@HelloProject said:
@Jaunt There is one thing I'm curious about, in my limited experience with RPIs.
Like, I'm not sure if the theme of an RPI generally experiences growth? I'm not saying they don't, this is an actual question. Like, if you could introduce some new technology to the theme, work your way up to starting a faction that addresses a problem that wasn't previously a focus for any factions (Assuming that a particular game has factions, of course). Or even the overall death of a faction once it's run its course and outlived its narrative usefulness.
Is it possible for RPIs to function in such a way, or are they generally more static and focused on preserving the theme, but allowing players to grow/rise in ranks/have political intrigue within the established climate of the game?
It depends on the game, largely. IMO, the good ones are more than just a sandbox. I've ran two RPIs that approached the issue differently:
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SOI Northlands/Mines of Moria. Back in the golden era of Shadows of Isildur, new regions were opened up frequently to allow for new meta-plots and more player options. It worked really well when SOI was very popular, and far less well when its numbers dropped. The typical progression was that new regions would open up, and eventually, player/staff meta-plot would lead to their closure so that new regions could open up once more; sometimes that closure could be the culmination of some cataclysmic event, and sometimes it could be a more subtle/nuanced ending to that area's story. Sometimes, it was abrupt and jarring. Different admins ran different regions independently, so the game actually varied broadly between regions in terms of themes (and quality).
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Atonement, which is probably what I'm best known for in the RPI Community. I wanted to create a game and story that was a little more like a television show, with "seasons" (that I called campaigns). Each season would change and expand the scope of the over-all story to keep things fresh, but they all tied into telling one story that was designed to have a beginning, middle, and end -- all driven by players.
Season One: It started off with characters waking up from cryo-sleep aboard a derelict colony ship floating in space, with amnesia. It wasn't long before they realized they weren't alone (introduce the "Genetic Terrors" or "Our Zombies Are Unique"). The majority of the first season involved the characters trying to survive (and largely failing), being manipulated by the Terror's Queen, and trying to learn more about who they are and what they are doing out in space.
Season Two: The characters managed to take control of the ship and crash-landed on the Moon, where they found that, while Earth was unhabitable, humanity had survived (if barely) on a partially terraformed Luna. The survivors integrated with a wasteland society living in "Grungetown". Of course, they brought the Genetic Terrors with them, and ultimately, the Moon was overrun and the last bastion of survivors left on a repaired colony ship with hopes of finding other humans elsewhere in the solar system.
Season Three: After searching a nearby space station they believed might house a thriving human society, they found nothing but more answers and more questions, and finally realized that they truly were the last of the human race. In fact, the Genetic Terrors had already been there, and once again they pitched a battle for survival against their pursuers. They ultimately escaped.
Season Four: They landed on Mars after finding evidence that there was a human colony there, too. All they found were dust and eerie remnants of a colony that had fallen into decadence, and had chosen to stop trying to live rather than find a way off of Mars. Digging and exploring further, they learned that what they'd thought was some sort of supernatural phenomenon was actually the appearance of windows into an alternate universe, caused by an energy source experiment gone wrong on Mars. In this other universe, they saw living versions of themselves and the MANY characters that had died throughout the course of the game. While their "alternates" weren't always doing well, overall it was clear that the alternate universe had defeated the Genetic Terrors and survived. For many characters, they saw a world where they were happy. They also learned that humans engineered the "Genetic Terrors" as a sort of weapon, and that it had backfired on them. They were, themselves, responsible for their own downfall.
In the end, the Genetic Terrors hunted them down to Mars, and the players had to choose: do we try to break through the "windows" and escape into the alternate universe (would there be a season five)? Or do we fight (and most likely, die) to keep the Genetic Terrors from invading the alternate universe?
They chose to hide the alternate universe and fight, and Atonement ended with the death of the last remnants of man-kind in an epic space battle. Characters received glimpses of their alternate lives, and their sacrifice to protect a better version of their world was their "Atonement" (wah wah).
Only one of the four seasons featured any staff-created clans or NPC leadership at all. Players created their own clans/factions. In fact, one of the coolest things about the first season was watching hundreds of characters with amnesia and no idea what was going on, and then beaming with pride as they began to establish order and create a strange, but believable society on board the derelict ship --- 100% through roleplay.
Atonement was very popular and lasted for a little over three years. It didn't close because of burn-out or lack of player interest, but because its story was over. Some TV shows last for too many seasons, and their story suffers for it. I was actually rather happy with this campaign/season approach, as it allowed us to continually change things up -- but also tell a tight, focused, awesome story.
Having said all of that ... there are also RPIs that are just sandboxes. Immersive sandboxes, often-times, but not a lot changes on them. Some players actually prefer the "slice of life" approach to things, which is totally cool -- but that's just not me, or the sort of game that I like to make.