This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Post by cold volume on May 31, 2013 16:49:14 GMT -5
TOO BRIEF?
Hi guys,
I've noticed that battle thread posts are slowly but surely turning into lists.
To get to the point, I am bored of how battles lead characters to literally just posting the moves their pokemon use/dodge/get hit by, and this kind of rping, to me, feels like an absolutely massive waste of time. (If other's feel similarly, but have just been going with the flow for now, then yeah, we ought to change how we battle.)
I would like just a bit more more character action and personality in battle/ event threads, and what the Pokemon do mechanically to become something on the side. I've pulled up some examples that I admire: Here, here, Here, here and Here. I'm not asking for 300 words of poetry. I'm asking for 2-3 lines of personality, thought, or deeper interaction in all posts. So, what are all your opinions on this? Is it boring for you guys too? I'd like this rp to feel more like rp and less like gaming.
I know we like brevity and speed, but I also think that can still be done with some character interaction and personality. I'd rather play the game if event threads became more about listing moves.
tbh depends on what i'm trying to accomplish within the thread. also depends on the character. obviously our thread in decima has more dialogue because character development is actually a thing that we're trying to accomplish.
honestly tho if i'm threading with cameron/any of vert's characters, then i honestly don't care about lists since the chars aren't talky lmao. stefan's battles can also turn into lists since he's pretty much...just battling with minimal personal attachments.
i mean technically you don't violate any site rules with lists. no word count is enforced.
honestly i don't think it's a big deal? culture isn't something that you can just...control unless you want to put some rules in place. and honestly i think the absence of those rules promote a more liberal atmosphere. i wouldn't really sacrifice that for anything.
Post by cold volume on May 31, 2013 17:14:42 GMT -5
I don't really want rules. But I do see threads where there could definitely be more interaction between characters, and I see things turning into a laziness. Everything becomes more about winning and gaming in these threads - the systematics and mechanics - and not about the character at all. I still want to preserve the liberal quality, but just ask people to note a few more details than just listing moves.
For example, toska, if stefan were in a battle where he threw out his pokemon fought, left, and all his posts were just listing moves, how would that contribute to his development? What would be the difference between that Stefan and another in another dimension Stefan who never had that thread? If he felt nothing during it, would he feel anything afterwards? In these threads, nothing is accomplished from the point of view of RP. All that is accomplished is a new scourge sample. I know you believe, Toska, that threads with a purpose are fun. What is the purpose then of RPing as just listing moves?
I recognize Pokemon is about collection and battle, but I find the repetitiveness of the game in general a flaw which I don't want to carry over into RP toska
mond, i think this is another instance where we don't see eye to eye on our rp goals lol
i mean, sometimes i want that game quality. a lot of us do. a lot of us actually find the battle system fun and rewarding. as long as people have fun, then i don't see the problem? i mean if you wanted more development in a battle, then maybe you could hit them up beforehand to plan things out like zulf and vert did for decima (apparently they're using the thread to drag issei out of town or something). otherwise, people usually go into battles expecting a fight.
i pick when to develop stefan. that doesn't happen too often during battles because battles are just a job for him. and that's fine. sophia is more of the sort to develop during battles. alia is just...talkative everywhere lol. they're different characters so i feel free to develop them at different rates, or not at all.
that's a free choice that i choose to exercise at all times.
...and the difference is that the scourge areas are more free, and therefore influence future plots at a sooner point in time. can we seriously not have the "do your battle threads have a point" argument because as long as i have fun, isn't that reason enough? and really, i find it rather elitist to judge how other people derive their fun and amusement.
guys, regardless of which direction this thread goes, i just want to say that no one should feel guilty about having fun if you're within the boundaries of site rules and common decency.
Post by cold volume on May 31, 2013 17:31:27 GMT -5
Yeah, it's just gotten to a point for me where its really boring and no longer much fun. A bunch of battles have not been exciting, just tediously systematic and dull. When people don't leave any personality in replies, I don't know why I'm doing it.
Toska and I have different preferences of what battles are about. I'd like to say, at least, that perhaps there should be a way to promise an event thread with personality from one that is just played like a game. The gaming sort aren't for me, and the ones with personality are, and that goes for my modding responsibilities and myself as a member.
honestly, i recommend plotting with people before battles if you're really looking for that sort of thing. otherwise, no one's really going to know what you're expecting.
i mean, the only likely way to get the sort of event like the one that you just described is to plan things out with all parties within the thread. i mean, i feel like changing the site culture is a bit too drastic of a move to be accomplished without hard rules that neither of us sound like we want.
