I understand completely where you're coming from, Moonfire. Burnout in RP can occur just as easily as burnout in anything else we experience in life. And this burnout can be caused by the smallest, and at times the most insignificant, of details or events simply because of how these triggers affect how we think and feel. Taking liberties with lore is one thing that completely destroys RP for me, for example. To me, that is a huge deal. To others, lore is little more than a guideline.
Like you, I try my very best to only RP to the strengths of my character as earned in the game. However, I have had to make myself come to terms with a certain amount of creative license over the years. This comes into play by creating a differentiation between the game's static story (where everyone gets to be the "Chosen One") and the sandbox (where everyone gets to create a story of their own). The sandbox, out of sheer necessity, can have only a limited interaction with the static story. After all, there is but one "Chosen One" while there are thousands of player characters. And many players will have multiple characters, which would mean that you play multiple versions of the "Chosen One" simultaneously. This clearly does not work for the realm of RP.
A great deal of frustration lies in wait for any RPer who does not draw a distinctive line. Now I'm not saying that the way I'm about to discuss is the only or even the best method of making this distinction. Instead, I'm giving insight into my own walk through the chaos of the gaming structure and my happy RP zone of happiness.
My RP background stems from pen and paper games. Some of these games integrate a novel or multiple novels along with an endless number of published supplements. Vampire: The Masquerade is the game that I give credit for most shaping and honing my RP abilities (or lack thereof). For anyone familiar with the original World of Darkness, you know that Storytellers (the venue's version of a Game Master) must either integrate a huge meta-plot or choose to ignore the published meta-plot entirely. Certain events, according to canon, DO happen. And certain characters, according to canon, DO cause these events based on their own successes and failures. Players can easily be swallowed up in such an overarching story and get lost, feeling insignificant. This is why White Wolf has chosen not to give a meta-plot in the current World of Darkness setting.
If the White Wolf analogy does you no good then try to think of playing a character of your creation in your favorite story. Take the Lord of the Rings, for example. Frodo is the Ring Bearer. Period. The Fellowship of the Ring is formed by specific characters and YOU are not one of them. Period. This means that you are not the Chosen One. However, this does not mean that you are not vital to the plot, or even to the Chosen One's success. Take the 1.0 characters. All of them cannot be the single Chosen One, but they can all be vital members of an army that stems the tide of destruction, working together to save the world.
The game developers have to give a story. True, they do not have to act like you are the Chosen One in the story but non-RPers want (and sometimes even need) to feel special. This aspect of the game exists for the benefit of the majority. RPers are the minority even on RP servers that are marked by the devs as RP servers in name. What I have to do is understand that when I'm playing through the game's story line, I'm getting the privilege of experiencing the "main character's" life in the avatar of my choosing. My character, according to no one else, is the main character. This is simply the skin in which I see events unfold as I am reading and experiencing the story. This is not real for my character. Instead, this is the storyteller's way of letting me see the world that I am walking around in.
So while I have distanced myself, understanding that I am not the only person in existence who can save the world from an impossibly powerful evil, I can take a look at significant events and strategically place my character into those events as he advances. This is Final Fantasy. There are HUGE battles that take place. I may not be the Chosen One, but I can very well be a soldier in that battle. And I determine how his praises or curses are sung by others. I may not be on the flag ship in an armada, but I am on a ship in the armada and I have a role to play. The "main character" cannot succeed if I am not there. Without me, this character would be overwhelmed. I am important. I am significant. And so are you.
This is how I reconcile my character with the story. I find a way for my character to fit into events. I may not be the greatest Gladiator of all time but I am certainly one to be respected. And other Gladiators can attest to my deeds and know of my hard work and dedication. Look for opportunities in the story as you play it out and insert your character wherever you feel is fitting, and do so with pride. You have worked hard to advance your character. You deserve a place of prominence. You are exceptional. You are a hero.
Once you give yourself permission to realize that the story is about Frodo and his friends, and that you're just getting to experience that story as a <insert race/gender and class/job here> so that you understand the world around you and feel closer to the environment's uniqueness and beauty, playing a proper role in that setting can be very satisfying. And once you're satisfied with how you fit into the story, all you have to worry about is some random dolt ruining your immersion because he's a vampire/ghost/mummy/mage from Planet X who has come to rid the world of Lost Lambs due to a cataclysmic plague in an alternate dimension that is never explained because his imagination rivals that of a rotting opossum carcass. And that's why you choose your RP partners with care. Your story matters. Make it fun for you.
Now I hope that, even if my endless rambling does not help you in any way, you will listen to the counsel of others before me and stay on this server with us. You don't have to RP to be friends with an RPer. Have fun here, and you always have the option to join us in RP should the mood strike you. Remember, you are always welcome to friends.
