RP musings: the perfect fight
I was thinking earlier about how, much as I enjoy playing out fights in RPs (as anyone who's played/talked with me would know), some threads are invariably far superior to others. And I don't just mean in terms of how impressive or flashy the characters are, but both in the sense of how fun it was to play at the time, and how fun it is to go back and read after the fact, as well. So I was thinking about just what, exactly, makes for the perfect fight.
First of all, obviously, is the very basic question of how well the players understand the dynamics of a fight. What kinds of moves a character could or would make with a particular weapon, even details as specific as how they shift their weight from one foot to the other. It doesn't have to be so particular, though: just a basic idea of how a fight should ebb and flow can be plenty. Creativity is absolutely key here, because not only does it mean coming up with interesting things for the character to do, but can often more than make up for any details the player doesn't know or want to bother with. Not all fights need to be incredibly detailed, but as long as it's interesting, it's usually successful.
The next thing is simply writing. This is affected partly by the style of the game it's in- for example, first person action versus prose- but is still important. Well-written, coherent descriptions do wonders for making a fight enjoyable for both parties to play. Even going into tangents of a character's thoughts, or silly metaphors, or so on, can prevent the thread from becoming tedious or boring to play. But make sure that it's understandable. There's nothing more frustrating, at times, than a getting a vague reply in a fight, responding to it as you interpret it, only to have the other party clarify that actually, they meant something different... Make it fun, but don't sacrifice quality just because it's a fight. Things can get tedious and boring fast that way.
Finally, and most importantly, is that the other player isn't your opponent in a thread so much as your partner. And this, I find, is very often what makes the difference in many of the fights I've RPed. When I'm playing off of someone where both of us are willing to cooperate with each other, the thread runs much more smoothly, is more enjoyable, and more often than not, much more interesting to someone reading it later. You can still do your best to be as creative and clever as ICly appropriate to get that IC edge, but OOCly it shouldn't turn into some kind of tug of war for control of the situation. That way lies bad feelings and general lack of fun for all.
In any case, though, to give an idea of what I'm talking about, some examples of various threads I've played in that showcase one or more of these:
Creative (and silly) tactics let a fight-crazy swordsman take the win.... despite having a broken foot. This one was fun mostly for, well, the working out the (somewhat deliberately exaggerated) physics of having someone attempting to fight while using a crutch. Lots of thought tended to go into each comment, but figuring it out was half the fun.
Humorous prose in action tags adds another layer of entertainment to your standard shounen-retard fight. This one isn't finished yet, but has some great examples of using prose to contribute to the thread. Even something as simple as "manly Nakai grunting" in one of Zoro's tags is a good description as well as being good for a laugh.
Two on one with only two players. This is, I have to say, one of my favorite fights I've had. Admittedly, I was playing two of the three characters in it, but in a way that actually made it more complicated and potentially difficult to work out sequences of action, with three characters between two players. However, it was hardly the first time Morrolan and I had played off each other, so it went remarkably smoothly, with both of us building off each other's comments to have a just downright fun fight. An excellent example, in my opinion, of how much a difference it makes when both players play as partners rather than opponents, regardless of the IC actions and outcome. (Though really, it's probably a good example of "all of the above"....)
IN CONCLUSION eh, I don't have one, other than fights are awesome, especially when everyone plays nice and plays well. :|b
First of all, obviously, is the very basic question of how well the players understand the dynamics of a fight. What kinds of moves a character could or would make with a particular weapon, even details as specific as how they shift their weight from one foot to the other. It doesn't have to be so particular, though: just a basic idea of how a fight should ebb and flow can be plenty. Creativity is absolutely key here, because not only does it mean coming up with interesting things for the character to do, but can often more than make up for any details the player doesn't know or want to bother with. Not all fights need to be incredibly detailed, but as long as it's interesting, it's usually successful.
The next thing is simply writing. This is affected partly by the style of the game it's in- for example, first person action versus prose- but is still important. Well-written, coherent descriptions do wonders for making a fight enjoyable for both parties to play. Even going into tangents of a character's thoughts, or silly metaphors, or so on, can prevent the thread from becoming tedious or boring to play. But make sure that it's understandable. There's nothing more frustrating, at times, than a getting a vague reply in a fight, responding to it as you interpret it, only to have the other party clarify that actually, they meant something different... Make it fun, but don't sacrifice quality just because it's a fight. Things can get tedious and boring fast that way.
Finally, and most importantly, is that the other player isn't your opponent in a thread so much as your partner. And this, I find, is very often what makes the difference in many of the fights I've RPed. When I'm playing off of someone where both of us are willing to cooperate with each other, the thread runs much more smoothly, is more enjoyable, and more often than not, much more interesting to someone reading it later. You can still do your best to be as creative and clever as ICly appropriate to get that IC edge, but OOCly it shouldn't turn into some kind of tug of war for control of the situation. That way lies bad feelings and general lack of fun for all.
In any case, though, to give an idea of what I'm talking about, some examples of various threads I've played in that showcase one or more of these:
Creative (and silly) tactics let a fight-crazy swordsman take the win.... despite having a broken foot. This one was fun mostly for, well, the working out the (somewhat deliberately exaggerated) physics of having someone attempting to fight while using a crutch. Lots of thought tended to go into each comment, but figuring it out was half the fun.
Humorous prose in action tags adds another layer of entertainment to your standard shounen-retard fight. This one isn't finished yet, but has some great examples of using prose to contribute to the thread. Even something as simple as "manly Nakai grunting" in one of Zoro's tags is a good description as well as being good for a laugh.
Two on one with only two players. This is, I have to say, one of my favorite fights I've had. Admittedly, I was playing two of the three characters in it, but in a way that actually made it more complicated and potentially difficult to work out sequences of action, with three characters between two players. However, it was hardly the first time Morrolan and I had played off each other, so it went remarkably smoothly, with both of us building off each other's comments to have a just downright fun fight. An excellent example, in my opinion, of how much a difference it makes when both players play as partners rather than opponents, regardless of the IC actions and outcome. (Though really, it's probably a good example of "all of the above"....)
IN CONCLUSION eh, I don't have one, other than fights are awesome, especially when everyone plays nice and plays well. :|b