I always check descriptions no matter which character or account I'm using. I got a shortcut for that and it's probably among the ones I use the most. So, I decided to take some time today to write down some numbers.
Before we go into the results, let me make one thing clear though:
there is nothing wrong in having a default description. After all, that is the way the game is coded. However, taking the time to write it and put some thought into one's background should get you some extra points as a good RPer. We can't definitely say who is a good or bad roleplayer based only on descriptions but they can give us an idea of what to expect. In my experience, and I'm sure I'm not alone here, there are more good roleplayers with original descriptions than there are good roleplayers with their default description. That is just a personal assessment though, for what constitutes good or bad in RP is relative.
Anyway, here are the results of this little survey. I hope you find them interesting and yes, it's a long post. Suck it up. Oh! And feel free to add your comments and conclusions and please let me know if you detect any flaws. Thank you.
UniverseI reviewed 55 descriptions in the following maps: Hydlaa Plaza (the whole map, not just Harnquist's), Arena, Ojaveda, Ojaroad2 and Sewers. The survey was done between 16:00-18:00 GMT (11/21/07), so Time Zone may be a variable. Following surveys at different times will support or deny this premise.
Hydlaa Plaza 38.18%
Arena: 30.90%
Ojaveda: 20.00%
Ojaroad: 7.27%
Sewers: 3.63%
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Total: 100.00%
Sampling was done at random in each area, just keeping in mind that characters would not be surveyed twice (and trust me, some really do move around). These maps would give us a broad sample of both experienced and unexperienced players to work with.
Player Description StatusI narrowed this down to three groups: unedited, edited and null. "Unedited" groups all players surveyed that have not altered their description after the regular character creation, so it currently summarizes their char creation process. "Edited" groups all players that have modified their description by deleting and adding any info to it. Extension or quality was not considered a factor here. It only mattered whether or not they took the time to delete the default description and enter any information of their own. Finally, "Null" groups all the players whose descriptions say "(null)" or are empty, be it because they deleted the default description or because they created their character using the "quick" option.
Unedited: 41.82%
Edited: 49.09%
Null: 9.09%
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Total: 100.00%
IG Experience and TrainingI then noted how many hours each player had banked and how much training they have had. I separated them in three groups: 0-50 hours, 50-100 hours, and 100 hours and above. From 50 hours on, I marked the characters that had obviously trained their stats and skills. This groups characters with skills above 10 and stats above 100. Some skills and stats can start off above those numbers in character creation but all of the values were compared before assigning the players surveyed a group. Training was not considered in the case of characters with less than 50 hours in-game.
Characters Experience:
0-50 hours: 23.64%
50-100 hours:
Untrained 5.45%
Trained 7.27%
100 and above:
Untrained 7.27%
Trained 56.36%
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Total 100.00%
In the group of experienced characters:
* Has edited description 54.76%
* Has default description 35.71%
* Has null description 9.52%
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Total 100.00%
Other facts:
* Character has trained and edited description 34.55%
* Character has trained and default description 21.82%
* Character has not trained and edited description 5.45%
* Character has not trained and has default desc. 5.45%
Note that training can range from just passing the minimums assigned to maxing out many stats and skills. We cannot assume that every character that has received some kind of training will eventually max out the trained skill or stat but we cannot assume that they will stop training at their current level either. In fact, comparing hour counts and current training levels of those with 50-100 and 100+ hours banked, it is likely that those who have partially trained will keep on training.
Now, we can cross-reference training and having edited descriptions and we'll see that 34.55% of all the characters surveyed match these two criteria, whereas 21.82% of all characters surveyed both had training and kept their default descriptions. That means that about 1/5 of all characters out there are not interested in having a unique description but are interested in training. Powerlevelers? Maybe, but they could also be great roleplayers who just don't care about their description.
And what about "pure roleplayers"? Those who don't train at all and spend all their IG time roleplaying. Well, they are rare. Only 5.45% of all characters fit into this category, and from the group of all experienced players (50+ hours), only 7.14% have edited descriptions while not any training. But we cannot assume that: 1) just because they do not do any active training at the moment they are not interested in it (they might be broke); 2) just because they edited their descriptions they are great RPers (they may just be good writers but not good or interested in live RP).
Coincidentally, experienced chars with no training and with their default description are as many as the group above: 5.45% of all subjects surveyed. Again, these could be great roleplayers who do not care about their description or perhaps they are just a bunch of alts whose only purpose is to help carry items for the main character or help them train. Again, we cannot be certain.
Finally, numbers prove something rather unsurprising: the more time a character has in-game, the more likely they are to edit their description.
Guild AffiliationThis I was just curious about. Can we establish a correlation between being in a guild and having an edited description? Well, not really. But if having an edited IC description is a way of many to promote roleplay, then by observing members of different guilds we can partially measure the interest/indifference of those guilds in descriptions and maybe even prove or question if they are (not) as RP-oriented as they claim to be. However, for this particular survey I only noted whether the characters were guilded or not and not to which guilds they were affiliated to.
Belongs to guild 60.00%
Independent 40.00%
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Total 100.00%
Belongs to a guild + has edited description 32.73%
Independent + has edited description 16.36%
Interestingly, only 32.73% of characters were in a guild and had their descriptions edited and only 16.36% were independent and had their descriptions edited. Does it mean that being in a guild increases the chance for players to edit their descriptions? Not for certain. Numbers show that only two characters of all 55 surveyed had an IG hour count below 50 hours, were guilded and had edited their descriptions. That is only 3.64%. Also, the experience factor (the more time one spends in-game the more likely one is to edit their description) may outweigh guild influence on this so results are inconclusive.
The Clueless FactorFinally, what about noobs? Those with under 50 hours in-game who haven't really noticed they can edit their description? Well, 61.84% of new players had their descriptions unedited. Surprised? I doubt it. That equals 14.55% of all characters surveyed. And considering that experienced chars who have not changed their description work out 27.27% of the total we should note that the only probable factors that motivate a player to change their character's description are:
1) Noticing other descriptions and getting inspired to write their own;
2) Being adviced by a peer to change their description;
3) Reading about descriptions in the forums (which only part of the community uses regularly);
or
4) Noticing the system tip that points out to changing one's description.
This puts in evidence the fact that the game does not do enough to direct new players to enhancing their RP through their description. Should it be in the tutorial? Should Guilds and experience players have a bigger role in this? It would not cost much to do either or both of these. And considering
this news, it's a good time to start thinking about the information we give and get at first glance.
Well, that's it. I hope you found it interesting and if you didn't well... bite me.
