Let's B!tch. I feel it's a healthy release for our roleplay annoyances 2.0

[silentmusician]

Can someone tell me why 1x1 is so prevalent on every rp site I've been to? What's the draw of it?

[ML]

Can someone tell me why 1x1 is so prevalent on every rp site I've been to? What's the draw of it?

@silentmusician

possibly faster posting, less complication, easier to keep both characters involved, etc

[Todd Howard]

@silentmusician

1x1's make me have to rely on only one person instead of five or more.

The likelihood of a 1x1 roleplay dying due to inactivity is much less than the likelihood of a group RP dying. On a more personal level, 1x1's allow me to express myself more as a writer; As I'm building something with one other individual, instead of building something myself as a GM, or trying to obey a GM and live by her/his restrictions. It allows for much more creativity and progression than either an RP that moves too fast due to a few people being complete dicks, or a few people not posting at all due to being complete dicks.

Of course, 1x1's die too; Though most end on neutral terms rather than as a complete disaster; There's the people that ditch silently, but unlike Groups, you can just not interact with them again; In a group, even if you know you have someone with a bad history, you have to deal with them because the GM either is too desperate for players to care, or just considers you pessimistic. And if you try to ignore them in character, you'll just get insulted more and booted away, or if you're lucky, the other person will leave. But it's not truly lucky because it fucks up the group's motivation anyways. Lose lose, so to speak. Not to say I haven't left my fair share of Group RP's, though; But I'm open about it and explain why. I'm not just like "lol imma go post here and not here, fuck u fgt" like a good majority of the people who cause roleplay problems; I try and explain myself, and always make it clear that if I'm unable to be motivated to write my best, it's better to not have me.

I've spent years with some 1x1 partners but never have I been in an active group for more than two months. I'm probably just extremely unlucky, but regardless of luck that's just the case for me. 1x1's have always been there for me; I've met some really cool people through them, and they are much more flexible to my adult schedule. Unlike quite a few group RP's which are ran by people who have nothing better to do than post on the site all day. (Which isn't a problem; I just can't manage with those people, because I have other obligations to my boyfriend and close family.)

Sooo, that's my take on it. ye.

[Kenaron]

@silentmusician I feel like it's more free, like @Raddum said over here. I don't know the takes of everyone else about 1x1, but I find it better to help make a world as much as your own as the other person's.

Also, isn't this thread for bitching? I thought it was for bitching.

[Todd Howard]

Also, isn't this thread for bitching? I thought it was for bitching.

@Kenaron

Well, people randomly ask shit that confuses them, for one reason or another. Most of the angrier and more advanced roleplayers drop into this thread from time to time, so you can actually find some really good advice in here you wouldn't get elsewhere. If you look through some of the pages, there's actually useful shit in here. Like the fact you can stalk those cowards who hide their online/offline status by friending them... A useful tool for both 1x1's and groups. _{Been using that since the friend system was added. Literally it's only use is to stalk people.}

Thanks for reminding me to bitch, however.

Fuck the fact that people feel the need to get involved with something regardless of the fact if they have any action inspiration for it or not. The idea of joining an RP and not having an idea you'd like to carry out is retarded: You're asking to simply get bored of whatever you manage to put together to appease the GM, only to get bored quick and drop out. If you are going to join an RP, with people who are committed to an RP that is planned to be long term, don't be a fucking piece of shit. If you are going to be someone who has a short attention span and just hops around like a whore goes around; Find RP's like that. Drop-in Drop-out RP's exist on the site; And while that in itself is fucking stupid, it's there to appeal to those who would otherwise ruin a story for some other nerds like me who'd like to actually see something through.

As a GM and Player, I've had the frustrations of dealing with a shitty playerbase. I've also had real life issues kick in and ruin everything, but that's not what I'm bitching about. I'm mad at the people who intentionally do this shit. You intentionally join, do your stupid stunt, then fuck off without a care. The shit that went on a few pages back about expecting RP's to die and that's the way it should be; That we should just get over it? That's the out look of someone who's in it for the moment. Some of us, at least I can speak for myself, aren't just prissy little momentary roleplayers. We're writers who actually deeply enjoy developing characters and investing ourselves into our hobby. And when you come along, with your mindset, and purposefully fuck that up for people? You're being the biggest piece of shit imaginable.

I've been trying to get back into groups recently, and between my creativity being shattered and lack of freedom to write being apparent, it furthers my appeal of 1x1's. A lot of things are just going down the shitter. A lot if it is simply due to misinformation and lack of explanation before starting, too. But bitching about that is a whole other thing, I don't even wanna go into that right now.

There. There's some fucking bitching. Now fucking stop it RPGuild. Stop it. _*slap*

[ML]

@Raddum
i mean u wanna join my rp its like 4 ppl and weve been going for about 8 months steady, albeit slow

mostly joking, idk if that wold screw up the dynamic at all

[Todd Howard]

@Mercenary Lord

Not really looking at the moment, but thanks for the offer, joke or not.

