I need help, usually i don't ask for help with roleplay knowledge or rather.. i don't at all, but, i'm not sure if its me, the forum, the trend, or just that my ideas won't work here but i need help to why i'm not getting any interest in my roleplays.
Is there something wrong with it? I just wanna make sure its good.
And heres another that just failed completely. Why did it happen? Usually when i ask for peoples help they usually come, at least one person does. Did the trends of the forum change? Whats wrong with this one? GROUP RP PLOTTING - Naruto (Co-GM Needed/Plotter Needed)
I just wanna become a better GM in general so i can make good roleplays for this forum but i can't do that without advice right now.
I've had many successful roleplays, or at least many that always started out strong and I've always had a great amount of interest in them. So, I'll permit myself to give you advice on making an intriguing roleplay :)
The first thing and the most important thing is the plot. I've looked at your interest thread and you don't present anything really... Most people do not want to join a roleplay where the story still wasn't created.
I must say tho, your Mafia interest thread is already much better than your naruto one. You gave a general setting and some kind of plot.
BUT, the interest thread has to intrigue people and you have to demonstrate your EFFORT into making a roleplay. How do you do this? Here is a list by priority according to me:
1. An elaborated setting & plot (give me details about your world - YOU HAVE TO WORK ON THIS)
2. Organized thoughts (no one wants to jump in someone's roleplay when the GM doesn't seem to know it himself - AND THIS 2)
3. Grammar (This demonstrate your strength as a writer. No one wants to read a post full of typos. - You write well, don't worry so much about that. )
4. Publicity ( Do banners, tag friends or roleplayers you met on another roleplay. This site is like a web. I've met so many people through other people. Trust me, you have to make friends on this site to have a fun and plentiful successful roleplay :)
5. BBcodes & Images (Although it is not necessary, people just like to see fancy things. That includes me and many many roleplayers. Sometimes a roleplay can be... pretty dull but the appearance looks so nice that people just want to give it a chance, for some reason. So, try and work on that :) Usually, it demonstrates that you are dedicated to your own roleplay.
Example of a successful Interest Thread Created by me and a Friend : LINK
So, my final advice to you and I think the best way for you to understand how to "sell" a roleplay is by becoming a "client" yourself. So, surf the interest threads and check out which roleplay you would join and which ones you wouldn't. :)
By comparing, you will see the major differences and correct your mistakes :)
Hopefully, I'll get to see one of your roleplays around and maybe I could even join if you "catch my interest " ;) *got the pun? XD*
I've had many successful roleplays, or at least many that always started out strong and I've always had a great amount of interest in them. So, I'll permit myself to give you advice on making an intriguing roleplay :)
The first thing and the most important thing is the plot. I've looked at your interest thread and you don't present anything really... Most people do not want to join a roleplay where the story still wasn't created.
I must say tho, your Mafia interest thread is already much better than your naruto one. You gave a general setting and some kind of plot.
BUT, the interest thread has to intrigue people and you have to demonstrate your EFFORT into making a roleplay. How do you do this? Here is a list by priority according to me:
1. An elaborated setting & plot (give me details about your world - YOU HAVE TO WORK ON THIS)
2. Organized thoughts (no one wants to jump in someone's roleplay when the GM doesn't seem to know it himself - AND THIS 2)
3. Grammar (This demonstrate your strength as a writer. No one wants to read a post full of typos. - You write well, don't worry so much about that. )
4. Publicity ( Do banners, tag friends or roleplayers you met on another roleplay. This site is like a web. I've met so many people through other people. Trust me, you have to make friends on this site to have a fun and plentiful successful roleplay :)
5. BBcodes & Images (Although it is not necessary, people just like to see fancy things. That includes me and many many roleplayers. Sometimes a roleplay can be... pretty dull but the appearance looks so nice that people just want to give it a chance, for some reason. So, try and work on that :) Usually, it demonstrates that you are dedicated to your own roleplay.
