Experiences RP and aging

[Malphaestus]

I have fallen into group roleplays as I grew older, though I am definitely not 'old' by the metrics of most people permeating this thread. That being said, it is still undeniable that I find groups to be the ideal format for roleplaying, and I learned this through attempting little but 1x1s in my earlier years. It is a matter of perspective clashes, idea reaction, and multi-faceted creativity which makes groups into something more than simple heart-to-heart 1x1. Though, as most make it known, it is not simple to manage a group roleplay containing adults, and few adults in general seek out groups, making the problem harder to rectify; groups can be some of the most rewarding experiences a roleplayer may ever have, but the dedication some perceive it needs go beyond the scope of what they are able. I will, however, counter this simply, by stating that these impressions of a group roleplay are self-manufactured, and do not need to be correct. I've been making do with weekend-only writing for years now, and posting slowly is of no consequence so long as it does actually progress.

The only negative with a group I can perceive, is the multiple points of failure it has. Any roleplay is succeptible to quick and sudden death, but groups more-so after having begun. Any number of persons therein could swiftly lose interest, or become busy, drained, and leave or ghost. But, again, I will counter this by stating that this fact applies to everything, even if it is merely between two people. As most are, undoubtedly, aware.

As we approach genres, I have no preferences now, but once I did, and it pertained to modern genres, though nothing like what we see nowadays. Urban fantasy, percy jackson-esque plotlines, or Fate. I had no other bench to test my waters with, and in my youth and initiation to roleplaying, they were the most prevalent. But as I grew older, I sought out more fantasy and more science fiction. The more extreme, disconnected from reality, as I recognized that it is best to avoid escaping from reality, lest you attempt to replace it with the imaginary. Whatever people may think of that, I will let it be. As it was, however, it allowed me to deal with my reality in a better way as time passed.

Nowadays, however, I join anything which I perceive has put down the necessary effort and dedication, at the hands of the GM, to produce a nuanced world. It is the only benchmark I can follow nowadays.

 

[cavitea]

I've been going for awhile but I only really noticed that my likings for relationships changed.

From what once was just an inability to keep anything to a slow pace between the development of friendships and relationships has eased into a slow burn transition that reflects more realistically to how people develop bonds. I honestly think it took some growing up to do on my end but I now see the wonders of being able to have that middle ground and play it out makes roleplays not only longer but the special events of them more meaningful.

 

[Bachelor Snakeskin]

I am 28 year old, and I can surely and safely say that some things have changes, i have only been playing around for five years, in English.

in the minor category:
- characters age with me now, i no longer feel comfortable with my character being less then 20 years of age, unless we talk about a character who is a vampire or something else that makes them supernaturally stuck in a body but still mentally growing.
- i know what i specifically like now, and don't like in regards to genres, troops and characters.
- i am not really into fantasy on the same level as when i was younger, now it is more focused on fandoms and sometimes other genres as well.

major changes:
- post length is no longer a competition about who can post the most, because i simply come to know that i like details, but i also need things that i can respond to so i rather have something that a short to the point over 1000+ words or nothing that doesn't move the game.
- i accept more chaos and think more about how my characters reaction is coming out instead of mine own, and i have come to accept that my character has there own mind, feeling and will and sometimes the chaos is what makes for the best kind of story.
- i don't role play with people who are not around my own age, and that because mentally we just have too many different priorities and i need people who know what life is like around my own age.
- i don't do rp samples, nor do i want to ask for them. it not my job to judge how well people write as long as they can write something meaningful, plus i am not english expert and if someone is going to be mad at me for one error they might be a little to focus on the technical details.
- i really can't make myself do oc's anymore, nor do i like self inserts as it feels creepy when someone goes "i will role play as your character crush," like no thanks dude.
- i don't accept face claims of people who are dead or died in real life that is just creepy and disrespectful to the person.

 

[TheWeapon]

I can't think of any era in my life that I wasn't interested in realistic and modern themes. I don't know if it's weird or something unique that I was carrying, but fantasy themes seemed so boring to me when I was a kid, I was like "Why should I bother myself with something unreal?" But that changed when I grew up and now? I have a little bit of interest in both of the themes. Like the OP said, It's probably the world outside that seems boring to me which makes me wanna play some fantasy themes as well. And the demand of my heart as a child when I was around 15 to be in the real outside world probably caused me to have more interest in modern-day realistic roleplays.

 

[Akechi Mitsuhide]

Not really. I was already over 20 when I even learned what RP was. Never got the hang of OCs though. On every old fantasy forum I just played obscure canon characters or ripoffs with only the name changed. Now I absolutely refuse to have an OC or play with OCs. I'm more actor than writer. I want premade and then do with it as I please.

