I've been working on an ever-evolving roleplaying game project for more than three years, but only discovered the approach used by Apocalypse World this summer. As it seemed to achieve important goals I had for my project, I decided to begin my project again with a blank document using both Apocalypse World and my previous version of my game as inspirations and models. I've avoided using "copy and paste" with either project, but have paraphrased both to force myself to try to find better ways to express the concepts.

I only joined this forum yesterday, and I had several questions.

( A ) At what point in development should a game be presented here for critique? Or seek a dedicated forum?

( B ) I'm a bit confused by the different sections of the forum. Would a RPG project based on Apocalypse World go in "Powered by the Apocalypse", "Hacks" or "the swamp provides"? I have seen hacks in all three section, such as Vincent Baker's "The Dragon Killer" in "the swamp provides" section. What determines which threads go where?

( C ) I'm also curious about the empty forums, which appear to have been created a few years ago and remain empty. Is there ever a point at which a forum is deleted for any reason?

( D ) I seem to be taking a somewhat backwards approach to designing my roleplaying game at this point insofar as I have a stronger sense of its design and philosophy than of its setting, and I get the impression that isn't how development should be.

This state of affairs is a result of my complicated motivations for this project, which include -- for examples -- a desire for character personality to impact gameplay more than physical attributes, at least a little psychological realism when it comes to killing or horrific experiences, more low-powered characters rather than over-the-top godlings, and a satisfying roleplay experience without swamping the DM/GM/facilitator/referee with heavy work.

So is the tail wagging the dog so-to-speak?

( E ) My original project, for its first year, was a fantasy setting. But my initial play testers had no interest in fantasy (admittedly a saturated RPG genre right now) and asked for a superhero setting. I obliged and it has been so ever since. Yet I keep struggling with the tropes of my RPG's chosen genre, which in broad strokes are ridiculous to me as I scrutinize them critically while working on my game. I have come up with several settings at this point that could work, but none satisfy me personally as a game I'd have a desire to play AND could suspend disbelief for. I haven't given up but I'm unsure how to solve this.

( F) In my rewrite so far, I have used different terms than those used in Apocalypse World. I discovered this evening that at least one of my replacement terms is used in Vincent Baker's game "Dogs in the Vineyard," which I've never played or read. I am guessing this coincidence in word usage is acceptable? I don't think absolute originality is humanly possible with any creative work.

Thank you for your insights or feedback.