The "I'm Bored" Conversation Thread

[Rigwyn]

I think it was just mostly the wrong place for this character. I had the idea of Helka having woken up due to the commotion, and then stumbling out all hung over and nasty to see what was going on.  I don't know, sometimes things like this work, sometimes they don't.

[Illysia]

I find stuff like that worked better in the past than now. Seems like now you need to have a character with a deliberate purpose for them to stand a chance at cutting it.

[Rigwyn]

Well, part of it was that talking a lot would have flooded the event with unrelated dialog. I sort of realized that after a few minutes. Yes, it also depends on the other players. I think some know how their characters would react while others are caught off guard a little. I figured my character would be shunned, pushed back, or reprimanded, but got mostly polite responses instead. XD

For Christ's sake, the smelly bitch stuck her filthy finger in the pie, spat it out, was insulting, ordered the crayfish delight and instead of paying for it, she told the person at the counter to hold her empty mug. lol. 

I was like, what? No F.U. for that? No "get lost" or "someone toss this pie, its contaminated?"

[Illysia]

My problem, welcome. I find it kills most of my character ideas. Responses are just too sterile sometimes. I also think that some players are just afraid of how another player will react to their character being mean or curt. I think the IC/OOC barrier typically holds up well until it comes to a character being mean, aside from dealing with a clear cut "evil character".

I think many have lost a sense of shades. There is good and evil with nothing in between.

And tsk tsk... Language. 

[Rigwyn]

Well, this is something that I try to factor into event planning. I try not to make plans so fragile that they are likely to not work if players don't react a certain way. I do get your point. The question is, how do you work around this. Leading by example might work. I learned to play by watching others.

[Illysia]

Well, this doesn't work so well due to the ratio of examples to people watching. Honestly I don't know how to work around it. I am all tapped out. After awhile your example just becomes something people watch but not necessarily imitate.

I think what is needed is a larger group of people putting in that kind of effort at the same time, I mean litterally RPing at the same chronological time, so that it presents a broader continuum of possibilities. A working RP ecosystem if you will. But that is hard to do with schedules and such. I always wanted to try large scale RPs that weren't events or plot but rather everyone working within the same scenario, shaping it.

My first idea was to recruit players into an extended family so that you didn't just stand around talking about uncle bob, there actually was someone to play uncle bob. Then I had the idea of setting up a PS soap opera where you assign characters a role in the whole and give them a motivation but the rest is up to them and how they interact. So if two sides in a love triangle met up, then it was up to how the RP in that instant flows as to what happens next.

Then I thought maybe trade associations so that when your character needs another character of a specific profession, they can easily find them. There was also the Stonehead and providing a safe place for anyone to RP and jobs or careers for people... I just don't know.

However, I need to get going and head to bed. Maybe when I check back in the morning someone else will have an idea. Or maybe someone else will have started a completely different conversation entirely. XD

[Taya]

Running into a lot of walls myself. I have several 'not very nice' or at least slightly odd characters that I have been trying to play and I've had mostly really bad experiences when trying of late, to the point that I've withdrawn a lot from RP. To date, I've been insulted for my attempts, had people accuse me (the player) of being mean - yet I never target people I haven't witnessed as capable of RPing, been outright ignored, had people use OOC information against my 'bad guys' and in general have been left with the feeling that all people want is tavern RP or to RP about what craft they are learning.

I've nothing against those kinds of RP - if they are opening doors to deeper and more interesting developments, but by themselves they often bore me, probably because most characters I run into are flat and underdeveloped, have no quirks at all and do nothing interesting.

Sadly, I'm also guessing my timezone has simply become incompatible with RP on PS, because I know there are still some RPers around (and not to belittle anyone here, because I know there are RPers in my time zone, but I specifically mean the sort who RP deeper and more complex plots), but I'm just not running into them.

I'm no longer sure what to do about it. If anyone ever wants to prod me into RP, by all means do.

[Illysia]

I think the problem is that those kinds of RPers are on, but now they are in the rut of not doing that kind of depth in RP. Sort of an ennui that has set in. I think players largely don't have the motivation to struggle with the concept at the same time, and then it makes everyone feel a bit isolated or left hanging.

I would like to hear some more thoughts from other people on this though. It is starting to sound like maybe we just need to figure out who feels this way too and find a way to put them in contact with each other. Maybe even have everyone work together to find an excuse for everyone's character's to interact. That last part becomes hard with anti-social or awkward characters.

[Rigwyn]

These are some of the difficulties faced when playing a baddie. It sucks, but its par for the course. In the Outlaws guild, we taught one another how to play such characters and how to deal with players who don't understand what you are doing. This is something that folks who only play good characters will fail to appreciate. 

For me, its just been a matter of renegotiating my own expectations and learning to find ways to play said character without requiring a particular response from others. For some, its means playing with only a select few players who are close to their level of play.

If you are on at night(my time), and I think you are, then perhaps we should hang out.

[Taya]

I rarely ever require a certain response... just any IC response that seems realistic would be an improvement over what I have been getting. I do get something from time to time, but it's become so rare that I've mostly given up, at least with the characters that I really enjoy playing. So if you are about at the same time as me, and don't mind running into some not-so-nice types, just let me know. I'd love to bring my nasty ones out to play again.

[Illysia]

So if you are about at the same time as me, and don't mind running into some not-so-nice types, just let me know. I'd love to bring my nasty ones out to play again.

She don't know you very well do she? 

[Rigwyn]

We played together in the past. From an IC perspective at least, she knows Rigwyn better than he knows her.  It might be interesting to see what comes about.

[Taya]

Tay's possibly not the character I'd aim for using anyway. I don't even consider her as one of my 'nasties'... Despite what she did to Rigwyn before.

But with that said, it really could be interesting.

[Zalya]

My problem, welcome. I find it kills most of my character ideas. Responses are just too sterile sometimes. I also think that some players are just afraid of how another player will react to their character being mean or curt. I think the IC/OOC barrier typically holds up well until it comes to a character being mean, aside from dealing with a clear cut "evil character".

I think many have lost a sense of shades. There is good and evil with nothing in between.

And tsk tsk... Language. 

Now hold on for just a moment there! I've seen a few good characters with some amazing jerkbag tendencies. Evirea for one is filled with enough snark to make even a grown man cry, while still being a good character. Travosh too can be a mean person, but his character is effectively morally neutral. Teshia can be an ass to anyone she doesn't like, or if she is just in a bad mood. There are a bunch of people who have been able to play successful jerky- non evil characters. I have also had success with a rather distasteful character who's out look is surprisingly bleak and morally ambiguous.

I haven't been around as often as I would like. the spring is a busy time of year for me, but I am up for any RP, especially with some nasty people any time. If you see me around let me know! Send me a /tell or something.

[Illysia]

Now hold on for just a moment there! I've seen a few good characters with some amazing jerkbag tendencies.

Exactly, a few. And I'm used to seeing the people you mentioned around the same timezone. The problem is like any other connected to RP: numbers and availability range. We have too many gaps where people don't see much.

The hard part is how to get people together where they can get these good RPs going but do so in a way that it has high visibility, is easy to join in for characters that just stumble across it, spans enough time so that more people are exposed to it, and has enough material and continuity that it can be picked up later and still leave something to do.