Keeping people interested

[junebug]

Hey, so here's the problem. A majority of my players haven't posted yet. I extended the deadline to post last time since everyone had been waiting on me, but then no one posted, so I extended it once more. The majority of my players still have yet to post (and the guideline I have is post by tomorrow) and I feel like most of them haven't been communicating with me in OOC. Some say their waiting on another person, a couple others say they don't know what to write.

I have a post out that could be reacted to by anyone, but I'm guessing that one event didn't really have an impact on anyone. I feel like it may also partially be because these next posts are supposed to be a kind of "ending" to the night, so we could move on to the next day. This roleplay lasted one month and I'm hoping it'll continue to thrive, but I'm not sure what to do at this point if no one's dishing out suggestions on what people could be doing or making more specific implications on what exactly their having trouble with in the post I laid out (I'm assuming the problem is that I don't have enough for people to go off of or rather, enough things going on in the post for people to decide on what their characters should do)? Then, there's also the fact that they could be replying to the person they were interacting with before.

So, I'm stuck in a rut right now. What would your advice be in this situation? How do I rally my troops and get a smooth posting rate set up again? How would you suggest I go about trying to figure out what to do? I really don't want this roleplay to die.

 

[Nav]

Oh man, that's tough!

Once players begin to say "I don't know what to write," it's likely because they are starting to get bored, and as we all know, boredom is a nail in the coffin. That said, now is the time to act! There are lots of ways you can go about remedying the situation, but here is probably what I would try if I was (and I have been, plenty of time) in your situation:

• 1. Stop extending the deadline. I've seen people extend deadlines over and over until the roleplay is just forgotten about. If you've already extended it and no one had posted, no one is going to until you make some changes as the GM.
• 2. You say no is talking in the OOC, but have you really given them a chance to? Besides just asking 'why haven't you posted!?' Instead of just assuming they aren't being communicative, try and open up opportunities for them to become invested in the story. Being invested is what will keep people in a roleplay through thick and thin, exciting and boring. What I like to do is go into the OOC, tag everyone, and ask "What do you want to see in this roleplay?" And when people give responses, I seriously consider them. Of course, not every suggestion will make the end cut, but when players feel like their opinion matters and they have an impact on the story, that builds their commitment to the story because it is, in a small way, their story, too.
• 3. Make a change to the last post, or add a new post by you. Clearly, what you have up isn't working, even if it's easy for anyone to respond to. Move the story along a little, add some excitement. I've found two things work really well for this. One, add a 'directives' at the end of your post for characters to follow. For example, you write your post and in a little box at the end, I'll add something like: "Directives: Your character can either choose to go through the door or flee out the gates." This gives players a more exact idea of what CAN happen. Sometimes, I know players don't want to post because they aren't sure what to post, or they're concerned that if they post their character reacting in some way, it won't be what the GM had wanted. Secondly, give your players directive options. I like to call this "giving players controlled control." From my directive example, you see I gave the players two choices. As I said before, feeling like they have input on the story is a HUGE part of building commitment. Even if the two options both end with all the characters meeting the dragon, it still feels like they had a choice... and that's exciting! Nothing is more boring than a GM going: "OKAY, take your characters through the door, over the bridge, through the city, and meet the dragon in his nest."
• 4. Admit to your players you've made a mistake (if you've made one). No one expects you, as a GM, to be perfect. If you've made a mistake and made it difficult for people to post, admit it, laugh about it, and move on. I am way more devoted as a player to a GM who admits they aren't perfect than a GM who thinks "this is my story, whatever I do is right."

I really hope this has helped some! (: Good luck organizing your game.

 

[Kagayours]

Some say their waiting on another person,

Ask who it is specifically that they are waiting on. Once you have that answer, take a look at the IC, yourself, and think about whether or not they really need a response from that person in order to write their post. If they do, then poke that other person to post, and ask why they haven't been posting (it's amazing how often you'll find two players who think they're waiting on a post from each other -- and it's certainly best to catch those kinds of misunderstandings as soon as possible). If you feel that they don't need to wait for that other player, then tell them to go ahead and post anyway. (If you don't, then you'll just have everyone waiting on everyone else, and things will get tangled up and die.)

a couple others say they don't know what to write.

