Hero's Honest Question: Appeal in Modern/Realistic Roleplay?

[AkioTheHero]

Well, honestly, I'm a huge fantasy nut. Not gonna lie, I have trouble finding entertainment or enjoyment out of roleplays -- or shows or books for that matter -- that have stories taking place in a "real" world setting. Though I haven't quite yet looked through the "Modern/Realistic" RP's on this site -- which I probably should have before asking this -- I have seen some RP's elsewhere that are simple school RP's and I had trouble understanding the appeal of roleplaying in a setting most people find unbearably boring. Though I'm not trying to insult anyone here, I was simply wondering what you all would say the appeal is?

 

[Mordecai]

I love realistic/modern settings; however, I believe they have to be done in a way that appeals to me for me to be interested. I love, love, love political intrigue. For example, I'm currently involved in a 1x1 roleplay that has been ongoing for over 1,000 posts involving two individuals wrapped up in a highly organized crime syndicate. In those situations, there is plenty of opportunity for life and death situations, man vs. man, man vs. wild, and character emotional growth. In another 1x1 I'm involved in, the characters are left stranded following a plane crash, leaving the roleplay open to man vs. wild, survival, and life and death situations. Like you, I'm not at all interested in the "drop two characters in a random high school and see what happens."


Like any roleplay genre, realistic/modern requires structure, a solid plot-line, and drive. That said, I think it's perfectly acceptable not to enjoy a certain genre. I don't like sci-fi roleplays very much, not because I think they're incapable of being interesting or engrossing, but because that is my preference. It's perfectly acceptable to not enjoy every single genre out there.

 

[AkioTheHero]

Mordecai, thank you very much for responding to my question and clarifying my misconceptions about Modern/Realistic RP. And like you, I also do not enjoy Sci-Fi, unless, you know, its Magi-Tech (Like the BlazBlue video games' "Ars Magus"). But it seems to me like some Realistic/Modern RP's could be very interesting, though I think I'll still prefer Modern Fantasy to it. Though, I may give some a chance sometime. If I could find a good RP partner I can keep up with, as I am an admittedly mediocre RP'er.

 

[Elephantom]

Well, I might have to agree with mordecai on this one, even if the thing itself seems a tad bit on the cheaper side, but I'll try my best to give my own definition of the real appeal in realistic RPs, aside from all those 'school jazz' those kids have going on nowadays.


Realistic RPs seems to give a more comfortable approach to the inner psyche of character, and gives way to character development more smoothly, because we ourselves are in a very similar setting, and our brain tends to feel very familiar, allowing for a less rougher definition of both the characters and the world. If allows us to explore the inner psychology and tension of the human mind, and the setting itself. It allows, for a somewhat, more edgier setting, in my opinion, of course. Realism also creates a more lifelike and just unavoidably popular situations, based on realism, such as the funky 80's or the noir 30's. But it all boils down to personal preferences and how someone utilizes thay genre.


On preferences, some prefer magic, others prefer realism. Me? I abhor magic, unless it has a logical and realistic explanation behind them or isn't really corny. If I'm tempted to join a very fantastic RP which just happens to have magic, I'll simply just create a realistic character, or if in this case, it's about knights, then I'll just go on to create a magical character.


But at this point, I think I'm sounding quite hypocritical, as my points seem to heavily contrast with each other. So I'll cease, for now.

 

[AkioTheHero]

Well, I might have to agree with mordecai on this one, even if the thing itself seems a tad bit on the cheaper side, but I'll try my best to give my own definition of the real appeal in realistic RPs, aside from all those 'school jazz' those kids have going on nowadays.
Realistic RPs seems to give a more comfortable approach to the inner psyche of character, and gives way to character development more smoothly, because we ourselves are in a very similar setting, and our brain tends to feel very familiar, allowing for a less rougher definition of both the characters and the world. If allows us to explore the inner psychology and tension of the human mind, and the setting itself. It allows, for a somewhat, more edgier setting, in my opinion, of course. Realism also creates a more lifelike and just unavoidably popular situations, based on realism, such as the funky 80's or the noir 30's. But it all boils down to personal preferences and how someone utilizes thay genre.


