Serial Killer Round 39: Return of the Doubles Round (Cycle 12: We Have A Winner!)

[CounterAttack]

@staika: The other one was a simple matter of not using the Search Forums function, which in turn is a simple thing to use, in my opinion.

I am starting to get the impression that the role-playing forum is starting to suffer a drop in quality based on people who post role-plays without either a) checking to see whether similar ones exist, or b) doing research and putting detail into the universe and story they are building.

 

[staika]

@CA: oh yes the dreaded people who don't know how to use the search bar, it's not that hard to learn how to use but no one ever uses it.

But I have been getting the feeling the quality is starting to drop here too. I've been starting to see a lot of copy RP's and less RP's that make me want to join them. Sadly I won't be able to join any RP anytime soon because of school but I've been thinking of making a really slow moving one that would allow me to post when I have enough free time.

 

[Link_to_Future]

@Role Plays: Yeah...having three threads with exactly the same premise is not really necessary. Especially when they strike me encouraging immediate action rather than thoughtful writing. In fact, they remind me of the old NSider RP threads that I cut my teeth on back in 2005. >.<

From what I see, it looks like the thread that Trilby started is simply a continuation of the SUBJECT DELTA thread. That one is supposed to end but for some reason people are still posting in it. Perhaps it would be best if someone locked it? >.>

As for the quality of the role playing forums...I can't really speak to it since my only contribution lately hasn't strictly been a role play. However, I have seen some pretty novel concepts slip through the cracks recently and I'm not sure what to make of it. It seems like people are valuing the quick and easy over the more "advanced" writing. I can't really say that one is worse than the other but I do know that I favor effort over quantity when it comes right down to it.

I feel like I'm drifting off topic. >.>

 

[Malyc]

@Staika: WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY??????????????????????????????

Seriosly tho, why did you change your avatar? I liked splody orange...

 

[staika]

@Malyc: Because this one makes me laugh and I felt like it was time for a change.

@Link: I think you hit it on the head, I do think that people are going for more of the short post less thought type of RP instead of the longer post more thought out type of RP's.

 

[Malyc]

@Staika: But you bailed on both of the long thoughtful post RPs that you started...

AND I WAS ENJOYING SWORDS!!!

(seriously tho, you should totally come back to play Soreal)

 

[staika]

@Malyc: The speed you guys are probably going to be going I wouldn't be able to keep up. Sides it's not set in stone that I am going to start another RP since I don't have a plot or a premise yet. If I do start one it's going to be long posts every few weeks since that would be the only way that I would be able to RP.

 

[Malyc]

@Staika: OK, fine...

(I wasn't demanding that you start a new one...)

 

[staika]

@Mal: The new Rp was just a thought that I had earlier. Don't know what I'll do but who knows, I do strange things all the time

 

[CounterAttack]

@staika: Most of the ones I'm in are slow-moving, and with good reason: the posts therein are by no means short. I and a good number of my Skype friends detest posts that are of one or two lines in length: they convey very little to the readers and the story as a whole.

@Link: I see... Locking and sinking the Subject Delta thread might be helpful.

@content: I am a fan of both effort and quantity, to which the role-plays in which I currently participate will attest. Quick and easy, to me, means outright lazy, as does one-line posts. I see my role-playing as a step towards a potential career, and so I am doing my best to try to improve on it as much as possible.

I think that a 'short post, less thought' approach to role playing defeats the entire purpose of doing so. You are supposed to be getting into character: I fail to see how it works without writing more than one paragraph. Would you read a book composed entirely of the equivalent of one-line posts? I certainly would not. Putting effort into writing makes for a better story, both for yourself and for everyone else.

[hr]

Side Note: In addition to Demigods, the thread I GM with my good friend (and fantastic writer) Yumi_and_Erea, I am working on a new thread myself: The Turfwar. Five feuding Mafia-esque gangs are converging on a single city, each with their own reason for being there. But each family has a specific theme to them.

The families are as follows: the Magisteria, a hierarchy of mages; the First Regiment, a military warband with technology rivalling science-fiction; the Alliance, a group possessing superhuman abilities; the Bearers of the Torch, led by none other than an Elder Dragon; and the Sanguine Cult, shapeshifters.

(Note: Names of the gangs may be subject to change.)

I have also entertained the idea of starting up a role-play set in the universe of the game Jade Empire. I have put far more time into The Turfwar, however, and it will likely be released before the Jade Empire thread.

 

[staika]

@CA: I HATE short posts, they just annoy me since they really show me that the person writing that post but it little to no effort in their post. I try to keep short posts out of my RP's when possible.

Both of your RP ideas do intrigue me, the Jade Empire one intrigues me more because that is one of my favorite games of all time and now I want to go play it again. I may submit a character for one of them depending on what I feel like at the moment.