 

[stillwyou]

i’ve been rping for a Long long time now and i’ve changed a lot. i think i started out with one liners, then i moved to paragraphs, then to text rps (i think that’s the name for it idk) and then back to paragraphs. i used to love making ocs and rping as them but now i only do fandom roleplays and i don’t really use ocs anymore unless they’re like, a side character or something. one thing that has stayed consistent though is my love for romance rps, i don’t think i’ve done one rp the past few years that wasn’t a romance one

 

[Dr Laudanum]

Despite not meeting the age requirements for participating in the discussion, I have been roleplaying for 5 years now, having started in my late teens, and being in my early 20s right now. Even though it is a small age gap, during this time people usually change significantly, as the result of many life changes as well. And as such, I guess that such change also happened in my roleplaying style.

Genres/Themes
The genres and themes I roleplay about nowadays are essentially similar to the ones I used to roleplay back at the time. The main difference comes to the depth/approach that I make to such themes/genres. Writing about something from different points of view, showing the various levels of morality and personal believes of the characters started to be something I started focusing myself more, as opposed to simply depict the thoughts of the main characters. Certain themes are treated with more care and I see that the behaviour of some of my characters seems to be more reasonable, as in a way that it makes sense and it feels more natural, as opposed to in the past.

Mechanics/Technical Details
I usually don't do group roleplays or writting roleplays that use any sort of TTRPG system, due to lack of time and pragmatism. At the moment, my studies take a lot of my time, and therefore I can barely have the time to answer once a week during the busiest times. This, however, translated into trying to come up with a more revised writing style. Quality over quantity is generally the norm in my case, which wasn't always the case in the past.

Characters and Plot
Anti-heroes, internal conflict and ethical dilemmas were always something that draw me in. When I started roleplaying, the reasons behind that grey morality of my anti-hero characters was almost unjustified and/or exaggerated. They were what people usually call "edgelords". Nowadays, I believe I can round up them a lot more, and give them a convincing internal conflict that actually makes them suffer. In fact, like many other writers, I like to make them suffer. A lot. But all pain and suffering need a justification to happen, or else it's meaningless. I have assumed a more organised stance when it comes to plotting, and nowadays I guess I would call myself a "plantser", instead of a pantser as in the past. Being spontaneous is still very important to me, but having some predefined points and going from there is usually my method of plotting. I also learnt how to organise information.

In general, I'd say I evolved as a writer, as a roleplayer, these last few years, but my writing is still far away from what I desire it to be, and am working towards improving it, and that also comes with time, patience and practice. Such evolution somewhat slightly shifted my roleplaying preferences, but as a whole, the themes I am interested in seem to be similar to the ones I was back then.

 

[Naril]

I'm turning 38 this year, and while my preferences for genre haven't changed that much (I've always been a space opera gal - sing me a song of warp drives and robots!) but the kind of characters I play, and the characters I want to interact with, have changed. I try to write characters with a considered internality, working out who they are and what they want within the context of the story, rather than just what role they're filling within that story. And, especially, I like making sure my characters have family and friends established in whatever history they have - sisters, parents, lovers.

I still try with group threads, but we'll see how long that continues. I can be picky about groups, which doesn't mean that those groups are wrong, of course. I do, though see the light over the horizon that speaks of just writing for fun and posting it on my own site somewhere, or of pleasantly paced 1x1s. We'll see what happens!

 

[natsukashii]

Am I too old to say rawr? Probably, but I come from the time when rawr xD was popular, so hah!

Anyway, yeah I'm one of the many fossils on RPN, though I will admit I came to RPN a tad later than most of the ones I've seen. This hobby is an interesting one, is it not? I started way back in 2007 when I was just 16 going on 17 (this is in December of 2007 going into 2008). I wouldn't say my genre tastes have really changed. I still very much enjoy the same kinds of roleplays I first got into back then. The kinds like Digimon, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy, but like the OP, I have enjoyed delving more into the psyche of my characters. Instead of just writing nonsensical fights or, dare I say! Partaking in roleplay battles specifically just to prove who has the strongest character, I now enjoy asking the six questions for my characters: who what where why when and how.

About six or seven years ago, I started down on that path by doing realistic slice-of-life roleplays. And still to this day I keep writing in those settings, but I still dabble in what drew me to the hobby in the first place. Call it nostalgia or call it a late-blooming kind of thing, but I try to keep myself engaged with writing via this hobby. I have learned, however, that I need to limit how many RPs I join because, as I grow older, so does my ability to write consecutive posts.

Heh, guess I am getting old.

 

[spottednewt]

I'm definitely on the younger end here, but I've been roleplaying for damn-near 14 years now and I've seen some considerable changes in my outlook since the days of AOL and Myspace. Changes that would make me look like a bit of a grump but boil down to having been around the block a few times and knowing my personal red flags - I have a hard time getting into a story if those I'm writing with aren't on the same wavelength as me. Not necessarily skill level or creativity - but we have to mesh.

I can relate to those saying that they crave more realistic plots these days. I still want to write stories of equal grandeur, but in a more realistic and thought-out style. I don't want to play a written video game, and I despite having gotten my start in a few low-quality Warrior Cats plotlines that I pray never see the light of day again, I don't want to write any character that isn't humanoid.

