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One Thousand Club
I find that the current set of categories are... weird. Futuristic, Fantasy, Realistic/Modern, Fandom, Dice, Questing, Nationbuilding, 1X1, and the Colosseum. Now, these are pretty weird ways to separate a game. I think the best way for me to describe my problems with the categories will be to go through them one by one and talking about every individual problem. That way, the ideas can be easily responded to one by one.
Firstly, The Colosseum. This is probably my biggest questionable area for the site. It is for RP's that specify on combat. I think this has quite a few negative implications for how RP's should be made. It basically makes the assertion that story cannot be advanced through combat as well as through dialogue, which is kinda goofy. It also, in my opinion, devalues combat-heavy RP's, which are games. Is Fallout any less able to tell a story than a Telltale game because it uses combat to tell that story?
Next is the Quest Log. It's by far the least used category I've seen. I love the quest system, but I don't see how using the quest system differentiates it from other games by much. I touch on this idea better in the 1X1 section just below.
1X1 is an interesting creature from my perspective. I feel like it could have a wonderful merger with the Quest Log in the form of an "interactive story" category. This would have people be presented with both individual and shared RP's, and I think would also give the Quest RP's a little more attention from many people. I also think this is a category where an RP in it honestly belongs with its genre.
Nationbuilding I feel is an okay category. If a person is interested in nationbuilding, it's likely they'll be interested in RPs that focus on that mechanic. However, I think it might be reasonable to put a Nationbuilding RP in with its respective genre. That way you can have people who are directly interested in the genre and flavor of that RP.
Realistic/Modern is probably my least favorite category. For example, if I wanted to make a Superhero RP it would go there. If I wanted to make a historical RP, it would go there? If I wanted to make any RP that took place in the modern day, it would go there. That's very strange to me. If something isn't Fantasy, based on a fandom, or takes place in the future, it goes here. It's mind-boggling to me that this is the case.
Dice is on the fence with me. On one hand, I think that yes, people who are interested in dice systems will likely enjoy RP's in those systems. However, I think this cuts off any people who aren't looking to play Pathfinder or GURPS or D&D from finding some great stories because the core mechanic is the use of dice. If someone were to hypothetically make, say, a Marvel-based RP that uses dice, by all rights it belongs in the Dice category, when realistically it would get the most attention from being in the Fandom category.
Futuristic, I think, is poorly named and defined. I feel like this was meant to be Sci-fi, but it basically exclusively takes focus on future sci-fi. If there's a modern sci-fi, it goes in Modern/Realistic, which is goofy. A historical sci-fi goes in the same place, even though it is neither modern nor realistic. If the name were changed to Sci-fi, it could theoretically give a home to all these edge cases. Some people really love Cyberpunk.
Lastly, I think an Other Category is definitely in order. Some people just make really weird RPs that can't really be sorted by genre and/or shouldn't be sorted by mechanics. For example, say I wanted a Superhero RP that takes place in the fifties. It's not Modern, nor Realistic. It's not Fantasy in the way that it's defined here. It's definitely not Futuristic, it doesn't use dice, and it's for multiple players. It would also provide an outlet for those looking for more weird and abnormal RP's that don't fit into the other categories.
I know that these are opinions, that they may be flawed, or that they may not fit into the vision of the creators of the site. However, I feel like the current system is very flawed as well. I'm not proposing site overhaul, I'm thinking something more along the lines of minor tweaks in names or descriptions, that will make the site more friendly to RP's that don't fit within these lines.
Firstly, The Colosseum. This is probably my biggest questionable area for the site. It is for RP's that specify on combat. I think this has quite a few negative implications for how RP's should be made. It basically makes the assertion that story cannot be advanced through combat as well as through dialogue, which is kinda goofy. It also, in my opinion, devalues combat-heavy RP's, which are games. Is Fallout any less able to tell a story than a Telltale game because it uses combat to tell that story?
Next is the Quest Log. It's by far the least used category I've seen. I love the quest system, but I don't see how using the quest system differentiates it from other games by much. I touch on this idea better in the 1X1 section just below.
1X1 is an interesting creature from my perspective. I feel like it could have a wonderful merger with the Quest Log in the form of an "interactive story" category. This would have people be presented with both individual and shared RP's, and I think would also give the Quest RP's a little more attention from many people. I also think this is a category where an RP in it honestly belongs with its genre.
Nationbuilding I feel is an okay category. If a person is interested in nationbuilding, it's likely they'll be interested in RPs that focus on that mechanic. However, I think it might be reasonable to put a Nationbuilding RP in with its respective genre. That way you can have people who are directly interested in the genre and flavor of that RP.
Realistic/Modern is probably my least favorite category. For example, if I wanted to make a Superhero RP it would go there. If I wanted to make a historical RP, it would go there? If I wanted to make any RP that took place in the modern day, it would go there. That's very strange to me. If something isn't Fantasy, based on a fandom, or takes place in the future, it goes here. It's mind-boggling to me that this is the case.
Dice is on the fence with me. On one hand, I think that yes, people who are interested in dice systems will likely enjoy RP's in those systems. However, I think this cuts off any people who aren't looking to play Pathfinder or GURPS or D&D from finding some great stories because the core mechanic is the use of dice. If someone were to hypothetically make, say, a Marvel-based RP that uses dice, by all rights it belongs in the Dice category, when realistically it would get the most attention from being in the Fandom category.
Futuristic, I think, is poorly named and defined. I feel like this was meant to be Sci-fi, but it basically exclusively takes focus on future sci-fi. If there's a modern sci-fi, it goes in Modern/Realistic, which is goofy. A historical sci-fi goes in the same place, even though it is neither modern nor realistic. If the name were changed to Sci-fi, it could theoretically give a home to all these edge cases. Some people really love Cyberpunk.
Lastly, I think an Other Category is definitely in order. Some people just make really weird RPs that can't really be sorted by genre and/or shouldn't be sorted by mechanics. For example, say I wanted a Superhero RP that takes place in the fifties. It's not Modern, nor Realistic. It's not Fantasy in the way that it's defined here. It's definitely not Futuristic, it doesn't use dice, and it's for multiple players. It would also provide an outlet for those looking for more weird and abnormal RP's that don't fit into the other categories.
I know that these are opinions, that they may be flawed, or that they may not fit into the vision of the creators of the site. However, I feel like the current system is very flawed as well. I'm not proposing site overhaul, I'm thinking something more along the lines of minor tweaks in names or descriptions, that will make the site more friendly to RP's that don't fit within these lines.