Originality Has Lost It's Flavor!

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Mattium_

Mattium_

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Just a general opinion here, but it seems to me that many seem to lack originality.
There is a HUGE tendency to use things created by previous books, movies, and games, as their basic for their factions & characters.
I don't really get this? If you enjoy a movie, book or game, can't you just express your like for it? Rather then trying to re-invent it on Massive craft.
Even having the same concept, but a different name, would fit well, but oh so many people like to take names and such from Game of Thrones & Skyrim mainly.

This isn't a complete harassment or go at people that do, but I truly would like to see more originality on this server, and creating a UNIQUE world, rather then wannabe re-makes, or extraordinary similarities.
 
Mattium_ said:
Just a general opinion here, but it seems to me that many seem to lack originality.
There is a HUGE tendency to use things created by previous books, movies, and games, as their basic for their factions & characters.
I don't really get this? If you enjoy a movie, book or game, can't you just express your like for it? Rather then trying to re-invent it on Massive craft.
Even having the same concept, but a different name, would fit well, but oh so many people like to take names and such from Game of Thrones & Skyrim mainly.

This isn't a complete harassment or go at people that do, but I truly would like to see more originality on this server, and creating a UNIQUE world, rather then wannabe re-makes, or extraordinary similarities.
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My name is from a very very very VERY great book.

There is no other connections to the book and the role play character I use besides the name.

I agree with you. There are so many wanna-be remakes of names trying to become rich and famous on the server it is kind of getting annoying. Ou have the op/god players who CAN NEVER DIE and then you have the wanna-be remakes who remark themselves as famous and link themselves to the books, movies of anime.
None of those anime, movies or books even existed for the sake of being rich and famous, the names can be similar but NO OTHER ASPECT should be.

Lets say I name my character a famous name such as Yukki Kuran (example from a anime series.) and she has all the qualities the one in the anime series has/had. This is just a wanna-be famous excuse to be an op player and a annoying rp excuse. This last statement is not pointed at anyone in particular.

Celtic
 
Originally, my entire RP was based around the Innistrad block of Magic: the Gathering. (drunk)

Thank goodness I got some inspiration from other sources, and I started mixing ideas together. So far the only thing I kept from that source was the name "Cathar" and the belief that there is no afterlife.
 
Yeah, I mean I'm not intending to dis on certain factions and their concept but why is there even factions that name themselves The Aerie (These people are actually quite now regardless) from Game of thrones, People having their last name Lannister (GoTs), People calling their Dwarven mountain after something from Lord of the Rings, factions calling themselves Gondor from LoTR's, Even "The Fellowship". Legit, how hard is it to make up a five second name that you like without stealing someone elses.
 
Personally I have no idea if Ironfields is copied but I do not think so. I have seen factions based off of Skyrim and is pisses me off because 1. They usually die after a week or two. 2. They usually are OP players witch is stupid due to that's not how medieval RP should be. They are not OP when you find their town an burn in down :3
 
I personally take names from one area and concepts from another, then mix them together and throw in a little of my own special spice. Here's what I mean:

Mirk - Mirkwood from LotR
Treedome - World-Tree from Warcraft 3
Castle Mirk - Made dat up myself.
Hisoka (name) - Secret/Hidden
Rangers Corps - I've always thought of it as Rangers from the Rangers Apprentice series.

If you mix-n-match stuff up properly then it doesn't matter if you flat out plagiarized it from somewhere else, the mixed up ideas and concepts create a new unique idea.
 
I'm not sure if someone has used the name Seransic, but lets hope so. I want to be original.
 
part of the reason that there is no originality, is because if there is any unique aspects to a character, people accuse it of 'Special snowflake'.
 
justin5191 said:
No it is actually "The Game of Thrones".
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A Song of Ice and Fire is the series. Game of Thrones is only the first book.

On the topic, sometimes it's coincidental. Whilst designing Silver, the first Pirates of the Carribean movie came out and I've only just realised the similarities between Captain Jack and Silver.
 
Yeahh, I agree with you. I understand being a fan of something so much that you want to do something with it, but I'd personally get more satisfaction out of a subtle reference than just taking somethings name directly and using it in the same way. I think I'd get bored RPing something that was already created anyway. If I wanted to play Skyrim, I'd just play Skyrim instead of Minecraft.
I like Mecharics mix and match explanation, though.
 
The name of my character came from a book I never finished. I chose between two spellings, Galen or Galan. Galen was better to me. Other than similar age, they are very different.
 
I based my character's personality and appearance off of myself. Its easy to role play as someone similar to you ^^
I like to think of her like a mix between -
Daenerys Targaryen, GoT. Aragorn Elessar, LoTR. Lady Galadriel, LoTR. Arilyn Moodblade, Forgotten Realms.

