I'd like to propose that original ideas aren't as uncommon as they seem, but plenty of them tend to borrow tropes and cliches that tend to shove them under the radar. They appear less attractive because they have ideas used time immemorial or come with massive lore dumps involving the world. I feel most players want to feel like the belong to the world instead of acting as a guest, so it's a major turnoff to throw yourself into a world that's already been pre-established. Especially one that you had no impact in making.

I think you're touching on something very true there, Hyde. The old saying goes "nothing is original" and it rings true today. Nearly all of our writing deals with common tropes and themes seen in human culture for thousands of years, either playing the theme straight, subverting it or trying to paint it a different shade, but we're still playing with these common themes or tropes. There's nothing wrong with using these things, as they are the building blocks of our culture, beliefs and entertainment. But the classic heroes journey has been a million times and will be done a billion times more before the heat death of the universe.

The other aspect I find interesting is your viewpoint on "being a guest in the world" vs "being a part of the world". I cut my teeth nearly two decades ago with the latter; spending every Friday night with friends in a chatroom pitching out ideas and building worlds and stories together; which can be fun. Nowadays I spend more time building up the background and world in general before presenting an idea to my groups, mainly because many times people can feel overwhelmed when presented with too much choice in how to design a character. Eg, "It's a fantasy world but how does the magic work? Am I a Gandalf style wizard with natural power, or is this more Final Fantasy 7 where I have to slot the ability to use magic into a weapon". I think at the very least having a set of rules and reasons for the world is good before dropping ideas to total strangers.

I do agree with you though. I think giving players the freedom to create their own part of the world is important. The best kind of original world RPs act as a balance between the extreme worldbuilding and extreme freedom that have been discussed. That's why I roleplay, after all. Different players from different walks of like have time and time again surprised me by how they can look at a theme or situation with a completely different eye than myself, and I find that extremely invaluable as a writer.

and y’all are being ridiculous with the status bar and your assertions.

On Roleplayer Guild? Why I never

The RP that I've been doing with a core group of friends (with various other players coming and going over the years) started as a Shinra Inc (Final Fantasy VII) clan back in the early 2000's. At that time, it was centered around a combination of RP fighting and a continuation of the FFVII story (this predated Advent Children by several years). We eventually ended up incorporating elements from other games that we liked, most notably Xenogears, which eventually took over as the main overarching plot, with the FFVII element essentially becoming a mere "chapter" within that broader universe (which we have since added and expanded upon in our own ways - and in fact, one of the primary architects hasn't even played Xenogears yet, lol).

After a couple of years, we got bored of being Shinra, so we staged a big IC event where the company got destroyed from the inside and we took our characters and formed a new group - the Yggdrasil Space Pirates - which went on to jump from forum to forum joining in on various interconnected RPs while still maintaining our own core narrative and intermittently staging our own major plot threads whenever we felt like it. Again, allowing random newcomers to join up as we went along. People were free to come and go with original characters or fandom-based characters as long as it didn't directly contradict or otherwise interfere with the main story that we had going on.

We're still at it, though it's slowed down due to adult responsibilities obviously taking priority. Point is, it doesn't matter if it's "original" or "fandom" or some combination of both. What matters is that you enjoy it enough to stick with it. And if you're actually doing a good job, other people will want to get in on the action too, even if only for a chapter or two.

I like to consider people who take tropes or inspirations from other mediums or genres are also OG, no bashing on our trope-gang that runs around here but y'all are cool. I think the writing contests bring out the best writers in the guild also.

Absolutely. Tropes or cliches don't automatically disqualify a Roleplay from the premise of "originality". I'm more or less of the mindset that they tend to be less popular because many of them run in the same vein. I feel that it's a lack of variety that tends to be the issue. Or, rather, why they seem to be less popular.

Are their original twists in some of these plots? Of course! The Entertainers was one that I saw while perusing that takes a few cliches and twists them in a way that is entirely unique. They exist, but I've also seen quite a few Roleplays that were literally a cliche or trope and that was the entire premise (admittedly most of these were in Free, but still).

