RP Moaning
I used to be a huge D&D fan. I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first discovered the old, red box set (I think it was the Basic Rules set, where you had the two thin books, and the dice that you could colour in with a crayon?), I know I was still a kid. It was like a whole new world had come to life, and I was hooked. I'd always had a vivid imagination and had been drawing and writing stories since I was old enough to hold a pencil and form coherent sentences, but this was different. There were details galore, and rules. I loved rules.
In my neck of the woods, I didn't have much of a chance to actually play. A lot of people didn't know what D&D was. Those who did had heard all the horror stories, and they 'weren't touching THAT crap'. I eventually found a small group who'd play on weekends, but it didn't last long (and I didn't like most of them very much, anyway). I got into AD&D (2nd Ed), and loved it.
In 1995, I got my first windows-based computer, and discovered the internet. Back in those days, AOL and CompuServe were where it was at, and I quickly learned to navigate around both places. I eventually skipped AOL completely; I found the user base to be somewhat mentally deficient, and the software was horrid (and try uninstalling that shit - hahahaha). It was like herpes, you never truly got rid of it.
Not long after I'd discovered CompuServe, I discovered their RPGAMES forum, and another new world opened up. People would play D&D online. Instead of sitting around a table rolling dice and scribbling on paper character sheets, you posted your moves in writing, sent in your character sheets in Excel, and had online dice rollers. Since I was already into creative writing, it was like I'd died and found heaven (or the closest thing to it, since I don't believe in heaven). It was mind-boggling, at first, because there was no geographic limitation anymore. I didn't need to find other players in my small town, I was playing with people from the US, England, Australia and Germany. And, that was where I met Jamie.
He and I started in one shitty game together, and we both dumped it after he started his own D&D game. From that point on, we were inseparable. Our playing and writing styles meshed perfectly, we had the same enthusiasm for the game, we both loved details and rules, and we were both hugely into character development. Over the years, that never changed. When CServe finally died (in 2000?), I had enough internet knowledge to grab my own forum software (vBulletin, I miss you), and create our own site.
We had a good ten-year run. Eventually, the D&D game died; Jamie wanted to run a more modern game, so I went along with it. I rolled up modern characters (a surgeon, a vet, an oilfield magnate, a reporter), and we created this fictional town. It was pretty cool (and a few of those characters are still pretty close to my heart), but it wasn't the same. D&D had changed once again (to 3.0, then 3.5) and Jamie wanted no part of it. He did want other players in the game, and everyone wanted to use 3.5 rules, so he completely gave it up and focused on the modern game.
I didn't mind the modern game (there were some pretty good plot twists), but it started resembling real life too much, like a soap opera. I had to deal with D's drinking, and his sister's shit, and I'd log in to find that someone my character was close to was developing a drinking problem, and another character was threatening suicide. When I played, it was supposed to be an escape, not a continuation of shit I was briefly trying to get away from. Jamie had no drama in his life, so he just didn't get it.
So, I gave up. I quit playing. I know I'm always welcome back, and I do pop in every so often with a bartender character, but it's hard to play intermittently. It fucks with your continuity, and the other players try to draw you into their story lines. I don't follow everyone's stories, so most of the time, I have no clue what's going on. Jamie and I were never into eRP (if our characters had a relationship, they'd 'fade out' when the time came), but it seems that all the other players are, and I just can't be bothered writing that shit out. I have nothing against a sex scene or two, but when you have ten posts of action, suspense or drama and a hundred posts where the characters are having sex… Give me a fucking break. I want plot advancement.
I've been looking around for quite some time now for another site that would offer something similar, but everyone's definition of 'role-play' is different from my version. I want a 'game' where I create a character based on a set of defined rules, I want a GM (or DM) directing the game, and I want some structure. Most of what I see now is free-form, where anyone can jump in with any character, and no one is holding the reins. I'm old-school, where if someone breaks the rules, I want the GM to step in and either disallow that move, or boot them from the game. It's also difficult to find someone with coherent writing skills.
And, most of the RP now involves Furries, anime, vampires, werewolves, or (fucking shoot me now) Twilight. I have nothing against any of those, and I can see why some would find it appealing, but it's just not my thing.
I never realized it until now, but Jamie and I were picky as hell, and I miss that. But, he won't run a D&D campaign anymore, and I just have zero interest in the modern game where characters are drunks, druggies, slaves to fashion, who are screwing everything in sight and love gossiping and tearing each other apart. They call it drama, I call it boring as shit. I want mystical and mythical. For a short time, I did find a free-form game that was based on The Stand, and it was amazing (awesome GM!), but real life got in the way, and after a few months, he shut it down.
