Island-wide Roleplay Channel

[Foxglove]

Shizzle raised this in a different thread, and I thought it was a really good idea:

Roleplay Groups. Right now roleplaying is restricted by your character's role or current location. Why not get rid of these restrictions? Continent wide players should be able to start 'roleplaying threads' (within the game world) where they can invite other players to join. In other words, make RP more meta. Why can't I, as a player, observe all the roleplays written by rulers throughout the whole continent? It would make playing BM, for those who like RP, more like reading a book. Of course OOC knowledge being abused ICly might be a problem, but not one that cannot be overcome.

I've thought about doing something like this before via a guild, but I couldn't think of an IC rationale for a guild that would in effect serve as a channel for people to roleplay. I think having an island-wide roleplaying channel could reinvigorate roleplaying, because it's hard to gather all of the people who want to roleplay in a roleplay realm or guild.

Rather than make an official feature request right out of the gate, I thought I'd start this thread to discuss the pros and cons of the idea informally and to see if adding such a channel would even be possible from the dev point-of-view.

[Anaris]

That is explicitly what the Roleplay section of the forum is for.

[Foxglove]

But people can't really interact IC through roleplay via that section of the forum because it's an OOC (out-of-game) channel. What I'm describing here is something that's embedded in the game world.

[Shizzle]

That is explicitly what the Roleplay section of the forum is for.

It's rarely used and simply doesn't work at this point.

[Tom]

There's a reason for locality in communications.

And please don't point people to the forum for IC stuff. The forums have drained more than enough of the life-blood of the game, there is no need to support that trend further. You know, there was a time when there was more in-game communication than mailing-list talk. Today, I'm pretty sure more stuff is posted to the forum every day than in-game. Along with Dwilight, the forum was one of the mistakes that destroyed this game.

[Anaris]

Along with Dwilight, the forum was one of the mistakes that destroyed this game.

Sorry, Tom, I still disagree with you on this about as hard as possible.

[Wolfang]

If that's what you really believe, Tom, then delete both Dwilight and the forum and bring BM back to its former glory. We'll see what how things pan out. It seems like Dwilight was trussed and ready before the decision to shut down an island was made.

[Tom]

Some mistakes are not so easily undone.

Dwilight was a mistake because it made sense in the context of continuous player growth, and we gave too little thought to the possibility that player count might not always increase, or could even drop.

The forum is sucking life out of the game. Many people used to post roleplays or interaction in-game to satisfy their desire to communicate. These days, they will post on the forum.

[SaDiablo]

well forums if used right have benefits but I see the point that Tom made.  In game does not have as much roleplay as before granted I'm trying to do something that collaborates many players that may not fit in the message system once its done. Its also involving a warring realm which means I have only one real access to gather things via the other judge.  Also the range that is being selected would make the forums more ideal for the interaction.  Sometimes pivotal roleplay can occur on the battlefield but once armies move you lose that large area of potential.  To bad there is not a way in the current message system to allow a group to keep a roleplay going for lets say a 7 day period by creating a message group. 

[Anaris]

The forum is sucking life out of the game. Many people used to post roleplays or interaction in-game to satisfy their desire to communicate. These days, they will post on the forum.

I don't see that.

I still see lots of RP posted in-game. I don't see any decrease from before we had the forum. In fact, looking at the RP board, I think it looks a bit sadly sparse.

Frankly, Tom, every time you say "the forum has been bad for the game," all I see in your justification for that opinion is confirmation bias.

[Foundation]

I'd say that the only communication the forum reduces is IG OOC rants. I think this is a very positive thing.

[egamma]

I'm kinda with Tom the forums, at least partially. If I wasn't a moderator I would stop visiting the forums entirely, and just focus on my characters. Then again, I must just focus on something else, too.

But, I think that the "helpline" and "development" forums are useful.

I think maybe getting rid of the "other games" and "forum werewolf" type things would perhaps be helpful; it's not good that I spend 10 minutes IG, and 30 minutes on the forum.

[Dishman]

I've thought about doing something like this before via a guild, but I couldn't think of an IC rationale for a guild that would in effect serve as a channel for people to roleplay.

A collaborative guild of writers who use actor groups to interact, instead of letters, through performances across the continent!

A guild dedicated to hearsay, rumor, and gossip. Hear stories from across the land as if you are there! Might be true, who's to say where Sir Pooppants was and if Lady Bosomheavy actually did slap him?

I hate hearing people give up on ideas because they don't make IC sense. Sometimes it might take some creative cobblering, but you can shoehorn any idea into BM.

[Indirik]

I peersonally dislike blatant fabrications. Such rumours and stories should at least some relation to reality.

[egamma]

I peersonally dislike blatant fabrications. Such rumours and stories should at least some relation to reality.

Which is why you've spent 8 or so years of your life playing and developing Battlemaster, a game with daimon invasions, undead attacks, and magical scrolls?

Gossiping about other nobles is more historically accurate than refraining from such talk.