They've gone to discord. /thread

<Snipped quote by Penny>

There aren't. But people have a tendency to post about lewd interest checks in the status bar which is like advertising for your competitor and not even getting paid.

To be honest I'm more likely to click on a 1x1 labeled 'Cybernetic Harry Potter Harem' than I am to click on 'RP ideas', that is just marketing!

<Snipped quote by Fabricant451>

To be honest I'm more likely to click on a 1x1 labeled 'Cybernetic Harry Potter Harem' than I am to click on 'RP ideas', that is just marketing!

does that imply that there is a harem of harry potter androids or is it a VR harem of various harry potter ladies

<Snipped quote by Penny>

does that imply that there is a harem of harry potter androids or is it a VR harem of various harry potter ladies

This is RPG, any Harry Potter Harem will be the Marauders and Snape and possibly even Tom Riddle for some reason

<Snipped quote by Penny>

does that imply that there is a harem of harry potter androids or is it a VR harem of various harry potter ladies

See? You almost have to take a look!

I think, ultimately, for some people it is easier to create a world within a pre-established one than to create something from scratch.

Honestly, I have a distaste for all the anime roleplays but really, there's nothing one can do except not participate in them.

<Snipped quote by DruSM157>
This is RPG, any Harry Potter Harem will be the Marauders and Snape and possibly even Tom Riddle for some reason

<Snipped quote by DruSM157>
See? You almost have to take a look!

oh no what have I done

I think, ultimately, for some people it is easier to create a world within a pre-established one than to create something from scratch.

Honestly, I have a distaste for all the anime roleplays but really, there's nothing one can do except not participate in them.

I find the opposite is true because I just dont have the mastery over many fandoms to be able to be faithful to them. In an original world nothing that I come up with is going to be wrong.

<Snipped quote by Starboard Watch>

I find the opposite is true because I just dont have the mastery over many fandoms to be able to be faithful to them. In an original world nothing that I come up with is going to be wrong.

I think it depends upon one's mastery of the fandom they're working within. I could easily create a convincing RP set within the Star Trek universe, on-par with my ability to create one from scratch. But I couldn't join an RP of something that I really have no idea about, no matter how decent the idea appeals to me on the surface - simply because I would be out of my depth in the assumed knowledge on part of the participants.

That's the nice thing about the freedom of choice on this site. Those who enjoy fandoms can write fandoms, while those who prefer to create their own worlds can do that too. Fandoms might outweigh "original" content, but it isn't like original stuff doesn't exist. Similar to Penny, I've got 7 ongoing 1x1 RPs that are all fully original in the sense that my partners and I built the worlds, ourselves. You can find topics that interest you if you look hard enough - or make the thread.

My group and I have gone in and invaded threads without any real knowledge of the fandom or what have you. It's totally doable (and pretty fun, usually). Of course, that's always been in the context of broad multiversal-style setups. Well, not always, but most of the time. Also, there's always been a combative element to our antics. A mix of the RP fighting side and the straight storytelling. That might be one of the major reasons we've lasted so long. RP fighters are stubborn fucks. Wanting to compete and win really does tend to drive things forward.

There is a continuum. I don't even know what Naturo(sp) is so I wouldn't be comfortable writing in it. Similarly in some cases the setting is more set dressing than an integral part of the story. I can write a love story in 19th century Tahiti without needing to be an expert.

There is a continuum. I don't even know what Naturo(sp) is

Hell neither did the author.

Zing.

Very long post with plenty of wonderful insight. Go read for yourselves.

You put this so wonderfully that I have nothing to add. You phrased it much better than I could have as well. I'm in complete agreement with your comment about striking a balance between extreme freedom and extreme worldbuilding too. As a (very bad) GM on Discord, I've made some mistakes with that one.

They've gone to discord. /thread

As it should be.

I've killed about a baker's dozen different Narutos IC.

The OP's title is a little dramatic. There is no lack of originality on RPG per se but rather, execution. The execution of a RP, for me, matters more than some nebulous concept of originality and how unique it is.