Role Play Games/Mini-Session Ideas

[Calypso]

In other threads, we have talked about rewards for RPing and how many points they should cost. We have talked about restrings and perzes to further get into character. But no one has talked about the issue that this is not a RP-centered mud so very few players have a character with a developed personality. Everyone plays in their OOC self. This is not a problem since this isn't a RP mud. But it sure does make it difficult to RP in game when we are all just a bunch of online friends who chat in recall or on gossip channel.

I think the key to reviving RP in the mud is to allow each person to take a break from their ingame character (the one who has an ooc personality) and put them in improv situations where they have to act on the fly. The RPLs can create a background and story line and the player has to adapt to it and roll with the flow. I think to start out with, we should stick with less involved more humorous scenarios to break the ice a bit. All mini sessions below are 30 minutes long and will yield 5 -10 points a piece to all involved. Some of the games are for one player and the RPL. Some need more than one person to pull off. Some are flexible.

Games:
Babysitting- (1 player)Player is hired at the 4D Day Care. RPL will make sure the babies give the new sitter a hard time

The time you ran into THAT ex boy/girl friend- (1-2 players) You are waiting in line at Starbucks or you are sitting down on crowded train. You suddenly realize the person next to you in that one ex in your past that stands out among all other exes. Now you are forced to make polite, if awkward, conversation. RPL can play as one actor is only one player is available.

The Date Interview- (1-4 players) The guy/gal is over to pick up his/her date for the evening.  But the parent(s) have a few question they want answered before consenting to the date. Only really need a boy/girlfriend and a parent but can also add a second parent and the date whose parents are doing the interview. RPL can play any missing role.

The Minister- (1+ players) You are the minister of a brand new religion. Your job is to spread the good word to those around you. Player can create a religion of his own or can use a religion the RPL has created. This is to be light-hearted and funny. The new religion should be silly and far-fetched. Player should avoid using this as a chance to make any points he or she may have about any real religion or about religion in general.

Trollolol- (1 player -with more unsuspecting participants) Player creates a secret newbie alt and trolls the mud. Player should avoid being insulting or engaging any real newbies. The point is to have fun and cause some ruckus. The troll and all players who were involved (even if unknowingly) will get rewarded.

Memory Loss- Player wakes up in a morgue with no memory of who he is. The others fill in the story for him and the player then has to incorperate all those stories into his personality. Can involve as many people as wants to get involved. Only one amnesia sufferer at a time though
ex: player1: "Where am I? Who am I?"
player2: You are Mike the transgendered nun
player1 emote: crosses his legs and his chest at the same time.
player1: "Well my child, who are you?
player2: I am Calypso, your friend from Italy.
player1 emote searches in his purse for some lipstick and the Bible.
player1: "So my child, you are saying I am from the holy country of Italy?"
player2: yes you are from Italy. From  Rome actually. You have lived there for 15 years but are looking for a change in scenery.
player1 emote unfolds his road map and plots a route to Spain.
player1: "Mamamia child, I think-a I remember everything now. I have lived in this country forever and it'sa time for me to look for new things."
player2: You are also a bit of a grouch.
player1 emote scowls at everyone and everything.
player1: "aye-yie-yie! This place-a stinks! The Lord, he wantsa me to spread the good word in Spain."
etc...


I would love to hear any more ideas for mini-sessions. The point of this is to give players the chance to break out of their character and try their hand at acting improv, and make a few points in the process. I prefer ideas that do not involve roaming the realms in search of a mob or object. There are quests for that. I want to focus on roleplay.

What do you think?? Think we can make this work?

[Calypso]

RULES:

Any good game needs rules. The presiding RPL will determine if the actor has followed all the rules. Rule breaking may result in not getting points for the session.

1. The session must be posted on the Roleplay forum.
2. Roleplay is not to be used as a chance to be insulting to others or as a chance to make a point about OOC religion/politics/people.
3. Sessions must be a minimum of 30 minutes long.


Can you think of anything else?

[Kvetch]

No God-moding.  IE: your actions cannot force another player's actions.  YOU can not say that "Bob" jumps at your scary face.  You can say you MAKE a scary face, it's up to "Bob" to decide his/her reaction to it.  This also entails force-killing.  You can not say you kill "bob" you can say you attack "bob" but if bob doesn't feel like dying, it's just going to end with someone walking away as neither will die on their turn and you cannot say you killed them.  If you make them do something then that part of what you say/emote/etc is null and void.

