Suggestion: Character interaction areas

I disagree with this. All roleplaying does not have to be instant. As a roleplayer on AIM for several years now, I've seen introductions take up ten pages in Microsoft Word. It might take a few hours to post it through AIM, but I assure you it is very possible to have an enjoyable roleplay there and yes, most roleplayers to use proper grammar.


However, your suggestion to have this in the future is a very likely outcome.

 

One of the problems with RPing through IM is Timezones. I know from experience with other internet RPs that whilst most players tend to live in the US, players in vastly different timezones may miss out as there will only be a limited window during which they are on at the same time. I'm not saying they'll miss out completely, but it may restrict who they tend to RP.

I like the idea of having an RP section where players can group play, possibly thing of having seperate sections for sepearate locations if it gets set up. As for wanting private RP, possibly have a system whereby a thread is marked as private and requires the creators permission to join (not sure how this would be policed though)

 

Just had a novel idea- (at least, it seemed to me to be novel)

Say that right next to the National Park entrance, there's a juice bar. People can go in, sit down, order a round, and then either RP in the thread (with cross-chatter indicating that it's a noisy, happening joint) or indicate that they'd prefer to have a 'private' conversation in an AIM booth, or table.

It'd give us a separate, dedicated place, while only taking up one thread while we evaluate popularity. And one thread shouldn't be too much for our already overworked mods, right?

 

When it comes to making well written stories depending on the amount of people involved in it hours might as well be instant. In my several years of experience as an RPer I have found that RPs that are done over a forum are a more well thought out and enjoyable read than an RP done in AIM or any chat room for that matter. I'm not saying that chat RPs aren't good. They are perfect for people that want to RP amongst themselves and do it quickly. Forum based it really more for RPs where the intention is for multiple people, both in and out of the RP, to read the story. Forum based RPs tend to, as a group of RPer, last longer before disbanding and attract larger amounts of people.

I personally have nothing against AIM RPing. I just only find it useful for something like a fantasy quest to slay a dragon more than a quest to be the greatest pokemon master. Chat RPs work better for a heavy emphasis on playing the story, whereas forum RPs make a great medium for telling the story you are playing.

Now here is an idea, find a way to combine the two. The story telling aspects being done in a similar aspect to what is being said here and then do the more "playing the story" aspects done on AIM or IRC. If done right, with enough interest it could make for an amazing feature of the RP.

 

Mm. The main problem here seems to be that half of us feel that it's too much of a problem right now, and the other half feels that it's something that we should consider because it's a hot topic. Perhaps we can find some middle ground?

Might I suggest that we adress with a fusion of fused ideas lol. For example, how about we pacify the people who say it's not feasible right now, by sliding in a Moderater run, TESTING RP in the National Park (like what evan said.) It would be outside the main gate, so there's no entry free, and players can RP in there without the need for any goals in mind. A previous RP of mine way long ago was called PokeCafe, and it was basically a casual spot where trainers can goof off and have a good time. The mods wouldn't really have to do anything, they'd mostly be in there if they want to add a little backstory to it or an event or something, all of which is purely optional so there wouldn't be an extraordinary demand for anything.

And perhaps we can pacify the others by saying that if the Cafe (or whatever you wanna call it) takes off well enough, and if the URPG is stable enough to support it (which I'm hoping it would be, considering that it would take a good number of weeks to thoroughly test continuity issues, ample time to get more moderators and such) then we can agree that a new, off topic RPing section be created.

Any other changes to story writing or collaborative story writing would take place after the fact, and saved for another time until we get passed this OFF TOPIC RPing thing, because I'm about 95% sure that's what LightningTopaz created this thread for in the first place, and I feel we've all gotten a little bit off topic here

 

To further back up my point of no, the Park was created around less than a year ago and having another RP isn't really going to benefit URPG. Even if we were to create a new RP, it would be only after URPG has settled down completely in BMGf, or so that's my opinion.

And, I'm not exactly sure if you meant for this to be a new way of capturing Pokemon. But if you do, we don't need a new way of capturing. As a matter of fact, we don't even have enough Rangers to go around, and having another different RP is just gonna make matters worse.