And, in closing at long last, remember that if RP is made impossible for you that you can always blame the Amish. Trust me, they won't know. They won't be playing the game and will never read anything you say on this forum.
Just for the record, my introduction post warns that I am verbose.
Like you, I try my very best to only RP to the strengths of my character as earned in the game. However, I have had to make myself come to terms with a certain amount of creative license over the years. This comes into play by creating a differentiation between the game's static story (where everyone gets to be the "Chosen One") and the sandbox (where everyone gets to create a story of their own). The sandbox, out of sheer necessity, can have only a limited interaction with the static story. After all, there is but one "Chosen One" while there are thousands of player characters. And many players will have multiple characters, which would mean that you play multiple versions of the "Chosen One" simultaneously. This clearly does not work for the realm of RP.
A great deal of frustration lies in wait for any RPer who does not draw a distinctive line. Now I'm not saying that the way I'm about to discuss is the only or even the best method of making this distinction. Instead, I'm giving insight into my own walk through the chaos of the gaming structure and my happy RP zone of happiness.
My RP background stems from pen and paper games. Some of these games integrate a novel or multiple novels along with an endless number of published supplements. Vampire: The Masquerade is the game that I give credit for most shaping and honing my RP abilities (or lack thereof). For anyone familiar with the original World of Darkness, you know that Storytellers (the venue's version of a Game Master) must either integrate a huge meta-plot or choose to ignore the published meta-plot entirely. Certain events, according to canon, DO happen. And certain characters, according to canon, DO cause these events based on their own successes and failures. Players can easily be swallowed up in such an overarching story and get lost, feeling insignificant. This is why White Wolf has chosen not to give a meta-plot in the current World of Darkness setting.
If the White Wolf analogy does you no good then try to think of playing a character of your creation in your favorite story. Take the Lord of the Rings, for example. Frodo is the Ring Bearer. Period. The Fellowship of the Ring is formed by specific characters and YOU are not one of them. Period. This means that you are not the Chosen One. However, this does not mean that you are not vital to the plot, or even to the Chosen One's success. Take the 1.0 characters. All of them cannot be the single Chosen One, but they can all be vital members of an army that stems the tide of destruction, working together to save the world.
The game developers have to give a story. True, they do not have to act like you are the Chosen One in the story but non-RPers want (and sometimes even need) to feel special. This aspect of the game exists for the benefit of the majority. RPers are the minority even on RP servers that are marked by the devs as RP servers in name. What I have to do is understand that when I'm playing through the game's story line, I'm getting the privilege of experiencing the "main character's" life in the avatar of my choosing. My character, according to no one else, is the main character. This is simply the skin in which I see events unfold as I am reading and experiencing the story. This is not real for my character. Instead, this is the storyteller's way of letting me see the world that I am walking around in.
So while I have distanced myself, understanding that I am not the only person in existence who can save the world from an impossibly powerful evil, I can take a look at significant events and strategically place my character into those events as he advances. This is Final Fantasy. There are HUGE battles that take place. I may not be the Chosen One, but I can very well be a soldier in that battle. And I determine how his praises or curses are sung by others. I may not be on the flag ship in an armada, but I am on a ship in the armada and I have a role to play. The "main character" cannot succeed if I am not there. Without me, this character would be overwhelmed. I am important. I am significant. And so are you.
This is how I reconcile my character with the story. I find a way for my character to fit into events. I may not be the greatest Gladiator of all time but I am certainly one to be respected. And other Gladiators can attest to my deeds and know of my hard work and dedication. Look for opportunities in the story as you play it out and insert your character wherever you feel is fitting, and do so with pride. You have worked hard to advance your character. You deserve a place of prominence. You are exceptional. You are a hero.
Once you give yourself permission to realize that the story is about Frodo and his friends, and that you're just getting to experience that story as a <insert race/gender and class/job here> so that you understand the world around you and feel closer to the environment's uniqueness and beauty, playing a proper role in that setting can be very satisfying. And once you're satisfied with how you fit into the story, all you have to worry about is some random dolt ruining your immersion because he's a vampire/ghost/mummy/mage from Planet X who has come to rid the world of Lost Lambs due to a cataclysmic plague in an alternate dimension that is never explained because his imagination rivals that of a rotting opossum carcass. And that's why you choose your RP partners with care. Your story matters. Make it fun for you.
Now I hope that, even if my endless rambling does not help you in any way, you will listen to the counsel of others before me and stay on this server with us. You don't have to RP to be friends with an RPer. Have fun here, and you always have the option to join us in RP should the mood strike you. Remember, you are always welcome to friends.
And, in closing at long last, remember that if RP is made impossible for you that you can always blame the Amish. Trust me, they won't know. They won't be playing the game and will never read anything you say on this forum.
Just for the record, my introduction post warns that I am verbose.
