep this game alive.

I know I have not thought about, looked at, or done anything related to CAYOM since I last worked on Obliteration...which was in June. So I know and recognize that the game is very clearly dying off, and some change needs to be made if we hope to keep it alive and working consistently. At its core, CAYOM's main purpose is to produce stories that other players can read, appreciate, or criticize. The critiques provide valuable insight into our writing and story-telling skills. In general, CAYOM serves as an outlet for out creativity, where we tell stories in the format of films. Because some people invest a lot of creativity into a project, their films wind up being exceptionally long and this becomes time consuming for them and for the readers, but that is a point I will touch on later. But beyond its core value of storytelling and appreciation of works, CAYOM has some sentimental value that comes from certain aspects that really tie into the movie industry vibe. Abolishing the year system will strip the game of a lot of those values. I have been a CAYOM veteran for 19 years in old CAYOM (BOM style) and 4 years here, and I know that what makes CAYOM is the following: -Box Office (EVERYONE loves the box office aspect. People like to see how their movies perform in fake dollar amounts. It adds a sense of power for each player and for his projects and date rights) -Scheduling (Scheduling blockbusters is a key component of the game that has served a very exciting and competitive purpose and keeps the players active in competing with each other) -Reviews (this could be maintained thorugh the Festival system, so that's not too big a dispute) -Oscars (to me, this is always the best part of the game, and others echo that sentiment) In the Festival System, most of these will be abolished. Eliminating the Year System cuts down on a lot of clutter, naturally, and allows us to focus more on one or two specific projects than on a handful or a dozen of them, but it also detracts from the experience, in my opinion. It no longer feels like CAYOM...at least not in the sense of how CAYOM has felt before. But I do recognize that that form of CAYOM cannot function in a time when most of its veteran players have become worn out and don't have the time or energy they used to have to both create and to recruit. That is the issue at hand, so with the veterans not able to participate, new players are unable to be drawn in. Length is the primary issue. I am the biggest culprit of this, and I regret it. When films become too wordy, people don't have the time to read them, and others take too long to write them. That is where CAYOM strays from its original path/intention. The only way we could successfully continue the Year System would be with the absolute abolishment of excessive length and a REQUIRED WORD LIMIT. By that, I mean that if ANY film exceeds a set word limit, it would be completely stripped of contention in every process of the game. If a word limit were set in place, players like me and Numbers would work to confine our stories to a smaller amount. The thing is, the same story can be told with less detail than is required. WE'RE NOT WRITING NOVELS here. -In a proposal to keep the Year System, a starting word limit of 2,000 words should be placed. For nicety, a +500 word extra limit can be in effect for the first year to see how it works, but only with exception and justifiable reason. Commitment. This is an issue that is the most difficult to resolve. We cannot make people play. And veterans are just worn out. Even with the length limit in effect, we would still lack most veterans who kept the game active. Even Rysenkari, the game's creator, has been absent since like Year 1 of this version...2 real life years ago. Impact has vanished, and the majority of veterans from BOM don't venture to here anymore. Numbers remains the drawing force on that end, but Numbers, Spaghetti, and I (and I know there are a few other significant veterans from the old days here too) cannot maintain the game on our own. Recruitment is hard to come by because people just aren't motivated for this type of game, especially when it becomes so daunting to see plots that are 10,000+ words long. So for any version of CAYOM to continue, we need committed players, so regardless of whether we maintain the Year System or the Festival System, I propose the aforementioned word limit as it will help keep interest higher. AN ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL Month system Instead of doing the whole year at once, do a couple months, or even just one month, of a year at once. If you don't want to release any films in that month, put it off untilt he next month or so. Likewise, if you don't have time to participate in a month, you can still come in at a later month. For instance, January, February, and March can all be done at once as their minor months (except for March). Players could make short/medium length films, reviews can be done, and box office can be executed. Then we move on. Each month or period of months can last anywhere in real life from 2-4 weeks, or less if necessary, and this gives people plenty of time to write movies for later months. Smaller months can be glanced over (like January) except when some exceptions occur by proposal/favor of the players. In the end, an awards ceremony can be held compiling films from all 12 months (or however many months are presented), and we could stick to the true meaning of CAYOM without trying to cram a whole year into a real life period of 4-8 weeks. It allows for more pacing and time management, and if we feel a particular month is dragging, we can hop on to the next month. Also, a player will not have to wait for it to be the next CAYOM year to join in. If its May and the player wants to release a movie, they can shoot for June when it starts in 2-4 weeks, instead of waiting for the next CAYOm year to start in 2-4 months. For the record I am not voting period. I will rather see what other people say, and if everyone favors the Festival System, we can try it out, but I would like to point out this alternative proposal and also enforce a Word Limit for the time being at least. Just to see how things work out.

