A Plotting Guide

[Zephiris]

Making Plots and Poast
Because I've been charged with kicking your butts into gear.

[/font]

Get Involved

[/font][/center]
A text-based RPG is made up of a community. WD in particular thrives on member-run plots, particularly those that interconnect with one another or bring the element of emotion into events. Threads like these, both site-wide and personal, are essential to plot and character development - and plot and character development are vital in bringing World Destiny to life.

So what do you do when you're bored, are not satisfied with any current plots, and can find no threads that suit your interests or character's developmental needs? I'd like to draw your attention to a certain board. It's in the Character Center, somewhere below the Register and above the Academy. Swipe off the dust and take a look inside. Remember it?

You want something done, you get out and do it yourself.

Personal Plots

Start

Grab some music. Reread your character's profiles. Say to yourself, "Hey, I really wanna get so-and-so out and about." Do jumping jacks. Do whatever it takes to get you pumped and your muse flowing.

Then you can stick your character in an open thread and wing it, which is always fun, or find partners beforehand. You can go about this by searching for characters you'd like yours to interact with, post your own up in the "RP With Me!" thread, or consider contacting a specific RPer.

Occasionally an extra step pops up in thread creation: plotting. The extent to which you do so with personal plots varies, but after even a brief conversation you'll probably have at least established tone, setting, and a vague idea of what you'll be doing. PMs, MSN convos, and the cbox are common at this stage. Communication is key. No matter how nonsensical or ridiculous plot conversations get, discussing with others always keeps things fresh and interesting.

Finish

Once a thread is up and running, likely you find yourself in one of the following situations:

1. You're losing interest. Typically this occurs when either a) the thread had little purpose to begin with, or b) activity lags and the posts begin falling in disjointed and flat, making it more of a burden than a joy to post. In the former situation you may want to consider contacting your RP partner(s), and try to find a direction to take the thread. If activity lags you may still want to contact your partners, but instead try to encourage more frequent posting. You may even want to discuss introducing a new angle to the thread.

2. You want the thread to continue, but your partner has gone MIA or is just being excruciatingly slow with his/her replies. This is a tragic occurrence. Incomplete threads are a thing over which to weep. Don't be afraid to drop them a reminder every so often; however, be sensitive to the fact that real life exists, and never, ever be rude. If worst comes to worst you can always try kick-starting the thread by introducing new characters or different plot points. You could (and should) attempt have your character gracefully leave the scenario if not doing so may warp his/her timeline.

3. You're loving every post of it. Congratulations! Enjoy yourself, wrap it up when you're done, stick it in your Character Journals, boast about it to others, and reread it when you'd like some entertainment or need some muse. It's a rewarding experience. Now go and make another one!

World Plots

This form of plotting is trickier and typically more daunting to get started, because you have multiple people involved. However, world plots are essential for keeping major and minor worlds active.

It is not just the staff's duty to plot for worlds. We frequently do so because we enjoy it, but it is not our job alone. It is the creativity of the rest of WD that should be getting these things going, and that's where people get stuck.

The Motivation

Pick a world you like, spend a little bit thinking of a general idea for an engaging plot or event, and then tell people about it. Now matter how much of a stretch the idea is, the Plot Central board is a place for "free spitballing," as Ellie has said. Dump anything and everything and see what the rest of us can do with your efforts. You'll have the whole force of WD there to point out kinks in the idea and make something better out of it.

The People

As people get interested and begin responding and shooting out ideas, form a plotwhore group! These people either can be the participants of the world plot, or can be planning it out for others. Exchange contact info and have fun working out plot kinks. A plot constructed by member networking always has an edge. Little is more valuable than other's opinions. (And working with others tends to be many times more fun than going solo.)

The Planning

At some point you've just got to get down to business. to defeat. the huns.

