Are there any truly original ideas, anymore?

Hypnosis · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Hypnosis** on Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:56 pm

As I've spent some time on here - and on other RP sites - I've noticed that more and more RP's have failed to capture my interest! You can all say it's simply a matter of opinion, but I don't believe it is. I believe we're slowly losing originality.

If you take a while to look, you'll notice that even the flashiest, most exciting-looking roleplay or story is derived from something else. Even novels today are simply cut-and-paste versions of each other; this one takes the exciting parts from that one and mixes it with the dramatic events of this other one, etc. Where has creativity gone?

And I can't even claim I'm different; I do the exact same thing with every idea I have! So the question in the title is the question I'm posing.

Are there any original ideas left, or are we simply retelling old stories?

ViceVersus · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **ViceVersus** on Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:30 pm

What's wrong with re-telling old stories? Why reinvent the wheel when you can put new rims on it?

On a more elaborate note, I think you're treading dangerous territory by making broad statements like "novels today are cut-and-paste versions of each other" when basic story three-act structure holds a lot of things together, anyways. The heroes journey is everywhere, but that doesn't mean it's all "stolen."

I think in our culture there is a myriad of themes we like to see pop up here and there. Symbols. I am loathe to call them "tropes" as is the common vernacular, but that's probably the best way I can describe them.

What would be enormously helpful is if you could provide more specific examples of what you mean. What shows, novels, or movies have you seen that sparked this question?

Also, if you are wishing to limit this discussion to purely the inclusion of roleplays, then this thread belongs in the RPG Design forum. The Discussion & Debate is for dialogue about things that are not related to roleplay.

Cheers!

-VV

Modesty · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Modesty** on Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:30 am

IMHO, the word is finite. There are limits, at least pertaining to where we are now and where our knowledge stands. There are certain structures to our existence that are constant and unchanging, which serve as limitations to creativity.

To simplify this thought I'm going to use colour as an example. We are stuck with the colours that we know: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple. If you'd like you can add black and white in there (Artists- We're not here to debate terminology at the moment!). Now, you can make a green-blue, or a purple-red, a brown, a grey and any other combination... but there it stops. We cannot possibly fathom a colour that doesn't already exist, we just can't. The same principle can be applied elsewhere.

Where originality comes in is finding new ways to explore the things that already exist to us. Suddenly red becomes crimson, ruby, scarlet, cherry, carnelian, vermilion, cardinal, sienna, maroon, sorrel, rojo, sanguine, etc. Suddenly red can become a metaphor, a picture, a symbol.

Furthermore, originality comes from collaboration. You can use the exact same character, with the exact same introduction paragraph, set in the exact same world, and if you have a different roleplay partner the possibilities are unfathomably numerous... (though, admittedly, limited within one's knowledge, oh what a paradigm!)

So, to answer your question yes and no. It all comes from somewhere, but where it will end up is when the idea begins in evolve. A very awesome project based around this idea of collaboration is hitRECord, an insanely huge and inspiring collab work started by Joseph Gordon-Levitt involving creative peoples all over the world. I seriously suggest anyone and everyone takes a minute or two to check it out. It will give you a whole new outlook, or at least it did for me.

Good luck finding your interest in stories again. :)

Solo Wing Pixy · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Solo Wing Pixy** on Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:34 am

Modesty wrote:Where originality comes in is finding new ways to explore the things that already exist to us. Suddenly red becomes crimson, ruby, scarlet, cherry, carnelian, vermilion, cardinal, sienna, maroon, sorrel, rojo, sanguine, etc. Suddenly red can become a metaphor, a picture, a symbol.

I could not have put it more perfectly. Also, I'm keeping this.

I'd like to expand on what you said about different roleplay partners. Creativity isn't just limited by your mind, it's limited by everyone's. Trillions of ideas that interact with trillions more in trillions of different ways. Sure, they are bound to have similarities, but the variety is everywhere, you just have to look.

