Lillian What do you feel is your most successful RP?
★LunaLight★The Art of Magic(TAoM) is by far my most successful RP. TAoM is currently full, containing 12 Rpers, and I have a few requesting to be waitlisted. Not only is it my largest and longest running RP, but it also has kept a good tempo despite being such a large group. In the Summer, I had players posting once every three days, and now it is once a week. It really is a rare thing for an RP to remain posting regularly after the initial hype, so I would say that is a good sign that TAoM is going to last.
LillianWhat do you see as the reason for its success?
★LunaLight★Attempting to keep it brief:
1. The Cast- They are dedicated, aren't afraid to ask questions, take above average interest in the Rp, take pride in their characters, and above all are able to rise to or above my high expectations for them. I am very happy to have them.
2. Effort- I have put, and continue to put a lot of work into maintaining the thread. I have created an entirely unique magical combat system just for the purpose of TAoM, and created a guide. Also, I am on as frequently as possible to respond quickly. It is my opinion that it is the job of a good GM to put forth the most effort towards the launch, betterment, and continuation of the thread.
3. Continuous Improvement- I am always trying to find ways to make TAoM better. The Rp actually failed twice before, but each time it came back more thought out. Even now that I've found something that clearly works, I still experiment and request user feedback. I want my thread to be the best it can be.
4. Sense of Community- TAoM allows players a lot of freedom and flexibility through both the IC and OOC. Rping is a great way to see new ideas, network, and just have fun. The interactions I have with my Rpers are all meaningful, and I can honestly think of them as my friends. The amount of loyalty and trust between me and my roleplayers is what I believe makes me feel the need to go out of my way for them.
5. Zata sama- My Co-GM Zata has been around a while, and I trust him with anything and everything. He has been with me for over a year now, and was a large part of why I took an interest in the idea of a magic school. He helped me learn how to make better characters and posts. He has even helped me through real life struggles. I could have no better person to Co-GM my Rp because I know that even if I am cut off from RpG for a month he will be able to keep it going.
Lillian What inspired you to GM in the first place?
★LunaLight★I was inspired to GM by Zelpheon when I first joined the guild. I was still a shy little noob who had never done a Rp before, yet I already had an idea for a story. It was with his encouragement that I set up my first Rp. It failed miserably, but it managed to get to the IC launch, so it opened me up to what GMing was like and most importantly taught me the skills I lacked to be an effective GM. So I spent a few months just trying to learn the basics from other GMs, and then once I got a grip on things started trying my hand at GMing again. I've failed a number of times, but each time, I just thought back to that first experience. Knowing that I can always become better if I am willing to learn from my failures is what continues to make me enjoy GMing, and I owe that to Zelpheon for encouraging me to put out my ideas back when I was new.
LillianHow clearly do you plot your RP, do you plan for an end?
★LunaLight★I always have a plan for the major plot events, especially the end, but a majority of the plot is planned very shortly after players act or a plot action suggested by a player is acted on. Letting players suggest what happens next allows for a range of creativity far exceeding my own, and it is simply more fun. I wouldn't say that it is smart to make up everything as you go along because plots are always better when there is a clear connection between events; however, a flexible plot in which you are able to modify based on player input can be a valuable tool. I plan my plot as a flagged progression(the line shows the more subtle events going on that are only hinted at towards the players, while flags represent an event in which players are directly effected), so that way if I want a new event, I just stick it somewhere on the line. To more directly answer the question, my plots are very well thought out, but easily subject to change.
Lillian You sound really organized. Do you have specific organizational tips for Aspiring GM's, such as a way you organize your OP?
★LunaLight★I am going to say that every RP deserves a personalized organization system, but there are a few tricks anyone can use. First of which, make your OP a tool, not information to be memorized. Many GMs make an information dump that they expect everyone to read entirely, but it is proven that walls of text scare away potential new recruits as well as make it harder for current players to find relevant information. Instead, make an effort to say things in an effective manner, separating up your material into easy to handle hiders. Place the most commonly used information at the top, and least used at the bottom. Also, try playing around with the formatting and asking your cast for their opinion, after all, it is them who you are trying to help. When applicable, tables are a great way of organizing information.
Sora explains how they work here. Lastly, the latest trick I've come up with is having a newcomer's package. It contains everything someone would need to join the RP in a nice little hider at the bottom so that current players don't have to bother with that information. If you are doing things right, the player should not need to read everything, but always know where to find the information. When answering questions that were already answered in the OP, don't get mad, just respectfully answer their question and then direct them to that part of the OP so that your cast becomes increasingly self managing.
Lillian How much control of the story do you allow your players?
★LunaLight★So long as they don't break any rules, players are only limited by their ability to create material. I have to approve any new NPCs, locations, and plot events, but it isn't so much for me to decide if I want to use it or not. The reason I require approval is so that I can help expand on the idea, I can add it to my plot diagram, and possibly fix up small hiccups.
Lillian How have you handled the inevitable dropouts?
★LunaLight★Simple, I write them out. I actually can avoid/predict most dropouts because of my harsher screening process. When a long term member leaves, it is a bit harder, but I can take control of their character long enough to write them out. More often than not, I blame everything on the school counselors
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Lillian What is your Screening Process?
