Viewpoint Is there such thing as too dark?

[Tulik]

While I believe opinion plays a big factor in this topic, and personal preference should be considered when coming into a roleplay centered on mature themes, it is also my opinion that you can go overboard with the doom and gloom. I think that if you center on a story and world that is wholly darkness and mature themes you might have an issue. Not saying you can’t have fun in a world like that, but in my personal opinion I think that a world that centered on one thing, especially when it comes to darker themes will stagnate fairly quickly due to the lack of diversity when it comes to experiences and plot points, with the only change being brought about by “shock factors” that have to grow more and more grotesque to one up the last because there is no real change in the scenery of the world or story.

 

[Ace Cream]

When all your efforts fail or go wrong just because the world is such an unforgivable place to live, that's when things gone too dark IMO. Hope is what makes things different.

 

[Crow]

It is as you say. What is the point of shock factor if you dish it out at every moment? If a world is solely despair or solely hope, where's the nature of a story in that?

 

[Grey]

The mature themes and dark content have to have a point, otherwise it's just juvenile and wearying. You need points of light, characters should crack jokes to try and deal with their situation, it can't just be a constant downward spiral unless you're, say, Peter Watts.

 

[Malphaestus]

Things should not exist just because they exist. So technically yes, but perhaps not in the way you envisioned it.

Having said that, 'dark' themes serve as catalysts to explore far more interesting themes than the alternative, in my book.

 

[Ayama]

While RPs centered/focused on dark themes exclusively aren't something I'm personally interested in doing, I don't think we can say there's any definite, objective line for 'too dark'- it all depends on what the players want to delve into and explore~

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[Tove]

I enjoy darker and mature themes but I don't want every post to be complete and utter misery however. For me, there's got to be some sort of balance as well as a point.

 

[forsythia]

in my opinion, dark themes/content should serve a purpose to the story. it feels shallow and tasteless when stuff is tacked on just for the sake of making the story darker/more shocking. plus it can be pretty one-note if the only theme going on is doom and gloom. i feel like every story should have its ups and downs. they don't have to be perfectly balanced or anything, but if they go only one way, it gets boring.

 

[Gowi]

Depends on the setting, doesn't it?

 

[BasiliskVeranda]

The mature themes and dark content have to have a point, otherwise it's just juvenile and wearying. You need points of light, characters should crack jokes to try and deal with their situation, it can't just be a constant downward spiral unless you're, say, Peter Watts.

I have to agree with this. If everything is consistently dark, that's not even very realistic either, in terms of human beings being human. Or sentient species that feel things, feeling things. There's always that one entity/person who laughs in the face of danger, or tries to make things better. Whether it's a coping mechanism or not, characters written as actual characters will inevitably at least find one moment of levity. No world is entirely remiss of even 1 scrap of singular beauty/respite/bit of hope.

There's a reason stuff like The Walking Dead TV show got so gobsmackingly ridiculous; it wasn't just the OP plot-armor villain, it was the fact that everything—and I mean everything—was doom and gloom. The writers stopped writing characters and made a parade of torment. That's definitely juvenile.

A story, which we are all writing stories here, has to have balance.

Or else it's just a slog of torture, imho.