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+--- Thread: More Dynamic roleplay. (/showthread.php?tid=5401)
More Dynamic roleplay. - Michikyou - 11-08-2013
Hey guys.
Naih again.
I recently posted about the sort of 'coldness' in the community. Now while I have found some roleplay and joined more linkshells than I had before; roleplay is still a little stale. That is not what I am here to talk about.
I am here to rant about the closed-offness of the community.
Now i've had a few instances and I've heard from multiple people that this isn't just the case for me. It is hurting the community.
I walk pretty much everywhere. I rarely see any roleplay outside of three or four areas. You know there is something wrong with the community when you spontaneously roleplay with someone or respond to someone - and they tell you to back off, go away or ignore you because you aren't in their FC/LS or inner group.
I know this sounds mean, cruel. But the community needs to sort out its shit. There needs to be more public awareness of events. There need to be more event planners. People need to include other potential role play partners other than their Ic 'beau'. People get locked up with two or three people then exclude everyone else in the community. There is no central 'union' of characters. People don't know one another, they know maybe 10 people. No one understands rumors of another person.
I'm currently planning a bi-weekly 'Sanctum of the 12' event. For any religious characters. But I don't know if I anyone would even come given the amount of issues i've had so far in motivating any of my friends to keep looking.
What I ask of you:
- Plan more events if you can. Creativity and diversity drives the game.
- If you see others about who look like (even just look like) invite them to your roleplay. You may make a new friend.
- Check up on people after one scene. Don't wait for them.
- Start a 'rumor board' Spread your name passed more than 4 people.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Magellan - 11-08-2013
There are 2800 members on this site. For the purpose of this discussion, lets just say 2000 of them rolled on Balmung. In any realistic town of that size, you'll be acquaintances with about 50, be friends with about 20, and know of about 100-200 (studies show the average facebook friend count is 150. But do you actually know all 150 of those people?)
And that's if you are an outgoing personality. For a lot of characters, it makes sense to only have a handful of friends ICly. To stay within what feels comfortable. IC rudeness, if it fits the character, is a non-issue.
OOCly, its a different story. A majority of people have rather diverse, yet generally specific tastes on RP, on everything from romance to combat, to how dark or humorous they like to keep things. It should come as no surprise that when you find people who share your taste, you tend to RP with them a lot, and develop rather involved interpersonal storylines. Its that progression of character that keeps people coming back, and you don't always get thet from random meetups.
That said, I do feel people need to break out of their rp shells more often, try out new things, and be prepared to see their characters go in directions they hadn't anticipated. OOC rudeness is pointless and not necessary. A little OOC communication can go a long way to avoid any sort of misunderstandings and hurt feelings.
But in the end, there are only so many hours in the day. I work FT, and dwell in an FC of 170+. Trying to juggle RP time with them, on top of work and trying to level is daunting enough, let alone trying to find time to interact with the greater community. I love my FC. Its a comfortable home I know I'm going to enjoy my time with, and that guarantee cannot be made in the community as a whole. Time constraints, and my desire to enjoy and progress several of my characters storylines should not be seen as 'cold'.
I have no problems interacting with random add ons when I am rping. I have no problem rping with anyone at least once. I find both to be a lot of fun, and everyone should interact with their community at least once a week. But in RP, just as in RL, it is the time spent with 'friends' that is the most rewarding, and it is up to each user to decide how they, the player, and they, the character, wish to spend their time.
Tl;dr: OOCly people should be polite and considerate of their community, but ICly their character dictates who and when they interact with.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Rosekitten - 11-08-2013
If anyone ever sees me around somewhere just message me odds are I'm not busy or i'll need just a moment to finish whatever I am doing and I can be ic after
 I've tried to not limit myself to just my FC mates or a circle of friends but to admit my life has limited that on me a bit so it's hard to just seek out random rp with my limited time frames.Â
Though I have noticed some people seem to have a issue getting into groups or even feeling welcome into the community as a whole... so no I don't think it's just you OP =/
As far as myself going out ic'ly and starting things thats a bit of a tricky spot seeing as my character is a bit anti social at times. Though if spoken to he wouldn't be the type to blow someone off. Heck one of the best rp sessions I remember having was a lalafell asking me for directions randomly.Â
I do agree that some groups seem to have such a story woven around them and the characters that it makes it hard if not impossible for someone to just jump in and help.. I tend to keep things dealing with my character rather open.
I've also noticed a good number of people I have friendly from here so in case we're ever in the same area we can see if both sides are free for a session or so seems to have vanished from the game ^^;
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Ildur - 11-08-2013
Take in mind that private interactions not only do not offer many hooks for other people to jump in, but they also don't offer many hooks for people to include other characters. The "closed-off-ness", as long as it's in-character, is then a reasonable consequence of the nature of the interaction. You wouldn't invite a random stranger when you are discussing personal matters, after all (unless you were really, really outgoing).
