Demographics 15: Roleplay Longevity! (v2!)

[Brovo]

@Staff: Keep in mind that (with Diana's permission and Astaroth overlooking it) I'm posting threads in GC first, leaving them there for a week, and then moving them to RP Help & Discussion after! This way, my demographics threads can have the widest breadth of community input without asking for unfair administration favouratism. Thanks.

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Demographics

Demographics threads are, essentially, an attempt to record the community's thoughts and feelings on RP-related subject matter via a series of votes. Iwaku's tastes, habits, et cetera. If you want further information on prior demographics threads, you can find the demographics hub thread here.

Demo threads are not an appropriate place for hardcore multipage debates. You can ask questions about each other's positions, but keep them professional in tone. Otherwise, the spirit of the demographics threads will be lost. They're meant to sample the community and put it into an easily digestible form of numbers that anybody can look at later when creating their own RP threads or when curious about Iwaku's general demographics. If you're really interested in discussing the subject matter, create your own discussion thread. I would be delighted if demographics threads started to spawn further topics of interest by the community itself.

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?
Clarity: A simplified and fix'ed version of the Demo 09 poll question. This one only asks how long you believe your role plays to last on average.

Additional Questions

• Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?
• Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?
• Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?
• Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

EDIT

For those wondering where the community choice poll went, click here.

 

[Jorick]

How long would you say your role plays last on average?

My guesstimate was 4-6 months. I was thinking of all the roleplays I joined rather than ones I've made (doing that would drop it down to 1-3 months). I don't join a ton of roleplays, and most of them do die off fairly quickly, but I've had a handful of very long lasting ones that bump the average up.

Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

Uhhh, shit, time to go look around on old forums to make sure.

Alright, looks like it was a little over one and a half years, and it was a roleplay called Legend of Renalta 2: Reborn. That title might sound a little familiar to you, ferretface. :P

Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

Well, seeing as I almost never GM things, it's more to do with other people. I might be able to get others hyped to post, but most roleplays die because interest dies or players get lazy and flake out. I'm almost never one of the flakes, so the death of the roleplay is most often caused by others. If I mostly GMed things then I could probably place the blame on myself for not keeping players engaged, but I don't so I won't accept any blame for most of the dead roleplays left in my wake.

Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

Longer, definitely. I'm a slut for good character development arcs, and you can't get those done in short term roleplays very often. I'm talking like long term character growth here, like taking a shitty narcissist with a hero complex and turning him into a truly heroic figure. You can't get that done very well in just a few months of roleplaying, especially not in the things I join that go with a one post every week or two pace.

Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

I have, but only once. Or I guess you could call it twice, but the two were back to back roleplays using the same characters, two parts of the same overall story, so... Let's say once because fuck it. It was a free-for-all mess of a roleplay in the Spam section of a forum that wasn't meant to be a roleplaying forum at all, and it was in fact my first forum RP experience. For a long while it was just two guys pushing a real narrative and everyone else fucking around and fighting each other, but then some of the players started helping move the plot forward and we all stayed interested in it until the first part was finished, then people were still all hyped and wanted more so a little bit later the two main guys started up a sequel and we jumped right into that one and did the same thing. It was pretty insane, about a dozen people posting once or more daily and then a couple dozen others at a slower pace. All in all it took about 6 months from the start of the first to the end of the second, which feels kind of crazy considering now I'm kind of disappointed when a roleplay only lives for 6 months these days.

 

[Greenie]

Just a question first, is this for iwaku rps only?

 

[Pahn]

Just a question first, is this for iwaku rps only?

I would say no, it can include all kinds of roleplaying. This is to see roleplay habits and tendencies :) Last time this poll was posted, I personally included my D&D games cause it's still considered roleplaying!

 

[Brovo]

Just a question first, is this for iwaku rps only?

I would say no, it can include all kinds of roleplaying. This is to see roleplay habits and tendencies :) Last time this poll was posted, I personally included my D&D games cause it's still considered roleplaying!

Confirming, RedWillow's got it. For this poll? Any RPing at all, even beyond Iwaku. I'll specify in future if polls are Iwaku-specific.

 

[Greenie]

@RedWillow @Brovo

Okeedokee, thanks! ^_^

 

[Silent]

What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

Started an Rp in 1996 that is still currently running.

Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

Both.

Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

Longer.

Have you ever completed a role play?

No. I personally don't believe in completion. It's just another word for quitting because you failed to find anything else that you felt could be used in the story or interest was lost. The story continues. Even if in the lifetime of the story breaks are needed to breathe life into the next chapter.

