How can you tell?

[Genkai]

How can you tell?

Devastation verses Salvation: A discussion on the warning signs of a roleplay going bad or going great

This thread will discuss the signs you spot when a roleplay is doing poorly and is likely to collapse soon, as well as the signs you spot when a roleplay is doing well and will hopefully be a longterm story you can brag about to your grandchildren. We have the usual signs for a bad roleplay: the inactive OOC/IC, the poor cast, etc. We have the usual signs for a good roleplay: juicy plot, passionate GM, etc...but I'm interested in what others have to say about this topic because many roleplays here will end before they should, before people would like. Are there signs that you as a GM or as a player can spot that can tell you that your roleplay is going to sink or swim?

Some people say getting past a certain page in a thread is an indicator of a roleplay's fruitfulness.

Some people say communication and friendship play a role in a long-lasting roleplay.

While some people say the roleplay is fine even if it's been slow and on/off, if it's gone on for over a year...it's fine.

So, what can you infer, no matter your experience, about roleplays? Can your inferences save or hinder you? If you see warning signs do you do anything about it or not? If you see positive signs, do you mention it or don't in fear of jinxing it? This thread will boil down to how can someone tell if a roleplay is going to last or not. Of course there is not surefire thing, everyone (groups, arena, 1x1) is different and some people don't think a slow and steady roleplay means that it's going nowhere and is sure to die eventually. While some people think other levels have a hand in this, or other genres. What are your thoughts? Any advice to people who keep coming across roleplays that end in devastation? Or should people begin to expect to be in short term roleplays. People often have a mindset to be in it for years and years with long spanning awesome stories and themes, but as many remind others, we're not writing novels here. Should the high rate of roleplay deaths mean we need to change our expectations and focus on shorter more rich stories without a high demand for dedication for x-amount of time?

Some possible questions to mull over:

Do you personally have warning signs for a roleplay that you think/feel might not make it much longer? Do you have any remedies to some of the issues?

Do you personally have any good signs for a roleplay that appears like it will continue for a long time? How much is a long time?

Do you enjoy short or long roleplays? What qualifies them as long or short?

If you were ever in a roleplay with someone and it didn't pan out, would you still roleplay with them again or would the memory of a poor roleplay in the past, stop you?

Should people begin to focus on short term goals and roleplays, rather than often looking for longterm partners and biting off too much?

Is there a certain genre or plot that may take a roleplay far? Is there something that might stunt a roleplay?

More could be added but my curiosity is fine as is. I don't want to level bashing here, I'm sure we can all find a number of successful roleplays from each corner of the Guild. All roleplays are different and this isn't to blame anyone, but to help people hone their personal radar and to help others who may not spot signs as well as some.

[Kagamine]

Hah, never really thought about "warning signs" before. I usually just see how it goes as it goes.

Though from my experience, now that I do think about it, I'd say a lot of IC activity right off the bat is definitely a good sign. There are three roleplays I'm currently in- two of them currently two years old, the last almost a year old, and all three of them I can describe as having "crazy, high-speed activity at the start, moving at a snail's pace now". Funny, isn't it? That three threads currently barely moving are lasting so long? Well, I'd attribute it to the fast-paced, activity-filled opening of the roleplays. At the start, there were a good handful of active players in each, very quickly getting involved with the RP and moving it along. I think that, even if the RP later comes down to very slow speeds, a fast beginning brings in a dedicated crew who have all put in a lot of effort and showed a lot of interest in the roleplay, and that's enough to get them sticking around even as their schedules fill up and they can't post as much. Meanwhile, if an RP is off to a slow, sluggish start at the beginning, then the RPers don't really get into the plot or anything right away, it just doesn't "stick" and they have no motivation to keep posting, so it just dies off.

Oh, and seeing as how, of the three RP's that come to mind, one is free, one is casual, and one is advanced, I'd say this happens no matter where you RP.

[Kadaeux]

Do you personally have warning signs for a roleplay that you think/feel might not make it much longer? Do you have any remedies to some of the issues?

No. Signs are expensive.

In general I get a feeling for how something is going.

Do you personally have any good signs for a roleplay that appears like it will continue for a long time? How much is a long time?

No. Signs are expensive.

You get a feeling when one is going well though.

Do you enjoy short or long roleplays? What qualifies them as long or short?

I enjoy long RPs. I consider a "Short RP" to be by definition one that has failed to keep its players interested for even a short while. (Speaking from experience.)

If you were ever in a roleplay with someone and it didn't pan out, would you still roleplay with them again or would the memory of a poor roleplay in the past, stop you?

Depends. If it didn't pan out because of the actions of that someone then probably not.

Should people begin to focus on short term goals and roleplays, rather than often looking for longterm partners and biting off too much?

No.

Is there a certain genre or plot that may take a roleplay far? Is there something that might stunt a roleplay?

Yes there are things that may stunt roleplays severely.

1: The RP actual not really resembling the interest checks. I signed up for one RP a year or so back with some other people based on a truly exiting idea that captured our imaginations. When the actual IC thread started it resembled what had us sign up about as closely as concrete resembles fire.

[Rilla]

Do you personally have warning signs for a roleplay that you think/feel might not make it much longer? Do you have any remedies to some of the issues?

Small Int. Chks, plot seen a lot of times before, blahblahblah. As far as after the OOC is set up: Lacking OOC conversation(Be it about the RP or not), is generally a big sign for me. I like interactive OOCs

Do you personally have any good signs for a roleplay that appears like it will continue for a long time? How much is a long time?

