Okay, so based on these preferences, how does a post-apocalyptic Kingdom Hearts school RP where people get to visit such charming locales as soul society and WW 2 Normandy sound to you guys? Everyone happy, right? x3 *Shot*
Ahem, actually replying to the topic here:
What I like to see
- A working Yu-gi-oh! RP (one that actually respects the rules of the game and has
nothing to do with
children's card games on bikes. ¬¬) , because I'm a geek for children's card games and nothing you say will change that. xD Doing CARD GAMES with ACC was glorious fun, but it doesn't seem to be doing too well on the attendance side anymore. .__. Anyways, yeah, any respectable effort on this front has my full support. ^^
- Pokémorph RPs. What can I say? I have some fond memories from my early RPing days so the genre has a certain nostalgia value for me. Long time since I participated in one too. :3
- New region RPs. Yeah, I like this clichéd old concept too, so bite me. Original twists are much appreciated, however.
- RPs that break convention. If I can't see any sign of archetype behind it, no matter how hard I look, then I'm most likely going to be a happy camper.
- Modern fantasy setting. No, don't you dare equate that with any sci-fi laser gun business and silly space ships. <.< I mean a modern (or semi-modern) but not futuristic setting with fantasy elements in the mix. (Y.Z. would probably be the closest example) It would also be interesting to see one where the medieval/fantasy elements like magic and big swords wouldn't automatically trump technology and modern weaponry. Let's face it; when the big bad is charging at you, a big gun is a far more reliable friend than a piece of sharpened steel.
- RP plots that don't spell themselves out. I realize that keeping RPers oblivious about important plot points complicates the RPing, but I still adore plot twists that manage to catch me completely off guard. :3
- Originality, in whatever shape or form it may come.
What I don't like to see
-
Children's card games on bikes. Ahem, that is to say that I'm not too fond of plots that look like their writer was recycling tired anime clichés under the influence of crack and/or large amounts of alcohol. Let's maintain some form of sense, even in fantasy settings, alright?
- Negligent RP masters. Seriously, I can't count the ones who abandoned their RP within a week of starting it. If you're going to start an RP, commit to it. I don't care how promising the plot is; if the RP master is negligent the RP fails, period. And yeah, I know it's not strictly a content issue, but no-one wants to see an RP that was practically born dead, right?
- War RPs. I'm in the military, m'kay? I get to play war five freakin' days a week already (with a real, working assault rifle and genuine military gear too. =O) and seriously don't need an online version on top of that. ¬¬ By the time my service ends, I imagine I'll be quite fed up with the whole subject. So yeah, no military RPing for me.
- Satellite RPs. That is, ones where the entire plot essentially revolves around the personal issues of the RP master's character(s) and everyone else is just expected to play along with their drama whoring without every contributing anything of significance to the plot.
I'm the drama whore here, thank you very much, and I like to have my five minutes in the RP spotlight too.
Seriously, plots where all characters save for those of the RP master (and possibly a select other) are treated as nothing but a nuisance just bug me, particularly if it's a romance between the two spotlight characters. <.< Everyone should have their chance to make waves.
- Generic sci-fi RPs. Lasers, aliens, and spaceships? Sorry, but they're just not my thing. :\
- Cross-franchise RPs. Again, the idea of something like pokémon-wielding shinigami just don't look right to me. This is also what gives me the squick reaction with most KH RPs; visits to the most bizarre and mutually incompatible universes just don't sit well with me.
- Big Bad V2. Pretty much anything that starts by introducing a notorious big bad from the original franchise returning bigger and badder than ever or - worse yet - a shallow carbon clone of the big bad who's essentially identical to his/her predecessor except even more badass pretty much kills it for me.
- Micro-managed "game" RPs. I mean, when the RP master wants to keep tabs on my character's situation right down to the last potion and hit point. RPing is still creative writing above all; if I wanted to play an RPG in the computer game sense, I'd go and do that. Sure, some monitoring may be in order, depending on plot type and such, but complete puppetry on the RP master's part just doesn't sit well with me.
- "It's just like in *insert Anime name here*"
...
If it's precisely the same then I'll just stick with the official version, thank you very much. It will probably be better written anyway. =P
Ehh...there are probably more things that I can't think of at the moment. Personally, though, I place far much more emphasis on who I'm RPing with. Even the craziest and seemingly lamest starting settings can turn out awesome in the hands of competent writers while even the most ingenious plot can be botched by a couple of n00bs at the wheel.