Then offer suggestions. Bounce ideas around with them. Help spark their inspiration. I can't offer specifics, not knowing anything about the RP or the specific scenarios that these RPers are in, but, when your players say that they're stuck, help them.

it may also partially be because these next posts are supposed to be a kind of "ending" to the night, so we could move on to the next day.

Then move on to the next day. Is there any particular reason why you need posts from these other members? If not, then just make a post as the GM saying that things ended and went on to the next day, preferably also including something that introduces players to the next big plot-related thing that's coming up. And if you do really need to know what specific characters are going to do before the day ends, and you still really can't get those players to write a post -- then at the very least, just ask them what they want their characters to do, and include that in your GM post. Just a quick mention of what they were planning on doing is fine. In times like these, you definitely want to prioritize moving things along over everything else.



I can still offer general advice on how to keep players interested, if you want, but most of the issues you've listed here seem to be general activity flow issues. o_o I don't see a problem with keeping players interested as much as just issues with keeping the flow going.

As for keeping players interested, though -- the biggest thing I can suggest is to always give the characters something to do. If the main plot is in a lull, move it forward. If there are side plots going on, then, that's good, encourage that. But if there are none, then you need to create something for players to do. Because if no one knows what to do then, yeah, things stagnate, and people do start to lose interest. And these "end of the day" scenes are best wrapped up as soon as possible, because, yeah, you're in a transitional state where not much will happen until the next day. Don't hold yourself to a strict posting order if it's holding things up. When you're in those transitional scenes, and no one wants to post because... there's nothing going on, then you need to take initiative to move things forward, and to get back into the good stuff as soon as possible.


The way I see it, begging players to post (or even extending deadlines) aren't good strategies on their own. If people aren't posting, there's generally a reason for it. Sometimes these reasons are 'macro' reasons, so to speak, affecting the whole RP -- like people losing interest. But I often find that such things are only the result of a buildup of micro problems. If a specific player isn't posting, try to figure out why, and either do what you need to do to get them to post (like telling them that they don't need to wait for another player like they thought, or bounce ideas around with them to spark their inspiration), or, find a way to move on without them, even if it's only temporary. Activity flow is the lifeblood of an RP. If it stops flowing completely, the RP dies. So if you see any kinks in the flow -- anything that's holding up even part of the RP -- address it, and do your best to fix it. Instead of vaguely telling everyone to post, or asking the whole thread why they haven't been posting -- go after specific members and address their individual problems. That's the best way to get things flowing again, I think.

 

[Kagayours]

4. Admit to your players you've made a mistake (if you've made one). No one expects you, as a GM, to be perfect. If you've made a mistake and made it difficult for people to post, admit it, laugh about it, and move on. I am way more devoted as a player to a GM who admits they aren't perfect than a GM who thinks "this is my story, whatever I do is right."

^ This is important, too. I can think of plenty of times when I've attempted some things that I thought were a good idea, only to make things worse -- resulting in players getting confused and the activity flow getting all tangled up again. But, the important thing is recognizing when you've made a mistake, so that you can turn around and try something different. While I agree with Nav that this is good just from the perspective of improving player relations, there's also the fact that, if you try too hard to hold onto an idea or strategy that isn't working, then you're just digging your own grave. If something isn't working, then you have to acknowledge and recognize that before you can be willing to change it and try something different.

 

[junebug]

Thanks, I've offered suggestions before, but no one responded to them. I know who's waiting on who, so it's probably best to just make another post ending the night. It's frustrating, but I think that's the only route to go at this point so we can pick things up. Thank you guys for your advice!

 

[Kagayours]

Thanks, I've offered suggestions before, but no one responded to them. I know who's waiting on who, so it's probably best to just make another post ending the night. It's frustrating, but I think that's the only route to go at this point so we can pick things up. Thank you guys for your advice!

Don't forget to end the night and start the morning, so that everyone has an idea of where to go from here, and doesn't feel lost, or feels like there's nothing to do. It seems to me like the "end of the night" scenario that you have is a big reason why things have stagnated, so, making sure everyone has something to do again seems like the best remedy to me.