Advice/Help Not excited about RPing nowadays, just me?

[Chocolatemilkshake]

I find it hard to really enjoy a roleplay nowadays. I have been RPing for about 7-8 years and occasionally find my old roleplays from years ago and the things that surprise me are that it seems like my old roleplays lasted much longer (months to years), people put more effort into writing, characters were more balanced and I remember fondly how i would stay up or wait for a reply. It feels as if people were more commited back then and from what I can see from my old roleplays it was a rare occurrence if a roleplay dropped. Now ditching seems to be the norm, expected even, there are heaps of cliche pairings/ideas and I just get the impression that some people don't try their best anymore. It kinda upsets me that all those great roleplays I had do not exist anymore but there is nothing I can do about that. Anyone feel the same way that RPing is just not the same anymore? I do enjoy RPing but I feel as if I am not able to get excited anymore cause of all the things that I listed. Anyone feel the same?

 

[Communist]

I miss when people replied fast. Waiting 6 hours for a reply kinda ruins the moment.

And I agree with you, mainly because I can't find a role play that suits my taste.

 

[Lorsh]

Similar thing happened to me.

Trying in-game serious RP (on Garry's Mod) was interesting for awhile, though. But the quality and variety is usually lower in comparison to average forum RPs. At least the posts were done almost instantly.

 

[Sunbather]

The longer you do something, the more jaded you will be. After witnessing people dropping out, it becomes an expectation. Everyone becomes a little cynical in that regard, and once everyone is sceptical of others, they excuse for themselves. "I've had it happen to me so often, once is no biggie." Plus, at least for this site, the userbase has become a lot younger over the past year, I feel. And maybe that's just my perception, but younger people are more acquainted with fast-paced, short sort of exchanges ala Twitter/Tumblr etc. That isn't necessarily a bad thing it and of itself, it's just different. And, of course, it can be discouraging for those who seek something more indepth.

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

I miss when people replied fast. Waiting 6 hours for a reply kinda ruins the moment.

And I agree with you, mainly because I can't find a role play that suits my taste.

True, people replied really much faster back then. Once I had this roleplay partner that let me wait MONTHS for a roleplay. I told them I don't want to continue the roleplay, especially as I completely forgotten about it.

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

The longer you do something, the more jaded you will be. After witnessing people dropping out, it becomes an expectation. Everyone becomes a little cynical in that regard, and once everyone is sceptical of others, they excuse for themselves. "I've had it happen to me so often, once is no biggie." Plus, at least for this site, the userbase has become a lot younger over the past year, I feel. And maybe that's just my perception, but younger people are more acquainted with fast-paced, short sort of exchanges ala Twitter/Tumblr etc. That isn't necessarily a bad thing it and of itself, it's just different. And, of course, it can be discouraging for those who seek something more indepth.

Yeah, I remember the average age of my RP partners were 25's to 30's and now I see many 'youngsters'. It did become more of a expectation that the RP will drop eventually, it's no longer a commitment to many people nowadays.

 

[Communist]

Yeah, I remember the average age of my RP partners were 25's to 30's and now I see many 'youngsters'. It did become more of a expectation that the RP will drop eventually, it's no longer a commitment to many people nowadays.

Trust me, it's even worse when you're in the middle of an epic fight and your opponent takes way more than should take to reply. It's kinda funny but also ridiculous.

 

[Whisker]

It's not just you. It's a lot of the older generations on this site who frequently complain about finding outlets and having low hype for roleplaying.

Myself included in that. I'm twenty-four and I've been writing stories and roleplaying since I was eleven. I don't ever remember a time in there where I struggled to hype for roleplay and put forth effort to make my projects succeed. Now, I very rarely even bother to plan character growth shit and cool details for my writing cause I know damn well 9/10 it isn't going to get past the first 5 pages. I can't afford to let myself get attached to my work like I used to.

I still have fun doing it or else I wouldn't be here, but the lack of motivation is still pretty bad.

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Trust me, it's even worse when you're in the middle of an epic fight and your opponent takes way more than should take to reply. It's kinda funny but also ridiculous.

Oh gosh, that is terrible, it's funny but I can imagine I would be very annoyed in that situation.

It's not just you. It's a lot of the older generations on this site who frequently complain about finding outlets and having low hype for roleplaying.

Myself included in that. I'm twenty-four and I've been writing stories and roleplaying since I was eleven. I don't ever remember a time in there where I struggled to hype for roleplay and put forth effort to make my projects succeed. Now, I very rarely even bother to plan character growth shit and cool details for my writing cause I know damn well 9/10 it isn't going to get past the first 5 pages. I can't afford to let myself get attached to my work like I used to.

I still have fun doing it or else I wouldn't be here, but the lack of motivation is still pretty bad.

Yeah you described it well. It's kinda the expectation that the roleplay will drop eventually, and also the fact that the other partner probably doesn't put as much effort into it. I also find it hard to get attached to a roleplay..

 

[Whisker]

Oh gosh, that is terrible, it's funny but I can imagine I would be very annoyed in that situation.



