code-tato salad
749 posts
bits
she/her + they/them
owo
|
Post by Tick on Jan 22, 2020 18:18:15 GMT
I'm kind of struggling with coming up with a good plot for this idea that I have, so I thought: Maybe I can learn something from the probably more experienced site builders on Pixel Perfect.
Anyway: How do you come up with (overarching) site plots?
|
|
|
|
Post by porsef on Jan 22, 2020 19:16:39 GMT
Unless something really good comes to me through a weird dream or random thought-- I take a lot of inspiration from media such as comics, anime, etc. that I like and think are genuinely good. I create a lot of fantasy plots so I feel like it's easier for me because there are more things to work with. I feel I'd struggle with other genres. Typically, I tend to use unnatural phenomena's as a crutch when I can't think of anything else. It's easy to work with and can create a good base to stand on if you don't have anything else. Once I have an idea, I will think of ways I can branch off of it and build up events. I try to make something that I can work with for a long time but I don't worry about it having to last forever. Since all good shows come to an end at some point. Biggest tip that I try to go by at all times is to not have the plot rely on player characters too much. You never know how long someone is going to stick around and it's always nice to have a way to cycle them out so the plot doesn't become awkward. It's kind of why my stance on canon roles is so 50/50.  I love them but it's hard to balance out in some cases. |
|
phantom of the black parade
3,010 posts
bits
she / her pronouns
silver and gold won't save my rotting soul
|
Post by Kuroya on Jan 22, 2020 19:47:09 GMT
okay, real talk here - site plots are honestly really hard to run, and to a certain extent, there's not a whole lot you can do about that fact.
oh, to be sure, there are things you can do to tip the scales in your favor - having a smaller community helps, as does structuring site plot developments more heavily around active characters from established members, crafting a site plot that hits the sweet spot for being engaging without fundamentally changing the entire site concept, and even structuring the site in ways that make it easier for developments to happen (ie, extending event deadlines to give people more time to work with them, giving people multiple attempts to try to progress them, rewarding participation in the events without punishing later new members, etc)...
but that being said, at the end of the day, you're entirely reliant on whether or not your overall community actually cares about the plot and progressing it. because it doesn't matter how much you stress that there will be consequences if you don't stop this dragon from burning down the town or how integral it is that the town not be destroyed to future plot updates or even how easy you make it to actually stop this dragon - if no one cares about stopping the dragon from destroying the town, the town is not going to survive, and that is just a fact. a fact that compounds since even if your community now cares to stop that dragon, the community has to also care about stopping the dragon six months from now. and that tends to be the problem with a lot of plot-driven sites - people either don't really care about the plot to start with or they stop caring further down the road and it's a constant uphill battle to get things done.
does that mean it's not worth doing? heck no! i've seen some plot-driven sites actually manage to do really well and do some really cool things - i've just also seen a lot fail, and the biggest takeaway i have for that is that sometimes, it's not the plot, it's the community, and that's not really a problem you can easily fix.
but i also say that as someone who has come to find it far more rewarding to craft a site with a "plot" that just provides backdrop into a world and creates the opportunity for lower-scale conflicts that people can opt to ignore if they want (or, alternatively, "plots" that are driven through smaller bursts of member collaboration for an immediate benefit to them and that can be accomplished through multiple attempts at the same end goal in the spirit of a "race to finish a boss" type deal) or engage in if that's their thing. so. take what i say with a grain of salt i guess? |
|
150 posts
bits
she/her
of course i am for peace, of course i am for peace. one that suits me.
|
Post by shanimal on Jan 23, 2020 18:34:02 GMT
i think first things first you gotta make the setting interesting. if it's a fandom based site with a canon setting, good, you're probably already partway there, but if it's an original setting you have an uphill battle. what makes the place your characters will rp in unique? that's a big deal before you get any sort of plot elements going on... especially if you're going to be tying the plot into the setting.
second thing is drumming up interest. kuroya is right, you have to make people care and if they don't... sometimes it's not your fault, but i think when that does happen it's sometimes good to look at where improvement could occur. i think if its a decent sandbox where people care about the setting there will be a decent amount who care if something happens to that setting (whether it's a winter storm or things or blown up) but if you really, truly, want a plot based site
i'm gonna say something and like
half of you are gonna groan.
mystery box.
love those kinds of plots or hate them, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for members to figure out if there's something bigger going on behind the scenes will get them invested and it will get them hooked more often than it doesn't. (and here's proof that can happen. members made a conspiracy theory board. i am so proud.) personally, i'm a half plotter half pantser (the term for "flying by the seat of your pants" re: plot creation) which i think is the way to go for rp (not so much fanfic as my fic career is less than lucrative.) i have a beginning destination and an end destination i'd like to get to, with maybe some beats i definitely want to hit in the middle, but i want my members who are involved and invested be able to influence how the plot goes. so i leave room for that to happen!
i think it's also key to remember that it's okay to let a site plot... reach a conclusion. what happens when a story arc ends in an anime or story? there's another one. and another one. and another one. you can always start something new! i know i have an arc 1 end and and arc 2 start already thought of for my site. there's also merit in having something going on that people can just largely ignore if they want, not everyone has to be a main player in it. this is why sandbox settings work too-- members can and will come up with things on their own!
|
|
1,197 posts
bits
Open for Art Commissions
|
Post by 「イオタ」 on Feb 9, 2020 16:12:49 GMT
When I first made KD, I made an outline like this:
So, what I originally planned definitely changed over the course of time with other members playing, deciding things, et cetera, which made it more fun for all of us, I think, instead of following just a set/linear plot. Yet, having the structure of a guideline to work off of has given me OOCly a goal and them OOCly some direction and foundation to go off of. We've been doing this for 2 years now, I think it really helped.
|
|
347 posts
bits
she/her
i'll keep the light on for you
|
Post by ✨ eli on Mar 14, 2020 15:00:14 GMT
I agree with what's been posted above. It's definitely important to have a direction and an idea of where you would like your plot to go. Maybe, start from what you want to see happen, and then work backward? It helps me to have a beginning, and then have an end, and then I "fill in the blanks", so to speak. I also have done the same thing as 「イオタ」 , and created an outline for my site's plot: But, as everyone has said, you can't *really* predict what is going to happen and how your players/characters are going to react to certain things. Like, even if I have an overall idea of how I want things to play out, and the basic outcome/goal of an event thread, I still try to allow for player/character inclusion and the tentative possibility of the thread/plot ending in a totally different way than I expected. Which is great, because sometimes it's really fun! So when you set up an ending for your first arc, make sure to have at least two different arcs to go with, so that if your plot doesn't exactly go as you had planned, you have a back-up prepared, just in case. (like, for example, on one board I was on, there was a war between two sides, The admin had already prepared the next arc, depending on who would win. If one side won, the next arc/plot would be this, but if the the other side won, the arc/plot would be this, and would cause a big shift in-game.) In my experience, it's all about knowing your next move, and trying to cater to the community you have, as well as keep things balanced. I personally try to put fun events in-between plot/event threads to kind of add a lighter element to the rp, and step back from the seriousness of what's going on in-game. But everyone and every community is different. It just depends on how *you* want to do things. |
|
I love them but it's hard to balance out in some cases.
