What Happened to Dedicated RP's

[Royzooka]

Hello all

So I am have been rather active for the last few weeks after taking a break from the guild for the same reasons I always take them which is on this subject actually. Is is me or does it seem really rare to find someone who shows interest and then dedicates time towards? I have had at least 7 people interested, only three of them passing the set up and CS stage. The rest making me start something but either never posting the first reply or after several stop. I am not the best RPer but I am far from the worst. From what I understand people like my ideas yet it seems people won't commit to them. Also what bothers me is when you ask why they won't reply but instead you are a ghost, funny thing is I am like a ghost in real life. I talk to me but for the most part I have no real presence what is around me except for the several close friends I have where that is different.

Recently I had a RPer like my idea, said it was great and loved how it was written and was really interested. Three days later turns round while we still set up as me and them have lives to live, then says I am out. She won't say why either. It seems I am having a string of these and I think this will keep happening until the end. I am casual, I can write one paragraph to 9+ if something interesting is happening, I make sure to spell things right but I do make human errors.

So is it just me or have all the hardworking and dedicated RPers gone or at least rare to come across? Maybe I am just a bit bitter at the moment from all those RPer leaving me in the dust.

[Dinh AaronMk]

All the dedicated RPers are probably already dedicated to an ongoing RP and don't have the time. That's my theory. So all that's left are the unreliable sorts.

I've been running an RP for four years with pretty much the same crew. We've never had any success with anything else but this one RP.

[NuttsnBolts]

Know the feeling dude. It's a lot of work to start up an RP and I've started 3 RPs in my time with 2 story lines (1 of them I tried here to see how it'd go). Each time I've had them fail because of different reasons. My later one was due to inactivity but the first idea was to a crazy bitch that godmodded and tried taking over my RP. Thankfully that wasn't here.

I am sorry to say that I don't have any true suggestions for you. Some people have things come up in their lives, some see the first IC post and back out, while others are so indecisive that after a few posts they loose their inspiration and pull out. Last RP that I joined and didn't take off was a modern dark fantasy one (not gonna name it). We had 8 character sheets, the interest check went insane, but it never started because the GM lost time to dedicate him/her-self to it.

Can I ask as well, and you can PM the answer if you don't wanna draw attention to certain areas of the site, but would it happen to be a 1x1? If so, 1x1s seem to be an area that both shows promise but is also plagued with people trying to find anything to RP about. The amount of topics that I see where a member will state that they are willing to do 1 of about 10 different themes is just simply mind blowing.

Anyways, keep calm mate. I'm sure that you do have an awesome idea but if it's not working now just shelf it for a while until you feel ready for it again. Who knows, in 3 months you could put it up, draw in a completely different crowd and then wonder what to do a few months down the track when it's still going. :)

[RBYDark]

I hate to be that person, but - they didn't go anywhere. Fact is, the vast majority of rpers A) get excited and then lose interest in a matter of days when things go more slowly than they wanted, B) only had a character idea and once it's down on paper, they lose the desire to rp, C) contact a bunch of different people only to realize they've picked up way too many rps and something has to go, or D) it was just a craving and it passed. These people can still get dedicated to a particular rp, just that for a lot of other rps, they can't do it. I've only met a small handful of people who remained dedicated to their rps despite any or all of the above occurring.

You're probably just bitter right now, but I can't blame you. I'm feeling a bit bitter myself because my most recent interest check took off, only for everyone to vanish EXCEPT the guy who didn't know if he could do it. It's disappointing, and all I can suggest is trying again maybe in a few weeks if the three aren't enough.

[zombieaccount]

Generally the interest span of players for RPs is limited to 1-2 months from what i've seen the past year or so.

[idlehands]

It's even more fun when a GM does this.

E: it happens, move on and try again there will be much more failures than successes but one day you'll hit the right mix of story and writers.

[Ellri]

Well, the RPers we're mostly around tend to stick to their RPs, through thick and thin. But not all RPs survive. We've had to shut down more than one RP after it broke due to design errors rather than players dropping.

[Royzooka]

Can I ask as well, and you can PM the answer if you don't wanna draw attention to certain areas of the site, but would it happen to be a 1x1? If so, 1x1s seem to be an area that both shows promise but is also plagued with people trying to find anything to RP about. The amount of topics that I see where a member will state that they are willing to do 1 of about 10 different themes is just simply mind blowing.

@NuttsnBolts

Well it is both 1x1's as well as group stuff. One thread had at least 10 people interested and since then have said nothing so I have about 3 people doing the said group RP.

[The Mage]

It's even more fun when a GM does this.

E: it happens, move on and try again there will be much more failures than successes but one day you'll hit the right mix of story and writers.

@idlehands

that happens so many times

used to be a Sci-fi mercenary thread on here(not gonna name it) that was made by the same person, which generally had the same setup for the first mission. This guy tried to make it twice in about 6 months time and after like half a month of roleplaying each he drops out and says he lost interest and focuses on his other roleplays. Seriously, if you're going to make a thread of that magnitude you don't leave us with our pants down. I don't get how people think that retrying an RP that they let die will work.

