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+--- Thread: RP is Fun! ... Right? (/showthread.php?tid=2564)
RP is Fun! ... Right? - Gar - 07-02-2013
Hey everyone, I am pretty new to the community and sort of on the outskirts since I haven't figured out quite how to find a niche in this giant community. (Which is awesome. This game is gonna thrive like crazy. I'm excited.)
I just wanted to post some thoughts and see how some of you felt about it. One of the amazing tendencies of RPers is to get together and communicate.
We roleplay to have fun, don't we? I've RPed in a gaggle of MMOs, and honestly a lot of the time it doesn't feel like it. Why is that? Why does RP become this chore that we have to put our serious faces on just to navigate?
Maybe part of it is just different people's views of what they want from RP. I love dramatic RP and putting our characters through tough situations, but somewhere along the road can't there be a happy ending? I'll admit, I sorta giggle when people try and zero in on details to make things more like real life.
And don't think I'm making fun of you if you do that, I'm really not. I just like to think of RP as a fantasy, or a fairy tale. Our lives are depressing and lonely enough. Should our RP make us feel that way too? I have met a lot of RPers who act like they have something to prove. Like their RP or their style is superior in some sort of way.
I'm totally serious when I say this: Can't we just love each other and have fun? OOC, we are on the same side. Everyone. There's no competition. We are a community of like-minded individuals working for a common good. Isn't that amazing?
So maybe this post is two parts whining and two parts putting up a banner to find like-minded players. So how about it? Who wants to be friends? Who wants to have fun and just enjoy adventuring through worlds we can create?
Let's face it, most games are tanking. For me, this is Final Hope XIV. I'm sure a lot of us have been apart of communities that fell apart. And maybe some of us made mistakes that helped the overall downfall. I know I did.
So in the rubble of Bahamut's temper tantrum, let's make this the best community there ever was.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - faceman7381 - 07-02-2013
Toally agree with you, my friend.
I also feel that this is a lot of people's last hope for mmos.
(The Repopulation looks good if it gets off the ground.)
We have to work hard to build a good community that thrives and welcomes people.
However, it will still be up to the game itself to retain people. Themepark mmos must continue to thurst out content quickly to satisfy their player bases.
This game is great but it does have two strikes already against it:
1. Revamping the whole game means lost time developing content. It reamins to be seen how much stuff can be put in the game quickly that has been spoken about as 'coming soon.' It will have to come quickly to help retain players.Â
2. Monthly Fee based pay model. Players aren't gonna pay monthly fees for long if the game doesn't continue to roll out content. No one wants to pay money to do the same stuff over-and-over.
That being said, I have high hopes that the devs are listening and understand the themepark idea well enough to have planned tons of additional stufff and to get it into the game quickly. Yes, they have said every 3 months. However, as most of us mmoers know, they gotta prove it.
Here's hoping. This time for sure!
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Asyria - 07-02-2013
RP is definitely supposed to be fun!
The thing is that there are many ways to RP and many definitions of what RP is, and all those clashing views is what can make things difficult and why we can't always love each other and have fun.
It's like.. if we both like sports but I hate football and love hockey and you hate hockey and love football.. we definitely can't have fun together then. ^^:
What we CAN do however is be nice to each other, accept we have different interests and coexist.
Now, back to RP. Let's take, for example, Tavern RP. Some love it, some hate it... Sure it's RP anyway, but it's not fun for everyone!
We're all RPers but we're also all individuals and we need to accept that we're different from one another as well as similar. ^^
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Magellan - 07-02-2013
A lot of posts on this sight revolve around RP differences/clashes in style.
Healthy RP debates are a good thing; the more you understand about other people's viewpoints, the more common ground you can find, which opens up more chances to RP with more people.
However, it is also a fine line. Sometimes we all need to just step back and say; 'Hey, RP is meant to be fun, remember?'
If you're not having fun, you're probably overthinking things. Your expectations are probably too high, or you're disappointed in the way others RP, but in this big, beautiful community, there are going to be disagreements, many different types of playstyles, and confusion. The sooner we come to grips with this, the sooner we can understand its just part of playing in an MMo world. It's not a good or bad thing, it just is.
Somewhere out there in the wide world of Eorzea I'll bet is a community just for you (speaking figuratively, not addressing this to the OP). A home where everyone's styles gel, where the RP flows strong, and gaming friends look forward to logging on together and telling stories. I hope everyone finds their niche.
