Suggestion: Character interaction areas

Well, they way we did it in the last RP I was in was basically with open and closed considerations. If people wanted it to just be between themselves and one or two otther people they would just send what ammounted to a turn to each other in private chat and then when it was done one of them would put it all together into a post and use font color to differentiate who was who in the story and then have a total word count. Then when it was graded basically the grader would halve the total and have that be what each person was considered to have wrote so that if one wrote more than the other but it was bad or one wrote less but it was better it all evened out.

For writing with large groups of people they did an open collaborative piece. Basically it was a post by post roleplay in a thread where more or less anyone could hop in. In this case people would put a current total word count at the end of the post that had how many total words they had contributed to the writing at that point and when it was done they were graded with what they actually contributed to the writing as the word count. This way someone could not just come in, say a few sentences, and they get rewarded equally to someone who had a larger role.

With a little tweaking a similar system could easily work here. Since this RP seems to work off number of characters instead of number of words you could do something like this:

10000 characters = maximum reward of $100
Grade on how well written it is. Take off points for huge grammar and spelling errors. Take off points for content errors. Example: John climbed on Snorlax's back and took to the skies, flying off into the sunset. Snorlax can't fly, so that can't happen.

Right there is a basic start, a bit more tweaking and polishing and I'm sure a great system could come out of this.

 

No, that can be left to blogs, or whatever you have here.

But no one listens to me anyway.

EDIT: And if you want to meet/interact with other people, you can do so in the Main RP.

 

Mm the PM then post thing probably works, but with the patience around here I don't think it would be very effective, at least not in this RP anyway.

The collaborative story thing sounds good though. I think in effect would be a nice edition to the board. My only concern is that it might lead to only one or two super threads, and the rest kinda just trickle off. I suppose the fact that you'd need to do a solo to capture a pokemon might remedy the problem, but some of those epic stories we see sometimes would prboably stop happening, which would be a shame.

I think the best way to do it is combine most of whats been proposed. Maybe something like

1. A sub-board would be created specifically for off-topic RPing, although at first it would be with limited RPing for the sake of testing purposes, and if it takes off well enough then the mods can build upon as they wish

2. If it does take off, we need to make a clear distinction between our usual RPing and this new RPing. Probably the best way to go is to make 1 thread that is sponsored and ruled by the mods, and the rest of the threads are little role playing collaberations or clubs that any person can create or join.

3. Expansion of stories. Possibly offer the option of collaborative, ongoing objective based stories, perhaps with some extra incentives for reaching a certain point (i.e, 10 people post mark, 20 people, etc.)

4. Cont. Expansion of stories. Instead of completely objective based stories (case in point, only capturing pokemon) maybe give the option of posting on topic, relevant stories that offer different incentives. For example, perhaps have a story dedicated to finding a specific item, or even a story of a battle and if the story's good enough, maybe even give them an actual win for their trainer stats (just throwing out ideas)

5. Shut up. Eat cookies. Be merry

 

Add in some RP back story and occasional RP plot points to drive a meta-plot and the collaborative writing should fall into place actually. Especially when there are meta-plot related events set up by the people in charge that offer bonus rewards for participation.

That would set a sturdy foundation. At that point the RPers have a living, expanding, and ever changing world to RP in.

 

Great idea. Kinda what I was thinking of with the mod sponsored RP but that really adds alot more detail then what I could come up with. The fact that there's room for a progressive story that is sponsored by mods who also drive the backstory, it kind of paves the way for an entire new class of moderators.

Perhaps full time (or volunteer mods) who watch over the RPG and continually drive the backstory through random posts or events that are held bi-weekly or whenever. Kind of an URPG in an URPG lol

 

It would make a good setting for various factions as well. Like in the games how there are the evil teams and the player characters who fight against them. With a decent back story, people who love to RP, and well thought out meta-plot scenarios every so often the plot would almost take on a life of its own and drive itself.

 

I like the idea of an off-topic rp section; however, I think that the Trainer House idea should still be implemented within it. An informal area where anyone can enter or leave at any time sounds more appealing than a structured rp, or even an overall plot, to me. Everyone needs a breath of fresh air now and again.

I'm also not a big fan of the collaborative writing idea as it is now. May or may not post more on that later-- for now, I'll just say that rping should be treated as rping, not as writing a story. It should also not be rewarded as such, whether that reward comes in the form of a captured Pokemon or not.

 

Well, really any roleplay is telling a story so why not have a meta-plot that will give characters something in common to discuss? If people just sit around writing random stories that don't follow a plot from story to story and only interact with the other RPers during battles then that make it more or a collection of fan fictions with a battle system than a real RP. A story involving just a single person or written by a single person really doesn't fit the definition of a roleplay, at least in my experience.

It would be like playing D&D by yourself and having no reason to delve the dungeon because there is no DM weaving a tale.

 

Yeah. There are those, like me, that mostly write Stories for other characters than our "Player Character", but I'd love a place for Ryoku (the character in my Avi and Sig) to break loose.

 

Just so you know, you can write collaborative stories in URPG already. It's a bit tricky, and I can't remember whether or not the information on it is in any of the stickies in the board, but it is possible.

