Character Turnover and You

[kyres1]

This is a thread that is basically trying to paint a very big and obvious problem to the community that only players can really solve for themselves.

This problem is character turnover. Character turnover, in the ways I've used it, is exactly what it sounds like; you make a new character and pave over, or just abandon the previous.

Why is this a problem? Well, don't forget where we are. This is a server where canon is treasured and treated seriously above most anything else. Actually, we kind of suck if we disregard core things that arise from canon. Those include character development, player participation at length, and investment you can achieve by being present in average day-to-day rounds. All of those things suddenly cease to exist the moment you step into making a new character. After all, you're starting over from the very beginning!

How do you fix this? Play your characters. Feel more comfortable about committing to characters. Once you find a niche you enjoy, and continue to enjoy, why step out of it? It takes time and it's difficult to establish connections with other characters. But, for a lot of new players, this is where connecting with the community and making friends starts. It's important to realize that maintaining this connection is valuable OOCly too.

Does this mean you shouldn't make new characters? No, but if you're enjoying something and getting invested, what's making you stop? Personally, to me, when I see an entire manifest of people I don't recognize, I'm dissuaded from joining. This happens frequently, and has been for a while now. So that's the gist of this post. I hope it pushes whoever reads it to hunkering down and getting some good development.

[Boggle08]

Really I think a big reason as to why the retention rate is so bad is just because of that mentality. That "I won't play with what I don't recognize" mentality. That's inherently a barrier to entry for new people, and kills investment from people who want to try new shit, or are tired of doing the same thing.

Establishing a "regular character" takes like, a month minimum before people start to remember you and treat you as a familiar entity. Less depending on your timezone and how often you're going at it on a weekly basis. I've seen interesting looking concepts come and go, seemingly because of a lack of engagement. Character retention requires investment not just from the player, but their peers.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Boggle08

[SilverSZ]

For me personally. I struggle to stick with characters because there's always something new I want to play, and the thought of that new thing makes playing my current character less and less desirable. It's a bad habit and I respect people who can commit to one character and play them out quite abit.

However, I do agree with Boggle. I've noticed this when taking breaks from Aurora which I often do and coming back after a month or so. Establishing characters and getting over that initial hump is hard. And often it will make me feel like a character is going nowhere or an idea just isn't working and then I'll just decide to do something new instead.

[NM_]

I started playing back in March as a relatively new player to the server. I primarily play one character, with a handful that get dusted off the shelf occasionally, for context.

Some of the biggest hurdles I've had (and overcome to various degrees of success): in maintaining activity on my main:

• Friendships/relationships that go inactive. The solution, naturally, is to befriend and interact with as many new faces as possible to create new dynamics. Still, it can be demoralizing to have cultivated these organic, unplanned friendships with other characters that goes belly up and all that progression with them out the window. That sense of isolation is felt profoundly on both an IC and OOC level depending on how close they were. There's a layer of nostalgia in capturing that lightning in a bottle on the regulars you enjoyed the most.
• A revolving door of coworkers. This is more situational based on the department you play in. For Medical, every few weeks (save for a few veterans) the roster changes completely. Endlessly introducing yourself to new characters and starting from the ground up is a hurdle for anyone. There might be character concepts and personalities that don't mesh with your characters, whereas the previous regulars did. Half the battle, I've found, is having that camaraderie with the people you spend the most time with if you aren't as often able to wander out to the rest of the ship. Any genuine connection made is just as liable to disappear into the void completely out of your control if they go inactive themselves, feeding into point one.
• Lack of tangible progression. Subjective to some folks, but I'm the sort of roleplayer that genuinely enjoys seeing - and feeling - my character's growth. If you're already in a role that can only reasonably enter Command as it's next upward trajectory, you have to enjoy that newfound responsibility to the round that sacrifices the greater agency in pursuing personal RP. If you aren't the sort to enjoy Command, there's little you can do for your character's career. Beyond word of mouth, nothing separates an individual from another in a job of the same title who started a week ago. It isn't a matter of who is better or worse, but showcasing milestone achievements in a way that incentivizes longer term play on a character. Most circumstances for on ship, then, are relegated to emotional/social developments that only capture half the ambition of career-minded folks.
• Slot competition. Depending on what highly contested roles there are at any given time (most notably consistent in Security), it can be extremely difficult to play that character in anything other than off duty. Off duty is a wonderful tool to enable roleplay without the frequent interruptions you might have on shift, but equally frustrating when you can never win the slot wars or they're consistently full. It creates a scenario of playing a different character/slot or skipping until you can try again to compete.

