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What Makes a RollPlay Show Fun to Watch?

RollPlay: General & Archives
#42

I find that my enjoyment often relates to how much I enjoy the CHARACTERS that are being played.

An example would be Court of Swords. Yes, the addition of Geoff changed a lot of dynamics and you could say that Geoff himself is a part of raising my enjoyment, but I also feel like the characters that are being played right now make for a more interesting show. The three characters that were first being played were quiet, both in personality and in action, and what is now being played makes for an interesting dynamic. Berg is unique as a character because of Gassy’s rolls, Dan now plays a character that is extremely emotional compared to Baern.

Player choices are often ruled by what they think their character would do. A group of careful, soft-stepping characters isn’t fun to watch for me.

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#43

The is a phenomenally difficult question .

Primarily and this may seem an odd answer, the dice. More precisely being faithful to them and following through on them. I think that is what makes any rpg show exciting. Real risk and real consequence.

As to what makes it fun.
Cast, setting, system, gm. These are things i could not single out easily. Is it better to have systems suited to player groups? Vinyard feels very narrative heavy and Austin and Tycho especially flourished in that setting. There have been other games where the players chose to be narrative heavy in a more mechanically driven game , and more mechanically minded players seemed frustrated by it. That sense of frustration comes across and can reduce enjoyment. One thing i can say is the shows feel more fun to me when the cast is having fun and are into it. When they are excited or emotive i am. When i see your reaction to tycho laying down the law, or Austin giving a speech that feeling and excitement infects me.

The GM and the gm’s competence and confidence with the material add and consequently can subtract a tremendous amount to me. I think you know Adam that you add a tremendous volume to anything you GM, and hugely enhance the immersion. You know all this already , you could literally write books on it, so i will leave that there as it just comes off as over praising.

Lastly what makes the shows really special. To me, it is a blending of all of the above. It is people with great chemistry, at ease with one another, trusting and having fun with one another. Its the half hour of friendly chat before an ep of swansong and the bonding in it. It’s the 20’s and the 1’s and how everyone (including chat) reacts to them. It is seeing players coming to love characters and loving them yourself and knowing each roll could be disaster or triumph. It is rooting for them. It is laughing when they fuck up brutally. The excitement, the bravery, the stupidity. It is ‘see you all again next week’.

And it is typing this all out and remembering things from shows and not being able to not smile.

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#44

For me, I enjoy the interconnectedness of story arcs that hint at epic lore behind the world and world events. The few RollPlay shows that I have really enjoyed (Solum, WM, and SS) all hint at, and sometimes directly address, in-depth backstory and lore that is expertly interwoven in the stories that are being told. The stories, and parties, might be distinct and unique to the PC’s backstory and motivation but they never came off as fractious and unrelated to the world around the characters. I guess setting and backstory is what I look for in RollPlay shows and so far I haven’t been seriously disappointed.

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#45

I agree that cast and DM are the most important things, and the things that Rollplay always does well.

the thing that really has been the highlight for me in watching shows is when everyone role plays to honor the dice roll. Geoff has always been my favorite at this, when he rolls a 2 for a swan song business check he role plays a terrible business encounter, and when he somehow takes out a crew of pirates you know he had to work for it. Consistently following what the dice say makes the dice rolls more suspenseful and interesting.

a lot of other posts on here have the main things I enjoy about Rollplay like: cast, dm, systsems, narrative focus, and giving fights narrative significance, and not getting bogged down in explaining mechanics over and over forever

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#46

Well to me personally it’s a mish mash (those are words, yes?) of many things.
Mainly it has to do with cast, yes. If I find a player to be annoying it’s far more likely for me to tune out and skip that series of Rollplay. However.

I began watching the original Rollplay series, the very first one, and I have to say I didn’t care much for Livinpink. For whatever reason her personality/style of playing irked me. But as she grew in her role, I came to enjoy her playstyle and it didn’t bother me anymore. This means I will give every series a shot, for better or worse.

