Lesson Eight: Role-Playing Genre
So, you're about to create a thread for a role-play, and you want to make it something good that will draw others attention. A lot of players will tell you they don't want to have to read to role-play. These are the types of players that you do not want in your role-play anyway, because they're usually the ones that are either very illiterate, or will abandon you, or the thread mid-game. Either way, they aren't a positive influence in your role-play. Any gamer worth their salt will stop, and take the time to read the rules, guidelines, backstory, and scenery.
[Only Applicable Sometimes: There are some obvious types of role-plays to avoid making, such as slavery role-plays (for these, always make sure 'sexual' anything isn't included, because likely someone will take someone to PM, cyber, and break the TOS for whatever site you're on, especially if the site is PG-13. And the last thing you need as a thread creator, is to be in hot water with the forum/site admin, because someone else was being stupid in your thread), strip clubs, bars (for the simple fact of their over-use, anything involving malls, and most things involving schools. Unless its a specific school from an anime/comic/game/book, and you're planning on laying down certain limits, you will meet with a good number of morons in your threads.]
There are a lot of genre out there, as many as there are movies and books, in fact. Genre can be related to a specific series you're role-playing from, or simply the type. Horror, Fantasy, Science-Fiction, Drama, Romance, the sky is literally the limit.
So, you've decided on a genre, and you want to make a thread. Okay, here's a basic format for you to cover. In your first post, you will want to list.
Rules (This is basic. What you will, and won't allow in your role-play. No matter what kind of role-play you are hosting/starting, every set of rules threads should contain the fact that all rules of wherever you are role-playing, are to be obeyed first and foremost.)
Characters (Character, be they canon, or not, and if you allow original characters, a small profile for others to follow. Profile should include character name, age, height, hair color, eye color, personality, appearance, and a short history. Or a long history, depending on your preference. Also, you can require a role-play sample, if you want to be really specific on who/what you do and don't let into your role-play.)
Backstory (The backstory for your role-play, or, the reason that all of said characters have come together, for whatever reason or another. This should be detailed, and should include anything that will become a key element later. If you want to be positive someone reads your backstory, make it a point that when they submit their profile, they attach some word you planted in the backstory, to make certain they read and understand everything you've written so far. This way, you can ensure they read, and if they don't follow with the backstory, you have a good reason to boot them out of your role-play, for twinking, or changing things mid-stream on you.)
Current Time Period (What season is it? What time is it? What month? What year? All of this is important. In some role-plays, usually anime, or fantasy, is implied what era you're playing in, but season, and time are generals that can be used. After all, in a role-play supposedly based in the winter, you don't want people walking around in nothing but shorts and a bikini top. They'd freeze their sensitive bits off in that kind of attire.)
Okay, so we've got that covered? Good! Because the same things you should keep in mind when making a role-play are also things you should look for when trying to find a good thread to role-play in. The more detailed a thread is, usually, the longer it will last. At least, the longer it will last among literate role-players, and isn't that what you're attempting to become? I hope so.
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