 

[Sidhe]

Not very long. There's been a few that have lasted years, but for the most part, either something happens in my life to make me unable to respond, or the same thing happens to my partner. It's just part of the role-play life.

 

[Imbroglio]

On here... about a month.
Most games I've joined failed before they began. A lot of GMs going MIA.

And outside of Iwaku, even some of my dedicated playmates go through moods and lose interest in certain genres or characters in favor of something they're into right then (1-3 months). Occasionally they'll come back to a game but not usually. Especially if it was in a chat setting. Those just seem to die.
With certain player-friends though, games regularly last ages. But, they are definitely the minority.

Most consistent are my tabletop groups. And that's probably because they take a lot longer and we have to plan to get together to play them.

Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

• 10+ Years. With several spin offs which are on-going.

Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

• Both.
  
  Complicated! I think it's probably a mix. I don't think any one person keeps a game going or not with the exception of the GM and I've seen games grow beyond a GM in the past. That said, this is collaborative and if not everyone is gelling for whatever reason it can definitely kill a game, and if everyone meshes really well, it can keep going far beyond what anyone thought.
  
  My first instinct is to say it's someone else's responsibility whether a game lives or dies. But, probably not true. And I'm sure there are games I've helped or hindered just by being there. But again, unless it's a game that's very small or one on one, I do think there's a shared responsibility in a game's lifespan.

Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

• Both.
  
  Depends on the game for me. If something's been made with a definite end, I want it to end at some point. Because I don't have as much time as when I was younger, now n' days, I feel like a good game lasts a few months at least. Long enough to get through what we set out to do. Have a good story arc. Allowed the characters to grow and change within that arc. And then leave off. If it feels right to keep going, I love a very long game but it does have to feel like there's still more to tell. And, feeling right isn't very quantifiable.

Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

• Yep!
  
  And in a couple ways. I've had adventures end and I've also had several games grow until they had to be broken up into new ones.

 

[Robeatics]

• Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

I've had around two that each lasted over a year, but none beyond that.

• Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

Depends. Usually it's other people who lose interest and drag everyone else down, but sometimes I'll drop out. I once dropped out of a role play I'd been in for months because I started to hate my character, but when I came back over a year later it was going stronger than ever. I've since rejoined with a new character, and things are looking up. It's got 809 pages of IC, and each post clocks in at around 1000+ words.

• Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

I wish my roleplays would last longer. Some have such fantastic concepts that would flourish if everyone stayed engaged and the plot stayed fresh.

• Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

No. Weeeell, maybe. My sister and I shared a room for most of our lives, and when we were little we would do something we called "talk-playing", which was basically roleplaying but through talking in the dark from our respective beds until we fell asleep. We finished only one of our talk-plays, it was basically modern-day Narnia with the villain copy-pasted from Wrath of the Lich King. It was so much fun, I should write the story out because it was the most amazing plot line my little eleven-year-old brain could think of.

Ooh, I can't believe I didn't include tabletop games! Oh man, even the ones we don't finish last over a year. I had a good run with PFS for years, but I haven't played it much lately because I'm bored with the lack of continuity between adventures. The first campaign with my current game group was Traveler, which lasted about a year, then Midgard which lasted well over a year and a half and ended on an amazing note, then one M&M game I tried to run on my own which crashed and burned by my own hand in two sessions. >_>

 

[Poe Dameron]

In both group and one on ones, the average for me is easily 1-3 months. Probably closer to one month than anything else, though.

 

[Hana]

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?

It depends on whether or not it's a group or a 1x1. I think group roleplays last around 1-3 months for me most of the time, though the longest I've held lasted for nearly a year. But that was in 2014 before Iwaku. x_x My 1x1s are almost always with my longterm partner, so those have been around for, what, almost 2 years? o_o @Sen

• Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

Broken Contracts with @Sen. It's been alive since December 2014.

• Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

It's more to do with my partners, honestly. I've found I prefer longterm commitments and I look for that when I roleplay with someone. That and they need to hold my interest or form a good friendship with me to make it really last.

• Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

I prefer them to last longer especially when I get invested in a roleplay and my partner.

• Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

Nope.

 

[redblood]

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?

I would say around 3-5 months (voted 4-6). There have been a few long lasting ones, but most one x ones dies pretty quickly.

