Experiences A Little Too Much - RP Discussion

[rae2nerdy]

So recently I've been working off site on a dog show sim and one of the things that has taken up a lot of my time is building an OC to show my dogs.


We're talkin' at least two to three hours a day workin' on the backstory and researching different aspects of pet care and even farming.


And the people on the site have recently been givin' me hell for it. Since it's not an especially worldbuildy or roleplay heavy kind of game.


But what can I say I like my research.


So I was thinkin' have you ever been in a situation where you've done just a little too much. Gone above and beyond for a roleplay without any real pay off other than you just liked whatever you were doing.


This can be makin' elaborate backstories for minor characters , researching real life equivalents to minor world building elements , coming up with fancy and intricate BBC code just because.


I'd be really interested to here any feedback.


Us over-achievers gotta holla at each other.

 

[PanOtterPus]

I once accidentally made character in a large RP. A friend and me had built up this world over a good few months and had multiple characters each.
During one session, I had created ... well she wasn't even supposed to be a character, just an excuse to get one character out the way while the other characters talked.
So I had been sat there, wondering what kind of girl she'd have to be to compel this guy (who was in actual fact very picky about his lady friends) to just randomly go and start chatting her up... safe to say I ended up creating a whole back story and personality for her - ended up really invested in her to the point I spent an hour searching for just the right picture to go along with her.
I may or may not have snuck her back into the RP as a returning character after that >.>

 

[Luxe]

When I was younger, I got a huuuuge crush on Gaara of Naruto. So of course, I decided to write a fanfic regarding him and an OC (MARY SUE alert! Self insert, lol). I ended up with a thick folder of printed out wiki of the Naruto, stuff about culture and places of Japan and Ninjas in general. And I tell you, I read them all.

 

[Saccharine Cyanide]

I'm not sure if you specifically meant for someone else's rp, but...I've been working on a roleplay for a year.

No, actually, it was already finished like three years ago and has been opened like four or five times, so I've really just been refining it for a full year and I'm still not even close to satisfied enough with it to open it again.

I have serious real issues man.

 

[PanOtterPus]

When I was younger, I got a huuuuge crush on Gaara of Naruto. So of course, I decided to write a fanfic regarding him and an OC (MARY SUE alert! Self insert, lol). I ended up with a thick folder of printed out wiki of the Naruto, stuff about culture and places of Japan and Ninjas in general. And I tell you, I read them all.

I LOVED Gaara xD so much so I ended up getting his tattoo as my first tattoo >< (though of course I got mine on my wrist rather than my forehead)

 

[rae2nerdy]

I'm not sure if you specifically meant for someone else's rp, but...I've been working on a roleplay for a year.

No, actually, it was already finished like three years ago and has been opened like four or five times, so I've really just been refining it for a full year and I'm still not even close to satisfied enough with it to open it again.

I have serious real issues man.

lol it doesn't have to be specifically someone else's roleplay just an instance when you have maybe put a little too much effort into something that in likelihood will never be seen / read / important to anyone other than yourself.

 

[Lordvader59]

On another site I joined a Nation Builder... and ended up spending 3-4 hours researching the modern equipment of the Vietnamese army and making custom vehicles.
Never got accepted into that because it died. Luckily though I just reuse these customs for any modern nation builder I get into now.. they're quite good too.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

I really like doing research, and I have this policy on doing things the most flawlessly as possible, otherwise I'm not satisfied with it myself...

Due to this policy I have:
- Researched Italian quirks, including some manerisms, words and habits;
- Researched about the most profitable areas to work at;
- Researched about violins. Everything from maintenance, the tones (G4 etc...) and the most valuable violins in existence;
- Read on puns, doing puns and clown acts;
- Watched Trapeze performances and read on trapeze maneuvers;
- Read on Cat, Dogs and Rabbits displays of emotion (Tail and ear positions, quirks etc);
- Read quite a chunk of the Pokémon wiki;
- Spent some time on Google maps just to figure out routes my characters would take from their homes to other places;
- Read on how to be a police officer, what the job is really like, how the training goes, what age you can apply;
- Researched on the 80's (Clothing, Vocabulary, Toys, Habits);
- Watched a tutorial on flutes (Different types of flutes, how to properly hold them, etc).

There's a lot more I have done, like read on birds (including finding this bird watcher site with tracks of their different calls), read on pens and ink viscosity and read about whiskey (Odor, color, proper ways to appreciate and drink).
Nearly everytime I try something just slightly different or need knowledge I don't have, I throw myself in the deep Internet sea and wander for hours in the desired topic! It's very interesting and I've learned all kinds of things +O+

SO, that's one of the reasons I take so long to do a CS or respond... I just take this THAT seriously XD

 

[PanOtterPus]

I really like doing research, and I have this policy on doing things the most flawlessly as possible, otherwise I'm not satisfied with it myself...