Outside of that, my tastes have definitely gotten darker and with more emphasis on character exploration and development through gritty storylines. I can't do the typical slice-of-life anymore, and I just can't get into anything too high fantasy. I need some grit, an equal balance of inner and outer conflict with a flare for "oh god, could that actually happen?" I want to write well-rounded people and then put them into terrible situations.

I'm okay with writing truly-awful or cannon fodder characters these days, and adolescent Pseudo would be horrified. Blood and guts? Cults? Unsettling sci-fi? Secret societies and dreary dystopian settings with only sprinkles of light her and there? She'd be distraught.

A few things have stayed the same though - I've never felt the need to write a canon character, I'm iffy about any fandom worlds, I've never been one to write smut, and I'm a group roleplay fiend with a few 1x1's here and there for my more specific ideas.

 

[Jannah]

I'm definitely on the younger end here, but I've been roleplaying for damn-near 14 years now and I've seen some considerable changes in my outlook since the days of AOL and Myspace. Changes that would make me look like a bit of a grump but boil down to having been around the block a few times and knowing my personal red flags - I have a hard time getting into a story if those I'm writing with aren't on the same wavelength as me. Not necessarily skill level or creativity - but we have to mesh.

I can relate to those saying that they crave more realistic plots these days. I still want to write stories of equal grandeur, but in a more realistic and thought-out style. I don't want to play a written video game, and I despite having gotten my start in a few low-quality Warrior Cats plotlines that I pray never see the light of day again, I don't want to write any character that isn't humanoid.

Outside of that, my tastes have definitely gotten darker and with more emphasis on character exploration and development through gritty storylines. I can't do the typical slice-of-life anymore, and I just can't get into anything too high fantasy. I need some grit, an equal balance of inner and outer conflict with a flare for "oh god, could that actually happen?" I want to write well-rounded people and then put them into terrible situations.

I'm okay with writing truly-awful or cannon fodder characters these days, and adolescent Pseudo would be horrified. Blood and guts? Cults? Unsettling sci-fi? Secret societies and dreary dystopian settings with only sprinkles of light her and there? She'd be distraught.

A few things have stayed the same though - I've never felt the need to write a canon character, I'm iffy about any fandom worlds, I've never been one to write smut, and I'm a group roleplay fiend with a few 1x1's here and there for my more specific ideas.

Yea, this is literally me, especially the parts about having zero interest in slice of life plots. Granted, I have never really been into those. I love character exploration and the dark/gritty stuff. Most of my RP's come with content warnings in advance since I'm usually touching on some topic that can be sensitive to some. I don't just do it to be edgy either. I genuinely like to dig deeply into the minds of characters and explore how trauma, tragedy, etc. affects them. I like to see them change, perhaps from a happy go lucky carefree individual into a more jaded one.

Oh, and I will write in fandom universes, but only with OC's. No canons.

 

[spottednewt]

Yea, this is literally me, especially the parts about having zero interest in slice of life plots. Granted, I have never really been into those. I love character exploration and the dark/gritty stuff. Most of my RP's come with content warnings in advance since I'm usually touching on some topic that can be sensitive to some. I don't just do it to be edgy either. I genuinely like to dig deeply into the minds of characters and explore how trauma, tragedy, etc. affects them. I like to see them change, perhaps from a happy go lucky carefree individual into a more jaded one.

Oh, and I will write in fandom universes, but only with OC's. No canons.

Wow. Kindred spirits.

I haven't gotten to do a ton of arcs in which my character goes from happy-go-lucky to jaded as the final evolution - because as it turns out, people really like happy endings - but damn is it a lot of fun.

 

[Jannah]

Wow. Kindred spirits.

I haven't gotten to do a ton of arcs in which my character goes from happy-go-lucky to jaded as the final evolution - because as it turns out, people really like happy endings - but damn is it a lot of fun.

I've done quite a few story arcs like that. By the end of the stories the characters were drastically different people.

 

[JaxbyDaniels]

I started out valuing comedy most of all, trying to be odd one out, I wanted my characters to have relationships but it was so forced, granted this was ten years ago now.

Nowadays I still like to sprinkle in comedy but timing matters so much and quality over quantity. I love dramatic stuff now, I live for the stuff. I'm into relationships that aren't forced whether they be romantic or platonic. I love character development, i wanna look back at stuff a year from starting and see how different my characters are, I love slow burns now as opposed to quick adjustments. I've improved a lot as well, I think I understand my characters better and make choices they'd make as opposed to when i'd self insert and make decisions I'd make.

I prefer dark, more mature themes, realistic but I still like fantastical things just, if these things were to exist how would it actually be ykno.

I love to make my characters go through hardships, I'm honestly such a bully to my characters, I love to see em get fucked up emotionally or whatever it may be.

It's hard tho because I'm new to being in an active Rp environment, I've RP'd with the same people so long, I just wanna meet people who value the same things as me.

I'm also so into worldbuilding, I used to just make shit up on the spot but now I like to keep documentation of my lore and everything.