Role-play, acting out a role.

[Shadow Rogue]

     I have heard many opinions of how to RP or what makes good RP but I have never completely understood it. Role-play as defined on www.planeshift.it as Role play: To assume or represent in a drama; act out. Ok, I understand that but how. The site later says to create a character with his own goals, fears, joys and weaknesses. Ok, not a problem. Then finally you act out your character’s life. This example is given on http://www.planeshift.it/roleplay.html 
     
    The kran looks at the written page, tilting his head a bit and scratching the top with his left hand. - "Well, I never been a novelist, but that should do it, I guess." He stands up from the giant crystal table, picks a thick cloak and looks outside the window of his sculptured stone house. He concentrates a bit and thanks to his magic vision, he reaches the Hydlaa plaza.
- "mmmm... there is still much more to do, but things are surely getting better. Time for some magic!" 
   
     Based on what I have seen there are many different kinds of RP and ways to go about it in PS. Personally if I have a choice to actually go out and do what my character likes to do or to stand in town and act out what my character likes to do I am ALWAYS going to go out and do it because it adds a real feel to the game while opening up dynamic RP opportunities by meeting others who are doing similar tasks. The whole idea of creating an event or planning out RP is completely unnecessary to me. For me, role-play begins as soon as I log on and ends when I log off. Everything between is my contribution to making the game more lifelike.
   
     Some people may argue that planned out events or RP storylines are necessary to make things interesting but I find I am just ignored when I try to join in (this has happened many times). If players want to have PRIVATE RP events, then they should CREATE A NEW CHAT CHANNEL so they are not filling up the main chat with their closed events that are obviously not meant to be heard. The worst case that I can remember is when someone walked up to me, asked me a question but as soon as I answered they completely ignored everything else I said. If I had been rude then I can understand a response like that but so many times I have just simply wanted to RP and have been ignored or some control freak tries to take over of the situation.
   
     Bottom line the ONLY wrong way RP is to be forceful (god moding) or simply not even trying at all. Don’t feel you have to RP like others. Go your own way.

Feel free to comment if you have anything of value to add.

[Volki]

     Some people may argue that planned out events or RP storylines are necessary to make things interesting but I find I am just ignored when I try to join in (this has happened many times). If players want to have PRIVATE RP events, then they should CREATE A NEW CHAT CHANNEL so they are not filling up the main chat with their closed events that are obviously not meant to be heard.

Can you elaborate on what you mean here?

[Taya]

I'd like elaboration too. I don't think IC interaction can be private in the sense that it should need a private channel, since even if the characters mean for it to be private, someone can always RP an eavesdropper/spy.

Planned events can be difficult, depending on what kind of planned events you mean. No one should get ignored though.

[LigH]

@ Shadow Rogue:

A pity Lolitra isn't anymore with us. She used to plan as little as possible, to improvise as much as possible, allowing everyone taking part in the play to push a little into an own direction.

[Rigwyn]

     I have heard many opinions of how to RP or what makes good RP but I have never completely understood it. Role-play as defined on www.planeshift.it as Role play: To assume or represent in a drama; act out. Ok, I understand that but how.

Practice and experiment.

The whole idea of creating an event or planning out RP is completely unnecessary to me.

Correct.

Some of us do things to stir the pot so to speak because we get a little tired of plain day to day role play. Some players prefer regular day to day role play and dislike any kinds of plots or what have you.  Personally, I like to cause controversy with my character. He has goals and agendas that naturally conflict  with the well being of everyone else. Such conflicts can sometimes give rise to action and result in a lot of fun.

For me, role-play begins as soon as I log on and ends when I log off. Everything between is my contribution to making the game more lifelike.

   

Same here with rare exceptions.

     Some people may argue that planned out events or RP storylines are necessary to make things interesting but I find I am just ignored when I try to join in (this has happened many times).

I'm not sure what you mean by *planned*, but plots and storylines - whether they happen naturally or due to some kind of player maipulation, are not necessary.

As for being ignored, I would wonder what your approach was for joining in, and whether or not you gave other players enough time to respond? Some of us take literally minutes and minutes to think up and write our posts. Some roleplays move at a glacial crawl. I could see how this could be perceived as being ignored.

There have been times when an unfamiliar player has come to me and tried to interact. Before I could respond, they had taken off... o.O

If others are not acknowledging your presence, then perhaps you are not blending in? One mistake I've seen players make is they run up to a group and try to get everyone to stop what they are doing  in order to save their damsel in distress or whatever. The backfire from this sort of tactic is even greater when the crowd approached consists of evil characters who would never even consider playing the hero.

A common way to blend into a group is to approach it, and write out an emote that shows that you are watching, or aware of what they are doing.

For example:

* Rigwyn watches SinisterSam and BettyBoop from across the room as he flips though his book.

Typically, players will try to acknowledge you even if their characters are unaware of you - ie. because you are behind them or whatever.


SinisterSam continues to stir his beer with his filthy, wart infested finger as he gabs to BetteyBoop about his back hair, unaware of Rigwyn's presence.


This right here means, "I, the player see and acknowledge you. My character is unaware."

If players want to have PRIVATE RP events, then they should CREATE A NEW CHAT CHANNEL so they are not filling up the main chat with their closed events that are obviously not meant to be heard.

I agree if there is a good reason why - for example, if the players do not have physical access to a house and wish to role play something that is happening inside.

Unless they are doing this, any character should be able to approach and interact.

The worst case that I can remember is when someone walked up to me, asked me a question but as soon as I answered they completely ignored everything else I said. If I had been rude then I can understand a response like that but so many times I have just simply wanted to RP and have been ignored or some control freak tries to take over of the situation.

