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+--- Thread: Looking for ways to slow down plots. (/showthread.php?tid=14380)
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RE: Looking for ways to slow down plots. - Valence - 11-25-2015
Well, usually if you are the one writing the plot, or the GM, then you will of course have the liberty to set the pace however you want... If it's the plot of someone else... I think that the only thing you can really do is send OOC nice feedback and see where it goes...
I mean, when you GM something, or run a plot, it's not only for yourself, so usually a good GM will listen to the needs of his/her players, and hear feedback. If the people you play with don't want to hear them, then I guess you will eventually lose your fun, or people will start to leave it.
More generally, I think it is a natural tendency that plagues most people writing or creating stories: you usually want to get to the last chapter, or the culmination of the story because that's where it's the most awesome... That's a natural thing to do, especially when you don't have much experience. It's also why a lot of novices tend to go for 95% pure epic action and 5% laid back various stuff...
But the subtlety gets diluted in that over abundance, and that's where of course you have to slow down plots as you say. But I can understand what makes people often forget that. Character development, intrigue, is actually not fond only in those epic moments that are rather big shifts in a story, but more in the intermediary more laid back moments, the everyday, the cement that binds all those epic wtfbbq climaxes together.
Breadcrumbs is a good idea, but from experience it also tends to get lost in all the white noise. Sometimes you really have to get heavy handed to make sure people pick up clues, or else they just miss them and you can wait a century after, but it will not change a thing.
Quote:How pacing/timing is worked in an RP setting has always confused me. Time paces so quickly then enjoying an RP at the Quicksand and you and mother steps outside and it's technically 3pm Eorzea time. So do you RP it still being nighttime? Or is it now 3pm and you spent the whole night/day at a bar?
I believe all that confusion would interfere with pacing as well. Gather research for instance, should take days, weeks or even months. But do 5 rl days go past and then you're good to go? 5 rl days are not much, but considering that's been like 2 months ingame, then what?
Another example is you walk to Ul'dah from Gridania. It takes you say 10 minutes. But shouldn't that of been closer to at least a few days?
So in my opinion, pacing is always going to be screwed.
I am not sure it is a good analogy to make. In every story, you have time ellipsises for that. Imagine if you had never to cut any sequence like IRL, describing everything happening at every minute (going to the bathroom, eating, chilling for what would look like eons, etc)..
RE: Looking for ways to slow down plots. - SicketySix - 11-25-2015
My point was more of, let says you and your friend are ingame and decide to RP walk from the 2 city-states. Mean while, Another of your friends is sitting at a tavern.
So you and your pal walk to Ul'dah, it took 10 minutes but RP wise it should be a few days. Meanwhile your buddy at the Tavern is visiting with a random. So what just took you 1 week just spanned into the time of your buddy emoting him pouring a drink.
So you head back to Ul'dah, it's now been 2 weeks. You walk in and find your buddy still sitting in the same spot.
"Buddy how ya been? Man its been 2 weeks since I last seen you!"
And he just looks at you in confusion because he's still working on the same drink as when you left lol.
In other words, pacing really only works out best through forum RP or something similar.
RE: Looking for ways to slow down plots. - Valence - 11-25-2015
Ah yeah, of course...!
RE: Looking for ways to slow down plots. - Unnamed Mercenary - 11-25-2015
(11-25-2015, 08:48 AM)SicketySix Wrote: My point was more of, let says you and your friend are ingame and decide to RP walk from the 2 city-states. Mean while, Another of your friends is sitting at a tavern.
So you and your pal walk to Ul'dah, it took 10 minutes but RP wise it should be a few days. Meanwhile your buddy at the Tavern is visiting with a random. So what just took you 1 week just spanned into the time of your buddy emoting him pouring a drink.
So you head back to Ul'dah, it's now been 2 weeks. You walk in and find your buddy still sitting in the same spot.
"Buddy how ya been? Man its been 2 weeks since I last seen you!"
And he just looks at you in confusion because he's still working on the same drink as when you left lol.
In other words, pacing really only works out best through forum RP or something similar.
The only thing I could say for that is don't exit a scene, have another one that greatly modifies your character's timeline, and then try to re-enter the first scene. You'd just be setting yourself up for inconsistencies.
If say, your character is at the pub, but suddenly realizes that they -must- go pick up their potion order from the Alchemists' Guild, that's one thing. Having a whole journey after a day at the pub means you've very clearly exited that scene. If you were to go to the same pub after, that would be pretty problematic.