Past, present or future?

[Junier]

Time to gauge.

Generally, when do you prefer your roleplays take place? Do you think the oldies are the goldies; does your preference involve medieval dark-ages, renaissance eras or colonial periods? Maybe present-day is more your style; you like addressing current issues and events in your writing, keep things down-to-earth in a way. Or maybe you're a full-blown sci-fi nut, infatuated with the far away future? Advanced technology and communications, robots and maybe even aliens and the cosmos beyond!

Old-school, new-school or school-that-hasn't-started yet—which setting do you like most?

 

[gimmepie]

I don't really have a particular affection towards any time period. There is a variety of settings I enjoy across multiple different time periods.

 

[Dusty]

I'm gonna have to agree with Pie here, I think that all time periods have their place, and I enjoy them all. Its been a while since I was in a good old medieval roleplay, but I really like those. Modern roleplays can be fun, but usually require something supernatural to keep it interesting. Future is something that I usually stay away from, mostly because in most sci fi you get a clash of those who like soft and hard science.

Also, can we get a steampunk roleplay in here? I'd love that.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

I have a very particular preference. Whilst I do enjoy a far off sci-fi future more than say, a medieval fantasy-based past, I prefer a more modern day setting with some futuristic elements. The past doesn't interest me as much and I'm kind of off-put by inferior technologies and the whole vibe of medieval in the first place. But too far off in the future makes it more difficult to relate to and also makes it more difficult to write without having technologies solve most of your problems. Hence a balanced approach, veering towards futuristic.

However, just because I enjoy a more futuristic present, does not mean I'm interested in exploring real world issues. I just find that setting to be more interesting to write in. And it can allow for some more slice of life and casual moments.

 

[Jauntier]

I don't care for futuristic role-play, hardly ever.

My favorite periods, aside from something as contemporary as the past three decades (yet no one will ever do an 80s modern rp) are the Renaissance, the rise of absolute monarchies in the 1700s, and the Romantic Era (Gothic or Regent). I really don't care for medieval times or the Industrial revolution, respectively on opposite ends of the time frames I listed. When dealing with period pieces though, I typically enjoy the role of a noble or vagabond, because those lives have always fascinated me.

 

[Junier]

Thanks for the contributions, most of you.

I can't say I'm equally indifferent towards the three time periods, though I'd be moderately comfortable with roleplaying in any setting, really, just as long as the conditions align with my preferences.

Past roleplays I categorize as either classic fantasy or historical. The latter, I've found, are fun in-concept but difficult to write for in the long run. It requires a lot of prior knowledge and/or willingness to research.

Present roleplays—and I'll agree with STARDUST here—are the most enjoyable with fantastical elements added on, but, overall, I prefer my roleplays to be grounded.

Futuristic roleplays tend to involve a lot of technobabble and complicated mechanics, I've concluded, based on past observations on different sites. Personally, I love future settings, but when the mechanics start reflecting the complexity of all the technological advancement and the like, I immediately lose interest. No to mention there's so much lore and explanation of how the world got this way that I can take before I begin to feel isolated. How can I contribute to a world that's already been described in fluent detail by the game master?

 

[Sonata]

I like older times and i like future times. Present times kind of suck.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

I prefer the past. I am just a huge middle ages person and I am not a huge man of present or futuristic type RPs.

The only real time I prefer doing future is if it is after event in a show or Manga. Say if I do a Avatar: Last Airbender RP, I would prefer it to take place after the events of Legend of Korra. Same would be for Pokemon. If I do a pokemon RP, I would rather it be after the events of the anime or manga.

 

[moon]

I like older times and i like future times. Present times kind of suck.

Whoa, I prefer present times actually! Possibly because then I can focus on being the character rather than on portraying the surroundings or the lore in the right way. It's the characters I find the most interesting, with any stories ever.

 

[Junier]

Present times do kinda suck, what with the current state of U.S. politics and Canada's taxes being so damn high.

But truly, in all time periods there are 'surroundings' and possibly some lore or background information that posts correspond to. I've seen a handful of present-day roleplays that are just straight-up everyday characters given what is essentially a prompt and just fulfilling it without anything extraneous ("Sophie and Suki are holding a beach party!! Your characters are about to attend, hoorah!!! Go drink punch, make friends, maybe make out!!??"). They're very boring. You gotta have some background so your roleplay, at least that's what I think.

I'm still sort of curious to see some more reasoning in-support of peoples' preferences but I'm adding a simple poll, mostly because I haven't made one yet and it's an easy way to gauge basic opinions.

As another point of discussion, let's involve everyone's favorite pocket-dwelling cutie pies and/or monstrosities. Would you rather participate in a Pokemon-related RP taking place in the past, present or future? You can interpret this question as you'd like; "present" could refer to the typical Pokemon universe with Trainers and so on or perhaps a Pokemon roleplay that takes place in our real world? Maybe you're rather Pokemon stay in one realm, maybe you like your Pokemon fantastical or science-fiction-y.