Example of a successful Interest Thread Created by me and a Friend : LINK
So, my final advice to you and I think the best way for you to understand how to "sell" a roleplay is by becoming a "client" yourself. So, surf the interest threads and check out which roleplay you would join and which ones you wouldn't. :)
By comparing, you will see the major differences and correct your mistakes :)
Hopefully, I'll get to see one of your roleplays around and maybe I could even join if you "catch my interest " ;) *got the pun? XD*
The goal of your OP in an interest check is to have readers want to sign up. There is no rigid method for this, but something that I find works best is a a series of Hook, Claim, Support and Call to Action.
The hook is the most concise way to describe the main draw of the roleplay. Generally with fandoms, this is just your interest check title because a brand name creates expectations by itself. With original RP's, you can opt to write a few lines of prose from a character's point of view to intrigue using both their personality and a little tip about the story, or use a picture and perhaps a little text to set an atmosphere. Generally evoke some sort of emotion in order to create expectations. Key rule is here though; keep it short!
The claim will then be basically "This is what this roleplay will be about." What I want to read is actually what I can expect from the roleplay. Some prefer a bullet point list. Others prefer a more prose-like approach. Pick what you're more comfortable with. However, make sure you intrigue your audience. You've given them expectations, but this is where you give them reasons to sign up. Again though, be clear and to the point. If anything isn't directly related to being a reason to join your roleplay in the claim, think twice about writing it.
The support part is basically where you can be a bit looser and go drop a bit of background info, tell something about yourself as a GM and your expectations, etc. Whatever. The purpose of this part is to win trust for your claim. If you say you have a vibrant mafia story about betrayal and revenge for example, this might be where you write a bit about the relations between families. Those kinda things.
The call to action is your big red SIGN UP TODAY button. Basically you encourage people to participate. If someone has questions, let them ask. If someone has a plot or character idea, bring it up. etc. If you have a basic lay out for your CS ready... Or just a character concept CS or whatever, this is where you put it. This is also what you'll be doing during the entirety of your interest check; encouraging people to take action. Roleplays live or die depending on initiative. Initial enthusiasm can give you a big head-start.
You can mix and match a bit with order, but in general this is something that'll help you work. Also consider some interest checks attract attention more easily than others because certain themes, franchises or settings are simply more popular. This doesn't make the latter impossible, it just means you need to work harder for having the same shot.
Something that might be helpful is look at other games that took off, and see if you can find their interest checks. While a solid interest check isn't a guarantee you'll get interest, depending on the game's premise, it does help a lot.
It's important to keep in mind that roleplays are a time commitment, and there's literally dozens going at any given time, so you're in a sense competing with other games for people's interest. When people join roleplays, typically they want to make sure that the one they're applying to is actually going to stick around for a while and give them enough to stay interested in. Think of it as doing a job posting; it has to look the part and provide enough incentive for people to consider investing their time and effort into.
Simply posting a quick paragraph with your idea really isn't going to be enough to hook people in. I apologize if any of this comes across as blunt or, I sincerely hope not, rude, but here's a few things I notice looking at the two interest checks you linked.
For your Naruto one, there's absolutely no direction or information provided. It's a single sentence that is asking for help fleshing out a game, and you're not giving anyone anything to work with; if I came across that, I'd get the impression that you don't really have an idea past the fandom you want to roleplay in, and you're asking people for help, so that gives me the impression there's a possibility you'd expect anyone who replies to help to do the lion's share of development and even running the game. There's nothing that instills confidence you have an idea for what you even want to do with the game; remember, as a GM, you're the one making the plot, moving it forward, and establishing the scenes and non-player characters. People need to know what they're getting into; while it's a popular fandom, people have to know the theme. Does it follow canon characters, all original characters? Does it hit on the show or comic's story points, or is it an original tale set in the universe? You can't expect people to go to your restaurant, so to speak, if the only thing on the menu is "food, maybe".
