Ultimately I find it meaningless to audit other people's preferences. Even if it isn't what you enjoy, it's a big RP community. They will likely find someone who likes to do things the same way they do. As long as they're not hurting themselves or someone else, what does it matter what they choose to do or not?
But to address the question more directly: I agree with Verad in that this seems to be more about whether or not you prefer immersive RP.
If you like immersive RP, that's great! More power to you! There's plenty of other people who share that preference, so please go forth and enjoy with your fellow players.
If you're like me, however, you don't.
That's not to say that I don't enjoy organically derived interactions, relationships, or storylines. I certainly do! But I only have so much time, energy, and inclination to RP each week. More and more, I find myself preferring to stick to pre-planned interactions, people I already know, or plots and/or RP communities I'm already part of. Not because I want to exclude people, but because I literally don't have the energy to devote to both my established connections and the sort of immersive interactions these threads have discussed.
Immersive RP can take a lot of time, energy, and work to move beyond surface interactions, to build relationships, and to create plots. I've done a lot of it. It was fun then. But now I want different things out of my time.
So, if I was looking to put one of my characters into a romantic relationship, I would prefer to pre-plan the interaction and see what happens.
Now, I'm not the sort to deliberately look for a romantic relationship for my characters, nor to do any sort of romance RP with strangers. But that's my personal preference, and no one else has to follow it. One approach isn't inherently better than another; they're just different, based on varied wants, needs, and purposes.
Finally, Ojene's entire romantic relationship was baked in with my RP partner when we first made the two characters. Her marriage with the guy she's known for over twenty five years. We've been playing this for two years now, and not only has it worked just fine between them, but their interaction is by far the most fulfilling romance RP I've ever done.
I can't say my other pre-planned excursions went as well. But- neither have my organic ones. What made this one work where the others did not had nothing to do with planned vs pre-planned, but rather the synergy of the characters; our strong OOC friendship; and our similar approaches, desires, and wants.
It all comes down to what we prefer.
But to address the question more directly: I agree with Verad in that this seems to be more about whether or not you prefer immersive RP.
If you like immersive RP, that's great! More power to you! There's plenty of other people who share that preference, so please go forth and enjoy with your fellow players.
If you're like me, however, you don't.
That's not to say that I don't enjoy organically derived interactions, relationships, or storylines. I certainly do! But I only have so much time, energy, and inclination to RP each week. More and more, I find myself preferring to stick to pre-planned interactions, people I already know, or plots and/or RP communities I'm already part of. Not because I want to exclude people, but because I literally don't have the energy to devote to both my established connections and the sort of immersive interactions these threads have discussed.
Immersive RP can take a lot of time, energy, and work to move beyond surface interactions, to build relationships, and to create plots. I've done a lot of it. It was fun then. But now I want different things out of my time.
So, if I was looking to put one of my characters into a romantic relationship, I would prefer to pre-plan the interaction and see what happens.
Now, I'm not the sort to deliberately look for a romantic relationship for my characters, nor to do any sort of romance RP with strangers. But that's my personal preference, and no one else has to follow it. One approach isn't inherently better than another; they're just different, based on varied wants, needs, and purposes.
Finally, Ojene's entire romantic relationship was baked in with my RP partner when we first made the two characters. Her marriage with the guy she's known for over twenty five years. We've been playing this for two years now, and not only has it worked just fine between them, but their interaction is by far the most fulfilling romance RP I've ever done.
I can't say my other pre-planned excursions went as well. But- neither have my organic ones. What made this one work where the others did not had nothing to do with planned vs pre-planned, but rather the synergy of the characters; our strong OOC friendship; and our similar approaches, desires, and wants.
It all comes down to what we prefer.
Characters:Â Ojene Suinuet, Jophoix Suinuet
