Before we begin, just want to say: I haven't been on this site in ages, and I'm basically doing this on a whim since the idea just kind of struck me out of the blue today, so unfortunately, I don't really have any kind of fancy formatting or overly detailed premise as of yet. As such, this is just a basic preliminary check to see if anyone would actually be interested in trying out the idea before I go to the trouble of developing it further. After all, if people are interested, we can probably work through worldbuilding and the like as we go to accommodate everyone's desired characters. And, if they aren't, then not going all out on an interest check will save me time.
So, having gotten all that out of the way, let's get right to it. I'm sure pretty much anyone who bothered to click on this thread is probably familiar with the fifty bajillion manga and light novels out there with this same stupid premise - some poor schmuck reincarnates/is summoned/transmigrates/whatever into the fantasy world of a romance game aimed at women and is caught up in all sorts of political conspiracies, good old-fashioned Machiavellian scheming, comedies of manners, bizarre trope-bashing shenanigans, or some combination thereof, usually with the stated end goal of avoiding some horrible "bad ending." Scumbag princes, tsundere villainess noble girls, two-faced heroines, broken engagements - you name it, we've got it! Most of them go so far into deconstructing the initial premise that by the end of it, they don't resemble an actual otome game at all, but who cares? If you're like me, you'll probably keep coming back for more anyway, because there's something weirdly fun about the interplay of having people trying to play a role expected of them by society, while also dealing with their role as a character in a story, while also having a personality completely different from either of the roles they've been forced into - leading to a bizarre combination of in-universe plot and meta-plot and all the fun of an off-the-rails retelling of a familiar story without any of the foreknowledge of what you're actually getting into.
So, that strangely TV-infomercial-esque summary aside - don't ask me why I wrote it that way, it's 5:30 AM on a weekday and I'm sitting here writing an interest check about otome game isekai, you seriously think I know what I'm doing? - basically, my questions come down to the following.
1: How many people are interested in the overall genre, and would like to try a roleplay based on the concept?
2: If you are interested, how serious would you like the roleplay to be?
3: If you were to join, what kind of basic role in the "game" plot - like Male lead, villainess noble girl, heroine, heroine's best friend, etc. - would you be most interested in playing, and would you rather be a reincarnator or not?
4: If you're playing a major character in the "game" plot - like a male lead, for example - how much of the plot of your character's "route" would you prefer to come up with yourself, and how much would you expect me as GM to provide for you?
5: Would you rather do the RP through this site, or through Discord?
Ideally speaking, I'd like to have around four people playing characters in the game acting according to their roles initially - with at least two, if not more of those being male leads - and at least two reincarnators to throw things off the rails. I'd likely be playing an unaware game character myself, to help set up the initial conditions for the plot so other people can destroy it in either a dramatic or humorous fashion, depending on peoples' preferences.
As far as ideas for the setting are concerned, I'll probably do some kind of medieval fantasy with rare superpowers - blessings from the fairies, elemental magic, something of that sort. Gotta make our various assorted bishies special, after all. Could go the generic route and have some kind of academy setup to justify an anachronistic high school in a medieval european setting, but I dunno about that yet. All I know is that it must obviously be aristocratic in nature and have plenty of opportunities for miscommunication, unwanted engagements, forbidden love, and possibly political assassinations and the ever-looming threat of war if we want to tell a more serious story.
Anyway, since I still don't even know if anyone will be interested in this, better keep it brief, so that's all for now. If you're interested, I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for reading!
P.S.: I would like to request that if anyone reincarnates as the heroine, please don't just psychotically recite lines trying for the harem end. I know this entire genre is built on cliches and all, but seriously, enough is enough. We don't need any more evil heroines. I dunno, be a male college fratboy reincarnated as a Disney princess instead. Throw me a curveball here. I want to watch the world burn.
So, having gotten all that out of the way, let's get right to it. I'm sure pretty much anyone who bothered to click on this thread is probably familiar with the fifty bajillion manga and light novels out there with this same stupid premise - some poor schmuck reincarnates/is summoned/transmigrates/whatever into the fantasy world of a romance game aimed at women and is caught up in all sorts of political conspiracies, good old-fashioned Machiavellian scheming, comedies of manners, bizarre trope-bashing shenanigans, or some combination thereof, usually with the stated end goal of avoiding some horrible "bad ending." Scumbag princes, tsundere villainess noble girls, two-faced heroines, broken engagements - you name it, we've got it! Most of them go so far into deconstructing the initial premise that by the end of it, they don't resemble an actual otome game at all, but who cares? If you're like me, you'll probably keep coming back for more anyway, because there's something weirdly fun about the interplay of having people trying to play a role expected of them by society, while also dealing with their role as a character in a story, while also having a personality completely different from either of the roles they've been forced into - leading to a bizarre combination of in-universe plot and meta-plot and all the fun of an off-the-rails retelling of a familiar story without any of the foreknowledge of what you're actually getting into.
So, that strangely TV-infomercial-esque summary aside - don't ask me why I wrote it that way, it's 5:30 AM on a weekday and I'm sitting here writing an interest check about otome game isekai, you seriously think I know what I'm doing? - basically, my questions come down to the following.
1: How many people are interested in the overall genre, and would like to try a roleplay based on the concept?
2: If you are interested, how serious would you like the roleplay to be?
3: If you were to join, what kind of basic role in the "game" plot - like Male lead, villainess noble girl, heroine, heroine's best friend, etc. - would you be most interested in playing, and would you rather be a reincarnator or not?
4: If you're playing a major character in the "game" plot - like a male lead, for example - how much of the plot of your character's "route" would you prefer to come up with yourself, and how much would you expect me as GM to provide for you?
5: Would you rather do the RP through this site, or through Discord?
Ideally speaking, I'd like to have around four people playing characters in the game acting according to their roles initially - with at least two, if not more of those being male leads - and at least two reincarnators to throw things off the rails. I'd likely be playing an unaware game character myself, to help set up the initial conditions for the plot so other people can destroy it in either a dramatic or humorous fashion, depending on peoples' preferences.
As far as ideas for the setting are concerned, I'll probably do some kind of medieval fantasy with rare superpowers - blessings from the fairies, elemental magic, something of that sort. Gotta make our various assorted bishies special, after all. Could go the generic route and have some kind of academy setup to justify an anachronistic high school in a medieval european setting, but I dunno about that yet. All I know is that it must obviously be aristocratic in nature and have plenty of opportunities for miscommunication, unwanted engagements, forbidden love, and possibly political assassinations and the ever-looming threat of war if we want to tell a more serious story.
Anyway, since I still don't even know if anyone will be interested in this, better keep it brief, so that's all for now. If you're interested, I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for reading!
P.S.: I would like to request that if anyone reincarnates as the heroine, please don't just psychotically recite lines trying for the harem end. I know this entire genre is built on cliches and all, but seriously, enough is enough. We don't need any more evil heroines. I dunno, be a male college fratboy reincarnated as a Disney princess instead. Throw me a curveball here. I want to watch the world burn.
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