Post by cold volume on May 31, 2013 17:39:58 GMT -5
I disagree, yo. There are examples which I listed which weren't plotted out beforehand. It is entirely possible to do. Like I said, there's a huge difference for me between a list and 2 lines of personality.
Even with plotting its not promised. For example, you mentioned the plot zulf and vertigo have. Even with a plot, they still play it like a game and only write lists. Meanwhile, in random encounters, they sometimes add personality. I don't see any correlation between plotting and personality.
possible, but not as assured as a message on a plot page. why not throw together a suggestion on the direction of the plot instead of leaving things to chance, if lists aren't what you want?
well, maybe some people enjoy the list thing. idgaf if it's not my thread. even if it was, those don't...really impede my own enjoyment? i mean i could always write my own chars' feelings if i wanted and i could get my chars to speak up if i wanted dialogue.
....dude i didn't even mention anything about getting personality. i mentioned getting a direction for the thread. if personality is what you're after, then i'm sorry to say that i think that's a personal choice for rpers. that's not something that anyone can extract without being at the risk of invading their comfort zone.
Post by cold volume on May 31, 2013 18:28:40 GMT -5
In the situations I'm talking about, my character could be curled up in ball crying for dear life, and the reply has no thoughts or reactions to what my character could be doing. Just listing attack moves. I see where your are coming from with asking people to write personality can be overcontrolling.
But at the same time, receiving lists in exchange for my own character reactions comes across as laziness and is as worth to me as much as receiving 0 words in reply.
Which means I'm just rping with myself. I find it dull. I understand you don't Toska. But I'd like to know if anyone else agrees with me.
that's the price of rping with a diverse set of rpers tho. not all your threads are going to be like that, and you're not always going to get people who don't line up with your expectation.
...i would really like to discourage this kind of discussion since it sounds like a breeding ground for discontent towards other rpers. minimizing the risk of site drama would be within all our interest.
please consider closing this thread and moving the discussion elsewhere. we can talk on skype if you need a sounding board, but yeah i don't think this is a good place to put it.
edit: unless we're sticking to personal examples regarding our own rp style i guess. idk still feels iffy
i agree wholeheartedly with hitler's memoir on this.
i'm all about the story. but i mean we need to get shit done fast if we want this site to really move anywhere with the scourge (unless we have the scourge move into lower leveled areas). so heres my thought opinion on this and you can discuss with me about them if you wish ;D
firstly: i don't see this as control. it's more like an encouragement.
in addition to that, i don't even plot right because i fail at rp apparently. i hardly ever plan shiznit, so planning the development of a battle sounds ridic to me. plotters are such a chore for me. i don't even like talking about my brainkids. i'm kind of a 'lets rp already - we're only young for so long!' type of fello.
if kohaku could be more naturalist that would be sweet. i mean for example, if dandelion's emily never met the agent, couldn't her character try to find out why the fork she's battling the bizneeotch? i don't know if that's her personality or not, so whatevs. seems a little ridiculous that they'd just be standing feet away from each other shouting commands and waiting for monsters to do their dirty bidness (unless it was an official battle like gyms or battle zones).
i think the actual battling could be more interesting. using moves in different ways to alter the environment or indirectly affect opponents/partners. that type of shit makes it more like pre (a battling system that I appreciated quite a bit actually).
i mean i understand that we don't want a word count BECAUSE WE'RE FREE AND ONELINERS ARE SWEET AND YAY but we need to highly encourage not being lazy and just not doing anything therrr. there's ways to develop your characters, otherwise, i know, but still. it seems odd to me. i'm graduating tomorrow hollaback!
feels like this post affects me, except i'm not sorry for being one of the first to do battles the listing way.
lbr, if you're threading with any of my characters except iskander, you shouldn't be expecting long, in-depth posts about what they're thinking. similarly, i do not think that adding personality is a bad thing -- it's good, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.
perhaps in the event someone wants something more responsive or well, something different in my writing, drop me a message and let me know. i can come to a compromise or at the very least, a plot for the battle that wouldn't be just another encounter in the wild.