And this does seem quite pointless, imo. I know you're saying it could be used to meet other people, but seriously... you'll see their posts around the forum anyway. Also, if you both have AIM, most likely you'll meet through that at some point or another, most likely through a FFA.

I can see where you're going with this, and why you'd want it, but I don't think it'd add anything much more.

 

ALAS, SOMEONE WHO SHARES MY THOUGHTS.

 

Just because you see someone's post or talk to them in AIM doesn't really mean your character's have met. You aren't you character and as such your knowledge is not your characters knowledge. It would add a lot more for those that enjoy creative writing, which really is what an RP is.

 

I never suggested that there should be no meta-plot, or that roleplays shouldn't have a plot-- I was actually in favor of the off-topic roleplay subboard. I asked that a pointless, no-plot thread should be made available within the larger rp area, so that people can cut loose should they choose.

By all means, provide plots too.

 

If this isn't some sort of member meet-up thing, and you're trying to have your characters interact rather than yourselves... then I don't see why this is any different from the Main RP in the National Park. /mytwocents

 

In terms of D&D, we actually do already have something similar to this, though it hasn't been demonstrated here on BMG since it's only been a week since we opened.

We call these RP's, Mission RP's, and they function essentially like a D&D Game. One or two Rangers serve as the Dungeon Master for a group of trainers and take them on a journey that they have planned and outlined. The journey is not necessarily focused on capturing pokemon, but rather on dealing with issues such as missing people in the Park, a natural disaster, or fighting off poachers. Each mission helps move the overall Park plot forward, little by little, through the members.

 

Unless you're talking about Risk, I have no idea what you're talking about... xD EDIT: Nevermind, I completely skipped the second part of your post - I should know what a mission is, I was IN the trial xD

Sormeki - I don't see your point. Your character's knowledge will never be able to exceed your own knowledge, as you are the one controlling them and they will never learn things for themselves - you will always be in control of what they learn.

In URPG, barring the National Park (I think, I don't really know much about that), you don't even need a 'character'. You are you, posting in the forums, battling, doing contests.

I'll admit, having 'RP' in the name can give a bit of a false idea, as if you have to be a character and such, but really the RP's just saying how this is fictional - they're virtual Pokemon and it's virtual battling. If you want to have a character, fine by me, but it isn't and I doubt it will be the main aspect of URPG.

 

Here is an example of a Mission. This is actually a trial we ran back when we were getting the Park set up. The most recent Mission we've had was related to Easter.

http://www.pokemonelite2000.com/forum/showthread.php?t=96222


I see nothing wrong with implementing the Trainer House as a sort of unofficial rp gathering place, pub-like setting. It's similar to the Lookie Thread and probably something people can do for fun.

 

Eh, I think regardless of the fact that we have something similar to what we're proposing, the actual question is should we have a new role playing area withing URPG.

I think that it wouldn't hurt to try, I mean I get what Pichu Boy is saying, but the point of an RPG is to uhm, well, role play. I mean, I don't know about you, but I do not role play on AIM (unless you can't battles, which I don't) I come to the URPG to create a character through literary skill, and possibly have alot of fun with other people in the process. However, the lack of in-story character interaction around here kinda brings the RP feel down, which is what Sormeki is saying.

How about we try and see if there's a feasible foundation to creating something that we can all agree on, and then once we come up with something, vote on if we actually want it implimented or not?

 

The problem with trying it right now - is that you want to try it. Right now.

Currently, the URPG is in a state of chaos simply because there's not enough staff right now to keep up with all the ambitious BMG members. We're just trying to get things in working order and to even get caught up (in areas like Grading). Perhaps once things are settled, an RPG area could be implemented - but proposing it right now probably isn't going to go over well with the mods in the section.

Also, why not roleplay over AIM? Have you tried doing that yet? You can make an AIM chatroom and invite members who are interested in just an RP - with nothing to do with the URPG. Anyway, BMG has a huge roleplay section. You can even go there with your URPG characters and play them out. :/

 

While their knowledge will never exceed the players knowledge, they can still learn. Yes you control what they learn and them learning something new about the world around them in a way forms the basis of a roleplay. And, provided the people understand that player knowledge does not equal character knowledge, makes for more interesting RP sessions. Then it is just a matter of people understanding that in game and out of game actions are different. That's one of the huge things that need to be kept track of with a roleplay heavy environment. From what I have seen here so far though that doesn't seem like it would be an issue. Everyone seems pretty laid back and friendly.

It by no means is something that has to be implemented right away. It's just an idea to think about that, when things calm down, could be a fun addition for the people that want to use it. The problem with AIM roleplaying is really one from a more literary as aspect. With an instant messenger you are expected to be just that, instant. That wouldn't make for well thought out and eloquently worded posts and would deny the ability to edit grammar and sentence structure into something both enjoyable and easy to read. Not to mention there are plenty of people on the internet, maybe not here as I have not had the pleasure to talk with anyone on AIM here yet, that don't use full complete sentences in IM. Story writing isn't for everyone and this is by no means something that is being suggested as being mandatory. Just a fun little addition to be at least tried out when time and resources permit. If it doesn't fly it doesn't fly, but you never know until you try.