Reference The Problems with RolePlaying Games

I have posted a RP on the Role Playing Star Wars forums over 20 days and it still has only one post and I am wondering when my RP will get more popular. Now I'm looking at other RPs on the forums and they have a bunch of post in just the same hour of post. Can someone help me with my problem. I do believe the RP has a deep story about the Mandalorian Wars and I do not get why people will not join my game...

 

First things first, such a question is perhaps best directed to the Game Designer's Group over in the RPR, located here: http://boards.theforce.net/role_playing_resource/b10757/30511361/p1/?107

They can provide help with crafting a better opening post and attracting a player base, etc.

Secondly, you should check out several of the stickies floating around on the RPF. They're very helpful resources for both GMing and RPing, and in particular I would rank the GMing one a must-read.

Third, it could be a simple matter of supply and demand. Not every game can become a smash hit, and some ideas just don't attract a player base as easily. At any given time on the boards there are figurative tons of "Jedi vs Sith Wars" and variations thereof, enough so that some of our more... strongly opinionated oldbies have doubts about them in general. Given this widespread prevalence, some games will inevitably go unnoticed.

My advice would be to join a few games, spend some time getting integrated into a community, and then launch a game after you've established yourself.

One last thing: you should check out the Academy located on this very forum.

 

Listen to Ramza, you must.

 

And if all else fails, PM the forum mods for advice. Xan and Hammer are both very cool people, and they're there to help

 

Or the Dark Side will visit again...lol..Yes, those were good advice, please heed them and follow the chicken...

 

The best advice I can give you would be to look into the Role-Playing Adoptions. You'll learn a lot, I promise you. And once you get into it, you'll have an awesome time.

 

Hello HairyWookiee12!

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems getting players for your game. Unfortunately, it generally is a lot harder to create your own game than it is to join one, especially if you're not familiar with how the RPF works. As Ramza suggested, have a look at the stickies and join a few games first, and only then try creating your own game.

You might also find it useful to have a look at the opening posts for games you admire - the ones you mention having lots of posts and players - and seeing how they do it. I don't mean copy them, just pay attention to how they're laid out, how they're written, that sort of thing, and think about how to make a game as good as those. If your game is good enough, players will always join.

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

Thank you everyone for the great advice! As Skiara had said above lets move this topic over to the Roleplaying Resource thread. Thank you all for the help.

 

Hey Hairywookie.

So, I think your problem is a well-known one, usually pretty common among people coming here. You do not find players. That has a simple reason. It has already been pointed out. We do not know you. This is a community, which means we all more or less know each other. We know who played with us in what, or who did join the game we never made it into and things like this. Even if you never play with a player, you know he exists from games you shared and maybe even roughly what kind of player it is. For example I never played with the user named Ktala for long, but I am aware who she is and would surely check out any new game of hers.

So, how do you begin to become a member of the community. Almost never (very few exceptations, but under special circumstances), never has someone entered the community as a GM. If so, his game needs to be not as good as the best, but better than all others to attract attention.

We usualy learn about users when they play. Why is that? Well, to spend time in a game you need to trust the person you play with to be on the same page as you are. There are so many games, you can actually play only with your friends for all days . . .

So the simple advise is, establish a link with the people here. Learn about the people you want to have you join your game. And you will soon see who fits with and who not. Don´t approach us as a stranger. We are a nice bunch around here. That´s not the problem. We won´t join your game, anyway. Because you will have to rival the games of people we know and who we trust.

Therefore play. Play. Play.

 

I understand what you are saying but most RPs out there have been around there for awhile and are not taking new CSs at the moment. Plus I have noticed that not many people are posting new games on the forums.

Also, the main reason I originally posted this topic in the welcome section is because I knew that I would get plenty of help from the great people here.

 

The former is a misconception. If I may point you to this stickie: http://boards.theforce.net/role_playing_resource/b10757/30454065/p1/?9

Which is a listing of games that are accepting CSes. There are more (Keeping such a listing constantly up-to-date is difficult at best), but worst case scenario they're good places to start. AFAS in particular is one of those games that damn near everyone is in, and thus makes it easier to meet new people.

The latter is true, but possibly due to the time of year. (I could take this opportunity to shamelessly plug my upcoming western, but I'm above that. ... Wait...) We usually pick up in the spring and fall, oddly corresponding to... when everyone's in school. Go figure, I guess.

 

And right now I am accepting players in Tropical Terror. I know, I am fairly new too, but I am think you would like it as a starting game.

 

It sounds to me like your "problems with RPGs" are really "problems I am having with my RPG" because you don't see why all these other games "succeed" and yours doesn't.

First of all, stop measuring your success using others as your ruler. Don't even measure success. If you have players that enjoy your game, you are successful.

Second of all, if you want the "success" of other games, then go find out what those games are doing "right" and implement that in your own game.

Third of all, remain open-minded and don't complain when your own game is "failing." Failure is only an inability to learn, and each game you create is a learning process. Therefore, you only fail if you learn nothing from your past experiences.

Ramza speaks the truth. Listen to him. Don't put up walls because the walls will have to be broken down and that's not a fun process to be involved in when they are your own walls.

 

Thank you spycoder I may as well take your offer. On to the subject that DarthRamza put. It is somewhat a weird cycle of how these games start in mid-summer and fall, a great example is The Battle of Hoth RP, I have been trying to reboot that game for awhile. That plus kids (11 - 18) lose interest in the forums during the summer for they have more time to go and hang out with friends and such instead of chatting about the latest post from I_H. But your western RP DarthRamza, I may have to check into that...