Character-Driven vs. Story-Driven

[call me rae]

Bob you so funny. But I agree with @QuirkyAngel Roleplays live and die by the participation of players. If your not invested in the roleplay (whether that is thru characters or story ) then it won't matter the roleplay is going to fail.


If your bored or not invested by the characters and/or the story then your not going to stick around.


It doesn't matter how quote unquote Good or Bad the story or characters are.

 

[Spacekitty]

Bob you so funny. But I agree with @QuirkyAngel Roleplays live and die by the participation of players. If your not invested in the roleplay (whether that is thru characters or story ) then it won't matter the roleplay is going to fail.
If your bored or not invested by the characters and/or the story then your not going to stick around.


It doesn't matter how quote unquote Good or Bad the story or characters are.

Participation is always key


Not to be rude but that fact isn't relevant to the argument

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Bob you so funny. But I agree with @QuirkyAngel Roleplays live and die by the participation of players. If your not invested in the roleplay (whether that is thru characters or story ) then it won't matter the roleplay is going to fail.
If your bored or not invested by the characters and/or the story then your not going to stick around.


It doesn't matter how quote unquote Good or Bad the story or characters are.

Finally someone says a big one! Dedication is a HUGE factor in it. Take me and bobs AoC rp. only 8 pages of actual rping, been going on for 3 months. The PM of which we are all involved in has almost 3,000 replies.

 

[Spacekitty]

[QUOTE="Jarkov Malachai]Finally someone says a big one! Dedication is a HUGE factor in it. Take me and bobs AoC rp. only 8 pages of actual rping, been going on for 3 months. The PM of which we are all involved in has almost 3,000 replies.

[/QUOTE]
Technically we aren't dedicated as their aren't tons of replies


But that's behave we all got lives and put effort into posts

 

[call me rae]

@Bobisdead123[/URL] this is relevant to the conversation as it advocates all three points. Because really all you have been saying with your opinions is that you are invested more in characters and that what keeps you in a roleplay.


For me story is what keeps me invested.

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

Exactly the longest running roleplay I've ever been in had frankly adequate characters and story. But it lasted four years because the participants of the roleplay kept it going through OOC hangouts and coming up continuous arcs to the story and kept refreshing characters when people got bored.
So I guess in answer to @Bobisdead123 this is relevant to the conversation as it advocates all three points. Because really all you have been saying with your opinions is that you are invested more in characters and that what keeps you in a roleplay.


For me story is what keeps me invested.

*nods sagely*


My longest lasting role play was 7 years, mainly cause all those involved knew eachother in real life, and ended with so much epic shit.


The Damned One/Final Sybil, the Foragers Corp, The Serai'Drakhoul, the Seven Realms, Badass creation myth/theory, Kyra *shivers*, Mikhail Arcturus and Kyridian, the Breaking Wars being part of the Seven Realms. Ahh nostalgia. Good times good times.

 

[Spacekitty]

[QUOTE="Jarkov Malachai]*nods sagely*
My longest lasting role play was 7 years, mainly cause all those involved knew eachother in real life, and ended with so much epic shit.


The Damned One/Final Sybil, the Foragers Corp, The Serai'Drakhoul, the Seven Realms, Badass creation myth/theory, Kyra *shivers*, Mikhail Arcturus and Kyridian, the Breaking Wars being part of the Seven Realms. Ahh nostalgia. Good times good times.

[/QUOTE]
What WAS foragers Corp? You know my stuff well but I aint know shit about yours


I hope ours can last even a year

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

What WAS foragers Corp? You know my stuff well but I aint know shit about yours
I hope ours can last even a year

The Foragers Corp, Dumb name I know but I made it up when I was young and ain't ever changed it, was the Sybill's Army, a massive mercenary force benefitting from the Damned Ones advanced technology and following in his ideology to the death.


That giant ass Death ship your Black Ops guys are on? Just one of the 13 Arkenon Dreadnaughts that were built, each remaining to this day, millennia after his death.


The corp terrorized the universe whilst the Damned One reigned, like the mandalorians of Star wars except on a more massive scale. One squad of veteran Foragers Marines, were worth their weight in gold. Literally. However when the Damned One was 'killed'.'destroyed' by the Titan Project being sabotauged, they sort of faded off having lost their commander and leader and by that extension their purpose, they were no longer guided and so they hid amongst the dark crags of the infinite space awaiting the inevitable Day... their Lord returns.