I think taking inspiration from a book or movie you admire is very helpful, esp to newer role players. I say let them have their fun, as long as their character doesn't have too many similarities.
 
I was very much influenced by eragon, and the legacy of books left by that, I just put my own twist on there theme to the name and names I choose for my factions and such, I'm pretty sure durion is a one off find and will always remain my creation, but at its root is the base of my love for dragons fire and stuff that burns.
 
I agree, and disagree. There are many reasons why some things may appear to be ripoffs. Some things are just good ideas, and apply. For Example:

Mecharic said:
I personally take names from one area and concepts from another, then mix them together and throw in a little of my own special spice. Here's what I mean:

Mirk - Mirkwood from LotR
Treedome - World-Tree from Warcraft 3
Castle Mirk - Made dat up myself.
Hisoka (name) - Secret/Hidden
Rangers Corps - I've always thought of it as Rangers from the Rangers Apprentice series.

If you mix-n-match stuff up properly then it doesn't matter if you flat out plagiarized it from somewhere else, the mixed up ideas and concepts create a new unique idea.
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I created the Ranger Corps, and I do want to model them off of the Rangers from Rangers Apprentice (Kudos for recognizing it Mech!) but I do so because it is a good idea. It is what we need. Why reinvent a system when someone else already made a perfectly good one? Now I myself don't have any (that I know of) ripoffs in my roleplay character (assuming you overlook that Valeron is just one letter different from Daleron, from Warcraft 3), but the point still stands in many cases. Why not have a castle design that just happens to be exactly the same as Gondor from LOTR. Why not have a Frozen Throne (again from Warcraft 3) to go with your iceland undead character?
Now that does not mean there isn't a limit. I would scorn anyone who names their city Minas Tirith, or names their character Luke Skywalker or Masterchief, or decided that their character was a Dragon Rider who's dragon was killed, and now they wield the glowing red sword of their former greatest enemy. But to an extent, it is fine.

Also, I was wondering if that was your inspiration for the Mirk Swamp, Mech.
 
Hm.. My roleplay character is mostly based of myself and the stereotypical pirate.. Arr!
 
Mecharic said:
I personally take names from one area and concepts from another, then mix them together and throw in a little of my own special spice. Here's what I mean:

Mirk - Mirkwood from LotR
Treedome - World-Tree from Warcraft 3
Castle Mirk - Made dat up myself.
Hisoka (name) - Secret/Hidden
Rangers Corps - I've always thought of it as Rangers from the Rangers Apprentice series.

If you mix-n-match stuff up properly then it doesn't matter if you flat out plagiarized it from somewhere else, the mixed up ideas and concepts create a new unique idea.
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Wait- I based my Willows off the Ranger's Corps... Hehe... Mech, we have things to discuss ;)
 
SilverAlbatross said:
A Song of Ice and Fire is the series. Game of Thrones is only the first book.

On the topic, sometimes it's coincidental. Whilst designing Silver, the first Pirates of the Carribean movie came out and I've only just realised the similarities between Captain Jack and Silver.
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To be honest, your role-play reminded me of nothing like Captain Jack Sparrow.
 
why is there even factions that name themselves The Aerie (These people are actually quite now regardless)
Woah there. "Quite now regardless"? I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but it sounds offensive. :D Anyway, I see no problem with reusing good faction names. If it's a good name, it's a good name, original or not. My faction is called Chanticleer, which is just an old word for the chicken. Some names are simply lovely, whether they're completely original or not. That said, I do agree that being unique is nice, and certainly adds to the experience.
 
SilverAlbatross said:
You're right. I mean, How does Captain Silver Albatross compare to a drunkard, woman-loving pirate- named after a bird- who's outlawed?
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There is a large different between having your back story similar to his, and role-playing like his character would appear. From what I experienced, you seemed nothing like him.
For instance, you separated from us over a dispute that wasn't even a issue or that you were part of. Jack Sparrow has a tendency to always avoid things that he wouldn't get something out of, He has a lack of Moral sense, and would never actually come to a town, offering your help, instead he would make his way to the Tavern without anyone even knowing he was going their.
 
shetlandj said:
why is there even factions that name themselves The Aerie (These people are actually quite now regardless)
Woah there. "Quite now regardless"? I have no idea what that's supposed to mean, but it sounds offensive. :D Anyway, I see no problem with reusing good faction names. If it's a good name, it's a good name, original or not. My faction is called Chanticleer, which is just an old word for the chicken. Some names are simply lovely, whether they're completely original or not. That said, I do agree that being unique is nice, and certainly adds to the experience.
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Awkward, I mean't to mean Regarded, my bad. I actually like the leaders of The Aerie, but I would of liked to see every faction taking a good name, to come up with something original.

