On the subject of roleplays.

[Hesperiidae]

Here I'm going to pose some negative feels i have about some peculiarities regarding certain roleplays. Feedback is appreciated in any way you can provide it.

-Fandom roleplays.
I can't stand fandom roleplays. In my eyes, they're shitty reenactments full of knockoff characters and less than no creativity.

I don't understand why people are so endlessly drawn to them, given that the act of participating in one of these moron parties essentially tags you as a witless fanboy/fangirl for life.

It's just unbelievable, really.

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-Poorly conceived stories.
When it comes to roleplaying, one thing that really turns me on to a thread is an engrossing and full plot. I enjoy when there is an elaborate setting, well defined conflict(s), and endless ways to progress through the world.

However, too often i come across roleplays, some that have even grown to immense size, that feature nothing more than a bad attempt at plot in a setting shallower than a sandbox.
I find it hard to understand why roleplays like this can be thought of and even played by masses, it just seems stupid.
Are people just unaware of what good storytelling is, or is this some kind of stylistic thing where I play the outsider.

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-"original" characters.
On the same thread as fandom roleplays, but somehow far more grievous. Bad imitations and uninteresting backgrounds are the main selling points of a frightening percentage of characters on gaias roleplaying forum. I feel a lack of education is likely responsible, and even possibly some manner of eighth-grade syndrome. Enlighten me please as to how these monstrosities come to be, and why in V0's name people can't seem to grasp the particular aesthetic involved in character design.

[autotune]

they're all the same. it's all cringe worthy.

[Tee the Wicked]

So you hate existing canon characters in fandom rp, but you also hate original characters? I don't see how anyone could then roleplay any character at all that you would not hate, as a character is either original, or canon to some sort of fandom.

I don't care for fandom rp all that much myself, but, I will say that there are fandoms that exist in a way that allows for original chacters to exist within the fandom. Pokemon is a good example of this, especially taking into consideration that the games you are pretty much playiing an OC going through a canon plot.
Unfortunately, I haven't found a pokemon RP that is purely storytelling; they always seem to have some sort of convoluted and confusing "battle system".

this brings me to my next point: I love a good roleplay, the storytelling aspect is what makes it work IMO. Therefore, I find this whole "T# roleplay fighting" crap to be the worst of all. It is overly complicated yet results in over-simplification, and seems little more than fake-elitist garble that completely gets rid of storytelling elements in favor of DBZ-style "god-fighting".

I was in an Utena roleplay back in the mid-2000's, and despite being a fandom rp, it ended up being rather enjoyable. Up until a few years ago, I was part of a original roleplays that I rather enjoyed.

when it comes to roleplay settings, I prefer urban fantasy, which unfortunately, seems to not exist on a decent level.

[Exoth XIII]

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

[Hesperiidae]

Exoth XIII

I like they way you think.

And yet, while you're fundamentally perfectly right. Any and all times I've ever tried to incorporate the DM feature into roleplays I myself wrote, They never seem to get off the ground. Maybe I'm a terrible writer, maybe I'm being too controlling. who knows.

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Gaia is just for fun, so that's how it goes, mang.

[M E C H A N I C A R M]

Exoth XIII

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

I couldn't have put it better. I tried to find some RPs a while ago and it seemed like people weren't willing to just give control of the story. I just end up getting bored 'cause I have no idea what will ever happen. Surely, the best experience is where one person tells another a story while the other has the opportunity to interact!

I want to just say to people - you're in my world now deal with it! ;P

[Suicidesoldier#1]

Exoth XIII

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

Well, typically the equivalent of a DM is the OP, the creator of the story. But it really depends on your medium as to whether or not that's relevant.

[Exoth XIII]

Suicidesoldier#1

Exoth XIII

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

Well, typically the equivalent of a DM is the OP, the creator of the story. But it really depends on your medium as to whether or not that's relevant.

Most of the time, though, OP wants to be a PC, so he/she creates a character, and relinquishes control over the story, in the interest of fairness.
Which is kind of what I mean. Nobody's willing to sit behind the screen.

[Letter-W]

You have to remember though too, people are at varying levels of skill. Some people are just starting out so maybe five sentences without dialogue is still a challenge for them. Or maybe the language the RP is in isn't their mother tongue so again, it's a bit more challenging to write a large amount.

To me, it doesn't really matter whether the RP is fandom based or original, if the writing isn't up to par, it's not up to par. I've seen some magic OC stuff, and some tragic. Same goes for fandom. Though in my experience, people are more willing to rp with fandom canon/fanon characters simply because it's something they're familiar with. I have two RP tumblogs and my OC is usually pushed aside whereas the canon character I play usually gets a fair amount of traffic.

And like everyone else, I enjoy my share of crack rping. I usually try not to discriminate based on skill, as people need to practice somewhere.

I can't speak for group RPs though, I've never been in one outside of quick one-liner crack ones.

[Divine_Malevolence]

Exoth XIII

Suicidesoldier#1

Exoth XIII

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

Well, typically the equivalent of a DM is the OP, the creator of the story. But it really depends on your medium as to whether or not that's relevant.

Most of the time, though, OP wants to be a PC, so he/she creates a character, and relinquishes control over the story, in the interest of fairness.
Which is kind of what I mean. Nobody's willing to sit behind the screen.

That is an interesting premise.

Now I kind of want to make a roleplay where I DM.



......
No pun intended.

[The Peppermint Bunny]

Fandom roleplays with OC's can have their benefits for the writer, though. I can understand why you don't like them too much, but I think there is a potential to help the writer further develop their OC.

Let's say you created this character, but you don't know what kind of world they live in or how they would react to certain situations. If you put them in a fandom universe, have them interact with that fandom's characters, and put them in varying situations that would happen in that universe, you could probably get to know your character a little better and eventually put them in your own story.

I'm not saying this is the only sure fire way to get inspiration, but I can see how it could get other people's creative juices going.

[Darkharta666]

i hate it when no one rolls the dice and needs to write a paragraph so they can cram all their feelings about the color of the rooms curtains or what not because that constitutes "good writing"

[Cassidy Peterson]

Allow me to explain it all.

"I don't wanna think, I just wanna write and/or be the center of attention."

'Cause let's face it, thinking or letting others be the star isn't what most roleplayers are after. They want their ego stroked, they want the characters they love to love them back, and they want it to come easy.

And if you are looking for an in-depth roleplay with original settings and detailed characters, it gets harder and harder to find one the more specific you get.

[Kaptain K Rool]

Exoth XIII

Suicidesoldier#1

Exoth XIII

The problem with RPs, as I see it, is you lack a DM. There's nobody there to drive the story, really. There's a bunch of characters, and they do things, and that's the game. Nothing ever happens TO them.

As for originality in characters, well, that depends on the RPer. You get that in dice based role play too. You could start off with generic meat shield fighter number seven... or you could come up with the next Old Man Henderson.

Well, typically the equivalent of a DM is the OP, the creator of the story. But it really depends on your medium as to whether or not that's relevant.

Most of the time, though, OP wants to be a PC, so he/she creates a character, and relinquishes control over the story, in the interest of fairness.
Which is kind of what I mean. Nobody's willing to sit behind the screen.

I agree wit' this person. As a GM fer a current campaign I would much ratha' play th' game as a PC than be th' GM. Alas as this bloke said, wit'out th' GM thar be no one ta' push th' story and keep thin's from tearin' themselves apart