The setting can vary for all I care, new viewing experiences are welcome as are new mechanics.
If I would have to pinpoint what makes Rollplay special for me, it would have to be watching the cast having a good time.
My favorite moments in Rollplay is when a player go their own way and think of interesting and fun ways to solve problems. I’ve roleplayed a fair bit and I love to see quirky characters with their own touch, interacting with the setting and trying to progress through an interesting story. (Whatever that may be)

As far as GMs go, I have to admit I do favor you Adam.
The way you explain things and deliver the narrative is fantastic.
(This does however not mean I exclusively watch your sessions, but it does peak my interest.)

If you need clarification on anything I’d be happy help.

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#47

I’m actually going to flip the question, and offer some criticism (yuck! who likes that?). “What Makes an RPG Show Less Fun to Watch?” In my opinion, trying to get into several series, it’s primarily been the system’s fault. The number one reason I stop watching games, either skipping episodes or giving up on a show, is when there are long…LONG sections of time where way more than 50% of the conversation is talking about mechanics that don’t drastically affect the fiction. It’s like drinking really weak coffee, I get the notion that there is a narrative happening, but it’s not nearly enough to affect me or delight me. If the mechanics change the fiction drastically, I’m WAY more compelled to hear the “Oh I should totally save that 10 for later, maybe I can reverse their blow. Yeah, let’s put forward the 9 and the 2 to block the 11.”

All of the other factors totally help, but it’s only one (sometimes extremely variable) factor. Speaking from experience, a good game will transform you into a better cast member. A GM or player who’s perpetually confused, quiet, and brow-furrowed in one game usually turns comfortable and expressive in a different one.

The cast is the real core of the game, but that’s already curated by JP, so that’s not a problem I’ve seen. The system is the layer on top of the cast, and I think it’s where some shows have been addictive, and others haven’t been.

I hope my criticism doesn’t make anyone remorseful of any failures or hurt anyone’s feelings. It’s certainly written with the opposite of that intention. <3

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#48

For me, this all comes down to investment. When a player is invested in being their character, and in the world, everything is just better.

This is why (eg.) Swan Song was so popular (And awesome.) - everyone was really into being their characters, they invested in the characters and the world, and it made it awesome. Also Howard.

It’s why I love Critical Role, everyone is so invested and engaged.

In terms of mechanics, I think it helps having simple systems, because not everyone has the time or the inclination for system mastery. It gets SUPER wonky in mixed groups. People who do have time to master more complex systems tend to have more powerful characters, which can make others feel shitty.

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#49

Cast that enjoys the game. In the Dogs one shot Tycho was absolutely amazing because he did not hold back his enjoyment of the game.

#50

I’m kind of struggling to catch up at the moment so have seen all of the original rollplay series, most of West Marches and one shots up to this year’s refresh. I’ve been enjoying the dark side Star Wars stuff in particular (not caught up) as it gives evil Jesse lots of room to create and screw up.

One thing I really like is a world where there is a distinct feeling of danger for the PCs.

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#51

There’s a certain sense of flow and chemistry with the talent brought onto Rollplay. This is in large part due to the nature of cast being experienced “performers” in one way or another. Add to that the massive range of players we have on display and JP’s production ability (managing audio and overlays for a quality viewing experience without “overdoing it”).

You take all that and throw these talented players into a well thought-out setting to basically do whatever they want within the context of the shared fiction, and you have something special.

The chaos and unpredictability of these open, free-flowing “narratives” lends to a certain sense of truly genuine “actor” investment, which translates well over to the audience… We feel that awe and excitement exuding from the players when Geoff crits some badass maneuver. We laugh right there with them when JP does something completely absurd. Only the GM has some vague, amorphous ideas about what’s going to happen - otherwise, we’re all right there in it waiting to see what happens, as if a live documentary film crew made of ghosts followed Frodo to Mordor pretending they weren’t there.

Player exploration of different philosophies on-the-fly is also particularly compelling. It’s not a written script where the actors just function as a mouthpiece for someone else’s written character’s motivations. No, the players have to put themselves in that space and truly contemplate what they would do in the shoes of their own creation in the moment.

