Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Sakura Nihil]

As someone who was engrossed in the oldschool La Maison bar scene and a few Revan parties, I've seen some really quality, really passionate and fun RP that hasn't quite been matched outside of a party here or there in the last few years.

I was having a chat tonight IC and a thought occurred to me - perhaps this is due to the environment of the bar itself, which seems as solid as a bartop itself.  A "well stocked bar", "variety of seating", and "roaring fireplace" are all quite common elements, which apart from small invidiual flair leads to those active settings running together.

But, what about this - a seasonal, moving bar?  Change scenes and locations monthly, for instance there could be a mountain top retreat with a large outdoor patio for one month, offering great views of a valley in a slightly chilly environment where a sweater is recommended.  Another month could be a winter chalet surrounded by tall stands of trees, while another might be a beach side resort.  By changing the environments on a regular basis while maintaining the same "bar", you require people that come by to change as well, creating a more engaging experience.

Thoughts?  Input?  Anyone ravished by the idea and endowed with great photoshop skills?

[Silas Vitalia]

The issue is always much much less the setting than having active conversation and participants at the location. People go where the good conversations and scenes are.

The 'always on' RP channels can get quite stale with 35 afk people in them.  I think a more successful strategy might be for the 'bar' channels to host frequent 'events' every week or so, to give RPers a time and place to be and interact.



I've been meaning to bug Jade to reopen La Maison......

[Ulphus]

After reading the article on baselining, I think that running a bar as an actual location on a planet is a bit problematic.

La Maison was a VR room, and I think that would work fine, and you could change the scenery anytime you felt like it, plus you could have people from all over the cluster show up if they felt like it, without having to worry about physical security.

Once it's VR, the location is less of a draw, and the people who go there are what make it attractive, or not.

[Desiderya]

The 'always on' RP channels can get quite stale with 35 afk people in them.  I think a more successful strategy might be for the 'bar' channels to host frequent 'events' every week or so, to give RPers a time and place to be and interact.

This. But the advantage of a moving bar wouldn't just be the change in scenery, but also providing various locations for various characters. Not everyone would travel everywhere, factions and allegiances and so on.

[Katrina Oniseki]

What about a bar on a ship? If you can find the ship, you can find the bar.

[Sakura Nihil]

Des has a good point, that was one of the thoughts rattling around the head - I'd imagine a stopover in a place near Luminaire would draw a fair number of Gallente enthusiasts, as I'm sure a comparable visit elsewhere would draw loyalists and the like.  It would help create some turnover in clientele with any luck, instead of getting to equilibrium and seeing/doing the same things again and again.

Only problem I can see is the IC safety aspect of it.  I'm sure Sakura or those like her who are "CONCORD unfriendly" might be able to travel incognito by themselves in small numbers, but a gathering in a fixed spot might be tempting for the authorities from an IC perspective and thus spoil the party.  Still, something that can be worked around, I would assume (I always ran with the "corrupt Gallente official" excuse as to why she could be a pirate but visit a highsec Gall bar, personally).

[Esna Pitoojee]

Wasn't Misan Palta'ek's bar-in-a-Prowler semimobile?


Anyhow, yes, the idea is somewhat interesting. I'd actually be even more interested in a bar that would shift themes as it traveled physically, although the feasibility of repeated themes changes - both in terms of IC rapid interior shifts and OOC stress on writers having to repeatedly rewrite the description - could be called into question.

[lallara zhuul]

My experiences IC and IRL about bars as social venues are probably the norm.

There won't be any intelligent intercourse there, just base banality.

It's sitting in someones kitchen after a good night out with a good buzz with the sun is creeping up when the real magic happens.

[Saikoyu]

I seem to remember a U'K bar in a carrier down in provi, but I think it IC always stayed in orbit at a single planet.

If I ever become rich and famous in EVE, I will put a bar in a supercarrier and jump it around low sec with a cloak on, sending out invites to whoever I like who is on to come to the bar.

But you could do this with any ship really.  Jump into a system yell out in a local intel channel, or even local if you don't mid the UR DOIN IT WONG crowd, and invite people for a few hours.  Then, when you're done, kick everyone from the channel and erase it, then set it up again later.  For instance, you could have the channel named Good Ship Lollypop in Pator System one time, and Good Ship Lollypop in Amarr System the next.  Just keep the MOTO copied on a note pad so you don't have to write it out ever time. 

