Designing 'Changeover', a roleplay where you technically play someone else's character.

I've been brainstorming ideas based off this old concept from a past forum that never got off the ground. Hopefully I'll be able to run a more-successful RP in that one's stead. Unfortunately, though, I've seemed to have hit a wall at the moment. Since I'm having trouble expanding said concept, I've decided to seek some feedback.

The concept itself is relatively simple: players will design a character, as usual, based on the described universe. Submitted applications will be accompanied by a brief writing sample--an in-character response to a prompt with a minimum of only 7 sentences--and randomly assigned to players once the roleplay attracts enough applicants before the game officially begins. The character a player receives in the random drawing is the character they'll be using over the course of Changeover. There would be no "re-rolls" on characters, since the drawing would include every member of the RP at one time. There would also be the possibility of a player receiving the character they originally designed, though the main drawback I have with this current plan of doing things is that members would be allowed to sign up after the drawing. That, I think, isn't awfully problematic, but of course I'm still open to different ideas on how to randomize the applications.

The roleplay's plot thus far, to match this concept of randomly-chosen characters, is that the player's original character has woken up with a completely foreign mind and utterly alien body. They will not remember any original details about themselves, only being able to recognize that they do not belong in their current form and must retrieve their original body somehow, someway. All characters will inhabit a common island surrounded in choking fog that, despite the persistent weather condition, is a modern, everyday city or town.

And that's where my ideas end, unfortunately. The biggest question that I'm stumped on is how will the characters achieve this goal of regaining their original selves? Of course, many other aspects are in need of some development, like the setting, for example. I haven't yet decided the island's connection to mainland or the area of the world where it resides. I'd also like to identify any potential holes in the basic concept, any ways to elaborate the actual plot, objectives and gameplay and accept any other criticism, suggestions, etc. And of course judge enthusiasm. Would you all be interested in a roleplay of this sort? What direction do you think I should take with Changeover?

Here's what I believe the layout for the OP will resemble, too, since I have it it:

Well I can tell you that the concept itself is really really fun, based on what happened in the secret santa event. People secretly made characters for each other and went to deliver gifts with others. The character I got was pretty damn amazing (LONG LIVE TINKLES MCCRINKLE) and I had an even more amazing partner.

So yes, the concept can work if done well. What would be the setting of the RP though? Pokémon, modern, futuristic, fantasy?

Foxrally said:

Well I can tell you that the concept itself is really really fun, based on what happened in the secret santa event. People secretly made characters for each other and went to deliver gifts with others. The character I got was pretty damn amazing (LONG LIVE TINKLES MCCRINKLE) and I had an even more amazing partner.

So yes, the concept can work if done well. What would be the setting of the RP though? Pokémon, modern, futuristic, fantasy?

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I think me suggesting a similar concept helped inspire Secret Santa. I did make a character for that event, though I never ended up posting in-character.

I said the setting would be an everyday, modern city wrapped in fog with no ties to any pre-established franchise or universe. I wouldn't want to limit the roleplay in that regard. Though, now that you mention it, what if Changeover took a page from Secret Santa's book and allowed a multitude of characters from a multitude of universes to collaborate together? I think that could work interestingly in terms of an incorporating plot and setting.

I love ideas like this, but I think that you will need to flesh out the setting a bit more than " a city wrapped in fog" and work out what kind of characters you want to have made. Whilst it might sound fun to throw a bunch of characters from different established universes together, the setting for it and plot would need to make sense for that to happen. I think perhaps if you stayed clear of established universes you'd have an easier time of things.

gimmepie said:

I love ideas like this, but I think that you will need to flesh out the setting a bit more than " a city wrapped in fog" and work out what kind of characters you want to have made.

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I understand this. The point of me posting the thread was because I wanted to obtain feedback on the undeveloped concept as it stands. I suppose that wasn't what was expected in an "Interest Check" thread, but then otherwise the entire purpose of making that sort of thread would be unnecessary. If I solely wanted to know if people would be interested in potentially joining an established roleplay, I could simply post the OOC thread and weight interest that way.

Then again, I suppose it's difficult to expect any outside investment on my idea; I'm the only one developing it, in the end.

I'd still really like to see a RP where you create a character for someone else c: It was loads of fun in RP Secret Santa, but perhaps that was because we knew for whom we created the char? Perhaps that could be done in an "ordinary" RP too, instead of randomize the chars. Then again, that brings the difficulties that arise if some don't follow through and creates their chars on time. As we saw xD

Perhaps, if you want to join, you send an SU via PM, then post in the OOC that you sent the SU. Then names are put into a hat and paired with characters from a second hat.