And yes, I have also seen that dedicated RPers are seldom found. I've been lucky to find two in the last two years of roleplaying on different sites. I had a futuristic warfare roleplay I was making back before the OldGuild was shut down, and EVERYONE showed MASSIVE interest- died out before anyone posted(this also happened with a Planetside 2 thread I had but that actually died out after 3 posts.)

That's why I tend to not make the threads and look around. that or take my time and look for reliable roleplayers from the last one's I've been on.

[Ariamis]

I find that showing interest and then quitting isn't nearly as bad as quitting without giving any reason for it, since you're left unsure if the problem was with the quitter, your RP or your writing style, leaving no room for development.

[Innue]

It does suck when this happens, but there isn't much that can be done.

The longest I've had something run was about 5-6 months. After that I lost the people that had said they were going to assist me in managing the thread, which made it impossible for me to go on.

Sometimes though I've noticed that people sometimes just don't sync up stylistically which causes people to leave - as in the others they are writing with don't inspire them and posting becomes a chore. Just some thoughts.

[Ganryu]

It doesn't really even seem to be the Rp'ers by themselves. It's kinda mix of them and the GM's. I have a close knit group of friends I oft RP with, and it's been hit and miss. Sometimes we REALLY like the project we're on, and keep going. Other times, the RP gets stuck, and we can't find a way out of it.

I've had the reverse though. Really RP, no motivation, and I wanted to shoot the people who just would not bloody post. That sucks to the point of psychosis.

[Cerberov]

I'm unfortunately in the "unreliable" category.

I'm a slow poster, so that's one problem. Plus, I tend to think way too hard, and put way too much into a CS, that's two. Plus, I constantly doubt my writing/RPing skill in the presence of others. But four is the most important: I can get mentally exhausted, very, very easily.

Say you play a big board game, like, I dunno... Civilization the Board Game, or Argent: The Consortium, or Twilight Imperium. By the end of it, you can often feel physically and mentally exhausted, because you've sunk several hours into poring over strategies, actign and reactign with the ebb and flow of a needlessly huge and needlessly complicated system.

Generally I can either play a big board game like that, squeeze out a few posts, or work on a few pages of the novel that hasn't been finished in years, but I can't do more than one in the same day.

[Incanus]

I suppose it's like playing Caesar or SimCity or one of those city building games. When you start out, especially as a GM, you have all these ideas: maps, mountains, exotic words, magic system, bloody history etc. Then when you put it all down neatly, create that perfect world and wait for those interested to put up their CS, you realize that you are spent. Suddenly, there are other people - wanting to write with you. Horror of horrors! You quit, say you have a life, and go on to the next world. Only this time, it will be grander! Bigger! Muahahaha!

Repeat ad infinitum.

[Cerberov]

@Incanus Pretty much the reason I usually fail as a GM, at least in pen-and-paper RPGs. I end up going too big, and have to accommodate every detail I add in to some arcane minutiae found in the depths of eratta somewhere, and everyone else simply runs out of patience.

I have a problem sticking to the "start small" school of advice.

[The Undertaker]

So is it just me or have all the hardworking and dedicated RPers gone or at least rare to come across?

@Royzooka

I know here you coming from, I am 22 and I have role played over 13 years of that life span, started out on the runescape forums, then left there after some good years and floated around the internet role playing here and there. I have have tons of role plays I have started hundreds upon hundreds of them, and out of those role plays only few have made it to the end. Some died in the middle, the beginning, some never even made it to the story and died before it began. To simply say the reason why dedicated role players are a dime a dozen is because of something specific would be way to vague. There are tons of reasons why honestly, some just don't have the time to dedicate to their own creation or even to others role plays, some start out thinking its cool then they see the direction it goes and ops out of the role play, some merely join post a few posts then leave without saying a word. There are even those who love creating characters just to create then just leave feeling accomplished. Some are just kids who like to type, but get uninterested rather quickly like most kids of young age do.

Honestly the list can go on an on, I have heard many different reasons over the years. Finding dedicated role players is tough sometimes and that is a reality on any site where role playing takes place. Take it from me I have played on many sites and its the same thing over and over again. Its the same concept even for gaming as well and many different things. I wouldn't say its rare to find a dedicated player, however I will say that it can be frustrating at time. You just gotta roll with the punches and keep trying and not let it get to you. Sooner or later you find people who are dedicated and keep it going.

[Jinxer]

I think sometimes (and I admit, until I realised it was a key failing, I was often guilty of this) the GM comes up with a really interesting or original concept. It is incredibly detailed and seems well planned out and attracts a decent group of RPers who make it through the acceptance stage without dropping out.

...And then the GM realises they haven't come up with an ending or a path to the ending or a set of events to follow. This results in a bit of playing by ear which sometimes results in some fantastically original and imaginative scenes and plots but largely ends in a mish mash of undirected posts clashing against each other as no one knows quite what to do.

Also, a lot of people RP seasonally. It's winter and the days are short so there's less to do so they stay at a computer at home and RP. Spring comes: hurrah! We can now go outside - and activity dwindles as other commitments come to the fore. When this happens I often take a small leave of absence (once I'm sure any RP I'm a part of is simply not going ahead and the GM has called quits) from all RPing and return with a fresh outlook. After fifteen years I think this has worked best for me and stops me from being jaded... well, more jaded. I'm British, we're born jaded.

[nichinichisou]

What happened to Dedicated RPs?

failed planning