[Discussion] 'Bigger is better'.

[Dravus]

Perhaps it's just me, but I've been seeing quite a few individuals boasting a rather impressive turn out to the events that they've set up or participated in during recent weeks. Now, whilst there's nothing wrong with that in itself it seems to be accompanied by a troubling mentality of 'bigger is better'.

When fifty to two hundred role-players all end up in the same location to indulge in a bit of role-play things tend to get more than a little hard to follow. It's probably one of the main reasons as to why I don't bother with any event that has bloated levels of participation - seeing the chat log move constantly before I've had the time to respond to anything doesn't really spawn much in the way of enjoyment for me.

 

Furthermore, I can't help but note that a lot of the participant's characters don't really have much reason to be there in the first place. There's exceptions, of course, but a lot of role-players seem to have their character show up to an event not because it makes sense for their character to be there but because the role-player behind the character has decided that they really want to be there. 

 

Of course, this isn't a thread to bash large events. I'm just curious as to whether anyone else shares my thoughts and more importantly I'd like to know exactly what can be done to tackle the various issues that arise in large events and seem to rarely be spoken about.

[FreelanceWizard]

I've often found that very large scale events present a number of issues, ranging from zone crashes (hi, EQ!) to hyperspeed text scroll. IMO, an event in an MMO is like a run of a large LARP, and character development is one of the few viable things to do in such an environment. Anyone who's ever seen the massive timestops at a large LARP can tell you that trying to do plot when you have 60 people standing around all wanting to do something is a recipe for disaster (or for spending 8 hours standing around doing very little). The problems range from everyone talking at once (chat scroll) to everyone wanting to play a role to even OOC drama that disrupts the flow. So, I tend to shy away from "Big Epic Plot Events."

 

Personally, I try, much as Kylin did with the recent Gala, to add more structure and emphasize character interaction the larger my event becomes. That seems to help mitigate many of the issues. Even then, I typically prefer my events to be under 25 people and closer to 10-15 if possible. I think those are the sweet spots that balance "mix of characters" with "able to actually get anything done." Do I mind going to larger events? Not really, though I usually feel that I don't get much RP done at them as the chat's hard to follow and people naturally start breaking out into smaller groups anyway -- a bit like people IRL at a large party.

[VonSchlichten]

Size is a good indicator of popularity in terms of events.  But I would have to agree with your "bigger isnt always better" message.  Some of the best RP I've had in my days has been in groups of 3-4 people normally.  When many people get thrown into the mix it gets hard to follow things. People get confused, OOC chat tends to then break out and then meh.

 

A "big" event in my eyes is 10+ people. Anything beyond that is hard to keep things straight.

[Ildur]

The chat woes could be somewhat lessened if ARR's chatbox didn't ALWAYS scroll all the way down whenever there's a new message. Having a massive ammount of players talking in the same location will always be a problem, though. It's one of the limitations of chat-based communication.

How messy it will be depends on the nature of the event. 'Scenario' type events work better with large crowds: a small number of characters that interact with individuals of a large crowd, creating some sort of turn-based system. For example, imagine an auction: the host would present the item to be sold, then start getting the bids. Or an storytelling/theatre thing where the storyteller/actors are the ones who get most charbox space (so to speak) while the crowd limits itself to passing commetary and reactions.

 

Furthermore, I can't help but note that a lot of the participant's characters don't really have much reason to be there in the first place

 

I do not think there's anything wrong with the player handwaving or making up reasons for having their character in the event. That is their choice, and no matter how much I think it doesn't makes sense for them to be there, they might have perfectly valid in-character reasons for it.

Let's assume there's a character that hates Gridania and the Elementals, so he wouldn't normally go to, say, watch a play in the amphitheatre. But maybe he's going today anyway, pushed by a friend. Or maybe he has a crush for one of the actresses. Or maybe he was just struck with curiosity after reading a pamphlet. Maybe he has to meet a contact there for some shady business. Some of those reasons will be obvious for other players at the event, others won't be so. But the fact that they are not does not mean there is no reason for the character to be there.

In fact, I'd say that having your character in an open event just for the reason of 'I, the player, want to be there' is a perfectly valid reason, too. Even if he hasn't OOCly come with an in-character reason, the other players will probably have no idea that he doesn't. And even if they do know he has no IC reason to be there, what is the problem? It's his choice and his fun. As long as he isn't trolling the event (which is an enterely different matter), let him be wherever he wants to be.

 

On a personal note, I do try to avoid events with the ability to convene a large ammount of people at the same location at the same time. As you said, the chatbox gets messy, with lots of text being exchanged, making you very likely to miss people trying to talk with you or important details of the event. So basically I avoid them for technical reasons, not because of the event's quality (or lack thereof).

[Sin]

I agree with you to a certain degree.

 

Certainly, I enjoy deeper interactions between a smaller amount of characters than shallow interactions between many characters, and I find it impossible to follow fast scrolling text specially with FFXIV's touchy log. I also find that when people don't mind their turn, or one person takes a little longer two posts might overlap and it can be just a bit awkward. Nothing that can't be worked around, but just a bit awkward and as such I do prefer smaller events.