Additional Questions

• Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

I'll never be a part of your world - Dec 4 2011 - jul 23 2013 (1 year 7 months 19 days) (Note: This roleplay is technically still ongoing since we have created a sequel to it (which right now is in the graveyard as well, but we're hoping to revive it soon xD ) but I will just count the first one as its own since a sequel wasn't planned, the first one didn't get an ending and we actually changed and ignored rules and stuff from the original to be able to do what we wanted in the sequel xD So it's a slightly fanfictiony sequel! :3 So the sequel is not counted into the timeline.)

Simply never simple - Dec 18 2011 - Jul 9 2013 (1 year 6 months 21 days)

• Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

Not to be that person buuut, IT WASN'T ME D: I SWEEEEAAAR!!!! -Points finger at partners-

Okay, for real though, it has gone both ways. Usually it's my partners who disappears, but it happens that I get bored or uninspired or both and ends up not replying. I would say 1/4 it has been completely on me, 1/4 we have decided to drop together and 2/4 I've been dropped. (Note, when I say dropped it can involve anything from the partner disappearing from the site cause of RL stuff to the partner just stops replying to our specific rp or they send me a message telling me they don't want to continue. So it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone just leaves without a word and continues roleplaying with others.)

• Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

I would love them to last until the end o_o If they're meant to have an end at least. If they don't necessarily have a goal to reach I would love it if the story could be rounded up once we start getting tired of it. Then if it takes half a year or ten years before it ends doesn't really matter. Usually if they end within the first three months, I take it better than if they have past the six month mark, cause if it lasts that long it's kind of a sign both of us are enjoying it a lot. Usually if I'm dropped at that point it is because of RL related issues on my partner's side.

• Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

Once yes. Me and a roleplay partner was writing two stories with each other and one day we thought "Wouldn't it be funny if we let this perverted prince from the future go back in time to medieval times and meet this perverted assassin?" And so a fanfic crossover roleplay of two roleplays was born xD We sent him back in time and spent 40+ pages on writing them flirting, doing sexy times, researching, meeting people who had only been mentioned in the original rp, explored both the characters backstories a bit more, more sexy time, and then they found a way to send him forward in time. When we ended it we actually decided to tie it into the main plot of one of the stories (and possibly do something for the second, but we hadn't planned anything yet) and then it died cause my partner disappeared from the site for personal reasons. As the fanfic piece it started out as, it was completed, as a prequel to two main stories it was also completed, as the story as a whole, it technically wasn't xD

 

[Greenie]

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?

Hm... they usually last around a year, but that's depending on who I RP with.

Additional Questions

• Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

About two years? Maybe a little over than that? I can't remember anymore, sorry!

• Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

A bit of both. For the past year I would have to say I am the reason rps have been cutting short, mostly because I can't keep up with pace or I'm getting bored. Or if I'm slow, people think I've lost interest. Or because they don't have the patience anymore. Which is completely fine by me. ^_^

• Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

I'm fine with any length really, as long as there is still lasting interest. I hate it when an rp is forced to drag on when the rpers are just grasping at straws to keep it alive.

• Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

Oh yeah, more than a few actually! If I count in the last three years, I can say I've completed almost 10 rps and probably more than 100 small rps.

 

[☆Luna☆]

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?

I think that my average RP lasts about 2 years if I don't count the ones that I abandoned before they got started. I don't tend to join or an RP that I won't be active in for at least a year. I think my average tends to be high because I only tend to have 2-3 RPs at any given time.

Additional Questions

Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

About 3 years.

Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

I think that there are a lot of factors that the GM can control for, but ultimately there is much more out of your control than there is within your control. You can't control what happens to other people. You can't control their priorities. You can't control how someone's tastes evolve over time. However, I think as a GM, it is always the proper mindset to consider how you can make things more fun. If it isn't fun, it needs to go. This is just a generally good design philosophy that will increase your average RP life expectancy.

Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

Ideally, I want my RP to last quite a long time. Even when it ends, I want the people I RPed with to remember the experience, coming back to me hungry for more.

Q. Have you ever completed a role play?

I have. I keep it in a google drive for reference from time to time, and I'm currently in a new 1x1 with that player right now.

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Question: How long would you say your role plays last on average?
I said 1-3 months. Because although I get the occasional one that lasts over a year the majority fall under one of two camps.

1) Universe System. So each RP is simply a quick 'Arc' within said verse that doesn't take long to complete.
2) Your usual "People show interest, People lose interest, RP dies" curse.

Q. What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?
I think that'd had have to be "Welcome back to the Guild". It's not that fast by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the only RP I've seen that after a year and a half it's still kept active-ish.

