Applying the Epistolary Format to Online Role-Playing Narratives

While having great importance in the foundations of novel-length fiction, the nature of the epistolary format is somewhat limited in its narrative scope. The general conventions of modern fiction allow for more flexibility; a typical first- or third-person perspective, past or present, can freely shift between different characters and settings without sacrificing much plausibility. Epistolaries, being compilations of material already written (within the context of the fictional world), are rationalized as being the result of events already past. Any character interactions that are described within a letter, report, or journal entry are, by default, recollections made after the fact by a specific character at a specific place and time. By comparison, the epistolary form seems much narrower in its approach to narrative possibilities; however, what it lacks in terms of scope also endows it with a great sense of discovery on the part of the reader. Rather than looking into the story from the outside, it is as if the reader has stumbled upon the factual recounts of the story and is called upon to reassemble the evidence, gradually shedding light on the story's events. This method of engagement places the reader in a space between their reality and the fictional reality, and perhaps that is what has allowed the epistolary form to adapt to the ever-mutating mediums for storytelling, from graphic novels to television to the user-driven interactions of online forums.

The role playing game (RPG) is a much more recent approach to storytelling. On the whole, it is a much more involved and spontaneous approach to experiencing a story, with multiple people collaborating to engage with the events of the story in real time. Generally, this method calls for two distinct roles: a dungeon or game master (DM or GM) who acts as a hybrid of narrator and referee, both describing the settings and events and enforcing the rules of the world, and player characters (PCs) reacting to them, working together to surmount the conflicts that the DM has presented to them. Since the popularization of the RPG with Dungeons and Dragons (1974), the genre has taken on many forms; besides the traditional pen-and-paper and tabletop RPGs, roleplaying sessions can also take place online in what are generally referred to as play-by-post games. These can be carried out through message boards, emails, chat rooms, blogs - pretty much any way people can communicate over the Internet. While the vast majority of these games (while being publicly viewable) rarely carry the interest of people outside the role-playing group itself, there have been a few recent examples of open-suggestion stories that have gone on to gain the attention of a much larger audience - not just of readers, but of participants that actively contribute to the story as its events take place.

One such example of this is Ruby Quest, a horror-themed RPG that follows the exploits of an anthropomorphic rabbit named Ruby that finds herself trapped in an underground medical facility. Though the story is told in RPG style, there are some key differences in the responsibilties of the two RPG roles (DM and PCs). In the case of Ruby Quest, the PCs are largely anonymous participants issuing text adventure-style commands to the character that is currently being controlled, whereas the DM (who goes by the pseudonym Weaver) replies to these suggestions as the current character would (from a third-person limited POV) and follows through with either the most popular command or the one that best fits the character's personality. In this sense, the author and the audience each partly assume partly assume the duties of dungeon master and player character. Weaver establishes the settings and situations of the characters in addition to communicating to the audience through them. Conversely, the audience's commands dictate the actions of the narrative, as well as gradually establishing the unknown parts of the character's personality.

As the story progresses, more details are uncovered, mainly through medical documents of staff members observing patient behavior. This in itself invokes the trappings of epistolary format, utilizing the discovery element to secure the reader's investment in the story. However, the added complication of the RPG dynamic breaks down the events of Ruby Quest into two parallel narratives. There's the in-story narrative involving character's discovery of their own pasts via gathered evidence, and the meta-narrative of the out-of-story interactions between the author and his audience, both seeking to discover the nature of their characters via online posts (there was also a live discussion that took place in an IRC chat room while a thread was active). As more information is revealed about the characters' violent and disturbing pasts, the audience increasingly doubts and questions their motivations. In turn, the commands they issue become more paranoid, often disagreeing and arguing with one another. The ensuing tension creates a space of confusion and distrust that plays into the horrific atmosphere of the fictional world.

Weaver takes full advantage of this tension to keep his audience in suspense. At one point, he makes an anonymous contribution to the speculation surrounding the story in the form of a poem, which he attributed to 19th century poet William Murdoch. The poem, entitled The Metal Glen, has eerie similarities to the plot of Ruby Quest and seems to be foreshadowing later events. Frustratingly, the cryptic language of the poem does not draw any definite conclusions about the characters' fates, and ultimately raises more questions than it answers. The uncertainty of the entwining narratives becomes palpable as they simultaneously push forward into unknown danger. When taken as an epistolary work, Ruby Quest turns the reader's expectation of the form against itself. The act of uncovering the documents, rather than providing clarity for the audience, leads to a more fearsome realization of the characters' darker capabilities that they never knew existed - these characters they perceived to be a blank slate for them to write their own desires into. The audience, in turn, questions their own motivations in their attempts to take control of a story that refuses to make itself understood. Their ability to effect change in a reality that cannot recognize change compels them to keep trying, to dictate what limited control they hope to have in a reality that seems at once predetermined and chaotic. What was initially thought to be a discovery has transformed into a desperate escape. Yet however nightmarish the possibilities are in continuing to explore, the only solution is to keep pressing forward, as turning back would mean facing an even more terrifying reality - confronting the wickedness that resides within themselves.

And what became of cat and hare?

Did they break free to purer air?

To guess their fate we shouldn't dare

Perhaps their tale closed well.

But for all the beasts trapped in the Nether

All life from out the loch and heather

The flock that could not work together

Are sure still trapped in Hell. 

-The Metal Glen 

(If you'd like to read Ruby Quest for yourself, you can check it out here (warnings: violence, gore, language, lewdness in the comments). I would highly recommend viewing the tidied-up Flash versions (just DON'T click the green discussion arrows at the beginning) instead of going through the archived threads, unless you're already pretty desensitized to the Internet. If you're unfamiliar with the image board 4chan, it has a reputation for posting offensive, explicit, and generally NSFW content, and these threads are no exception. Don't say I didn't warn you. Happy reading!)