Discuss What makes a good RP

[Doukeshi]

I get to post first in this wonderful new Area *is deleriously happy* Ahem.. I must say that this is a wonderful idea for a new area and I ma glad to see the Battle arena gotten rid of ^_^.

Anyway, back to the point. What makes a good RP. As most of the seasoned RPers at OB know, it is very difficult to create a good long lasting RP. I myself have participated in very few that last much longer than two weeks max. So this I put to you.

[b]What makes an RP last?[/b]

[b]What makes people want to join an RP?[/b]

[b]What makes for inovative and entertaining involvment?[/b]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]I know, it's so hard to make a good RP that people are interested in *prods everyone who is in 'Only You* @.@ anyway.

I think what makes an RP last is, above all, an intriguing and original storyline....one that stands out from others going around. Of course, the people who sign up are also important on keeping it alive, if they don?t post then it?s not going to get anywhere (quite obvious, really)

What makes people want to join an RP? Hmm, I guess everyone has their reasons, for me, I usually enjoy RPs that involve magic and more mystical things, stuff that you can?t do in a modern world. I also love romance, but that really is just me.

I think also with regards to entertainment, people that sign up should put a lot of effort into their sign up and make their characters original, now there seems to be too many [B]'Really serious, hates everyone, wants to be left alone'[/B] characters. I admit I do have that for one character in particular but I alternate between happy and depressed >.>;

Um...I can't think of anything else now, but this thread should be interesting to read and probably helpful for new Rpers who haven?t settled yet.[/COLOR]

[Sakura]

[color=navy]Exellent Idea! I'm so happy with the new changes to The Arena. My thanks to the Mods and Admins for working hard.

Interesting point you brought up Doukeshi. As you said, it is sometimes quite hard to create an RP that will last, but most of them will eventually die out. I haven't experienced a single RP go to the end. I've posted this in a general answer to your questions.

I personally think that it's all about the storyline and plot is the most improtant part of an RP, and that's usually the hard part. Because if it's too simple, no one will want to join, and if it's too complex, no one will want to join, so it has to be around the middle area. Not simple, but not complex. For example, quite a while ago, I made an RP that had a very long recruitment section and not many people signed up for it, though I still started it and it lasted about a week. If something is too long, a lot of people will have the tendency to turn away from it instead of reading the mass of typed words.

It also depends on what genre the RP is and what genre the person likes. Like my favourites are Fantasy(duh![Anyone seen me in Adventure]) but I will still sometimes join ones that aren't, but I usually don't do as well in them.

And another thing is the content of the RP. Like the rating of it, and the level of content inside. If the RP is quite violent or sexual, the creator will usually put a rating up next to the title or at the top of the RP in the topic, because there are things that people are uncomfortable with. Like Imi lately created a shounen-ai RP(Not picking on ya Imi) and some people don't like male/male relationships.

For people to join an RP, it must be imaginative and interesting. If it's dull then it'll remain dull and no one likes a dull RP(How many times did I use "dull"?). Personally, I enjoy RPs that are fantasy world based and/or quite a bit of magic involved. It's the same for getting people to enjoy the RP. I love adding action, like fight scenes when you're caught up in the rage of the imaginary battle that you're typing on the screen. Dragon Warrior's RPs are usually humurous types, which is very entertaining by what he asks the certain characters to do, which are ones he's usually created beforehand.

In general, everyone wants an RP with some sort of action to keep them happy and interested in the RP, the reason RPs die out is because the action fades away until there's nothing happening and no one wants to post.

I can't really think of much more to say because it's 11:00pm over here and I gotta get to bed for school tomorrow morning.

Just wanted to share some thoughts because I saw Doukeshi's thread.

*Yawn* Goodnight,
From one very tired Wolf who doesn't want to go to school,
~Ohkami[/color]

[James]

[color=#707875]Making an RPG last is one of the most difficult things you can do. If you look at the Kill Adam site that Alan developed for me, you can read my thoughts on the chapter system, which is a system designed to make RPGs last longer.

Basically, there are a few reasons why RPG die early, in my opinion. One, they get too confusing -- people just don't know what's going on. Two, people don't know what to post...they get writer's block and they just can't push the story forward. And three, the RPG gets dull and boring...and people get tired of it being in the same place.

I really feel that chapters eliminate most of this stuff. For one thing, chapters mean that the story is always given a direction and guidelines, by the creator. So even if you are having total writer's block, you have at least a general idea of what you can write about.

Also, if every character isn't involved in every chapter/scene (the same with a novel or movie), it gives people the opportunity to have a break between posts and to collect their thoughts. There is nothing worse than posting ten times quickly and then dumping it because you're too tired to post more.

And chapters ensure that things not only move ahead, but that situations change. Settings change, circumstances change, but everything is within the same overall story (or story arc). I really believe that this helps to eliminate boredom and annoyance in most cases.

So, this system is relatively young. Only a few RPGs are using it (my Kill Adam ones and Shy's hero RPG). But I sincerely hope that more of you try it out. It definitely helps things.

But in terms of the other stuff...there are so many elements there.

An exciting concept always helps. Just look at Sage's Final Fantastic Survivor RPGs -- cool concept there. A unique spin on something that is already established. There are definitely plenty of RPG innovators here at OtakuBoards, which is great to see.

