User:WhiteWizard/Roleplay Guide
From Tapestries MUCK
This guide is meant as an introduction to online Role-play (RP). While some parts may be specific to Tapestries Muck, most of it should be applicable to almost any online roleplay environment such as Second Life, IRC and others.
Work In Progress
Contents |
Introduction
Online role-playing involves acting out or playing the role of a fictional character that the person has developed. This character may range from a fairly close personification of the player, or it may have a personality, motivations and background wildly different from the player's own and thus act very differently than the player might in the same situation.
People role-play online for a variety of different reasons. It can be looked at as a game that you play with others to socialize. It can be an exercise to explore personalities or situations that the person otherwise would not outside of role-play. It can be used to virtually live out fantasies.
In and Out of Character
In Character (IC) refers to playing out the role of your character. When you are IC you are reacting as your character would, not as you would yourself. Being Out of Character (OOC) refers to speaking for your real self with out the biases that your character may have.
It is often important to make it clear when you are speaking as your character and when you are speaking as yourself. For example, when negotiating the type of role-play that you and another player want to engage in it is done OOC. When your character is acting in an antisocial fashion it is important that people understand that this is IC, and not necessarily representing your own views or how you would act.
Grey Areas
There are times online where people are socializing and blurring the line between IC and OOC behavior. Most commonly this is seen in social areas online where role-playing commonly happens but is not strictly enforced. People may be there to socialize while waiting for someone to arrive that they may wish to role-play with at the same time that people are engaged in actually role-playing.
Also cases with people who play characters that are very close to themselves can lead to behavior where it is hard to tell if they are talking IC or OOC, and in some cases they are doing both.
Prediscussion and Common Ground
Preperation for Roleplaying...
Non Player Characters (NPCs)
How to involve additional characters in a scene.
Language
Purpose of language, to communicate clearly... How this is important to roleplaying... present tense,
Imperfect Language
Typoes, sloppy sentence structure, why it is common and when it is appropriate...
Internet Speech
What this is, why it is frowned on... include references...
Language of Choice
Pick clearest language for you and partner... public play should be in english (for Tapestries)...
Posing
What the term means, alternate terms (posting).. sentances, etc.
Flow
Flow of the RP, how to trade off poses, how to order them with multiple people, etc.
Length
What length should poses be?
Say
How to use the say program, when...
Pose
How to use the pose program, when, and how to include spoken text in a pose...
Spoofing
For NPCs
Powergaming (and not doing it)
What is Powergaming
Why you should not Powergame
How Not to Powergame
Public and Private
Differences between public and private play, use of explicit references in public...
Public
Other people's RP, how to respect it... street performer example...
See Also
Other related stuff on this site...
Resources
Useful guides on other sites...
References
Stuff referenced...
