this thread had alot of statements that i considered cop outs, like saying that you wanna roleplay a power hungry warrior and thats why you power level. we always threw those types of people out of table top games, after we had their character killed off in some enjoyable way. of course you can play a power hungry vain perfectionist in a online rpg, and i dont think that means you have to be a power gamer. i had an all gnome guild in eq that were gnome supremists. none of us ever made it to high lvls because we marched around spouting gnome supremacy doctrine to all those that would hear us. man oh man those were the funnest days i can remember.
roleplaying is part of story telling. if you remember anything remember that. anyone can create a backstory for thier character. it doesnt have to be done as a book. you just think of something you consider clever, then add to it as the situation seems fit. i went back to playing eq after a 4 year break. i powergamed my old characterfrom 51 to 56 in a month on the weekends, then i got burned out by the old lvl gear lvl gear dilemma that made me quit in the first place.
any powergamer that really becomes introspective says the same thing. \"i got max level and then wondered what the race was all about. now i have nothing really new to do\" the developers of this game have impressed me with the straight talk. to say you dont want power gamers is kinda hardcore since they make up a large base of players. but the limited history of mmorpg\'s has shown they not only suck the game of bandwidth but they travel to the top on the backs of all the gamers that are in it for the fun.
maybe thats a lil melodramatic but still, there are a ton of games nowadays. they are gonna start to cater to individual sects of people and im glad to have found one thats pushin roleplay this strong. and no mmorpg needs all the game code to be aimed at roleplay. We The People should be responsible for most of that burden. do guild events, races, drunken brawls... then move up to elaborate player run quests and schemes to entice the new roleplayers into interacting. and thats the key i think, interact with everyone.
Developers, if you wish to implement roleplaying code here are some simple ideas:
implement things that can flush out character concept....
such as... limping models, lazy eyes, tons of regular clothing, and looping emotes so i can make a character \"twitchy\"
oh and maybe a humpback