Discuss Controlled VS. Uncontrolled

[Redemption]

[size=1]This question has plagued me a fair bit while I've been making RPGs lately. The question of whether making the RPG controlled rigourously by myself (AKA the creator of an RPG), or to let people have creative freedom, where they make the storyline up as they go.

What do you others look for in an RPG, controlled or uncontrolled wise. I know there will be a lot of different opinions, but it seems I'm having a lot of hassle with this question of late.

A response with a supporting arguement is most welcome.[/size]

[Mr. Maul]

[size=1][color=DimGray]I believe that in order to be successful, one must combine the best of both worlds. A happy medium, if you will. Those participating in the RPG should be allowed to have the freedom to do what they want, however, as the creator, you must also be able to guide them in the direction you want the story to go.

Notice I said guide.

The players should have some boundaries, or else the story will go nowhere fast. It's like the invisible barriers in video games (the edge of the universe). You must give the players the illusion that they can go/do what they like, when in fact you are leading them on where you please.

It's just a matter of personal discretion.


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[Sakura]

[COLOR=Purple][SIZE=1]Hey, long time no see.

The first step to trying to figure this problem out depends on the type of RP it is. I've known you for quite a long time now, and I've seen all sorts of RPs being released by you. I'm just gonna use two of yours as examples, nothing against you, but I think you'll get it easier if it's used against your own stuff.

The school one you did, "Welcome To Your Lesson on Love", where you made all the players have a character of the opposite gender they are IRL. That one had no control, and everyone did what they want. In the end, characters were in several places at once, no one knew what was happening, everyone was going crazy with posts, and it died an early death, slightly over a month.

Another one is "Fast and Furious: Monaco Blaze". You started that one with a set posting order which was a bad idea because some people didn't post for a long time, yet you did realise that problem and changed it to free range. It lasted to barely a month with 2 pages.

Now, these are different, with one more controlling than the other. The free range went crazy and allowed people to explore, but there was no aim to it. The one with the posting order killed itself because it took so long for people to post and get through the roster that everyone lost interest.

But yes, it is very much about balance. I honestly think posting orders are bad ideas because not everyone can stick to them. Depending on how fast your RP goes from the start, judge whether you need to give a post limit per day. Working in Chapters might be a good idea because then there's a certin goal to head towards, then once that's accomplished you can move on.

But yeah, the RP needs fences and a path, but the path has to have a bit of leeway for creativeness, but not so much that it totally goes off track and in the wrong direction.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[TheResplendent]

[font=tahoma]In my eyes, the ideal way a RP should be i believe i expressed around the time i put Sinister Nation up. Control to a certain degree is not only useful but probably essential to the success of an RP. But to a light degree, as i tried to promote through my RP (along with many other examples from past RPs). This included merely stating what the general idea of what certain [b]days/chapters[/b] should entail. Whether it be [i]"Students, interact with each other!"[/i] or [i]"Everyone undertake a mission of your choosing!"[/i]. Examples like those offer a degree of guidence while allowing for an ample amount of creative freedom.

What should be included in the general guidelines from the creator are things absolutely [b][i]not[/b][/i] to do, such as in my SN RP i stated that eventhough people could choose whatever they wanted as a mission to showcase their talents, not to kill off any of the important to the story NPCs (Corbin, Murdocks, etc). I however do not believe in restricting chapters or days to only a certain amout of people to post. This restricts people and is risky due to possible cases of unreliability on the parts of those who are required to post. It isn't fair to everyone to have to wait on someone who isn't as dedicated or just cannot post. An example of this is The Boss's [u]War in the Shadows[/u], in which Di.fm was the last person required to post in the chapter we left off in, but never did. Granted i noticed Boss went MIA shortly afterwards, but the example remains valid as it pertains to the guidelines being too restricting.

It may appear to be the best way to convey best certain parts of an RP, but i believe even if certain people are not meant to participate in an event going on, they should atleast have the freedom to post about different things, in which to occupy their own time while it's their turn to engage in the main storyline.

A greater abundance of room for creative freedom in the hands of the participants is extremely important. But just as an assembly line has a foreman to oversee things, depsite the workers being the most essential part, and RP's creator should have an idea of the general direction of where the RP should go.

It's really as simple as that, IMO. Everyone should be on the same page in the long run when participating in an RP, despite each character requiring a noticeable amount of individuality.[/font]

[Sandy]

I definitely agree with everything that has been said in this thread so far, but just to add my two cents, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that RPGs are meant to be interactive.

Making people just write out your own story as [I]you[/I] imagine it will go is not roleplaying. I can say this with my own experience. If you tell the other players what to write too much, you'll soon find out you're playing by yourself. ;P

So balance is definitely the keyword.

[Redemption]

[size=1]It seems like it's a very delicate balance - something that will take a long time to master, if you are able to master it at all.

Then I will also add this question to the mix:

[b]Which do you prefer: Controlled or Uncontrolled?[/b]

You can add your two cents into the mix with the first question as well.[/size]

[Sakura]

[COLOR=Purple]Oooh, having a straight answer for this one's tough, because as it keeps being said, it all depends on balance.

But honestly, I have to say I prefer that it's controlled with a strong purpose to it, with leeway for a bit of wavering and personal creativeness. My shot on this is because if it's uncontrolled, I lose inspiration for what I'm writing in, and what exactly is supposed to be happening. I've found that I need a guideline of sorts to help me post or I can't reach my full potential. It's really quite sad but I must continue to blame the terrible writer's block that has been plaguing me for over a year. My inspiration is incredibly low and I find it hard to think of good quality, long posts.

