Shaddap, I need the XP. Gotta do every possible permutation of every conversation, even if I have to save scum. Otherwise I haven't really played the game.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?It's.
Actually starting to poison my enjoyment of the RP, if I'm honest.
I keep trying and trying to get gears turning in some direction but it just keeps failing.
I mean yeah Dot is doing a horrific job because she's really bad at this.
But the never-ending negativity train is really starting to exhaust me.
Urgh.
Trying to figure out the best way to dip my toes back into the RP.
What if there’s no better word than just not saying anything?There's not anything to be done about this unless we all abruptly decide to write "by the way they're suddenly all besties now". I know I sure as hell don't want to.
So you can do what probably everyone else is doing and try to gradually fix the situation via writing your way towards a better team dynamic.
I don't want any sudden friendship stuff.
That'd be hella dumb.
It's just that whatever I do goes absolutely nowhere and it feels like I'm kinda wasting my effort.
There isn't any gradual improvement here, is the thing, and it's super draining.
Iunno.
I'm not expecting some big sweeping change or anything.
My enjoyment's starting to suffer and that's about it.
It's also poisoning my experience in the city section of the RP.
This constant spiraling isn't making it fun to post as Archer anymore.
It feels like I have to react more towards these individual reactions rather than the ongoings of the plot itself, and is preventing me from actually focusing on the city plot proper.
I think, for a few people, there is a feeling that the animosity can get a little over the top, and that it feels like it takes up an overly-large part of the RP.
Like, I do not want to stop anyone from rping the way they want to rp, and to an extent I think this is a difference in rping philosophy.
Think of it like the theoretical introvert vs extrovert.
Some people gain energy from this conflict. Other people find it draining, and both just feel natural to the people who feel this way.
This is perhaps something that cannot be simply "resolved", just addressed so people can come to a compromise and not stew over things to no benefit.
But reaching this compromise is another thing.
I think the biggest issue amongst those who find it tiring is something that Fox just identified. If one person has a problem, then everyone has a problem, and the interaction stops being about the plot, and starts circling around the characters who have a problem. And for many people this isn't fun because sure they're fine with disagreements, but they want it to feel like it's going somewhere and they don't want things to revolve around those disagreements.
On the other hand, I don't think there is anything inherently wrong about interaction coming out of disagreements between characters. I in fact, I'll let you all in on a Plot-GM secret, I want there to be conflict. Even unresolved conflict, perhaps.
But there is a difference between conflict that feels natural, and feels like it will come to a conclusion, and conflict that doesn't seem to go anywhere and serves no purpose beyond for the sake of conflict itself. Even to the point of getting in the way of character interaction.
Take Steph. She only just knows the party. It might be in character for Cloud to jump at Dot and try to beat her up, and it is a dramatic moment, but it also means that if Steph is to remain in character she's going to avoid Cloud forever now.
Please note I'm not saying that this was how it was intended, nor even that's how it is, I'm just trying to explore the different viewpoints.
Although the Steph example is an actual thing that Space has given me permission to tell you all about.
Like, I do not fault anyone for thinking that this was not the "low point" and that this would simply continue without stopping. Because this is a collaborative effort and we can't read each other's minds and one person's "this is the low point" is another's "how much longer is it going to go on for".
Moving forward, I do think the solution is for now to be a turning point of sorts. Where perhaps the teamwork does start to get better, where people realise they've made mistakes and that you shouldn't kill people/"ignore the hobo".
This way you get the character interaction and development, and hopefully the fighting stops being so ubiquitous.
And you already seem to be doing this.
But I could be wrong.
But this is a problem that needs to be addressed because it is impacting on people's enjoyment of the game. And handling it poorly could negatively impact on other people's enjoyment of the game. Pretending it's not a problem won't work, and neither will stewing over it with no productive outcome. I just hope we can come to a compromise where all parties are satisfied.
edited 4th Feb '16 11:37:45 PM by ThanatoSeraph
This is a good post and I think pretty much sums things up so I'll just throw in my take on things:
Unlike some of you, I don't particularly mind the constant bickering, because it's fun to read. Like most of you, however, I do think it's something we should move forward through, since a plot where everyone hates each other at the beginning and then hates each other at the end but also killed a thing isn't really all that satisfying.
I dunno about everyone else, but I figure the best way to kick off an actual "team therapy session" or whatever would be on the tail end of an argument. I was actually kind of hoping for something like this last week but then things stalled a bit and then stuff happened in the plot.
This, however, is a golden opportunity for all that, and I'm kind of surprised nobody else has noticed or sees the same opportunity, since the way things have been going I'd have figured a breaking point was needed anyway.
That's what I'm doing with it, at any rate. Maybe everyone else was going for a different approach and actually I need to go look for my meds so I'll type the other half of this later whoops
I guess what's gotten so rankled is that I kept trying to have Dot spark something by being a doof a few times with no one taking the bait.
And as such I've gradually gotten more and more blatant culminating in Dot daring people to kill her, which I legitimately wasn't expecting anyone to do.
But now that everyone's seen it and everyone knows it's not going to stay static and things'll start shifting.
However quickly, slowly, painfully, smoothly, who knows.
i forgot what i was going to say and my stomach is killing me so i might vanish for a bit soon
but you seem to have accidentally forgotten half a sentence?
Not sure what you're trying to say here
other than that, yeah, i don't think anyone is actually insisting we continue to stop in the middle of fights to argue about he said she said whether we enjoy watching it or not, we're just going about remedying this in wildly different ways
edited 4th Feb '16 11:53:33 PM by WonderSquid
To be honest, that approach seems a bit railroaded.
I wouldn't expect every character to just start making up, the way each of them reacts differently.
The way I'm playing Archer, he actually has no IC reason to patch things with the rest of the group. He's making plans already to materialize when the group needs his strength, and not interact with the group otherwise.
At this point, in-character, Archer's done. It's an unfortunate conclusion for me, but that's where his character's led him.
edited 4th Feb '16 11:54:27 PM by foxmccloud4387

nerd