New players and Role Play

[Zan]

I've played Planeshift plenty. I have gotten to know some people really well in the game---mainly the ones that actually share what happens outside of their PS life. I generally ignore most of the hardcore RPer's. I have nothing against them, but having a conversation with one is uncomfortable and akward...

Of course it is, you're having a conversation as a player with a character, not another player. That can't be anything but akward and uncomfortable on both sides. It would be like you accidentally walking into a random movie scene where the actors don't realize you're not part of the script.

Like Neko said, part of the fun of roleplaying is that you get the chance to escape from reality and build your own world to a degree. We all have our limitations in real life, be they mental (shyness for example), physical (health issues) or societal (try running around with a sword ). Roleplaying lets people escape those limitations for a bit and create something else, something new. Now there are those who will want to create their dream image, a personality close to themselves but without the limitations reality imposes on us. An image where they can be whoever they want and actually mean something. Others might try to create a character very different from who they really are because it holds challenges to play that character. It's like acting in a movie, actors either pick a role because they like that role or because they like the challenge and think they can pull it off ... only we create our own roles and act them out at the same time.

Me, I've done both but I like characters that are different from who I am the most. They're challenging and they actually teach me a whole lot about myself. Some of them are even therapeutic because they're a way to vent certain emotions without really harming others. You might find that talking to a character doesn't tell you anything about that person but I have to disagree. It can tell you a lot about that person and how they are on the inside, it won't show you how they are in real life directly. However I've made several friends through Planeshift who I talk to as a person, a player and not a character outside of the game. I have people on my msn list and know a few IRC channels where we gather to just talk and get to know the person behind the characters. But what attracted me to them in the first place was their characters and their ability to roleplay. It says a lot about someone, a lot more than you probably realize.

Some of those friends have characters, my characters can't get along with at all .. others have characters who are friends with my own characters. It doesn't matter, roleplaying with a player gives me a lot of information about the player's personality, about how they consider other people or how they don't. About how they think, because in the end every character will have mental similarities with the player behind it. And about how they dream, how they create and how they fantasize, something you won't quickly learn on MSN or any other game.

One thing is certain though, you have to be able to let go of that image of people sitting behind screens, pressing buttons .. you have to be willing to push reality back for a bit and get involved in the fantasy. If you're not willing to do that then you'll always be weirded out by roleplay and can probably find much better and more popular games out there that suit you.

[Parallo]

You were an exception to most others though Rinenud; you caught on quick and were more than willing to learn. I didn't need patience at all, in fact I'd go as far as to say that at first I thought you were an alt. All I had to do was mention brackets and you were good to go, no more instruction needed. With others it may take weeks of reminders of whats IC and OOC because they have been conditioned to act OOCly in other games. I'd say you probably encouraged me to go more out of my way to teach more noobs on the off chance there is another like you out there. Yes, thats right, you got rid of some of my cynicism. Anyway, asinus asinum fricat. On to more on topic things.

[Phinehas]

Well, at first I was going to answer the original question of how the more established RPers got started, since I've been around this game longer than anyone who's replied so far(just had to throw that in), but I don't think I'm going to bother, since it's pretty much turned into a discussion of how to RP and/or get newbies to RP, which has been discussed so often that I just can't bring myself to talk about it.

However, I will say that Zan represents my feelings on the subject almost perfectly. And in general, if you're not sure about an issue, Zan's right about everything. He just is. Accept it.

[zorbels]

.... but I don't think I'm going to bother, since it's pretty much turned into a discussion of how to RP and/or get newbies to RP, which has been discussed so often that I just can't bring myself to talk about it.

I felt the exact same way. This is why I haven't responded.

However, I will say that Zan represents my feelings on the subject almost perfectly. And in general, if you're not sure about an issue, Zan's right about everything. He just is. Accept it.

Again I have to agree. Zan has put what I would have said perfectly. Boy this agreeing with you guys is much easier than disagreeing! Thanks Zan for doing up that post, it saved me the headache. *Zorbels slaps a button onto Zan's chest that reads "the best poster of the week"

[Leama]

I was hoping for responses like this:

As a newbie (I hate that term) I was very welcomed to PS. I had heard about Planeshift for about a year before loading it on my 6 year old computer. I was told how great the graphics were and I really wanted to see it for myself.

Well I had a big disappointment. The only thing I could see was the plaza and not to well either. My graphics card was not good enough. That meant I could not do the quests nor could I power level. With the help of my fellow players I found out about role play. The role playing people were most generous with their time too. They helped me develop my character and made it fun. Sometimes I got into game and was bombarded with tells saying, “I am coming to the plaza to play with you.” 

