In 1991, a Japanese company called Epoch released a machine called a Barcode Battler. It was a handheld video game system that could generate fighters and power-ups (represented by simple numbered statistics) by scanning in barcodes from ordinary household products. This kicked off a massive phenomenon in Japan, but sadly flopped when Epoch tried to sell it in other countries.

Since I've recently become obsessed with this obscure little piece of hardware I decided to formulate my own forum RPG based on it. In this iteration of the game, you fine folks will submit links to your favorite YouTube videos, hence the name YouTube Battler. They can be any videos you want. Using a mathematical chart of my own design, I will then convert the ID on the end of each link into an 11-digit code.

From there, I will go to this site: http://barcodebattler.co.uk/

..and plop the last 8 digits of each code into their barcode generator (it's located in the section of site called "Technical". They didn't allow direct linking.) This will determine what fighters (either Warrior or Wizard) or items (Weapon, Protection or Power) you recieve.

Example 1
Here's an example using this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKi1h6m2clg

The ID on the end of the video corresponds to this code: 40413682872

Upon inputting those last 8 digits into the generator, here are my results:

Warrior
HP: 38200
ST: 5700
DF: 9500
Reduce opponent's HP by 30%

Type determines whether your fighter is a Warrior or a Wizard. Warriors may equip Weapons and Protection while Wizards may use magic. HP determines how long you will last in each battle. ST determines the strength of your attacks. DF determines your resistence to damage. Finally, some Warriors or Wizards have a special ability that goes into effect as soon as the battles starts. These can usually make a big difference in each fight, so keep an eye out for fighters who have abilities.

Example 2
Now here is an example using a different link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNrKCpPl3eE

The corresponding code: 13302157304

The results of that code:

Weapon
ST Boost: 3200
Duration: 1 Battle

In this case, the link generated an item. These can be either Weapons which increase ST, Protection which increases DF, and Power which increases max HP. The duration of the item determines how long it'll last, either for 1 turn or for the entire battle. Like fighters, some items may also have additional abilities, so keep an eye out for those too.

I will be keeping a record of everybody's link submissions here in the first post. For added fun, players may give names and appearances to the fighters and items their links generate. These will be included in the records. To prevent breaking the game, every participant will be only allowed a "deck" of five links at a time. If you wish to submit a new link, you must discard one of your old ones should you decide to keep it. Additionally, no two players are allowed to keep the same link in their deck. These rules are in place to add strategy and variety to the game as well as prevent players from cheating.

How Battles Work
Once the participants have submitted whatever links they want, one person may challenge another person to a battle. Battles last 3, 5 or 10 rounds at the challenger's choice. To start a battle, each of the players must choose 1 fighter from their deck (either a Warrior or a Wizard). After looking over their stats, each player may then choose 1 item (a Weapon, Protection or Power) to equip to their fighter. From here, I will randomly select which player goes first.

Battles play out in a turn-based fashion, like so(in fact I'm considering having a separate thread for battles, if Razon will allow it):

1) First player will post what action they take:

Fight
Attack the other player. Damage is calculated as follows:

Base ST x (d4 roll) - Opponent's DF = Total Damage

Heal
Each player starts the battle with 5 SP (Spirit Points). On their turn, each player may choose to use their SP to recover their Energy, up to a maximum of 3 at a time. The more SP you use, the more HP you recover.

Item
If you equipped a power-up that lasts for only 1 turn, you may choose when to activate it during the battle by choosing this option on your turn. Keep in mind that you may only use it once.

Magic
You can only choose this option if your fighter is a Wizard. Each Wizard starts the battle with 10 MP (Magic Points). On your turn, you may choose to use your MP to cast a spell on the other player. The available spells are as follows:

Drain - 0 MP - Steal MP from opponent
Hurt 1 - 2 MP - Hit opponent for lots of damage
Hurt 2 - 5 MP - Hit opponent for even more damage
Heal 1 - 2 MP - Recover some Energy
Heal 2 - 4 MP - Recover even more Energy
Break - 3 MP - Reduce opponent's Defense Power
Protect - 5 MP - Increase your Defense Power
Shrink - 4 MP - Reduce opponent's Strike Power
Enlarge - 6 MP - Increase your Strike Power
Curse - 3 MP - Prevent opponent from using SP (lasts the whole battle)

2) After the first player posts their action, I will post the results of the action, as such:

P1 Strikes! 5700 x (2) - 6700 = 4700 damage

P1 Warrior
HP: 38200
ST: 5700
DF: 9500

VS

P2 Warrior
HP: 26900 - 4700 = 22200
ST: 3400
DF: 6700

After we get a few battles going I'll probably allow the players themselves to do these calculations. For now, just let me handle it.

3) The next player takes their action, etc. etc.

Battles progress like this until either one player runs out of HP or until all rounds are over, in which case the player with the most remaining HP wins.

...and that's basically all there is to explain. Any further questions or comments are much appreciated. I hope this takes off in one way or another.

EDIT: I've updated this post with a lot more information.

that is a really cool idea :D, I ought to try it out once I return online from my unexpected break due to unforseen complications that caused me to loose it.

So what happens if someone starts a battle and then keeps disappearing for long periods of time, a single battle could go on for ages.

_________________
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they're not entitled to their own facts."

I guess I'd have to call it off.  

I recently realized a game like this could work better if it were divided into two threads. One for keeping people's link submissions and the other for battles.

Merged Post
Posting again to inform anyone who cares that I updated the first post with more info.