(09-15-2015, 05:10 PM)Ignacius Wrote:Â(09-15-2015, 04:14 PM)Caspar Wrote:(09-15-2015, 03:59 PM)Ignacius Wrote:I feel this is insufficient as the character isn't a person and thus does not have a will of their own. It's perfectly fine to plan things out if you want to make a plot. Improvisation will only take you so far. As a group writing project, this plot thread failed because the participants did not have meshing styles, had opposing goals, did not communicate, and while endpoint and starting point were established, I suspect the plot structure initially agreed upon lacked the flexibility to continue regardless. I'm fine with spontaneous rp, but to say planned rp is not rp as Hammersmith did is a rash generalization. It works better for some writers than others. Some are satisfied with playing a bit role and "living the life." Others such as myself are constantly working towards a goal. Every rp I have done since my start, both planned and otherwise, I have used to push towards one or more of the five or six possible conclusions I've considered. Nothing is set in stone, but it is a real plot, not random rp. The key difference from simply playing solitaire and writing fan fiction is that it's collaborative work that exploits the different voice and stylistic tendencies of multiple writers, and as such you need some room to modify on the fly. Do not account for this factor and you'll end up with OP's situation(09-15-2015, 03:54 PM)SaintEaon Wrote:(09-15-2015, 03:41 PM)Diskwrite Wrote: I think, if this is something that would completely disrupt your and your RP partner's plans, then you should have a conversation with your RP partner about it. I get the "roll with it" idea entirely, but when this happens, its important to keep your RP partner(s) in the loop.
Thing is, your character has their story and their character(s) have theirs. But when you're working together, it's not just your story anymore. It's a collaboration! If something happens that would affect your RP partners' stories so thoroughly, you should include them in the conversation. UNLESS, you have established in conversations with them before, you know they like being surprised that way.
My RP partner and I love surprising each other with twists and turns, but if something came up that would completely change our plans, I'd talk to her about it. We'd figure out together how we wanted to handle it.
Well this is an interesting point because I think a significant number of people feel this way, but let me ask you this:
You've got an RPer you've shared months of in character development with. You decide to bring in a new character who's RP would make your old RP difficult. You two talk for a monthish, then start your new RP with your new RPer that affects your original RPer. About a week in the first guy comes back to you and says, "Well hey, this really effects my plot too, I understand its your characters but I should have been consulted. Even so I want to remain IC and avoid drama so do you mind if I join in the RP." You let your old friend join in your new "plot" with this new guy, and he drops an atomic bomb on the plot that you knew was coming but not your new partner. Suppose they disagree, new guy doesn't like old guy, but old guy's right you are affecting his character too.Â
What do you as one of the points in this triangle and probably the most important point as you're the mutual link? Do you go with your old stand by because you have exponentially more history with that person or the new guy? What do you tell either of them? Do you write off your old RPs to line them up with the new guy even if that's not fair to the old? It raises a ton of questions that don't have good answers at all.
What does it have to do with the other people? Â It's what your character does that matters. Â If it leads you away from your old RP partner and you want to continue, you can try to make an alt. Â But characters have to do what characters have to do.
"Will" isn't what I'm going for, and it's far from insufficient. Â It's pure, is what it is. Â See there's a problem with some of this...
There's a problem called OOC bleed. Â It is the absolute plague of RP. Â That's when things that exist outside character bleed into character reactions. Â Times when your character does something entirely out of character because you are friends with another player. Â Times when players develop somewhat romantic feelings for each other and it bleeds into character development. Â Times when RP becomes more about players than about characters.
This is a blaring red siren to anyone who's seen this. Â The problem is that what you're not recognizing is that the OP's situation is a huge, flaming, red problem. Â Something has gone horribly wrong somewhere if this has become an OOC situation. Â There has to be a sharp and bold division between what you think and want in-character and out-of-character. Â That's why this is important:
(09-15-2015, 04:15 PM)SaintEaon Wrote: Personally, Raeaon would side with his older friends. When he's hurt, when he's down, when he doesn't know what to do he goes back to his base, the people who helped him become who he is. I know the newer player might not like that it might interrupt whatever we were plotting, but ICly and OOCly, those people are Rae's friends, like family some of them and I think the hours and the time and the development we've put into each other ICly and OOCly is more binding than a week or two of new RP and some discussion time.
OOC is completely and utterly inconsequential. Â ICly, the character goes back to his base. Â He values his original friends first. Â If this is what the character would do in this situation, then this is what the character should do in this situation. Â End of debate. Â If the new player doesn't like that, the only thing that needs to be said is, "It's nothing personal, but this is IC. Â I can run an alt with you or something, but this is what makes sense. Â I'm sorry if that's a problem, but my RP can't be driven by OOC issues."
What you do OOC, explaining why it works this way IC, trying to diffuse the situation, making sure they know it's not personal in any way, that's all bomb-diffusing. Â But in-character? Â I might be something of an old-school purist, but the second I have to start dealing with people's OOC feelings for IC actions, that's not a delicate situation. Â That's a five-siren, red-flag warning that something's wrong.
Curve balls, even ones that are bad for your character, are just development turns. Â They aren't meant to be personal. Â Believe me, some of my worst moments as a roleplayer weren't story moments, but moments when bleed suddenly turned into a whirling tornado of OOC rage. Â That's something I start heading off early, when it's starting as a bleed situation. Â By the time you get to the point where you're forced to deal with OOC disentangling to get on with your RP, it's already too late (not that it's necessarily Saint's fault, these things can be remarkably hard to see for what they are until it's too late).
I appriciate the points but seriously, this isn't an issue I'm dealing with in game -.-' Its not an issue. The point of the thread was to bring up discussion on a topic that I think probably does arise pretty regularly in RP and determine how different people deal with it. No body is at fault for anything ICly or OOCly lol, I'm just trying to start good discussion :p
"Don't be scared homie."
