Some time ago, through quick readings, I finally understood more or less what RoN was about, and decided to give it a go.
I ended up in some sort of open-world game (one gazillion locations) and the interface was... oh my god. Not just "watch", "see" and "talk", not even the 9-verb GUI... But instead tens and tens of possible actions on each object. It scared me I must say. I had no idea what I needed to do. I have no idea if it was only that RoN game I picked randomly, or if all games have that interface.
So what's the best RoN game to start with? The less intimidating, and most enjoyable?
Out of curiosity, which game was it that so traumatized you?
As for a starting point, I'd usually say pick one that looks interesting and jump in, but that seems to have had disturbing results :).
You could take a look at Purity of the Surf by Dave Gilbert. It's a stand alone and thus doesn't require an in-depth knowledge of the universe or characters.
I would start with the first one and go from there. Once you immerse yourself in the crazy dysfunctional world of RoN you'll never wanna leave! :grin:
Thanks for the suggestion, people! At the moment I made the huge mistake of trying out Heroine's Quest (now I'm good for hours and hours of great gaming), but as soon as I have some free time again I'll try RoN again.
To prepare for my first RON game. I played the first three, then a few random games that looked interesting.
I read the resources and FAQ section of the website, looked at the map and the timelines.
I then read the biographies of characters that looked interesting, and ones that I thought were major RON characters. I read the descriptions of the games that these characters featured in.
Then jump in!