Comments on: RP as a Performance

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:36:13 +0000

@Zoe –

If he’s convinced that he’ll never have real RP in WoW, then he’s probably right, because he won’t give it a chance. I, and a good number of other bloggers, care to differ on that opinion, with proof of ongoing stories happening in WoW all the time. Is it the same medium as D&D? No. But then, WoW is not D&D. And I’m not saying that WoW doesn’t have its limitations. But it is ABSOLUTELY possible to have fun, engaging, extended RP in game.

By: Zoe

Zoe — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:02:47 +0000

I should add that my S.O. isn’t a total elitist jerk all the time. Just when it comes to fanboy-ing.

By: Zoe

Zoe — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:00:18 +0000

My significant other has been roleplaying online in chat rooms and in tabletop games for maybe a decade, and in response to the notion of roleplaying in Warcraft, he declares that “It’s NOT REAL RP!” He claims his problem with it is that you can’t “write a real, ongoing story” in the limited text field provided. I respond by saying, as you do here, that’s it’s more of a performance than a narration of any kind…more like acting than writing. No go – he’s not convinced. Though I guess I can ask him what RPing face-to-face in D&D was like; I can’t imagine it’s really all that different from RPing in WoW, except that you can see the person behind the character!

By: Niv

Niv — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:39:01 +0000

I find having a character with seemingly random moods gets me some interesting responses, it also lets me make up what she’d been doing that day to put her in that mood, the hard part (for me) is overcomeing my natural desire to sit and watch (ok ok I’m shy…) all in all it’s been interesting to say the least.

Also Rico, mustn’t forget Rico or chompings shall commence…

By: Ellyndia

Ellyndia — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:14:34 +0000

I’ve heard it said that acting is a series of responses. Your partner does or says something, and it makes your character respond in a certain way, then your* response prompt another from your partner…and so forth. Never is this more true than roleplay, *especially* in a busy bar environment with multiple players. You have to put yourself out there – or as I like to think of it, provide a hook so that others will want to interact with you.

I once played an old undead mage. She was so fixated on the life she had lost that she was very very introverted and awkward. But she had a pet Jubling who was the most forward, innovative, and thought provoking pet one could have. When Cirene sat in the corner and wrote, it was Jubling who would hop over to others, sniff them, lick them maybe, or hop excitedly. When Cirene was feeling alienated by a situation, it was Jubling who would make sad frog sounds – or, nudge the woman to encourage her to speak. She was, in effect, Cirene’s best friend, the kind who would stick by you and see that only your best interests were served.

But in effect, using Jubling allowed me to put an awkward introverted character into very extroverted situations – which caused unusual results, as well as a heck of a lot of fun.