Membership Group RP vs 1x1

[Icewolf 258]

On 9/13/2017 at 6:40 PM, Jinx said:

A lot of it, for me, depends on the situation and setting. In journal RP, you can make a group thread that breaks into smaller subgroups in the same post, so you don't have to wade through what other people are doing on the other side of the room/in another area, nor do you have to wait for them to post before your group can, nor do you have to try to figure out the posting order accounting for unrelated groups. You can't really do that in forums. When you split up groups, you either have to wait for everyone to post as they have been, or you have to work with multiple simultaneous posting orders, and that can be confusing. Not to mention, waiting for everyone to take their turn can get lengthy and boring. That's fine for scenes that aren't plot relevant. However, if you're in something like a fight thread, and you have about 14 people who all have to post in order...it's an absolute pain. That's not a random example. And for group scenes where you do have that many, it's so easy for actions or even characters to get lost. In that same scene, almost all of my character's actions and even her presence were ignored. I had to have my two friends specifically point out that she was there and doing things, and even then, the other players glossed over it. So my preference is for 1x1 or small groups.

Being ignored is a frequent problem and I found that it happened so often to me that it didn't feel like an accident. And usually the same people doing the ignoring, or even cutting you out of the group even though you have been active in it. It's kinda rude when people do that and if you object or call attention to the problem, the people ignoring you say that you're the one causing the drama. This is why I prefer 1 x 1, or small groups too with people I know aren't ignorant. (You can have 1 x 1 storylines with more than one people and have the SLs connected, so it's not just strictly alone, but it's problems like being ignored or cut out of things that make me reluctant to get involved in group stuff now, and this issue has even arisen when I've been invited to take part in something and one person decides to spoil it.)

[Krobon 1]

I must admit that I have found that there is less predictability in RP when there is a group involved and honestly the best thing about RP is not knowing what's going to happen next. Also explains why a lot of my characters tend to die.

[Deep Sea 326]

Groups, all day every day! Truth is, I have flakiness problems, and I've found I'm less likely to leave an RP the bigger it is. My past few RPs have been all over a dozen players, most of them playing multiple characters,

[RebelxxQueen 0]

I enjoy both for various reasons. If the plot is good and there's enough people interested in group RP it can be really great and loads of fun but there are instances when it's not so fun too. I enjoy one on one RP too and that can be just as much fun. I don't think I prefer one over the other though.

[Dragon 673]

I enjoy both group and 1x1 styled role plays, but I think there are more cons to group over all. 

 

However, for the sake of starting with a positive note, group role plays provide a level of depth that is more difficult to achieve in 1x1. Character relationships, whether romantic, hateful, friendly etc, are better fleshed out in group role plays because you have to mold and adapt to other player characters' personalities; whereas, in a 1x1 extra interactions are all non-player characters and therefore under complete control of the two writers involved. In regards to the later, this can strip away dimensions. 

That said, group role plays also introduce a lot of general bullshit. You never know what you're getting with them. You might end up with that player who can't discern in character interactions from out of character interactions. So if your character gets into a disagreement, or gods forbid an outright fight, with their character they take it as a personal affront and attack you for it ooc.

Or you might end up with a player who takes IC relationships way too seriously. Just because your character fucks another player's character doesn't mean they're going to live happily ever after - but some role players don't seem to get this. Some players will make a character solely as a romantic interest for another player's character, whether or not the second player consents, and then get upset and raise hell when it doesn't pan out. 

 

Group role plays also have a greater potential for an important character to just vanish, bringing everything to a grinding halt while the rest of the group is stuck trying to figure out a way to work around it. Sometimes it isn't a big deal, most of the time it results in a slow, pathetic death for the entire thing. 
 