 

[Spacekitty]

[QUOTE="Jarkov Malachai]The Foragers Corp, Dumb name I know but I made it up when I was young and ain't ever changed it, was the Sybill's Army, a massive mercenary force benefitting from the Damned Ones advanced technology and following in his ideology to the death.
That giant ass Death ship your Black Ops guys are on? Just one of the 13 Arkenon Dreadnaughts that were built, each remaining to this day, millennia after his death.


The corp terrorized the universe whilst the Damned One reigned, like the mandalorians of Star wars except on a more massive scale. One squad of veteran Foragers Marines, were worth their weight in gold. Literally. However when the Damned One was 'killed'.'destroyed' by the Titan Project being sabotauged, they sort of faded off having lost their commander and leader and by that extension their purpose, they were no longer guided and so they hid amongst the dark crags of the infinite space awaiting the inevitable Day... their Lord returns.

[/QUOTE]
dude I ashould make Detah Watch


but out of Coits and Klavikans

 

[Jarkov Malachai]

dude I ashould make Detah Watch
but out of Coits and Klavikans

Mebes but lets keep posts here on track and on the conversational topics.

 

[Nada]

I have never been in an RP that could keep my interest without having interesting characters. Even if you have teh must original plot EVAH if I hae to read about each character involved scoffing dismissively at what would be shocking to anyone else, I'm going to bail xD

 

[silenceconspiracy]

Obviously a good story and good characters are needed for a decent rp, and I've seen a lot of 'character driven' votes but I'm really disagree about it. Not saying I'm right and everyone else is wrong, but maybe it's just my experiences dealing with 1X1 rps and I will only be talking about those. Sometimes when it comes to making a plot, the plot of the rp is just so basic or only halfway there. By 'halfway' I mean people have only figured out one or two things that happened: they meet in some odd way so as to make the characters interact longer than would happen in real life and then do something together and then later on they meet up again and do something together. People will throw out ideas when the rp is getting boring (so-and-so can get in an argument with so-and-so or this person can get hurt to add an issue) but do these ideas really flow together in a consecutive fashion? Trivial little bumps in the road only make the rp interesting for so long, and you need good, amazing events to actually show the greatness of the character. If there is any greatness.


All I watch is anime so I can only use those for the basis of my thoughts as well as my past rp experiences, but the story does not get enough credit. Because usually there is no story. Good stories have more than just one thing going on. Think about The Hunger Games. You think it's just some girl trying to survive in a crazy predicament, but underlying that is a rebellion and you don't even realize she's on thin ice (that's actually a great pun for the story, whoops) until the end. There was to be more than just one big major event. There has to be "hidden" events happening that lets the rp continue flowing naturally without being forced. Which involves a lot of planning because not only are you designing something with a noticeable plot (they meet and hang out and continue to hang out) but there is one thing that is only briefly hinted at or mentioned or foreshadowed (the character is running away from the law but they keep it secret and suspicions arise from the other and they try to figure out what's so suspicious) that keeps the rp interesting (guess what? character a is about to get caught so they take character b on a crazy adventure to a new country). And with such events that flow nicely, it'll be easier to describe how the characters react.


When rps get boring and the rpers don't want to quit it, they tend to throw out cheap ideas to make it interesting. Getting pregnant, suicide/depression tendencies, family member dying, getting hit by a car, having a near death experience, fighting and then getting hurt, et cetera. I'm sure everyone's faced all of these and more. How much crazy drama can a character take? Even strong characters can handle so much, and honestly, if a family member were to die, most people realistically struggle with dealing with a lot of things. So first they deal with the death of a family member then they find out so and so is pregnant and then they have a fight and then that person gets hurt and then they, themselves, have a near death experience. Pretty sure they'd think therapy and pills to be a good option, but no one really wants that happen, so they have their characters endure more despair and get more screwed up yet still have them behave similar. That's only because no time passes through to see the actual character development. People don't change in a split second usually. That's why there are the stages of grief or the stages of this or that. Because people often go through phases and it takes time for that to happen. When you turn 13 right away do you turn into a rebellious teenager right on your birthday? No. Well, at least I hope not.


