Hi RPers!!!

I have to start this by saying personally, I HATE RPing... I simply lack the imagination to lose myself in a character like that and all of my toons are essentially me with powers that I would like to have which I think is why I've only really been able to "get into" two of them.

Having said that, I've noticed that at times when teamed with RPers some do not RP if most of the team is not. Don't do that, if you like to RP do it please... I say this for two reasons 1. If you enjoy that part of the game don't stop because others don't and 2. as much as I personally do not like to RP I do find it very entertaining when observing others who do, it's almost like watching a superhero movie that I get to be a part of.

Thanks for the encouragement, Radubadu. A lot of us do it as much for the enjoyment and thematic feel others get out of it as for ourselves, so it's heartening to hear others appreciate the effort.

You're quite welcome

It's very nice to hear from someone who doesn't like to roleplay, but at the same time doesn't feel compelled to scream "lolRP!". I appreciate you posting that, and hope to see you in-game sometime. For my part, if there's someone on one of my RP teams who doesn't RP, I try to keep them from getting sucked into it. The (( )) brackets get a workout, but no one feels left out.

I don't RP on non-RP teams because I do it for the interactive-ness between the characters. I do use the ((OOC)) thing, though, because it's a 1-key shortcut and I'm so much into the habit of using it. I do know some folks who don't RP because they just don't.. they don't dislike it, per se, they just don't get a story in their heads.

I think a lot of this can be traced back to Ye Olde Tabletop (which isn't so Ye or Olde to those who still do it every Wednesday night). Every group always had That Guy. You know, That Guy who was determined to stay in character no matter what. Of course, some groups had That Guy who was the only one who didn't. Either way, lulz can be had by all.

A good solid in-character joke can cause OOC laughs. That's just plain universal. When Metal Dream starts going on about having relations with drying machines and gas pumps, a good hearty "LOL" isn't going to break the atmosphere any more than a guy spitting out his Mt Dew at the gaming table will undo the comic effect of tavern antics in a D&D game. I've noticed a lot of people will make OOC comments about IC behavior without being negative about it. Yes, even the dreaded un-bracketed OOC comments that some people are damn determined to avoid.

I think overall, for better or worse, Virtue's culture is that of roleplaying. Just as every Chinese person doesn't know kung fu (at least, that's what they -claim-), not every Virtue player roleplays. But it's sort of our thing. Not every American likes baseball or "American" football, but it's pretty much accepted to be normal. If it's downright offensive to someone that a teammate is talking as if the events happening are real, then what are they doing on Virtue? Sure, you don't have to roleplay, but it's common enough (even if it's just casual in-character dialogue) that any offense is just silly.

So yes, I do blurt out things in character. I'm definitely not a hardcore roleplayer by any means. My plant controller discussed the hazards of growing catnip with another plant controller. There were maybe only three people in character in the entire group, but those other five didn't mind a bit. For the most part, it's seen as adding color to the game's atmosphere in the same way NPCs do. Except you can interact with players.

That said, I avoid brackets unless there's a lot of in-character dialogue going on and I have to say something that absolutely have to be OOC. If I'm drunk, then guess what? My character's probably drunk too (except the robots; they're just malfunctioning). 90% of what I say can be construed as either IC or OOC. Once people start flat out emoting and whatnot, then sure, we're in full on IC mode. Otherwise, I'll be pissed just as much as my character if the tanker's a moron or if we're splitting up. There's no need to broadcast that my character does not necessarily think the exact same thing that I do by putting giant bent phallic symbols all over my text.

Ok, this just got TL;DR even to myself. So here's a summary. It's an RPG, people. It won't kill you to suspend disbelief and talk like a superhero now and then. The kids love it!

My view on RP boils down to the following:

Local: IC no matter what. No exceptions. OOC brackets ALWAYS used in OOC chat.

Emote: IC 99% of the time. OOC in rare occasions (such as being a pretentious twit trying to police the RP of other people through snide comments). OOC brackets not used.

Broadcast: OOC 99% of the time. IC in rare occasions (such as public radio messages or whatever). No OOC brackets used.

SG/Coalition: IC unless SG or coalition is not a roleplaying SG or coalition. OOC brackets used.

Tells: IC if reasoning is valid (telepathy, text messaging, phone, ear comm, ERP sessions). OOC otherwise. OOC brackets used with discretion - if it's a completely OOC conversation, none are used.

Team: IC if reasoning is valid (mind link, ear comms, radios, ERP sessions, etc). OOC if not an RP team. If team members are OOC, no OOC brackets will be used.

Help Chat/Arena Chat/Architect Chat/Request/etc: 100% OOC. No brackets used.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tir_McDohl That said, I avoid brackets unless there's a lot of in-character dialogue going on and I have to say something that absolutely have to be OOC. . . . Once people start flat out emoting and whatnot, then sure, we're in full on IC mode. . . .There's no need to broadcast that my character does not necessarily think the exact same thing that I do by putting giant bent phallic symbols all over my text.

You, sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. There is no reason for anyone to use OOC brackets when the conversation is clearly OOC, and anyone who does so is an attention seeker. Anyone who claims it's "habit" is lying. It is impossible to form a habit in which it is physically impossible to not press two button combinations at the beginning and end of every thing you type, without error.

You know Mondo that last one was well done. I almost took you seriously. Just enough believability to it that made me twist my head to the side and go 'not sure if serious.' Though the beginning and the end gave it away. You'd never call somebody a gentleman, especially on the forums.

I want to get into a little roleplaying on CoX myself, but because I've only been playing for two weeks I'd probably be too concerned with keeping myself alive and not getting lost rather than IC emoting/whatever.

I have to start somewhere right?

I don't break character for anyone.

Unless I *feel* like it.

But if I don't, I'll keep on RPing even if no one else is.

It's never once really been a problem here on Virtue. I've not had anyone give me crap for it or say anything negative.

Quote:

Originally Posted by eltonio This is over the top mental slavery.

I like that use of the word fact.

I try to keep my characters in character as much as possible. I don't need anyone else to be RPing in the team to enjoy the quirks and humour of some of my characters. Anything said in local is definitely IC while I will bracket stuff in team if it clearly not something that would ever be said by my character. I've seen that sort of method done consistently by others. Never thought they were being attention seekers or anything, just playing by a set of rules they had established for themselves and their toons.

The comment about typing ((OOC)) style not being something that can be a a formed habit is patently false. I have a few friends who accidentally do that when they are in other chat mediums and have to take a mental step back to get OUT of the habit of doing it if they have been playing for long periods of time. I've done it myself on Skype to the amusement of my son.