Hullo! *Tips Hat*
In MMOs, most RPers are reactive players and there are valid reasons for this. A lot of us just want to have fun in the brief hours we can devote to the game and as I was recently made aware by Verad (whom I thank for the enlightening perspective on community), those hours one can spend playing are precious to most of us. I admit to often looking widely at things and therefore miss the details but between that conversation and this post, I'm seeing more clearly what that all means.Â
Some folks have the drive and time to be active RPers, which is an amazing quality. Building a storyline, coordinating, scheduling, etc, takes time and effort on the party of the player. While "active" isn't really the word I'd use (proactive maybe, but that's also kind of a misnomer), it does define the concept well and I thank you for that as well.
From many years of experience storytelling (writing, tabletop, MMO, and chat-based, specifically), I find the best way to build a plot is to think about your character. Plot-hooks can be personal or impersonal based on even the tiniest detail that you've built into your character. Seeking a family connection (either by recovery of an heirloom or just searching for clues) can make for a fun story or even something as basic as deciding your adventurer wants to get back to the root of adventuring and starts patrolling the countryside can lead to an inspirational story about highwaymen (and maybe a fun combat scene where she and her friends raid the Corpse Brigade hideout near Little Ala Mihgo) or saving a town from a beast tribe skirmish (the latter takes a lot more personalized involvement).
Sometimes, it's even as simple as internalizing a moral struggle (say, for example, She's feeling listless and looking for something to fight for.) will give you the inspiration you're looking for to further develop and bring that zest back.
When I transferred Galen to Balmung, I struggled with getting into the RP here. Not because I was reactive, but because I couldn't reason with the basis that Galen knew so many characters on Gilgamesh and now he was just starting out again on Balmung. After almost an entire week of agonizing over it, I found my stroke of brilliance. Galen's personal story now is that he remembers everyone he knew and is struggling with being in a world he knows but is devoid of the thirty some people he associated with. They don't exist here and that's shaken him quite a bit. His home is gone, his free company doesn't exist (so he glomped onto a new one) and all the free company headquarters he used to visit to see his friends have strangers living in them.
This influences the way I RP him now. He says odd things about how "it used to be" and he feels sorrow when something reminds him of the people he remembers but don't exist. He's even begun to research the aetherical probability of alternate universe and parallel dimensions just to give himself some peace of mind that he's not insane. A sense of comfort that everything he knows isn't some delusion. It's given the character such a fresh twist that I'm dancing like Snoopy about it.Â
Where once he was a self-assured business mogul and mage, now he's teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown and grasping for shreds of normalcy...all hidden behind his eyes.Â
Back on topic, the best advice is don't sweat the small stuff. Pick something that inspires YOU and talk to your friends about it, then get in there and make it happen. All you need is: An idea you love, a goal, a way to reach that goal. And remember, It's all in good fun!
Cheers!
-Black Hat
In MMOs, most RPers are reactive players and there are valid reasons for this. A lot of us just want to have fun in the brief hours we can devote to the game and as I was recently made aware by Verad (whom I thank for the enlightening perspective on community), those hours one can spend playing are precious to most of us. I admit to often looking widely at things and therefore miss the details but between that conversation and this post, I'm seeing more clearly what that all means.Â
Some folks have the drive and time to be active RPers, which is an amazing quality. Building a storyline, coordinating, scheduling, etc, takes time and effort on the party of the player. While "active" isn't really the word I'd use (proactive maybe, but that's also kind of a misnomer), it does define the concept well and I thank you for that as well.
From many years of experience storytelling (writing, tabletop, MMO, and chat-based, specifically), I find the best way to build a plot is to think about your character. Plot-hooks can be personal or impersonal based on even the tiniest detail that you've built into your character. Seeking a family connection (either by recovery of an heirloom or just searching for clues) can make for a fun story or even something as basic as deciding your adventurer wants to get back to the root of adventuring and starts patrolling the countryside can lead to an inspirational story about highwaymen (and maybe a fun combat scene where she and her friends raid the Corpse Brigade hideout near Little Ala Mihgo) or saving a town from a beast tribe skirmish (the latter takes a lot more personalized involvement).
Sometimes, it's even as simple as internalizing a moral struggle (say, for example, She's feeling listless and looking for something to fight for.) will give you the inspiration you're looking for to further develop and bring that zest back.
When I transferred Galen to Balmung, I struggled with getting into the RP here. Not because I was reactive, but because I couldn't reason with the basis that Galen knew so many characters on Gilgamesh and now he was just starting out again on Balmung. After almost an entire week of agonizing over it, I found my stroke of brilliance. Galen's personal story now is that he remembers everyone he knew and is struggling with being in a world he knows but is devoid of the thirty some people he associated with. They don't exist here and that's shaken him quite a bit. His home is gone, his free company doesn't exist (so he glomped onto a new one) and all the free company headquarters he used to visit to see his friends have strangers living in them.
This influences the way I RP him now. He says odd things about how "it used to be" and he feels sorrow when something reminds him of the people he remembers but don't exist. He's even begun to research the aetherical probability of alternate universe and parallel dimensions just to give himself some peace of mind that he's not insane. A sense of comfort that everything he knows isn't some delusion. It's given the character such a fresh twist that I'm dancing like Snoopy about it.Â
Where once he was a self-assured business mogul and mage, now he's teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown and grasping for shreds of normalcy...all hidden behind his eyes.Â
Back on topic, the best advice is don't sweat the small stuff. Pick something that inspires YOU and talk to your friends about it, then get in there and make it happen. All you need is: An idea you love, a goal, a way to reach that goal. And remember, It's all in good fun!
Cheers!
-Black Hat
What a colossal waste of time and energy.