(I'm not putting this in the Hog Pit because I don't want it to devolve into that level of gripe, but this is a mild gripe. If you think it's better off in the Hog Pit or something, feel free to move it.)

When did it become so hard to find basic RP? Why does it take such work these days? I guess this might not be true on some large game I don't play on (Arx or something), but it's true on most of the small-to-medium-sized games I've played on over the last few years.

If I want to find RP on most games, I have to Hustle(tm): get to know people OOCly, maybe fake a few lifelong friendships, pretend our characters have stuff in common, and then maybe pencil in a date on the third Tuesday of the month at some obscure time to throw a few words together. (Note: unlike a lot of people, I don't always "app in" with my friends. Apping in with one's friends tends to render this problem null and void, but must I do everything in a group?)

Is this just me getting old or cranky, or is there some legitimate pattern here I'm picking up on? Have RPers become less spontaneous and more specific about who or what they will RP?

2020 Update: Trying to find RP is still extremely difficult and time-consuming!

The end.

I'm not shaming anyone here, just asking you to take a step back and think about things differently for a moment. For example: why do people love blue eyes? Is it just because they're pretty?

So, just to clear things up...

• I didn't start this thread to make you stop playing your alabaster-skinned, cerulean-orbed, lithe-but-toned PC.
• I didn't start this thread to get White supremacists to play POC.
• I didn't start this thread to police your behavior.

...in fact, I didn't actually start this thread at all! I originally posted this on MU* Gripes and Peeves, because that's what this is to me: a gripe and a peeve. It was then taken out of there and given its own thread.

I just wanted to talk about this because I was upset about something and wanted to vent. That's all.

#MU*sSoWhite - sometimes this really bothers me and it's particularly bothering me right now given the current climate. I'm gonna go on one of the games I play on and count the number of characters with blue eyes. I'm pretty sure it's 75+%.

Play a POC, it wouldn't kill you.

@SG As a person who plays "brooding strangers" and 'quirky' characters almost exclusively, I 100% agree with you that the onus is on the broody/quirky person to create RP in a public scene. But, I don't necessarily agree with the notion that I should have some idea what I'm doing before I even attempt to engage with someone. I'm a big fan of "let's put these hamsters in a bag with a mouse and see what happens." Or some other variant on that very strange choice of metaphor.

TL;DR: Yes, anyone playing an introvert needs to attempt to interact with others in a scene, or you may as well disconnect and go work on your novel. But I want my RP to feel spontaneous.

@silverfox The "easy answer" to this one = educate yourself before you play a POC. Read some books, watch some movies, talk to people. Many MU*ers do research for their "roles" so I don't feel like this is a completely wacky suggestion.

I loved the tabletop game I was in running Changeling: The Dreaming so much (this was 1997) that I thought, "Hey, I wonder if they make MUDs, but, like, for roleplaying? Then I could play Changeling whenever the hell I want, and I don't have to wait for my lazy friend to run his game." It turns out they DID make roleplaying MUDs! I liked RP MU*s so much, I wrote a college paper about them at a time when such things were pretty unusual.

I would love to see a historical MUSH set in a non-American/European setting. My fantasy is to create a game set in 1930s Shanghai (an incredible multi-national destination filled with intrigue! Spies! And great fashion!), but I lack the coding skills, and probably the patience...

@krmbm No, the thing itself isn't a problem. I just get bummed when the only way to find RP is to hustle in some way...if you are a more of a pantser than a plotter, as I am, you might not have an idea until specific characters are thrown together in a specific setting.

@il-volpe I've personally never had any of my "justified" XP spends rejected. It doesn't have to be too complicated; just have a reason for buying something other than "it's cool and I want it."

@astrid I agree!

So, just to clear things up...

• I didn't start this thread to make you stop playing your alabaster-skinned, cerulean-orbed, lithe-but-toned PC.
• I didn't start this thread to get White supremacists to play POC.
• I didn't start this thread to police your behavior.

...in fact, I didn't actually start this thread at all! I originally posted this on MU* Gripes and Peeves, because that's what this is to me: a gripe and a peeve. It was then taken out of there and given its own thread.

I just wanted to talk about this because I was upset about something and wanted to vent. That's all.

@Kanye-Qwest True, I'm glad people are talking at least. It's better than nothing!

"Lithe and curvy" lol. It's because people are afraid of their characters being "fat."

@Kanye-Qwest I mean, sure. Let's have a dialogue. That's all I'm asking for here. People seem to want to shut me down for some reason. If you don't agree with me, that's fine. I'm just putting stuff out there.

I agree that there's plenty of shitty demographic stuff on games (the ageism thing is a bitch) and it shocks me that it's been this way forever. Also, "athletic with curves" should be banned from all descs.

@Auspice So the two choices are to play someone exactly like yourself or a stereotype?

It doesn't have to be like this. People can educate themselves. I don't even run a game so I have zero power to "shove" anyone into doing anything at all. All I'm doing here is talking.

@surreality Well, here's the thing: you don't have to "represent yourself" on a MU* at all.

You can play a character different from yourself. I've personally never played a character who was "like me," so I find this argument from everyone pretty interesting.

@silverfox The "easy answer" to this one = educate yourself before you play a POC. Read some books, watch some movies, talk to people. Many MU*ers do research for their "roles" so I don't feel like this is a completely wacky suggestion.

@Kestrel Why shouldn't I be mad? If I spend most of my leisure hours in a place where "representing yourself" = white (and even moreso, Aryan half of the time), shouldn't I want to see change there? Is it as important as the film industry changing its racial bias? Of course not. Does that mean I shouldn't care at all? No.

I'm not shaming anyone here, just asking you to take a step back and think about things differently for a moment. For example: why do people love blue eyes? Is it just because they're pretty?