I don't mind hopping into manifests I don't recognize well. I also enjoy when I at least recognize some of them. It's overcoming that on top of the frequency of constant new hires/characters that rarely affords the luxury of stability sometimes. To keep up with the times, we have to adapt and befriend the next generation of concepts.

Edited August 21, 2023 by NM_
Added slot bullet point

[rrrrrr]

space is the final frontier and the final frontier of that final frontier is talking to people who you dont already know

[Carver]

I don’t have much to add because others have made some great points so far so I’ll keep my thoughts brief.

Events are great, they’re often quite interesting and can be a big draw for players, yet also they often breach into the realm of absurdity (Sept. 18) or leave a character in doubts as to whether it’s even worth working there anymore (Cold Dawn). Both of these can be quite harmful in attempting to retain a character who, quite understandably, would struggle to find any reason to continue working whether due to loss of close friends or uncertainty in the direction of the Horizon’s mission. I have seen many characters departing over these events, whether temporarily or more often permanently. Perhaps if these were dialed down to some degree, and the chaotic nature of them reigned in further, it would help with the retention of otherwise long term characters?

As for my personal approach, I tend to have trouble making a character who sticks firm in my head. As a result I tend to shotgun a bunch of ideas and discard most of them until something feels right to me. Otherwise I can’t force myself to stick to something of which I don’t feel any passion in regard to writing for.

[Sycmos]

Since we're all chipping in our personal experiences I thought I'd share mine as well.

Since my return to the server in 2020 after a lengthy hiatus I have been a relatively consistent player for someone my age, taking breaks here and there for a couple weeks or more at a time but no more than a month without at least one round played. My daily schedule and commitment to other interests means that I often do not play more than twice a week nowadays, and so I tend to be a little more critical about the kinds of rounds I play and the times that I do. More often than not, this means that I normally play during the later parts of American EST mornings and almost explicitly extended when I can. I understand that this is very likely outside of the norm for most American players, but some of the issues outlined above by Kyres and NM are still relevant and as someone who does not have more time to spend fostering interactions they are even more of an issue.

• Flagging interest of players due to seasonal changes (exams, work activity fluctuations, outdoor activity increasing/decreasing, etc.), personal changes (interest in other games/hobbies, disillusionment with the community, mental health changes, life events, etc.) leading to unsteady development of character relationships are something I find are a major issue with keeping interest in any singular character. Dedicating a significant amount of time to developing a character and their interpersonal relations with other characters over a prolonged period can and will be easily undone by any one person playing less or not at all. Oftentimes this can lead to a character feeling "stuck" in an unfinished arc that a player may not feel comfortable sweeping under the rug and playing without resolving, which can lead to said player shelving them until the participants return. In a server that enshrines canon developments this can make or break how a character feels to a player, and whether or not they will decide to play another character or not play themselves. 
• FOMO, or Fear of Missing Out, is a very serious issue that often stems from my first point. If a player feels stuck with their current character for any amount of reasons the anxiety of potentially being left out of the "in-crowd" of current characters can push them enough to simply make another character to keep up with current crew circles. This could potentially lead to other players mimicking this behavior when they find a new trend in character concepts being tried, abandoning any progress they might have made with their previous character in order to better fit in. With new lore updates and community trends constantly moving it can feel like a constant game of catch-up to feel 'relevant' to the pulse of the server.
• Feelings of isolation and being left out of the 'know', stemming from my second point, are further exaggerated by a revolving door of crew (which is also perpetuated by the second point). Unless you are part of the incredibly small amount of players who both play one or two characters only and play several rounds a week your characters are very likely to not ICly recognize a majority of crew, and you may feel alienated by your inability to form long-term relationships with other characters. While interacting with new characters is something that we all should be doing regularly, the commitment of time and energy to keep doing it with little return is likely to cause burnout.
• Canonical events disrupting the suspension of disbelief. Many recent events have led to a plethora of characters leaving due to irreconcilable differences in their personal narrative versus the erratic nature of the Horizon's mission. It can be difficult in the context of what we consider "heavy roleplay" to make reasonable decisions for a character in unreasonable scenarios without flanderizing their characterization.