All I believe is that, this isn't the world of Middle Earth, or Game of Thrones, therefore these names shouldn't exist as such and unique new names should be come up with. If you like a movie, character, etc, Fair enough, enjoy it, but I believe it shows a lack of respect for their creativity if you try to rebuilt it.
I don't at all see as through it is honor for someone to have their work copied, unless the server is mean't to be Game of Thrones.
 
Jomdorr said:
I was very much influenced by eragon, and the legacy of books left by that, I just put my own twist on there theme to the name and names I choose for my factions and such, I'm pretty sure durion is a one off find and will always remain my creation, but at its root is the base of my love for dragons fire and stuff that burns.
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You read Inheritance? I hate that ending |-(

The faction Dovahkiin makes absolutely no sense in Massive lore. It's 'Dragonborn' in 'Dragontongue' in a world lacking both dragons and the Divines to make someone dragonborn.
 
Also in my view, characters are just not human/mortal enough.
A lot of people in rp have their character like a full knight since they were 5, no parents for no reason, and do something completely outlandish. Yeah, I'm kinda doing the same, but I actually let the rp flow. Like for example, one character seems to follow me in rp, okay so my character understands and is afraid of this, his power level is considerably low, okay, so he is weaker than quite a few. He's still got his scales on him, though not visible, and am I the only character whom bases their character more on the real creature? After all, every so often my character is considerably fragile because he is shedding the scales he conceals under his jacket, he has a lisp sometimes when he is hurt, and not enough people seem to do that.
People just don't consider their character well enough to use it in their actual rp. People whom rp and have high skill like Tom should be able to use more strength than other people, Gwen should be able to for her higher power too, so does Nyssa, people accuse her of God-rp all the time, but not always are you going to get away, right?
There are some people whom also can't get kidnapped or they will call forced rp. People just need to think some of this in real terms; There are 5 people with swords, they are trying to kidnap me, yeah it's gonna happen.
I'm next to a dark altar, there are 5 vamps, they are trying to harm me, crap, well they do.
I know this server isn't too realistic in itself, but people just use it too much like they can over-power anyone and that they can't be attacked no matter where they go in Regalia. Yeah, some of it can be forced Rp, but some people just don't get that people will over-power you some time or another, and it will be hard to over-power some other people.
 
At least in some of the cases, people are linking to existing characters and stories to aid in immersion. The whole point of RP is to become immersed in a world. Some people simply lack the imagination or the will to employ it so they fall back on something that they are already familiar with.

The greater problem with opting for 'originality' is that it is incredibly difficult to not reference lore from the massive body of fictional works that exist practically at our fingertips. Are you a vampire rp character, a mysterious stranger, a paladin fighting for what is 'just'? - none of those are original and neither are most others because the dozens of archetypes that these are derived from have been explored ad nauseum.

When we discuss originality, we are largely referring to a personal threshold for the rehashing of existing lore. One of my favorite adages is "nothing is original, we stole it all from the Greeks".
 
Galen Rose said:
You read Inheritance? I hate that ending |-(

The faction Dovahkiin makes absolutely no sense in Massive lore. It's 'Dragonborn' in 'Dragontongue' in a world lacking both dragons and the Divines to make someone dragonborn.
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I hated the ending as well, but you have to admit it was very well thought out (and had epic foreshadowing from the first book). Pity that
Eragon and Arya couldn't stay together though, they would have made an awesome couple.
 
Galen Rose said:
You read Inheritance? I hate that ending |-(

The faction Dovahkiin makes absolutely no sense in Massive lore. It's 'Dragonborn' in 'Dragontongue' in a world lacking both dragons and the Divines to make someone dragonborn.
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The ending could indeed be better, but the rest of the book/s make up for it tenfold. The ending made sense though, you have to admit.
 
High fives all my Ranger's Apprentice buddies! 8-) (Mecharic and Cruallassar)
I used to own a faction named Skandia. I ended up selling it though, but it's main idea was still the same as Skandia's from Ranger's Apprentice... Damn, I need to be more original.
 
Skandia has no intellectual capability. They keep ending up charging in (or wanting to) and trying to kill everything. Erak is unusual among them because he can think. Naming a faction just The Ranger Corps and inviting the 50 best archer/rangers in massive would be awesome though. Or the Temuji. But Rangers always rule!

How many riots do you have? One riot, one Ranger. - Nameless Ranger.
 
There are 10 books? Dafuq... I couldn't find any after the one with Will (I think that was his name?) meeting the "Wizard of the North".
 
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