* Note that this is a discussion thread in the literal sense of the term. Please do not submit sign-ups for a roleplay still in-development.
There are already a plethora of roleplays on Pokécharms whose entire concept is essentially "Trainers travel through x region with y Pokémon", and that simple idea is alright in itself; it is the same idea that, technically, has given light to an entire franchise. But, at the same time, you have to actually build on that concept if you want a roleplay to go anywhere. Some context is nice—why have our characters been chosen to peruse the Tuttifrutti region which popped up spontaneously overnight off the coast of Kalos—but, ultimately, I feel a lot of aspiring game masters on this site overlook the importance of being thorough. You can give people a sentence of clarification—"You're all twelve and Trainers now, go see Elm for your starter"—or you can give your players a fleshed-out world that develops the ideas presented in the source material, offer a common goal so that all characters feel interconnected and motivated, as well as provide the promise of future conflict.
What I want to do is provide a "journey" roleplay that abides by all of what makes a substantial roleplay while also understanding the appeal of playing out a Pokémon journey in the first place. It should, of course, also be fun and creative, which is something I feel a lot of Pokémon journey roleplays on various forums forget to account for. There are so many times you can take "Trainer takes a starter from Professor Oak and will eventually combat Team Rocket on their quest to become Champion of the Kanto region" and just replace all the proper nouns with different, spiffier-sounding proper nouns and try to pass it off every time as a different plot... that came across as a stab at Pokémon itself.
Apologies aside, I feel one could correctly capture the feeling of playing out a Pokémon adventure without having to rely on the classic formula It's familiar territory but, in my opinion, it'd be much more satisfying to subvert what we've come to expect than to seriously abide by status quo. I also think expanding on the setting is a must, as well as placing every player on a common ground in terms of understanding how battling functions, how Pokémon learn and forget moves, etc. I would never want to limit players' creativity either; there wouldn't be an obligatory age restriction if it wasn't needed, as one example. Finally, I want to simulate the Pokemon anime with Trainers travelling in groups so that there are connections and that players aren't hopping from route to route to route in their own little world. These groups could be de facto, they could be set in stone. It all depends on what direction the roleplay ultimately ends up taking.
I'll clarify this as well: I don't want to limit the end result to a certain group of people. "Literates" some who don't understand what "literate" means might call them, but essentially they are people with more experience roleplaying than the "every-man" of Pokécharms. I feel everyone on this site, regardless if they can spell "supercilious" correctly without having to search it up, has creative potential. It's the ability to express said creativity that they lack and I therefore want to support those who are newer to writing but being more constructive of their potential sign-ups. As I see it, accepting anyone who accomplishes the bare minimum or who includes a vague amount of "detail" isn't helping anyone develop.
Everything I've listed above is likely what a journey roleplay with me at the helm will end up resembling. But, really, the reason I've went ahead and made a discussion thread is because I want other peoples' ideas. I'm still a novice in terms of game-mastering and just writing in-general, which is why most of this will probably read like dog shit three years from now, and although I could probably conjure up something-or-other myself, I want other perspectives before I start the actual development process.
I just want any of your ideas! Are there some things you'd really want to see in a Pokemon "journey" roleplay? Any concepts you think could spice things up? Are there some things you have seen many times over that shouldn't be included in another attempt at making another of these? And, honestly, if you think I'm wasting my time for making yet another one, let your voice be heard as well. Do tell me if those earlier five paragraphs really do read like shit and you don't understand any of what I've gabbed on about. I'll try my best to explain.
There are already a plethora of roleplays on Pokécharms whose entire concept is essentially "Trainers travel through x region with y Pokémon", and that simple idea is alright in itself; it is the same idea that, technically, has given light to an entire franchise. But, at the same time, you have to actually build on that concept if you want a roleplay to go anywhere. Some context is nice—why have our characters been chosen to peruse the Tuttifrutti region which popped up spontaneously overnight off the coast of Kalos—but, ultimately, I feel a lot of aspiring game masters on this site overlook the importance of being thorough. You can give people a sentence of clarification—"You're all twelve and Trainers now, go see Elm for your starter"—or you can give your players a fleshed-out world that develops the ideas presented in the source material, offer a common goal so that all characters feel interconnected and motivated, as well as provide the promise of future conflict.
What I want to do is provide a "journey" roleplay that abides by all of what makes a substantial roleplay while also understanding the appeal of playing out a Pokémon journey in the first place. It should, of course, also be fun and creative, which is something I feel a lot of Pokémon journey roleplays on various forums forget to account for. There are so many times you can take "Trainer takes a starter from Professor Oak and will eventually combat Team Rocket on their quest to become Champion of the Kanto region" and just replace all the proper nouns with different, spiffier-sounding proper nouns and try to pass it off every time as a different plot... that came across as a stab at Pokémon itself.
Apologies aside, I feel one could correctly capture the feeling of playing out a Pokémon adventure without having to rely on the classic formula It's familiar territory but, in my opinion, it'd be much more satisfying to subvert what we've come to expect than to seriously abide by status quo. I also think expanding on the setting is a must, as well as placing every player on a common ground in terms of understanding how battling functions, how Pokémon learn and forget moves, etc. I would never want to limit players' creativity either; there wouldn't be an obligatory age restriction if it wasn't needed, as one example. Finally, I want to simulate the Pokemon anime with Trainers travelling in groups so that there are connections and that players aren't hopping from route to route to route in their own little world. These groups could be de facto, they could be set in stone. It all depends on what direction the roleplay ultimately ends up taking.
I'll clarify this as well: I don't want to limit the end result to a certain group of people. "Literates" some who don't understand what "literate" means might call them, but essentially they are people with more experience roleplaying than the "every-man" of Pokécharms. I feel everyone on this site, regardless if they can spell "supercilious" correctly without having to search it up, has creative potential. It's the ability to express said creativity that they lack and I therefore want to support those who are newer to writing but being more constructive of their potential sign-ups. As I see it, accepting anyone who accomplishes the bare minimum or who includes a vague amount of "detail" isn't helping anyone develop.
Everything I've listed above is likely what a journey roleplay with me at the helm will end up resembling. But, really, the reason I've went ahead and made a discussion thread is because I want other peoples' ideas. I'm still a novice in terms of game-mastering and just writing in-general, which is why most of this will probably read like dog shit three years from now, and although I could probably conjure up something-or-other myself, I want other perspectives before I start the actual development process.
I just want any of your ideas! Are there some things you'd really want to see in a Pokemon "journey" roleplay? Any concepts you think could spice things up? Are there some things you have seen many times over that shouldn't be included in another attempt at making another of these? And, honestly, if you think I'm wasting my time for making yet another one, let your voice be heard as well. Do tell me if those earlier five paragraphs really do read like shit and you don't understand any of what I've gabbed on about. I'll try my best to explain.