Without the community I would have certainly have given up right from the start. What needs to be done is the same with the new players that come in game. It could be done subtly when digging for gold or walking from one map to another. Slowly introducing people into role play and let them have fun with it. Let the new player realize that with a bit of thought it can be achieved. Hopefully they will enjoy it enough to want to continue.

I was asked by a fellow player once, “Why do you play if you cannot power level?” I honestly answered, “I can role play.”

Well that happened just over a year ago. I thought to make a new character recently and see if I could start all over again. I can say that I found it to be frustrating. Most of the people in the plaza do not talk so it is hard to start something like, “Hello, my name is _______.” I was totally ignored when I tried. So again I ask, “How can we welcome a ‘newbie’ (I still hate that term) to our role play community?”

Phinehas being that you have played a long time and have seen many changes, I would like to read your thoughts on this subject.

[Huget]

As a relatively new player I never found RP awkward or strange. In fact, the main reason I was drawn to this game was the RP aspect. At the time it was a completely new concept to me and that's what made me choose this game over the thousands of other 'free' games that are out there.

I, like Zan, find that playing a char completely different from myself is what makes it really exciting. If a char is similar to the player, it may be hard to draw the line between RP and RL. We are all actors in a massive online improv act, and sometimes just as funny as an improv act.

We need to attract people on the basis that this is a mmoRPg, not a MMORPG; which, I think, the team has done a fairly good job of doing already. Then, the newbies will easily fit in, as the RP is what they came for.

That's my 42 cents (even though some of those cents have been stated before)

[Phinehas]

Boy this agreeing with you guys is much easier than disagreeing! Thanks Zan for doing up that post, it saved me the headache. *Zorbels slaps a button onto Zan's chest that reads "the best poster of the week"

Nice to be on the winning side, eh, Zorby?

Phinehas being that you have played a long time and have seen many changes, I would like to read your thoughts on this subject.

Well, you asked for it... A lot of my beginnings aren't very applicable because when I started off in MB your choices were pretty much, roleplay or run around collecting crystals. The entire in-game area consisted of what is nowadays the Plaza map, or the part of the city with the plaza, the temple, the tavern, and the Azure Tower. You could buy some weapons, but couldn't use them for anything. So yeah, choices were rather limited. So everyone roleplayed. It took me a while to catch on...

I have to say that the biggest incentive for me to roleplay was... well, the roleplayers. There were some really good guys back then, some of whom I've even surpassed in quality of the RP. I remember guilds like the Arcane Order and the Cabal, and big names like Aendar Callenlasse, Draklar(still around a bit), Auran, Druke, etc. These people showed me the richness of the world and the possibilities of RP. I'd never heard of it before. It took a while to get going, admittedly. I started off with a character that was a young Enkidukai mage, and started a guild called The Cutting Edge. It was good, but I was still rather a n00b. If you doubt it, feel free to look up my very earliest writing in the RP forums, and the description of The Cutting Edge in the guilds forum...

With time and encouragement, I got better and better at RP until I now have Phinehas, the wizard that everybody loves to hate.

So there are two major suggestions which have either not been mentioned, or under-emphasized. One, I think a big help to new RPers is RP itself, pure and simple. If we RP, then we give those who are interested a chance to join in. If we're officious or mock their attempts, then it's not gonna turn out so hot, so it's a lead by example sort of thing. Continue to improve your own RP, and then you can help others improve theirs. I'm going to be harsh, but hey, it's what I do... I see a lot of whining about how bad supposed n00bs are at RP and how they ruin everything and how we need to teach them to RP better... The ironic thing is that the people who are complaining often aren't that great themselves. Not above mediocre at least. There aren't that many really good RPers in PS. So if you expect people to improve around you, set them a better example.

The second thing that has gone by the wayside is forum RP. Really, nobody even tries anymore. When I was "growing up" in PS there was much, much more forum RP. People RPed within their guild forums, on the PS forums, and on other fan-forums, like Kada's site. It was great and supplemented in-game RP greatly. It allowed for development of more in-depth characters, it allowed for longer, more consistent storylines, it allowed for more interaction both within a guild, and between members of different guilds. It supplied the gaps, since if you were away from your own computer for a while, you could still post on the forums and still be involved in the RP, rather than just getting left behind in the middle of a storyline... It compensated for the fact that our characters don't really live 24/7 lives in PS since we don't spend every minute of every day in-game. It was a great thing.

