I tried it out because it was supposed to be a medieval rpg that supported 6 ways of magic, fighting mechanics, and it let you customize your own character. If it was just walk around and chit chat with others in 3d then I would never have bothered trying it. I was one of the few that learned about rp and changed.
m not saying trash the game mechanics and go back to crystal hunting .. but perhaps someone who was around during that generation might have better insight as to what attracted them to the game, how they learned about it, and how long for the community to grow.
Hmm… what the past was like? If only there was some place that kept a record of all the old role plays and things so we could find out. Oh right, the forums go back at least a good half decade.
And for the record, PS promised the same things way back when, I didn't even realize PS was still very much in development and had never RPed in my life... Honestly I just wanted to kill things and make an awesome cat person.
Out of curiosity I looked back at what seemed popular back in the “golden age” (*an ancient crystal hunter character rolls over in their digital grave*) just to see what, if anything, has changed and why.
In no particular order, these are the ones that stand out to me:
Guild wars, Tournaments, Weddings, HAGS (Hide and go seek), Races/Scavenger hunts/ guild quests, Player run stores/Markets, and of course the odd murder plot and purely character based story line.
Guild WarsMaybe I’m just out of the loop but I can’t recall the last real guild war I’ve seen. Back in my day
we had to walk up hill in the snow both ways it seemed like every few months some guild would cross some other guild and all hell would break loose… Even if your character wasn’t involved it at least gave folks something to talk about and would often IC polarize various groups. Also it is important to note that the warring guilds had a healthy respect for each other OOC, something important for a well played out RP guild war scenario.
Example: http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=26159.0
What Killed It?I honestly don’t know why these seem to have fallen out of favor especially with “everyone” seeming to want action based RP, can’t get much more action than a war.
TournamentsThese seem to still be around in various incarnations. I can’t say first hand how they compare to ones of the past but even in the “old” days it was a bit hit or miss depending on who was running the event.
What Killed It?Nothing at all, still alive and kicking.
WeddingsPeople’s characters do still get hitched, right? I don’t see these turned into events much anymore… but whatever, one less gift to buy.
Example:
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=23705.0What Killed It?Maybe it has something to do with the divorce rate in Yliakum rising.
Either way, it was often the well established RPers that turned their character’s wedding into events and if nothing else was a reason to party. Personally I can take or leave this kind of RP but, still interesting to note that it seems to have fallen out of favor with most current players.
HAGS!Say what you will about HAGS being OOC, IC, whatever… I’ll be the first to admit that 90% of the conversations during a game were done in group and OOC. So if you’re trying to bolster RP why bring up HAGS?! Plain and simple it was a community building exercise. If you played HAGS with someone and they seemed like an okay person, odds are you’d RP with their character if you bumped into them at Kada’s.
Example:
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=23429.0What Killed It?Long story short: Chat bubbles.
Races, Scavenger Hunts, and Guild QuestsI guess the occasional race still pops up from time to time, not sure about scavenger hunts but I can imagine they’re still out there somewhere but, whatever happened to guilds that created their own quests? Complete with rewards? As I recall there was even a certain Xillix character that had a guild that essentially created their own quest as the way to gaining acceptance into their organization.
Example:
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?topic=23727.0 What Killed It?
No idea, maybe you newbs are all just lazy (kidding). Though, I find it more likely that with the abundance of quests in game… people just don’t see the need anymore. Also, it may be difficult to motivate people like before with the prevalence of 300q weapons floating around. Back then a silverweave as a prize offered pretty strong incentive.
Player Run Stores/MarketsI still see these from time to time, as long as people want items I imagine they’ll exist. However, often they just deal in crafted weapons which is rather… boring. Back when looted weapons were the only weapons, there was a pretty amazing variety out there and a dozen merchants could have largely different stocks of goods. Also, most characters seemed to gravitate towards certain magic weapons, collecting rare “Peace” weapons or the like.
What Killed It?Certainly not dead but, personally I find the variety less then exciting.
Random Other Things:
Harnquist’s as a HangoutEveryone who was anyone used to be able to be found at Harnquist’s. New players would filter in looking for help and old players would essentially just hangout for some conversation. I can recall times when you’d have a good 8 or 10 people just conversing about things and various goings on in Yliakum. Essentially it was one of the places you could get the “news” about RPs and often get involved in them yourself. Ironically, while many people seem to look back on this now as a good time I can still recall some RPers complaining that no one would hang around Harn’s because of all the acrid smoke.
What Killed It?Crafting. When the ore zombies moved in, the RPers moved out. Personally I can’t blame the people who are training crafting too much, with the system it’s darn hard to RP and not wreck whatever it is you’re trying to create but, for better or worse, things changed when crafting was introduced.
Random Dueling PartiesWhat better way to brush up on your fighting skills than get in one giant group and take turns smacking each other senseless? If I recall right, the addition of choosing whether to kill your opponent or not was introduced to make practicing dueling easier. Yet I rarely see anyone grouping up and doing this now of days. For such a self proclaimed action oriented group of players… I find it odd this has fallen so far out of favor.
What Killed It?Magic? No, this honestly started to fade before that system was overpowered. Change in dueling mechanics? Maybe a bit but, I adapted so it would make sense that any newer players wouldn’t have any problems. I actually can’t come up with one good reason why this doesn’t take place anymore, perhaps some newer players can enlighten me on why they don’t find it appealing?
Hopefully this offered at least a little insight into what PS was like a few years back and maybe even sparks a few ideas. It is by no means a comprehensive list just what I remember and enjoyed.
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