I cannot stand played-bys.
Hear me out. I’m a blind player of text games and have been for a long time, but was only introduced to the idea of a PB when I got into mushing. Where I play currently, it’s a common thing on wikis and the like for the people who want to put them, which is obvi fine. When I started to app on Ares games, though, the played-by as a literal component of character creation kind of grated on me, especially since it shows up at the end of character descs and the name of the actor is in the profile. I have to go to staff every time like yeah hey sorry im leaving this out because i can’t see. But this isn’t a dig at Ares, just the prevalence of pictures to convey imagery in what’s supposed to be a text medium.
I know this is like probably super unpopular and obviously a very personal bias. I’ve spent years honing my knack for physical description, and one of the main draws of a mush for me, other than them being one of the only types of games I can play, is the niche art of making pretty stuff with words. I don’t think PBs negate this or anything, but it’ll always be a peeve for me when I can’t get a good visual from a desc because the person is relying more on a picture. I have the same philosophy about ascii but that’s a whole other rant.

It’s annoying when I’ve just quit my longest standing MU and want to join and be involved with others, but the investment is difficult to build up and my mental state derails me half the time. There are so many new and awesome games out right now, that I want to support, while I’m simultaneously trying to work on my own and torn as to where to focus my attention, so I end up getting way less done than I’d like. Just kind of feeling like a flake rn.

Hi. I figured I’d come out of the woodwork for this post because it feels pretty relevant to me, since I started rping around 13 and only came of age a couple years ago. RP has single-handedly been one of the most cathartic outlets for my creativity, personality, and sexuality, and also one of the most emotionally taxing. I genuinely don’t think I’d be who I am without years of rp under my belt, but I also would have avoided tons of unnecessary stress and a lot of very real hurt. As a kid, I lacked the mental and emotional bandwidth to handle some of the heavier situations that arise in these spaces, not just abuse, but general bleed and vicarious feelings. I think it’s especially easy for kids who don’t have much of a social life to immerse themselves way too deeply, so instead of a hobby it becomes a coping mechanism. Obv this isn’t an age-specific issue, but people of lower maturity level are certainly more susceptible.
So, on one hand, rp was integral to my development as a person, but on the other, it kinda fucked me up and I’ve had to reevaluate my relationship with it recently. Collaborative writing can have such a beautiful and powerful impact, but I’d say underage people should stick to spaces with others in their age range, and if they are caught on an 18+ game, turn them away with an invitation to return later.

speaking out against abusive players is difficult

on rp being full of really good and really bad times, i’m waiting for the day i’m a calm enough person that the hobby i love feels like a completely healthy indulgence. I get so much out of it, there’s genuinely nothing to replace it, but it can also be so grating on my emotional well-being. I tend to feel pretty alone in this, or like I shouldn’t talk about it because nobody else feels things intensely like i do surely. lol anyway, i just thought about that reading some above comments.

bolded text

@hellfrog said in Star Wars Age of Alliances: Hadrix and Cujo:

@Polk said in Star Wars Age of Alliances: Hadrix and Cujo:

I think it’s a fair complaint that you get shut out of RP in a game unless your PC is a young woman willing to, er, “put out.”

Honestly, I don’t.

I think this gets ASSUMED to be what is going on a lot more than it is actually what is going on. And if it is going on, and you are truly getting shut out of ALL RP on a game because your pc is not the sexually desirable flavor…that game is not for you. You don’t fit the team. Time to move on. What it isn’t time to do is make it seem like the people who are playing whatever fits the team are victims or bad people, or only fit because of sexual reasons. Focus on the people you know to be violating boundaries and being a problem. Do not just assume or lump together anyone who does manage to find rp.