We all voluntarily dedicate our time and energy, no matter how little or much we have of either, to roleplaying in a living and breathing universe in which we all contribute. Many of us, myself included, are playing characters we have spent countless hours developing within our imaginations in the context of sharing it with others. It can feel like a very personal investment to share those imaginings with others, and it can feel damaging when those characters and players whom you shared it with disappear. Nobody is an endless wellspring of energy or trust, and we all operate on the notion that our fellow roleplayers will act in good faith in respect to our time and energy spent. While introducing new characters and character concepts is important to maintaining the lifeblood of the server I feel that our community as a whole is suffering from lack of staying power in terms of interpersonal developments, something I feel has always been the foundation of Aurora's strength as a cornerstone of what's left of the SS13 RP community.

[Boggle08]

On 21/08/2023 at 18:21, Sycmos said:

I feel that our community as a whole is suffering from lack of staying power in terms of interpersonal developments, something I feel has always been the foundation of Aurora's strength as a cornerstone of what's left of the SS13 RP community.

You know, It's been talked about before, but losing the Odin and Biesel as external entities has crippled our ability to develop characters autonomously. There are fewer things for characters to pursue in their spare time, and less places to go on outings. Only the residential deck, and variable shore leave options that don't stick around.

I think because of this, interest and character growth has become extremely dependent on whatever lore is working on. The last time any of my characters had a major personal change was due to the fallout of an article arc that affected them. There's a lack of external stimuli or incentive to change otherwise. You work, then go back to your cabin.

I still want the ship, but, I think we might have to consider ways to replace the extended setting we previously had. Even if it's just a fleet of ships that trails behind us or something.

Edited August 23, 2023 by Boggle08

[Lent23]

I like to consider myself one of the more active players in the past couple months - I try to get on for at least one round a day if I can help it, though I would say I more often than not average 2-3 games per day over the past 2-3 months. I have played mostly the same character over this time, with a week or so where I played a lot of off-ship with a few friends. Over this time, my character secured her promotion from a bridge crewman to an executive officer. There is nothing that feels more rewarding than when you join a shift and have people who recognize not only your character, but the fact that your character has grown. This progression has driven the majority of my desire to play.

On 21/08/2023 at 13:53, NM_ said:

If you're already in a role that can only reasonably enter Command as it's next upward trajectory, you have to enjoy that newfound responsibility to the round that sacrifices the greater agency in pursuing personal RP.

NM makes a great point here. In my couple weeks as an executive officer, I find that my personal roleplay has suffered a lot. Despite being a roleplay-heavy role normally, the round-influential position absorbs most of my attention and having to be a facilitator of others' roleplay takes a lot of energy. I'm not a stranger to this sort of roleplay - I'm usually the designated DM in D&D games - but it does take a lot of out of the desire to play what has arguably become my main character, which feels really bad. Ask any perpetual DM how they feel about playing as a player in any D&D game and they'll tell you something similar. 

All this to say, the progression - at least for me - is what makes the game feel worthwhile. Watching relationships form with people organically has been one of the most rewarding parts about my character. I found myself hoping to see certain people on when I booted up the server. Hearing, "Hey ___!" whenever I join in as my character just feels good because it shows that there has been growth. I am a perpetual command player, so my characters are usually careerists - This is not the same for everyone.

