Different ways people roleplay.

[Jakers457]

Behold this pile of wood lathered in oil and smothered in gasoline as I potentially create a thread that will cause some sort of flame war.

Probably not.

But to my point at hand because, to me it's needed. And that is how different people roleplay and what their primary focus is when creating a character or... story if you will.

Some of us have a story laid out, an indepth history and plan for their characters with the primary goal of creating stories with dialogue and the like. This doesn't always mesh well when it comes to things that involve life and death, usually leaving those who play this way to find themselves sold short.

Then you have those who seek fun in the round, what keeps the round going and how that's an enjoyable experience as the player is. They are very mechanics focused aswell paying attention to other players more so than the player's characters. Which isn't a bad thing either, it's a game of course but then it presents the issue of finding yourself irate because of another player's actions.

Lastly, to my knowledge anyway, is those who.... place themselves in the character, play how the character would act in any given situation. Be it a choice between life or death, the lottery or perhaps how they would approach an antag. Which is also good and bad, what might be good for your character might not always be the most enjoyable experience for the round when it comes to other players.

People mesh these three playstyles I've made on the spot, and some stick dead fast to any given one. And that's fine, people choose how they play and their characters how they want to play them. Because of that, we shouldn't enforce our own ideologies of roleplay or attempt to change other peoples characters to fit a playstyle we think is correct. Why? It's shitty to do so and shittier to bitch about it too. Sometimes it's better to be above your grievances, and accept everyone's differences, otherwise being involved in a community that involves people in various countries won't be enjoyable for you. And people will surely grow tired of your potentially hostile presence.

An ultimately pointless thread but perhaps it will serve as some sort of food for thought, something to reflect upon when you're frustrated with how a round went.

[Tainavaa]

Replace 'children' with... Actually nah, leave it in. It still fits just fine.

[Cassie]

I think I've mentioned this one countless times before in various posts tbh.

First of all, some people only play for themselves and their friends, and everyone else is their background props. They don't give a shit. They might say some blank words of future change here and there, but actions speak louder than words. Horrible, I know, but not an attitude that's going to change with kumbayah any time soon.

What I also said is that these playstyles are contradictory to each other at times, perhaps not immediately, but eventually. Someone might accidentally step on others toes with their playstyle, and another might not conform to how anothers playstyle might be.

Someone who likes a well-oiled workplace simulator (IE: Some command staff players) will hate those who play for pure social RP as that interferes with the vision they wish to make the station, like a fully organized/manned science department - and will sometimes fiercely keep their employees away from leaving their departments (well, this is understandable for med and sec). People who play for calm relaxing RP will be very annoyed at people who play for action and fast paced RP that causes an unsettling environment for their latest romance episode and could be killed at any time.

Another example, someone who likes ultra-realism and bureaucracy might love excessive paperwork and regulations at any excuse given, like arrivals paperwork; but for this to work others will have to play along, and might force it on others to make the system work (or it is pointless). Others might hate this and even resist it, but in the end someone has to win.

Not that there's always a dichotomy between the two, but sometimes there is. You've got action-loving RP'ers will viciously vote cult, and the peace RP'ers will viciously vote extended to continue their latest love, cheating and breakdown drama episode 45. The only way people can get along is if they take turns, OR, if they become more balanced in their RP preferences (IE: accepting both), OR if one side gtfos.

I don't think people can always idealistically get along, unless they actually like both playstyles; otherwise frustration and resentment may occur unless the above might be heeded to. This is why I told staff to define the playstyle they want (defining if it's one or the other, or even a mix of many, and to what proportion), to save the drama and so the incision can be dealt swiftly without the community scars being reopened in the player complaints section every time this glaring issue is ignored.

[Tainavaa]

One thing that I think is very important for all departments and a virtue that all department heads should keep in mind, is autonomy. There can be no autonomy when the head micromanages and keeps their employees from leaving the department for no good reason.

But that's an IC thing (unless the player doesn't know its value OOC). You aren't wrong, though.

Update: .. On most accounts.

[Frances]

The only way people can get along is if they take turns, OR, if they become more balanced in their RP preferences (IE: accepting both),

I believe Aurora (since I came about, I heard it was different just before) has been about finding a right balance between the two styles. People who prefer calmer roleplay have been getting pushed out lately, but I think it's also unfair for them to make excessive demands of people who want action/antagonists. It used to be there were a lot of people who did chair RP, and now it seems there's a lot of people that prefer action and roleplaying around antag gamemodes.

The balance is important, though. If it weren't for these two groups coexisting, Aurora would only be half of what it is today. Building relationships with people gets very boring if you don't get to test them under tense scenarios, and characters who obsess about action without any backstory or semblance of form also get stale incredibly quick. I don't think one playstyle would exist very long without the other, and they are both necessary to support each other and make the game fun.

[Jakers457]

It's mainly in reference to a recent thread that lead to one individual taking a lot of flak for creating it and another feeling singled out because of it.

It's not so much about round types, but to how people react to situations and how separate the keep.their Ockies from their Ickies. Because that situation left both parties in a shitty mood undoubtedly.

