I am starting this thread in hopes of spurring some extra conversation about what we can do to improve the service RP on sim. This includes FDH, lawyers, social workers, police (though they have been rocking it lately) and doctors. I am starting this mostly from the medical perspective but I feel like all of the service RP sort of falls into the same patterns on sim. Players need us for a scene but there aren’t enough of “us” to go around. Players get mad, rage at us and then the cycle repeats itself. I know we can’t be in a perfect system. There won’t be players around all the time and that’s just how it goes. But what can we do to spur more engagement between the service RP?

I will speak from experience, most people that play medical providers (or any of the service positions on sim) often times feel like props to players. We get messaged a lot for scenes, asked to wait for hours sometimes but we don’t get as much time for personal RP due to the demand. When we do get medical providers, they hit the ground running and will burn through quickly getting as many charts as possible. Basically living at the hospital. It seems like once they hit a certain role in the group, they disappear. I think the same happens to cops even. Most of it is burn out. People don’t like to come to SL to “work.” Yet, there is such a demand for these positions that we often feel guilty because we want to do our own storylines…yet we also don’t like seeing players raging over lack of engagement. It’s a very stressful position to be in. Ask any cop, doctor, paramedic, ETC. We hate feeling like we are expected to do it all. We want to do your scene. But we also struggle with getting our own. Mostly because there just aren’t enough medical providers.

My main hope of this thread is to start a meaningful conversation about what we can do to encourage players to seek employment in the service agencies around Hathian. Please keep in mind that this isn’t a discussion about bringing back the NPC chart box. While it served a purpose, it did little to nothing to promote actual RP in the hospital. It got people into beds but even once in beds, lack of medical staff became apparent. We want more players actually playing things out and the NPC chart actually hurt RP at HGH. Players was dropping charts right in front of a doctor and logging off. No one was playing out medical scenes. Some players thought this meant they can’t NPC their hospitalization but there is nothing stopping you. The only way to get cred for a NPC scene is to roleplay a follow up with a doctor/nurse/shrink, ETC. Then they could enter your chart. Idea is to get people actually playing out scenes. Let’s not look to add back the NPC chart box but find ways to spur RP.

I’ve posted suggestions before to players. One thing is…don’t treat your medical provider/police officer/ETC as a prop. I truly believe one thing we as players have to do is to remember that a RP is not ego-centric. Not accusing any of you specifically of that. Just something we’ve all encountered. I have a scripted role to play in your plot and there’s no wiggle room, drama or story for me. I’m forgotten once the character has left the hospital. It also works in reverse. I know providers need to do a better job of opening themselves up for deeper involvement in plots, doing follow up RPs and even engaging more. (Taking that rape kit to the police, making a referral to social services, so on.)

I’ve talked enough I think. What do you all think? Let’s keep it civil and try answer the following questions:

1.) What would make hospital RP more fun for you as a player or as an employee?
2.) What would make police/Paramedic/social worker/lawyer RP more fun for you as an employee/criminal/victim?
3.) As a victim, what do you seek in a medical rp? Do you want the doctor to be involved in your story or do you really enjoy just going in and out like it’s just a routine?
4.) What incentives would be good to encourage players to join these roles?

Those are some questions I can think of right off top of my head. Please toss in your own two cents and again, please keep it civil!