 

I only have a couple friends from the URPG. So this sounds great.

 

Ummmmmmmmmmm. About that.

Nuff said.

 

Please Read the ENTIRE Thing
I think Individual threads would be a slightly better idea. It would be easier to keep track of and tell an individual's story better. A single thread would be a hassle because if you were gone for more then a day or two, you would be totally off track as to what was going on. A lot of people will post in a day and it will mean at least one page if not more of material to read to figure out the story line. Also, you have multiple people interacting with other people, but not with everyone else. This means that these one post of member interaction can be easily overlooked or lost. I've seen a few sites done in this manner and they tend to fail very quickly.

Moving on to the member interaction again, it would be easier to have individual threads and allow others to post on them. Depending on if you want members to post on your thread, put a notice in the name, such as 'Open' or 'Closed.' People will want to post on each others boards so that they can interact and form these relationships. It will be a lot easier to keep track of what your characters are doing and with whom they are interacting. This also makes them a kind of personal story.

Some other things that may or may not be good: Keeping a limit to active member interactions, a relationship update on the first post or separate thread, sign up sheet/waiting list, post requirement, and maybe a bit of a reward for interacting and forming relationships.

Limit to Interactions: In order to not have twenty people talking on your thread at once, include a active member tally in title or first post along with the names of the members. Limit the number to about ten. This way, everyone can understand what is going on. This also allows for longer post, deeper conversations, and better relationships. After a week of no post, the thread's owner can either declare the other member as non-active and invite someone new into the thread if they wish. Members who decide to leave the thread can post when they are leaving as to avoid confusion.
Relationship Tally: To help keep track of what has occurred inside your thread. These may even be able to be given rewards, such as $100-$500 (whatever the people in charge decide) per recorded relationship. Rivals, Enemy, Friends, Dating (though no mushy stuff of course and doesn't have to be included), and acquaintances would be most of the groupings.
Waiting List: For when there are very few open threads, sign up here and wait for 'Adoption' aka someone asking you to join their thread.
Post Requirements: At least a 3-4 sentence paragraph with decent grammar. Maybe a reward for really outstanding post that a grader(?) happens to like. Decent grammar, but a few mistakes can be allowed. Or can have a word requirement if everyone would rather do that to help encourage writing.
Reward: To help encourage relationship growth and frequent writing, small rewards could be given to outstanding posts or new relationships. Either items could be found, or money could be given. There also does not need to be any reward to make this easier.

If we make Individual Threads (especially w/o rewards) then they can be mainly self monitored and have little to do with the admin other then setting up the initial Board. This could also be implemented into using the Team Rocket idea as well so that member can choose if they want to encounter T.R. members and battling them (the battles could be posted on the normal battle thread).

The story idea is not bad, but requires a lot of maintenance and cooperation on a single thread level. It has the chance to become ONE large super thread and stifle peoples story lines and interactions due to everyone wanting to have their own part. It would either become one giant battle of character attention/confusion or centered around one or two members. There can be a thread for everyone to enter without a limitation, such as a Trainer Home as well. This way, it is easier to handle, everyone is happy cause they can have their own plot, and everyone can feel more connected. Even large chat threads can get out of hand, so breaking it all down helps.

Since this is also a busy time (opening a new portion of a website ALWAYS is -knowing sigh-) I suggest just discussing what we would and would not like this RP to be, and what it should or should not include. I know everyone has already been doing that, but let's make sure not to put pressure on the admin and other members in charge that they have to get started on this right away. That way, when they do have time to think about new things, we can have an idea ready to propose if they are willing to consider it. They may not want to though because of the problems that occur in a website, especially a RP. Lots of people interacting on a large site will always have problems, no matter how minor they may be. It hard to keep everyone happy.

Thanks for your time and listening to what I have to say. I love this idea (not mine, although I do love mine as well, but the idea of an area to interact with others).

 

Trilroy, I did read that. I'm saying that the URPG hasn't even stablised well enough in the BMGf, and this isn't a good time to introduce something new, not that I'm agreeable to it, when we have so many RP/Stories that still needs getting to.

