NationStates Jolt Archive

I've noticed a number of threads that have looked like they had the potential to tell a great story but end up being locked/ignored, etc. because of OOC flames, shouting, or generally too much activity going on, causing a form of storytelling congestion. Having too many people involved in an RP can cause problems, especially if you have plans for a storyline to take a certain path. Having not enough people involved can cause an RP to lie dormant if real life obligations prevent the RPer from getting onto the thread.

I'll now attempt to outline the three forms of RPs I've seen and my thoughts on them.

Open RP
The idea behind this is a good one in theory. If done well, it can allow someone to RP with a person they hadn't played with before. That can lead to a great deal of terrific RPing in the future if done correctly. However, this may be the most difficult type of RP to manage. In an extreme example, two countries could be fighting a war and one big, bad country could come in and "PWN J00!!!!111," completely ruining the story if the two countries actually accept the attack or causing friction if they ignore the attack.

More likely, a thread that has promise could add several pages of new replies if you have to leave your computer for hours at a time and you find yourself trying to read several pages of new posts to bring yourself back up to speed. By the time you type a new reply, there could be several more posts that render your own post null and void. Because there are far too many variables in an open RP, I prefer not to take part in these.

Closed RP
While I can understand the reasons behind these, particularly if you have a specific story to tell and you're not sure about the RP ability of a newcomer or you don't want interference from another player, I've seen far too many closed RPs that don't allow allies of one country or the other to take part in them. The problem I have with it is this: If a close ally is fighting a war for its very survival, countries aren't just going to sit on the sidelines, eat chips and drink beer and watch the events unfold. They're going to support them diplomatically, economically, or militarily. It's just not realistic to expect a country not to support its ally in some way.

The worst transgression I've seen in closed RPs (besides the usual Godmodes, tech wanks, number wanks or OOC flaming) is a country declaring war on another country and closing the RP without getting permission to close the RP. The decision to close an RP has to be a mutual decision agreed to by both players. Otherwise, the country facing the declaration of war has the right to ignore the war. For all the reasons above, I don't like closed RPs that much, though I'm not as reluctant to use them as I am to use open RPs.

Invite Only
This is the one I use for every RP I create. The reason behind this is that I want to be able to see a storyline through from beginning to end with a clear sense of direction in which way it is going. I don't want to see someone try to send a zillion nukes in response to one country's first lady calling the president of another country a "dumb dumb stoopid head." I don't want to see a Lord Dreadfire order me to let one of my states secede from Sarzonia if I'm fighting a civil war that I'm intending Sarzonia to win (not that he would; I'm just providing an example).

Essentially, this allows you to figure out who you think should be involved in a particular RP. If it's someone you think will Godmode or will react to a border skirmish by using his OMG! HUGE METAL PEN1S RARR!, you can decide not to let her in. If it's someone you think will react to a situation appropriately, be it a declaration of war or a limited strike on one of your bases, you can let him in.

Role players have a right to their own opinions of the best way to RP. This is just my own set of beliefs. This is anything but NS gospel.

Generally, I've always been of the attitude that Invite RPs and Closed RPs are essentially the same thing. If it says "Invite," I've always assumed I'd know if they want me in. And you'll never see me in a Closed RP, even if it is a declaration of war or I am included on the list of people they want in.

My attitude on it is simple: I'll make an innitial post and, depending on the circumstances, probably not make another one if it is ignored. The quickest way to get me out of an RP is not to respond, and I always leave when asked. Closed RPs I view as an abomination in a place like this and Invite RPs I have always assumed to require an invitation extended to the people involved. My attitude on Invite RPs may change, but my attitude on Closed RPs won't.

Well, the point behind Invite RPs for me is that if you want to get involved, you can contact me to join the RP. There won't be too many instances when I'll post an Invite RP with the idea that I've already invited people. To me, that's what a closed RP is and I've made my views on closed RPs clear.

Twas just posting my views.

Twas just posting my views.That's great! I just wanted to clarify what I meant by "invite only." It's basically just a courtesy step for me.

*bump*

There's another potential form of RP (the one that I personally prefer). It might be a sub-category of 'Invite RP', but not in my personal opinion. That is, of course, the Application-based RP. I've found that generally speaking, it weeds out the few really bad RPers, since an application (naturally enough) takes a bit of time. As well, you have the opportunity to accept, reject or give suggestions to said application.

I've done a reasonable amount of RP on IRC (both participating in and running) and I've found that the system is applicable here.

I know what you're talking about to an extent. When I applied to join the ESUS, I had to RP three different scenarios out for an RP test and score an average of 80 to pass (I got a 96, 94 and an 87, so I had a 92.3 average). Gronde put together something like an RP guild where you could either RP a scenario to get a passing score of 40 out of 50 or you could send in an example of your own RPing. I got a 50 out of 50 there (I believe I was the first one to get that!).

I was thinking of three types of RP in terms of getting involved in an RP on the forums, rather than getting into an alliance or a RP guild.

*Tag*

(OOC: Lol, is this invite-only, Sarzonia? :D)

lol, this is just an OOC thread where people discuss the relative merits of their favorite forms of RP. :p

I wasn't talking about an RP guild or special alliance, although the point (generally speaking) does stick. I started an 1880 RP, which anyone can join, as long as their application is satisfactory. Probably the next RP that I run (tentatively an alt early-future world war scenario, based on one of my IRC FFRPG's) will be under the same aegis, although that will probably be a mixed invite-application thread.