How do you make a good RPG?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. I’ve compiled these helpful tips, information, and guidelines on how to create a good RPG. I hope you find this information helpful… and remember, make your RPGs safe and appropriate!

Part 1: Before Starting Your RPG

So, you’ve heard about the new VMK Fan Site forum for RPGs, and you’re very eager to start your own! Well, not so fast, it’s a good idea to do a bit of preparing first.

If you are a first-time RPG creator, you need a bit of extra preparation. First, look through the different types of RPGs on the forum. I’ve categorized them into 3 types: Action-Adventure, Stats/Battle, and Normal-Everydays.

Action-Adventures are stories that couldn’t possibly happen in real life. They obviously include a lot of action and an adventurous storyline, but they also often include magic, mythical creatures, and Disney characters. Examples of Action-Adventure are VMK Café, Eragon, and the Magical Kingdom of Yupsu.

Stats/Battle RPGs are stories or games that revolve around battles of some form. They often include Stats, such as Levels, Power Points, etc. This is the rarest of the RPG types, as it doesn’t always work the best in a forum. Examples of Stats/Battle RPGs are VMK Attack and RPG Wars.

Normal-Everydays are stories that could actually happen. They may concern Schools, Friends, and Relationships. This is a constantly growing breed of RPG. Examples include the various High/Middle School RPGs, The Cave, and You Won’t Like Me This Way.

Now you’ve seen the various types of RPGs. Which category do you want your RPG to be? Think and choose carefully. Once you’ve decided, you need to learn two common RPG phrases:

OOC –Out of Character.
And
IC –In Character

These phrases are most commonly used in Stats/Battles RPGs, though they are used sparingly through all three categories. You place OOC before something either off topic or something that does not actually happen in the story. IC is placed before actual happenings in your RPG. Here’s an example:

IC: Bill ventured towards the sunken Spanish Galleon.
OOC: Just so everyone knows, I’ll be gone next week.

It’s a good idea to tell people when you create your RPG if you are or are not using the IC/OOC system. If you opt not to use the system, it may be a good idea to create a thread in the RPD (Role-Playing-Discussion) sub-forum so you can discuss your RPG there.
Skip’s Tip: A tactic that I use (and others, too) is to separate story portions with “---“ instead of the IC/OCC system. Example:
“Okay, here’s that new story part I promised:
---
Jim traveled up the perilous mountain…
---
Well, I’m done posting for tonight. See you all tomorrow!”

Once you’ve decided what category you want your RPG to be and learned what the IC/OCC system is, you need to come up with a back story. A back story is the glue that holds your RPG: It’s the basic outline of what the story is about. You don’t always need to post the back story right away in the first post… sometimes it’s better to let the story unfold in a series of installments, where eventually the back story is revealed. Your back story should be appealing, and have some scary, surprising, and/or cool elements.

Once you’ve done all of this, you need to one last thing before moving on. Go to an RPG that fits your category and read a bit. Observe how the story unfolds and how new plot twists appear. Once you’ve got a good hold on things, you’re ready to move on.

Have you gone through all that? Decided what your category is? Have you made up that back story? Read a bit of another RPG? Great! Now you can move on to naming your RPG…

Part 2: Naming your RPG

To start, you need to have an attractive RPG name. Don’t pick something bland and unattractive like:
“Lost on an Island”

RPGs like that sound boring and not very exciting. Watch what happens when I do a little retooling with the example. Take a look at it now:

“Stranded on Tiki Rongo Island”
It looks much better now, doesn’t it? If you were to create two threads with the same background story and information, you’d probably find that “Stranded on Tiki Rongo Island” will get much more activity and you’ll probably score several interested members.

Here’s another aspect of RPG naming: the length of the name. Take a look at this example RPG name:
”We’re Stuck in a Hideous, Horrific, and Terrifying Spookland!”
That’s really tedious and it takes a while to say and type out! Your RPG name should have a catchy, yet short-to moderate length. Take a look at the retooled example:
”Stuck in the Terrifying Spookland!”
By removing some unnecessary adjectives and other unnecessary words, we’ve shortened the RPGs name considerably. Now your RPG can be said out loud and typed much faster, and it takes up less valuable space on the RPG list. For some reason this makes your RPG look a bit more attractive, and slightly less juvenile.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to make your RPG name somewhat misleading. Take a look at our example, an actual RPG created by me:
”VMK Café”
That is an odd name for an RPG, isn’t it? By reading that, the casual user would assume it’s about a restaurant located in VMK, and would probably just be people talking and eating. Often people are curious if that is actually true, and end up clicking on the thread to see. Once they do, they’ll find that it is in fact a rich and detailed Action-Adventure RPG that actually has little to do with the VMK Café itself. Often this interests users, and they might read on or perhaps even join.
Your RPG can also have that misleading quality! All you need to do is think about what you want your RPG to be about. Then, think about a trivial portion of the back story. Try not to be too literal if you’re going for this. Soon, something clever yet brilliant may hit you.
Skip’s Tip: Don’t give up if you can’t think of anything! Sometimes it’s just best to continue your day and then a spark of imagination might light up. Even if that doesn’t work, good friends can almost always help on ideas.

