Freeform RP

[Max Dirks]

Hey everyone.

As many of you know, I've supported the addition of a freeform roleplay area to Althanas (which I've dubbed the Interactive World or IW) for several years. To date, my previous attempts at bringing such an area to life, primarily Athylia's Verse (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?2778-Athylia-s-Verse-Rules-and-Regulations) and The Nexus (http://www.althanas.com/world/forumdisplay.php?317-The-Nexus) have failed primarily due to lack of interest. I also note that both areas, though derived from the idea of freeform RP, were not exactly freeform either, as both had registration requirements.

So, the idea has been passed around again, but this time it has far more staff support than it's ever had before. However, based on my previous failures, before starting it I wanted to know whether the majority of you would use it. There are several integration ideas floating around, but my favorite making it an extension of Nexus. We will bring the forum back to the forefront as it's own category (Freeform RP). Registration would not be required, though I'll leave the Codex subforum active for people to post the characters they are using. Threads completed there will earn GP (since GP is freely transferable across characters), but not EXP because EXP is the World of Althanas staple. Completed threads there can be submitted for judgment like normal threads for AP like normal or simply submitted as a no judgment for GP rewards.

That said, are you interested? Do you have any suggestions? I don't want this to be a major resource sucking area/event. It will be a more casual post between post type area where you can RP Harry Potter, Star Wars, Earth, DnD, LoTR, etc. and grind for GP so you can buy sick Althanas stuff, so keep that in mind when coming up with ideas.

[Gum]

i am interested. totally and utterly interested. one of my favourite things about freeform rp is how open and inclusive it is. players just go with whatever the other players post and work with it. whereas, i feel at times on althanas the level of control and rigidity goes a bit too far. that's not necessarily locked in the rule system, it's also my experience with some players that they want to steamroll your contribution with how they think it should be. and i think that kind of attitude stems from the rigidity of the system overall, it makes treating people that way feel acceptable. anyway, that's a bit of a tangent. my point is that i feel like yes, total freeform would be so welcome on my part.

having said how eager i am about it, there are some issues with it. there's a weird feeling of official versus unofficial to it. i can spend my time posting in area A where everything is sanctioned, approved, controlled and rewarded. or i can spend my time posting in area B where everything is kinda rewarded with gp, but ultimately will always be the poor cousin to the official althanas setting. it sounds a super shallow sentiment to have, when it should be all about the "art", right? but i would imagine that kind of feeling might be what stood in the way of the nexus being a success. maybe one solution would be to make the freeform section of the site bigger, keep it separate and have its own xp, etc. just do away with character approvals, tech limits, possession limits and originality requirements. trust the players to limit themselves--i think anybody with half a brain understands that rping a god character isn't fun. we don't need to force people to play peon characters.

[Max Dirks]

I understand your sentiment, Gum, but an incentive system in a freeform system is inherently not freeform. Sure, we could give EXP and GP to completed threads in a separate freeform incentive system, but what would it get you? There are no items to buy because you can already have any item you want. There are no abilities to buy because you can already have any ability you want. The inclusion of AP and GP systems in the freeform RP is about as integrated it can get without sacrificing the freeform nature of the RP because they allow you to receive judgments and buy forum perks. Yes, we could have you gain EXP just to gain EXP to show off, but that seems like a waste of system resources.

[Gum]

Yes, we could have you gain EXP just to gain EXP to show off
that's an excellent counterpoint! and of course total respect goes to the volunteer staff and resource requirements to implement it. but i dare say vanity and the human need to nurture and grow things is important enough to justify the experiment at least? (if possible ofc) it would create a connection between the player and the character they play. even if it is harry potter or darth vader they're playing. i wanna be the highest level sailor moon on all of the internet, right?

[Storm Veritas]

I think it would work well here. We don't have a huge bunch of hacks that would typically scare me off from this type of thing like you may see at an less complex rule-system site. My fear is that people are even LESS likely to finish threads, but there's not much you can do about that.

[hoytti]

Does this mean nexus points and the nexus will be void? I want to be able to use these points like it said, to gain special items for our username and stuff maybe even special backgrounds and such. also a subforum in the new system would be nice as well.

[Mordelain]

We have such a rich and finely crafted IP, why would we pollute site traffic with fan fiction?

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

We have such a rich and finely crafted IP, why would we pollute site traffic with fan fiction?

I'm guessing that if we can pull them in with the freedom to write in the fandom of their choosing, they'll check out our created world while they're here and be enticed to write within it as well.

[Mordelain]

I'm sold on that.

I'm just wary of what the site could descend into based on other examples. I'm sure it'll be a positive move, but as ever, faithfully cautious.