Pacing in a group can also get frustrating. Its hard to find an entire group that writes at the same pace. For example, I prefer rapid fire. I have no interest in the length of posts. A good writer can respond with literally one word at the right time, and give me a few hundred words worth of material to work with and respond to while reciprocating the favor for them; at the same time, a writer focused on length alone can write 5,000 words and leave me with NOTHING to respond to. I can tolerate having to wait a week or so between posts, but god damn it if  I have to wait more than two weeks for a novel's worth of BS that doesn't move anything forward more than a figurative half inch I will lose interest. 

 

That moving forward to another issue - group role plays tend to attract players who write lengthy to stroke their own egos. Just because you can crank out a high word count doesn't make you a good writer. The best writers can say the most with the fewest words. Sorry. That's why poets are the most prolifically popular writers in all of human history. 

 

With 1x1 role plays, though, you have a greater choice of selection. You can stick solely to writers that you know you work well with, post at your pace, and you have a better grasp of where they are willing to go. You don't have to worry about offending someone OOC because your character didn't use the correct pronoun - or for that matter, you don't have to bind your writing to whatever politically correct fad is running rampant at the time. 1x1's offer a much more personal level of interaction. 

 

Communication is generally more free flowing with a 1x1 set as well. In my experience, when I reach a plot split in one of these I can just message my partner and we can discuss our options. 

There is also the benefit of being able to explore multiple branches to a plot. So maybe we went one way on a branch and finished out, but we're both still curious what might have happened  - no big deal, we can just rewind back to that fork and proceed down the other path. I've never found a group role play that allowed for that. 

 

So all in all, I think that 1x1 takes the cake for flexibility and lack of stress. 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Dragon

[Morrigan 1,826]

I have my ups and downs with both sides of roleplaying, both group and individual. Whether it be pacing (which is often the case with group RPs) or just knowing that a plot may be coming to an end and knowing you'll have to start a new one because the pace was perfect. Both are such things that it's difficult.

 

I prefer the knowledge and the ease of 1x1s for the most part but the depth of groups (as @Dragon said) is always awesome.

 

If I could find a group that legit posted 20 plus times a day to each other at all times and in all the things... I would be in heaven. It's those that slow me down and sort of stop up the progress of my character that get frustrating to me.

[ChrisOwl 59]

I love the group setting--- so many different minds and plots can come together. People write different ways, sometimes you go in a different direction you had no idea you would go just because someone new came to the forum.

I also have had my favorite people for 1x1 plotting with over the years... definitely a plus to this as well! I like to do mostly 1x1 on the forum threads just because it gets confusing jumping around with posting order and if you have a big group on the thread and someone suddenly stops posting it messes up the whole thing.

[Frizbee 14]

I like both group threads and 1v1 threads.

 

I RP primarily through RPG forums, and usually the threads I have (and the threads I see) tend to be 1v1 simply because people plot together ideas that they want to play out rather than posting all welcome threads where anyone can join. I would feel comfortable joining an all welcome thread that allowed 2 or 3 more people to join in.

 

Also, group threads tend to be good for big site plots, or other kinda of smaller plots, I suppose. The only thing I need in place with group threads are some ground rules (or, yanno, just general good manners): no skipping someone, or at least state the number of days people have to reply to a group thread before being skipped. I remember joining a site and having a thread with 2 other players and because of the timezone difference I went to sleep and woke up to the other two characters having spreed together and completely ignored my character! More than a little off-putting I have to say, didn't stay there long. But I digress.

[Morpheus 14]

For me, group threads are great with the right premise and the right mix (and number) of players/characters. Too many entrants and you’re potentially overlooking interactions, dialogue etc to keep the pace moving, or you’re waiting on a flaker to post and move the thread along. Therein, in my experience, lies the tricky part of getting that balance just right to create group thread magic. Overall I’d preferably lean towards a series of 1x1 threads that lead towards an overarching plot line where multiple characters are working towards that end goal in their own individual threads. 

Edited January 6, 2018 by Morpheus

[Raven 18]

I like that 1x1s don't get way ahead of where I was last at and leave me feeling left behind.

 

 

On the flip side, I like that group RP allows for more creative input and more different plot twists that just two people wouldn't have come up with (three heads are better than one).