Having some form of growth, some consistency and progression that can be referenced is vital in my case. The fact that the round-to-round day-to-day feels almost entirely separated from anything that's going on in the universe is the biggest travesty. The recent Hephaestus buyout of the guilds has sparked some roleplay, but nothing more than a five-minute conversation about how Hephaestus is bad for Moghes with two or three people - and I am big into Unathi lore, I try to bring it up as much as I can.

I think something that's missing is relevant lore. Things that are going on right now. The impact of things across the universe are certainly good for small interactions, of course, but if you ask any of the crew what the Horizon is actually doing in the Weeping Stars? Nobody has any idea. "Searching for Phoron..?" is the only answer I've seen - but it's always a question. On a shift today, my character witnessed the entirety of command staff wondering about what the actual mission was. When the command players don't know what's going on, how can we expect anybody to? At the very least, I think that the command forum should be utilized as an effective communication between the lore team and people who are allegedly in charge of the Orion Spur's Grand Experiment. Command as it is right now feels less like The Leadership and more like low-level supervisors.

Overall, I think at the ground level, command can be used to help actually direct things. We have a forum for it, and it's woefully unused. There should, in my opinion, be a standard that we're held to, so that we can try to help lower the turnover of characters.

On 21/08/2023 at 18:21, Sycmos said:

Canonical events disrupting the suspension of disbelief. Many recent events have led to a plethora of characters leaving due to irreconcilable differences in their personal narrative versus the erratic nature of the Horizon's mission. It can be difficult in the context of what we consider "heavy roleplay" to make reasonable decisions for a character in unreasonable scenarios without flanderizing their characterization.

Specifically on this point, I think we need more low-stakes events more often. Just some sort of progression. The Weeping Stars is a big place, and it never really feels like we're on an actual mission. Hell, I spent the last two months literally piloting the ship and I still hardly have an idea past the general "Somewhere in the East." I would love to see a canon event that's simple - We go onto a grove planet, there are some new planetary colonists there, and some people get to interact with them. What happens with the colonists? Are they hostile to the crew? Are they marooned? Who cares how it goes. What's important is that something happened that people can actually talk about. Are we headed for Konyang? Are we going to Burzsia? Literally who knows. There are two things people care about: The overall picture, and the day-to-day. Give them an overall idea of what we're doing - let command talk to people. Keep them occupied on the way. But right now, we don't really seem to have either of those things.

On 21/08/2023 at 13:53, NM_ said:

Slot competition. Depending on what highly contested roles there are at any given time (most notably consistent in Security), it can be extremely difficult to play that character in anything other than off duty. Off duty is a wonderful tool to enable roleplay without the frequent interruptions you might have on shift, but equally frustrating when you can never win the slot wars or they're consistently full. It creates a scenario of playing a different character/slot or skipping until you can try again to compete.

I have a lot of opinions on this as well, but this post is already getting a bit long and I don't want to drown out the turnover retention with that.

 

tl;dr more low-stakes shit, keep command informed & held to a higher standard

[Evandorf]

I’ll echo what @Lent23 said. I found a comfortable character and worked them up through promotions and it’s 50:50 on whether I regret it or not. Command duties take up a lot of time but you also find RP during slow moments or extended. I have a couple dozen characters made but only really play one and nothing short of a canon death will likely stop that.

I would encourage people to take risks with their characters, bring them on canon events, ect. Even “bad” outcomes are great for character growth. 
 

I also would say that you shouldn’t strive to make every interaction memorable. Sometimes you’re just going to be someone else’s NPC and that’s alright. It just makes the ship feel more lived in.  

[lilahnovi]

I'll just poke in an add a bit, for other people who might be curious on how to maintain a character longer than a week.

I develop every single character with a conflict of some kind in the background. Literally first thing, I'm considering what their 'baggage' is. Something they've escaped from or are trying to overcome the consequences of. This keeps my goal in mind for the character going, and gives me a mission for what to do for them. It helps me understand their purpose and their personality. My overarching goal, always, is for my character to find happiness, to overcome their issue, whatever it may be. New issues will crop up, and the old one will peek in, too, but that's what growth is about. This keeps me attached to my character and they don't fizzle out because I'm not depending on a personality gimmick or their job to keep them going. It offers them depth right off the bat.

