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Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Hyrist - 05-23-2015
Forward: a Dream, and a problem.
I’ve seen a lot of people making suggestions of larger plot arcs and server wide plot events. To encourage interaction between RP groups, be they FCs or Linkshells, or even  circles of friends. Or even to simply partake of the wider RP world, instead of being coupes up in the same circles.
It’s an exciting prospect, one I think the RP servers should work for. However, in my experiences in online and forum roleplaying (nearing twenty years, goodness I’m getting old, what have I been doing with my time!? Oh, right, Roleplay!) I’ve realized that the more ambitious a project, the more chances it will stomp on people's egos, roleplaying styles/preferences, and even just breach into their own plots.
Maybe a plot that a large number of FCs want to follow, conflict with some other FCs, making RP canon conflict from one group to the next. Suddenly, something that was designed to help bring RP groups together has further cemented its separation and segregation. And this problem can duplicate itself in any number of different variables that ultimately make server-wide plots incredibly difficult to manage, upkeep, and most importantly have fun with. Most groups start on attempting to make it, only to run into these issues and eventually stop due to the burden or drama surrounding it.Â
But the dream, the goal of a living and interactive world with events that ripple through the community and have it vibrant with continuing stories, should always be reached for. So how do we create such a thing while keeping respect for individual group’s headcannons, different playstyles and play times, without overburdening our story writers?
Like stones in a still pond.
Of the various ideas I’ve seen discussed and worked with over my years, the most successful one I’ve come across is what I like to call a Cascading Plot Theme. The general premise of Cascading Plot Themes is that they are plot arts, that rippled out and inspire other plot arcs of a similar trend or theme, as a result of IC complications or consequences that are capable of acting completely independently of the originating plot.
Like a stone being cast into a still pond, what the Cascading Plot Theme is is a story from which other stories can take inspiration from, and from that point make natural connections to, provided that the aims of the original writer. The stories of which, are then shared on the starting thread and trend, to show how the original story inspired and spread.
In the end these ideas are designed to be organic and not dependent on the original writer for these stories to progress, but instead uses the story to enrich the environment itself, passing hands from storyteller to storyteller to add to the Epic of the Cascading Story Theme.
A simple, practical writing example done in literature is the tale of The Monkey’s Paw. The original Monkey’s Paw, a story written by  W. W. Jacobs tells of a story of an artifact that can grant wishes, but each wish goes awry. A Cascading Plot theme could continuations of the Monkey’s Paw falling into various player’s hands, granting wishes that ultimately get undone (or have poor consequences for the caster) and then the object being left unattended for another to stumble upon) This would be a chain of stories that allows each to be open for artistic interpretation of the original and continue the premise. The stories would then be shared for the entertainment and further inspiration of the community.
Some Guidelines.
Obviously these sort of things come with their own difficulties, so here’s some brief tips I had in mind for the concept.
- First and Foremost, keep it fun: Try not to go overboard with the concept or the gravity so that it is entirely too dramatic for it to spread organically and casually. Take the time to sit back and relax about it and if you find it too stressful, there’s no reason why you can’t simply walk away. The flexibility of Cascading Plot Themes is that it’s both options, open to interpretation, and entertaining to share both in character by cross-plots, and out of character by sharing the adventures you’ve created and participated in based off of the Theme.
- The wider the reach, the more simple the premise: Heavily complex storylines become harder to manage the wider they go. A single story of a premise itself can be complex, but the theme to pass on to one another will be far easier to adapt if it is easy to understand and work with.
- Respect one-another’s headcanon (Host first): Each story as it gets adapted can work in different ways. The idea is not to get particularly attached to your set way and to go with the flow of whoever’s hosting that particular branch of the story. Worry about preserving the sanctity of your own character’s personal story within the confines of your own personal story, and when sharing in someone elses, take steps and make exceptions to pay respect to the story that you’re guesting in. Additionally, hosts can communicate with their guests to make sure that their adaptation isn’t a huge breaker for those participating.
- Remember to let go: When you make a plot, make sure you can set it up so that you and your character can walk away from the story instead of it consuming your very being. Likewise, if you are taking up a theme to have your own adventure on it, be sure its something yourself, your groups and your prospective RP characters can walk away from without having the urge to reach its ultimate answer or final solution. Not all mysteries are meant to be solved - not all problems resolved completely. The idea of it being able to be passed along mean that each Theme would have no hard set conclusion. In many cases, the theme simply ends when nobody wishes to pick it up anymore.
A Pilot to start it off.
To get a running start on this idea, I came up with a Pilot Plot I’ve been working on-and-off since Beta that I feel ready to share now. Take a look at the Google Doc below:
Cascading Plot Theme Pilot: Outbreak
Feel free to tell me what you think of the premise, and the Pilot Plot itself. If all goes well I’ll take the document itself and post it here in the RPC to start things off. If you guys want to discuss the idea of Cascading Plot Themes, discuss a theme of your own, or even provide feedback on the Theme I have, feel free to do so here in the thread. Please keep things fun and respectful!