But yeah. I personally prefer controlled to uncontrolled.[/COLOR]

[Boo]

[size=1]If you want to control the whole RP, just write a book and don't bother having other people write whatever you want them to write. Though, normally you'd have to pay people for such labour.

For an RPG you just need guidelines every now and then, like plottwists, brought in the story by the creator. The rest should be pretty much improvisation, in my opinion.[/size]

[Lady Asphyxia]

[size=1]One of my favourite RPGs of all time [terrible though it was -- I'm talking Old School RPG, with terrible post quality and winceable story] was when, by accident, I ended up being a mind-reader.

In the post before me, a character said something 'to himself' -- which I thought meant out loud. So my character commented on it. Apparently it had been meant to be a mental thing -- and thus my character became a mind reader. I really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the flexibility of being able to do that, without another team member screaming 'you can't do dat!!!!"; it was easy, as you go.

On the other hand, SYF is the RPG that's stayed with me for many, many years, and Liamc2 and I plotted out everything that was going to happen. In this instance, for us it was more about creating a story [one we've yet to finish, granted...].

So I do like controlled RPGs, but I would love to be in an uncontrolled 'as she flows' RPG [with a little direction, of course.]
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[Rachmaninoff]

[QUOTE=Redemption][size=1]This question has plagued me a fair bit while I've been making RPGs lately. The question of whether making the RPG controlled rigourously by myself (AKA the creator of an RPG), or to let people have creative freedom, where they make the storyline up as they go.

What do you others look for in an RPG, controlled or uncontrolled wise. I know there will be a lot of different opinions, but it seems I'm having a lot of hassle with this question of late.

A response with a supporting arguement is most welcome.[/size][/QUOTE]Being fairly new to the RPG scene, seeing that I?ve only just started in one for the very first time...but I have been reading some of the ones going on before I joined the boards. I had to wait on that since registration was closed to new members for a while there. Anyway, from what I?ve seen I would have to say that I prefer some type of control since the ones where the creators don?t seem to have a direction for people to go tend to burn out and just die.

I think the players need creative freedom and yet still need the creator to weave elements of the story into that as things go along. I?m sure it?s possible to have events or plot twists that the creator just alters to fit in with what direction the players are going in. [QUOTE=Redemption][size=1]It seems like it's a very delicate balance - something that will take a long time to master, if you are able to master it at all.

Then I will also add this question to the mix:

[b]Which do you prefer: Controlled or Uncontrolled?[/b]

You can add your two cents into the mix with the first question as well.[/size][/QUOTE]In the end I can?t say that I have a preference as like I mentioned I only just started in an RPG for the first time. My opinion is based completely on observation rather than any form of experience. But another argument for controlled is on some level I feel I lack creativity for making up a story, so to at least have some guidance helps me to know where to begin. Not total control, but just enough to help me get started.

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1]In my opinion you definitely need a mix of both. There are some older RPGs (like really, really old) where you go whatever you pleased, no control at all. They got far, but it was pure luck if you got past three or so pages. No one there to make a twist.

Buuuut, like Boo said, if you want to control the whole RPG you might as well write it yourself. I sure wouldn't like writing what people say all the time. I don't really like posting orders or chapter systems, either.

Right now for my current RPG, which is turning out to be pretty sucessful and fun as ****, I'd say it's a balance between both control and uncontrolled. If anything, my current RPG isn't that much controlled. I just use the underground to say where we're going with things and leave them to it. Trust my players, I do, lol. Like I said I don't like chapters, I just use them to give it a more "story feel" (no posting order, no posting limit... you know, it's more like 'event systems' where the chapter changes when a new event starts).

So yeah, RPG creators should [I]direct[/I] their RPG, not so much control it. And trust their players, too. Bleh, I guess I'm no expert, but a lot of the RPGers I'm currently RPGing with have some brilliant ideas. I've actually discarded my own ideas for the game to have their ideas in there, instead. And... so far, s'working =D[/SIZE]

[Redemption]

[size=1]It seems my choice of words has confused some people. Apologies.

Without a better word on hand, I meant controlled as in the creator of the RPG has input as in events, twists, chapters, so forth. Whereas uncontrolled was meant to be the people participating in the RPG made the storyline themselves (the creator just gives them a starting point/storyline).

But I do tend to agree with most people on the subject. Thanks for the help. It seems I'll have to work on my newest RPG a little more before I put it up in the Inn.

Comments are still welcome.[/size]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR=DarkRed]I?ve been part of both; RPG?s where the creator other than to provide the initial story line didn?t control it at all and others where they added twists and events to the storyline.

In the end I like a small level of control from the creator better, enough to give you direction and yet at the same time not too restrictive so you can be creative with what you put into the story.

I?ve seen ones that were rigidly controlled and though they had promise, most of them ended up outright dying quickly. So definitely ones that are controlled on a lighter basis, although total freedom is fun, it?s far too easy for things to get out of whack and just fall apart. [/COLOR]

[Zen]

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I've basically given up RPGs due to time and creative difficulties (writing stuff still though), but I think that controlled RPs tend to come to fruitation better and more coherent than those that are allowed to run wild. While the latter is fun and interesting, it tends to get muddy as the stream goes on.

It really depends on what you are going far and if you have plot points and an ending that you want to get through. If you do, than some control would be necessary, if not complete control.

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