[Molly]

Heh - those ideas are funny, Calypso.
And typically naughty...

I remember in the past, when Kalten and I used to have our bedroom quarrels in public, involving whoever was on line and demanding they take sides.

We weren't really virtual lovers of course, since mudsex just isn't my thing.
Kalten, on the other hand, was very much into it. Being who he was, he probably had mudsex with every female in the game - (including cows and goats) - except me.
That is probably why we stayed best friends for so long...

[Xeriuth]

I think this is a good idea.  Taking on roles and acting them out. Here are some suggestions to make this better into a reality.   Depending on the scenario and environment needed, a small Theater could be built near Recall. Depending on what wants to be roleplayed there may be a scene already in place in the theater for individuals to use.  RPL's of course could always lead the session's individually and issue out Award points. But any two players could decide to go to RP and take on whatever roles they wish. You could even in terms of RP change your names. Sure if the log reads, "Calypso says, '....'." You could always just do a Replace All to replace Calypso with The nun and the other player with another. And then truncate the log so it has just the important stuff and post it on the board.  The truncating part I think would be up to the players themselves to receive compensation.  The RPL shouldn't have to do it because they would be the ones encouraging the sessions typically and doing a little more of the planning and laying out of the scenario.

Sum it up:
Make a theater with different scenes as rooms for acting. (Could do this like the hotel in Quixotica)
RPL's do not have to lead the session, players can start session's on their own.
If RPL leads session, the player can receive some Award points for the session alone. More if they make a proper log.
If two players do a session together, one of the players must make a proper log for either to get award points. Where the one whom makes the log gets more.
All of these logs must be posted the for Roleplay forum here. (An imm or RPL can post after the RP log that they have awarded points and the actors no longer should get them)

[Calypso]

Heh - those ideas are funny, Calypso.
And typically naughty...

Ha! What exactly are you trying to say here?  

Xeriuth says:
I think this is a good idea.  Taking on roles and acting them out. Here are some suggestions to make this better into a reality.   Depending on the scenario and environment needed, a small Theater could be built near Recall. Depending on what wants to be roleplayed there may be a scene already in place in the theater for individuals to use.  RPL's of course could always lead the session's individually and issue out Award points. But any two players could decide to go to RP and take on whatever roles they wish. You could even in terms of RP change your names. Sure if the log reads, "Calypso says, '....'." You could always just do a Replace All to replace Calypso with The nun and the other player with another. And then truncate the log so it has just the important stuff and post it on the board.  The truncating part I think would be up to the players themselves to receive compensation.  The RPL shouldn't have to do it because they would be the ones encouraging the sessions typically and doing a little more of the planning and laying out of the scenario.

Sum it up:
Make a theater with different scenes as rooms for acting. (Could do this like the hotel in Quixotica)
RPL's do not have to lead the session, players can start session's on their own.
If RPL leads session, the player can receive some Award points for the session alone. More if they make a proper log.
If two players do a session together, one of the players must make a proper log for either to get award points. Where the one whom makes the log gets more.
All of these logs must be posted the for Roleplay forum here. (An imm or RPL can post after the RP log that they have awarded points and the actors no longer should get them)

I like the idea of having a RP theater in Recall area. We have plenty of bars set up around the realms that are specifically for RP. It would be almost no effort at all to make a theater in build port. Could make several rooms but have the first room be scripted to take a word command that teleports the player to the right room, and in the process, make it look like you didn't leave the room but that the stage setting changed.

For example:

Theater

Blah blah room description. Blank room and an empty stage. Blah blah. There is a SETTINGS MENU to help you decide what setting to choose for your next performance.

[Exits: s]

SETTINGS MENU

In order to change the setting of the stage, simply type "Setting: <selection>" to set the stage. Your choices are below:

Bar
House
Ocean
Hotel Room
School
Office
Restaurant

Meanwhile, the player types "Setting: Restaurant" and is teleported to that specific room, but all the player will see is a script:

Suddenly several stagehands scurry around, dragging props all over the stage.
.
.
Sounds of chattering fill the room as the technicians discuss proper lighting.
.
.
The backdrop is pulled down to cover the back wall of the stage.
.
.
The stage is ready!


Player will have to type look in order to see the new room. "force look" won't be part of the script, thus giving it the feel of transformation rather than teleportation.

Restaurant

Blah blah room description. Romantic restaurant setting, candles, blah blah, food. Blah blah more room description

[Exits: s]*

*make all the rooms exit to the room south (or whatever) of the theater

Doing this not only adds to the RP of it all, but it also helps prevent a stray wanderer walking into a session without meaning to.