And... I don't want people feeling like that. I want them to find a compromise and take a deep breath. Perhaps that's arrogant of me, I don't know.

[Cassie]

Well, how reality goes until someone figures out a compromise the issue will still be there. Simply just idealizing about it won't do much.

People won't simply get along if they continue stepping on each others toes from their different dance styles. HRP has more drama compared to LRP because it is more diverse yet undefined - this is a general HRP issue. I mean, if you consider bay, hypatia and aurora - all HRP servers, different cultures.

You wouldn't shove a bunch of LRP'ers and HRP'ers together on a server and ask them to play nice, so you wouldn't do that to a bunch a different flavoured HRP'ers either.

[Guest]

Our ChaiRP is stale.

Characters talk quietly with the same characters, people rarely venture out of their departments to interact, the older the character the more fierce and unapproachable they appear to be.

Worst of all, everyone stays in their departments and waits for the RP to come to them.

That won't happen, it'll happen very rarely if it does. If people want extended rounds to be fun, they need to have their characters interact more.

I'd say engineering and security to a lesser extent don't have this problem so much. The other departments do, however.

If we're gonna have more chaiRP, make it better ChaiRP, please. As it stands now, very few people besides the ones who have romance to pursue enjoy extended, unless someone creates a commotion or an interesting event to involve people in something fun.

Be that someone.

[Rechkalov]

Inside Out Starfish, something something

 

I think this is a rather unfair attitude.

There are people -though not great in numbers- who do try to bring strangers together and provide them with RP, or at least some RP fuel, but they rarely get attention.

Instead of complaining about old characters sticking together -which makes perfect sense from every perspective but the one that demands that everybody be included in the RP equally COUGHCOMMUNISMCOUGH- I think everybody whining about chair-RP being stale and out of reach for new players should take a few moments and ask themselves, "How many times have I neglected the chaplain's cries for attendance at a sermon?" "How many times have I waved my hand over the librarian's book club?" etc. etc.

Hell, just look at the manifest; there's lots and lots of roles that are absolutely dull and uneventful without other players.

If you feel nobody wants to chat with you, pay a visit to the librarian, or bring a refreshment to the janitor, or go confide with the chaplain. The odds are, these people will be delighted to see you.

[Guest]

There are people -though not great in numbers- who do try to bring strangers together and provide them with RP, or at least some RP fuel, but they rarely get attention.

And that there's my complaint. Not enough people do this.

Let me clarify - I am one of those few people, if asked I could provide a 'report' on my various book clubs, gimmicks and activities but my goal here isn't to claim moral superiority and subsequently rub that self proclaimed moral superiority all over everyone else's faces.

It's an admittedly half-assed effort to motivate more people into doing this. The problem isn't as much about the metacliques as it is about people assuming the roleplay fairy will thermite through the walls of xenobiology, the armory or whatever secluded place people have decided to hide inside and then drag them into the magical realm of character development, or something. Few people go through the trouble of making extended gimmicks and fewer people participate in the gimmicks. I have seen entire departments full of characters who have their flavour texts and records in order, silently standing in a semi-SSD state without interacting with each other untill they go to cryo, one by one. People as a whole need to get braver with their RP if they want to make extended more fun. It's like too much people don't know how to have fun or something. And I don't mean "They're not having fun the way I want them to", I mean it as in they literally don't seem to know how to go about interacting with characters. I'd just like to see more people having fun, really.

 

COMMUNISM

Generally schpeeking cyomrade, entirely fyocushing one's ryoleplay on the pyursyut of the waifu myeans you myish out on an wide varieties of thye ryoleplay and intryeructions with thye other chyaracter, da?

Workmyen who ignore every other cyomrade and their ☭ GLORIOUS LABOUR☭ to silyently wait for their waifu to jyoin the shift syo they cyan pyossesively lunge on them and hyave the kissy times end up lyooking like big dunces in thye Icky and the Ocky.

Lyike all things, Waifu is gyood in myoderation.

Too much of the waifu on ☭ DEMOCRATIC WORKPEOPLE'S ROLEPLAYING STATION OF AURORA☭ lyead to unfun times, da?

If anyithing, I pyeety hye who chyooses the way of excyessive waifuism, for hye hyas chyosen to abstyain from interyacting weeth all thye othyer fyun chyaracters you can fyind on people's styation. Thyerye is the fyun to be fyound for all sides, in myore opyen ryollplay. Ryather than bye insyulted by Ivan's creetic-isms, Ivan would ask thyose who read to ask syelf "What if the cyommunist RP ryeally could be fun?" instyead of dyemanding Ivan order nyukular submarines to go farther from US coast. Ivan lyike them thyere, incryease propyerty value of his beach house.

All in all, Ivan would argyu that pyeople could do a lyot myore to incryease the quality and dyistribyushon of ☭ FUN☭ on station.

But, if pyeople misunderstand Ivan's request for help in thye myaking of the more fun time on thye stations fyor an attack, ryather thyen what Ivan means - hye is will sorry, and not talk of it more.

[Tainavaa]

Da.