Other Important Naming Tips:
-There’s no need to add “-RPG” at the end of your RPG name. This is an RPG board, silly; people know it’s an RPG!
-Adding such frilly add-ons to your RPG name such as ~, -, +, <>, etc. are unnecessary and help produce forum clutter. They also look slightly immature.

Okay, so now you have a good idea on what your RPG is about, and you’ve named it? Great! Let’s move on to starting your RPG!

Part 3: Starting your RPG

Alright, you’re all set. But let’s not be too hasty here! We need to create the RPG thread itself. Here are some tips on how it’s best to do that.

Grammar, spelling, and capitalization are extremely important when starting your RPG! Take a look at this example:
”bobs bigg skool”
That looks incredibly sloppy and immature, doesn’t it? Well, most people would probably think so, and they generally stay away from those RPGs. Here’s the retooled example:
”Bob’s Big School”
Now it looks much more professional, doesn’t it? Now that on the outside it looks good, users will probably take the time to click on the thread and read what’s inside. But what is inside?
Inside you should begin with a polite hello to readers, and then you should do a bit of explaining on what the RPG is about. Also make a couple personal guidelines, such as no magic. Be descriptive and use proper grammar, spelling, and capitalization. Remember, you don’t have to reveal your back story yet! Next, it’s a good idea to create a template for RPG characters. Here’s an example of a very simple template:
Character Name:
Gender:
Age:
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
Personality/Bio:
Once your template is all typed up below your explaining and “Hello”, you need to choose how to begin your RPG.
There are two ways to begin an RPG thread:
1. Immediate Launch
2. Sign Ups
In Immediate Launch, the RPG creator immediately posts the first portion of the story directly after the “Hello”, explaining, and template. Usually players can simply fill out the template and jump right into the story. There is no waiting for players involved: it simply begins. “VMK Café” uses this method.
In Sign Ups, the creator of the RPG thread decides on how many players are needed to start the RPG, usually between 5 and 10. If this is the case players simply fill out the template in their first post and wait for the RPG creator to post the first segment when the required quota of people join. “Lost in the Library” uses this method.

Okay, so you have that all set. You’re ready to create your RPG! Once you have everything all typed out, read over it again and check for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar errors. Also read it over it a couple times to make sure everything sounds good. All done? Great! Go ahead and click that “Submit New Thread” button. If you’ve followed everything above, you should have several members soon. If not, don’t get discouraged. Sometimes RPGs take time to get popular (hey, VMK Café did, and look at it now!).

Part 4: Maintaining your RPG

By now you should have several members. If you used Immediate Launch, you should also have the story going. If you used Sign Ups, then your story should be beginning. A thing to remember about RPGs is that people have different writing styles. Some people write in Present Tense, though the majority does in Past Tense. Be consistent: Make sure your story contains one tense only, either Present Tense or Past Tense (Future Tense is somewhat frowned upon).

If your RPG catches on and is popular, you need to set up a limit on how many users can be in your RPG at one time. Usually a good amount ranges from 10-16. You be the judge.

Remember: you, the thread creator, have the final say on things. But don’t be bossy, rude, or mean… that will get your RPG unpopular and not very fun to play. Offer constructive criticism and encourage players. Also encourage proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization!

Now that you’ve got the mainframe of your RPG all set up, you need to start writing. Be descriptive and use Quotation marks for speaking. It’s also a good idea to use paragraphs, and separate different sections with “-“. Proofread your new posts before submitting it. This goes for all RPG players, not just the creator.
Skip’s Tip: Do your best not to post 1 sentence long segments. Many RPGs do nothing but one-sentence posts, and not only does it get annoying, the story progresses very slowly! Try to post several paragraphs each new post.

There are also three definitions you need to know to help maintain your RPG. They are Power-Play, Mary-Sue, and Canon. Their definitions are below.

Power Playing*

*Mickey ties up Donald*

Now what about that is wrong some of you ask, well it’s written as a fact so he has no chance to defend himself or anything else. If you want this kind of post to fly you have to write it the right way...

*Mickey attempts to tie up Donald*

They are two different things in the second one I’ve said what I’m trying to do, but have not taken the power from whoever's playing Donald to reply or fight back.

This also works for simple things

*Goofy steals Minnie's cookies*

It should be:

*Goofy tries to steal Minnie's cookies*

At this point "Minnie" can either let me steal the cookies

*Goofy tries to steal the cookies and succeeds*

or post saying something like

*Goofy tries to steal her cookies but doesn't succeed*

Contrary to popular belief you all are NOT all powerful and can not control others, as it is fake we all have free will and if we choose to not let you do something then it is our choice.

Please if you still don’t understand what power playing is ask here!

Mary-Sue is a title for a character that is 'all powerful,' or seems perfect. A character like this, for example:

Gabriella is sixteen years old and president of America. She has a magical staff that can control the world, and will live forever. Gabriella also is an amazing singer and can outsing anyone on the entire planet. She can transform into any creature she wants and control the weather.