TheFinalOne · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **TheFinalOne** on Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:03 am

My word, Solo, your signature is crowded. :)

To be honest, every idea is original. The way each one's mind works is different; experiences, company, and environment is different. Every one's interpretation of, if I may take Modesty's paragraph, let's say of red is different. That is how illusions work; they depend on a certain way of interpreting pictures by the one seeing the illusion. If a dream could be recorded, every person would give a different impression of it. Most would be alike, but all different in how these people express these impressions.

That is, where originality is lost is when the idea is put on paper. Thomas Couture has it right:

Thomas Couture wrote:Knowing how to paint and to use one's colors rightly has not any connection with originality. This originality consists in properly expressing your own impressions.

Patcharoo · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Patcharoo** on Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:16 am

I emulate villains.
I have presently emulated a lovecraftian eldritch abomination, Sephiroth and Mewtwo, with original characters of my own design.

I take the concept of the villain, what makes them what they are, what made their battles and position as villains so appealing and set that as my goal.

Then I slowly construct and deconstruct everything about the character, working my way up to reach that final goal and- tadah!
My 'Sephiroth' is a child granted too much power from birth who didn't get enough attention or guidance from his parents, leading to a confused childhood of being mistaken and hated for what would otherwise be deemed youthful curiosity if not for the scale of his acts. Is this original? It's your choice. It started out as an inspired idea and grew into a plot that multiple people thoroughly enjoyed and praised me for.

But where do we draw the line at originality? It's too hard to pin down exactly the point of which we say something is original and not. Opinions simply differ. Yes, everything has been done. A child with daddy issues? That's been done. Over-powerful child with curiosity mistaken as sadism, resulting in persecution? Done also. But that does not make my character a copy or rip off, does it?

Overall you could say the plot was a generic fantasy villain plot. But it was enjoyable. It was spectacular. And the characters, while full of tropes and traits I had seen before, in no way felt like a copy of anything. To me, the plot felt original.

Yüna · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Yüna** on Wed Aug 01, 2012 8:07 pm

If you think about it everyone takes elements of things they like when the write. For example, Shakespeare, one of the greatest playwrights of all time used the ancient Greek myth of Pyramus and Thisbe when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. It is human nature to write about our own experiences and those also include books we have read, movies we have seen, and roleplays we have participated in.

blackrose13 · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **blackrose13** on Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:13 pm

I know how you feel, after all, I am a writer that has roleplayed for a while, and sometimes ideas just don't seem to be original anymore. I try to make mine about as original and different as possible. I write fiction so it's slightly easy. But now people are writing more vampire, werewolf, and sci fi books. I write murder mysteries, runaway stories, and my roleplay on here, Survival Of The Hunters, is about living in the woods and needing to hunt for food and try to avoid the murderers from other regions. I try to be special with my writing. But yes, many people are starting to get less and less original.

Tea · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Tea** on Wed Aug 29, 2012 6:18 pm

It is the power of the role-player to insert freshness and vive into a role-play. Dis-belief in Originality is an incorrect question. The correct question is how the role-player can make their mind nimble enough to forge what roles they play into some-thing interesting.

Good fortune with it.

Kuroe · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Kuroe** on Thu Aug 30, 2012 10:39 am

Truly original ideas? Sure there are. There are lots of them, but there are certain aspects of stories that have already been done a lot but can be changed around to be more interesting. I think you're making a pretty broad statement here, because sometimes people can make their own ideas, and it I'll be similar to what has been done before, but will still be original.

kojiverse · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **kojiverse** on Fri Sep 07, 2012 11:58 pm

I think there are original ideas in the sense that a person can come up with a thought that is truly original to them. A thought and idea that is independence of all known and unknown influences. The only difference is that we are now a worldwide culture so it takes less time for the world to become aware of your original idea and point out how similar it is to someone else who had an original thought independent of yours.

We are more exposed, not less original.

Are there any truly original ideas, anymore?

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