(Non-)Proliferativity

Hello boys and girls.

I shall begin by stating that what follows is but my thoughts on a subject that I've pondered about frequently. To frame it correctly, I should make clear that this isn't a major gripe, and I want to avoid sounding arrogant as I say it – though I apologise in advance for failing to do so. This is a pet annoyance, you might say.

So, I’m in chat right now and I noticed a certain proliferation of screen names unknown to me; this is, I reason, no doubt both because a number of you beautiful ladies and gents have been making new characters, and also because we have one or two new additions to our family. How nice! It’s always good to think ISRP is doing well.

However, as it happens right now, I can only spot names I'd never seen before – with the exception of an old friend of mine by the name of Rajak. You know, that ol' bean. And, of course, I gravitate towards him. But as my mouse hovers over the room changer drop down menu thing, I think... why? Why am I going to talk to the only person I already know? Why don't I go and talk to one of these new characters? There's certainly enough of them around, and lots of them are bound to be interesting in their own right.

Then I realise why; because I see new names all the time. I remember that I used to forge new friendships and relationships frequently, but also that I stopped doing so quite some time ago. I’ve started roleplaying by arrangement only, by asking particular people on my MSN list to come in with particular characters. These days, I don’t often feel like hanging around and meeting randoms; I seek out the friends and I stick with them. In fact, I’ve formed a clique and I’m sticking to it.

But why? Why does seeing new names all the time cause me to do this? Well, because I can’t be bothered to keep up with them all, particularly when I can’t be sure whether any given name will be around for longer than a couple of weeks. I have a policy, it seems, of only making any kind of effort to know any given character if I’ve seen it around. A lot. For a long time.

I do this, I think, because I want to protect myself from doing interesting things – from making a lot of effort in my roleplay – that will be lost to the void anyhow because the other character isn’t going to stick around. Some part of me feels like it’s a waste of energy.

How stupid is that? What, these characters aren’t really worth my time? But I’ve been doing it unthinkingly for years. Of course, my case is special because I am, sadly, void of a good memory and I frequently forget not just things I do or that my characters have done, but people they've met and how they met them. Actually, I forget a great many things, but these are the relevant things here. Relevant because I often forget I’ve seen a name before. They’re all just so much background noise to me, so even when I see a particular name around a number of times, I still don’t really go and talk to them.

I find this very sad. No, not the state of my memory (although that too), but the fact that I feel deeply disinclined to get to know new characters and players. To illustrate the absurdity of my own condition, I note that I recently discovered a player who'd been on ISRP for eight years alongside me - who I’d never interacted with! Imagine my surprise and shock! Me, who has likewise been on ISRP for some eight years or something. How did I miss another permanent ISRPer?

But I realised that there are many characters I don't touch, and for no good reason other than apathy - a lack of willingness to learn the names and personalities of characters when I’m unsure whether they’ll still be around in a couple weeks’ time. It seems pointless, somehow.

So this in turn got me to thinking; why do players like to make so many different characters? Why is it that lots of people don't people stick to a single character or small set of characters? I’d welcome any thoughts or musing on the matter, or indeed responses from people who have this particular habit.

For my part, I can say from personal experience that I've found focusing on my comparatively smaller list of characters rewarding. It seems to me to be easy enough to make some exciting new concept or other, but my personal preference is to see how intricate an alter-ego I can create, how realistic – and crucially for me, how distinct from one another – I can make my characters. I’d like to think that Jeajea, Lyzar, Mark, Javal, The One, The Fleeting Shadow, Adept Mortisha and so forth... are all separate, unique, interesting characters. Of course, in reality that’s not a thing for me to judge but for others, but it certainly is a personal goal of mine.

I could perhaps be accused of taking things to extremes and overdoing it. We’re here, after all, not to make some grand artistic gesture but rather to relax and enjoy ourselves. This is meant to simply be harmless fun, isn’t it? So to pre-empt this accusation, I’ll note here that I get more out of ISRP these days if I go to great lengths to take having fun seriously.

I do consistently see all these shiny characters that are then dropped after a few weeks when the cool factor has worn off, or if they hit a spot of trouble and the player can't be bothered to work through it. So the character just dies or vanishes without a word… and I guess I feel that things lose continuity. Do you get what I mean?