Unless if you count a Universe setting as one big RP in itself. If which case that'd be the Star Wars RP I was an admin of before switching to the Guild.

Q. Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?
Depends on the RP in question, because all the Universe ones are short by nature.

But when it comes to standalone RPs sometimes I find I'm throwing my all into it and others just aren't picking it up, sometimes the person in charge is just disorganised and/or bad at introducing newcomers to a pre-existent RP, sometimes life just hit everyone. But then other times I do just legitimately lose interest and the RP slows down as a result.

Q. Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?
Personally? I'm finding the only RP's that end with any success (with one exception) that simultaneously keeps my interest are Universe RPs.
So by that respect, the RP's are just the right length.

When it comes to the non-verse RP's I'm not sure if it's the length or just the lack of interconnections and/or "Checkpoints" that's at fault. But since length is all difference between those and Universe RPs? I'd have to say in those cases that yes the length could do to be shorter.

Q. Have you ever completed a role play?
The Star Wars Universe RP I admined was completed.
So was one RP that was basically teenage SAW that I was in back on the Guild.

Others have lasted for a long while, but are either still going or we simply go so involved we didn't bother to think about an ending until events just forced it to stop.

 

[Kagayours]

I think that'd had have to be "Welcome back to the Guild". It's not that fast by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the only RP I've seen that after a year and a half it's still kept active-ish.

Welcome Back to the Guild is like a very old dog. A dog so old that the poor thing can barely even walk anymore. The neighbors wonder why the poor creature hasn't been put down yet, but the dog's owner tells them, "no no, I can't do that. He still has some life left in 'im."

...I have an ending planned, I swear. We just have to actually... get there... and we will!! One step at a ti-

Wait a sec.

Gwazi, isn't it your turn to post? >.>

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Gwazi, isn't it your turn to post? >.>

...Maybe.

 

[Kagayours]

What is the longest lasting role play you've ever had?

Yeesh, that's a tough one. It's hard to say -- especially depending on whether or not sequels count towards the original's lifespan. o_o

Welcome Back to the Guild is apparently three years old now. ...Roleplayer Guild won't tell me the exact date that it was started on, but, the first post is labeled as "3 years ago", so, there's that. And it would be even older if you count the RP that WBttG is technically a sequel to -- which was just called "Welcome to the Guild". I really don't remember when WttG started, though. So I'm gonna guestimate and say that W(B)ttG is about 3.5 years old -- which is actually more than I thought it would be before trying to answer this question. O_O So I guess that means I don't even have to think about those other long-lived Guild RP's that I thought WBttG might be able to compete with -- as both of those only got to be about 2.5 years old max...

Then there's Tenshi Jigoku Academy (AKA Nefaustus Lupata Academy). This one's got a long history. It went through 4 or 5 incarnations on the Guild, and then went through one incarnation here on Iwaku (which is when we stopped numbering them and changed the name from TJA to NLA, and also changed a bunch of other things within the RP itself to make NLA feel like more of a hard reboot). Anyway, if you count all of these together, it would have to be at least 5 years old. O_O I'm just not sure I can count it, since I wasn't around for the entirety of the series (pretty sure I didn't join until TJA 2 or 3...), and certainly didn't GM all of it, although I definitely became a very active co-GM and often times took over as full GM for certain periods of time in the later incarnations.

Sooo depending on how you count it, it would either be TJA/NLA or W(B)ttG. (And even if sequels don't count and I can't count WttG and WBttG as a single entity, WBttG is still my longest.)

Do you think the length of your role plays has more to do with yourself, or others?

Definitely myself. The way I see it, a good GM has the tools to deal with drop-outs and whatever else the player base throws their way. The fact that all my more recent RP's last so long is no coincidence -- they last so much longer on average now because I know how to keep RP's running in the face of unpredictable player behavior.

Would you prefer your role plays to last longer, shorter, or do you feel they last just long enough?

Eh, I guess it depends on the RP. WBttG has been going on for quite a while, and I've actually been trying to push it to an ending, because I really don't want to see it slog on forever. XD RP's like Fandomstuck, on the other hand? I'd love to see them go on for as long as they could. It would be sad to see it end right now -- there's still definitely a ton in store for it. OwO

Overall, though, I'd say that having RP's that, on average, last at least a year or two is... pretty good. XD I'm happy with that average.

Have you ever completed a role play?

Nope. Not a play-by-post one, anyway. But, like I said, WBttG is hopefully going to reach its ending sooner or later...