I'm not saying that all RP should be done in forums. Far from it, that would be dumb... we wouldn't need a game if we were going to do that. I am saying, however, that people who refuse to go onto the forums and maintain that all RP should be done in-game are simply foolish and unwilling to put any real effort into making it more realistic and hence more fun. Yes, I'll say it again, people who think that all RP should be done in-game and only in-game don't know what they're talking about.

There, you've gone and made me rant. You should be ashamed of yourself, Leama. I do take RP seriously, however, since I find that the better the RP, the more fun it is.

[Duraza]

The second thing that has gone by the wayside is forum RP.

Now I know your old to this game.  I don't think I've ever seen rping on these fourms, if so I doubt I really payed much attention to it, most likely mistaking it for a story or overview of ingame happenings. However I think that actual rp in the fourms would definately inspire new players. There are plenty of players who come to the fourms when they are first starting and seeing threads where people actually rp might help them get a better idea of what to expect or how to rp before even playing much. 

I fully support the idea of someone making a new rp fourm thread for everyone to try it out. Not that it was suggested, nor am I going to make it, but I fully support the idea.

[Leama]

Thank you for answering me Phinehas. It was very informative. Lets hear from more people.

[zorbels]

I don't think I've ever seen rping on these fourms ....

Ok understandable. This really does support Phinehas' statment to how roleplaying on the forums and using it as a tool has died unfortantly. Here are some examples that I dug up. I would have had more (I had a few in mind that I was involved in with alot of the players mentioned on these forums as great RPer's) but for some reason the mods are deleting the roleplay posts in In-Game Roleplay Events. That actually upsets me a great deal. Those posts should stay as an example and something to refer to for ideas. I truly hope the mods do not start deleting stories as well in the story section of the forums. Anyway, check it out. *Points below to the links*

A Lord's Will <------ This is a roleplay I am currently involved in.

Yliakum Journeys (Vol. 1) <---- This was a trial to get people warmed up to roleplaying. I was hoping it would set an example to the community but the peoples of planeshift didn't seem all that interested in keeping it going once the story was done. I know I had a blast.

[Edit] RP superthread developing in PS now! <-------- I think this was one of the biggest roleplays to take place with in planeshift that you can visually see. The people in this roleplay would play their part and then come and post it on the forums so that others could see what had happened and keep updated. This was so much fun!

[Suno_Regin]

I don't think I've ever seen rping on these fourms ....

A Lord's Will <------ This is a roleplay I am currently involved in.

Isn't that link just ingame roleplay recorded down on the forums? Is it the same thing as actually roleplaying on the forums? Or was all that was written there original?

[zorbels]

A Lord's Will <------ This is a roleplay I am currently involved in.

* zorbels sighs

I put in bold the answer to your question suno. Also if you read my post you will see I said that I would have posted more examples (Meaning better) if the mods had not deleted the posts. 

[Under the moon]

* Under the moon smiles.

I fondly remember the Octarch Election forum RP I ran some time ago. And the Tavern Tales one with steuben and Lyistra. Good times.

Hmmm... I stepped into the game with Untar Demune some time ago, and was roleplaying within five minutes. That is how long it took me to figure out the controls and find my first fellow player. Never looked back.

Each new character is a new begining for me. You get to experiment with new personalities and emotions that you as a person cannot do. You get to play new counterpoints to other's characters that you already know as you explore the personality that you are creating. I have had so many new beginnings, and relish every one. Old Krook, who would spit on anyone as soon as look at them, though parted life to the tears of those that found a heart in him. Hyuken, master of bumbling, and one who always takes everyone at face value. Aeshion, who has been told many times that she has a most beautiful voice, despite being a mute. So many more…

Life is for being yourself. Chat is for acting like you want to be. Planeshift… is for creating a new person, and giving that person a life of his/her own.

Why not play yourself? Would you read only books that authors wrote about what they did in life? Would you watch movies in which the actors just stood around being themselves? Would you play a game that was about your life?

Despite its shortcomings, Character Creation is the key. I does not ask you what you want your avitar to look like. It asks you who you want to create. That answer is up to you.

[Lolitra, Celorrim Purrty Twins]

I have to say this, this thread is most interesting, and very informative.  Zan, you old coot... I came along just after MB developed into PS... I missed out just on the rings.  but that was with another character. heheehe one I shared with my husband.  But you wrote a lot of wise words that I just have to agree with, as have a lot of others here.

I personally don't have anything more to add... persay. But I am enjoying reading others' points of view.