Roleplay Discussion Thread
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Turnip
Magnificent Turnip
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- Private property what the heck are you doing here
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Hehe, I already RP here, I just don't know how many I can take on at once. I mean, I'm fine with one, but anything more is more-or-less a grey area for me. I won't blame you for not knowing, I mean, I'm active where I am, but I don't particularly get around too widely on the site. Might start getting more active on this thread.
Wow, all these good RPs surfacing... Christmas time may well be as good a time as any to find out how many RPs I can take on at once :)
Geras
Roleplayer
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Question for everyone: I've been curious about something for a while now. How controlling do you think a GM should be? To elaborate, I'll use two RPs that I greatly enjoy. PinkSapphire's Sword Art Online: Sanctuary is a very hands-off RP that gives players a lot of freedom. I really get to let loose in my creative ideas and I enjoy that. In contrast is Skymin's Apollo: Journey of the Gifted, which is a lot more structured, more so than your average journey RP. It actually feels more like a D&D session to me which is something I love, and it's hard to feel lost or directionless. This brings me back to my main question. Which style of GM do you prefer?
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Totally depends on the kind of RP, I'd say. With some universes and plots, SAO being a nice example, freedom and creativity for players to live out their own ideas can be great. I often find that I want at least some direction though.
Turnip
Magnificent Turnip
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Interesting... it definitely depends on personal preference, as well as the fact that certain ideas go better with certain styles of GMing. I think for me, although they are both important, freedom is more important than direction. Of course, there should always be guidelines so that RPers actually have something to go on, but being able to make your own choices and interact freely with other players and the world is what essentially makes RPing such a fun experience. I mean, I'm not saying that I like freedom entirely more than I like direction, I just feel that an RP with minimal direction wouldn't be as bad as an RP with minimal freedom.
SAO: Sanctuary has done it well. Progressive sandboxes with a wide, overall goal. The fact that the world it's set in follows a game like structure makes it really clear - at least, for me, considering I play games way too much - for individual RPers to have individual goals as well as a shared goal. Well, unless you're playing a villain or something, but you know...
So in essence, for me personally, freedom > direction, although you've got to have a good mix of both.
SV
See You Space Cowboy
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I prefer a balance between the two, but my style generally has me taking a bit more control in recent RPs than being more hands off. I'll give my RPers a chance to do their own side-stories and plots away from the main plot, but I feel that being too hands off with GMing will eventually lead RPs to falter because there's no direction. Freedom is great, but if there's not someone or something leading the RPers to some sort of direction or goal, even if its just a little, a roleplay is doomed to eventually fail. This is from my experience.
Nate
Evil Cute Thing
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Everyone who was interested in my recently revealed rp, Factions Divided, I have posted the OOC and should hopefully be accepted soon. I'm playing as the Demons leader due to it's dramatic importance in the plot, and I'm actually permitting the players to even describe their own faction land based upon my brief instructions in the character biographies. In a sense, there is a LOT of freedom in this rp, and since only 3 people are aloud in each faction (I might increase to four) it makes it easier to respond to such situations. In effect, it should go faster if the leader can be a /good/ leader. They may also input there own events into their factions. Don't forget there will be wars and alliances to be had, so interaction with the other players will happen. I'm very looking forward to seeing how this will go.
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I greatly prefer more structured rps. DnD style is a great way to put it. For example, when I mod things on other sites there are clear rules and definitions of how each thing will work. So players can choose to focus on whatever task they like and choose the focus of their adventure, but the things they do have strict boundaries based on their abilities. Basically, like in DnD where you declare your actions and the mod tells you whether you succeed or fail.
I also enjoy playing in games like this more because it often requires more logic and creativity in solving problems using the resources at hand instead of some roleplays where, for example, you instead just describe how you solved a problem yourself. Since you're just deciding you solve a problem in many of these cases, you don't have to feel pressured about the way you try to solve it; you already know you succeed. When you don't know if your method will succeed and you only have one shot, it puts more weight on the decision since it many cases you'll fail and lose something important.
An expression I like that sums up this philosophy pretty well goes something like "limitations breed creativity."
