((OOC - Discussion tiems!))

[sharpestscalpel]

((OOC - So, this mirror game is an off-shoot of the very first online RP in which I've been involved. I've done a lot of table-top, some LARP, and some single-player computer-based RPG but using LJ this way kind of fascinates me. And I was thinking about that and thinking about the things that I love and the things that have been driving me crazy and I started to wonder:

What does your ideal online RP look like?

I'm posting this here because I'm interested in the thoughts of other players but also, if anyone wants to speak on it, the thoughts of readers. It's such an interesting performative way of playing and I'm pondering the back-end portion of it, the meta of it, the tendency of myself to forget that other people can read any of this, that sort of thing. Let's assume that all discussion is out of character - if, you know, there actually IS discussion and not just me rambling along in my little corner here.

To me, the best RP is a form of collaborative story telling. It becomes a tapestry of lots of different stories that all touch on and influence each other. I feel like there are some barriers to that in this format (LJ) - but that in other ways this format is ideal for games that result in a collaborative narrative.

And now we've started Twittering and I'm kind of in love with the idea of a game that works across social networking platforms. But the drawback is that then you have to put in the work to make it happen across social networking platforms and readers have a hard time following everything. I used to play a table-top game that involved a lot of websites and internets research, though, and it was phenomenally fascinating. I'm not sure where the trade-off is for that.

Anybody? Bueller?))

Comments

[lt-moreau.livejournal.com]

I think this is actually one of the best formats for collaborative storytelling I've found, at least in terms of RP. My only other RP experiences have been WoW*, D&D, and one play-by-post d6-based Star Wars game. The pbp was good too, but I enjoy that this RP doesn't have rules, really--no dice, no GM. What happens is determined by you and your play partners, not what chance or an omnipotent entity decides. I like having as much or as little control over the play as I want.

[sharpestscalpel.livejournal.com]

I do think it's important to distinguish collaborative storytelling in an RP setting from other types of collaborative storytelling so I appreciate you making that distinction.

There are some dudes I know who do a play-by-email - I wonder if that's similar to the play-by-post you mention.

I definitely enjoy the lack of apparatus (I did D&D LARPing but then I got into World of Darkness table top gaming and goddamn, fistfuls of dice) but one of the things I really enjoy the most is plotting with other players. So it's a combination of very organic development combined with a bit of structure that gets decided on by those involved.