However, I think while this is a very good thing, it is also important to engage the wider community. It may not always be the RP you love or enjoy, but by opening your thoughts, and stories to others, you play an important part in creating a stronger community- a community that welcomes newcomers with open arms, helps and supports each other, and that realizes we won't always get along, but we'll always work to keep things going strong.
tl;dr - Can't We Just Love Each Other and Have Fun? - Seconded!
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - moody - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 12:34 PM)faceman7381 Wrote: Â Â
2. Monthly Fee based pay model. Players aren't gonna pay monthly fees for long if the game doesn't continue to roll out content. No one wants to pay money to do the same stuff over-and-over.
I completely agree with most of the sentiments here except this. I did Co* for something like 7 years straight with long gaps between new content because the community was amazing for a long time and then the sub-community I was in used that social system as a base. Once we drifted away from the game the group slowly collapsed over time. A lot of us, too late, noted that we wished we had never tried finding something else since that very minor sub fee gave us a touch stone for a shared experience.Â
There is also a segment of players, likely a minority, who look at the F2P model and the rotating community it often engenders and count the subscription model for this game as one of the reasons we're going to be here paying it on day 1 of the relaunch.Â
As far as RP style goes, I tend towards slightly comedic but touching on social and political issues within the game world in a serious manner. This is fun for me. I may argue with someone of a couple hours ICly and I'm having a ball. I'm enjoying myself, laughing at the keyboard and just grinning ear to ear. My hope is that everyone else is too, and I've been known to touch base ICly to make sure that others understand it's just play and that they're enjoying it after running into people who got horribly hurt that I questioned their character's 'pristine heroism' in character. I never mean anything against a player and it took me a good while to realize that a lot of RPers in these games are essentially playing idealized versions of themselves and thus take things very personally. So I'm careful who I RP with in more than a passing manner now.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Naunet - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 12:48 PM)moody Wrote: There is also a segment of players, likely a minority, who look at the F2P model and the rotating community it often engenders and count the subscription model for this game as one of the reasons we're going to be here paying it on day 1 of the relaunch.ÂHeh, this is me. One of the big draws of ARR for me is that it's not F2P. Everything else is icing on the cake.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Ellie - 07-02-2013
I think most of the problem stems from the fact that people believe that while RP is meant for fun, it should also have certain standards put in place in order to ensure that play is immersive, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. For many people, when roleplay isn't immersive, it's no longer fun.
I feel that there's validity to both sides, but I think we do ourselves a disservice when we fail to remember that we're here to have fun and play. Everyone should remember that, whether they believe in certain standards for roleplay or not.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Aysun - 07-02-2013
What is fun for one person is not fun for the next, though! It's all a matter of finding those players that have like-minded attitudes of what is fun in RP.
Personally, I don't like when there is always a happy ending. Happy endings are boooring to me. I like drama, and real feeling gritty RP. It can be depressing. It can be cruel. Adventure should just happen, not be forced. Things like that. But I know for a fact that some people really don't like it when RP is dramatic, or emotional, because it is upsetting to them OOC. Those people I just can't RP with, because I can't provide the happy RP they need. That's where finding the niches is helpful.
In the end we're all RPers, and we're all here to have fun. We just have different ways of having fun.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Naunet - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 01:00 PM)Aysun Wrote: Personally, I don't like when there is always a happy ending. Happy endings are boooring to me. I like drama, and real feeling gritty RP. It can be depressing. It can be cruel. Adventure should just happen, not be forced. Things like that.I think we're going to get along. :3
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Magellan - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 01:00 PM)Aysun Wrote: What is fun for one person is not fun for the next, though! It's all a matter of finding those players that have like-minded attitudes of what is fun in RP.
Personally, I don't like when there is always a happy ending. Happy endings are boooring to me. I like drama, and real feeling gritty RP. It can be depressing. It can be cruel. Adventure should just happen, not be forced. Things like that. But I know for a fact that some people really don't like it when RP is dramatic, or emotional, because it is upsetting to them OOC. Those people I just can't RP with, because I can't provide the happy RP they need. That's where finding the niches is helpful.
In the end we're all RPers, and we're all here to have fun. We just have different ways of having fun.
I understand your brand of RP and why you likeit, but I'll just point out; when too many things happen to any one individual or group, I completely lose my suspension of disbelief, and can no longer enjoy what I perceive to be over the top drama. It has nothing to do with me being upset OOC, and everything to do with my ability to believe in the story.
My preferred brand is not for everyone tho. Its why RP is so great, its limitless and boundaryless
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Flynn Rosenberg - 07-02-2013
This sounds exactly what I've been looking for.
