Thread:Shadowbolt500/@comment-8138569-20191014011106/@comment-27480112-20191103142142

10/13/2019 – Redfork2000 wrote: Here's something else to consider: What you know as "story mentality", as in the modern structure for IaLR episodes actually has nothing to do with stories. Sure, we see it mostly in stories, but if you examine the case more clearly, it's actually more of an effect my influence has had on the wiki. It's not to brag or anything, I'm just stating that this structure actually started with my works, and spread over to the rest of the wiki. I'll explain more about this in a moment.

Let's start with this. Analyze all the IaLR works we have. The earliest instance of this "story-like structure" actually happens before IaLR had it's huge hiatus. It was my first episode, The Science of Metal Madness. Back then we had already written some stories, but stories themselves were all following the pattern old IaLR did of randomness and loose plots that relied more on character interactions than a clearly defined plot. Examples include our first story about Blast and Jenny learning Fridjitzu, All That Glitters and Roommate Ruckus. Stories were pretty much the same structure in a different format. The structure you know as story-like never originated from stories at all. It came from I wrote my works. The Science of Metal Madness was a pre-Story Era episode, but it's a clear, textbook definition of what the structure is. A defined and solid plot carries the narrative, and less randomness derails the episode.

So when did we started relating this structure to stories. Well, I'm no expert, but my analysis of the situation leads me to believe it was due to two main forces in the Story Era. Two story series that defined the Story Era.


 * 1) HoEC, obviously. This is the series that has influenced modern IaLR the most, and it has always followed the same kind of structure of defined plots and no randomness to interrupt the action.
 * 2) AU IaLR. Remember how Rusty kept a tight control over what happened in thos stories? I'd dare say he was more strict with that than I was with HoEC. He told every user when their turn to edit would be, and what they were expected to do. I'm not saying it was a bad thing. We got great stories out of this system. But it helped get the more refined and structured plot type of story more prominence and influence in IaLR and the users, so even users who didn't work much in HoEC started to relate this structure to stories. Users began to see stories as more tight and controlled scenarios where the main writer had more control over the narrative.

Now, we know the IaLR Renaissance actually stemmed from HoEC. That series' Season 3 finale is what caused the first renaissance episode to begin, and many elements were picked up from HoEC, such as characters, items and events, and shuffled with what IaLR already had. The result is that now everyone thinks the stories changed how IaLR works. But is that really the case? I don't think so. Time Turmoil used pretty much the same story style I had debuted in The Science of Metal Madness, so I pretty much did the same thing I had already done before the Story Era ever began. The problem actually began when other users tried to copy the story style without a good understanding of why it worked for me. I'm no master writer, but I understood how my style works, what it's benefits and downfalls are, so I made great episodes with them Or at least that's what the surveys say.

Tell me, when did the Renaissance episodes start getting stale? It was when others tried to use this style. The problem is not the style. I used it again in the Room of Foodtopia and revived the roleplay again. The problem is when you try to use it without understanding the inner workings of the system. Does this mean only I should do this kind of episodes? Of course not. I'm not the only good writer in IaLR. There's several users who can lead great episodes. It just happens that they aren't as good at this particular style. But that's ok. I'll admit, if I tried to run a loose and randomness episode, I'd fail terribly because that's not how I write. I'd rather suggest that everyone exams themselves honestly, and figure out what your episode style is. My way to lead an episode is not the best or only way to do it. I think that's what's been holding IaLR back lately. We as a community need to contribute each with our own special talents. I may be capable of making good plot-based and guided episodes, but I think we wouldn't be harmed by having a dilly and random episode from time to time, if that's what the community feels.

"Silly", not dilly. That's what happens when you write on a small phone with big fingers. Anyway, I hope this analysis has helped a bit understand the situation of IaLR. Feel like having a random and fun episode? Why not make one now? Go ahead and share all these posts to the rest of the wiki, and see what they have to say about it. I think as our community progresses, we need to pay more and more attention to the changing needs of the community. I think IaLR would benefit from having a more varied diet in terms of episodes. And if other users can help deliver what I can't, then by all means give it a try. You can even ask me for ideas if you want. And for everyone at IaLR wiki, have a great day! Best wishes to all of you, and I hope to be back soon.