[Gum]

why would we pollute site traffic with fan fiction?
i don't think it matters too much whether we do or don't value what other people do for fun. althanas would really benefit from more inclusive behaviour and less elitist behaviour. my neighbours plant begonias and i don't like them, i like petunias more. but i'd be crazy to be overly concerned with what they plant in their garden to enhance their own happiness. there's no such thing as a mandatory thread on althanas. everybody can have their own garden here.

[Ebivoulya]

I approve of this idea. While I'm not big on fan-fiction, there are several ridiculous threads I'd like to make. The ability to request judgements for AP is a nice touch. I would say make them all non-judgements so as to not waste staff time, but if people want to spend their AP on that, that's their choice, I suppose. Giving it the self-explanatory name of 'Freeform RP' and making it its own category are both good ideas to keep it accessible. I would only recommend that the category be placed near the top of the forum, ideally directly above or below the Realm of Greeting. Scrolling down past all the world forums and subforums would probably put off the type of people who would be interested in the freeform section before they even got to it.

[orphans]

I find myself between being interested and not at the same time. If the freeform RP section was just by itself as a way to just write random things, I'm fine with it. If things start crossing over into the Althanas world itself, it would seem strange, no?

As for the comment about everyone having their own garden... while it's a nice sentiment, care must be taken with what is planted. You wouldn't plant a titan arum in your garden beside your neighbor's begonias, would you?

Everyone's ideas seem pretty solid though, so..

I guess I'm more in the line of being "mamahuhu" about it.

[Ashla]

I really don't want to see Althanas become a fan fiction writing area, just... doesn't feel right. Not saying I'm anti-fanfic (there have been incredible fanfics found aside the weird, gross ships and horrific writings) I myself have an account on the major site for writing them, but... just not on Althanas. :/

However, other than that I like this kind of idea. Another place for GP (not exp) that offers some fresh air for writing sounds good. Yes, we have the Nexus, but I've never gotten to writing in there for whatever reason. A "freeform" forum would be new and have better chances of succeeding.

[Gum]

As for the comment about everyone having their own garden... while it's a nice sentiment, care must be taken with what is planted. You wouldn't plant a titan arum in your garden beside your neighbor's begonias, would you?
totally agree with you about planting offensive stuff lol. it's definitely possible for my neighbours to crap on me with giant trees and/or smelly plants. to their credit, they keep it to bedding plants the same as me. but i don't see the freeform section having too much of an impact on canon purist rp. it's entirely segregated from the get-go. so far the only attempt to influence the other side has come in the form of--and its completely understandable just to be clear--suspicious canon purists concerned that their fun might be impacted. all i'm saying is a thread stays in a thread and it's good general advice to let people be.

more than just that though, there's a huge positive side to it. people coming in to freeform rp are just humans like you and i. they want to have fun and they might be great people. a freeform rper might join althanas, you might get to know them and maybe they'll turn out to be the best friend you'll ever have! meeting new people is good. broadening our horizons is good. accepting differences and being tolerant of differences is good. and if you want to grow the canon side of the community, like andy said, you might get crossover from twilight vampire fans wanting to do something original for a change. and vice versa. it's all good!

bottom line for me is that it's totally positive and poses no threat to anything anybody already has here.

[Rayleigh]

more than just that though, there's a huge positive side to it. people coming in to freeform rp are just humans like you and i. they want to have fun and they might be great people. a freeform rper might join althanas, you might get to know them and maybe they'll turn out to be the best friend you'll ever have! meeting new people is good. broadening our horizons is good. accepting differences and being tolerant of differences is good. and if you want to grow the canon side of the community, like andy said, you might get crossover from twilight vampire fans wanting to do something original for a change. and vice versa. it's all good! .

This is exactly why I support this.

[Kellai]

More rp options are always something I can get behind. In fact, my rp career started because of my love for writing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter universe, and I came here via a forum based around GRRM's Westeros. I understand that there is always an inherent danger of an rp turning into a fanfic fest, but the writers on here seem pretty capable of resisting that impulse. Heck, it might even serve to re-inspire some writers to become more active again. Not to mention the potential for new blood (like others have already talked about). :3

All of that to say, I'm in support of it.

[orphans]

more than just that though, there's a huge positive side to it. people coming in to freeform rp are just humans like you and i. they want to have fun and they might be great people. a freeform rper might join althanas, you might get to know them and maybe they'll turn out to be the best friend you'll ever have! meeting new people is good. broadening our horizons is good. accepting differences and being tolerant of differences is good. and if you want to grow the canon side of the community, like andy said, you might get crossover from twilight vampire fans wanting to do something original for a change. and vice versa. it's all good!

bottom line for me is that it's totally positive and poses no threat to anything anybody already has here.


True, we all start from somewhere. Personally, I feel indifferent due to just not knowing enough about what will happen.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

As long as we make it clear that the freeform RP stays in the freeform subforums, there shouldn't be any crossover into other areas of the site.