Oh did I mention. This is going to be one of the biggest episodes ever.

I'm impressed! Tawasal's played almost every season but he sadly has the misfortune of misfiring early on and it costs him. Hopefully that won't be the case this season. Of course, a misfire this week will cost anyone and everyone, but Tawasal is safe for now.

My bad. I'll fix that when I get the chance. I didn't notice I did that.

Don't worry. There's not way Season 5 can be as taxing on you. When all your enemies get kicked off at once.

Well you're on Jay's team because he picked you. Now usually Jay is a consistently active player, so I do not understand his recent absence, but maybe he'll show up. If he doesn't, it's on him, not on you, and then you'll have the chance to switch partners.

Not quite. There are ways around your situation. If Jay doesn't show up this week, he will be eliminated, which won't affect you. And then you can get a new team. Jay's absence is questionable.

5.3 "The Ventures" Deadline: Friday, October 25 at 4:00 P.M. Central (5:00 P.M. Eastern) This week, ONLY the Team Captains will answer the questions that follow. There is a crucial reason for this, but it will not be revealed until scores are finalized! Predict the following: 1. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa's opening weekend gross as a percent of Jackass 3's opening weekend gross (Jackass 3-D opened to 50.35 million in 2010). 2. Gravity's total gross through the end of the weekend as a percent of its estimated 100 million dollar budget. 3. The combined percent drops of Carrie and Escape Plan 4. The Counselor's opening weekend gross 5. Captain Phillip's weekend per theater average

5.2 "The Eye of the Storm" (cont) "Tawasal's Gathering" is safe actually. Tawasal, Grim22, and Fmpro receive immunity from The Challenges this weekend. This means that "Tawasal's Gathering" will not have to partake in the next part of the game...that is, the next game itself. Grim22 and Fmpro anyways are completely exempt from the next game. Tawasal however will be going in as the representative in the Ventures, which will be an exciting process this week. The events of this week tie so closely into 5.3 that they're almost inseparable. As it is already late in the week due to some delays, most of what will be occurring between the two episodes will actually take place in 5.3, a culmination of total awesomeness. This week's game really sets the stage for that though, and let me explain. The weekend game will be very different than ever before. Not everyone will participate...BECAUSE THIS WEEKEND, THE GAME IS THE VENTURES! That means only one person from each team will be competing this weekend in the main contest, and that one person will be the Team Captains. As a team process, however, the Team Captains can call on the help of their teammates to help them in the predictions. "The Equation Sensation", however, currently lacks a Team Captain as Numbers has been eliminated. It does have two "Chairs" - Goffe and Jim Shorts. They will decide who will serve as Team Captain in this Ventures, and only one of them will submit answers. I should warn you that this Venture will set the stage for a very competitive, high stakes competition that will unfold throughout next week.

5.2 "The Eye of the Storm" Things are about to get hectic. There's no better way to put it than: All hell is about to break loose. First up. No one is safe. Last season's winner was just eliminated in the very first week of the game. The star team going in is crumbling already, and no one player can be safe from the storm that will come this and especially next week. I promise there will be a lot of bloodshed and some unexpected twists and casualties that may befall in the next two weeks. This is where Season 5 is going to deviate very much from the norm. This week will just be a taste of what lies in wait next week. So first, let's look at the results this week, before I can explain the misfortunes and fortunes that are coming. Alfred's Alliance Alfred: 83.90% +5 (+1 80%+, +1 highest Question 5, +3 Venture 1 winner) Tower: 78.07% AVG: 80.99% +5 Chasmmi's Circle Chasmmi: 84.75% +2 (+1 3rd team, +1 80%+) Filmovie: 83.57% +2 (+1 3rd team, +1 80%+) Films: 76.91% +1 (+1 3rd team) AVG: 81.74% +5 ChD's Covenant ChD: 85.67% +2 (+1 80%+, +1 highest Question 3) Blankments: 81.79% +1 (+1 80%+) #Alpha: 0.00% (score dropped)* Penalty: -2% overall -1 (-1 1st strike) AVG: 81.73% +2 The Equation Sensation Goffe: 84.78% +2 (+1 80%+, +1 won Challenge 1) Jim Shorts: 76.32% AVG: 80.55% +2 Jay's Followers Jay Salahi: 0.00% (score counted) Full Penalty -1 (-1 1st strike) Gingy/Dracula: 75.43% +1 (+1 highest Question 1) AVG: 37.72% The Shadowgods Acsc1312: 80.30% +3 (+2 2nd team, +1 80%+) XenoZodiac: 82.30% +3 (+2 2nd team, +1 80%+) Gizmo: 88.90% +6 (+2 2nd individual, +2 2nd team, +2 85%+) Olive: 83.50% +3 (+2 2nd team, +1 80%+) AVG: 83.75% +15 Tawasal's Gathering Tawasal: 92.70% +11 (+5 highest individual, +3 1st team, +3 90%+) Fmpro: 84.87% +4 (+3 1st team, +1 80%+) Grim22: 87.19% +6 (+1 3rd individual, +3 1st team, +2 85%+) AVG: 88.25% +21 *Alpha's score is dropped and a -2% penalty is added because the Team Captain (ChD) did answer questions that week. Alpha didn't show up and will receive a strike, but as he is not Team Captain, his absence will not affect the team. **Jay's score does affect his whole team because he is the Team Captain. By not showing up, he receives a strike AND his score is added in to the team's score as an overall penalty.