Not that I'm in any way suggesting that you should stick doggedly to some character concept that is crap, nor that you shouldn’t go out into the wide blue unknown and experiment as far as the setting will take you. I also certainly don’t want to suggest that you’re doing anything in any way wrong if you're such a player who likes to have many cakes on the go, so to speak.

Rather, I’m trying to point some things out about how ISRP works, in my view. I would very much welcome any thoughts, comments or responses any of you might have – just hit reply and lay out your own thoughts or experiences on the matter. Else, thanks for making the effort to read this and I hope you understand what I mean even if you don’t entirely agree with me.

I will leave you with the final thought that, in medicine the so-called proliferative phase is what happens once your body had managed to clot a bleed. It’s the process of healing. See what I did there?

With the best of intentions,
Jea’s player.

Well there, I hit quick reply...that wasn't so bad now was it.

Perhaps Jea, as I've so often wondered, because we are old, we are getting senile. On the other hand, while my characters; of which I maintain three actively, and several more passively; differ across the spectrum I try to make them all approachable. I have often found myself incredibly lazy, in terms of approaching others; and on that other end of the stick too, where I envy some players to get to RP with those I look up to. I wonder to myself, what am I doing wrong, in order to surmise what it is that keeps me out of the circle of RPers which I look up to.

You are one of them. Dont be surprised, or flattered. The list goes beyond yourself, but includes you none the less.

The greatest difficulty any player faces is time management. My characters are prone to dropping off the face of the planet every now and again because -i- am prone to dropping off the face of the earth into the horrible abyss of work and family and whatever else crops up. I always intend on telling everyone what is happening, but that's not always possible.

Besides that particular point, I am constantly poked, proded and requested by folk I am inclined to RP with because they've done the same for me in the past. This is not to say I dont like to RP with new people, but that I endeavour to keep those I've met already happy first. Everything else becomes secondary. I have found, during my wanderings throughout the years in ISRP; that when you fall out with someone, you'll often fall back in with them later on down the track and it will be like nothing has happened. I like it when that happens, it's like finding something you've lost.

Unlike you, I tend to have more solid shoulders on which to burden. I dont mind meeting a new character to have them disappear on me. I sometimes wonder why I bother...but on the other end of the stick, provided you have fun at the time, what does it matter if they are back next week? And as you said yourself, that is what RPing is about. Fun.

Go forth and make it so!

*hugs*
Not intended to be mean in any way shape or form.

Ariel's shadow.

Jeajea said:

So this in turn got me to thinking; why do players like to make so many different characters? Why is it that lots of people don't people stick to a single character or small set of characters? I’d welcome any thoughts or musing on the matter, or indeed responses from people who have this particular habit.

Click to expand...

For myself - I joke that I have so many characters in my head, I have to let them out. That's part of why I play. And, well, most of them are distinct enough that many people react with shock when they find out I play both of them. Heck, I created one character without much of a background on purpose - made her background nice and simple, and gave her reason not to know too much about the world, because I didn't want to develop a world. . .Ended up coming up with a history of the world, a new twist on magic and even cultural traditions. Bah.

But, I don't just drop characters if they run into a spot of trouble - I enjoy the trouble, yep yep. Now, I have had to drop a couple characters because of things that have happened that made it to where it just didn't make any sense for them to return to the scene where it happened. I mean, really, if horrid things happened to you in a place, how likely would you be to return?
Even those characters, I keep going someplace else. IMs, forums. Settings where it makes sense for them to be.

So. . .well, from my perspective. . .I have to let the characters out.

As for interacting with more than just familiar names - there have already been several threads about that. And, I do agree, to an extent, it is disheartening to have stuff start happening and then have the character completely disappear. I like to think that's RL interfering. Even with my plethera of characters, if I have something actually going on with other characters, my character will not just disappear - unless something pressing comes up in RL, or something else happens in the character's plot that includes said disappearance.

But, when I interact with new characters, they always end up being played by people I already know. Which brings up my theory that there's really very few actual players. . .(I think someone has brought that up before too).

Okay, enough babbling. Did I even answer the question? I forget. . .