Sometimes in RP we do make mistakes. You can always send an ooc tell to the person in question. If it is accidental, then it is also possible that they did not realize that they did this. I know I 've made this mistake on occasion without realizing it until later on.

As for controlling the RP, that falls into the god modding category and is not really cool. It's one thing when players decide to go along with a player-lead event. In this case, they are giving this leader some slack and leeway. It's another thing when this lead player does things that piss off everyone else. The latter goes against the spirit of communitive role play. My advice for the latter case is to discuss it with them first and try to work it out. If you can't resolve the problem with them, then don't play with them. Their power to lead comes from those who choose to follow.
   

Bottom line the ONLY wrong way RP is to be forceful (god moding) or simply not even trying at all. Don’t feel you have to RP like others. Go your own way.

You can also contact a GM and ask them to listen in and give you some feedback. Seasoned GMs like Sarva, Daxa and Venalan will be able to quickly spot and make sense out of situations like these. A quick  /who game    will show you which ones are currently on and visible via chat.

[Shadow Rogue]

     Some people may argue that planned out events or RP storylines are necessary to make things interesting but I find I am just ignored when I try to join in (this has happened many times). If players want to have PRIVATE RP events, then they should CREATE A NEW CHAT CHANNEL so they are not filling up the main chat with their closed events that are obviously not meant to be heard.

 
Can you elaborate on what you mean here?

     I will try to elaborate. What I am trying to describe is the times that I have come across a group of players and stop out of curiosity. Normally I would listen a bit, then decide if my character would join in the conversation or not. If I think he would, I then greet the characters (usually by /greet or with a very short, simple greeting) then wait for a response. I understand it can take some time to reply, but over the course of 5-10 min when the characters say multiple long lines with absolutely no acknowledgement to my character its pretty obvious I'm being flat-out ignored. I have tried to draw a little attention to myself without being annoying in the case that they are just very busy. My methods of doing this include shuffling around a bit with my character and/or typing out a few small reactions to what is going on. Its not like I'm trying to be a glory hound that wants a ton of attention. Most of the time I'm just attempting to join in a conversation.     

[Volki]

People don't usually walk up to strangers in the middle of conversation and expect to be included. It's weird. Would be weird for our characters, too. If you want to be involved, you should directly address the strangers, and your character should have a legitimate reason. Ask for the time, the location of an NPC, where you can buy something, or whatever. Maybe if your character is outgoing he could jump right into the conversation, but don't be surprised if the strangers have a bad reaction.

[Shadow Rogue]

@Rigwyn

I'm not sure what you mean by *planned*, but plots and storylines - whether they happen naturally or due to some kind of player maipulation, are not necessary.

     What I mean by planned is when you come across a group of characters that are all reacting to what one person is saying. This person is the ONLY one that moves the story forward almost as if the story has already been completed and is just now being unveiled to the audience. This single performer just ignores anything that is not directly inline with their planes while the rest is the audience is expected to simply react occasionally. 

[Shadow Rogue]

People don't usually walk up to strangers in the middle of conversation and expect to be included. It's weird. Would be weird for our characters, too. If you want to be involved, you should directly address the strangers, and your character should have a legitimate reason. Ask for the time, the location of an NPC, where you can buy something, or whatever. Maybe if your character is outgoing he could jump right into the conversation, but don't be surprised if the strangers have a bad reaction.

I do it all the time irl and do not offend people. I do not understand why it is frowned on so much in PS.

[Rigwyn]

Don't use /greet
Everyone ignores it or assumes that it was accidental.

As for those who are trying to lead some sort of an event, its possible that you have run into someone who doesn't play well... I don't know and can't say without seeing for myself.

My experience has been that people tend be rather friendly or inclusive, but your experience seems to say otherwise. Have you tried contacting the person or people in question?

[Volki]

I do it all the time irl and do not offend people. I do not understand why it is frowned on so much in PS.

I think you need to elaborate more in your posts.

Where do you do it in real life? If you're at a cafeteria, a bar, an event, or a concert, that makes sense. But what if you saw two people talking to each other on the side of the road (assuming they are not at a bus stop), would you butt in? What if there was a couple at a restaurant having a conversation. Would you join them? Or if you saw someone working at their craft, do you think it is appropriate to interrupt if you are not a customer or a friend?

[cdmoreland]

Don't use /greet
Everyone ignores it or assumes that it was accidental.

Hey, Rigwyn,maybe the devs should take it off the splash screens?

What Shadow Rogue is saying is far too true. I have seen it quite a bit in the 3 years I've been on PS.

[Shadow Rogue]

Don't use /greet
Everyone ignores it or assumes that it was accidental.

As for those who are trying to lead some sort of an event, its possible that you have run into someone who doesn't play well... I don't know and can't say without seeing for myself.

My experience has been that people tend be rather friendly or inclusive, but your experience seems to say otherwise. Have you tried contacting the person or people in question?

     I have never tried to contact them. I tend to be a short-sighted at times so instead of working towards an agreement I am more likely to make an incorrect assumption that the other player(s) did it on purpose. This is probably because I normally give my actions a lot of thought before I go ahead with them.

[Shadow Rogue]

I do it all the time irl and do not offend people. I do not understand why it is frowned on so much in PS.

I think you need to elaborate more in your posts.

Where do you do it in real life? If you're at a cafeteria, a bar, an event, or a concert, that makes sense. But what if you saw two people talking to each other on the side of the road (assuming they are not at a bus stop), would you butt in? What if there was a couple at a restaurant having a conversation. Would you join them? Or if you saw someone working at their craft, do you think it is appropriate to interrupt if you are not a customer or a friend?

    I understand what your getting at. I almost always try to feel out the conversation before I do anything. This is primarily so I do not intrude or begin talking about something that my character would have no interest in.

[bloodedIrishman]

I'd roleplay with you, Shadow Rogue.