[pugbutter]

@silentmusician Players are more active in 1x1 RP, and less likely to abandon a thread without warning, because then they know they're 100% responsible for the death of a thread if they do decide to quit. There's a shame factor, and a certain publicity to 1x1 which incentivizes people to stick it out long-term.

There are also fewer moving parts. If you're compatible with your partner then you're compatible with 100% of the other players in the RP.

There are other reasons but those are the two primaries.

[vancexentan]

I know everyone has to start somewhere however I freaking HATE having to deal with roleplayers who ask the dumbest god damn questions. I literally just got asked "How do I get interaction?" I don't know how about TALKING TO ONE OF THE PLAYER CHARACTERS? Not some character that I didn't even mention was there? I'm not even sure if the guy is new or just incompetent.

[Todd Howard]

Guess who came back? It's me, and I'm ready to bitch again.

I have a handful of RP partners to respond to, so I kinda have my schedule packed. I have no intentions of dropping this RP though, so don't worry.

Anonymous

_{Do note, Anonymous User who wrote this: This is not directed at you as we've sorted ourselves out. This is a bitch towards the whole community.}

Let's talk about overburdening ourselves.

We've all done it, at one point or another. Yeah? Well, there's a few differences between the effects that your lack of attendance makes on different roleplays. We'll start with you being too burdened with roleplays to support a certain group you're a part of. As a player, depending on the roleplay, you can cause a devastating effect on the continuation of a roleplay by joining when you know you have too much on your plate already. Either you reply slow compared to the rest because you have too much ground to cover, or at the end of the day, you're tired of writing and put that post off until later. Eventually this leads to you leaving the roleplay as your interest and motivation drain; Which then causes damage to the motivation of the group. (Which I've touched on, but repeating myself is fun.) Which'll lead to slower posting, less inspiration, and generally a terrible time.

Now, we'll move onto 1x1 overburdening. I've had this one happen to me personally; I used to take on way too many people, and then eventually I'd go into RP burnout. This is, of course, bad for 1x1 partners. And you, as it gives you a pretty fucking bad rep and makes finding good people pretty difficult. Not much to say in regard to this one, as we get into the deep stuff.

Now consider the quote above, being told to you not by a 1x1 partner or a player in a group RP, but a GM. A Gal or Guy that choose to run his own project, is too busy joining and making more stuff with people that she or he cannot properly support the RP. This is beyond devastating; This is the beginning of an absolute disaster. This is enough to enforce the mindset that the RP will not be getting the love and support it needs; Instead, it will be getting put on the back burner while your GM flippity Flaps wherever the fuck doing her or his own thing, which is a terrible thought in it's own right, which personally fucking drains me of motivation just thinking about it. The fact that, no matter how dedicated a playerbase you have, you now have a potential ticking time bomb due to having an unstable GM who won't always be there is terrible. Plot can't progress, things in the OOC can't be decided, the works. A lack of an active GM is a death sentence; Through and through.

This is something for all aspiring Roleplay GM's to take note of: If you are uncertain you can keep track of your own thread, then don't make it. Don't make something that'll potentially crush other people's motivations, just because "oh lol i wana do dis hooreeeeyyy". This generally gives a bad view on our community, and personally hurts whenever it happens to me. Not to mention people will likely avoid your works in the future if you gain a bad rep as GM... Something to take note of, because a bad reputation is not at all easily shook off after awhile.

This is just food for thought for people. Know you can support something before you make it; Don't disappoint a bunch of others by having something die within a few weeks due to you "kinda having your schedule packed": If you are that busy with other roleplays, you should put your idea on hold, instead of causing a disappointment for a lot of people, and a bad image of yourself for other people to look at when they think of you.

[Todd Howard]

At this rate, I might as well make my own thread for my bitching. Shit.

Anyways, today's topic is pretty simple. It's about reading posts.

Some people, stupid ones, say "There's no such thing as a stupid question." As easy as the joke would be to make, I'm not gonna make it. I'm just going to debunk this by saying a few simple words: There are such things as stupid questions.

You know what stupid questions are?

Ones that have already been fucking answered. Or, alternatively, questions about things that weren't even asked about, and instead just were explained. If the questions are uncertainties, fine; But if you don't know what the hell is being talked about, it's because you have failed to do a simple thing known as keeping up with the OOC. Which, in the defense of those who don't, I understand. Going through the bullshit random discussions can be rough, and very boring. But you know what else is boring? Having to answer crap that has already been explained when you could figure it out yourself.

tl;dr don't waste people's time when finding the answer is easy for you, who has nothing better to do.

[Rai]

I thought adding several players to my roleplay would make me go all out and make a book in each post. Exaggerated but I felt I could write more. And no details are not what makes a story good. Its the way the details are presented. Turns out a lot of posts have little interaction with players and are instead internal struggles between the players own characters and how they percieve the world. Whether this stems from the writers own personal struggles or my inability to interact the shit out of their character with npcs and environment. Whatever the case its mildly annoying.

[Dion]

Can someone tell me why 1x1 is so prevalent on every rp site I've been to? What's the draw of it?

@silentmusician

I used to hate 1x1, I thought it was boring roleplaying with just one person when you could roleplay with literally TENS of people. Why settle for one?