Thank you very much for your time. I hope this idea catches and you all have fun with it!
RE: Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Nero - 05-23-2015
One thing I feel compelled to bring to attention is that you mention the word "theme" repeatedly in your post and in your premise document, but your definition of theme and the actual narrative definition of theme is different. I personally understand what you mean, but others may not. What you referred to as a "theme"--the void parasite--is actually a central plot element, something to be shared as a collective antagonist across multiple separate interactions. However, it's not a theme. It doesn't pose a persistent ethical question, challenge a certain idea, or represent an overarching attitude or tone towards a particular subject.
That said, your intention behind this is to make something akin to a Tarantino movie: a series of seemingly isolated events or interactions that contain one shared plot device that gradually weaves together to form a complete, coherent tapestry of a story created from many individual plot threads coming together.
So with that, criticism. The major thing is that your premise is presented quite poorly. It's too long and full of completely unnecessary details that nobody will care about. Let's say hypothetically that I find the central plot element of a hidden void parasite interesting and wanted to start a separate, smaller storyline about discovering one of these parasites, and how me and my companions deal with it.
Well, in your doc, it takes six whole paragraphs of inane events for me as a reader to find any information that would help me start this hypothetical storyline. If all I want to do is utilize your idea of a void parasite as an adventure to eventually connect with others, why do I have to care about this guy Eric? Why should I care at all about how his handmaiden and lover died, or about how he started looking for a cure, or what he and his companions went through?
Trim the fat. Cut the fluff down to need-to-know information, and remove everything else.
Summary: A man, Eric, is infected with a void parasite. He begins to travel through Eorzea looking for a cure. Along the way, he passes black stones that seem harmless but are actually fragments of the parasite he was infected with and threaten all living things in Eorzea by taking over their minds and turning them into deformed voidsent. The origins of the parasite are unknown and if left unchecked could cause untold disaster.
There. Four sentences. It presents where the CPE came from, how it spread, why it is a danger that should be dealt with by multiple people, and that it is something to be investigated.
I quite frankly couldn't give a single toss of how Eric lost his lover or how he sneaked out of Garlemald or who his friends are or what they did to save him because that information will never, ever be relevant to my own (hypothetical) story of me and my friends venturing forth to deal with this parasite before it spreads, nor will that information ever affect how my characters interact with other characters who may be investigating or pursuing the same things.
The other thing is that while good on paper, actually executing this idea and carrying it out is a huge invitation for burnout and a classic example of biting off way more than you can chew. The premise you have presented has heavily suggested a very linear progression of events. There's very few avenues within the separate plots that you presented that allow for player input or creativity. Even if it is ostensibly a nonlinear plot thread, all of these interconnected plot threads will require a central authority. By all means, if you're fully confident that you can juggle multiple interactions like this and have them connect seamlessly, then go for it. Just be careful to make sure that the story does not fully rely on your presence to coordinate the events.
To put it in an analogy: something like this works best when you make your own toys and give them to other people to play with however they want, so long as they don't break said toy. Occasionally you'll bring the toys together or swap them out and people will play with said toys together. Any attempt to govern how the toys are played with or who plays with what toy will end in disaster and failure with something as large as this.
It's a neat idea, but it could use a lot of work in how its structured.
RE: Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Hyrist - 05-23-2015
(05-23-2015, 04:58 PM)Nero Wrote: - Snip-There may be several points in which you misinterpret the intent, this may be due to my poor presentation, and I apologize. This sort of feedback and back and forth discussion is the reason why I started this off as a discussion thread first.
First is the linearity of Outbreak in general. All of the events happening on the exterior can attempt to, or completely neglect ties to the initial plot. This is completely optional. The additional information that leads to the source are for those who wish to attempt to tie their plots into the source plot in particular. At this point, the work is pre-loaded and the burnout burden that would be on me is marginalized in the absolute worst case scenario. Public information is there, and all anyone has to do is roleplay within those functions. Whenever I decide that public knowledge increased beyond what is spread through inter-player play, I update the thread.Â
The linearity aspect you mark is unique to my own, and does not have to be followed by exact. I figured giving mine leads more to the aspect of mystery and sources to be found, and part of the objective is to get people to start interacting with one another more, I'm utilizing my plot to begin to give those who are interested into starting it, more info as interest progresses.
Individual stories that grow from the plots other makes are the sole jurisdiction of those who are creating those side stories. I don't have to lord over them because of the flexibility of the concept of the Parasite. All the information needed is there in the thread.
The Voidsent parasite is a linchpin to the theme of mass infection, an 'Outbreak' of voidsent infected creatures and people. We can debate the semantics of the use of 'theme' but it's criticism falls flat given that this example case is not conducive of how every occurrence must play out. It just so happens that this theme surrounds a central plot element, while in other cases it may simply be a string of rumors, or and ideal that has spread around, or what have you. I had designed this this particular pilot with something more concrete on propose, as it's an easier premise to follow when you're using a solid plot device.
That said, the word can be dropped all together if it becomes too much of a semantic issue. "Cascading Plot" just sounded too finite to my tastes. I'm open to an alternative suggestion.