And when people leave - that's fine! Sometimes things don't work out. Let your character hurt and miss them, but tomorrow is another day. They will heal, if I allow them to.

Conflicts and hangups drive story. Overcoming those difficulties and growing as a person is rewarding. I see a lot of characters who lack a driving reason for existence, and in many cases those people don't last long. In the end, we're playing fictional characters in a fictional world, and there is excitement in an evolving, challenging narrative that you built, combining with other's narratives. It's okay to make your character and their story important to you - because when you're invested, others get invested.

[OolongCow]

Echoing sentiments others have made before, I would absolutely adore more, smaller canon rounds with low stakes that don't mean a lot, in the grand scheme of things, but give characters something to talk about. To look forward to. That let staff get comfortable with tools for running larger events, find volunteers outside of the staff team they can trust for those events, and are otherwise just comfy, for lack of a better term. A 3 or 4 hour canon event round where the Horizon sends the different departments down to a grove planet to assist a struggling colony as a PR move would be a dream come true. Medical working with engineering to fix up the old clinic and get it ready for surgery to treat chronic health conditions. Security working with operations to end a greimorian infestation in the cargo shuttle port and get the loaders running and moving lifesaving supplies again. Science working with service to grow hardy strains of staple crops adapted to the local climate.

I can hardly demand it. At the end of the day staff and the lore team want to play Baldur's Gate 3 and Armored Core like anybody else. But it'd be really nice. It'd really make it feel worth it to have the one or two characters you really enjoy playing have an opportunity to build memories you can talk about in 2025 that aren't "remember when that guy's head exploded during a canon round?"

Edited September 5, 2023 by OolongCow

[La Villa Strangiato]

Here's a screed I've been thinking about lately; this is as much a vent post as anything else.

I have always been a bit of a "play it by ear" roleplayer. I develop a basic concept, an "elevator pitch", for a character before I actually create them, and decide what kind of vibe or general personality they give off. The more I play them, the more I find their vibe changes as they interact with other characters. And sometimes, they change pretty vastly! Unfortunately, sometimes that means I realize their original concept just wasn't fun at all, and they peter out.

My initial Vaurca application character, Ka'Akaix'Yuta K'lax, was originally a xenobiologist (and I moved them to pharmacy because oh my god I hate xenobiology). The things that never changed about them were that they were of Leto's brood, they were employed with Zeng-Hu, and they worked at a genetics clinic on Moghes before coming to the Horizon. But the more I played Yuta, the more their personality gradually changed over time. Initially, Yuta as depicted in my Vaurca application was happy-go-lucky, cheerful, curious about human culture, and friendly to others. One of the more subtle changes I made was deciding with Mel that her character Viphorma was Yuta's actual mother/Ta. Yuta took on very cynical, sarcastic, and derisive traits, as well as becoming more introspective and philosophical. They were at their core caring for the well-being of others, but Yuta started to think that other species needed to be cared for by Vaurca because they were stupid and short-lived, and that meant they became sort of a smug, grumpy jerk.

Thinking on it, though, the more I roleplay the more I find enjoyment in playing characters who are jerks at least a little bit. Or maybe they're not jerks, but they like to needle people a bit or tease them. Playing an Idris corporate representative and not-so-subtly mocking a Silversun native XO for their very rational dislike of me, being a Golden Deep consular and insulting Tribunalists, or even just being an Elyran who ribs Solarians is fun probably because it creates conflict. I've had to delete a couple of characters, and I've burned out on a few others, because they're just so damn nice. They have realized personalities, but they don't like getting into arguments or conflict with people, or maybe they're literally designed to be non-confrontational... and that means it's hard to interact, really interact, with anyone.

The other problem is that I have too many fucking characters and even when I don't play them for ages I hoard them like a dragon. BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO PLAY THIS ROLE AGAIN... THIS CHARACTER AGAIN... Thankfully I have currently downsized to twelve characters, with three or four I play consistently. Couldn't imagine being someone who plays the same character for multiple rounds in a row. -_-

Edited September 9, 2023 by La Villa Strangiato