Descriptions as Roleplay Tools

[Peanuts]

I'm in the process of paring down a character's too lengthy description, and it's gotten me thinking about descriptions as tools for good roleplay.   

I know I personally tend to check descriptions out before I get down to RPing with someone, and I really love being able to work details from them into roleplay.   I try to keep in mind that characters aren't, from their own perspectives, wisps of coding - they're physical beings in a physical universe, and their first reactions to other people will normally be based on things like height, or build, or clothing, or whatever.  (For example: I have a character who's tall for her race, and grew up in a relatively homogeneous area; she thus subconsciously finds it unfamiliar - and rather uncomfortable - to have to crane her neck to look someone in the face.  It's fun for me when a character description mentions a height - whether exact numbers or just "So-and-so is tall for a ___" - because it gives me some idea of what her reactions should be.)   

I'm not very interested in seeing psychological examinations or histories - what can I do with that material that isn't OOC? - but I jump for joy when I see a description that mentions what kind of voice a character has, or what their posture is usually like.   Details don't have to be special and exotic to give material for roleplay, either; glowing eyes aren't as interesting to me as a character who smells a particular way.

How much do you make use out of descriptions when you're playing?  What sorts of things do you hope to see when you click that eye icon?   

[Pizik]

I have a personal dislike of people who use their descriptions for anything but a physical (or as you suggest, vocal) description of their character. I cringe when I see "Shortsword: /3.2 speed 2 4000 trias" or even "Blah blah came from a small familly with .....". My character is not psychic, so dont god mod me into being that way ;o).
Other examples include "Hidden under her cloak are......." Its hidden, how would I know about them. "The daggers at his side are frequently used in settling arguements", "You notice [insert anything here]" Dont tell me what my character notices, that is my choice.

Ok, some of these are minor annoyances, but they are all things that people think are fine because they are descriptive, but its wrong  imo.

[Mathy Stockington]

According to Webster dictionary this is the defination of description:

description 

Main Entry: de·scrip·tion 
Pronunciation: \di-ˈskrip-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English descripcioun, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin description-, descriptio, from describere
Date: 14th century
1 a: an act of describing; specifically : discourse intended to give a mental image of something experienced b: a descriptive statement or account
2: kind or character especially as determined by salient features <opposed to any tax of so radical a description>


I totally agree our descriptions should be based on the attributes you want your fellow Hydlaa citizen to see. It makes role play fun. One day someone sent me a tell and mentioned an error in my description and I thanked him. They are important to me also. I hope you have lots of fun in PS Peanuts. (I just wished I had thought to use your nick here first. Very creative, I must say)

[LigH]

It appears that some people put great efforts in creating a stylish and impressive description. Without even realising that people would take so long to read them that their character possibly already left the town when those who looked at it (especially non-native english speakers) finished reading it. Therefore, I don't read more than a first page (and that page is rather small now inside the not resizable window). And I stop reading if it starts telling me about childhood events I can't witness anymore.

I remember that I was critcized for leaving the game generated attributes there. That I wrote my personal description below that list instead of above. Could be that even those are too OOC for some visitors.

[Caarrie]

might want to include a link to http://hydlaa.com/smf/index.php?topic=31960.msg367024#msg367024

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

The description should only be what one can SENSE about you with their senses and the more elements of sense you include the better.

Definitely NOT for you to godmod around in...

[LigH]

XilliX gives a round for 1111 posts!
__

"Not to godmod in descriptions" may mean as well a little difference between

a) "You feel fear raising inside you, looking at him" (bad example: you try to enforce emotions)

and

b) "The average visitor may feel uncomfortable next to him" (better example: a suggested emotion under some circumstance)

Well, my examples may not be perfect. I hope I hit the nail at least.

[eldoth_terevan]

I remember once debating with myself for about a week before adding a tattoo to my description. I hadn't seen any tattoo-removal services around, so I figured it would have to be permanent. I added it, it is still there. Short and sweet on descriptions otherwise, no item-price lists *arg*, limited only to what is immediately and superficially visible on the character itself.

[Kaityra]

May I state here that the default "description" from the character creation isn't very convenvient as it contains mostly things which cannot be sensed?

[Xillix Queen of Fools]

You may, but it would be better if you put in a feature request asking that that information be put into a personalized Biography section instead of "description"

[Shaman]

Other examples include "Hidden under her cloak are......." Its hidden, how would I know about them.

Actually, this one isn't that bad. If people don't mention what's under the cloak, then they might be considered godmodding when they pull a sword from a spot hidden under said cloak. Other people might not see it, but there may be a time the cloak is taken off during an RP, or they may have to draw a weapon and don't want to be considered godmodding by "pulling it out of nowhere".

[Mythryndel]

Would it be appropriate to add a Feature request for each of the following:

1. Character description, when creating a new character, defaults to giving ONLY physical descriptions of the character.

2. Each character be given a personal Journal (not a droppable inventory item) that includes all other information generated at character creation.
   a. Possible restrictions to not be able to change default background
   b. Should be appendable as time goes on for a player to make notes about how their character changes and interacts with others.

3. Characters should be given a Journal of some kind with basic setting info for where they start out in Yliakum. If a character starts out in Hydlaa, then there should be mention of Harnquist and Laanx Temple, Kada El, etc. If a character starts out in Akkaio, then they should have basic information about Brado, Trasok, etc. Information a character would have if they spent any amount of time in a given area.

I cannot disagree with the issue of people abusing the intent of the character description... however, until the default character creation information stops being put in there for ALL new characters, we can't really expect players to not think random info belongs there.

[ThomPhoenix]

http://www.hydlaa.com/flyspray_upgrade/

[Under the moon]

Also add a suggestion to place simple instructions for making a good description directly in the description window instead of <null> or life events.

[Mythryndel]

FS#s 1756, 1757, 1758.

Didn't add the note about <null>, but if you want to add a comment it is 1756.