As far as 'trimming the fat'; A summary in addition to the actual storyline behind the piece is a good bit of feedback. However, 'trimming the fat' in and of itself betrays the 'sharing' aspect of the Cascading Plot. You might not give a toss why Eric wound up where he was, and how he was there, but others will - furthermore, I as I hope others, am interested in seeing the plot you generate off the premise, and hope that you are as descriptive as I have provided as an example.
Put to your analogy, the Parasite is the toy. The way its deisgned, they can play with it how they see fit, and some details and ideas on how to play with it are listed. If they want to play with others playing with the same toy (including the toymaker) I've left breadcrumbs and guidelines (some of which actually serve as obstacles so that a direct line cannot be drawn from toy to toymaker.)Â
I swapped "Investigating the Cause" and "Villainous Exploits" order in the document to help facilitate that the former is an optional pursuit for those who wanted to start RPs on that vein, which I hope will start to clarify things. Furthermore I've taken your summary verbatim and put it at the start of the plot background, and marked the larger story to be put behind spoiler tags. This should facilitate both desires.
RE: Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Aya - 05-23-2015
Speaking just for myself I'll just say that I have no interest in any form of "outbreak", "plague", or similar epidemic based RP. There are all sorts of problems and negative implications that come up from these. Among these are that it alters radically a character's RP in a way that won't make any sense to those who don't accept it as canon, its so wide-open that it leaves you unable to craft simultaneous or near-future story as well, and really (the bottom-line for me) its not fun. If treated believably and plausibly its simply awful and terrible. A vehicle for meaningless suffering against an intangible foe. That might make something of an interesting horror story, but I can't see it making for RP that I'd actually want to engage in.
RE: Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Hyrist - 05-23-2015
(05-23-2015, 06:42 PM)Aya Wrote: Speaking just for myself I'll just say that I have no interest in any form of "outbreak", "plague", or similar epidemic based RP. There are all sorts of problems and negative implications that come up from these. Among these are that it alters radically a character's RP in a way that won't make any sense to those who don't accept it as canon, its so wide-open that it leaves you unable to craft simultaneous or near-future story as well, and really (the bottom-line for me) its not fun. If treated believably and plausibly its simply awful and terrible. A vehicle for meaningless suffering against an intangible foe. That might make something of an interesting horror story, but I can't see it making for RP that I'd actually want to engage in.
The advantage here is rather than a plague, it can be treated as a series of isolated incidents of a similar theme. The threat of an outbreak is more present than an outbreak itself.
But the fear of being corrupted by the void-sent through something so benign looking is something that can be explored, and explored leisurely.
Someone who's outside said cannon, can easily dismiss something along the lines of the individual involve falling ill or suffering temporary madness. Similarly, this can be simulated in any case featuring illness RPs, including plagues.
In my experience, RP's innately function in overlapping circles, the wider the circle, the broader (and often simpler) the interpretation of a shared chain of events become. Cross-Canon, Guild Canon, Personal Canon and Head Canon, are the inward progression of this function. The further in you go, the more personal, detailed and often possibly conflicting a set of events can be. To prevent such problems of conflicts, you typically keep things that are head canon and personal canon close to your chest.
So, person who's infected's head canon or group cannon plot is that they've got the Parasite. But your head canon, to prevent major conflict, is that they're sick. And you keep yourself distant from the details concerning that particular RP. That's usually the best way I've found to deal with matters such as the one you're describing. Incidentally Guild Wars 2 had a similar complaint about an actual plague rp that rippled through their community. Perhaps that's what you're recalling?
Outbreak is far more downscaled than that. The idea is that people develop personal stories based off the concept that these can be contacted in many different ways, or completely evaded whatsoever. If someone with your personal circle decides to use the plot, well, that's your discussion with them. That has no baring on the plot itself. It's okay to like different things.
RE: Cascading Plot Theme (Idea and Discussion) - Mercurias - 05-27-2015
This was actually done before in Guild Wars 2 with...Mixed success.Â
There were a number of people willing to play the infected so long as they were treated right off the bat, but they usually got bored waiting for a cure.
There were a lot more people looking for samples of the virus to release in other locales, which resulted in my character, as a mage in the city guard, having to pull some pretty crazy stunts in order to keep from happening.
The main thing was that people were required to SAY they were participating. Only ONE well was tainted rather than the whole thing, and it could be prevented by boiling your water so the outbreak was contained. No one could FORCE you to become sick, and you never had to participate in the story.
Also, Guild Wars 2 was a much smaller and community with no personal housing, so people from different groups had to interact a little more than in FFXIV, where most people go to their houses and RP.
If you WANT to start an 'Outbreak' model, I would start is more like a zombie thing. One person catches it and bites someone else, who has to consent. I would make a thread and link it to someone before they even interact, and I would, at the top of the thread, state that the imposition of the plague/poison/whatever would end after something like two weeks if nothing from other parties is done, retconned as the sickness passing and the person getting better. That way you aren't really putting a lot of impositions on other players who don't want to be involved.