Yeah you described it well. It's kinda the expectation that the roleplay will drop eventually, and also the fact that the other partner probably doesn't put as much effort into it. I also find it hard to get attached to a roleplay..

Yeah. It's not difficult to tell when you're gonna get crushed. If there's very little OOC interaction, or one person dragging the other along like dead weight and putting out all the ideas, then you know it's just going to be one of those things. The damned worst ones are the ones you're really stoked for and it just drags because it takes weeks/months for the others to answer.

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Yeah. It's not difficult to tell when you're gonna get crushed. If there's very little OOC interaction, or one person dragging the other along like dead weight and putting out all the ideas, then you know it's just going to be one of those things. The damned worst ones are the ones you're really stoked for and it just drags because it takes weeks/months for the others to answer.

I had a rp partner and I noticed her replies were more delayed and there was less effort put into replies. I asked her if she is still interested in the roleplay? Does she still want to continue? It's not a problem if she wants to quit, but she insisted that she liked the roleplay and then I got ditched a couple of weeks later while I still saw her replying to other roleplays..

 

[Whisker]

I had a rp partner and I noticed her replies were more delayed and there was less effort put into replies. I asked her if she is still interested in the roleplay? Does she still want to continue? It's not a problem if she wants to quit, but she insisted that she liked the roleplay and then I got ditched a couple of weeks later while I still saw her replying to other roleplays..

I think it comes down to a lot of people overbooking themselves and then having to scale back. It's more the general pervasive apathy and lack of excitement that gets to me. It's like showing up at a party with the keg ready to go and everyone's just sitting down watching tv or tuning out entirely on the phone.

 

[White Masquerade]

Oh gosh, that is terrible, it's funny but I can imagine I would be very annoyed in that situation.



Yeah you described it well. It's kinda the expectation that the roleplay will drop eventually, and also the fact that the other partner probably doesn't put as much effort into it. I also find it hard to get attached to a roleplay..

I think you should be attached to a roleplay even before the partner comes. Generally, you should be attached to the experience it can bring you, rather than the people around. Cause if the people are not so good or some drop, guess what? You'll still love the world. You can branch off and make your own experiences. Heck. Start your own version of the RP with permission. That's a situation I found myself in a few months after joining. The upgraded RP created was 10 times more fun than the original. Mainly because it was now being done by people that had a real enthusiasm for the setting, instead of other less motivating reasons.

If you find yourself RPing more for partners instead of actual love for the story, you will honestly not get far. Anywhere. You will always be unsatisfied.

For RPs, I like and use the idea of having a "Drop Period". Time at the beginning of a roleplay where you do the most BORING things imaginable. All the character development and scene-setting that no one cares about. It's a necessary thing but not the most fun. 100% of the time, those not really interested or the more timid players will drop out. This is what you want. Come the middle of the roleplay when things start to spice, up you've accomplished a few things. You've taken out the non-committed without destroying the story. You've filled your character development quota. Third, now you get to reward those who've stayed behind with your best work. <-- At this point, I personally don't accept/re-accept anyone else into the RP, but it's up to you.

At the end of the day, just write what you want to write because you want to write it. Others looking for the same thing as you will eventually hop in the more you do so.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

To become "jaded" or not is completely up to you as a roleplayer. I tend to have an optimistic look on new rp's regardless of what happens. If it flops? Oh well. Shrug my shoulders and look forward to the next big thing. I'm actually in a long-term 1x1 now, and it's a great feeling to finally get that one rp that'll stick around.

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

To become "jaded" or not is completely up to you as a roleplayer. I tend to have an optimistic look on new rp's regardless of what happens. If it flops? Oh well. Shrug my shoulders and look forward to the next big thing. I'm actually in a long-term 1x1 now, and it's a great feeling to finally get that one rp that'll stick around.

That's great that you are optimistic about your rp's.

 

[Malice Queen]

I think you should be attached to a roleplay even before the partner comes. Generally, you should be attached to the experience it can bring you, rather than the people around. Cause if the people are not so good or some drop, guess what? You'll still love the world. You can branch off and make your own experiences. Heck. Start your own version of the RP with permission. That's a situation I found myself in a few months after joining. The upgraded RP created was 10 times more fun than the original. Mainly because it was now being done by people that had a real enthusiasm for the setting, instead of other less motivating reasons.

If you find yourself RPing more for partners instead of actual love for the story, you will honestly not get far. Anywhere. You will always be unsatisfied.

For RPs, I like and use the idea of having a "Drop Period". Time at the beginning of a roleplay where you do the most BORING things imaginable. All the character development and scene-setting that no one cares about. It's a necessary thing but not the most fun. 100% of the time, those not really interested or the more timid players will drop out. This is what you want. Come the middle of the roleplay when things start to spice, up you've accomplished a few things. You've taken out the non-committed without destroying the story. You've filled your character development quota. Third, now you get to reward those who've stayed behind with your best work. <-- At this point, I personally don't accept/re-accept anyone else into the RP, but it's up to you.

At the end of the day, just write what you want to write because you want to write it. Others looking for the same thing as you will eventually hop in the more you do so.