To me this is a weird thing to defend? I get your point about not lumping people together, but as a player who has experienced this exact kind of ostracization, I think it’s perfectly right and good to critique such behavior on a game-wide level. Of course, if a game advertises itself with those kinds of themes, it’s a different story, but most places where it gets complained about are not doing that.

when players are so nasty and unpleasant to deal with you’re afraid of being spied on and bullied a second time for imposing IC consequences.
lol this isn’t even a mush thing, i’m on a mud, but shit i just needed to say it publicly somewhere. carry on with your actual MU peeves!

i hate insomnia
that is all

Hello! Just dropping in to say I had a really fabulous time at the battle scene today. Normally events of that caliber give me a lot of anxiety, but everything about it was well-paced and very easy to keep up with, and I was able to relax into it and just enjoy the rp. Congrats to everyone who participated, and thank you @apos

@Kestrel DOWN WITH PLAYED-BYS

hello it’s me, once a minor who snuck onto games the entire time i was a teenager. Wanted to say, to be perfectly honest, it wasn’t the sex stuff or weird people hitting on me that did emotional damage, it was bullying/dogpiling/smear campaigns etc as @kestrel noted in their post. I’m also going to say the uncomfy thing that having roleplay as an intimate/sexual outlet at that age was formative, in a healthy way. I maybe unique in this; I can definitely imagine less outspoken underage ppl being hurt or traumatized by feeling backed into a corner by intimate rp. As an adult now, I less regret what I did more than I wish I’d been able to explore those things with fellow teenagers through the writing medium. I would feel very uncomfortable and betrayed if I found out someone I was roleplaying with like that was underage, and I shouldn’t have deceived people that way.
Anyway, pretty sure the best games can do is label themselves 18+ and maybe have a little agreement to sign like people mentioned. Also don’t be like fucking IRE that’s 13+ but has pests literally trawling newbie areas for sex with no administrative backlash, im not bitter.

on rp being full of really good and really bad times, i’m waiting for the day i’m a calm enough person that the hobby i love feels like a completely healthy indulgence. I get so much out of it, there’s genuinely nothing to replace it, but it can also be so grating on my emotional well-being. I tend to feel pretty alone in this, or like I shouldn’t talk about it because nobody else feels things intensely like i do surely. lol anyway, i just thought about that reading some above comments.

@Pavel right and i think it’s better to focus on creating culture/implementing rules that determine how those systems are utilized rather than scrapping a nice thing

@howyadoin what you said. I love traditional places, I think it can get annoying if people are using them in bad faith to do things that others would objectively notice and just not emoting at all about it to the larger scene, but when used well it enhances rp immersion for me. Feels realistic! I love chatting at an event w my buddies at a lil couch. As others have said, Arx had a good culture around it so that’s certainly colored my perception positively.

@Tez was pointed out to me that you probably meant you need their email. Anyways, i asked and theyre all set but good to know!

@Tez what’s the email, i haven’t seen that info around anywhere! i also don’t look

@Ominous I recommend you log on and ask if you have questions about the game, since the creator can’t register for an account here and I myself am not staff.

@somasatori lmfao i had a similar reaction!!

replying to add that official launch is October 31st

Hi, disclaimer that this is not my, Artemis’s game, but a friend’s who doesn’t have an account!

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The Empire of Adana has existed for six hundred years. The imperial house exerts only loose control over its major vassals and the empire much resembles a broad confederation or alliance. For most, that has meant six centuries of relative peace after the cataclysmic Third Greytide. The empire’s neighbours have rarely been able to challenge it openly, but the imperial frontier is far from safe.

The city of Sanctuary is the capital of the empire and home to the imperial court, a term encapsulating any noble who happens to be in the city, and any commoner able to move in noble circles. Sanctuary is the social heart of the empire, the place where alliances are formed and plans made, where even the most restless of adventurers go to find companions and to plan their next steps.

Empire is a fantasy lords and ladies-style MUSH telling the story of the Empire of Adana. It is a game of grand plans and great deeds, cunning plans and clever schemes, social butterflies and dour magistrates, mighty warriors and visionary rulers, gallant knights and monied merchants.

The game uses a roster system: all characters are prewritten and players may choose one.

Empire uses Cortex Prime, a straightforward setting-agnostic RPG toolkit, as a basis for its game system.

Day-to-day roleplay is set in the city of Sanctuary, the imperial capital. Player characters can act on the wider world through GMed events and off-screen actions.

Empire is built in Evennia, a MU* creation system.

Visit https://empiremush.org/ to find out more.