I'm actually writing a pretty heavy plotline with 3-4 other people on the "Writing" staff (We kinda consider ourselves GMs, it's a really complicated story) that is getting underway currently with The Night Blades and the Grim Echo (Though we want to expand it to other people/LS's eventually) and I have a ... one relatively popular character (Subjective, still like 85% of the rp community has no idea who she is) so maybe I can answer a few questions.
When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.
While this CAN be true, the most popular person in my circle is actually a Miqote male. He is just really, really, popular among the circles he and I tend to inhabit. And when new people show up, he tends to grab attention fairly quickly. We make fun of him, but he just has a super charismatic character.
I think females are probably more popular in general though because female characters tend to be more interested in idle chit chat, making friends, and such. I've noticed a lot of male characters are either A. "I don't like them bars RPs, gonna stay out and hang with my circle." or B. "Trying to get a girlfriend." the latter also explaining why girls are more popular
. Obviously, this isn't to say all of them are like that (or that girls aren't like that either, let me tell you some stories bout my super popular friend up there) but it's just a trend I've noticed since I started RPing in MMOs 10 years ago.
People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.
MMO's are a very different kind of RP then Table Top games. People in MMOs aren't forced to interact with your character or are thrusted into a plotline with them. Because of this MMO RP is like the real world, the super friendly, or super manipulative (Depending on evil or good) characters - like people - tend to stand out more. A stand offish, bookish character isn't going to get noticed as easily in MMO RP just like they aren't noticed in Real life. Stand-offish people tend to have a smaller circle of friends than more open, charismatic people - who have very large circles. This is normal and if you want to play that KIND of character that's what's going to happen. Friendly people are easier to relate with, people don't have to jump through millions of hoops to get to know them. This is coming from someone who plays BOTH kinds of characters.
Armi is just way more popular than Loki at this point in the game. Armi is awkward and really wants friends, so she runs head first into large crowds to try to talk to people - often with hilarious results. She is the kind of character where it's easy to let your defenses down. She's harmless and she likes most people and people respond to her. I've gotten tells saying how adorable the character is, she has people romantically interested in her, and (though she doesn't even realize it) she has a ton of friends - inside and outside of my usually circle. I can't RP her shy though, she isn't as approachable shy, so I make her "shy" (Blushes in large crowds, blushes if she's touched by a man, wrings her hands together, backs away from the crowd a bit when new people show up, but never stops talking) and it comes across.
Loki is almost the opposite. She would rather read books than talk to most people, when she does talk it's usually in a dry, monotone voice and she's saying something cynical. Loki doesn't want, or need, popularity. She has her small circle of friends and she's perfectly okay with that. Most people she meets at events she may forget. The biggest thing I give her to interact with people is that she is a flirt and like Alcohol. Loki is much much harder to get to know, though, and like 95% of people won't try. And that's okay, it doesn't make sense for them too. I'll still rp her in large crowds or at events, but I understand the character I'm rolling with. People don't respond to people like her easily (It does happen, Loki does make friends, just not as easily as Armi).
When I used to play Tabletop games, I always rolled characters like Loki, and it worked because that group was forced to interact with me. They had to, the GM forced them. There's nothing like that here.
If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.
I'm not sure on this one, but maybe they were in the middle of a giant story? I know that like a week ago in Ul'dah, Armi was stabbed by our big bad guy and the chaos of that sent a lot of people involved in that storyline into a tizzy. We had a few people come over and ask what the issue was, but as they didn't know what happened either no one had answers. A few walked away, probably upset we couldn't explain beyond "Chick got stabbed" but a few people actually hung out with us till the plotline was over - not so much worrying about the back story but more about that moment.
Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell strangers whats going on. Those involved are worried about those not involved judging them for the story ("Ugh this Armi girl got stab, how attention whore-y") or will argue with them about lore (Has happened in THIS GAME) or just not agree that is something that would happen (We were in Ul'dah, I'm sure some people were like "The guards would have stopped that *scoff*") I work fairly hard on this plotline - probably about 6-7 hours a day trying to keep it organized and planned out, it only takes ONE person who doesn't agree with what your doing to derail it. It can be scary. It's better when you get stabbed to go to people also involved - like your FC mates - because there is no judgement. They know exactly what happened and they already agreed to the story. Outsiders didn't agree and they don't have to.
Above I said I was to get more people/LS's involved. Dennthota, who plays a bad guy alt with us, has been putting feelers out there about using our Garleans in one shot stories and small plotlines. I think that's whats going to work best for our villains. Our big story expanding to people who would have to be pretty dedicated to it (And not give up on it halfway through) would be really hard, though we treat the plotlines as more episodic than a constant narrative (So we can take breaks from the Grimdark). However, doing one-shot stories with the community would be very feasible and less scary.
I really don't think it's a hatred of you wanting to get involved, but more of a fear of judgement coming from you.
If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.