Of course, that non-traditional storytelling in itself is a refreshing breath for us. There is no plot armor. The world functions as a world, and the characters are only there to service some story of the world within the laws of its own “physics”. This contrasts to nearly every other traditional storytelling medium where the setting is largely there to facilitate a specific story where good triumphs over evil unequivocally, or every detail has some specifically designed narrative context, etc. In this medium, the world will always keep on keeping on no matter who or what wins/loses/prospers/dies, and the characters must bow to the “will” of the world (the rules of the game and RNGesus.)

And community definitely contributes some small (yet significant) part to the medium as well. The hype, shock, sadness, and amusement is palpable and immediately shareable.

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#52

I think it’s always fun when there’s a guy that leads. I think having a shot-caller, maybe even decide on one, moves things along faster. “We go to bed”. “We head out”. And rather have people interrupt the shots, if they need to repair their armor first or whatever.

Keeping the world serious and “real” at all times, but not expecting the same from the characters. The humor, in my opinion, shines brightest when monty python clash with the serious world of game of thrones. If every roll is fitted to suit the narrative and serious setting, it just comes of as presumptuous to me. Some times it feels like you expect the almost improvised stories you weave to be as interesting and exciting as the competition; movies, books, TV-series. It’s not.

Lastly, for me, realness is key. Most of us can tell if someone is faking having fun. We can tell the cashier doesn’t really care how our day’s been. We can tell if people are pretending to have fun/care about every single aspect of the story and world. No matter how great Rollplay DMs are, that’s not the joy real close-nit friends share, that’s politeness. And I think you need the boring parts, for the good ones to stand out. That’s why the original Rollplay had the more memorable moments I think, while maybe lacking in overall quality.

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#53

@NoorElBahrain and @Jjinxy summed it up really well and I share the same opinion I will just add a “bit”:

  1. DM
    Love when story telling gets in my mind and fills it with images, scenes, sense of era, landscapes… the same feeling you get from reading an amazing book.

  2. Cast
    As they mentioned, mix of different people who will strive in different situation.
    I think JP and you covered that in one of the talks before, cast switching “driver position” and just enhancing it as support to the player who is hitting their “moment” is supper good (SwanSong).
    Mirror Shades, cast going crazy and everyone is jumping on that hype train created unique game on its own.
    Court of Swords, cast that is ready to learn and except newbies gave us Dan that is super interesting to watch.
    BoP Dark side, dynamic and creative minds all around.

  3. Production
    JP spoiled us with this so much and he keeps it fresh all the time and this needs to stay on that path. New tricks get us all excited in my opinion.
    Main reason I never got into watching Roll20 games is that audio was shit in start and I honestly never looked back at it.

  4. System
    I don’t care much since as everyone already said you boys bring us new things all the time and you make it work. Just look at the comments from last night.
    On the other hand I can see how D&D or Dungeon World can be easier to get into then other games with more complicated dice, stats and rules for new people who are just starting to follow RollPlay and have never had experience with anything similar.

  5. Community
    All communities around RollPlay are super friendly and inviting in general. When I was new or even to this day, if I am not sure about something or simply don’t understand what is going on and I ask in chat there will be multiple people who will try to explain and help me out. If we read in chat or on forum someone saying they are new, everyone is like “Welcome to RollPlay!”, “You can find this here or there.”, “One of us”… We all love this and we share our enthusiasm with other people to the point of “Excuse me Sir, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour, RollPlay”.

If this was toxic community and full of idiots, RollPlay would never reach so many people or exist for this long.

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#54

I’m primarily a listener and not a watcher, so my opinions are in that context.

  • Pre-game chat.
  • Community involvement. Ex: Blue fever and the Swan Song Wikia.
  • Rolls that resolve quickly and move action forward.
  • Voice acting
  • Gags that run through out a show.
  • Adam’s NPCs
  • Emergent world building
  • Engagement with the rules to optimize a cast members goals
  • Layered characters
  • Innovative things I can steal for my own games
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#55

I’m a DM of over 30 years and I hate to say I can’t watch any more games where Adam is DM’ing. I’m sorry Adam, I think you are cool as a person, but going out with the purpose of killing all the characters is not my idea of a good time or a proper DM. I understand the need to be challenging, but I prefer people to actually level their characters and enjoy the character arc throughout a long cycle (15+ levels). For this, I had to quit watching court of swords. I do think Adam is great at his storytelling and interacting with the players.