I am hoping that if I start RPing with players a little bit, they will start RPing on their own without me. I agree that they should post logs in order to get points if a RPL/Imm isn't present. And I am also hoping that revamping the point/reward system will encourage players to give it a try. And in the meantime, I can get more familiar/comfortable with RP myself and become a better RPL.

[Molly]

Actually there already IS a Theater in 4D.

It's downstairs from the Blue Dragon Inn, which is the Medieval Roleplay Inn in Olde Yorke. The door down is locked, not sure why, but probably because the intended feature never was implemented,

The way I remember it, this was an idea from Once, who also had planned to do some code, so that the public in the adjacent Inn could follow everything that was done on stage. We built the theater but, needless to say, he never provided the code. Story of 4D...

There is an interesting thread in TMC's Roleplay Forum, about how to reduce spam during  roleplay in large groups, so that most participants can restrict the ones you interact with to a group at your own table, while some people - (the performers) - can be monitored by the entire room.
http://www.mudconnect.com/SMF/index.php?topic=78147.0
Several RO enforced Muds use code like this, so it shouldn't be impossible to add here too. That is, if we can get a coder to take an interest in the project,,, Story of 4D...

[Calypso]

I am going to assume that the coders are not going to get interested in this project. There is so much that needs coder attention that this sort of ranks down near the bottom of the list. Besides, I don't want my plans put on hold while waiting for a coder who has his finger in lots of other pies to come finish this project. Maybe we can unlock the door and I can use it for the purposes mentioned in this thread. With or without a theater, I can start holding these RP events with interested players. 

[Xeriuth]

I might be able to make additions to the roleplaying toggle that cuts out things extra things, but that could easily be solved in a workaround.  If you are in a silent room then set prompt to blank. You would only get actions and says in your actual room. (Of course you have to be careful enough to not be typing who and score all of the time, but even with a toggle it would just make all those commands do nothing anyways... unless the idea behind what this should do is different than what I am thinking).  As for broadcasting a scene in a room. I'm not certain if the code for viewing gladiators was done, if it was I could probably modify that code to be for a theater. Or if people want to watch they could be in the same room, but having a separate room allows the audience to talk amongst themselves without interrupting the cast.

[Xeriuth]

The key to the door to the theater loads in the storage room connected to the roleplayers lounge at this time.

[Calypso]

Thanks hon! I will get to work right away.

[Once]

Funny enough we coded the entire system on Aeon. I gave Xeriuth a brief rundown on it. I know he's trying to get Aeon up and running now to poach some of the code so hopefully this is something that can come in soon. Depending on how easy to port this stuff is you might even get yourselves a pretty little custom emotes system.

We had something where you could actually include variables in emotes so I could do something like:

emote grabs $cal and throws $m against the wall.

and Calypso would see: "Once grabs you and throws you against the wall."

and the room would see: "Once grabs Calypso and throws her against the wall."


There is also an applause system and a boo system or something of the sort where people on stage actually get feedback from the audience. There were a few other bells and whistles to it too as I recall. A mixture of scripts and code. Hope that helps.

[Molly]

If you can implement this, I'd like to see it on the Gladiator Arena too.
I always wanted a possibility for an audience to monitor the fights there.

[Turin Orsini]

Calypso - I love the idea of setting up a theatre sports program and would love to assist you with this if you are still interested, else will just run with it myself. I may mention you in the credits but I keep all the proceeds from the sale of tickets and refreshments.
Problem I see with the theatre location is non RP flagged characters will not be able to enjoy the fun, in saying this though we have a perfectly suitable role players office 2 east of recall that has very little traffic bouncing in and out of it and allows easy access for any and all that would like to participate.
The next problem we would face would be our differences in time zones but we could catch each other on weekends.
I see this as a positive way to  get people involved in role playing while not forcing it down the throats of those that do not wish to be involved.

[Molly]

It would be nice if we could really get the theater running.

However, it seems to be dependant on Xeriuth, who is currently deployed in some outback place, that keeps him from connectioning here very often. Let's hope that he gets out of there and back to us soon - and let's remind him when he does.

As for the entrance to the theater, that's an easy fix. I agree with Turin that you shouldn't be dependant on a RP flag to be part of the audience. So let's attach it to the unicorn Inn instead, which is empty at present. Perhaps the scene and backstage should be confined to Roleplayers however, so that you need as RP flag to perform, but not to watch the performance?