This can take FOREVER. Like, a really long time to get people on the same page as you. Our plotline above? Only just started about 2 weeks ago. We spent the rest of the time RPing introductions and getting to know each other and working on our own thing. It only started BY ACCIDENT. Honestly, it really wouldn't have kicked off at all if our characters hadn't cared about each other in someway. The character introductions and character building were essential for the thing to even get off the ground.
But it was slow. It was so slow. It's STILL slow. We're only in the "introduce the plot and the villains" part. Getting everyone on the same page is mindbogglingly slow. Every character has their own agenda, and I have to make sure that agenda is being moved forward - even a little bit - for someone to be interested. Selfless RP is rare.
Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.
I never get contacted for one-on-one sessions after meeting and getting along with someone. Usually I just accidentally see them in the same area and rp with them again... are you supposed to contact people?
I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:
I think this kinda goes with above and the mentality of "Why would my character be there?" to which most of the time the answer is "They wouldn't." and while some people will Meta their character a bit to work around it, most people will not.
You have to be extremely patient. Super patient. THE MOST PATEINT. lol.
I'm a guild leader, so it's probably a lot easier to shove my ideas in people's faces - I can't even imagine how hard it would be for people who don't have that kind of luck.
On OOC Communication as said above: OOC Communication is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. The most important. Unbelievably important. There are a lot of people involved in the story I'm writing for. Most of them have talked to me OOCly about it. I send tells to anyone who may get hurt, or has a prominent part in the story, to get their boundaries and their permission.
When one guy burst in with 3 other guys to fight two people, one of whom was drugged? Talked about the entire time. Where the arrows hit, the dice rolls failures/successes, if they could be kidnapped, everything was talked bout while the fight was occurring, to make sure everyone was comfortable (And yes we even had to get permission to drug one of the people above).
Armi getting stabbed in the Middle of Ul'dah? The line that was laid out to me was that Fillion and Armi would just talk, but I gave him my permission to hurt her if he needed to get out of there, and he did. We talked about it before hand, though not what would happen specifically.
I just did a plot where a bunch of bombs went of and I'd say 10 people were involved. Before hand I said "If you go to this event there is a chance your character may be hurt. If that is uncomfortable to you, don't go." We mapped out how many people should go, the logistics, etc before hand and relayed them to people.
It's so much work, but it has to be done.
All that said, there should be a thread or something about wanting to do plotlines or showing your plotline so people can maybe get involved. Or something.
When I play a female character, I get much more roleplay. Instantly with the same or other groups.
While this CAN be true, the most popular person in my circle is actually a Miqote male. He is just really, really, popular among the circles he and I tend to inhabit. And when new people show up, he tends to grab attention fairly quickly. We make fun of him, but he just has a super charismatic character.
I think females are probably more popular in general though because female characters tend to be more interested in idle chit chat, making friends, and such. I've noticed a lot of male characters are either A. "I don't like them bars RPs, gonna stay out and hang with my circle." or B. "Trying to get a girlfriend." the latter also explaining why girls are more popular
. Obviously, this isn't to say all of them are like that (or that girls aren't like that either, let me tell you some stories bout my super popular friend up there) but it's just a trend I've noticed since I started RPing in MMOs 10 years ago. People don't want to roleplay with quiet bookish characters, or characters who are more neutral with their emotions. People want a character who over-reacts or is vibrant about X, Y, Z.
MMO's are a very different kind of RP then Table Top games. People in MMOs aren't forced to interact with your character or are thrusted into a plotline with them. Because of this MMO RP is like the real world, the super friendly, or super manipulative (Depending on evil or good
) characters - like people - tend to stand out more. A stand offish, bookish character isn't going to get noticed as easily in MMO RP just like they aren't noticed in Real life. Stand-offish people tend to have a smaller circle of friends than more open, charismatic people - who have very large circles. This is normal and if you want to play that KIND of character that's what's going to happen. Friendly people are easier to relate with, people don't have to jump through millions of hoops to get to know them. This is coming from someone who plays BOTH kinds of characters.Armi is just way more popular than Loki at this point in the game. Armi is awkward and really wants friends, so she runs head first into large crowds to try to talk to people - often with hilarious results. She is the kind of character where it's easy to let your defenses down. She's harmless and she likes most people and people respond to her. I've gotten tells saying how adorable the character is, she has people romantically interested in her, and (though she doesn't even realize it) she has a ton of friends - inside and outside of my usually circle. I can't RP her shy though, she isn't as approachable shy, so I make her "shy" (Blushes in large crowds, blushes if she's touched by a man, wrings her hands together, backs away from the crowd a bit when new people show up, but never stops talking) and it comes across.
Loki is almost the opposite. She would rather read books than talk to most people, when she does talk it's usually in a dry, monotone voice and she's saying something cynical. Loki doesn't want, or need, popularity. She has her small circle of friends and she's perfectly okay with that. Most people she meets at events she may forget. The biggest thing I give her to interact with people is that she is a flirt and like Alcohol. Loki is much much harder to get to know, though, and like 95% of people won't try. And that's okay, it doesn't make sense for them too. I'll still rp her in large crowds or at events, but I understand the character I'm rolling with. People don't respond to people like her easily (It does happen, Loki does make friends, just not as easily as Armi).
