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-   -   What turns people from RP? (http://www.topmudsites.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6197)

coldshadow 08-17-2010 04:43 PM

What turns people from RP?
 
Hi.
OK, I see alot of people that seem to ask for muds that have no type of RP, my question is why?
What turns people away from rp, what keeps them from wanting to majorly developing a character and playing through a story and theme?
I find rp to be great myself, and so thats why I am curious as to why its not really liked but alot of people.

Newworlds 08-18-2010 01:48 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
From players that have been through NWA which is a serious roleplaying game they state that sometimes you just want to play and lay waste without having to worry about playing in a role, or staying in character. No rules man, no rules!

Kleothera 08-18-2010 11:16 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
Well. Its what NW said plus some people strike friendships with people and instead want to just talk to friends and hang out with the gang while smashing stuff up and leveling a character up (majorly developing the character in that particular way) instead of getting entangled in long complicated storylines that involve regular time online and investment of mental energies into plot development. Something one can want to do especially at the end of a hard day at work when one may not really have the energy to plot how to lay seige to the enemy castle or overthrow the other faction through political intrigue. RP CAN become a very time taking activity and some people dont really have the time, or the residual mental capacity to invest that much of time. When they return the plot has moved on and they have lost track of what has been happening and its frustrating to keep losing out on RP action because of work/school/college. My point is- its either desire for just do one's own thing, or preferring to socialise OOC/explore the world or raise stats in small installments or thirdly sheer frustration with repeatedly loosing the picture on ongoing RP because of RL stuff and giving up on the whole thing.

swampdog 08-18-2010 04:05 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
Roleplayers are my main turn off. The kind of people that want to talk about the age of their leather flasks are the opposite of fun for me - I'd rather roleplay develop through the actions of my character (so it's very dependent on the MUD actually being able to allow me to do certain things). This is opposed to the "emote for 2 hours in a tavern" style of roleplayer that self described roleplayers seem to enjoy.

scandum 08-18-2010 09:12 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
It's hard to RP outside your favorite genre. I'd really like to RP a smurf, smurfette to be precise, and roleplaying anything else just plain simply turns me off, big time.

GhostInAProgram 08-19-2010 02:51 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
I think RPing is fun, but when it's enforced it kind of kills it for me. You want to have fun and not have to be in character all the time and I think most people think that.

Other than that most people just think pretending to be someone else is just weird. :/

Molly 08-19-2010 03:23 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
I get turned off by the snotty attitude of certain roleplayers.

Once I played a RP enforced mud, where some players - mostly female - used to sit by the fountain in the main square, emoting endless rants about how the wind softly lifted the hem of their delicately flowered dress, or about rainbows forming in the water, when they dipped their dainty fingers into the fountain. The same players used to sneer at newcomers, for not reaching their self-appointed high standard of roleplay.

A standard that, at least to me, was narcissistic, longwinded, boring and added absolutely nothing to any plot. It was more about boosting their ego than interacting with other people.

Personally I enjoy moderate RP and admire players that manage to stay IC all the time, but I don't fancy forcing rules down people's throats. I also prefer a faster pace, where you don't have to wait out 6-line emotes from others, especially if they are slow typers.

Give me snappy one-liners at any time!

Oliver 08-19-2010 12:54 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
What turns me off is MUSH players, as a general rule. There's a concept among the MUSH community that ability at roleplay is how much you can overinflate your prose.

That turns me away from those sorts of RP communities. I find that most any MUD with enforced rp is okay, as long as it's not everyone constantly teapartying.

Newworlds 08-19-2010 01:56 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
Heh, that's funny. Many people complain about this, but it is a style of MUSH and some roleplayers to do long poses and with some even to the detriment of the roleplay.

This works in some environments with a small player base and patient players. In NWA it only works in small groups or settings. Most of these types of players have come to learn that with numerous players and alot of things going on, you have to turn to quality rather than quantity in terms of prose and pose. Good roleplaying doesn't necessarily equate to lengthy roleplaying.

Darren Brimhall 08-20-2010 06:20 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
Judging from their comments, Molly and GhostInAProgram have probibly visited Castle Marrach.
I'm not kidding, RP there is strictly enforced. Way too strict, because if you make a mistake, the simplist mistake with your character, you are made to play it--sorry, no excuses allowed. A rule that is strictly enforced by favored players towards the Staff they keep in power, and too bad if you're not in the loop.

I'm very glad I left that place.

Honestly, I don't mind RP if there is a proper logic to it that helps to advance both story and character, and the Players all respect the fact that their fellows will make mistakes. The whole point is, games should be both fun and relaxing. Who wants to play a game where any mistake can cost everything your character has worked for, or you're forced to pla with your arm twisted behind your back.

Certainly not me.


Darren Brimhall

Tristan1992 08-23-2010 05:08 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
Not everyone is cut out to be an actor. That's what RP is kind of. Acting a role. Many people just wanna have fun to paraphrase the Lauper. You might be aware that mudders have been pigeonholed into these 4 types (and in my experience is pretty spot on...) Explorers (who don't want to play a role they just want to poke their noses into everything and find out the truth) Achievers (who just want to be BMOC ;) Socializers (who wanna shoot the breeze with others, not pretend to be something else) and Killers (who are just being their psychopathic selves <grin>). Role Players are perhaps a 5th element here. Or a subtype of the Socializers if I were to hazard a guess.

Darren Brimhall 08-23-2010 09:39 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
In Second Life, a Builder, TedTheRushFan, had this bit of insight which he shared...


Games should be played for Fun, not Ego...


That right there practictly says it all on this matter. Too many egoists would spoil any game, and turn people off from RPing.


Darren Brimhall

GhostInAProgram 08-23-2010 11:59 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
I play for both ego and fun.