One key thing WD’s learned from past experience is to avoid too much structure. You can brainstorm interesting, solid scenarios and conflicts, and from there the roleplay is developed by the characters. If you’re trying to plan a large-scale plot involving multiple people, you’d probably rather plan out the thread count ahead of time to make sure it doesn’t drag on. (Prime example of all these mistakes: Atlantis). Don’t shy away from smaller world plots, which tend to move quicker between less people in any case.

When you have a solid idea (with conflict!), take it to a staff member if one isn’t already part of the plotting. If there are any inconsistencies you’ve overlooked we'd likely be able to point them out.

The Production

Eventually you'll be all set to go. Get threads up, find participating characters, brainstorm personal plots you can take advantage of along the way. All you have to do from here is tell a story.

Plotting Tips and Tricks

• Mind your manners. Respect forum etiquette and rules.
  
  
• Be a good listener and critic. Ideas will always pop up that you deem extraneous, but people will point out flaws in your plan, too. It's best to be logical when plotting and not get frustrated, or stubborn. If you have to let an idea go, that's okay. Something better will take its place.
  
  
• Every so often, try branching out and experimenting. Grab someone you've never roleplayed with before, or create an open thread in a unique location.
  
  
• Take the time to get KH-savvy if you're trying to plot. If you're not sure if something would work with the rules of Nomura's universe, feel free to shoot a staff member a PM. Get as well versed as you can about the specific world you're attempting to post in, too.

Post Tips and Tricks

• For any plot, both personal, world, and site, you need to be able to get into your character's skin. It may require some practice threads to get to that point, but it should be a step started in the creation of a profile and perfected over your journey with your creation.
  
  
• Don't forget the basic structure and rules of posts! Proper grammar, punctuation, and decent spelling are all expected on WD. A post can be as descriptive as it can be, but it can't be considered top notch unless it is engaging and gives others something to respond to. Rules against god-modding, meta-gaming, power-playing, and the like should be adhered to.
  
  
• Try going with the flow of the thread. Generally avoid breaking the flow by inserting irrelvance (such as random gummi ship crashes or Heartless fights) or impromptu entrances (such as random gummi ship crashes with a new thread participant on board).
  
  
• Respect posting orders, unless activity lags.
  
  
• Keep OOC speech in posts to a minimum.
  
  
• Read, don't skim.
  
  
• Use common sense.
  
  
• Enjoy making poast.

Words of Others

PM me or post below to contribute.

USE CORRECT ENGLISH.

Talk about the scenery, your charrie's feelings, and your charrie's interpretations of what just happened/is happening.

Think of your character's personality, who they'll get along with and who they won't.
Your character's morals: which side would they affiliate with? What difference do you want to make via your charrie?

~Dirb

Know KH universe; it's terminology, etc. Avoid making assumptions on the mechanics, because different interpretations can lead to hoopla, and your plot can be unstable for not having a common ground of understanding.

For example... gummiships didn't really pop up until after BBS and before KH1.

~Ellie

For a successful plot...you need to play a character that interest you for whatever reason, because you need to think and breath for them. If you're dead with your character, then he/she/it must have lost their muchness that attracted you to it... and you need to rediscover it.

~Ellie

For successful plot construction you just need a creative mind that takes the games into consideration and use it as a guide. Have an open mind to take inspiration from anything.

~Ellie

If worst comes to worst and you're petrified about talking to others on the site, just make an Open thread with the character of your choice. People are eventually bound to jump into the thread and eventually, you can begin to converse with them about future plots and other such nonsense. Open threads are a great way to rp with people you haven't RP-ed with yet and your first post could be about anything from Your character reaching the world to your character fighting off Heartless. Don't hold your imagination back and let it run wild to a certain degree.

~Jimmy

By the way: feel free to post in this thread. It can be assumed that members may post in announcement or stickied threads unless they've been locked.

[tweezy]

how do i play can someone help me

[Ellie who has 0%]

This is the wrong place to post. Go to the Arrival and Departure board ---> then the Arrival sub-board and make a thread.