Then I slowly got bored of large groups, started seeing the problems that are really fucking prevalent in group RP's like people ditching the RP, overburdening themselves, or just a general.. clique-y feeling where I often feel like I'm not a big enough part of the inner circle to really get anything done. Pair this with me attempting to increase my writing skills (which RPG has helped a lot in at the start but has slowly stagnated in that helping process) and becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the effort some people put into their posts...

I made the switch to 1x1 a while ago, it took me a while to find good partners. That is, in part, because I have an annoying personality trait where I'm a huge douche, so people naturally kinda annoy me. But it's also because 1x1 is riddled with writers that don't want anything more than one liners, and I don't think that's bad but it's not what I want.

Now I've found a good partner that writes the same amount if not more than me, and is relaxed when it comes to OOC chatter. We're both invested into the RP, too, which helps. You see that a lot sooner in 1x1 - that people become invested, and thus it increases my motivation to post.

So, I think overall, 1x1 is just a better user experience for people like me that got fed up with group RP.

[BrokenPromise]

@Rai Depending on how far along your RP is, your new players might not feel comfortable interacting at this point and still want to get a feel for the world. This is why I typically have a few of my own "player characters" around to help guide other characters to the excitement, or play match maker.



When that doesn't work, it sometimes helps to actually communicate what you want to the players. some people thrive when left alone, others require some hand-holding.

[Todd Howard]

Don't even want to put my newest found frustration into words.

Just fucking end me.

[Ammokkx]

Don't even want to put my newest found frustration into words.

@Raddum

It's the bitching thread, man. You can't get away with saying you're frustrated but not saying what about!

On the other hand, I do have a frustration to share:

Ffffacking player proactivity, or rather, the lack thereof. I can understand wanting to be along for the ride and letting the GM unfold their grandiose tale, but I don't really like it when people don't really get involved in any way besides waiting for someone else to do something and then following along. Even something as simple as going up to another player's character and talking to them would be nice, but no, these guys don't really do anything unless the GM or another player prods them >.>

It'd be nice if you got involved in some way rather than being luggage to carry around.

[Todd Howard]

On the other hand, I do have a frustration to share:

Ffffacking player proactivity, or rather, the lack thereof. I can understand wanting to be along for the ride and letting the GM unfold their grandiose tale, but I don't really like it when people don't really get involved in any way besides waiting for someone else to do something and then following along. Even something as simple as going up to another player's character and talking to them would be nice, but no, these guys don't really do anything unless the GM or another player prods them >.>

It'd be nice if you got involved in some way rather than being luggage to carry around.

@Ammokkx

Fine. Let's collab bitch.

I fucking relate to this. A majority of roleplayers don't actually do much for themselves, and it's highly irritating. I actually prefer taking my own routes and giving the GM something to think about; They need to have fun, too. If you guys just follow along like loyal dogs the GM is just gonna know everything that's going to happen; Having your character act naturally via doing something that ISN'T specifically what the GM laid before you (Because usually this thing they want is beyond what your character would do if you weren't being the GM's bitch, yeah?) Is good for adding some naturality to the RP: Make it feel a bit more alive, rather than a fanfic in the making by doing everything by the book.

You know what annoys me? People who say "I have nothing to post about." Fucking make something, dude! Add onto the roleplay instead of being fucking worthless to the group; Throw yourself in on something, and plan with your fellow roleplayers! Ask your GM, do something instead of moping and not fucking replying. If you have zero creativity and can't figure shit out, you probably should avoid roleplays to begin with; Because that's just one more thing that'll lead you to getting bored and jumping off.

Alternatively GM's that streamline things and don't actually give their players enough to do is also a thing that happens. At times you'll end up appealing more to certain players, due to your ideas for them, or some shit. Stop being fucking selective and attend to all of your players if you insist they follow your plot. If you aren't going to give them freedom, then give them something to do instead of simply limiting their potential to write something great. Even though most things are the fault of the players, the GM's are just as guilty when you look back through a lot of the dead threads on this site.

[vancexentan]

@RaddumA great number of my roleplays have died just as much from players not trying to find stuff to do on their god damn own. People complain about railroading them. But then they don't do flipping anything to try and improve the narrative of their own accord. If your unsure of something in the grand scheme of things ask the GM and talk it out.

For example: We're all in a military base what do you do? We talk to the one of the random player characters....screw it I want out this is too complicated for me thanks for the RP lol.

[Todd Howard]

For example: We're all in a military base what do you do? We talk to the one of the random player characters....screw it I want out this is too complicated for me thanks for the RP lol.

@vancexentan

Interaction is difficult confirmed

[vancexentan]

@RaddumAs I'm sure you can see my previous rant below but that same guy has not only asked me how do I do interaction not once but twice after flat out telling him who he can interact with TWICE. Like fuck me it's not that hard to literally go up to another player IN THE SAME CAMP AS YOU BEFORE A BATTLE and ask them some question, or go up to the military commander npc prince guy and ask him for orders. You don't need to be a master roleplay to know how to say god damn HI TO SOMEONE.

Literally this is his quote "How do I get interaction?"