Hydaelyn Role-Players
"Wallflowers" and RP - Printable Version

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RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Rusty Knight - 09-14-2015

Unfortunately character design often doesn't help with being the 'driving' force behind interactions. Many people roll introverted characters (I've done so myself despite normally being the opposite with my characters) and it simply begins to dig a hole that they slowly descend into and very rarely climb out of. Even worse are characters who are so hostile to random roleplay they put people off interacting with them. (Guilty...)

Its often the fear of failure that prevents people from getting involved or creating events or the unwillingness to try, I used to run the role of Storyteller permanently and unless you had NPC's literally drag some characters out of their hovels people would simply watch an event pass on by on the idea that they might interrupt or ruin it by participating. (Something I've never seen happen unless its active griefing.)

People feel an awkwardness to suddenly engaging with strangers and its understandable; no amount of roleplay taverns will change that fact, even I still get some pre-roleplay jitters on occassion. Only by taking the plunge and posting that first emote asking for directions, commenting on their attire or even just saying hello will those nerves begin to fade.

TL;DR Life is too short to be standing about waiting for arpee to come to you, go get it. Failing that find Heath and I'll pounce you.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Marisa - 09-14-2015

This probably won't work for most people, but I tend to emote that I'm stealing random shit until someone steps in and stops me. Typically gets some active rp going.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - -no longer matters- - 09-14-2015

I "Wallflower" at the quicksand, because I don't see War walking up to someone and going "Heeeeey how you doin'?" I do try to interact with everyone I catch even looking at me though.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Cato - 09-14-2015

There isn't really much that can be done about it. I've pretty much given up on random role-play for the most part simply because it often becomes a very exhausting experience. If people don't respond to initial prompts or take the initiative to approach me themselves then I'm just going to assume that they're not interested in a scene.

At the risk of voicing an unpopular and controversial opinion, however, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that many role-players embrace role-play as a means of escapism. This leads to there being a lot of role-players who don't necessarily have the skills needed to initiate role-play and maintain a social life for their characters.

Which in turn leads to a lot of people complaining that they're not getting any role-play when they would, in fact, get a lot of it if only they took the initiative and put themselves out there from time to time.

As for me? I very rarely go to the Quicksand because it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for my character to go there. If the problem is 'my character wouldn't go there' then my advice is to message people on this site if you like the way they post/describe their characters. Send them a PM on the site/poke them in-game and ask if they're willing to have their character stumble across your own at some point. It's what I do and I've had a lot more success with finding role-play that way when compared to hanging around the common hubs and haunts.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Kage - 09-14-2015

I'll try to put my thoughts in an understandable manner.

First, why do wallflowers need to be eliminated? Is it to help the shy roleplayer who later talks about the lack of roleplay or is it to satisfy the roleplayer confident in their random / open RP but finds a lot of wallflowers that won't respond to them?

For the former, I believe the 'solution' is to find roleplay initiatives. Hooks. Maybe even plans by initiating OOC dialogue that says "just have these two meetup and this is why they might talk to each other" Waiting for RP will never be the solution.

For the latter, perhaps the one who wants to initiate just isn't interesting enough for the 'wallflower' to want to engage with. Maybe the wallflower is content to watch and observe. That is perfectly all right but if they do complain that is on them. After all, an attempt to initiate RP -was- made.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Aya - 09-14-2015

(09-14-2015, 05:21 PM)War Bear Wrote: I "Wallflower" at the quicksand, because I don't see War walking up to someone and going "Heeeeey how you doin'?" I do try to interact with everyone I catch even looking at me though.
See?  This is where a little imagination is really necessary!  The key is that the player is willing to take the chance to initiate the social contact.  Even an introverted character can be the medium for doing this (while remaining in character) if the player wills it.

Opportunities include all sorts of mishaps, such as bumping into someone, spilling something. breaking something and so on. There are also possibilities for mistaken identities: either thinking someone is an acquaintance, or mistaking another character for staff.  I am sure the opportunities are endless, the hard part is taking that leap to being willing to initiate.  As far as that goes I can never stress enough just how important it is to find that courage one way or another!

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Caspar - 09-14-2015

Eh, I try to create circumstances to play with my character and its up to others to demonstrate sufficient engagement to her to maintain a lasting IC connection. Sometimes though I honestly am not doing anything but watching others RP. Particularly the search info of some characters in the QS. *shudder*

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Blue - 09-14-2015

I still think that the best solution would be to add an "IC/Roleplaying" status icon in-game. I have been asking SE a couple times already both on the official forum (one of my most successful threads, everyone was answering positively to it, even those who don't like RPers), and via the Send a Suggestion feature in-game, but so far we have no news about it unfortunately.

To actually KNOW someone is looking for roleplay and is not just afking in a cool posture goes a long way towards encouraging roleplaying. A status icon right next to your name that informs me you are In Character and wishing to be approached, more so even one that allowed me you to find you through Search, would be the best thing in the world to me, and even a shy person like me would at least send a whisper in direction of someone with that over their head.

There is the search message, that is true, but I honestly am one of those that does not look at that, unless I -already- know the person is RPing and I want to see if it contains some information about their character. For example, I don't use my Search Box to say if I'm IC or not (I'm way too lazy and forgetful to change it so often), but rather to inform others of what my character is in a small summary ("Keeper Wizard", "Xaela child" "Ala Mhigan refugee", etc.). That way I don't have to update it often and can forget about it.

A status icon instead would be much easier and quick to notice and toggle on or off to inform when I want to RP, and when instead I don't have time for it. Maybe I'm just standing by the quicksands to watch others' RP, or maybe I just want to craft that day, and don't feel like being walked up for IC interactions.