As you know I've only RPed in Star Wars, mainly as a Jedi and partly as a regular pilot. The pilot RP was my favorite, it might have been because the community was more friendlier and open-minded.
I've always loved adventure plots, even if your character is dragged into one. My history hasn't been very good, full of missions that I couldn't feel connected to. As you guys have said, it's all down to preference. I've had my share of tavern RP and a mission that takes an army of people, but things like that I've done constantly. Time to change. Don't get me wrong, I like the occasional tavern RP.
Just wanna get out, explore, have fun, rest at an inn. The kind of thing you'd expect from a FF story or any other JRPG. It's a fantasy and a game, some things are expected to be unreal. Some of us play to escape reality after all xD So if there's adventure RP to be had in XIV, even while leveling or on a break from it, I'm sold.
Edit: And yes, drama, love it to an extent. Nothing forced but something that could impact a character's progression. Seen plenty of "My daddy was killed, I want revenge, bursts into tears". Sorry, not my cup of tea :p
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Aysun - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 01:12 PM)Magellan Wrote:(07-02-2013, 01:00 PM)Aysun Wrote: What is fun for one person is not fun for the next, though! It's all a matter of finding those players that have like-minded attitudes of what is fun in RP.
Personally, I don't like when there is always a happy ending. Happy endings are boooring to me. I like drama, and real feeling gritty RP. It can be depressing. It can be cruel. Adventure should just happen, not be forced. Things like that. But I know for a fact that some people really don't like it when RP is dramatic, or emotional, because it is upsetting to them OOC. Those people I just can't RP with, because I can't provide the happy RP they need. That's where finding the niches is helpful.
In the end we're all RPers, and we're all here to have fun. We just have different ways of having fun.
I understand your brand of RP and why you likeit, but I'll just point out; when too many things happen to any one individual or group, I completely lose my suspension of disbelief, and can no longer enjoy what I perceive to be over the top drama. It has nothing to do with me being upset OOC, and everything to do with my ability to believe in the story.
My preferred brand is not for everyone tho. Its why RP is so great, its limitless and boundaryless
Well of course. It can't be forced drama. Just naturally occurring things that the characters have to deal with. That's where the gritty real part comes in for me. I'm not talking about curses and dark terrible pasts. Just consequences for actions, naturally progressing RP that isn't driven towards a happy fun adventure all the time, that's all!
There's a lot of overlap, as well. Good things do happen. Adventures still happen.Specifically what has happened to me in the past has been people upset that I can't force my character to be friends with theirs forever. Something happens that drives a wedge between them and their character can get over it a lot faster than Aysun and they are upset OOC when our RP does not return to friendly again. To me it's about treating these kinds of situations realistically and dealing with the consequences of our IC actions, whatever they may be.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - plutosams - 07-02-2013
I think RP is definitely meant to be fun; otherwise why on earth are we doing it. Â Personally I feel fun is derived from learning to do something new, a different way or by pushing my boundaries a bit. Â RP loses its fun when I stop expanding and growing my characters. Â
I have been in certain groups where the fun fades because players are too serious all the time. Â I have met very few people in real life who are serious all the time, and the few I have met don't have many wishing to be near. Â Some of the most interesting characters I have interacted with are laughing in the toughest of situations.Â
Like others have said here disagreements within the community have more to do with style than anything else. Â Find players who play comedic and/or light hearted and I am sure you will have fun; just don't discourage those who enjoy the more serious tone (after all, that might be fun for them)
I for one am all about creating a cohesive, welcoming and fun community. Â Anything we can do to improve the community creates a better game and in the end we all win by having more fun.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Magellan - 07-02-2013
@Aysun: ahhhh consequences *__* (eyes sparkle with rapt attention) yeah I know what you mean. Its disappointing when things carry over negatively into OOC, particularly when the IC is going so good.
Which touches a little upon OP's message; RP is meant to be fun. If its upsetting you, one may be putting too much of their OOC selves into it, and may need to take a step back.
RE: RP is Fun! ... Right? - Aysun - 07-02-2013
(07-02-2013, 01:40 PM)Magellan Wrote: @Aysun: ahhhh consequences *__* (eyes sparkle with rapt attention) yeah I know what you mean. Its disappointing when things carry over negatively into OOC, particularly when the IC is going so good.
Which touches a little upon OP's message; RP is meant to be fun. If its upsetting you, one may be putting too much of their OOC selves into it, and may need to take a step back.
Thiiiissssss
