Forum:AAO Roleplay Returns (?)

A little over a year ago, when AAO was just emerging as an expanded universe, I had decided on a way to promote our contributions to Halo Fanon and bring together what few users we had at the time. Inspired by Spartan-091's RP:Mercy's Requiem, I made the preparations and sketched out a rough story.

No less than 19 people had signed themselves up to join. I was surprised by how many people were interested in the RP, and I thought that this project was sure to be a success. At first, it sure looked like it. We collectively wrote four long sections, the first of which had 16 separate posts. But by part 5, activity started to take a downturn, and the RP eventually came to a grinding halt.

I pondered this for a very long time, wondering what it was that brought down such a promising RP. Over time, I came to a few conclusions that I believe to be fairly accurate.
 * 1) The storyline was taking too long to get into the important part; the first three sections were pretty much preparation for the actual event, and the story didn't seem to be getting anywhere. Understandably, almost everyone lost interest.
 * 2) The submitted posts, while very well-written, had almost nothing to do with each other. Apart from the same setting, the characters had little interaction and the writers didn't connect with each other.
 * 3) The organization could have been better. There weren't very strict rules on what could and couldn't be done, and the characters were just all over the place. There was very little cohesion.

So, why did I tell you all this? Because I have considered, several times, bringing the RP back on track. Despite the fact that it had won the best roleplay of 2010 award, I was still disappointed with its outcome. And as per request by Nanosoldier, I think it's finally time to do something about it. But this time, I'll take a few precautions that will at least give us a better chance at a successful RP.

Firstly, the plotline to be used for the potential RP will be a story that has already been completed, rather than creating a basic sketch of a new one. This will allow me to keep a clear sense of direction in terms of how the RP will go. I was thinking of Vadam Legacies/The Rift, which I believe to be an important part of the AAO universe, but hasn't been developed its full-scale potential in its story form. Maybe we can change that.

Secondly, I will place more restrictions on what characters can be used. I encourage everyone to introduce new characters, but this time, I don't want countless civilians, mercenaries, and assorted non sequiturs all over the place.

And thirdly, I will put a limit on how many posts can be made in each section. I intend to get the story moving in a paced time so we can get to the important parts. Hopefully, this "first come, first served" policy will also motivate the participants.

So there's my proposal. Now it's up to you. If you feel interested in taking part in the possible RP, just list your name below. I'll need enough people signing up before I know this will work, so I guess we'll wait and see.

One more thing. Do I think this will work out? To be honest, I have no idea. In Halo Fanon history, very few roleplays have actually succeeded. Other projects like Mercy's Requiem and even the highly anticipated Dwindling Flame had eventually fallen victim to disentigration. But to hell with it. If we crash and burn, that's fine. What matters is that we tried.