Due to this policy I have:
- Researched Italian quirks, including some manerisms, words and habits;
- Researched about the most profitable areas to work at;
- Researched about violins. Everything from maintenance, the tones (G4 etc...) and the most valuable violins in existence;
- Read on puns, doing puns and clown acts;
- Watched Trapeze performances and read on trapeze maneuvers;
- Read on Cat, Dogs and Rabbits displays of emotion (Tail and ear positions, quirks etc);
- Read quite a chunk of the Pokémon wiki;
- Spent some time on Google maps just to figure out routes my characters would take from their homes to other places;
- Read on how to be a police officer, what the job is really like, how the training goes, what age you can apply;
- Researched on the 80's (Clothing, Vocabulary, Toys, Habits);
- Watched a tutorial on flutes (Different types of flutes, how to properly hold them, etc).

There's a lot more I have done, like read on birds (including finding this bird watcher site with tracks of their different calls), read on pens and ink viscosity and read about whiskey (Odor, color, proper ways to appreciate and drink).
Nearly everytime I try something just slightly different or need knowledge I don't have, I throw myself in the deep Internet sea and wander for hours in the desired topic! It's very interesting and I've learned all kinds of things +O+

SO, that's one of the reasons I take so long to do a CS or respond... I just take this THAT seriously XD

That's some hardcore dedication my friend! I applaud you!
Wish I had the patience for that, I hate having a character that does something that I know nothing about xD
Though you've now inspired me to put in the extra effort - would actually help some RPs I'm part of :3

 

[Faricarnon]

I'm guilty of doing this on many occasions and probably, many more to come. I guess the less I know about something In my role play, the more extensive my research will be. And it's led to situations where I've scoured reddit, documentaries, articles, and went so far as to personally make inquiries with friends and acquaintances.

One instance would be, (me being american) when I decided to try my luck with a character originating from China. Incredibly ignorant as I was, I practically knew very little or close to nothing about modern day China besides the stereotypes. So I voraciously spent long nights and tireless weeks learning what I could from the Internet, and people I knew irl. That was all before I even wrote the character.

Part of me can't cope with writing anything I'm not well informed of. And I guess, people would normally find it difficult to write or roleplay something they know nothing about.

 

[Necessity4Fun]

That's some hardcore dedication my friend! I applaud you!
Wish I had the patience for that, I hate having a character that does something that I know nothing about xD
Though you've now inspired me to put in the extra effort - would actually help some RPs I'm part of :3

Thank you~ >\\\<
Hahaha yeah... Maybe I have too much time? ; P

I guess it's a side effect of the fact that I am both too impulsive and perfectionist when it comes to RP so it becomes a 'I'm going to do this, which I know nothing about and I'm gonna do it flawlessly!' thing. (Wish I had the same dedication for other things!)

Yes, this makes some characters a lot harder to reply with than others and it's a lot of work, but the entire process from research to writing it's highly enjoyable, immersive and rewarding. I always get that warm feeling of a job well done, and that (plus other things) really motivates me to keep going >w<
For someone like me, with a really fickle mood, it makes it harder for me to get bored of things and simply leave...

Also, I can now pride myself in no longer having a gigantic army of solely cat-girls and/or very nice people (I mean they still exist and I still love/write them, but that's no longer aaaaaall I do XD)
WOOHOO PROGRESS! OWO

Wow,
I'm flattered in being an inspiration : O
Well, I hope it helps you in some way then! o/ Good luck!

 

[PanOtterPus]

Thank you~ >\\\<
Hahaha yeah... Maybe I have too much time? ; P

I guess it's a side effect of the fact that I am both too impulsive and perfectionist when it comes to RP so it becomes a 'I'm going to do this, which I know nothing about and I'm gonna do it flawlessly!' thing. (Wish I had the same dedication for other things!)

Yes, this makes some characters a lot harder to reply with than others and it's a lot of work, but the entire process from research to writing it's highly enjoyable, immersive and rewarding. I always get that warm feeling of a job well done, and that (plus other things) really motivates me to keep going >w<
For someone like me, with a really fickle mood, it makes it harder for me to get bored of things and simply leave...

Also, I can now pride myself in no longer having a gigantic army of solely cat-girls and/or very nice people (I mean they still exist and I still love/write them, but that's no longer aaaaaall I do XD)
WOOHOO PROGRESS! OWO

Wow,
I'm flattered in being an inspiration : O
Well, I hope it helps you in some way then! o/ Good luck!

