RP is Fun! ... Right?

[Gar]

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.

[faceman7381]

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. 

 

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!

[Asyria]

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. ^^

[Magellan]

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!

[moody]

  

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. 

 

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. 

 

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.

[Naunet]

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. 

Heh, 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.

[Ellie]

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.

[Aysun]

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.

[Naunet]

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

[Magellan]

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

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

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 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

[Aysun]

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.

[plutosams]

I think RP is definitely meant to be fun; otherwise why on earth are we doing it.  Personally I feel fun is derived from learning to do something new, a different way or by pushing my boundaries a bit.  RP loses its fun when I stop expanding and growing my characters.  

 

I have been in certain groups where the fun fades because players are too serious all the time.  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.  Some of the most interesting characters I have interacted with are laughing in the toughest of situations. 

 

Like others have said here disagreements within the community have more to do with style than anything else.  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.  Anything we can do to improve the community creates a better game and in the end we all win by having more fun.

[Magellan]

@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.

[Aysun]

@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 :love:

[Eva]

To me it's about treating these kinds of situations realistically and dealing with the consequences of our IC actions, whatever they may be.

This statement sort of matches my view on what I consider to be the most immersive or most fun RP.  When characters are behaving as they ought, and events are happening realistically - sometimes bad things happen, sometimes good things happen, sometimes things are just dull and we scrape together our own entertainment.  But I agree insofar as I don't like it when characters "win" all the time, or are eternally successful.  By the same token, it's just as offputting when drama is forever constant and there's never any sort of respite or celebration.  I like the middle of the road where I can be dragged along on the dangerous, gritty missions... and then get dragged along [usually via peer pressure for my own part] to "tavern RP" or [my favorite] "tea party RP" - which sounds a lot more dull and uninteresting than it usually winds up turning out to be.

 

Good RP, to me, is a realistic balance - one that provides multiple avenues for developing characters and sharing background realistically.

[moody]

@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 :love:

 

Yep. THIS.

[ArmachiA]

When it comes to RP, I (And therefore my guild as a whole) only has a few rules: Don't Godmod, Don't Metagame, Stick to Lore (You can bend it, don't break it) and don't make players uncomfortable (Unwanted sexual advances, racist remarks, etc)

 

After that... Funny rp, Dramatic RP, crazy RP... do whatever you want. Do what makes you feel immersed. I tend to like both fun and dramatic RP and sometimes I like a little romance.

 

Do what makes ya happy, man.

[Asyria]

I'm all for having a hard time and incuding conflicts in stories (after all there's no heroes without conflicts!) but there's a limit to how much drama I can take.

I've had friends whose characters had it hard and mine and others were helping them out... and things were starting to get better... but instead of giving everyone a break and leaving room for someone else to have some hardships, they just went batshit crazy with the horribles.

I was like... nope. I'm out of this one.

Then I rolled a new character.

(this was on a nwn PW server, not in a mmo, so the playerbase was pretty damn limited)

 

So, no happy ending is one thing... but never having any happy at all is just... not my thing.

[Eva]

Do what makes ya happy, man.

 

I think maybe that's the point of this thread? Some RP is more fun to some folks than it is for others? Different tastes, different preferences, different reasons why folks won't all ever exist in one all-encompassing linkshell because different styles draw different sorts of RPers with different interests.

 

In short, what makes ya happy may not always make another RPer happy. I know this was touched upon earlier in this thread. And while it's your character to do with as you please, if you want to interact with a particular individual or group, it's also important to give some acknowledgement to their styles and preferences.

 

To give an example, I could never belong to a group where members ran around performing heroic feats all the time, patted each other on the back, and all went out for ice cream afterwards and there was never any [in-character] sort of drama. That might work for some folks and if it does than that's great, but for myself I need more than what would feel to me to be the RP equivalent of a diet of candy and cake all the time. I need the meat and popotos - the grit and the drama of [again IC] hurt feelings and sorrow and betrayal and guilt and all the other sort of stuff that makes real life more than just that. I can understand the view though. Real life can suck sometimes, and people want to get away from it to a place where they can be happier by living vicariously through their happier characters. I understand it. And I'm not knocking it at all. (Can you tell I'm concerned someone's going to read too far into this and take offense?) It's just not my own individual preference. Real life sometimes ends on a down note, and I like RP that immitates real life.

 

But we're a community of RPers with a broad spectrum of preferences and styles across a number of topics. The fact that so many interesting (and sometimes unfortunate) debates crop up is testament to this fact. This isn't something that should be regarded negatively but rather celebrated. Generally any new RPer coming to the RPC is going to be able to find some group of like-minded individuals to RP with, regardless of his or her style. And this is a very good thing. That we can all come here to the RPC and speak to each other and express these opinions while still [usually] remaining tolerant of others' differing opinions is also a good thing.

[Gar]

First off, you guys are awesome. I have a hard time figuring out what to read on the forums all the time, so this was a good look into how the community is going.

 

I just wanted to pop in and add another 2 gil (As Eva calls it) on the subject.

 

Mostly I wanted to sort of clarify my "happy ending" comment. I didn't mean to make it sound like everything had to have an 80's cartoon moral at the end of every RP session. Nah, the world is gritty and stuff happens that is horrible. That is part of the drama and the fun and the storytelling.

 

I think mostly my point is part of OOC communication. Which falls into the category a lot of you have brought up about style preferences. I totally get that people have their own styles they dig. That is awesome! And yes we sort of need sub-categories so we can have our group of peeps that see mostly eye-to-eye with each other.