A diverse cast is always great. It’s nice to see new people rotate in. I’m more of a fantasy junkie, so my preferences lead that way.

#56

Well regardless of setting and gameplay the most important thing is that the players get along well enough. Thankfully most of this time this isn’t a problem. But occasionally there’s a moment of clashing egos or an out of taste joke and its really not fun.

In a similar vein of thought (and this might really be nothing) is when certain characters either give less input or are overriden by more zealous players. I love it when players get equal time to express themselves in a game like in Swansong. It was impossible to pick a favourite player or character because everyone was always bringing something new to the table.

So yeah. Rollplay games are a conversation and a conversation is at its best when everyone is involved. Rainbow star scrawl

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#57

Got a couple of things that come to mind, just going to list them.

  1. Cast - their chemistry with each other and the DM will ultimately make or break it for me. Additionally, something that is super important is having a cast that is consistent, i.e. being on time and making sure to make time for the show. As it stands there is nothing worse than losing an episode because of stuff happening. I get that emergencies happen, that cannot be avoided, I am referring more to the occasional loss of an episode because someone oversleeps or messes up their schedule. Just as a comparison, one of the things that I like about Critical Role is that they will typically have an episode even if someone is missing or late. I get that this is easier to do as they have a larger cast (6+ players) but it just an observation.

  2. World - Not a problem with Roll Play because I’ve loved or come to enjoy every world so far. For the most part good cast and good chemistry between the cast can overcome any thing I dislike about the world. For instance, I wasn’t exactly keen on the world of CoS initially but after a while and the cast began to jell more and I was able to enjoy it more.

  3. Removed because I believe it doesn’t contribute to the question.

  4. Quick/Concise rolls - combat dragging on forever tends to decrease the fun. I want combat to be meaningful but I enjoy the players having narrative, not just constantly decapitation via arrows :stuck_out_tongue:

  5. Gags - Brumpo tungus, Decapitation, Death via stairs, etc.

  6. NPCs - Adam makes fantastic NPCs which add to the story and engage the players.

  7. Player interaction - I have fun when characters have conversations with each other or with the world (NPC’s/Environment)

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#58

The cast members dynamic has been the most fun for me. I include their characters dynamic with that. Mirrorshades and Swan Song are great examples of great cast and character dynamic. West Marches kinda broke that up completely with it’s changing cast. Though it was very refreshing with it’s changing cast and characters.

#59

I´ve only experienced roleplay from watching ROLLPLAY and CritRole so my only opinions comes from watching it on Twitch.

What makes the shows fun to watch:

Chemistry between the cast- The cast needs to get along, it´s too obvious when chemistry fails between people and the show gets tedious to watch. It´s something you can´t predict before a show starts but in due time that needs to be sorted, or get someone else to replace the person. Yes, I believe you don´t need to cancel a show and start another because you switched out cast.

Less fights - EXP is needed for epic fights (with cool spells/survivability etc) but the small fights needs to be shorter than it sometimes is, I guess it comes with experience how good a player can decide which action is best for which situation but there needs to be some sort of limit how long a person needs to decide what to do, and don´t let the chat tell you what to do! (on a sidenote I must say that it sucks when people are obviously reading everything in chat, even dropping comments every now and then, seems like the people who does this misses out on alot of info that the DM gives and the fight takes longer, the person is not paying enough attention to the game)

More roleplay/interaction with NPC or eachother for character development and letting us, the audience know more about the world that we are seeing.

Having a big mission with sidequests is what would bring my attention the most, if there are no sense of direction I just don´t bother too much about WHY the characters are doing what they do, just HOW they do it. Atleast give the audience some hints about the major end game is so there´s a red thread to follow, what they want could also change during the time depending on conflicting interest.

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#60

I like when there is heavy roleplaying but still some combat parts. As long as the players are having fun I’m usally having fun.

#61

The majority of your post does not belong in this topic. If you wish to talk about that you can start another thread.

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