3D vs. Text Based RP

Just to clear things up, I don't think either one is better than the other. I enjoy both, this is just a discussion on the various Pro's and Con's of these two platforms.

In regards to being more user friendly; I would say a Text Based RP would be way more user friendly than a 3D environment. Just because it would be an open door for people that didn't have the greatest computers in the world could partake in.

In regards to visually appealing; I would say this one would depend on the individual. Especially if the person has a very vivid imagination.

What I love about IMVU is how it allows both, with the chat window. If you ever were weird enough to want to watch me RP with trusted RP friends, you'd see two types of RP happening. The room would be purchased and decorated or deved by me to be as realistic to the scene I want us to RP in, as possible. My character would be dressed to be as realistic-looking for the type of RP we want, as possible. You'd see me hopping the character around from pose spot to pose spot as my character wandered within the setting I loaded, occasionally triggering actions meant to simulate whatever was happening in the text RP at the time; like if my character got shot, then I'd look for and purchase a "shot and dying" action and trigger it at the pivotal moment in RP where my character gets shot and falls down. I LOVE to make realism happen in RP.

Then you might see my and other people's characters sitting in chairs or standing around like derps for hours because we're tired of pose-spot hopping or there isn't an IMVU product that can make my character do a back flip while farting deadly laser rainbows that cut holes in people's heads the size of a grapefruit, and it'll just be pure text RP in blocks of text.

Just recently, I was asked to create a fighting scene for a friend, using a city backdrop. We dressed our characters, dropped them in the city room which looked really realistic, and then... I didn't want to buy a bunch of thug avatar furniture pieces just so we could stage thugs beating my friend's character up, and this little city scene didn't have an alley, so we just stood our characters around the scene and concentrated instead on the text RP.

Before that, my character had a time travelling scene predicated by a drowning (it's canon to our RP theme), so I bought a room with a lake, bought a "treading water" swimming action, bought a "floating in air like I was electrified" pose, and a "glowing ball of energy surrounding me" item. We then got to work. My character proceeded to have the drowning scene and I positioned his avatar inside the lake, using the treading water action. My RP partner put his character's avatar at a pose spot at the edge of the lake and RPed reacting to the drowning. Then I put my avatar in the electrified-floating pose and made him wear the glowing ball of energy item, and RPed him time travelling. It was like a stop-motion animation of our RP scene.

I love to provide as much realism as possible, but we can make do without if there aren't the products for it or the products would only get the one use and be a waste of credits otherwise.