The crux of the issue does revolve around escapsist entertainment. People like to try new things once in a while, regardless of old favorites. Not only are we playing to be entertained, but some of us are playing to entertain others as well. Trying out a new character or two is simply a way of stretching the creative muscles and exercising the imagination in ways which may be unacustomed when using old standbys. A few of the new characters may last a good deal longer, with some select few becoming the next regular face. It depends entirely on how much the player enjoys playing that character, why, and probably a little bit of how others seem to get along with the new face as well. The sad flipside is that a large number of the experimental characters will fall to the cutting room floor: deemed a poor idea, unsuitable for extended play, or simply less fun than expected. Given this, the creative process does seem a little wasteful, but not every idea is a good one.

Your own commentary on the issue shows that you have gone through a similar process of creating characters over the years. I don't expect those seven you mentioned were all created fully formed over the course of a weekend then played regularly for eight years. There's a good chance that you made a couple, then gradually added here and there. Each character crafted for specific reasons with as rough or detailed a sketch of their backstory and personality you deemed necessary at the time; the great depth of each coming later as an organic process built upon myriad interactions with others and new ideas of your own. If true, then at some point you were guilty of that which you now highlight for discussion. Everyone with more than one character to rub together will of course share equally in guilt, myself included.

I'm not convinced the new characters you see are the problem. In fact, I'm not sure if you are convinced they are the problem so much as they underscored a deeper issue. The difficulty of beginning new interactions with unknown characters is a long complex process that involves a lot of work. Often we start by trying to find some point of commonality or reference at which to interject. Sometimes that point never arises and we "force start" an interaction, but this seems a bit less reliable and awkward. Once in a while it proves to be really easy to start that first interaction, allowing the beginning of a long term bond. Any of these situations can contribute to frustration should the character disappear: either you put in a lot of work that is now lost, or you won the lottery for a change with an easy start. Woops, there they go down the drain.

To me it parallels real life. If I go into a room full of people I may mill about aimlessly for an hour feeling ill at ease unless I find either someone I know or happen across someone I discover a common interest with. Starting with someone you know is safe and easy. Striking up a conversation with a stranger can prove to not only be difficult and scarey, but ultimately might prove to be a more enriching experience. Simple and easy just do not test us in the ways that stepping outside our comfort zone do. This is what I refer to in my "Greater Theory of the Internets" by the subtopic of "Meeting Girls is Hard," which is not actually about meeting girls at all. The sentiment in those four words is readily understandable and relatable to anyone.


Oh, and Ariel has a valid point about the senility. The forgetfulness may just stem from the fact that we enjoy a hobby that per person could ultimately consist of more text than a set of encyclopedias. Getting older doesn't help us remember all that detail, but the RPing may help to keep the mind and memory more engaged leading to a lesser likelihood that we'll have to deal with senility, dementia, or something similar.

I can't even count how many characters I have in my stable of chars. While a large portion of them are table top variety characters, I have a good collection of online chars as well. Personally, I enjoy the creation of the characters as much if not more than the RPing of the characters. I have been known to roll up and develop 4 or 5 just for the hell of it. sometimes, I get one that I really like, and want to see him or her in action. if there is no table top game available ((which I prefer to online, but have little to no access too...)) I'll run em through ISRP and see what happens.

I try to vary them: a few drow ((yeah yeah...I know...but I LIKE drow)), a halfling, a dragon, a minotaur, a couple of dwarves ((EVERYone likes Bucket Head!!)) even a paladin and a merc, and a char from Mage: The Ascension!

I like the interraction with other characters. Kinda hard to test drive a character if you don't interract with folks. sadly, as of late, ((Past 3 years or so)) I haven't had the time to run new ones, or even most of the older ones.

someday...

It's okay Reshak, we'll just keep missing you until you come back.

Warbridge said:

To me it parallels real life. If I go into a room full of people I may mill about aimlessly for an hour feeling ill at ease unless I find either someone I know or happen across someone I discover a common interest with. Starting with someone you know is safe and easy. Striking up a conversation with a stranger can prove to not only be difficult and scarey, but ultimately might prove to be a more enriching experience. Simple and easy just do not test us in the ways that stepping outside our comfort zone do. This is what I refer to in my "Greater Theory of the Internets" by the subtopic of "Meeting Girls is Hard," which is not actually about meeting girls at all. The sentiment in those four words is readily understandable and relatable to anyone.

Click to expand...