 

I totally agree that if you're getting upset that there is a good chance you're putting yourself into it possibly too much. But I'll at least admit that I have to put some of myself into it or I'm not having a ton of fun. Like when I read a good book, I'm emotionally attached to my characters and the characters around me. (Not to say that I throw tantrums and have to have everything my way because I'm attached. No.)

 

Really all this just stems from wanting this community to be everything I hope it can be. I'm going to meet people I don't like. There will probably even more that don't like me. That's life. But I'm trying really hard to respect even those I don't like because they're trying to have fun, too.

 

So all-in-all, I just hope there is more OOC communication than sometimes I've experienced in the past. I hope to play with a lot of you, so I'll say it now: If I ever disrespect you or hamper your fun, tell me! We're all on the same team.

[LandStander]

Ah, this thread makes me happy :moogle:. I am glad to see so many people understand how important conflict is to overall character development. I tend to play characters who lie, cheat, steal, and use deception to cause conflict (because life is full of conflict), but also give them comical traits so that people might actually want to be his/her friend. 

 

Its hard not to invest some of your OOC personality into your character, but as long as you keep the feelings of the two separate then you should be fine. I think the main reason real drama happens is because people forget to separate OOC and IC. If you find yourself getting upset IRL then just break the RP off. Screw immersion if it will save you a headache and possibly a friendship. At the end of the day, its just a game.

[Rhio]

So all-in-all, I just hope there is more OOC communication than sometimes I've experienced in the past. I hope to play with a lot of you, so I'll say it now: If I ever disrespect you or hamper your fun, tell me! We're all on the same team.

 

In the years I've been playing with the community, there's always been a very strong level of OOC communication and a willingness to discuss potential triggers before and after any given interactions. To use an obvious example, Eva and Rhio have been at odds more than once, but Eva and Rhio's players have always been on good terms. (At least to the best of my knowledge.) When something potentially straining has come up, it's been discussed and sorted quickly and without undue drama or hand-wringing.

 

If you want a happy ending, that's completely valid and no one is going to fault you for it. There's nothing wrong with just going out and having adventures, nor does it make you more or less mature than someone whose character is being put through the wringer. Nor does it mean that someone assumes your end goal is for things to wrap up nicely on a laugh with everyone being friends again. But there are lots of different sorts of happy endings.

 

Oddly, this lines up nicely with the Final Fantasy series as a whole. Every single game is all about a group of people off to take part in an adventure, but each game also differs in its scope and the impact of those adventures - and the happy ending the characters receive. In Final Fantasy IX, everyone's alive and whole by the end of the game, and for all the pain that happened there's a sense that what was lost can be recovered. In Final Fantasy X, several main characters are dead, and the entire point of the story is coping with the loss of these people and honoring that sacrifice.

 

Everyone's entitled to their preferences, and it doesn't make one style better than the other. I know what I tend to like, as evidenced by Rhio's history and the people I tend to play with, but that's not the only way to play. Work toward the happy ending you want to have.

[Averis]

Like others have said, everyone has their own take on role-play, but it is healthy to be able to take a step back and realize that at the end of the day we all are here for the same thing. This is why LS/FC are a great way to find a group that meshes with you the best, and when you mingle with others you can try to go with the flow or learn whom to avoid. No one should be forced to play together if it just causes each side frustration, but that should also not mean that we can't stick together in the grand scheme of things. We are a small community in general, playing on servers filled with non-role-players. I would like to think that when push comes to shove we'd have each others back.

 

As for my role-play mentality,

 

Life has its ups and downs, and I'd like to think that for most people their life is on average pleasant enough, but sometimes has spikes of bad events. I think that kind of balance in role-play makes the most sense. Any person or character that has to deal with constant bad events would probably become extremely depressed or worse.

 

For me, I don't really go into role-play with an expectation of how things will turn out. Like life, I hope for the best and try to setup my character to be determined enough to strive for a good result in their life. But as I play I just take things as they come, just like I do in life. You can't prepare for everything and sometimes "crap happens". It's interesting to try and figure out how your character would react and change.

 

I don't usually plot out a story for my character (except for their background) as I rather "live" in the game-world.

 

I think this method has helped me be able to get along with most role-players over the years. As long as they aren't godmodding, metagaming or breaking the lore etc, I usually get along.

 

My characters usually have had some amount of traumatic event in their background as a catalyst to get them out into the world. I usually setup their personality to be optimistic and easy-going. I think that helps balance out those that like to play the more rambunctious and shifty characters.

[Kyatai]

Big fan of complex, interactive and expansive (aka involving/enhancing more than one person's story) storylines, and storylines with 'real' consequences for IC actions. But, like others have said, keeping the Drama to a realistic level and... sharing the spotlight.

It gets really, really tiring when "X" is =always= in some kind of ZOMG! situation and no one can get a RP story in edgewise. We all want to get some limelight- some like the spot light more than others, but we all want to be 'seen' in some way.

 

But yeah, everyone RPs differently.

Some people's RP styles irk me. Some I can ignore the small annoyances and still enjoy the interaction. Some... I absolutely LOVE... but no one way is the RIGHT way, so we all need to either accept it, or just step away from the RP that bugs us and let people have fun that enjoy RPing how they like.As long as the "RP is true RP... and not griefing in disguise, I can deal.

 

(that said, some RPers enjoy RPing against the griefers... I usually just don't care to spend time doing so... but its often amusing to watch! Especially if the RPer is -very- good at it... haha)