The Viability of Applications

[Kestrel]

From my perspective as a player;

My approach for almost any applications consist out of "What archetype/skillset could compliment the current cast" and then "Which of these options do I feel like playing?" Before I start on a sheet, I create a quick (mental) bullet-list of what is at the core of a character anyway, so the application is just making prose outta that.

There's only one difference to competition and that is that I delay my brainstorm a little. It only takes a few days to figure out a few applicants that will get the spot for sure, simply by virtue of having no competitors. These people and the GM character, are now the cast I adjust to. Other than that short waiting period... It changes absolutely nothing.

Do you find that this method is useful and successful, or does it add a lot more work to the character creation process than what is necessary?

I honestly think it's kind of dumb. I don't mind participating in it because, as mentioned beforehand, it changes little to nothing about my process. However, if I were GM'ing... I wouldn't accept characters I think don't fit the world or think are poorly written anyway, regardless of whether I made players compete for spots or not. As long as a certain threshold is met, it really becomes more about staying power than anything for a roleplay to be fun and successful and how good you are at writing a pitch isn't an indicator for staying power.

Then again, I'm also not the kind of person that builds RP's around specific roles. 'cause if you base your shit around roles, soon as a person drops, you have a problem you need to fix. If every character is easily replaceable, you don't. That doesn't mean player characters aren't integral to the plot, but their impact is determined more by their actions than the part they are a princess or whatever.

So. Yeah.

[Andreis]

As is evidenced by lack of willingness to read every post here - I am a personal advocate for succinct descriptors.

I GM rules heavy and rules lite Tabletop as well as Play-by-post RPGs and it has been my general experience that giving someone an application beyond the necessary details of the character provides no better insight into how suited they are for the role-play than their interest in the first place.

If you are considering "fit" in the first place, then it is up to you, having the standards, to do the hard work: the research. The only time that I think essays are a reasonable expectation is when there are thousands of dollars of value at stake.