When I used to play Tabletop games, I always rolled characters like Loki, and it worked because that group was forced to interact with me. They had to, the GM forced them. There's nothing like that here.
If I offer to help it is instantly pushed aside for someone.
I'm not sure on this one, but maybe they were in the middle of a giant story? I know that like a week ago in Ul'dah, Armi was stabbed by our big bad guy and the chaos of that sent a lot of people involved in that storyline into a tizzy. We had a few people come over and ask what the issue was, but as they didn't know what happened either no one had answers. A few walked away, probably upset we couldn't explain beyond "Chick got stabbed" but a few people actually hung out with us till the plotline was over - not so much worrying about the back story but more about that moment.
Sometimes it's pretty hard to tell strangers whats going on. Those involved are worried about those not involved judging them for the story ("Ugh this Armi girl got stab, how attention whore-y") or will argue with them about lore (Has happened in THIS GAME) or just not agree that is something that would happen (We were in Ul'dah, I'm sure some people were like "The guards would have stopped that *scoff*") I work fairly hard on this plotline - probably about 6-7 hours a day trying to keep it organized and planned out, it only takes ONE person who doesn't agree with what your doing to derail it. It can be scary. It's better when you get stabbed to go to people also involved - like your FC mates - because there is no judgement. They know exactly what happened and they already agreed to the story. Outsiders didn't agree and they don't have to.
Above I said I was to get more people/LS's involved. Dennthota, who plays a bad guy alt with us, has been putting feelers out there about using our Garleans in one shot stories and small plotlines. I think that's whats going to work best for our villains. Our big story expanding to people who would have to be pretty dedicated to it (And not give up on it halfway through) would be really hard, though we treat the plotlines as more episodic than a constant narrative (So we can take breaks from the Grimdark). However, doing one-shot stories with the community would be very feasible and less scary.
I really don't think it's a hatred of you wanting to get involved, but more of a fear of judgement coming from you.
If I set up plot, it is put aside for other rp with other people.
This can take FOREVER. Like, a really long time to get people on the same page as you. Our plotline above? Only just started about 2 weeks ago. We spent the rest of the time RPing introductions and getting to know each other and working on our own thing. It only started BY ACCIDENT. Honestly, it really wouldn't have kicked off at all if our characters hadn't cared about each other in someway. The character introductions and character building were essential for the thing to even get off the ground.
But it was slow. It was so slow. It's STILL slow. We're only in the "introduce the plot and the villains" part. Getting everyone on the same page is mindbogglingly slow. Every character has their own agenda, and I have to make sure that agenda is being moved forward - even a little bit - for someone to be interested. Selfless RP is rare.
Even after introducing myself and roleplaying for a few god hours, I wont be contacted again for further roleplay - by anyone.
I never get contacted for one-on-one sessions after meeting and getting along with someone. Usually I just accidentally see them in the same area and rp with them again... are you supposed to contact people?
I've trialed runnng a few plots for myself and others to get involved with such as:
- IC Dungeons runs for 'research' or adventuring purposes.
- A plot dealing with poachers and chocobo chick thieves.
- Researching Leviathan.
I think this kinda goes with above and the mentality of "Why would my character be there?" to which most of the time the answer is "They wouldn't." and while some people will Meta their character a bit to work around it, most people will not.
You have to be extremely patient. Super patient. THE MOST PATEINT. lol.
I'm a guild leader, so it's probably a lot easier to shove my ideas in people's faces - I can't even imagine how hard it would be for people who don't have that kind of luck.
On OOC Communication as said above: OOC Communication is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. The most important. Unbelievably important. There are a lot of people involved in the story I'm writing for. Most of them have talked to me OOCly about it. I send tells to anyone who may get hurt, or has a prominent part in the story, to get their boundaries and their permission.
When one guy burst in with 3 other guys to fight two people, one of whom was drugged? Talked about the entire time. Where the arrows hit, the dice rolls failures/successes, if they could be kidnapped, everything was talked bout while the fight was occurring, to make sure everyone was comfortable (And yes we even had to get permission to drug one of the people above).
Armi getting stabbed in the Middle of Ul'dah? The line that was laid out to me was that Fillion and Armi would just talk, but I gave him my permission to hurt her if he needed to get out of there, and he did. We talked about it before hand, though not what would happen specifically.
I just did a plot where a bunch of bombs went of and I'd say 10 people were involved. Before hand I said "If you go to this event there is a chance your character may be hurt. If that is uncomfortable to you, don't go." We mapped out how many people should go, the logistics, etc before hand and relayed them to people.
It's so much work, but it has to be done.
All that said, there should be a thread or something about wanting to do plotlines or showing your plotline so people can maybe get involved. Or something.
![[Image: tumblr_n92fndN0EH1rujdn8o1_500.gif]](https://33.media.tumblr.com/449e130ac31106ec8aeda3d0f121d76b/tumblr_n92fndN0EH1rujdn8o1_500.gif)