 

 

As to the reason, I think part of being a good roleplayer is being able to create IC reasons that do not compromise your character's character, but still allow you to do things that at first might seem out of reach. For example, if your character is a loner and wouldn't have gone to the Gala, you could say that he was dared to go by a pushy friend, and just act out of place or nervous in the large crowd. Your character's character remains uncompromised and you the player got to go to a cool event.

[Magellan]

I typically avoid large events cuz I do not find them fun.

 

However, for many they are fun, and for many its a first taste of rp! So they do serve a purpose =)

[Rosekitten]

To admit I did want to go to the Gala, just to see what all the fuss was about. Though as far as my character he had zero means or drive to go to such a thing, let alone at that point the character didn't have a want to leave Limsa either

 

I personally like smaller events, just my preference. I'd rather get a group of five or so together and let everyone get a chance for interactions rather then have chat moving so quickly that you have no chance. Plus I feel it's more realistic if I stick to how my character would naturally act and not force things because of something I would like. 

 

So as far s a character... unless he is dragged to a larger event there are few odds e'll be seen at them (though the Captain is talking about being involved more,  I feel my character may be doomed ).

[Lament]

Perhaps it's just me, but I've been seeing quite a few individuals boasting a rather impressive turn out to the events that they've set up or participated in during recent weeks. Now, whilst there's nothing wrong with that in itself it seems to be accompanied by a troubling mentality of 'bigger is better'.

 

My mind went there. I just thought I should let you know that.

 

When fifty to two hundred role-players all end up in the same location to indulge in a bit of role-play things tend to get more than a little hard to follow. It's probably one of the main reasons as to why I don't bother with any event that has bloated levels of participation - seeing the chat log move constantly before I've had the time to respond to anything doesn't really spawn much in the way of enjoyment for me.

 

I have a hell of a time trying to follow very active chat, too. I come from a text-RP-don't-need-everyone-online scene mostly, so while I can keep up with big events in forums and the like because each bubble of interaction has its own separate thread, I have difficulty keeping up with fast-paced chat-based RP, too. It doesn't help I take my time with posts unless they're pure dialogue, so by the time I'm ready to respond, it's completely outdated.

 

Furthermore, I can't help but note that a lot of the participant's characters don't really have much reason to be there in the first place. There's exceptions, of course, but a lot of role-players seem to have their character show up to an event not because it makes sense for their character to be there but because the role-player behind the character has decided that they really want to be there.

 

I put my characters in situations I want them to be in all the time, but I also try to think of some kind of IC situation that would push them toward it. If, for instance, I wanted my antisocial researcher type to be in a party, I'd have the party be useful to her research in some way - a contact would be there, or a potential sponsor wants to meet her there. My meek mercenary would attend if it was a bodyguard type job.

 

But some people aren't that keen on always excusing IC activities with IC behavior, and that's okay too. I could just attend OOC and disregard the interactions as canon for my character, for instance. Or act completely OOC and just be there for the fun of it.

 

Of course, this isn't a thread to bash large events. I'm just curious as to whether anyone else shares my thoughts and more importantly I'd like to know exactly what can be done to tackle the various issues that arise in large events and seem to rarely be spoken about.

 

I get the most out of one-on-one, 3 people, and 4 people RP. I don't mind being part of big groups, but I have difficulty interacting with everyone at the same time. I like long scenes and too many people end up making them take too long.

 

That means I have no idea how to tackle these various issues.

 

But hey, I'm plenty happy with my personal, small group RP. I probably would only lurk in big events, one way or the other.

[YesGood]

I've been having an issue similar to this as I fear my LS will keep getting bigger (which is good) but that I won't be able to give enough attention to everyone involved (which is bad). So far my LS pals are really friendly to one another, which is spectacular. I don't want there to be cliques or sub groups that make new people feel left out--

 

But beyond the potential of having a large group (so far, 10 is pretty big to me and bigger than that is just daunting), there's the whole event coordination situation. The LS is based on having fights, fights are great and so far everyone's been able to keep on top of all the posts despite all their attacks, their opponent's attacks, and the constantly commenting peanut gallery. I think, in order to handle this, I'm going to have to try running multiple fights at one time with multiple Overseers in separate groups and slowly chisel it down throughout the event. One match at a time is just too slow for onlookers to stay involved, though, again, my LS mates are like... super heroes or something.

 

Will we be able to handle a group of 50 something people? There might not even be enough interest for that. But I'm dead set on letting everyone who wants to be involved be involved and making sure they're all content. So if that situation arises, I hope everyone will be willing to help me out and pitch in to make sure they and their potential new or existing friends are all having a good time. I'm not under the impression that bigger is better. Bigger is intimidating. The worst thing is -not taking the precautions to make sure that everyone who is going to come to your event is ACTUALLY going to have a good time-. No one wants to join a guild or an event just to be tallied up with the numbers for someone else to boast about. No one wants to be a background character, existing only to advance someone else's goals. That's not fun and it's not fair.

 

Big is fine. Big can be better. So long as the big is given as much attention and effort and care as the small. What I like to see is when an event is over, people are still standing around and talking to one another, forging IC friendships and rivalries. I love to see that happen and it should be the focal point, in my opinion, for any big group thing.