RP Fail.

I wish people weren’t so private with their RP and actually RPed randomly instead of only in their guild setting. Lots of good RPers who ignore random RP.

~ Member of RP Community

Oh, really?

I would have more stock in this if it was from somebody that didn’t demonstrate trollish behaviour on the official forums, who didn’t frequently create guilds for the sake of “saving” RP on my server and who didn’t play a Tauren banshee with mechanical legs at one time or another.

I guess I’m an elitist!

When I actually stick my face out into the crowd, I do my best to include strangers, random RPers, even people I don’t like (assuming they aren’t the people that have caused me a ton of grief, those people can go fuck themselves with a rusty fork).

“But Matojo!” You cry, “People privatising RP is a big problem! Something has to be done! RP is dying!”

Really now?

I think the bigger problem is the Chicken Little Syndrome.

Allow me to explain.

Chicken Little Syndrome is when members of a server’s Roleplay community – usually individuals with a reputation as attention-seekers (much nicer description than what I was originally going to type) or people that have never done anything but complain, anyway – begin to cry out that RP on the server is dead, it needs saving, oh woe is the RP. They blame the cliques, they blame the PvPers, they blame the raiders, they blame everyone and everything under the sun.

Yet, when I’ve seen these individuals at events (namely, The Drunken Kodo, I have yet to see them at The Refuge’s Campfire), their interaction with other people consists of talking to themselves in their own language, or simply making a rude remark or two and not really trying to engage others, among other behaviours that don’t encourage characters to try to interact with them.

When the local RP Hermit (Me) can happily poke and prod at people when she shows up to things, there is a problem. That problem isn’t the server, in that case, nor is it the community.

Guess what?

RP requires effort on the part of the individual. There is nothing wrong with RPers sticking to their guilds if that’s what makes them happy, and the more that people complain, the less likely we are to poke our heads out.

Also consider this: People like me, who have been playing for a long time, have also had a large share of drama of our own. We’ve learned what type of people are more likely to create problems and, as such, we strive to avoid that. If one finds people actively avoiding RP with them (and I mean, completely ignoring their actions and refusing to speak to them if the setting isn’t insanely busy like many public events are), the problem may not be them. The problem may be you.

The saying is “once bitten, twice shy”. I’ve been bitten before, so have members of my guild. We are tired of bullshit so we’re very careful of who we let in – at least, to the Big Stuff – but we still ask that you aren’t afraid to approach us when you see us sitting around a campfire and boozing. Yes, the Harbingers of War are tight-knit and a clique of a fashion, but all guilds are, and we’re also fairly easy to get along with.

Generally, this is the case with most RP guilds if other people are willing to put in the effort.

My point is this: RP never, ever, ever just comes to you. It requires effort, it requires care and hard work. It’s something that, if you try, if you work at it, it will yield great rewards – but if you spend a lot of time b’awwwing about the lack of it, all you’ll do is continue to push it away.

Want to make guilds? Great, develop a story, advertise, pimp, openly recruit, be loud and be proud.

Don’t make it your personal mission to “save” RP anywhere – that just turns people off. RP for the sake of RPing and leave it at that. If you play a character that isn’t very social, don’t complain about lack of RP – develop some characters that are or concoct a reason for that character to speak up. Does he have strong opinions? Maybe s/he pulls something stupid or inherits a pet or magical object that just doesn’t agree with him.

Most of all?

BE CREATIVE.

Bitching? Gets you nowhere.

Bad Matojo, no bikkit. Stop cannibalizing your own Godsdamned community.

1 Comment

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  By Lulo, January 31, 2010 @ 3:58 am

  Oh Clair. Just go away and stay there.

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