Test the waters.
* Keep it simple at first- Yes this is the obvious one but, it's still the hardest as we always want to do better or make things epic and all too often we bite off more than we can chew. I'd suggest making an event only meant to include a few people. Try basing it around one character and maybe his/her/kras past. Make it so that other players will want to find out more about the character but will have to "participate" to find out. Simply information gathering can be an event in of itself and should this go well, you can expand upon it and eventually turn it into a much larger event over time. Just be sure to keep track of what you do for the sake of continuity and coherence. Wink
There are some factors that may come into play that can effect you efforts.
* Time of your RP event
Player base count and player interest varies at different times and days. though it sounds discouraging it really isn't. On At any given time a small RP can grow to epic proportions simply by chance of being at the right place at the right time. The same can be said in reverse.
* Occurrence of some other scheduled or unscheduled event.
This happens frequently and applies to the mentioned above comment. Sometimes one thing may bump into another and blend together making them interesting to all involved. It may also take interest away from one to the other. So do try to check what is posted and when before planning to set out at a scheduled time for you own RP event.
* Introduction of your character
Getting to know others and offering a little of yourself helps. It gives your character a chance to talk about your ideas and to get a feel for something you have in mind. It also gives your character a chance to see what their interest are as well.
*Allow time to generate interest
If you are planning a RP event allow your character and yourself some time to discuss the planned event with other characters and generate interest for it.
* Using your resources
- Post the event here at the forums with any needed details such as time and date and background if needed. It can be a post of it's own or a small post in the bulletin board of the area of concern, or both. Use the Bulletin board for basic heads up and post the majority of the information in it's own post for detailed information and/or discussion.
- Again. Use your character to promote the RP event in-game to others. This goes a long way if your looking to build interest in something you are planning.
- Meeting characters that are actively involved in similar ideas or RP events. Research the forums RP event thread to gather information of active events and characters. By all means if there is something that is currently going on be part of it. This will help gather support for their RP event and yours both now and in the future. You learn from each other. that gives you something to build on. As you get to know other characters and their players you can generate support from each other whether you agree or disagree on the content of the RP event. Some players have other characters that may be best suited to the subject matter of the RP event in question. They may or may not share that information with you, but it doesn't mean they were not there.
- Planning around other scheduled events RP events and/or events to effectively use the player base. This can work if it is coordinated. It may take some OOC efforts so that you can make sure one does not interfere with the other. It is best to use a subject that may connect with what is already being planned or ongoing.
- Location
Just starting out this is a major factor. Use an area that is know to exist to start with. What I mean is to plan your RP event in an area that has some background for such. My suggestion would be in Hydlaa, Kada-Ells, The Red Crystal den, The Stonehead, The Outpost. the Plaza. If you go out on your own into less frequented areas you may find player participation lacking. So place your plans in an area that is familiar with related RP interests. ( The current PS player base is not as venturous as their descriptions make them out to be) The three OSP areas mentioned here, The Outpost, the Stonehead, and the Red Crystal Den still have active support that may come to assist you if you make an effort to meet them.
Lastly,
*** Don't be discouraged***
Numbers do not a good RP make!
Numbers do not a good RP make!
(Had to repeat that. Numbers are great, but that alone is not good participation. Work with what you have, adjust it if you need to. You will find that often the smaller RP events are usually the best, especially if you are just starting out. The quality of the RP is often better and easier to keep in perspective. Do not rate your RP event based on numbers, but on the quality of what you offered and what you received from it in return.)
Over the past year I have used several different characters to test the argument of finding RP in-game. Some have had a difficult time and some have had huge successes. Now, don't get me wrong. There were times that I had to look or find a way to bait someone in. There were times that there was just no one about. There was also several times these characters were so overburdened that it was a challenge to keep up with the content of the RP. All of these characters had a planned subject of RP content. The trick was not to force my RP on other players but to pay attention to their characters responses on the subject and to find a way to steer their views into the subject matter of the character that I was using at the time. Either by drawing them into conversation or argument. The biggest problem concerning RP these days is that many of the PS players cannot see past their character descriptions to be part of someone else's RP. Myself I seldom read descriptions anymore because I think many of them are just a joke. By that I mean that some expect you to see far too much about their character to make any sense at all. If I just met a character i am not going to know anything about the decorations or the posture until I get to know the character personally and that takes some effort of both parties through discussion.
Back to what I was talking about. The characters that I experimented with all had planned subject matter but the RP was content was randomized. Meaning that I made it up as I went along. The success rate was actually rather good verses the times I stood talking to myself or when there was just no one about to talk too. Many started one on one and gathered interest of passers by, and some grew to what many would consider a huge RP event. Which by the way, was not the intent.
The bottom line here Frois is if you think it is worth doing try it.
If you are not happy with the results try it again at another time or place or change the subject matter of the RP event. Try to bring other characters interests into the subject. Do not go into it with huge expectations and base the success of the RP event on that. If you and one other player are entertained for a five to ten minutes of RP (because that may have been all that either of you had time for) Then that is a success in my book. So, by all means make the attempt, learn from it, then add that experience to the next effort.
Regardless, have fun with it.
"Oh!" Jaycol points up. "Those two lurkers up there that have already offered you some insight have several posts on RP in the discussion thread of this forum. You may have to weed through many but there is a lot of information there offered by them and others for you to choose what suits you the best."
http://www.hydlaaplaza.com/smf/index.php?board=13.0 