Say, do you manage your own RPG? Do you know this type of player: They want to roleplay, so they come to you, and ask if you'd like to roleplay. You say sure! Your game's just starting out, they put up a great application and can't wait to get started. This is going to be a blast!
So you start up the thread with a little plot beginning to get it moving. And then...you find that you have to keep on coming up with stuff to keep it moving. I don't mean half or even most, I mean virtually ALL of the ideas, twists, any plot movement, is coming from you. The other player's character is following your lead. They aren't doing much of anything on their own to impart any kind of spin on the RP. You might as well be roleplaying solo...in other words, writing your own fiction.
Try doing this with 5 different players, all who offer no or very little of their own plot power and instead rely almost completely on you. Even when it's more than 2 of you in a thread, you're doing the heavy lifting. And your well of plot ideas is quickly running dry.
It's no surprise. Coming up with constant streams of new plot ideas for 5 different threads on a daily basis quickly wears almost anyone out. The mind needs a break, like the rest of the body. But your members are offering you no relief.
Ah, inert members. It's like those chemicals, what are they, the noble gases? They don't readily mix with other elements, and basically don't react at all unless you like, fire them up with electricity or something...yeah. Basically, unless you force them, constantly, to do something, they don't do much of anything.
Most players are followers. They have little self motivation and basically want everything laid out for them to do. They come to be passively entertained in what is supposed to be a cooperative writing game. They can be great supporting characters in a plot, but they need a leader to follow.
You can't transform a follower into a leader type--an active, reactive player who produces their own sparks of creativity and helps inspire the masses to creativity. True plot-movers, leader types, are rare. And in my experience they can be a mixed bag. Some want TOO much freedom and can take over your game if you're not careful. Many can be argumentative and their ambition can get in others' way. That incredible energy that we often all wish we had!
There's the possibility that some of those passive players are not as passive as they seem, but feel too intimidated or restricted to try their own ideas. Are your rules allowing for them to be creative like you are? Double check. Ask them what ideas they have for their character and what they'd like to do with them in the game.
And you can only sustain a finite number of sub plots. So, the first thing to do is stop creating new characters or threads for every new player who requests it. I recommend no more than 10 active characters at any one time...if only I took my own advice...And once you have your limit established, hold firm. Invite the next new player into the already ongoing plots, where hopefully they will start up something with the players already in it, and you will be there to supervise and make sure they get settled in. Sometimes, the right two characters can inspire normally passive players to greater heights.
I would also use a plot discussion board to get maybe a little something heating up there. It can't hurt. Two or three players previously depending on you for their entertainment may strike up something better when given the chance to brainstorm among themselves. They may even inspire you in turn.
It's a cooperative effort!
Hey don't give those inert writers such a hard time! :)
ReplyDeleteFollowers + confidence = leadership. Many many people hold back from initiating things online and in real life because they're sure they're going to screw it up, or they think the amount of expertise or work that goes into not screwing up is more than they're interested in. Not to mention the pressure of screwing up being much greater when you're writing with the admin, who no doubt has put tons of hard work into the site and has a clear vision as to how the plots and things might be supposed to go, or at least how role-playing in general is to be done. It takes great confidence in self and others to step up and be a force of change in an unfamiliar environment where another person is clearly in control.
The key to empowering your members is empowering them! Madly support even a little idea from them and ask their opinions - badger them for opinions. It takes practice to initiate and be a leader, and it takes the admin showing great confidence in the members.
The leader/follower model is one we all know how to do. It's easy to lead when everyone follows and following won't ever step on toes. What is a much more complex interaction is co-leading. We don't have any very good models of that in our daily lives so you can expect that it's going to be harder for others to take to that kind of writing relationship easily.
This has been something of a problem with all of my plots, but it seems to slowly be getting better as people get more used to them. I tend to be very good at creating a setting or a basic concept, but as for building an actual storyline, I'm not so good at it.
ReplyDeletePretty much every plot of mine starts out as a "What if?" question. What if a bunch of cats lived in the sewers? What if a large pack of rats became aggressive towards cats and dogs? What if small dogs banded together into packs and conquered the suburbs? What if squirrels threw a party every month?
Some are in between, others, like I said, seem 'inert' but are actually just unsure of what to do.
ReplyDeleteI think the best thing is to do what you can to encourage them to come out of their shell a little. And put them in with each other, then let go of the hand holding and see what happens. We've all see those threads that just take their last gasp over a period of a few days or weeks, when nobody comes up with anything and is always pushing the action back towards the other person to initiate. This sort of thing is likely hopeless if you've already mentioned plot discussion threads and such. It may be a lack of muse, or that they're just not cut out for roleplaying. This is the kind of thing I mean.
As for storylines, I don't think anyone can really plan out an RPG story in advance. I always think 1 setp ahead, and never any further. Rags, remember when we were SO sure Riverclan was going to retaliate on the Comet Tribe...then nothing happened? That's a great example. Instead we got Windclan and Thunderclan aiming to attack.
Sarah's input is great. Sometimes people are just scared. Rags, your plots are quite realistic and detailed--might that be intimidating to some who feel out of their depth? That might be part of it.
The noble gases are actually elements, lol, and they have full valence shells, so that means they're happy, and - okay, I'll shut up about the awesomeness of chemistry now. :) But, ugh, I hate when that happens! D: I especially hate it when I have a plan for later on, and I write it out and everything, and it ends up never happening. Yeah... it sucks. :(
ReplyDelete