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Old 02-04-2007, 08:17 PM   #83
Durelin
Estelo dagnir, Melo ring
 
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,121
Durelin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.Durelin is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
Pipe Pondering...

Alrighty, I think this thread needs to be used again...

I love RPing here. Love it. So everything I say in criticism is not meant really negatively. Really they're more concerns. I care about the RPing here, and so I have concerns for its longevity. They say (whoever this "they" is), "if it's not broken, don't fix it," but personally, I think it's starting to feel just an itty bit brokey around here...

Anyway, down to business:

My first concern is with getting new gamers involved. The forums have been far from void of this, but it still seems like new gamers and few and far-between. I love writing with all the RPers on here, but we need new faces to keep things moving. I think that it really has become sort of "clique"-like, which was a concern voiced earlier in this thread. To an outsider, I think games don't look like their open. There's been a lot of inviting and "dedicated players" so that the roles are filled up quickly, and the use of "planning threads" where only invited people can post I believe deters people who aren't already established as players from looking into it.

The Inns are great for just jumping in (well, the "Golden Perch" is...the "Eorling Mead Hall" is great, but I don't think it's as good for people just to jump right it, which is understandable as it's the Rohan "inn"), but I do think people get bored. Unfortunately people do tend to get bored rather quickly. Should the RP Forums cater to those people? No, but perhaps things need to be a little more open.

Then there is the "moving up" in the forums. While having the different forums for different levels allows for definite growth and for good writers/RPers to focus their efforts together, it also can have a "reward system" feel to it. Unfortunately, becoming a "Rohan Gamer" and being on the nice, nifty list becomes like a merit badge, and "getting out of the Shire" might well become a goal. At least, it can.

My other major concern deals with the distinction between "Fan-Fiction" and "Roleplaying" which is growing less and less, and which has been an issue I think practically since people started realizing that "Freestyle RPing" was just not working. I agree, trust me. I like fan-fiction, and I think displaying writers here on BD's work as true "fiction" is a wonderful thing, but turning a RPG into a fan-fiction practically before it's even started is an issue for me.

Forum roleplaying is great because it's writing and storytelling. But it's not the same as writing fiction. Roleplaying is about reactions, about being "in-character," not about writing about a character. You are the character. Sounds nerdy...well, I guess it is. The plot must be character driven, which means it must be driven by all the writers. Of course you should have a basic plot, of course a free-for-all is a waste of time, but you can't write a character based on a story. Once you have created the character, they're the ones you're writing the story as.

Writing fiction as a group takes a more cohesive group than roleplaying. Fiction is more definitively planned, and while stories can be character-driven, you're more mindful of the story as a whole. The window which you look through is widened, as writers plan out the path the story will take, and not necessarily just what their character will say or do next. Again, still sounds like fun to me, but it's different.

The story of a fiction becomes someone's or multiple people's baby. There's no way around it. It's not going to be left as open to others as an RPG is.

I wanted to address one game in particular that has me torn. It's probably pretty easy to guess, because it hasn't even started yet...yes, Estelyn's "REB." I love the concept, I really do, and I'd love to be a part of such a parody, and the idea of "cameos" sounds really great (cameos are such fun! though actually I don't think I've ever written one...), but...is that really an RPG?

Yes, of course there will be character interaction between the cameos and the characters Esty plays, but, why are those cameo characters, if they are but cameos? I think they become - and I know this sounds really negative; I'm sorry, it's the only way I can manage to express it - "pawns" to the story. In RPGs, when cameos come into the game is determined by the game manager, and largely cameos have a decided upon "purpose." I don't know if this is quite what "cameos" will be like in this game, but they could well become that even if it's not the intention.

Now, does that mean it's bad? No. But I think it does mean that it's losing a lot of RPG qualities.

A lot about the RPing on BD has lost some RP qualities. In particular is the idea of writing "briefly" for another character. I don't think writing for another character should be allowed at all, and I regret having to do it to carry things along sometimes. So perhaps it should only be allowed when one needs to move the plot along (such as wrapping up a battle, bring a group to a destination, etc.). Also, I must admit I hate "saves." But again, they are good for when the plot needs to be moved along, whether it is because someone needs to get something in before the plot is moved along, or if it is already determined that the post that will fill in the save will move the plot along, having a specific purpose. And I do think "moving the plot along" has become a part of almost every action. I really like having the ability to just sit back and have some character interaction for a while, rather than always just trying to keep events and characters moving. I think it's often difficult to get around all the moving plot. Is it because there is too much plot? And if there is less plot, will that mean it is less interesting to RPers?

I don't know. Maybe the issue really is that things are more "plot-driven" than "character driven." And I think fan-fiction is more the former, while roleplaying is more the latter.

Now, as I said: I love the idea of writing group fan-fiction...but I want to roleplay in roleplaying forums.

No, I don't have any solutions for anything, and if I did, I still probably wouldn't post them until I found out I wasn't crazy, and the only one who sees these problems...which I very well may be.

I do have a wild idea, though - there is a fan-fiction forum, right? And it seems in need of a little more activity? Perhaps an area could be set up for facilitating "group fan-fiction" writing? This might blur the distinctions between RPGs and Fan-Fics even more, but perhaps there is a way to divide them both "physically" and conceptually.

To wrap things up, finally...

1. I have no idea if any of that was coherent. My thoughts are scrambled, and I believe that my concerns for what is going on now and what might develop in the future got mixed up, so...

2. I really, really hope I didn't sound angry or even irritated. I'm more worried, and also very intrigued by what I find when actually taking a step back and looking at the RPing that goes on here.

3. I really don't want to offend anyone, and I am definitely not blaming anyone, nor do I mean to be criticizing anyone. Really. My intention was only to question.

4. Even if this is completely ignored, I will continue RPing here and loving it, as always!

If you did bother reading this...wow, what a los-...I mean, thanks very much for your time.

-Dury
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