I see, so it's like RP OCD then xD I completely get it, I've just never had the time to actually go and do the research, so I'm the same - end up playing a lot of the same sort of characters (though I do try to make them unique). And it's always good to find a way to keep you interested, especially if it's actually making your experience better!

 

[Bone2pick]

So I was thinkin' have you ever been in a situation where you've done just a little too much. Gone above and beyond for a roleplay without any real pay off other than you just liked whatever you were doing.

Much of the work that I put into my writing projects (roleplaying and otherwise)
goes unseen by the reader. That, of course, means I'm the only one who can fully appreciate my creative investment - and that's perfectly fine. I'm the one I'm ultimately writing for. I'm the one I'm ultimately roleplaying for.

I would never call my work/creative production as "overachieving" if I would be unsatisfied if I never did it. Overachieving, in my definition, is doing more than what is expected—and I expect a lot from myself. My imagination is very demanding.

 

[MISTER UN. 0W3N]

I'm guilty of being way too detailed in terms of describing the universe/setting of a roleplay along with wanting sexy-looking formats and graphics.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I'm guilty of being way too detailed in terms of describing the universe/setting of a roleplay along with wanting sexy-looking formats and graphics.

Nothing wrong with likin' that pretty pretty asthetc. For me I like when things are centered and fluid looking it helps me read.

And oh my god yes do i put too much effort into universe setting like why brain why do you do this to me?

 

[MISTER UN. 0W3N]

rae2nerdy
For me, I just go gaga when I'm trying to top or do something sexier compared to the last thang I made. It can get pretty nuts sometimes.

As for the information dump, it's just because I have a vision of how I want for a thread and, generally, I get users that just can't get the picture in their head or they made something that clearly doesn't belong in the setting. Having all that information at least gives me peace of mind that I have my thoughts sorted out and what not.

 

[Idea]

One fact about me, is that I do this ALL the time. I prioritize the quality of an RP over it´s success and it´s popularity, thus I often end up developing every aspect as much as I can. Couple that with my passion for worldbuilding and you get a guy with several super developed settings that never really got a chance to shine, mechanics that aren´t fully tested and my latest "masterpiece" , an RPG-styled RP that I´ve been developing for over an year if you add up the months.

 

[rae2nerdy]

One fact about me, is that I do this ALL the time. I prioritize the quality of an RP over it´s success and it´s popularity, thus I often end up developing every aspect as much as I can. Couple that with my passion for worldbuilding and you get a guy with several super developed settings that never really got a chance to shine, mechanics that aren´t fully tested and my latest "masterpiece" , an RPG-styled RP that I´ve been developing for over an year if you add up the months.

Well at least we're all having fun going above and beyond and there are worse things to obssess over than quality ( like can someone explain the obsession with only beautiful characters being allowed in roleplay? or why we must always have an equal number of males and females even when all characters are like twelve and thus too young for romance anyway? )

 

[Windsock]

I've never had issues like this, because I'm perfect.

 

[Sibelle Grey]

I get pretty carried away, and more or less spend my free time falling down research rabbit holes where my roleplays are concerned. When I actually have time to open my laptop, in between replies, I open more tabs and do more research, because I am a complete and total research nerd.
I've documented myself in depth on secret passages (uses, locations, historical and literary examples), cantonments of Africa and south Asia, the history of citadels, expansionism, discourse on matriarchy, the Moroccan royal family and the history of monarchy in the Middle East, the harem system of Imperial China throughout different dynasties . . . since Tuesday, maybe. And I've only just begun this rp, so there's more research on more topics in my future :3
When I'm roleplaying something I'm unfamiliar with (or even things I'm more or less familiar with) I dive headfirst into information. It's mostly so I can get a feel for the setting and play my characters accurately, so yeah, payoff. Eleventh commandment: Thou shalt not spout unfounded bullshit. I like having solid facts to draw inspiration from. That's how I've ended up with a lot of my seemingly random knowledge.

 

[Twisted Denial]

I started two RP characters to RP together and well, they kinda just formed their own story. I can't even RP with them anymore because they have their own worlds. I did too much research into their characters and now they're just the rulers of their own book I'm working on.

 

[Mufflebuns]

Okay, so a couple of months ago, I did an RP with a friend, and basically, as a Lucario, I was jumping over a tank in this simulation. However, as soon as I made that statement, for around an hour or so, we argued on that one little detail, trying to find the different math, feasibility, even the velocity of Extremespeed (which is what I used to propel myself upwards.), him going into detail about how Extremespeed wouldn't really work in mid-air, while I argued that it works like in Smash Bros.

Suffice to say, the Lucario got clunked by the tank.