I also don't want to run my own game (been there, done that, I'm not GM material). I guess I just miss what once was, and I don't think it'll ever happen again. Most days, I don't dwell on it, but I found an old character sheet today and it just made me really, really sad.
In my neck of the woods, I didn't have much of a chance to actually play. A lot of people didn't know what D&D was. Those who did had heard all the horror stories, and they 'weren't touching THAT crap'. I eventually found a small group who'd play on weekends, but it didn't last long (and I didn't like most of them very much, anyway). I got into AD&D (2nd Ed), and loved it.
In 1995, I got my first windows-based computer, and discovered the internet. Back in those days, AOL and CompuServe were where it was at, and I quickly learned to navigate around both places. I eventually skipped AOL completely; I found the user base to be somewhat mentally deficient, and the software was horrid (and try uninstalling that shit - hahahaha). It was like herpes, you never truly got rid of it.
Not long after I'd discovered CompuServe, I discovered their RPGAMES forum, and another new world opened up. People would play D&D online. Instead of sitting around a table rolling dice and scribbling on paper character sheets, you posted your moves in writing, sent in your character sheets in Excel, and had online dice rollers. Since I was already into creative writing, it was like I'd died and found heaven (or the closest thing to it, since I don't believe in heaven). It was mind-boggling, at first, because there was no geographic limitation anymore. I didn't need to find other players in my small town, I was playing with people from the US, England, Australia and Germany. And, that was where I met Jamie.
He and I started in one shitty game together, and we both dumped it after he started his own D&D game. From that point on, we were inseparable. Our playing and writing styles meshed perfectly, we had the same enthusiasm for the game, we both loved details and rules, and we were both hugely into character development. Over the years, that never changed. When CServe finally died (in 2000?), I had enough internet knowledge to grab my own forum software (vBulletin, I miss you), and create our own site.
We had a good ten-year run. Eventually, the D&D game died; Jamie wanted to run a more modern game, so I went along with it. I rolled up modern characters (a surgeon, a vet, an oilfield magnate, a reporter), and we created this fictional town. It was pretty cool (and a few of those characters are still pretty close to my heart), but it wasn't the same. D&D had changed once again (to 3.0, then 3.5) and Jamie wanted no part of it. He did want other players in the game, and everyone wanted to use 3.5 rules, so he completely gave it up and focused on the modern game.
I didn't mind the modern game (there were some pretty good plot twists), but it started resembling real life too much, like a soap opera. I had to deal with D's drinking, and his sister's shit, and I'd log in to find that someone my character was close to was developing a drinking problem, and another character was threatening suicide. When I played, it was supposed to be an escape, not a continuation of shit I was briefly trying to get away from. Jamie had no drama in his life, so he just didn't get it.
So, I gave up. I quit playing. I know I'm always welcome back, and I do pop in every so often with a bartender character, but it's hard to play intermittently. It fucks with your continuity, and the other players try to draw you into their story lines. I don't follow everyone's stories, so most of the time, I have no clue what's going on. Jamie and I were never into eRP (if our characters had a relationship, they'd 'fade out' when the time came), but it seems that all the other players are, and I just can't be bothered writing that shit out. I have nothing against a sex scene or two, but when you have ten posts of action, suspense or drama and a hundred posts where the characters are having sex… Give me a fucking break. I want plot advancement.
I've been looking around for quite some time now for another site that would offer something similar, but everyone's definition of 'role-play' is different from my version. I want a 'game' where I create a character based on a set of defined rules, I want a GM (or DM) directing the game, and I want some structure. Most of what I see now is free-form, where anyone can jump in with any character, and no one is holding the reins. I'm old-school, where if someone breaks the rules, I want the GM to step in and either disallow that move, or boot them from the game. It's also difficult to find someone with coherent writing skills.
And, most of the RP now involves Furries, anime, vampires, werewolves, or (fucking shoot me now) Twilight. I have nothing against any of those, and I can see why some would find it appealing, but it's just not my thing.
I never realized it until now, but Jamie and I were picky as hell, and I miss that. But, he won't run a D&D campaign anymore, and I just have zero interest in the modern game where characters are drunks, druggies, slaves to fashion, who are screwing everything in sight and love gossiping and tearing each other apart. They call it drama, I call it boring as shit. I want mystical and mythical. For a short time, I did find a free-form game that was based on The Stand, and it was amazing (awesome GM!), but real life got in the way, and after a few months, he shut it down.
I also don't want to run my own game (been there, done that, I'm not GM material). I guess I just miss what once was, and I don't think it'll ever happen again. Most days, I don't dwell on it, but I found an old character sheet today and it just made me really, really sad.