@faraday said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
I tend to make my recurring NPCs as character objects, mainly because it's easier to pose them that way and I don't have to fix a bunch of logs where I accidentally said: "Faraday steps up to the podium..."
That's what you get for not emitting. Tsk, tsk.
@faraday said in Difference between an NPC and a Staff PC?:
Even in TTRPGs, having NPCs with major roles helping the PCs can be problematic.
Depends on the 'major role'. Elrond, or Mon Mothma would be grand NPCs. Gandalf and Kenobi would be good for lower-levelled characters to hang around with and/or die to prove just how serious the BBEG is, etc. They can be good, it's all in how they're used.
@mietze I think it's definitely a symptom of a dying, or should-be-put-down game, in many cases. It's too often a sign that staff have little control. Whether that's true or not doesn't really matter, as perception shapes reality in this regard.
@mietze said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
I think then a game's population reaches a certain level of expectation of that is ironically when it tends to go way out of control, because people no longer give a shit about any kind of vision but their individual one, and that gets real chaotic real fast.
I think there is a little cause and effect in here. Games grow larger, often but not always, because there is a very loose hold over the 'vision' by staff, thus there is more freedom to play what and how one wants to play. So more people play. So their vision becomes the driving force of their part of the game, thus there is more freedom, so more people play... it turns into a spiral of doom all from one particular design decision.
@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
@faraday said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
I only log in to play, so I don't consider this expectation unreasonable.
Logging in only to play is certainly not unreasonable. That's your choice. Just as someone can join a baseball team, attend each game/practice faithfully, never speak to another soul on the team outside of game-related conversation, and then go home. There's nothing wrong with that, but expecting everyone else to do it too is unreasonable. Communities socialize. Like it or not, MUSHes are communities. It's not just about the game.
Well, if I come onto a game to play the game, and none of the people on it are interested in playing the game, that's a bad game. Zero stars. I don't want to be on that kind of "game." Especially if I have to go through this multi-hour application process to get a character on it.
There's a difference between "not playing" and "not playing right now."
@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
@faraday said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
I don't really think it's unique to MUSHes, except that on a MUSH there seems to be this unreasonable expectation that "oh you're logged in, clearly you should be here to play".
I only log in to play, so I don't consider this expectation unreasonable.
You're not the only person that exists.
@Ganymede said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
but I think this is a worthwhile topic to bandy about
So long as nobody expects to find a silver bullet that happens instantly.
@Lotherio With IC positions, that's also rewarding the character for player action. Unless we're talking about opening up a special slot for them to make a character for.
And OOC ones..? Eh. Staff bit applications usually take note of player contributions, and aren't usually subject to the same popularity contest breaking as your suggestions. Besides, being good at getting out and roleplaying doesn't mean you'll make a good staffer.
@Ghost said in Incentives for RP:
is to incentivize the players who are welcoming and inclusive with leadership positions.
I would agree... to a point. Depending on the game, of course, leadership positions come with some level of OOC overhead that tends to restrict one's effective "free" play time. Meetings one must attend, problems one must deal with, et cetera. Leaving little time for free time.
I agree that we want the welcoming and RP-spreading folks in charge, but at the same time I worry that we would be removing people from the pool of welcomers and RP-spreaders.
@Ganymede said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
The personal touch isn't a great strategy for those who suffer from social anxiety. I believe that is what started this topic.
Certainly true, to a point. If the idea of speaking to people at all is the issue... then that's a whole different discussion. If it's the idea of speaking to people out of the blue, as some have indicated, then having designated persons who are encouraging such contact should alleviate some of the stress when compared to contacting people apparently at random.
@Lotherio That depends entirely on how tightly controlled staff want their plots and NPCs and such. But given we've been doing this for decades, and we keep circling back to XP (or equivalent) as a reward... seems that it's the best compromise in general. Anything else would be game-and-culture-specific, so nothing we can categorically dismiss or approve of here.
If there's a system, certain kinds of people are going to find a way to break it. Having a simple system that makes breakages/cheating obvious involves less clean up. I go back and forth between liking and loathing the "rewarding players by advancing characters" thing, but it mostly works.
@Lisse24 said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
Point. True, but not applicable here, I think.
It's applicable to every situation in which one is trying to impart information. If the information doesn't stick, then it's your responsibility to ensure the information is more easily understood.
@Lisse24 said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
So, how do you solve that problem then? And no, I don't accept telling someone to keep doing the very thing that's failing them as an acceptable answer.
The personal touch. Ask a person you know, or a staffer, for help in finding RP. People are much, much better at dealing with social issues than any 'tool'. This is what we do in real life, is it not? "Hey, I don't know anyone at this party, can you introduce me?" Hell, have official "first contact specialists" that someone can more comfortably page - because it is expected, encouraged, and rewarded - to get the ball rolling and get them used to things, start a little scene for them and invite a few others.
The answer to almost any social problem is people, not a tool.
@Lisse24 said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
But if people know the tool exists and they try to use and STILL have the same problem, then it's not them, it's the tool.
Not necessarily. The majority of my present career is teaching people how to use a tool. If they fail to grasp what I am teaching, it is neither their fault nor the tool's, but my own.
@Lisse24 said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
This is a fundamental design principal so I don't know why I get push back on it
Because it isn't a design problem, it is a socio-cultural problem. People aren't going to use the new shiny thing if they don't feel the need, no amount of flashing lights and signs pointing at the thing will make them use it. And if eighty percent of people don't feel the need to use a special tool to find their RP, then the twenty percent will only ever find each other.
I think it's important to balance outcome with the required work. Special points that can alter game-related things, like policy or special scene types or whatever, takes more work from staff to look at and judge and approve and just generally deal with when compared to a handful of people that abuse the system.
@Lisse24 said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
If players do not make that shift, then it is not their fault and we are asking something unreasonable of them
No. If you provide a tool, and people don't use it, that is the fault of the people not of the tool.
ETA: I also repeat that it will take time for people to adjust to new tools. Cultures take time to change, they just do. There is no magic tool that will appear and suddenly be in use by everyone all at the same time to the same level of competence.
@Arkandel said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:
code can't solve social issues.
Yes it can. @lock/pagelock me=!*Arkandel
Just because a tool exists doesn't mean it gets used, or that it gets used immediately or by a wide swathe of people. Tools are pretty, but adapting is better.
Do we really need special tools for this, or simply to adapt ourselves to asking about, and for, RP better?
I dunno, man. If any of you invited me out for an all-expenses paid cruise, I would assume that I'd be murdered at some point...