OOC is active, GM knows what they are doing, easily able to talk to them about this or that, receptive GM's, answer fairly quickly, organization.

Do you enjoy short or long roleplays? What qualifies them as long or short?

I like either as long as they are planned out and easy to grasp. Long ones, I think, are ones that have a far off point that needs to be reached; and short ones, imo, are ones that can be reached quickly. :P

If you were ever in a roleplay with someone and it didn't pan out, would you still roleplay with them again or would the memory of a poor roleplay in the past, stop you?

Nope, I'd roleplay with them again if the reason it didn't pan out wasn't something like trolling/flaming, or something of that nature. Generally, I've vibed good with most of my RP partners.

Should people begin to focus on short term goals and roleplays, rather than often looking for longterm partners and biting off too much?

I recently started going for short term goals. Like in the first Chapter of Allaria, the goal was to make it to the next city. The second chapter is to make it to another, further off city. The first couple of times i ran it, there was not set goal, and it was far off - all they knew was that it was going to be a while and it didn't work out.

Is there a certain genre or plot that may take a roleplay far? Is there something that might stunt a roleplay?

Generally having a rather open ended plot with no definable thing to go after. I tried it with a Pokemon RP, which was based off the games, almost and it didn't work out.

[Foster]

The important thing is, it's often hard to judge. If you value your time, get out of the RP without posting.

But since you're still reading this, I can infer you do not value your time, so drag it out like any bad relationship and hope the RP reforms and flies in an unexpected yet pleasurable direction.
-sure, sometimes it doesn't work-out, but the only thing you have to lose is your time... which is worthless... so get obbsessive-compulsive already.

[Ellri]

the most obvious hints of a dying RP is if a long time goes without many posts, or if characters get mired in the classic inn meetup-event. Or if the GM is not as active and pushy on the slower players.

One of the worst signs is if the GM speaks of plans for a day, then days go by without any activity from it.

[Kestrel]

Do you personally have warning signs for a roleplay that you think/feel might not make it much longer? Do you have any remedies to some of the issues?

It starts with the OOC. When the OOC stops talking, everything drops. There are no remedies to it other than introducing new elements that accumalate new interest, but when interest starts to wane it usually does downhill fast from there and attempts at revival don't work, even if there are some posts. Anticipation is your best defence, so you make your roleplay varied, attempt a faster pace than the players would have on their own and keep your OOC active.

Do you personally have any good signs for a roleplay that appears like it will continue for a long time? How much is a long time?

The survival of your game depends on your players excitement and/or loyalty. So people who remain excited or form social bonds (and express this OOC) suggest your game will last longer... Even that doesn't make a guarentee, though. As sometimes that nice active thing is replaced to another OOC leaving your game to die. So try to keep it.

Do you enjoy short or long roleplays? What qualifies them as long or short?

*insert predictable answer*

If you were ever in a roleplay with someone and it didn't pan out, would you still roleplay with them again or would the memory of a poor roleplay in the past, stop you?

Depends on what happened. Also, unless you're the GM or we're talking 1x1, you don't really have a choice usually.

Should people begin to focus on short term goals and roleplays, rather than often looking for longterm partners and biting off too much?

RP's die usually before even a short term goal is reached. Group RP's at least. However, I do argue that at least implanting short-term goals is extremely beneficial. Going off the feedback I've received, it gives players more things to strive forward to and finishing a mission (short term goal) is an accomplishment on it's own. Also, it allows me to create new excitement easily with new short term goals.

Is there a certain genre or plot that may take a roleplay far? Is there something that might stunt a roleplay?

It really more depends on the players and GM than the genre/plot. Silly as it sounds, it's tried and true. I've had a plot consisting out of "People stole our stuff! Let's go after them!" run quite far because of the players. There's a million of things that stunt an RP but most importantly would be posts feeling insignificant. Like the aforemention inn-meeting. Beginnings are difficult, especially when you've got a lot of people. The best thing is to throw people headfist into action. Give them something to do. A goal.

More could be added but my curiosity is fine as is. I don't want to level bashing here, I'm sure we can all find a number of successful roleplays from each corner of the Guild. All roleplays are different and this isn't to blame anyone, but to help people hone their personal radar and to help others who may not spot signs as well as some.

I've never been in free, but advanced and casual show fairly similar signs and know similar counter-measures, albeit in adapted packages. Advanced seems like it's quicker to die early because a lower average number of players. That generally removes a lot of OOC interaction. However they follow a similar pattern. I think that because of the fewer people in there advanced players are faster to bond, however. So should you get to that point advanced has an advantage there. Just beginnings are even harder than casual.

[Hellis]

Do you personally have warning signs for a roleplay that you think/feel might not make it much longer? Do you have any remedies to some of the issues?

GM's that tend to center everything around their own character. If you want to be the main character, write a fanfic or something.

Do you personally have any good signs for a roleplay that appears like it will continue for a long time? How much is a long time?

Well. If players are fairly active in the ooc, if they tell ahead of time that they have to have a hiatus, and that the GM is able to be flexible and roll with the punches.

Do you enjoy short or long roleplays? What qualifies them as long or short?



If you were ever in a roleplay with someone and it didn't pan out, would you still roleplay with them again or would the memory of a poor roleplay in the past, stop you?



Should people begin to focus on short term goals and roleplays, rather than often looking for longterm partners and biting off too much?
Rilla had it here. Yes for short term goals. Make it so that the characters and players know there is something to progress towards, but keep them baited even after. Carrot, meet stick.


Is there a certain genre or plot that may take a roleplay far? Is there something that might stunt a roleplay?

Vengence plots can become so incredibly broody.