The following are my
observations from having been a roleplayer for over 40 years, and an online
(sex and non-sex) roleplayer for over 30 years. Some may claim that we didn't
have the internet that long ago, but guess what? We were connecting computers
and roleplaying that way as far back as 1986 - and there were people there
before me!
-- Dayvid - 11/16/2020
So let's be adult about this, and admit right
up front that everyone thinks that the style of roleplay they're more
comfortable with is the "right" way to roleplay.
And lets further admit that the style of
roleplay you're most comfortable with is most likely the first one you tried -
which is why it's imprinted on you as "right".
Relatively few people go outside their bubble
and learn any but their first. And since they're in their bubble, they truly
believe that their way is what the "majority" of roleplayers play. This
is why some of you will look at one or the other of the following and say,
"Well, that's not really roleplaying!"
The truth though, is that there are
essentially TWO styles of roleplay, with a number of variations for each. And
these two are significantly different.
In this style of roleplay, each person plays
one character. These roleplays are typically one-off experiences of short
duration and limited scope. They tend to be a single "scene" with the
characters and setting defined in advance.
For chat rooms and apps, this is generally
the preferred method. Nobody wants to wait while you type in several paragraphs
in real-time. Much less pages.
These are usually played as 1st person, and
most often, present tense. They usually have some dialog, and little narration.
There's little to no story line or character development.
In this type of roleplay, God-moding or
Bunnying is verboten. Those are not the same thing, but they are the same
problem, and that is that the players feel like they are being manipulated
against their will. Most people who have played this style have had this happen
to them, and it's an unpleasant experience, so they tend to be "on
guard" against it, often to the point of being overprotective of their
character and actively seeking out anything that could possibly be construed as
that, then getting all in a froth when they inevitably interpret something that
way.
If you're looking for a sex play where you
can just "get off" fairly quickly, this is the way to go. A pair of
good Soloist-style players can have a good sexual "scene" or
experience in anything from thirty minutes to seven hours, depending on how
they write, how much they like to "edge" and so on. Mostly its 30 min
to 2 hrs.
Some will want a "long term"
roleplay in Soloist style. In my experience, "long term" Soloist
means a few weeks at most.
This style of roleplay is more of a
cooperative effort to build a story together. So while each player typically
starts with one or more "primary" characters, they exclusivity found
in Soloist play is not nearly as critical. While some play this style
first-person, most play third-person, as there's usually multiple characters
involved, and that's a lot clearer in third-person.
These roleplays generally are much more
long-term and "larger", including numerous "scenes" and
NPC's (Non-Player Characters, or characters which don't really
"belong" to either of the players). Generally speaking, they're not
quite as sexually-oriented, at least not as a way of getting off quickly. It's
quite common for such a story to have multiple climatic scenes, as well as some
scenes with little to no sex at all. These are rarely "short term" by
Soloist standards, and "long term" Co-Op can mean months or even
years of enjoyment.
Those who prefer this style do so largely
because both the story and the characters have far greater depth. Character,
story, and relationship development are key for this type of play. As a result,
the participants can develop a much deeper "feel" for the other
character(s), and often find the experience much more satisfying.
God-moding or Bunnying isn't really an issue
in this style of play, as it's pretty much inevitable that you'll sometimes
have to "speak for" or "act for" the other person's
Primary. However, it's good manners to keep this to the minimum necessary, and
it's important to keep to the character's "personality" as defined by
the primary's Player.
The size and complexity of this style of play
requires a good deal of cooperation and a similar vision for the direction the
story is taking. So it's common to include "OOC comments"
(Out-Of-Character) so that one can let their partner know what they're steering
towards. However, sometimes one player will need to "correct"
something the other player wrote in the previous turn. There's nothing wrong
with this - this is a cooperative effort after all. However, some (few/new)
players can become deeply offended when something they've written is changed,
and have a hissy fit over it. This usually stops happening after they've
matured a bit as a Co-Op player.
In general, the in-between time on Co-Op is
longer as well. Soloist is generally for quick back-and-forth, and an hour
delay is too long. Co-Op may be hours, or even days between. For some, this is
unacceptable. For others, the anticipation adds to the experience. Back in the
old days, letters would take 2-14 days, and lovers would relish that
anticipation. And yes, in the old days people roleplayed that way too. In fact,
many pen-pals still do!
Like I said at the beginning, this is largely
determined by your first experiences with online roleplaying. The majority of
new online roleplayers today start with texting, then move to chat-apps like,
Wickr, Kik, Discord, and so on. And these days most start out using their
phones rather than a computer with a keyboard. Consequently, most new players
are ONLY familiar with Soloist style. Even Discord limits posts to 2000
characters (by default), and that's shorter than most Co-Op style posts can fit
into.
Often players won't even know about Co-Op
until they've been roleplaying for months or years, and start looking for a
"deeper" experience. Often they'll be shot down by other new-ish
roleplayers with the "that's not how you roleplay" argument and,
finding nothing deeper, they give up roleplaying for a time. I've seen it
happen. However, if they keep at least dabbling, they generally run into some
Co-Op style eventually, and dive back in when they find there's more out there.
The opposite is also true, though more
rarely. I've met writers who started out with Co-Op style and never even knew
about Soloist style until "fell into" a chat room or started sexting
with a friend or something like that which opened them up to the Soloist style.
There's also the mechanics. If all you have
to type on is a phone, you'll probably never get into Co-Op. It just requires
more text to express feelings, thoughts, and so on with multiple characters. On
the other hand, if you have a keyboard, and touch-type, you can really lose
yourself in creating your portions of the story; deeply connecting with the
characters, especially your primary, as well as the other player's primary and
some of the NPCs. When that happens, your writing becomes more expressive, and
you can make a real connection with your co-author through the medium of the
story.
Some Co-Op players consider Soloist roleplays
to be "two-dimensional" - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've
heard the analogy that Soloist is like cartoon stories while Co-Op is like a
movie. Both can be highly enjoyable, and some people enjoy one type more than
the other, while other people like both about equally.
So which is better for you
depends on a number of factors. For some, they'll never want to try the other
style. For others, trying the other can open a whole new world of roleplaying
enjoyment.