If They Were, or ITW for short, is basically a massive crossover RP tying in heavily to various video game universes.
It began as a series of topics on the GameFAQs forum, mostly as very informal and relaxed games where users would 'send' characters from games (primarily from the Super Smash Bros. continuity) in order to achieve a goal as simple as waking somebody up, or as complex as trying to rob from a locked-down estate. It has since evolved into a more complex and coherent storyline... dotted with the same games, only they might be a little more formal now.
It can be found here
If They Were contains examples of...
- Canon Discontinuity: There was a reboot thanks to the Cerebus Syndrome that tried to bring things down to a more lighthearted level. This meant that a lot of plot lines written before the reboot never actually happened.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The games on Game FAQS originally started as very lighthearted and not driven by canon. They gradually evolved to the point where nearly everything was a life-or-death situation, with several interwoven plot lines. This has been scaled back a bit, if only to allow for a bit more levity in writing.
- Death Is Cheap: Characters die all the time in many of the games. If they do, they are usually allowed to re-spawn or regenerate in one fashion or another. However, see Killed Off for Real.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: Another side effect of having numerous worlds clash with each other. Some characters are stuck in the dark ages, some are futuristic.
- Killed Off for Real: Despite death usually being cheap, characters can and have died permanently in more serious story lines.
- Mission Control: Each game generally features one of these which serves as source of the narrative. Each 'group' operated by a player tends to have one of these as well (The Ryaga, Crap-E-Mart, The Estate...)