This is, of course, if the 'brush off' is strictly in-character. Ignoring or telling someone to go away OOCly when you are roleplaying in the open isn't acceptable: if you don't want to get interrupted, use party chat. The least you can do when roleplaying in /say is to acknowledge interruptions IC-ly. Then you can be as rude as your character allows you to be.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Yloise - 11-08-2013
If someone is standing by, I try to acknowledge them in a emote. If they are receptive they usually come forward and respond. But at times if I am occupied with a lot of people around, it gets quite distracting to try to pay attention to one person.
Because I am a part of a racial ls, I try to make sure I collect as many rpers as I can. oocly or icly, that way they can connect to more folk.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Clover - 11-08-2013
I've actually experienced the opposite, albeit my RP should have been more limited than yours because I'm mostly farming the endgame content. The day K'nahli and I decided to RP in Ul'dah, we made a few new friends. Also in Ul'dah, K'nahli decided to RP a waitress NPC just to help others, and ended up getting actually involved with several other characters. So I guess it all depends on the RPers you meet and how the RP plays out.
I didn't know that some people refused to RP with anyone who wasn't in their FC. Their loss, I say @_@
Hopefully, they're just a minority.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Nebbs - 11-08-2013
Sorry i don't see it.. I actually see RP all over the place.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Lady Whiteraven - 11-08-2013
^^ Same. I even will park Skaenmoen at places and start talks with random people who look like they might be interested in rp.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Kismet - 11-08-2013
While this is obvious to most, I'm stating it for the record anyway. Your experiences are not everyone else's experiences, nor do they set any sort of bar of what should be expected.
Just because the world of RP is going great for you doesn't mean it's great for everyone else. And it's not always the fault of the person being ignored. I have met some people who are masterful RPers, capable of creating some of the most mind-blowing storylines or writing beautifully constructed posts... who were blatantly ignored despite the fact that they're outgoing and doing literally all that they can to be acknowledged (for a multitude of reasons, if any at all).
(11-08-2013, 12:32 PM)Ildur Wrote: Ignoring or telling someone to go away OOCly when you are roleplaying in the open isn't acceptable: if you don't want to get interrupted, use party chat. The least you can do when roleplaying in /say is to acknowledge interruptions IC-ly. Then you can be as rude as your character allows you to be.
I agree 100%. Many times I have done "closed" scenes with an RP partner or two, but I always do them in /say and not in /party. Why? Because I WANT outsiders, should they happen upon the area, to interact with us! My RP scene, even if somewhat pre-planned, is not a movie. There are people about, voices carry, and I am not RPing in an inaccessible area. If you don't want others to interact with you, don't do your RP /say. It's not hard.
(11-08-2013, 12:43 PM)Yloise Dolet Wrote: If someone is standing by, I try to acknowledge them in a emote. If they are receptive they usually come forward and respond.
I cannot speak for others, but I definitely do this. If I examine you or see you emote but I'm involved with a RP buddy, I WILL acknowledge you in some way (typically by having my character look at yours or nodding politely).
My point to my entire post is that I never ignore anyone OOCly -- unless it's a huge crowd and emotes just get loss in the massive sea of posts. ICly, my character may "ignore" you, but I always emote that your character is being ignored (which is, ironically, my way of paying attention to you). Anyone OOCly telling you to butt out or that the scene is closed is just rude and has little excuse for such an attitude, in my opinion.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Magellan - 11-08-2013
Hmm, I'd like to clarify that I always RP out in the open too (using Say) because I love meeting strangers and new rpers. If I am on a rude character, or an impersonable one, I will frequently send tells just to let people know; 'hey! I'm not responding b/c my character is a b*tch!'
To me that is just common courtesy, but I can't say I expect everyone to adopt that. That's for them to decide.
Rosekitten touched upon it being hard to break into groups, and I think many people seek a highly detailed, intricate plotline that plays out like a movie or novel. That's well within their rights, but those type of stories can only realistically support a handful of characters.
It drives me batty when guilds offer these intensive plots as either mandatory, or as the only means of finding RP in that guild, because more often than not, it devolves into 'the officers get to rp a lot with each other, while everyone else stands around and watches'. And typically, those who are getting their RP fix don't seem to see why its a problem when others are not. Or they say 'theyshould find their own way into the story', which is impossible, frankly, because you are creating a gauntlet of barriers for them.