Wow...just WOW. I have to say that I feel a lot like Caramel but after reading your post...I have to say that you probably have saved my RPing on this website xD You have renewed my hope, especially with that last part! Thank you very much for that wonderfully optimistic post!

 

[Chocolatemilkshake]

I am planning on starting a search thread tomorrow and I cleaned up my profile a bit. Was quite a while ago since I roleplayed but we will see how it goes..

 

[rae2nerdy]

From what I have been able to surmise it stems from two things

- The average age on this site is younger so you're someone in your twenties dealing with a lot of younger teenagers. So you're dealing with people at different experience levels and points in their lives

- People are busy. The people who are the same age or older than you do not have the time they used to to roleplay. What with families, jobs, etc.

So it's the downside of being in the older demographic - you have to accept that life has changed for a lot of your age mates and that there are going to be a new crop of up and comers that are still finding their feet.

Is it annoying ? yeah sometimes. But if you are really dedicate to the idea or the people you'll find a way to make it work.

 

[Jackstack]

I find it hard to really enjoy a roleplay nowadays. I have been RPing for about 7-8 years and occasionally find my old roleplays from years ago and the things that surprise me are that it seems like my old roleplays lasted much longer (months to years), people put more effort into writing, characters were more balanced and I remember fondly how i would stay up or wait for a reply. It feels as if people were more commited back then and from what I can see from my old roleplays it was a rare occurrence if a roleplay dropped. Now ditching seems to be the norm, expected even, there are heaps of cliche pairings/ideas and I just get the impression that some people don't try their best anymore. It kinda upsets me that all those great roleplays I had do not exist anymore but there is nothing I can do about that. Anyone feel the same way that RPing is just not the same anymore? I do enjoy RPing but I feel as if I am not able to get excited anymore cause of all the things that I listed. Anyone feel the same?

This hits right at home, I remember waiting up all night, just to reply to someone's post. I remember having long and complex ideas on what I wanted my character to do, and what to do with the other characters. I remember there being a minimum line requirement. That's why I left my old RP forum, it was/is dead, and no one stuck around. I always had hoped that one of the RPs I participated in would last to five thousand posts and have tens of thousands of words written down.

 

[Borkus Lazorus]

I have advice. Figure out how to cure the human condition and come back to me when you have a viable solution.

 

[Melisena]

For me, it's more to do with burn out more then anything that kills the excitement for RPing. I've been RPing pretty consistently elsewhere and I 'left' RpN because of it, and only returning recently since I miss RPing on forums. As others said, players dropping out unexpectedly kills that excitement, and I've been on both ends of that myself. All I can say really is that finding the right partner(s) or group of players makes RPing in general a lot more enjoyable and that excitement will stay around much longer.

 

[Navam]

It's because RPing isn't a trend, or at least a big one. If it was all the rage everyone would be doing it. Celebs have iPhones, populace buys iPhones. Everyone has PS4, everyone buys PS4. It's like supply and demand. The more cool things that the popular people(which celebs basically are) show us, the more people will buy. And nowadays people use things that make sense, or really benefit them. Rping doesn't put food on your table, unless you get $100 per post, and it doesn't really benefit you health because drama seeps into every crack. I can't avoid drama, heh, anywhere because I like testing people.

But anyway, I think that the main reasons why rping isn't that popular anymore, if it ever was, is because:
-non-trend
-not very beneficial
-no one really knows about it
-it only really improves your writing skills, which no one really needs because we have technology like autocorrect, spelling check, and other stuff
-you can RP face to face, aka having a conversation

There are probably a lot of other reasons but I can only think of those at the moment.

 

[Kennedy]

What kills my creativity and motivation to RP is the speed posting. When I got back into RP'ing a few years ago, I ended up on a forum that challenged me creatively and the quality was insanely good. There was no one-line posting; every post was pretty much a minimum of 500 words. It was collaborative writing instead of random RPing.

So when I now look for RPs to join, unfortunately because I got used to being given time to post, I get lost in the chaos of speed posters and my inspiration just... dies.

Kinda hoping to find like-minded writers to write with me at our own pace and work towards some pretty awesome stuff. Together.

 

[Tarmagon]

What kills my creativity and motivation to RP is the speed posting. When I got back into RP'ing a few years ago, I ended up on a forum that challenged me creatively and the quality was insanely good. There was no one-line posting; every post was pretty much a minimum of 500 words. It was collaborative writing instead of random RPing.

So when I now look for RPs to join, unfortunately because I got used to being given time to post, I get lost in the chaos of speed posters and my inspiration just... dies.

Kinda hoping to find like-minded writers to write with me at our own pace and work towards some pretty awesome stuff. Together.

I couldn't agree with you more. RP's currently seem to fall into the 'post or die' category, with far more dying than proving to be long lasting. I was in an RP on another site with five other participants, most of us controlling several characters. It was in an almost episodic format, and sometimes we had to wait a week or more because of real life commitments, but it lasted through three distinct episodes spanning well over a year. It was only when things started to get rushed that the quality deteriorated to the point where it finally died. A few, or even a couple, of committed folks can work wonders.

 

[Windsock]

Roleplaying is for fucking nerds, fuck that shit