A lawyer? Nah...my brother is the lawyer, I learn to argument and defend my position by discussing with him
I am a graphic design student.
Anyway, to respond to Avallok. Yes, it is -very- true that since graphics took over the gaming industry, first via sprites, then making the huge leap to a fully three dimensional world, there is not such a need for the player to imagine what the virtual game world is like. Why should you? You see the trees, the houses, the creatures. All exquisitely drawn and animated (or not
). Not to mention the sound effects and even music that emphasises the sentiments provoked by a certain scene or area.
But is the human mind weak enough to succumb to these mere conjunction of blinking pixels in our monitor and sound waves emitted by the speakers? If so, I would be immensely disappointed at the capacity we have to use our imagination.
RolePlaying, again, is not the mere usage of the features given to us by the game. RolePlaying is surrounding yourself in an imaginary world, be teleported to another universe, where you take over a character of your choice and live his or her life.
Graphics and sounds do not murder that possibility. They limit it, in certain ways. For example, I probably will not be able to glare at that character that has just upset mine, or skilfully dance with that woman who owns his heart. But there are many other possibilities as well.
You say \"i think 90% of people think roleplaying is lvling up, equipment, armour, swords, abilities, quests and etc, and it reely is without that roleplayin theatre thing u say\", I say RolePlaying IS a theatre play, and removing the storytelling aspect of it is detracting the core itself of the concept.
Regarding names, one thing is the login name, which can be whatever construction and hodge podge of words and numbers that comes out of your head. But character names is a whole different deal. And they should match the world the character is in.
\"Souleater_2000\", \"I_pwn_j00\" and other similar manners of non-thematic concoctions should be strictly forbidden.
To the point of channels, whoever said that talking in all of the channels would be the very esence of RolePlaying? But there are many possibilities for using a liberal channel system.
A public channel, for all to hear, is a necessity. Why? Because the player community must be in touch. Why? Because! How one would expect to organise plots, conflicts and engulf the world with alluring stories of mystery and intrigue if you do not even know who is the guy playing the character next to you?
A guild channel. Because certain announcements have to be made public to the guild members. Player absences, the fact that a new report is available at the headquarters, reminders for meetings, etcetera.
Obviously, the possibility of paging other players, or \"whispering\", if you prefer. Simply to say \"Hi\", or to say, \"Would it be fine with you if my character approaches and does X action?\". Consent based RolePlaying should also be enforced, since we are at it
And personal channels. Why yes, the ability to create your own channel, invite only the people you want to invite, and discuss what you wish to discuss. Why is this useful? If a plot involves five people, mainly, including you, then you can invite the other four players and discuss details, key events, meetings, and decide if the outcome of the plot is acceptable for everyone.
That is, with a little more detail, how I pictured the system. It detracts from RolePlaying? I do not think so, they are tools that allow the player to organise and make things run as smooth as silk...or at least try to!
I sincerely do not understand the upside of removing an \"Online list\". What is the point? I, as a player, WANT to know if my character\'s ally is online, or his nemesis is present, to be aware of the possibility of an upcoming scene.
I as a player wish to know if X player is currently in the game, to relay the message of a meeting in a designated day, to tell him I will be absent for this or that amount of time, to remind him of an upcoming event, or for crying out loud, I want to see if a friend is online so I can at least say \"Hi\"! (OOCly speaking, of course)
To allow only the owners of certain artifacts, or the casters of determinate spells to be aware of who is online and who is not, is ludicrous. Firstly, it does not make any sense to require an IC tool to be displayed OOC information.
Or do characters disappear in an endless void when the players disconnect? I like to think that characters go to their homes and get some rest, or take a room at an inn, or whatever excuse you wish to use to explain the fact that they are unreachable for a prolonged moment.
Who is online and who is not, is a reality, it is part of our lives outside the game. Why involve skills and items that have to be paid for or trained for, in game, to receive this information?
You said to give the people the stage, and the platform to act. Excellent, you have the world, the skill system, the items, and whatever coding and programming you can think of.
But also show them who they can act with. Not knowing who is out there is extremely discouraging for a player.
True, for RolePlaying, you do not need graphics, sounds, not even internet! Grab a piece of paper, a pencil and an eraser. Then have a bunch of friends get together and use a pair of die to entertain ourselves. It is, indeed, lots of fun.
But if we all followed that example, online RPGs would not exist, would them?
PlaneShift can become the FIRST free online game to offer a true RolePlaying experience, accompanied with three dimensional graphics, enrapturing sounds, and all else you can think of.
I see the enormous potential, and I would like to see the developers taking advantage of it. If they fail, or if the players fail, then it will be a great shame. But I will still have my MUDs and my text games to RolePlay with. And believe me, those fantastic nail-biting moments in which your character is taking a huge leap, and actually making history in the game, last longer in your mind than the time in which you bashed five orcs all by yourself with the sword of butt-kicking +1.
About the empty positions that may or may not be filled by a player, I would not worry about them much. If the staff comments at their site, \"Look! We have this open positions for your any interesting characters! The IC rewards are X, Y and Z!\", then the majority of them will be taken.
You just need to give the characters a reason to assume the burden of a job and its inherent responsibility.
- Golbez