So I think concept is the main thing. It has to be attractive to people. No matter how high the production values are, people may not like the concept. Or the RPG may include ideas that people just can't get excited about. Sometimes even the most well-written and produced RPGs fail to really hit the mark, because they don't feature concepts that people are interested in at the time.[/color]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='doukeshi03][b']What makes an RP last?[/b][/quote]

There are a lot of things that someone could say for this...for me, I think it's a mix of overall commitment from the RPers, how fresh the RPG stays and how structured the RPG is. Obviously, you need to keep you RPG somewhat fresh throughout or else people will get bored and stop posting. Not everyone has a superhuman level of commitment. Also, the RPG has to have some structure to it, too...if it's all just free-flowing, then the RPG could possibly get stale in the later goings.

[quote][b]What makes people want to join an RP?[/b][/quote]

What makes me want to join an RPG is a unique and/or interesting premise. For example, I'm more partial to comedic RPGs than anything else, so it doesn't take much to hook me in there, but for a serious RPG to make me want to join it, it has to really catch my eye. Not that I'm such an amazing writer that I'm judging the quality of RPGs all the time, but I think people get what I'm saying lol.

[quote][b]What makes for inovative and entertaining involvment?[/b][/QUOTE]

Similar to the first question, I think that the abililty to keep things fresh and the overall commitment of each of the RPers is integral to keeping an RPG fresh and entertaining. If people aren't intrigued, they won't be interested in posting, and a quality product won't be made, simple as that.

[Kieko]

[color=navy][i]Here's my wisdom ^_^:

[b]What makes an RP last?[/b]
That's an easy one: Intrest. People have to be interested in the RPG. If it gets too boring or the posts reach a point where the people can't relate their character to it or there are too many posts about a single character, people will stop posting. You must include at least a few people other than yourself in your posts and it often helps to add a twist to the story in your post. It helps even more when it's about a different character.

[b]What makes people want to join an RP?[/b]
Well, for me, there are several factors that help my reasoning:
~Mood (if I feel like I'm caught up in my dreams, I will join a fantasy-like RPG and if I feel more down to earth I will join a realistic RPG, somthing that I can relate to in everyday life.)
~RPGs (the number of RPGs I'm in at the time will effect whether or not I think it's wise to join a new one. If I'm already in almost more than I can handle, I won't join any other ones.)
~Storyline (I like a story line that I can relate to in everyday life. Maybe not directly, but emotionally. Like, if someone in a fantasy RPG had suffered a loss, I would be able to relate even if I couldn't relate to the battle they lost their loved one in.)

I don't know if that's what everyone takes into account when they join an RPG, but that's what I do.

[b]What makes for inovative and entertaining involvment?[/b]
There are two basic things I would take into account:

1) Have an everchanging story. Add new twists now and then. Like I said before, it helps if the twists are about characters other than yourself because then they feel like they are a part of the story if someone else is giving them the spotlight and will post and may get others interested in the story as well because they will have a different posting tecnique and that may be enough to draw other's attention.

2)Have a wide range of characters. Like the others said, you don't want to have too many people who are withdrawn, serious, depressed, blah, blah, blah. While I do admit that I have made characters like that and that most of the time it makes a good character, it also helps to have some happy people in an RPG. Also, people in an RPG, you can change your character's personality through the story. I did. My characters use to be withdrawn and such, but I changed them into good people with friendly personalities. (Except in certain situations, then anyone could be angry or such.)


Hope that helped!
~Kieko[/color][/i]

[Owari Nai Yume]

[COLOR=Purple][SIZE=1] [FONT=Times New Roman] well doukeshi, i only role play one-on-one, but i think i can help.

My role plays last a VERY long time because they are kept interesting and new characters and events always come into the story. If you do that right, your RP could last for a few months maybe. (mine lasted for 4 months and there's a sequal RP using our dead character's reincarnations.)

Battles, mystery and romance add to the plot of the story and make it more interesting. If there are two characters that are best friends during the story, it would be a major plot twist if they turned against each other. (like my character joined the darkness and her best friend formed a resistance against her.)

Romance, if you like it, adds feeling and a sense of depth to the story. If your character has someone they love in a role play, the relationshp can become important later on or just be there because it can be. Say in a battle, the person your character loves gets attacked or killed. It builds to the plot and makes it more interesting.

Mystery is something that i love in a role play. The sense that something strange could happen at any moment or when there are people that you feel just can't be trusted or can turn on you at any moment. And depending on who you role play with, mystery and darkness can be a bad thing. Keep in mind the people you're role playing with and make sure you keep in mind what they like. If you role play with darkness and angst and you're role playing with someone who likes humor and happiness, try not to dive them away with creepy stuff. (it happens.)

well, if that helps in any way or made any sense to you at all. you're welcome. but i doubt i helped, i tried at least.

the end.

~Jun[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Blade15]

One of the things that makes a good rp is the people in it and how serious they are.

[Venge]

Making an RP last is the hardest out of the questions, because, not just of the dullness, or storyline, it's also because of the people who sign up for the RPs. Some may be experienced people, but some can be newbs also. They make a 'good looking' sign up, but when they post, they mess things up, post too often or too late or sometimes, not at all. The people like that make the other RPers angry, to the point where they don't want to post anymore.

Having others join the RP is the second hardest. Some like original RPs, set where it has NO relatively to any anime, show, or anything of the sort. Others like RPs based off shows, mangas, or anything of the sort. Personaly, I like both. But making an original RP is harder then making a non original RP because of thinking of the originality within the RP itself.

Now, having 'inovative and entertaining involvment' is probably the easiest, because when you think of an RP, you have a pretty good idea what things are going to be in it: violence, sexual content, adult language, ect. Posting within the name what is going to be in it may attract the attention of others. Myself, I really don't care whats in it, as long as it's fun and I like the story.

Thats it for now. Bye!

-Matt