Now, if your RP is about a 16 year old president or a girl that can control the world, that's fine and dandy, but for a simple RP with lots of characters, that might be pushing it. Mary-Sues usually tend to powerplay as well (see above), which makes said Roleplayer seem immature and bossy.
Let's try to keep it real, people

Canon is sort of opposite of Mary-Sue- it refers to staying to the original work that a Roleplay is based off of, like a Pirates of the Caribbean roleplay for example. It's up to you whether you want to stick to Canon or not, but please try to not switch back and forth. If you suddenly posted that Jack Sparrow became Governer and had six children, other players could get confused, plus, it's frankly not something that the Cap'n would do.

Canon only comes in to play when doing a roleplay that's based off something else, like Pirates or Harry Potter, but when it's your own idea, it's sort of nonexistant.

If someone is being a Mary-Sue, don't ignore them: speak your mind! Mary-Sue's aren't a good idea for your RPG, and are especially annoying in Battle/Stats RPGs. And remind them about Power Playing! If your RPG is based off of a book series, also encourage players to be canons.

So now your story is progressing and things are looking good. But now we need to get into the rules… and how to keep your RPG following them!

Part 5: Keeping your RPG Safe and Appropriate

These are the new Limited Time rules, posted by CBD:

“We need to follow a G-rating in order to keep this site safe for kids of all ages. This means that you cannot mention blood, gore, violence, any obscenities, or even HINT at any non g-rated content. This is the exact same as everywhere else on the site
Until Tepcat returns, we will need to crack down on this in order to maintain the rest of the site AND this forum. Be sure to read the following special rules until she returns. You will be expected to know them.

1. If you are the creator of an RPG and break a major rule (G-rating, dating, flaming, trolling, or romance), your RPG will be moved and you will receive a one-day suspension, no questions asked.
2. If you are a participant in an RPG and break a major rule (G-rating, dating, flaming, trolling, or romance), your post will be removed, and you will receive a one-day suspension, no questions asked.

I'm not trying to stifle your fun. I believe this forum is a wonder opportunity. However, you are subject to the same rules as the rest of the site, and we cannot possibly read even the majority of the posts in here. If you see a post that is breaking a rule, report it. You're not doing anyone a favor by telling them that it's against the rules. It would definitely considered spam in this circumstance, and you yourself could get in trouble.

You are your own moderator, we're only here to catch what you don't. If you have a post that broke a rule above, go back and edit it. If you have an inappropiate RPG, PM me. I'll remove it, and you won't ever be in a bit of trouble.”

The rules above are very important. If your RPG does not follow them, not only will your hard work be deleted, you’ll be suspended! That’s not good. So, here are a few tips on keeping your RPG safe and appropriate:

-Remind players of the rules occasionally. An extra reminder never hurts.
-If you see something that someone else has posted in your RPG that you find inappropriate, report it immediately, even if the poster is your best friend. A true friend would thank you for reporting the post.
-Make sure to read over your posts before clicking that “Submit” button. Ask yourself: Does this post follow the RPG rules & guidelines? If it doesn’t, go back and edit it. If it does, great! Click that “Submit” button.
-Never hint or lead off to a point where things might get out of hand. The worse thing you can do is imply that you are leading up to a breaking of the rules.

There are some other things that can help keep your RPG safe and appropriate as well. It has to do with the RPG itself.

-Do not make an RPG that clearly is going to have lots of intentional violence or romance. An example of this is "The War", or some variation of that.
-Orphanage RPGs aren't really okay. It's not a good topic for an RPG because it usually involves parents' deaths, parents breaking the law and imprisoned, and other themes that aren't really G-rated.
-School RPGs aren't the best idea either. They usually involve romance, and even violence. Plus, they clutter up the RPG forum and have been done time and time again. They're practically all the same.

Now, who do you report these bad apple posts to? The RPG moderators, of course! Here’s the current list of the RPG Forum Moderators:
Tepcat (pm first - if no response in 24 hours then pm next mod)
DeputyRR

Here are a few other random tips for your RPG:
-Do not copy someone else's idea. It makes you look bad and it isn't fair to the original RPG creator.
-Do not create too many RPGs! I've seen people who have 6+ RPGs running at once, and 3/4ths of them just sit there cluttering up space and add to Nick's bill. Please, for the convenience of others, only have 1-2 RPGs running at once.
-If your RPG is deleted: Just PM one of the RPG mods and ask why it was deleted. It might have even been a bug or mistake. Remember to be polite and not call them "mean and unfair!" or anything!

Great! You’re all set. Continue your RPG as planned, and have fun!

Part 6: Sequels

Not many RPGs have enough material for sequels. And even if they do, few are actually as decent as the original. If you know you want to have a sequel, plan the back story so that there is extra unfinished material once the main “quest” of some sort is completed. If everything’s completely destroyed, happily ever after, etc. there will be nothing left for sequel(s).
Skip’s Tip: Remember the saying: Sometimes there’s too much of a good thing. Keep that in mind when thinking about sequels. Don’t go overboard! And don’t automatically assume your RPG will have a sequel. See how the RPG does, and how people like it. If it’s a success, go for a sequel. If it isn’t, well… start over on Part 1, and try again!

Credit goes to DeputyRR on TTC.