I think in short that not exactly knowing who is RPing and who isn't is a big part of the wallflowering problem, and that a visible hint could help a lot. SE has already acknowledged RPers by adding the RP icon to free company description, so I trust that if there is sufficient demand, we shall receive a response about it. I'm sure it would be used a lot more than the Looking for Meld one, at the very least.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Seye Qhesu - 09-14-2015

(09-14-2015, 05:21 PM)War Bear Wrote: I "Wallflower" at the quicksand, because I don't see War walking up to someone and going "Heeeeey how you doin'?" I do try to interact with everyone I catch even looking at me though.
Until a small Au ra comes and starts climbing on his back.

I do alot of random walkups in the sands. It is normally Flower commenting on how someone may look, wear, or if they smell funny. If it ends positive she just climbs on them and hangs over their shoulder (if big enough, lalafells tend to get crushed).

I have randomly emoted fiddling with dummy bombs to get people to respond and see who is alive. I also will stand there and be quiet. Sometimes I just like to watch others Roleplay but will welcome anyone who walks up.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Caspar - 09-14-2015

If it's the QS, looking to meld might be the most apt status possible. Nyuck nyuck nyuck...

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Saravahn - 09-14-2015

I don't understand the need to eliminate wallflowers.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - MilanaMina - 09-14-2015

(09-14-2015, 06:52 PM)Etienne Wrote: I don't understand the need to eliminate wallflowers.

Exactly, there's different types of people behind roleplayers. You have different types of people in the real world to compare to this as well: If you go to a big bar . . or restraunt. You're gonna see people bellying up to the bar and roaring out laughing, and you're gonna see quiet teasippers near the back reading a book while their order's underway. And so on.

Milana, if you ever see her in the quicksand, mostly keeps to herself, but she won't bite your head off if you come up and say "Hi." and depending on your character's personality it may go different ways! She may invite you to take a seat, share a drink. She may tell you to piss off . . it's about variety, and if you take away wallflowers that kinda kills the variety.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - industrythirteen - 09-14-2015

(09-14-2015, 03:25 PM)Ignacius Wrote: Easy answer.  Wallflowers happen because there's not enough people getting the party started.  To simplify a fairly deep study, there are three kinds of characters:

-Drivers:  People who drive action.  They show up in a bar and start dancing.  They buy rounds for strangers.  They chatter.  They start fights.  They break out a louche and a bottle of absinthe.  They have both activity and personal magnetism.

-Actors:  People who join the action.  Upon the arrival of a Driver, they immediately join in.  They can make friendships and get together.  However, their characters react to, not direct, the action.

-Introverts:  People who will not join the action unless personally invited to or acted upon.  They require direct engagement to participate in RP.

All of these can welcome walk-up RP.  The trick is having enough Drivers to activate the RP and enough Drivers and Activators to draw in the Introverts.  It can also be a pain if there are too many Drivers, as there's too many directions the scene is pulling in.  However, if you're having a problem with everyone sitting around, waiting for something to happen, you have a lack of driving characters.

I'm beginning to move that way with Orleans out of necessity.  There are a lot of events on Gilgamesh and a LOT of acting players, but not enough RP drivers.  So I'm beginning to make Orleans somewhat less taciturn to try to drive RP in Limsa Lominsa.

I'm going to echo these thoughts. While I am an 'Actor' and on rare occasion a 'Driver' when in my own group of people, and enjoy doing that for people I know enough about their characters to work with them, I am rarely ever anything but an Introvert when out in public. Mostly because I feel like joining RP out in the world is intrusive, and frankly none of the my business. I am happy to go out in a group of folks I know, but it takes a pretty big effort on my part to put myself out there when alone. 

The difference for me is that I know I am a textbook introvert, and I know that in order to get RP I have to go make it. These are things not lost on me. It is whether I have the social energy to go and do it because I only have so much social capital I can spend on these things, and I should spend it wisely. There often isn't something going on that catches my attention, and that is on me. If something doesn't stand out to me, I move on. Whatever. I didn't get random RP that night. Maybe I'll screw up my courage another night and try again later when I have my energy back. 

That said, I had an epiphany a few months back. As a player, I am an introvert. As an introvert, I can't play introverted characters. It simply doesn't work for me, and I end up feeling isolated and aimless. RP gives me a safe space to extrovert. 

The question isn't whether wallflowers, and by extension introverts, need to be 'eliminated,' which I feel is an awful choice of words. I think it is recognizing that everyone needs to meet each other at least half way in roleplay. No one player can do all the work. That isn't fair to anyone. For the wallflower, as stated, a hand likely needs to be extended to them, and someone needs to extend that hand, whether it is the 'Introvert' wallflower, or the 'Driver,' or 'Actor.' The wallflower can extend that hand first, too. All it takes is a tell to someone 'hey, can I come over and RP with you?' which is the least someone like me, an introvert, can do, and probably to good results, too.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Vallerin Hortimont - 09-14-2015

Let folks do what they do.

RE: "Wallflowers" and RP - Mae - 09-14-2015

(09-14-2015, 07:13 PM)MilanaMina Wrote: If you go to a big bar . . or restraunt. You're gonna see people bellying up to the bar and roaring out laughing, and you're gonna see quiet teasippers near the back reading a book while their order's underway.
This.

Now... I don't hang in the Quicksand often. On the rare occasions that I do (and typically on an alt), I'm shamelessly one of the wallflowers. Because for my characters, the Quicksand is to them how Facebook is to me -- I just go there to watch drama, listen to gossip, and I don't post anything.