For your mobster RP, it definitely gives people more idea what you want, but it also doesn't use a lot of confident or assuring language, it's extremely casual, like you're explaining the premise to someone over a private message. You do a better job explaining what the premise of the game is (a mob organization in Florida that's coping with the great depression and society itself without an emphasis on combat scenarios that emphasizes player freedom and character death. There's some promised legwork, but it's also marred by a lack of presentation and questionable historical accuracy (flowery Hawaiian shirts are something that popped up in the later decades of the 20th century and Al Capone only operated in Chicago; it's not like he was the crime overlord of all of America. His only connection to Florida is he owned an estate near Miami, for instance).
My recommendation is to write your OOC first, and ask yourself what questions you'd have joining a game (the whole who, what, where, when, why deal), and work on making it something that gives enough information to get people started in a game. As Kestrel lined out, the distinct sections he outlined are a pretty good place to start.
How I usually do my interest checks are I write a brief hook written in a first person narrative from one of the characters residing in the world that helps give an idea of what's going on in the game, almost like a narrator. After that, I give a synopsis about what the story premise is about, kind of like if you were reading the back of a novel that gives the reader an idea of what the story's about without touching upon game mechanics or anything that would more or less kill the immersion. After that, I'd make a separate section that outlines the more OOC information, such as mechanics, how many players you want, what the characters' situation is and what's expected, game standards, and so on so forth.
Also, formatting and graphics are really great tools for making your game stick out. It gives it that extra polish and makes it look like you put time and care into making the game, as well as making it visually appealing. You can make a banner really quick and easy using sites like Banner Fans.
Here's a mock interest check I whipped up for the purposes of this thread:
Uncertainty fills the air as the kingdom finds itself without a king; King Bob has been slain by an assassin's dagger in the dead of the night, and without any heirs, the interregnum is wrought with brewing tensions as petty lords squabble to fill the now vacant throne, and the elves and dwarves are taking advantage of King Bob's passing to press for their independence from the kingdom's rule.
Of course, there are those of us who remember the old ways, the great unification of people under the wise benevolent rule of the Prophet Kings; those who are anointed by the Gods themselves. We will serve, and if need be die, to bring back the golden years of Avalon.
It is the year 472 of the common Reyian calendar and the kingdom is on the verge of great conflict. The troubled Kingdom of King Bob is without its ruler, the unpopular King Bob slain in the dead of night by unknown assassins, of whom the common folk blame the elves, who have campaigned for decades for their independence. Sensing an opportunity, the elves have severed communication with the ruling council, and the messengers dispatched to their lands do not return. An army would have been mustered to fight this treachery, but the lords of the realm are sensing a chance to claim the throne for themselves; the two great lords, the cruel Lord Greg and heartless Lord John, are marching on the capital of Whitewall with their retainers in two to forcefully put themselves on the throne. Even the reclusive dwarves, forced for years to produce weapons and steel for the kingdom, have shut their great halls to outsiders and shipments have halted. It is unknown what they intend, but whatever it is, it is not in the interests of man; some say they are working on a great war machine to crush their overlords, others say they are intending to carve a kingdom of their own. Whatever the case may be, dwarven fury has been the cause of untold devastation in the history of the world.
While the kingdom begins its descent into darkness, a young man with mysterious powers has been journeying across the realm, winning the hearts of the common people with his good deeds and uncommon valour; with sword in hand, he has begun a call for brave people of all walks of life to join him in his sacred mission;
To save the world from itself.
~ ~ ~
This is The Return of Avalon, a high fantasy game that will involve medieval technology and typical magical spells and fantasy tropes inspired by the likes of JRR Tolkein, Dungeons and Dragons, and George RR Martin as a small group RP of up to 6 other players who will take the roles of the companions of the heroic mage who intends to save the world. The playable races are man, elf, and dwarf, and this will be a character driven story that will explore the lives of the companions and the prophesy that has pulled them together. The journey will take them across the realm, from the forests of the elves to the halls of the dwarves and eventually to the capital of the kingdom for a spectacular finale that will tie everything together and will determine the fate of the entire world as the companions discover that there's far more at stake than a throne...
Player standards are
-Two posts a week, two paragraph minimum
-Up to two characters per player, maximum
-Acceptable spelling and grammar
-Active participation in the OOC
The OOC will be posted this Friday
I hope all this helps, and I wish you the best of luck!
