How to Generate Roleplay

[Hakedo]

Here's a MUD article by Siobhan on TopMudSites talking about generating roleplay when there isn't any roleplay to be found. I've edited the article so that certain terms fit for Cosrin, but other than that it's pretty much in tact. Thought it'd be useful to post here.

There comes a time in any MU* player's experience when the inevitable happens: you can't find RP. This can occur for many different reasons. Maybe no one's online at the time, or you can't find folks on the grid or maybe you've been idling in the OOC area, bar or apartment and nothing's happening at all.

Never fear, for there are many things you can do to help solve this problem! Yes, you can actively do something to help generate RP, either for yourself or for others who might be in this very same predicament.

For the situation where you've had your character sitting in a bar, but no one's dropped by, check the QWF or WHOFULL list to see where everyone else is hanging out. Perhaps there's something going on at the shrine and that's where you have to go to find the action. When logging on, even if no one is on the WHOFULL list, don't just log off. Chances are, a dozen others before you did the same thing. If you hang on for about 15 or 20 minutes while you check your e-mail, it's possible others might log on and stay. They might even want to RP!

Nine times out of ten, there's something that you, the player, can do to help generate RP. Here are some suggestions:

• Don't hide away. If you're always in your character's special place or hiding hole, RP will likely not find you (especially if others have no IC reason to be there).
• Try to include others in your RP. Aside from just hiding away, try to limit your private RP if possible. Private scenes are great fun and sometimes necessary, but consider those on the grid looking for RP. If your scene can be a public one, why not consider moving it to a more public space to include others (if possible). If it can't, consider getting your character out in the public grid after the scene if you can. Can't find RP? Go to where the people are.
• Don't limit your RP partners. If you only RP with Dick and Jane, what will you do when you're online and they're not? If you experiment and RP with others, you'll inspire activity in others and everyone will experience more RP.
• Don't idle unless you have to. Folks are less inclined to try to find RP with someone who has been idled an hour than someone who checks in every few minutes, right?
• Bend your character a little if necessary. Your character isn't 'into' the bar scene, but everyone on the MU* is at the local pub? Bend the character just slightly and find an excuse to get him there. Say he's only there for the coffee, or he was looking for a friend who is known to frequent the establishment. Remember that the RP can move to another venue from there.
• Can't find anyone? Page someone. Just a friendly little page to another player to see if they're free for RP is more than reasonable.
• Be proactive, not reactive. RP does not always come to those who wait. Get out there and be active. Even talk to the staffers about how your character can get more involved IC; they might just have some good suggestions for you.

Remember that RP starts with you, the player. If you're out there on the grid, making yourself available, being enthusiastic about RP and trying to actively keep RP alive and kicking, you might actually start something. People might clue into this and follow your example and before you know it, you're never starved for roleplay again! (In an ideal world... but we can all dream, right?)

[Tilius]

An excellent post, thanks for sharing that with us. It definitely applies here.

[ava]

I agree, nice post!

I think quite a few of us have been following these suggestions in the past week or so, and it's resulted in a rather decent amount of RP in the lands. Wonderful!

[Merrick]

I agree on the most with the post, but I have a few pieces to put in of my own advice learned from a great deal of years as a staffer in my own games, and my short time here.

What is paramount to encouraging roleplay and I practiced this here as well, is ensuring that *Everyone* is granted the opportunity to participate, regardless of level, association with you, or association with the storyline itself. This is of the most import above all else in my opinion. A bad roleplay can become fantastic when you involve people that want and choose to be, and can take you to entirely new aspects of the same stale roleplays. It's all well and good to figure out and script a long story arc, but that arc is empty without the input of other people, and other players. Having wrote arc after arc after arc over the years, the one thing I can tell you for sure, is that my early arcs which followed my exact path (i.e. Demonic Horde attacks Solara, staff controlled General rallies troops and retaliates, Deity gets involved, Demon Prince fights Deity, etc) were far less compelling than the open-focus roleplays I learned to lead later, knowing the beginning, and the end, but not quite sure how to get there.

I know this has been done with the Island and the boat and what not in Cosrin, which is one of the things that impressed me in the very beginning, but I have to stress to the PLAYERS that it is important to include people, everyone, across the board, not just your friends, your guild or your clique.

Just my 3.1 cents.

Josh

[Sarkon]

I want to give this post a bump. It's a great article and well worth looking at every so often.

[Cole]

Bumping.