TLR: I guess my biggest issue with character driven rps is that they lack a sense of realism, which is why I prefer story driven, not to the point where everything is completely planned out to the T, but to the point where it is coherent and has fluidity to it.


Although side note, to have a rp that has like great character development and great story and good setting and good description and good secondary characters and events happening, your rp would have to be like... really, really long. You'd need a lot of thoroughness in both partner's writing to have a solid consistency to achieve everything mentioned. It'd be a lot less fun then if you have to write 2,000+ words for each post and it may actually be harder to move the rp along....


Just realizing what a difficult question this really is. Now I'm not too sure what to think, sigh.

 

[Spacekitty]

Although side note, to have a rp that has like great character development and great story and good setting and good description and good secondary characters and events happening, your rp would have to be like... really, really long. You'd need a lot of thoroughness in both partner's writing to have a solid consistency to achieve everything mentioned. It'd be a lot less fun then if you have to write 2,000+ words for each post and it may actually be harder to move the rp along....


Just realizing what a difficult question this really is. Now I'm not too sure what to think, sigh.

2000 words a post isn't fun?


I'd say that's awesome! I wish all my posts could be that long.


Longer isn't always better


but better writers tend to write longer

 

[call me rae]

2000 words a post isn't fun?
I'd say that's awesome! I wish all my posts could be that long.


Longer isn't always better


but better writers tend to write longer

As someone who can and has been forced to write 2000+ posts it's really not as fun as you'd think. It's a slog because you have to spend too much time fluffing your posts to meet the limit and not enough time on progressing the story.


@silenceconspiracy I agree I find story to be under represented in a lot of group roleplays. People figure they'll just wing it and nothing is ever accomplished because of it.

 

[silenceconspiracy]

@readingraebow already said, makes it troublesome to move the story along. I'm a detailed roleplayer but what I take into account isn't always word count but if the other person is being detailed with their character and not just using dialogue as a crutch. Sometimes you can only write so much about how a person feels or what the scene looks like over and over. Im sure there is a balance to doing that because you want the rp to move forward and shorter posts accomplish that quicker but then there is something just... I dunno lovely, about longer posts.


But it'd be a drag to be forced to write so many words. The rp wouldn't be fun anymore in my opinion since it'd be more like a chore.

 

[Spacekitty]

@readingraebow already said, makes it troublesome to move the story along. I'm a detailed roleplayer but what I take into account isn't always word count but if the other person is being detailed with their character and not just using dialogue as a crutch. Sometimes you can only write so much about how a person feels or what the scene looks like over and over. Im sure there is a balance to doing that because you want the rp to move forward and shorter posts accomplish that quicker but then there is something just... I dunno lovely, about longer posts.
But it'd be a drag to be forced to write so many words. The rp wouldn't be fun anymore in my opinion since it'd be more like a chore.

in 1x1s short and detailed is the way to go much of the time


but I partake in space operas, which are nation builders set in a futuristic Sci FI setting that are character driven (very specific genre lol) and many posts are long and the story has been going on for a few months with no problems

 

[White Masquerade]

All I watch is anime so I can only use those for the basis of my thoughts as well as my past rp experiences, but the story does not get enough credit. Because usually there is no story.

I like this. I have read and learned from lots of great books of many different genres. I have watched and picked notes from many T.V shows, reality, game, & fantasy. Recently, I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of great anime and what you say has truth.


Characters are sexy and characters are important. They kind of steal away the shine the story gives a piece of work in any format, because the characters are what's put in your face 95% of the time. Characters become the "superstars". But in reality, the "superstar" status tricks people. It's like a mirage. I can give so many examples.

• The President/Ruler of a country. He or she is the face of a country, but in reality, it's Congress, Parliament, or Representatives that have the real power. They are the people who decide what happen.
  
• Quarterbacks in football. These guys are worshiped by millions. Leaders of the team, but in reality, there are so many other players in the background that make the QB's job a success. The linemen, coaches, training staff, etc.
  