The Challenge I can beat around it all day and talk about how gruesome this Challenge is, between two of the greatest contestants in the game who are also both teammates. But I'll just get straight to the results to save you the tension (how unlike me, right)... 4815162342: Goffe: But this is so not the biggest thing that's about to happen. Dun dun dun dun.

You have no idea.

The Challenge Alfred has ranked, and now it's time to see who will be going into The Challenge. After immunities were sorted out, the only players with one point deducted from them were: . Other players may have chosen to purchase immunities, but they were unnecessary as the next two players ranked did not or perhaps could not purchase immunity. They are... ... I have nothing to say about this, so I will only declare what your Challenge will be. Answer the weekend questions. This is too much to try to force another separate set of questions on the two of you. So your Challenge will be the weekend questions, and the higher scorer will be the winner.

The Ventures will be different this week.

You guys are immune. But Alfred picks.

Briefly, here's how many points everyone has (points included for veterans who picked rookies and for rookies who were picked and joined because a veteran picked them): Chasmmi: +14 Films: +11 ChD: +10 Filmovie: +9 Alfred: +7 Gizmo: +7 XenoZodiac: +7 #AlphaBetaCharlieDelta: +5 Blankments: +5 Gingy: +5 Jay Salahi: +5 Acsc1312: +2 Fmpro: +2 Grim22: +2 Olive: +2 Tawasal: +2 Tower: +2

The Ventures - Round 1 This week, The Ventures were based on the additional Team Captain question that each Team Captain was asked to answer alongisde his weekend questions. The scores are in, so lets see how each Team Captain did. Chasmmi (rep. "Chasmmi's Circle"): 10.58% ChD (rep. "ChD's Covenant"): 47.98% Empire (rep. "Empire's Imperials"): 0.00% * 4815162342 (rep. "The Equation Sensation"): 70.30% Jay Salahi (rep. "Jay's Followers"): 57.71% XenoZodiac (rep. "The Shadowgods"): 0.00% * Tawasal (rep. "Tawasal's Gathering"): 71.99% ** From the looks of things, Tawasal pulled off an impressive victory. Indeed, this relieves him of his "prospective" status and ensures that he is an official Team Captain like the other players listed here. Unfortunately, both Empire and XenoZodiac lost this Ventures. They both scored 0.00%. Therefore, their teams lose in this round. BUT there is an exception to be made here. XenoZodiac did participate in the Ventures, whereas Empire did not. In this case, the loser will be determined by whose weekend score was higher. As Empire failed to participate in the weekend competition, he is the loser of this Ventures, and XenoZodiac just manages to skimp by. BUT as for Tawasal...is he the true winner here? Alfred is the winner of The Ventures: Round 1. So now, Alfred gets to make a daring move. Since we're so late into this game and as it has been delayed enough, I will be making the call for him, but in a future circumstance like this, it would be up to the "Team Captain" to decide. However, here we are pressed on time, so I will act for Alfred. Alfred can choose to eliminate Empire for a no show on both the weekend game (the FIRST episode of the season) and the Ventures, and thus take over "Empire's Imperials" as his own team. Or he can be humble and let Empire live. In a future situation, Alfred would be the one to make the call, but I am playing my hand here because this is the pilot episode and there has been no word from Empire, so... Empire has been eliminated. "Empire's Imperials" is no more. INSTEAD, Alfred accumulates Empire's partner Tower, making the team "Alfred's Alliance". And Alfred ALSO won the Ventures, so he decides who to send into The Challenge this week. Alfred will be PMed with instructions on how to do this. For everyone else, the price of immunities will be 1 point. If you can afford an immunity, go ahead and buy one if you'd like. Rookies, ask your veteran partners what immunities mean and why they're important. You must decide by 12:00 p.m. (noon) - CENTRAL tomorrow, Thursday, October 17 if you will buy an immunity from The Challenge. *Special note, the winning team this week is immune, so they need not buy immunities. Also, Alfred is immune, but he can choose to make himself unimmune and go into The Challenge. However, he still must rank Tower unless he goes in instead.