Sephear
Believe in the you that believes in cheese
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I'm sorta bad at answering questions like this because I practically always say "You have to find the right balance" But when it comes down to it that's how I usually feel, depending on the universe an RP exists in it requires different amounts of both. But I believe the best way is either to find the amount of each that does the universe that inspired the RP the most justice, or if you wanted a different take on the universe, whatever does your original desire for your own little pocket of that world best when you created it.
i'd really appreciate in the future though that if you make a roleplay and your members are interested and you yourself are suddenly not, that you yourself commit for their sake or let someone else take over as GM. it's unfair on your members to close so prematurely.
well, i've had both kinds of gming and its really hard to know when to use what kind. personally, i don't mind, but i really don't like it when i've got no direction. i have no motivation to post towards. so sandbox, unless i have someone to roleplay WITH is hard for me. that's why im struggling a little in mao. because im just roleplaying by myself. with some interaction and direction, i hope i can get a bit better.
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Yeah, I don't care much for free-form sandbox, actually. I'd need it to be modded so I have a world to interact with as opposed to just running around making up cool things I do. It can be fun for a post or two, but it gets boring quickly. A huge sandbox with little direction can be fun even when the characters are far apart in a DnD style rp, but otherwise it's easy for it to turn into me just writing things to myself.
I've been following mao and the biggest problem I think it suffers from is that the world is too big as per the amount of people in it and the rpers themselves are the ones controlling all the quests and NPCs. I think it'd be better off for the style it's done in if everyone had more incentive to go to a few key areas.
That's... Contradictory to my point, Sky. Zelda Roleplays it seems aren't going to operate well on here. I closed it for the lack of interest coming from members, and the realization that it was the series itself that caused so much less interest.
Since it's part of the subject, I might as well say:
I've decided to make Soulbonds A Journey RP, with the wiggle-room for characters to have ample time for interaction, as well as the opportunity to explore the alternate version of Kanto with plenty of the differences that take place in this world. I considered allowing the players to create villains, too, but decided against it. This way will be more streamlined and will keep the plot solidified.
On that note, though, I do plan to run it in a way that allows players' actions to determine the outcome.
Since it's part of the subject, I might as well say:
I've decided to make Soulbonds A Journey RP, with the wiggle-room for characters to have ample time for interaction, as well as the opportunity to explore the alternate version of Kanto with plenty of the differences that take place in this world. I considered allowing the players to create villains, too, but decided against it. This way will be more streamlined and will keep the plot solidified.
On that note, though, I do plan to run it in a way that allows players' actions to determine the outcome.
Swolligator
Butcher of the Sands
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As an RPer, I much prefer a GM who controls an RP to one who is hands-off. For me I like having that structure and knowledge that the GM does have something planned or at least thought out for the next part in the RP. From experience (Both GMing and RPing) without a fair amount of control, Sandbox-esque RPs tend to get out of hand or die quickly. That being said, it's always nice to have a bit of freedom to let my character flourish more. Like Skymin, I find myself easily able to forget to post in an RP that is hands off.
As a GM, I try to include a bit of both. In Atlantis Awakening, the players do have the choice of going off and doing their own thing, which I can easily adapt into the overall plot, but there is always the constructed alliances that keep the majority of the RPers moving along without the RP getting out of control. Then again it does help that I keep in contact with my RPers and so I know to a degree what they plan to do and can make the opportunities for the RPers to effectively change the direction of the RP.
In conclusion: I would say a bit of both is always a good thing, but for myself, control is more important. If only slightly.
my point exactly. not contradictory. your members were sad and confused it was closing and themselves stating that they were still interested. three of your five roleplayers expressing interest. and if you call that 'lack of interest', then i don't know what real interest is.
Nate
Evil Cute Thing
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Factions divided is up if anybody wishes to take a look at it and sign up. Currently I'm figuring at a 12 slot rp, but if needed I can push to sixteen slot.
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The Christmas RP is up! Please join, it's only meant to last over the holidays and be a fun thingy to post in.
I call it 'less than half of the intended capacity'. I've also noticed that there are ideas that work and ideas that don't. Instead of making attempt after attempt of the same idea, I should have tried something different quite some time ago. I went back and looked through my RPs, gauged the successes of each, and did my best to figure out why each one did well, and why they didn't. I'm taking this information and using it to make something that, if I am indeed right in my research, should not only be successful but also enjoyable.
Sapphire Rose
[I]Only thorns left on this rose.[/I]
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I like both styles even though I feel like I need direction sometimes. It's also really hard for me to stay interested when there is no proper storyline. With this I mean that even though there might be a storyline, I don't like when it's not progressing much.
I'm doing both styles of GMing. SAO is more a bit sandbox with a tiny bit of direction while Youkai Academy is mostly direction with a bit of sandbox.
<Challenger>
Goodbye PC...for now.
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Sorry for the absence, guys. Around a week ago I ran over on my internet usage, so I've cut back, but later today it will be restored again.
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