Darren Brimhall 08-24-2010 12:07 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 

That'll lead to problems in my opinion. Especially if what you wanted to do with your character doesn't come to pass, or other players (and the Staffers they support) frustrate youat every turn.

That's when Ego kicks in, and the trouble starts.


Darren Brimhall

Newworlds 08-24-2010 03:17 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
If only that were true. Come to us Milla.

Darren Brimhall 08-24-2010 10:18 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 

Acting has nothing to do with it. Its Imagination.

All we are are kids playing in the sandbox with our action-figures and barbie dolls, busily creating a world of make-believe that we act out in through our toys.

Enviorment is another factor, and why I stepped away from Marrach; it was too hostile and dominated overwhelmingly by power-players and the corrupt Staff they supported. There would have been no way for any sort of fair RP occuring with my characters, and I, like Keir's player, wasn't about to grovel and brown-nose my way back into their graces or for their pleasure...Especially when no one was ever going to allow my characters the chance to rise up again no matter what they did.

So, Imagination and Enviroment would be the two factors I'd look at with any MUD before 'jumping in'. Dose one allow the other to thrive?

Darren Brimhall

Newworlds 08-24-2010 11:56 AM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
For Tristan it has everything to do with it and acting is indeed a huge part of roleplay and some people do not wish to do that. For you, yes, it may be the environment but for many players it has to do with whether or not they wish to play a role or not.

Milawe 08-24-2010 02:15 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
I find this question really entertaining since we run an RP enforced game and an IC enforced game, but I know EXACTLY what the OP is saying because I get the same feeling whenever I play an MMO.

At the very heart of it all, MUDs are games, and people play games in very different ways. When I play a MUD, I prefer to find an RP setting because I enjoy writing, describing my character, and playing something very different than I am in real life.

In an MMO, however, I play on RP servers only if they offer serious PvP, and that's only because I find that PvP can be very fulfilling (and often easier) on RP servers. Also, I can't help but giggle to myself a little bit when I'm killing someone while they're delayed by their RP scripts. I find interacting with other players on MMOs extremely clunky, slow, and in general, not conducive to RP at all... especially with everyone going to Vent. When I'm typing out what my character is saying, it allows me a separation and distance that lets me play my character without being self-concious. There's absolutely no way for me to do that via voice. You'll very rarely catch me RPing on an MMO because I feel like it's a waste of time and absolutely NOT FUN. I like the graphics for dimensional PvP and positionals.

It's not very hard then for me to translate how I feel to how some people might feel on a MUD. People often feel that their avatar is an extension of themselves. Some people have no desire to RP and prefer to let the game mechanics and their stats build their character. Others are intimidated by RP and don't want to be forced to do it all the time. Others just don't want to work that hard when playing a game. Still others just think it's plain stupid. And ultimately, people aren't born equal. Some people have a gift for RPing and others have it in varying degrees. Like anything else, people who aren't comfortable or good at it, may not enjoy it as much as the people who like it no matter how good they are at it.

I do think that RP enforced games that are unforgiving of basic mistakes and don't make allowances for new players drive a lot of people to swear off RP enforced games forever.

Elvarlyn 08-24-2010 08:41 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
I think there's roleplay and roleplay.

You don't have to be hugely imaginative or have a post graduate degree in theater studies in order to maintain the basic standards of roleplay an IRE game or Lithmeria require. It's really not that difficult to NOT talk about pizza or world of warcraft on a public channel in a game set in a fantasy setting. I think the word 'roleplay' tends to conjure up images of page long emotes about the dew on a rose, when in actuality it can be as simple as putting yourself into the shoes of your character.

I'm a pretty terrible roleplayer. I never create characters with entirely different personalities. All my characters are simply reflections of me, placed in a situation where I can kill people at will and run a city or something. I just act naturally.

- Elvy

Sasca 08-24-2010 09:53 PM

Re: What turns people from RP?
 
For me, Roleplaying is a combination of imagination and acting. you imagine yourself to be a character, and you act the way that you think that character would. I agree with Elvarlyn, too- some of my characters are very much like me, with the exception of them having the abilities that I don't have. RP is quite a personal thing, really, isn't it? Some people revel in playing what they feel is a direct opposite of themselves- perhaps they play an all-out evil SOB or someone who's very akin to nature- but they still incorporate themselves into a character. People who want to play a MUD and just want to try life out as an Elven scout or a Demonic priest, well, they wouldn't have much fun on an enforced RP game. I personally don't get involved with MUSHes because I am turned off by the whole 'six-line emote' reputation that MUSHes have. I don't want to wait for a well-thought-out constructed response. I want the real-time action and the 'witty one-liners'. RP's often about how quick you are on your feet, and how well you adapt to playing someone who is not you. You get to think like your character, and react as your character would; for me, that's what makes it so awesome.

I'm amused by the idea that some people think 'people pretending to be someone else is weird'. How about plays, or films, or most TV shows? Watching someone pretending to be someone else seems perfectly acceptable- and yet the idea of actually taking part in a plot and making your way with a character seems 'weird' to some. I suppose what puts people off RP is what perhaps made them hesitant to join in with RP in the first place- it's wild, it's unpredictable, and if it's done well, it can be emotionally involving. I agree that having to be logged in to a certain place at a certain time (I know all about awkward times, as I'm a good five hours forward in timezones than most MUDders) is a real pain in the arse, but I've played a lot of MUDs and good RP and fun wasn't all about being at a town meeting or whatever. The most fun I've had has been small meetings, impromptu gatherings and chance meetings in a tavern somewhere.

Anyway, Roleplaying will always be down to what an individual enjoys. It's imagination, it's acting, it's running about as an elf/demon/lord/cleric whatever. I suppose it boils down to playing a game where you're not just yourself; and for a lot of people, that can be a welcomed break.


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