 

[Link_to_Future]

@CA: First, let me start by saying that I love the idea of Turfwar. Seriously, that would be the kinda thread I will be looking for as soon as I get graduated and am able to have at least some semblance of free time again. Until then, I'm sworn off because I don't have the condensed time to crank out anything of quality on a regular basis. :/

Secondly, when I say quality over quantity, I mean post quality over post quantity. These one-line posts are able to hit hundreds of pages in record time while we at our spammiest are still flying relatively low for a (mostly) chat thread. Why is that?

Pulled from my days back on the Nintendo forums, it comes to one simple thing. Fast RPs are a fun way to quickly boost your post count. I used to have over ten thousand posts on NSider because of the RP forums. Now, granted, it's hard to foster anything really serious when your subject matter is exclusively limited to Nintendo franchises and everyone on the forum falls between the ages of 8-14, but I digress.

Personally, I don't see anything inherently wrong with that style of role playing since it was my bread and butter back in the day. However, I think it's unsatisfying and unchallenging. I like pushing myself a little harder and trying to create a real character.

Again, this is all personal preference. I think it's fruitless to try and change what others are already doing. All we can do is continue to write the way we do and hope that it doesn't become the exception over time.

 

[Malyc]

@CA: I'm in for the turfwar rp. Put me down for membership in the Sanguine Cult or the equivalent, and I prefer paragraphs to lines in RP posts.

(I realize id probly need to submit a cs. Just expressing interest.)

 

[Schizzy]

@Turfwar: Is this an RP where we fight over patches of grass? Or some new genre that I'm not familiar of?

 

[CounterAttack]

@Turfwar: I have yet to figure out where the characters will be in The Turfwar: for now I am concentrating on building the gangs and making sure none of them can easily outmatch the others. The plan is for them all to be equal in strength.

As for characters, I don't want to take a PvP route with it, because it will get messy very quickly. If people are on opposing sides, both will want to win no matter the cost, and then we start to see people at each other's throats out of character.

@staika: I see... perhaps I shall see you there when the Jade Empire thread is launched. I redownloaded the game earlier today, but I can't run it because my laptop doesn't actually possess a graphics card.

@Link: Ah, oops. My mistake there. I understand now, and agree whole-heartedly that quality beats quantity.

From the beginning of my role-playing life, which started here on the Escapist back in late 2009, I have almost[footnote]I say almost because I do remember posting one-liners and I now regret doing so - but hey, we're all new at some point, and have probably done things we consider to be failures. I know I'm not alone there.[/footnote] entirely avoided one-liners by taking cues from the other people in the threads I joined. So a big thank-you to Sky, Neo, Void, Pm0n3y and j1-2themax, plus a good number of others who aren't part of SK, and therefore probably won't read this.

Edits:

@Malyc: As I said, I don't know where characters are going to be just yet. Oh, and I don't take reserves.

@Schiz: A turfwar is a fight over common ground, or something along those lines. When five rival gangs all meet in the same city, things are naturally going to heat up once they're aware of each other's presence.

 

[staika]

@CA: I sadly lost my physical copy of the game so I can't play it :/
I may try and buy it again since it's probably really cheap now and play it. But I may submit a sheet for the turfwar RP, It's an interesting premise and I look forward to reading more about it.

 

[CounterAttack]

@staika: Oh, it's by no means ready to be released into the wild just yet. It's going to take a good length of time before I can even consider doing so. I have to cover every possible base before even thinking about a plot. Thankfully I may be getting some help in that department courtesy of my friends on Skype.

 

[Link_to_Future]

@CA: PVP RPs...I've never seen how they can work.

The first RP I joined on the Escapist was The Colossi RP that was started sometime early last year. It collapsed because the entire premise collapsed when two players started God-Modding each other and completely killed everyone else's willingness to participate. The in-thread fighting completely destroyed any sort of flow we had set up.

And frankly, I was disappointed. It had been the first RP I had been a part of in over four years and I was excited to get back into recreational writing. I thought the PVP was going to be an interesting new aspect and I actually planned my character arc around losing to another player (SkyeNeko, actually) after it became apparent that he was trying to manipulate everyone around him.

Honestly, I think PVP can work out to make a really interesting story in the end with much higher stakes for everyone. However, it needs to be handled by MATURE writers who are in constant COMMUNICATION with each other. They must be able to agree that someone will die for the sake of the story, they must be able to identify when that character is the one that they are controlling, and they must be able to work out the details as they go so everything can end out working out amiably for all parties involved.

Basically, I want to do another PVP RP someday. I just want to be sure to do it with people I consider close friends by internet standards.

 

[RaNDM G]

@Link: Mall Fight was PvP in it's most basic form. It was pretty much everyone against everyone until a plot-line formed.

 

[CounterAttack]

@Link: The only PvP I've done recently was in Neo's Pokémon thread, The Road to Indigo. There the PvP Pokémon battling was discussed entirely in Skype and the victors determined ahead of time. Granted, most of our battling has been with NPCs, but there have been two quick matches against other players, as I remember.

I too would only PvP with people that I know and trust. The same can be said for in-character romance, but that's just a side note.