While I don't see an actual problem per se with anyone passing by a stranger on the street without acknowledging them, or with just nodding a greeting to a fleeting acquaintance - where this
becomes a problem, is when you look at the standard response when someone's looking for roleplay, which ferranifer conveniently gave above - "have you tried hanging out on the marketplace?"
Why is this the place to find roleplay?? It shouldn't be. Even an inn would be more likely, which is one step up from the marketplace in most cities, yet we're too lazy to enter there and sit on a chair by the fireside, even if it's raining cats and dogs outside - we buy our beer and take it out to the fountain. Is that roleplay? Really?
We do it because we want to increase our chance of running into someone to play with. The number of people available to interact with on Geas at any time is pretty limited - which if you want to roleplay, leads to you desperately talking to the first person passing by a marketplace where you just so happen to be waiting. Also, I'm fairly certain that the number of
players behind those characters is even smaller.
On a MUD with many players, even if it isn't roleplay-enforced, the chance to run into someone you like to roleplay with is actually not that bad, just because of the greater number of people online at any one time, and often a larger number of things they might be pursuing in the game (guilds/factions/religions). In Geas, there's pretty much two cities - Elvandar and Arborea, plus Asador for a select few. In Geas, there's basically three religions - the good (Taniels/Crusade), the bad (Sathonys), and the ones who don't seem to care (Asrals, sorry). This limited selection of factions and guilds to join
does limit roleplay options for characters. How many characters do you know that stand outside of this very basic handful of archetypes? Yes, there are a few, and they tend to be the most interesting characters, don't they? Now, what does the game offer to them, really, if they don't create it themselves? And from what you've seen, how would you say that most players here handle roleplayers that
do make an effort to create stuff themselves and don't found their character on the game mechanics? Because in my experience, anything that seems to be "invented" is seen largely with suspicion. Which is not what I expect in a roleplaying enforced MUD, but seems to be very common in GEAS, and continues to annoy me.
For a classless MUD, GEAS is
very black and white. You join a guild, your character is stuck with it for life. You don't join a guild, your character has
very limited options for roleplay. You want to be a baddy? You worship Sathonys. How many lilithian characters do you think there are? How many characters do you think there are that are just not nice people, but don't worship either? You want to be a goody? You worship Taniel and join the clergy or the crusade. Evren is hardly an option outside of the crusade, because druids can't participate in PVP, and what else is there to do? Gwen has one hut and npc cleric, now that's not much of a religion, is it? How many people do you know that worship her? How many dwarves do you know that actually worship Zhakrin and don't convert to either Asral or Taniel, because they've got to join one of their guilds to get roleplay and PVP.
There's a reason people don't often roleplay Lilithian Baddies, Gwennie Goodies or Zhakrinite Dwarves. There's not much to do for them except sit and talk, they can't do anything PVP-wise on their own, and they won't find likeminded people to hang out with - and neither the game nor its playerbase reward them for their efforts in any way.
Have you ever tried to play someone as poor, ragged and starving? You can't. Because food and clothing is everywhere and is cheap, and on top of that people will hand you gold because they don't need it much anyway.
Have you ever tried to play a halfelf or tshahark as actually used to being persecuted and shunned? I know some people do, but I find it frustrating, because you can hardly ever play that out - nobody wants to play the nasty prejudiced human/elf. And if you do anyway, you're very much in danger of being confused for your character ooc, or at least being shunned yourself ic for actions and opinions that
should be commonplace according to gamelore.
Have you ever tried playing an orphan in a world where everyone is brought back to life? How do you even explain that?
Have you ever roleplayed having a family, on the other hand? And I don't mean a partner in a relationship, I mean your parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins, whatever.
Now, obviously, I'm still here, and that's because GEAS is still the best MUD I know, and by far. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its severe faults, or that its faults should be ignored/not adressed. Unfortunately though, I have no real ideas for how to fix this