★LunaLight★My screening process involves a detailed scan of their post history, previous RPs, and join date. Whenever a user is under a week old or has under 25 posts to their name, I always ask them to check back in at a later time before accepting their character. This is because new members who intend to stay will stick around a few extra days, but the ones that don't will quickly get bored and never be seen again. Furthermore, you don't want a crowd of only new members as they are more likely to leave or have bad habits. Don't exclude new members entirely as they are a valuable asset, but don't over invest in them because you have no real way of knowing how they will behave since they have no posting history. Checking through the post history, make sure they match your expectations of site activity, and more importantly look to make sure they don't have a habit of vanishing. I have often found gaps of several months in people's history, and looking at their Rps, they never rechecked in. These people are more than likely going to vanish again, so tread cautiously with this kind of Rper. Regardless of why they left, Rps can only handle so many vanishing players before they are forced to restart. Lastly, I ask for a CS higher quality than the standard post. The amount of effort someone puts into their character will carry through to their initial excitement about the Rp as well as serve as a double check that they can post at the level they say they can.
Lillian Have you encountered any Problem players or trouble between players and if so how have you handled it?
★LunaLight★Yes, despite all my precautions, I still have had problem Rpers, the most common of which is metagame and whiners. Whiners are the kind of people who make a real fuss when you tell them they need to change something. These people are very rude, and try to make you feel bad for them by lying through their teeth. The only real way to handle these is to kick them out, and if they continue whining report them. It is a bad idea to be a weak GM, but always try to be as fair as you can be. Part of the reason I have a Co-GM is so I can differentiate between when I am being difficult, and the other person is being disrespectful. For metagamers, I usually tell them over private messages that their character is using information he/she shouldn't have. Metagaming, unlike other forms of problem Rping, is most often not intentional. It is often a result of the person attempting to insert themselves into their character on some level, and leaving a small slip up. It is a bad idea to embarrass people by pointing out their mistakes in the OOC, unless it is just something simple, or it is a mistake others are likely to make. Most instances of metagaming have been cleared up for me simply by having a peaceful talk over PMs. The key to handling anyone is to be calm, be fair, look out for the thread's best interests, and stay in control of the situation. I have yet to have any major conflict between my cast, but if I did, I remember Zata sama stopped a really big conflict in an Rp I did not GM in the past. From what I observed, having a sense of authority, and making quick and powerful judgement was an effective way to cut the losses.
Lillian What was your biggest mistake and what did you learn from it?
★LunaLight★I would say that my largest mistake concerning GMing was trying to make a Rp which relied entirely on the players to provide plot events. The fact of the matter is that people join Rps because they want the GM to have a well thought out idea, and they want that GM to keep things orderly and interesting. If you haven't put any effort into your idea, expect a lot of problems to pop up later on. On the other side, putting a lot of information on a page is not effort, when I put too much to read I scared away a large number of players. What the majority players really appreciate is when the GM is able to condense information in a way that is easy to understand, and I'm still learning how to become better at that.
Lillian Do you take a hands on or hands off approach to GMing? i.e. do you have characters you run that are a little bit more than NPC's
★LunaLight★I am actually a part of my Rp. My character is just as much affected by the plot as anyone else. However, both me and Zata sama have one teacher character which is highly powered, and does help quite a bit for steering the plot and dropping hints. Though more often than not, plot events are discussed in the OOC, and reacted to IC. I would say that my GMing style is about allowing for players to decide how they would like to see things work out with the occasional surprise to keep everyone on their toes. It works well for slice of life, so that element shows up in all my Rps.
LillianWhat would be the best bit of advice you would give a new GM about how to run a successful RP?
★LunaLight★This is going to sound really corny but... If I had to pick out one thing I saw in every successful Rp, it would be that people were involved in the story. By encouraging people to share, and making an idea in which people can unleash their creative outlet, the GM provides a medium in which people can connect to on multiple levels. GMing is quite the challenge because you have to make everyone accepted care about their role in the story enough to keep them coming back regardless of other factors. And the funny thing is, people have found a lot of different ways to make it happen. Some Rps have their own chatroom, OOC chatter, creative works, social groups, and I've even seen one with a fanfic. Somehow someway, all the really successful Rps display interaction beyond just the IC. Figuring out how to bring out this extra level of connection is really something that just comes with experience, and if you are lucky just happens to pop up all on its own. Personally, I try to bring it out by sincerely caring for others, and I just hope that if I care enough, I might just have the feelings returned. I advise new GMs to find a way you enjoy running things, an idea that you are really interested in, and friends to call on who support your ideas and GMing style. And lastly, I wish them good luck and an open mind.
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Oh well, I think I'm getting better. I've got a few good ideas that I'm gonna keep in my brain for a while till I come up with more plot for 'em. Till then, well, I guess I'll just eat pickles and browse interest checks and do my homework.
Originally Posted by Clirkus
I always love your GM interviews, they're really insightful and I think help me in the way I GM. Before I came here I was RPing with a few good friends on another site, and it was nice because basically one of us would throw an idea out there and then we'd all contribute and make it awesome. My friend and I have an RP that's been going on for more than a year now, and we're just in love with it.
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