• Lebron James in basketball =P. I believe some people think he's a basketball god. For good reason. The athlete is really, really, good. Yet he'd be nowhere without his coach, nutritionist, fellow players, family, personal trainer, etc.
  
• Actors in a play. They are the face of an act, but in reality, the stage director, screen writer, advertisers, and etc, are the ones who work to make it all flow nicely.
  

In all honesty, the votes for this poll should be split equally, or at least have the most votes under "Decent Characters & Stories". The fact that "Outstanding Characters" holds 56% is a kind of shocking and scary. It tells me either people are lazy, genuinely don't care much for story, or have been taken in by the glitz & glamour of "superstar" characters.


Which I understand. "Story-Driven" creations are deeper and more "mental-food" in most cases, but "Character-Driven" creations are what sell. Like you were saying about anime, most of them don't have a story at all. Full Metal Alchemist (Brotherhood) is heavily story-driven and is arguably the best anime a lot of people have seen. Yet what are the type of anime filling up the internet? High-school, Magical High School, and SAO clones. ( ). I don't even know where I'm going with this anymore.




Basically, you can like Characters over Story; that doesn't matter. Just don't think characters alone are going to work for you if you want to do something deep and complete. The story is like the super-intelligent nerd you don't see working in the background that makes everything run. Don't get tricked!

 

[silenceconspiracy]

You basically said what I wanted to say so eloquently and perfectly oh mah gawd. But yeah, that's how I was thinking! Especially with what you mentioned with the anime, especially with how the really good ones don't get noticed (-cries- because brotherhood is my life source) That you for writing it so nicely and amazingly!!! @White Masquerade


I've never done any nation building roleplay before but I do understand that some lengths of posts for different roleplay success vary quite a bit. Honestly I write a ton just because I really really like writing and get inspired easily, but I know that if I write too much of nothing then nothing important tends to happen aha. @Bobisdead123

 

[White Masquerade]

@silenceconspiracy


Haha, no problem. Thanks for commenting

 

[Spacekitty]

You basically said what I wanted to say so eloquently and perfectly oh mah gawd. But yeah, that's how I was thinking! Especially with what you mentioned with the anime, especially with how the really good ones don't get noticed (-cries- because brotherhood is my life source) That you for writing it so nicely and amazingly!!! @White Masquerade
I've never done any nation building roleplay before but I do understand that some lengths of posts for different roleplay success vary quite a bit. Honestly I write a ton just because I really really like writing and get inspired easily, but I know that if I write too much of nothing then nothing important tends to happen aha. @Bobisdead123

I write not because I enjoy doing but because I like writing. And in the rps I take part in without good characters and posts its just a fuck fest, no matter how good the plot is

 

[torenia]

i completely agree with @silenceconspiracy


my favorite (anime) example is yu yu hakusho because it has a great story AND great characters. i am very character driven but i do spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of world should i build that will let me explore as many dynamics within my character and my rp buddy's character as humanly possible without distorting the infrastructure of their characterization.


with the example of yyh, what makes it work is that there is a world that routinely tests these characters and the group dynamic and it's a very detailed world in which you could make a lot of good storylines out of. by the end of the show, you really feel like the characters have grown and i think that's partly because the story was always A+ solid to facilitate that progression.


as rpers, we really need to challenge ourselves with what tropes we want to extend, not just in our characters but the world we're trying to build around them and if you don't focus on both aspects of roleplaying, i feel like there'll be something missing. like even in a slice of life modern roleplay, you can work out the details of the normalcy that surrounds them in a way that's engaging.

 

[Aquarius]

Definitely character driven. I love interesting characters. A nice story is good, but if the characters are boring, I'll probably lack interest.

 

[Atreus]

When coming up with my rps, my ideas tend to start from worldbuilding...

Your entire post is basically how I feel about the subject haha.

 

[Spacekitty]

Your entire post is basically how I feel about the subject haha.

Idk


I guess my opinion is different because u view rps the same way I veiw stories and subsequently RP as if I was writing a story


Where characters can make less interesting plots better


but even that's up for debate

 

[Atreus]

Idk
I guess my opinion is different because u view rps the same way I veiw stories and subsequently RP as if I was writing a story


Where characters can make less interesting plots better


but even that's up for debate

For me it's the fact that I can't really enjoy one without the other.