[Karuka]

As long as we make it clear that the freeform RP stays in the freeform subforums, there shouldn't be any crossover into other areas of the site.

This.

[Gum]

As long as we make it clear that the freeform RP stays in the freeform subforums, there shouldn't be any crossover into other areas of the site.

and we'll make the freeformers pay for the wall! that'll show 'em! >:[ ]

[Max Dirks]

I'm glad you guys generally approve of the merits of a freeform system, but you're dodging my core question: would you use it?

[Karuka]

Probably not.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Nah.

[SerCasimir]

I think I would use it. I am constantly coming up with ideas I'd like to play with but the difficulties of either folding them into Casimir or registering a whole separate character for them kind of holds me up.

[Kryos]

I approve of the idea, but I myself would not use it. Trying to be active in Althanas is hard enough at times with everything else in life. I wouldn't use it. At least, at this time.

[Gum]

i would use it and i think it has the potential to grow the community. althanas has too many barriers to entry for new players.

[hoytti]

Probably not, I have Fanfiction.net for that. I will be doing a nexus story after I finish with Grond's current thread.

[Mordelain]

Freeform RP IN Althanas's world would make more sense.

A forum of vignette's and what if's and alternative timelines.

[Revenant]

I might use it is someone else's idea really got me interested but I'm not going to seek it out myself.

[orphans]

Freeform RP IN Althanas's world would make more sense.

A forum of vignette's and what if's and alternative timelines.

I would be more interested in this. An alternative timeline or alternate universe would be interesting, I think.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

Freeform RP IN Althanas's world would make more sense.

A forum of vignette's and what if's and alternative timelines.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can already do this... All you need to do is slap a quick OOC tag or a disclaimer at the beginning of your thread...

[Eylana]

I have to agree with Andy here.

[Mordelain]

Except you have to post with that character in that account.

The Nexus is a great idea but it needs to be the same system for Althanas lore/world.

I want to be able to write about Jack Johnson from Dheathain who owns a restaurant, and not have to worry about the account I'm on.

[Rayse Valentino]

Accounts only determine who gets EXP. You can write stories involving any characters you possess, including NPCs or characters that don't have profiles. The only thing you have to explicitly state is if you're using characters owned by other people. I literally made a thread years ago that had involved none of the characters I owned.

Likewise, I've never seen any sort of backlash against fan fiction in the Nexus? I didn't post any profiles when I started (and subsequently abandoned) something. Seems like you can already freeform in the Nexus if you want.

[Flames of Hyperion]

Idea #4: The Nexus – Alternate Worlds

Sure the Nexus is a thing, but its hidden away and has too much attached to it to make people want to write in it. Just like “The World of Althanas” is a major forum with regional sub-forums, why not make The Nexus an entire forum with alternate themed sub-forums? You could have a Gothic Victorian Era forum for people who want to write Dracula, Jeckell and Hyde, and Sherlock Holmes type stories. You could have a Modern Day Fantasy forum for the Dresden Files crowd. Separate hard sci-fi and a fantasy sci-fi forums for those with a Star Trek/Star Wars interest. Maybe a steampunk or Deadlands style western forum? And people can still write their own storied in the main Nexus forum itself if they don’t want to write in any of those.

Simply, though people can write anything in Nexus as they want, having additional forums might give people an idea or a place to start with where “just write anything” might be too much/too daunting. Then, give completed threads exp/gp as normal. No spoils can be granted from the Nexus but why not give exp/gp as normal. So they’re not writing with their main character. They’re still writing on the site, right? If you’re trying to promote activity, loosen up and let people play a little more freely.

I agree with most of Revenant's ideas on the matter, with the caveat that I'm not sure that giving full experience is a good idea. You're writing with the account, yes, but not with the character thus associated with it, and thus you'd gain full experience without the corresponding character development (for that matter, I'd rather not gain experience in the Workshop either, but hey).

The Nexus already allows for freeform RP, and I'm not sure that giving it structure and removing the need for registering characters will allow it to be a viable alternative to i.e. Tumblr. Personally I'm happy to answer Workshop requests for Nexus threads. But I wouldn't write in it myself at the moment (perhaps in the far future, when I get round to extending my legendarium beyond a fantasy world?).

[Mixed-blood]

Bard and I have been talking about this, and he says not have it, and personally I don't think characters should earn experience or AP for Nexus threads. I do believe that if people want a workshop done of a Nexus thread than they can pay the AP cost to do it. At the same time there's nothing stopping people from having their friends, or people they know on the site to glance at, and make comments on their Nexus threads. You can even do an OOC area for comments and suggestions on the stuff there. A sort of "Eye on the Nexus."