On preferences, some prefer magic, others prefer realism. Me? I abhor magic, unless it has a logical and realistic explanation behind them or isn't really corny. If I'm tempted to join a very fantastic RP which just happens to have magic, I'll simply just create a realistic character, or if in this case, it's about knights, then I'll just go on to create a magical character.


But at this point, I think I'm sounding quite hypocritical, as my points seem to heavily contrast with each other. So I'll cease, for now.

That reminds me, actually... I was looking for people to give me unbiased opinions on the magic system in my W.I.P fantasy novel series. Of course, you might be kinda biased considering... Well, you know, you dislike fantasy-magic. But, like you, I hate it when things have no reason. I like it when everything that happens has a reason outside of "some God made it happen."


But, yeah... If I sent you my Story Bible -- if you do not know, a document used for the storing and organizing of information for a book -- do you think you could look it over and give me your thoughts -- as long as I can trust you, that is? I try to be a generally trusting person.

 

[AkioTheHero]

Sorry if that was sorta... off-the-wall.

 

[Elephantom]

That reminds me, actually... I was looking for people to give me unbiased opinions on the magic system in my W.I.P fantasy novel series. Of course, you might be kinda biased considering... Well, you know, you dislike fantasy-magic. But, like you, I hate it when things have no reason. I like it when everything that happens has a reason outside of "some God made it happen."
But, yeah... If I sent you my Story Bible -- if you do not know, a document used for the storing and organizing of information for a book -- do you think you could look it over and give me your thoughts -- as long as I can trust you, that is? I try to be a generally trusting person.

I can look it over, I'm always up for some reviewing. And don't worry, I ain't gonna pilfer away your ideas anytime soon. anyways, I think I exaggerated it a bit when I stated my opinion on magic, see, I don't hate magic as a whole, I just hate the unreasonable parts or the corny parts. I definitely appreciated some reasonable explanation, such as how Bioshock did it. That game never fails to impress me. Well, I wasn't exactly going for a biased opinion, but that would generally be like declaring myself as ignorant, hehe.

 

[Tronethiel]

That reminds me, actually... I was looking for people to give me unbiased opinions on the magic system in my W.I.P fantasy novel series. Of course, you might be kinda biased considering... Well, you know, you dislike fantasy-magic. But, like you, I hate it when things have no reason. I like it when everything that happens has a reason outside of "some God made it happen."
But, yeah... If I sent you my Story Bible -- if you do not know, a document used for the storing and organizing of information for a book -- do you think you could look it over and give me your thoughts -- as long as I can trust you, that is? I try to be a generally trusting person.

If you're looking for feedback on a magic system, I'd be willing to give it a gander. Read any Sanderson?

 

[AkioTheHero]

I have not read any

If you're looking for feedback on a magic system, I'd be willing to give it a gander. Read any Sanderson?

Sanderson. Sorry.

 

[Tronethiel]

Sanderson is a fantasy author who's gained solid traction in the last few years. He finished Jordan's Wheel of Time after he died. His two biggest series are the Stormlight Archive and Mistborn. He's well-known for the intricacy and functionality of his magic systems. He even has a whole spiel about Sanderson's Laws of Magic, etc. If you've never read any of his books, you could probably get an interesting take on magic by reading them.

 

[call me rae]

Well to start with Real/Modern setting isn't limited to just school roleplays. You could do superhero roleplays, roleplays with wizards in a modern setting, roleplays with time travelers, etc.


All the modern/realistic setting means is that the roleplay takes place in a world that is similar to ours in essentially the same timeline. It doesn't mean it has to be just a bunch of people at school or going to band camp.


You can still have fantasy or superhuman elements there as long as it's still in the modern setting.


Example : X-men and Harry Potter would both take place in the Real/Modern setting because they take place in the real world just with added magical/mutant elements.


Now as to school settings specifically again rarely is this about actually playing out going to school. Usually it's some kind of themed school.


Like a school for spies or a school for mutants. And the characters are learning to use their special abilities while getting into all kinds of teenage shenanigans.


Other times it's more of a slice of life roleplay which can be fun if your more interested in character development and interaction than whether your roleplaying out a specific epic quest.


These tend to revolve around a town of some sort ( again they can be themed. Like a town of monsters in the modern world or a town of talking animals or whatever )