Assumably this is taken under the account that we are all more or less introverts. I suppose, it is a safe assumption, given that we are all spending time online, with people we feel safe with as we're relatively sure we will never have to face them in the real world. But contrarily, of those I have met; I've found ISRP is abundant in extroverts. This portrays into characters; which we ignore. I've never quite worked out, why we pull the: seen it all before routine. Even I do it; but to be frank, it's a pretty bad habit on all accounts. If someone makes the effort of making a whimsical entry (eg Mr Goldwing...pickin' on an old fave there); why is it habit to ignore it? We should not, but we do. I've made the effort over the years, to try and be innovative; but it seems often as not, to fall on deaf eyes as the case is with ISRP.

I guess maybe, what Jea is really asking, is when should one stop trying? Who gets to draw the line, between holding on to false hope, and giving a character a chance?

I say the player at hand. Different tastes, lead to different levels of care. If I meet a character, love them, and want them to stay around; I go out of my way, to make things welcome and interesting for them. If the play is interesting, then the character should -hopefully- remain.

wow...someone missing Re'shak?? hehe

Okay...so I miss the reaction he used to get when he walked into a room. So shoot me for admiring your prowess.

Cliff notes version:

I don't like noobs because they are are unknown quantity. So nowadays I play a psychotic, unstable set of characters who have excuses for lashing out if I happen to tire of, or dislike the present company, or even better, have an excuse for simply ignoring them because hey- being anti-social is part of the character...

I play with the friends I made when I wasn't so apathetic because I know what to expect, and since we have grown apathetic TOGETHER, we understand each other!

It's okay though, because I'm introspective about these observations, and trying to help you out by pointing out some things you might do to avoid becoming just. like. me.

Elf_Ariel said:

Assumably this is taken under the account that we are all more or less introverts. I suppose, it is a safe assumption, given that we are all spending time online, with people we feel safe with as we're relatively sure we will never have to face them in the real world. But contrarily, of those I have met; I've found ISRP is abundant in extroverts. This portrays into characters; which we ignore. I've never quite worked out, why we pull the: seen it all before routine. Even I do it; but to be frank, it's a pretty bad habit on all accounts. If someone makes the effort of making a whimsical entry (eg Mr Goldwing...pickin' on an old fave there); why is it habit to ignore it? We should not, but we do. I've made the effort over the years, to try and be innovative; but it seems often as not, to fall on deaf eyes as the case is with ISRP.

Click to expand...

I didn't mean to lump everyone into one basket and label anyone. In this particular situation, what I pointed out isn't even an analogy since we are actually talking about a virtual room full of virtual strangers. You may be quite right about this being a hobby for introverts, but I think there's probably a mix of both as far as roleplayers go. The deeper we drill into it, the more like a thesis this becomes though, and I'm trying not to throw reams of paper at you for a change.

Human nature may be the easiest thing to label it. Let's say for a moment that the majority of players are introverts. Then suppose that a person will often roleplay a character that is somewhat different from themself. If this is the case, then the introverts are most often playing extroverted characters, the degree of which may vary a lot. Depending on how much and personal taste of the other players, that character might find themselves less than adored. I think it is also safe to say that we will exaggerate certain traits or ideas for the extrovert character to make them seem cool or tougher: the "been there, done that" mantra being the most familiar.

I may have digressed a little. If the introverted player is in a room full of strangers trying to find their good intro point, and the extroverted character exudes a blase attitude toward everything between the two they are trying to find a connection while keeping everyone at arms length. Major mixed signals. Not only confusing to the player, but everyone else in the room I would imagine.

The practice of ignoring "n00bs" is one I'm familiar with as well, and I think it makes freeform RP difficult to get into as a hobby. Nothing like alienating new players who are trying to break into it. As we all get new priorities in life, we can probably expect the number of existing players to dwindle, and if the number of new players lessens as well then this sort of RP will wither up and die. Remember that we were all new once, and some of us aren't even new we just took an extended break.

The anti-social tendencies I've also noticed. No one specific, and not any single player as far as I can tell. It is difficult to be an outsider these days, more than I remember anyway; the bad reactions have ranged from simple snobbery to mild hostility both in character and out. It might just be my imagination, but it seems like such incidents are increasing as well, which I find frustrating since it tends to rain on a person's evening. Mostly I just find it sad when the anti-social stuff becomes the norm in a predominantly social environment: it sure does kill the joy.