The Ventures The Team Captains alone will participate each week in the Ventures...which will test them, their team, and the game. This first week, the Ventures were really tame...ok, not really! Because the rules to the Ventures have not yet been revealed, it is time I get to it. 1) Winner - the winner in a Ventures will be the player that ranks everyone else for The Challenge! This season, the winning team will be immune, but the winning team cannot rank elligible players for The Challenge. Instead, it will be the Team Captain that scores highest that must do this. But this means the Team Captain will have to rank people on his team, right? YES! The Team Captain can choose to exclude himself but will still have to include his team member(s) on the ranking, OR he can choose to enter The Challenge himself. And if he wins, THE ENTIRE TEAM of the player he kicked off WILL BE ELIMINATED. If he loses, only he will be eliminated. It is a big risk, but definitely an exciting one! 2) Loser - the losing player in the Ventures will receive a strike. Three strikes and he will be eliminated. However, in certain Ventures that are more valuable, the losing player WILL BE ELIMINATED altogether. Or he may face some different fate, such as automatic entry into The Challenge. In the case of multiple losers, only strikes will be recorded but no other fate will be added. 3) Points - This is very important! The winner will receive a certain number of points for each player on his team. The number will be the same as that week's immunity (so for instance, if one week Challenge immunities are 5 points, the winning player will be given 5 points for each player on his team). The loser will receive point deductions for every player on his team up to a certain amount (the point deductions won't be as severe as the point gains, though, so no worries) ​4) The Challenge - How will The Ventures affect The Challenge? Well, the winning team in the weekend competitions will remain immune from The Challenge (for the time being, dun dun dun dun), but they will have no control over The Challenge. Instead, the team captain that wins in the Ventures will rank all elligible players, including his team mate(s) for The Challenge. The previous rule established in Rule 1 holds true here. Immunities - The price of immunities increases each week. There will be certain conditions on immunities attached to some of the Ventures, but at the moment, you needn't worry about those. For now, immunities will work in the same traditional manner they always have. For now. Eliminations - The lowest scoring player(s) in The Challenge will still be eliminated, no ifs, ands, or butts...I mean buts. 5) Power - Each Team Captain will be ranked by his performance in The Ventures. This will give him special prizes for to share with his team. In some cases, the powers associated with winning will be...quite extremely gratuitous. You won't want to miss out. If you have any questions concerning The Ventures, feel free to ask!

Season 5, Game 2 Deadline: Friday, October 18 at 5:00 P.M. Eastern (4:00 P.M. Central) Easy week here. Predict the following! 1. Predict Carrie's opening weekend gross 2. Predict Escape Plan's opening weekend gross 3. Predict Captain Phillip's second weekend gross 4. Predict Gravity's third weekend gross 5. Predict Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball's fourth weekend gross All answers must be PMed in your group PM.

I didn't want for this to happen this season, but it is both midterm week and pledge week, and I have no time at the moment to do a second game, so it will unfortunately be postponed a week. I'm sorry guys. That said, I will try to fill some time with the exciting Ventures and Challenge and again, I apologize that this will be taking longer to get to game 2 than I or you would have hoped.

I apologize. I'll try to have Challenge and Ventures information up real late tonight (like possibly 1am), and game two will be posted tomorrow too.

As of right now, I have no intention of removing that format of question. While it allows for a very minimal margin of error, it is also designed on MY end to prevent an over-excessiveness of points, because then I will have to constantly raise the price of immunities. If almost everyone screws up on one question, I will typically drop it, or I may use it as a bonus. But when there are some players who do decent or good, I keep the score set out of fairness to them.