 

IF (big IF) anything is agreed upon, nothing would go into effect immediately, that's a given. I know for a fact that there is a mentor/tutor program right now that is striving to teach the community how to preform grading, ranging etc. I myself have even applied for a grader mentorship. Also there is a forum wide recruitment drive for moderators. I am not concerned so much for the amount of overseers because I know that it's going to be taken care of in due time.

And I really don't see what the harm is in creating one new thread in the Park board. It would basically be just another area people can explore, except that you don't have to pay for it and anything that happens there has no real effect on your character besides giving him/her some much needed back story. And all that aside, I think it would be alot of fun and Im sure many others would agree. I understand that nothing should be charged into, but I think that if we handle things slowly and responsibly, the entire URPG won't burn down into a horrible hell-fire.

I agree one hundred percent. I believe a new board should be created, with everyone having the ability to role play with a select few people, or even have collaborative stories. I believe I posted something very similar to what you're saying a page or two back.

That aside however, I think that there's no way that's going to happen, at least not anytime in the immediate future. Ataro brings up a valid point that presently there are too few over-seers to meet our demands and a board would just add to the frustration. We should take baby steps with this.

You bring up a good point about a large role playing thread killing itself. However, I myself was in a rather large RPing club that developed into an entire forum. The main thing about large threads is that there isn't one story, there are a few that happen simultaneously that involve multiple people. And while it is true these people may not interact with some other people right away, I think the somewhat limited community of the URPG will keep it from ripping itself apart (given that we're somewhat small in number, and also the fact that some people may not even want to RP at all,) at least long enough until we get the neccessary amount of moderators to handle such a thing as a roleplaying sub-board

 

Awesome. I've never seen one pulled off. I've seen them were they begin to work and then just fall apart. I am also one of those people though who could not get on everyday and was always getting lost in the amount of material. Moving that aside, I agree with your point about a thread to meet the demands. Thanks for phrasing it that way. =)

 

No problem. Just want to make sure that no one's opinion gets drowned out here, which usually happens when the arguements start

 

I really like what Ayame's come up with. The only comment that I have is that we probably don't need individual-post based grading going on, and that, if rewards are given at all, the actual relation changes should be the reason.

And, even though I'm vastly in favour of forming the Interaction subboard, I don't want to make it seem like there's a rush to get anything implemented. Like Ataro says, there's too much happening right now to try to wedge this in, too. By all means, any attempt to start this up should wait until the community has settled in a bit. Until then, I can satisfy at least myself by being extremely talkative during battles. =D

 

Perhaps we might want to think about not having rewards (at least to start with). That way it means there's no need for grading, cutting down on the work for the 'staff,' and also it will mostly attract those who want to RP, rather than those who would only do it as a means to get rewards. Maybe later on or if interest really flags then you could introduce a rewards system to entice non-natural RPers.

 

I'd have to agree with Dr, if anything were to happen, we should probably focus on making a place where trainers can take a break from that stuff and interact, and then when everything's settled we can figure out ways to improve on new ways for grading etc.

 

Kijo, if this does get implemented (seeing as the majority seem to be for it...) rewards shouldn't be put in. You shouldn't suggest something that you're going to need incentive for to keep it active - you should suggest something that the other people in the forum are going to want to keep alive on their own accord.

You should either do this for fun, or don't do it.

 

I wasn't saying this as a motivational factor really so much as a way to get a little money when a battle is taking a long time. It was just a suggestion. I don't care if it would get used or not. I just want to throw out the best ideas I could come up. It either has the ablitiy to be used or not, but that was my reasoning for it. I am also way to used to doing this on sites as a method to keep people motivated to post due to a dull lapse in plot at a given moment. It's not that they didn't want to post, so much so as got bored waiting on others to take action.

Sidenote: Sorry if I seemed bosy saying to read my entire post. I didn't mean so much as 'you have to read it!' as 'Please read all that I have written before posting on what I mentioned so that there are less misinterputations.'

 

I definitely don't think any rewards should be given for this except for maybe an occasional event or something that might incorporate this into it but that's thinking too far ahead.