Imo, the best guilds offer a variety of different types of RP, with plenty of opportunities for everyone to get involved. Those who run tightknit, heavily involved plots, should really keep the numbers of their group low so as to keep everyone involved, or construct their story in such a way that it doesn't have a significant impact on those who were unable to get involved, and were therefore unable to play a role in shaping their futures.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Rosekitten - 11-08-2013
Actually that was one of my hardest problems when looking for a FC was trying to find one that didn't have this huge thought out story... I'm all for some sort of story or foundation but don't force it on people as most of these grand adventure tails I've found my character just flat out doesn't fit in. He has no interest in such things thus he'd never be part of that story or the main focus of rp in that group.Â
I have seen a few Companies that are more laid back so to say like the one I found recently that says they do have a story but they encourage their members to have their own story as well. Plus their story isn't anything over the top that or requires you to read a novel just to understand the basic idea behind it
Also I forgot to mention this before... I do see RP in more then just a few spots. Granted there are hubs. More often then not tavern spots. But I have seen random groups about in the same area every so often. Though maybe its all about timing.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - K'nahli - 11-08-2013
I honestly become annoyed when I see roleplayers in public not roleplaying publically. Look, whether or not you want people to join in on the conversation is totally up to your character, but don't literally hide your voices from passers-by. Apart from looking bad, something you say could easily influence other people either directly(should they try and approach you) or indirectly(should they learn something useful or remember something as a result). Honestly I see it as rather unfair and selfish to hide RP if its not actually supposed to be whispered to each other. For the record though, if you want speak to someone in the form of a whisper for the whole conversation then don't stand in the middle of the streets of Ul'dah because people don't do that. They take themselves to the sides or find themselves a quieter spot.
Having said that, just because you see roleplayers doesn't mean they are openly inviting you to take part. I don't like the idea of people inviting themselves for the sake of inviting themselves when really their character has no business involving themselves. That is OOC influence and its not good. At least find some excuse to end up interacting with them or ask someone to create an excuse for you to become involved. This is what I often did when I tried RP'ing a waitress in the Quicksand. Often enough there were people sitting alone, obviously hoping for some roleplay but unable to involve themselves with the scenes around them. So instead, I approached them myself to break up their inactivity period and on a couple of occasions played a part in involving them with nearby groups. Try helping each other out in similar ways, it really makes for a more ideal and realistic cause for interaction than suddenly spilling your drink every time.
As for ideas, how about a 'Market Day' where people congregate in the three cities and serve as salesmen/women? If anyone is involved with that or crafting, fishing etc then you could create a small dynamic for yourself and others that way. Only problem is that I'd suggest against the actual markets. They are far too crowded in my opinion.
People could also organise regular trading caravan groups. I'd LOVE to see more RP in the outside world. It'd be really nice to encounter a group of people with some chocobo mules following them that are selling random wares and supplies. ANYONE can participate in that even if it is a small encounter. What can also happen from that are bandit raids and such. I have a bandit character that I would happily level up rather soon if I saw more events and outside RP going on.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Magellan - 11-08-2013
K'nahli, I love ur market day idea and would gladly participate. I had actually been having a similar idea, and I have ICly been a waitress at the Bismatck
It's just.... can we not have it in the actual marketplaces? Those spots lagfreeze my computer like crazy >_<
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Maril - 11-08-2013
Though I do not know the community well enough to truely comment on the subject here, I would like to contribute my recent experiences, as someone new to the rp scene on Balmung:Â
I'm a EU player which means that I should theoretically be seeing less RP around than anyone else, yet walking into the inn in ul'dah at random chance one day actually created a chain reaction of roleplayers joining in. From that, one player whispered me with an excuse right off the bat, about not wanting to intrude the RP me and my guildee were doing, though we came with the intention of finding other rp'ers, so there wasn't really a need for it. Anyways, in general chattyness, I explain that I am new around here, and without even blinking I got a warm welcome and a soft lay-down of the community, how things seemed to be to this person, etc. And whilst it wasn't entirely positive, I greatly appreciate something like that - the fact that there's negative points only makes it seem real and credible. No RP community anywhere is perfect
 I'd imagine I'm not alone in appreciating getting intro's like that. Even if the forecast didn't bode well, I decided to power on with the FC that I am an officer in. It'll probably be tough as nails to survive but so be it. We're going in with an open concept, hopefully it'll be good for both us and the community.
RE: More Dynamic roleplay. - Val - 11-08-2013
I've certainly noticed it can be very hard to walk up and RP with a random group of individuals. I also attribute it to the fact that Val's personality is generally hated and disliked and don't expect people to really respond kindly to him.
Also, Naih'ir, we need that one-on-one sometime
 I'll message you soon to try and set it up.