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I feel much the same way, ScourgeX. I adore good role-play, its challenge is part of its appeal. But I do also find it very draining, and I don't usually have the energy to engage in intensive RP interaction for longer than short bursts at a time. (Communication isn''t my forte; I'm a shy little coder geek, what can I say?)
But I've found that even on the most rigorously enforced RPI MUD I play (Armageddon), I can wander out into less populated areas and just gently interact with the gameworld and it's non-player-controlled inhabitants, which I find much less demanding, of my creativity at least. (I tend to play hunter/ranger/scout/explorer types.) I can still be in role, still feel like I'm inside my character's head, but I'm not faced with the intensity of having to respond quickly to my fellow players, and it's not going to matter nearly so much if I slip up and fall out of role. I can even just zone out and fish for a while, or do something equally meditative.
The beauty of RP enforced games is that, even when I'm not engaged in dialog, I can still be inhabiting (albeit by proxy) another world. I run much less risk of bumping into someone who will shatter the illusion, the dream, with his "d00d u dont wanna spar? u r so gay".
This is only my preference of course. Different people are going to enjoy different levels of RP, and I think some excellent points have been made here about the utility of RP optional MUDs. I just wanted to point out that "RP enforced" does not mean "RP only".
Maia
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