Role Play Stage?

[Inkiiy]

I'm not certain if this is being worked on or has been brought up already, but would it be a possibility to create an area in the forums for role playing? I just love the sort of community it brings and all the interesting story ideas people have to share. I think it would probably add even more to the (already amazing) allure of this site.

[GlacierLake]

Like, create your own Flicka story with other players?

[Inkiiy]

I suppose that could be one sort of story people might create. Role Playing is a form of writing where each person involved creates their own character and write from their point of view. They interact together and develop very unique story lines. I've done allot of equestrian centered ones on other sites in the past and they've all been very fun.

[Argent II]

I vote no. It's one more thing to moderate and the staff have more important things to focus on.

[Valence]

I also don't think it would be the best idea, as many times it attracts younger children and less mature people, along with being something else that the staff would have to work on. I have come to appreciate HWO as most of the players are fairly mature and there is not a whole lot of drama.

[Bumble_Bee]

I'd vote yes on this. If Larissa found it hard to moderate, she could appoint a moderator just for that forum. The community on this game is so quiet compared to other games (I know, smaller playerbase, but still). I think anything that would spark some discussion and interaction between players would be a good thing.

As for RPers being less mature... I still have friends from a Dragon Age RP I played years ago. They're all in their mid 20's to 30's, one has two children, etc. My roommate (35 years old) RPs with people in our age range as well. It's not all done by kids.

For the how does RP work question, I can only speak from the point of view of my DA RP since that's the only one I've done. I picked a character from Dragon Age and, for the purpose of writing my story, I became her. I interacted with other people who had also picked a character, as her. They'd write a paragraph (or a few), I'd write a paragraph, and we'd go back and forth. It's sort of like writing a book, in a way, except each bit you write is bouncing off of another person. The other person can make it go in a direction you never thought it'd go, and that can help you think outside the box and be more creative than you otherwise would've been. Or at least, that was my experience with it.

[Argent II]

I don't see role playing contributing to the community. Just like art on FP, it'll be a separate community that does nothing to benefit the community surrounding the actual game. I find the constant notifications of unread messages annoying enough as is when it's just players asking what color their horses are. If I were inundated with notifications of pointless things like role playing posts, I would avoid the forums entirely and beg for some way to turn off notifications.

[Bumble_Bee]

I don't get any notifications of new forum posts unless I'm quoted in them. I wonder what I'm doing differently that you're getting notifications and I'm not?

As for it doing nothing to benefit the community, I don't see people interacting and making new friends on the game as doing nothing. When I make a new friend here who focuses on another breed, it does nothing to help me as a player because I don't and never will breed their breed. But I still made a new friend, and it's nice to actually talk to someone around here. Part of an online game, for me, is the social aspect, and different people find their social aspect in different ways. Just because I wouldn't use a RP forum (and I wouldn't, I don't RP anymore) doesn't mean I can't see the benefit in it helping others interact and make new friends.

[Argent II]

It doesn't benefit the community of the actual game to have players directing their attention toward something that has nothing to do with the game, as I just explained. The art community on Furry Paws is completely separate from the actual game community on many levels. Many people who sell and buy art there do not even play the game. That community funnels funds out of the actual gameplay and into the accounts of players who never buy or sell in-game products, which hurts the game economy in various ways. That community is not contributing to the game's community.

[Bumble_Bee]

Well we differ in opinion on this and that's okay. There's no harm in that.