5.1 "Deviations" Seven teams compete against each other. The Team Captains are being announced. Chasmmi has just secured his following, binding Films and Filmovie to him. With his circle formed, he assumed command and is ready to represent his team in The Ventures, where he will bring fortune to his team if he can stand out as he had last season. ChD also gathers his followers; his covenant will join Chasmmi's in the Ventures, where ChD will serve as representative. The first two to consolidate their leads, Chasmmi and ChD will receive special benefits this week. Both Team Captains will receive an overall +5% bonus added to their respective team's score. This can make a big difference in the results this week. But they are not the one two Captains to have consolidated their lead. Jay Salahi is back for his second season. Now, he brings with him newcomer Gingy, and Jay intends to bring his following to the forefront in this competition. It will be a tough ride, though. And of course, last season's winning team is back again. Numbers assumes the lead as he was the sole survivor last season, the winner, and will receive benefit from that. For now, he consolidates sole leadership over "The Equation Sensation" - but the team is structured differently from any other team. It is solely comprised of veterans, and as such, both of Numbers' followers/allies will assume the position of Team Chairs, who will have their own participation in The Ventures. These Ventures will decide which team is the best this season and will in a broader sense set the stage for Season 6's final showdown. Because tentatively, Season 6 will be the final season of Box Office Alliance. And of course, "The Shadowgods" have arisen. XenoZodiac and Acsc1312 were the first original dynamic duo. They were the first powerhouse to be produced in the series, and their conflict with "The Firerisers" in Season 1 was an impressive feud. Xeno and Acsc would take separate paths in the seasons that followed, but always they have been loyal to each other. Acsc has done more in the game since then, branching out to make strong alliances with CEDAR (an alliance that may someday include the trio in what will probably be then the strongest alliance of all time). Yet Xeno has been the wisest and fiercest warrior of all, calculating, smart, and revered. His absence has been sorely missed, and now we are glad to have him back this season. Xeno takes primary Captain roles as he was the first to start the team this season, and he branched out to include Olive and Gizmo in the alliance. But Acsc will stand as equal, a Co-Captain, and will bear most of the same powers as XenoZodiac. They both have the right to participate in the Ventures to be held this season. There are two other Prospective Captains: Tawasal and Empire, both former players returning for their fourth and third times, respectively. They are not officially Team Captains as they didn't actually forge their teams but rather had them forged for them by my hand. They can escalate to Team Captains if they are efficient enough in the Ventures and in the special questions and other tasks associated with all Team Captains. ...and of course, there is Alfred. Season 1's winner stands alone currently. But he is not one to be a loner, and it is likely that fate (or I) has something great in store for him. Now, it is time for you all to see this week's scores. Let's get to it. Chasmmi's Circle Chasmmi: 84.98% +4 (+3 1st team, +1 80%+) Filmovie: 74.78% +4 (+3 1st team, +1 highest Question 3) Films: 85.15% +6 (+3 1st team, +1 3rd individual, +2 80%+) AVG: 86.64% +14 (includes +5%) ChD's Covenant ChD: 69.50% #AlphaBetaCharlieDelta: 69.50% Blankments: 60.08% AVG: 71.36% (includes +5%) Empire's Imperials Empire: 0.00% (no show) -1 (-1 Strike 1) Tower: 75.95% +2 (+1 highest Question 2, +1 highest Question 5) AVG: 37.98% +1 The Equation Sensation 4815162342: 69.55% Goffe: 71.28% Jim Shorts: 70.56% AVG: 70.46% Jay's Followers Jay Salahi: 71.65% Gingy: 62.62% AVG: 67.14% The Shadowgods XenoZodiac: 72.02% +2 (+2 2nd team) Acsc1312: 69.65% +2 (+2 2nd team) Gizmo: 69.65% +2 (+2 2nd team) Olive: 86.18% +6 (+2 2nd individual, +2 2nd team, +2 85%+) AVG: 74.38% +12 Tawasal's Gathering Tawasal: 78.25% +2 (+1 3rd team, +1 highest Question 4) fmpro: 70.16% +2 (+1 3rd team, +1 highest Question 1) Grim22: 69.90% +1 (+1 3rd team) AVG: 72.77% +5 Alfred: 87.20% +7 (+5 highest individual, +2 85%+) If you found it keep it secret. Stay tuned for more.

Fortunately, Acsc is a co-captain, so your resignation is for naught.