Mind map tool

[bintz]

Hello!

I'm currently starting to sort out what I'm going to use for my DG campaign but I'm running into an organization problem: there are a lot of sects, groups and NPC I have to sort and I want to be able to check who's connected with who quickly.

I've took a look at Freemind, bubbl.us and Evernote but none of them suits me because it seems you can't have multiple parent connections or a child connected to an higher level object.

For exemple:
* the Fate is connected to Tiger Transit
* Alzis is Fate's child but his also connected with DG and about all the other organizations => Alzis would be connected to object above his level
* the Brotherhood of New Potential is TT's child but also has Cult of Transcendance as a parent => BoNP has 2 parents

What do you guys use for your scenarios/campaigns? Maybe I shouldn't look for a mind map program but more for a drawing one?

[Laraqua]

You could use a pencil and a REALLY BIG notepad.

[Shimmin Beg]

It sounds almost like you want a flowchart-style diagram rather than a mindmap? Might be worth checking your office software and seeing if there's anything that'll work for you.

[bintz]

You could use a pencil and a REALLY BIG notepad.

Yeah, something like a huge paperboard, but it wouldn't the most practical to use in my gaming sessions

It sounds almost like you want a flowchart-style diagram rather than a mindmap? Might be worth checking your office software and seeing if there's anything that'll work for you.

True, maybe a mindmap is not exactly what I need but I'm not sure a flowchart would work much better. In fact, I'm thinking about some database modelisation software, maybe some UML compliant programs...

[Gaffer]

Organizational Chart software might be helpful, like this: http://www.edrawsoft.com/Organizatio...t-software.php

[bintz]

It looks really nice, I'll try it, thanks!

[teewaah]

There is a load of software out there that will make your life easier in this case: i2 analysts notebook is used by professional investigators and costs a load of cash money... But there are cheaper alternatives that provide link analysis methods. Various US agencies use these, and DG would too I assume.

For your own records as Keeper you might try an excel spread sheet table with a list of all the npcs named along the top and again down the right side... Then in the boxes track how each npc knows / interacts with each other.

If you have the need use another sheet breaking down npcs by how they link to each other. One way could be to mind map style a spider web diagram with a quick description on each thread of the web showing how each npc connects. If you have the time a patience to do this by hand write it out like this: arrange the different npcs in quarters of the page according to the category of npc (eg all hostile npcs in top left with cultists towards the back and criminals to the front... And all friendlies in the bottom right corner... Important neutrals in the top right... And unimportant neutrals in the bottom left) then get several sheets of tracing paper or acetate and for each sheet draw links between npcs depending on the type of link (eg on acetate sheet 1 all the links that connect the relevant npcs to the murder at the old windmill, the sheet 2 covers all the family links pink for the Durbevilles, green for the Atkins and blue for the Samuels... Etc), you could even do a sheet for each chapter of the adventure / significant event in the game.

[ElijahWhateley]

Honestly, can any computer program really compare to the apartment wall covered in photographs, computer print-outs, and post-it notes covered in hasty pen scrawls, with a network of arrows drawn in marker on the white plaster of the wall connecting all of the "evidence"?

[teewaah]

Honestly, can any computer program really compare to the apartment wall covered in photographs, computer print-outs, and post-it notes covered in hasty pen scrawls, with a network of arrows drawn in marker on the white plaster of the wall connecting all of the "evidence"?

In my last job as a financial investigator I got my team to do just that - it was very messy but loads of fun! More importantly it actually worked quite well in providing a visual aid to describing complex events.

The first messy draft was on several sheets of A1 flip chart paper and drawn out in marker pens... with printouts of known suspects stuck on the wall and red cloth ribbon connecting them... the overall effect was very Blue Peter (a popular UK kids tv show with a make it yourself section that invariable used cardboard boxes and toilet paper roll tubes to create DIY versions of pretty much anything.)

We then invited a couple of the senior civil servants from our dept. to see what we did and pitched to them the idea of a big transparent board and computer linked digital projector like they have on csi New York! (that said i'm not exactly sure the csi NY set up is anything more than hollywood special effects... But we found something sort of like it - so gave it a go). Our Digital Enforcement team gave a rough costing and the idea was canned... I cannot begin to tell you how much I wanted that set up.

[GBSteve]

Night's Black Agents introduces the idea of the Conspyramid in which you put the various members of the conspiracy, the levels confer different capabilities on the members of the conspiracy. And there is also a game benefit to the players creating their own diagram of what is going on.

I had quite a complex criminal network in Mutant City Blues. The players drew a map of it and this allowed me to keep track of who was doing what (as I was making it up as I went along).

[ElijahWhateley]

The first messy draft was on several sheets of A1 flip chart paper and drawn out in marker pens... with printouts of known suspects stuck on the wall and red cloth ribbon connecting them... the overall effect was very Blue Peter (a popular UK kids tv show with a make it yourself section that invariable used cardboard boxes and toilet paper roll tubes to create DIY versions of pretty much anything.)

We then invited a couple of the senior civil servants from our dept. to see what we did and pitched to them the idea of a big transparent board and computer linked digital projector like they have on csi New York! (that said i'm not exactly sure the csi NY set up is anything more than hollywood special effects... But we found something sort of like it - so gave it a go). Our Digital Enforcement team gave a rough costing and the idea was canned... I cannot begin to tell you how much I wanted that set up.

I remember seeing an episode of either the Mentalist or Castle (all the generic American "quirky individual helps the police" shows sort of run together in my mind) that featured the regular detective getting jealous when the department had to work with the FBI, and the quirky fellow started ignoring her cork-and-dry-erase "murder board" which he had previously praised, to stare lovingly at the FBI's giant screen full of computerized concept maps, data files, and whatever the visual equivalent of technobabble is.

[bintz]

I just checked i2 analysts notebook and wow! Ok, it's a professionnal tool but I'm impressed by the capacities of such a software!

I checked organizationnal softwares and downloaded yEd and dia, both opensource projects. I haven't had time to take a look at them yet.

About a big board with pen and paper, I totally agree that it would be great but I'm not sure my wife would like me to invade the walls of our 80m² appartment to create connexions between fictionnal crime organizations

[mosswood17]

I use Campaign Cartographer. It is primarily a drafting program but I like the flexibility it gives. I am in the same boat. I have a very large campaign with lots of interactions between NPC's.

[Laraqua]

If my walls weren't white and rented I totally would do that. My partner is a gamer, too.