[kalaratiri]

I know Re-Aw/Jude has a bar on a rupture 

[Lyn Farel]

Drinker's Cathedral was an amarrian bar in the remains of an old carrier, derelict in space. Very old channel.

[hellgremlin]

You guys are thinking of bars as RPers. Try thinking of bars as bar patrons. What makes your favorite local bar your favorite? In order of relevance ascending, here are my important bar elements:

- Atmo. Includes how the staff relates to you, how fast the service is, how un-loud the music is (loud music is bad, very loud is worse) [this is why the Guiding Hand nightclub features very loud music] <the motivation behind the loud music is a 'method in madness' sort of deal>
- Feel. My favorite bar has nothing but attractive waitresses. Classily attractive, business-casual. It also attracts a clientele of well-dressed normal people who don't have whitey-dreads or smell funny or look like they want to pick a fight.
- Price. A place that charges you high for drinks will make you feel ripped off if you're poor, but it'll make you feel like a king if you have a fat wallet. A place that charges bottom prices is a good watering hole for grimy-grim types, but you won't really feel good about yourself being there.

I just came back from a (nonvirtual) bar so, yeah.

[Gottii]

You guys are thinking of bars as RPers. Try thinking of bars as bar patrons.

This. 

[Gymir Asaadan]

You guys are thinking of bars as RPers. Try thinking of bars as bar patrons. What makes your favorite local bar your favorite? In order of relevance ascending, here are my important bar elements:

- Atmo. Includes how the staff relates to you, how fast the service is, how un-loud the music is (loud music is bad, very loud is worse) [this is why the Guiding Hand nightclub features very loud music] <the motivation behind the loud music is a 'method in madness' sort of deal>
- Feel. My favorite bar has nothing but attractive waitresses. Classily attractive, business-casual. It also attracts a clientele of well-dressed normal people who don't have whitey-dreads or smell funny or look like they want to pick a fight.
- Price. A place that charges you high for drinks will make you feel ripped off if you're poor, but it'll make you feel like a king if you have a fat wallet. A place that charges bottom prices is a good watering hole for grimy-grim types, but you won't really feel good about yourself being there.

I just came back from a (nonvirtual) bar so, yeah.

I had never thought of this like this. You are sooo right. Man if I had read this thread over the weekend I would have had a lot more fun at The Last Gate when I stopped by, or at least made for a more immersive RP experience.

The problem is when players who are already in the bar, the gate specifically complain about it being quiet/not packed with people, when TLG for instance states in it's discription that it is always hopping, but just with baseliners more than Capsuleers.

It's had to RP that without coming off as the dreaded RPASS who says "ur doin it wrong!" 

[Repentence Tyrathlion]

Interesting thoughts here.

With (literally) two weeks of university left to me, and the imminent burst of available time after, I might go back and poke at my vague idea to set up a venue.  I think there might be something to the idea of keeping it active by means of regular events.  Not like there's a shortage of precedents around.

Of course, as someone recently remarked to me, there's no shortage of bar-type locales.  There's a good reason for this ('you walk into a tavern' is a fine staple of DnD), but it's not particularly good as a way of distinguishing yourself.

Perhaps the answer, combining several thoughts here, is a Caprica-esque V-world.  Visiting places by holo is pretty accepted practice, though I personally have always gone with the interbus option... I'm a little bit of a recluse sometimes, so I'm not sure how many pure VR environments are out there, but it does feel like it provides more options.  Regular (weekly?) change in 'location' and theme, perhaps kicking off with some minor event to introduce the new phase, with regular (monthly?) larger ones just to keep awareness up... VR stuff also nicely solves the question of you piratical types having cope with law enforcement, no?  I personally have never let it stop me going anywhere, but if you think about it...

Personally I have fond memories of being able to surf through the Gate, the Skyhook, the Keep and the Broken Piano depending on my mood, and being able to just slip into an exchange with someone.  By all accounts, such practices are dying out somewhat.

Don't mind me, just thinking aloud.