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Jazuela · 09-02-2004, 08:26 PM

Heh. Well in one game, a commercial pay to pay, we had to pay extra for GM-sponsored weddings. So I dished out my half of the $200 (yeah - I was an idiot), got a bunch of neato verbs and custom objects, fun atmospheric echos, and a honeymoon suite in some special place where my character's husband and her did a quickie "fade to black." A few days later, hubby's player informs me via IM, that he has found the girl of his dreams in that game, and he will just pretend our characters got an amiable divorce so he could spend all his gaming time with his new girlfriend's character instead.

When I protested - he said I had real feelings for him and was just jealous. I tried to explain that yeah I like him just fine, but no, this has nothing to do with any real life amorous feelings. It has to do with roleplaying. It just didn't make any sense at all, and I didn't know how to RP it.

That was a real eye opener - finally realizing that the game isn't even remotely a roleplaying game. It's a trading card game where you can buy and sell characters and equipment on e-bay to the highest bidder, and pay extra money for extra perks that you can't get any other way, even though you're already paying for the privilege of playing it in the first place.

So I moved to another game that was RP enforced - and the code did a much better job of supporting the roleplay. I became a staff member after my first month, so I kinda kept clear of any IC relationships with other characters. Favoritism is a nasty thing, and staffers can easily be accused of it when there's even a hint that a staffer's avatar is having a "thing" with another player.

I left that game and went to where I am now, and I have to say they address this in a very unique way. Marriages - official "til death do we part" kinda arrangements, are done mostly for business purposes. To join two clans, or create alliances between noble houses.

Anyone else who wants to have an exclusive relationship is welcome to do so, but in the eyes of the city they live in, they aren't married. And there's no shame in it either - it's just how it is. Many characters will have multiple mates, or mates of the same sex, or mates of both genders, no mates at all, mates of different races, and some will have exclusive relationships with only one mate at a time.

The problem with the exclusive thing, is that it's a permanent death game - and people die fairly easily. So you might think "til death do we part" about your character's lover, but that death thing ends up happening tomorrow and you now have to roleplay out mourning the loss.

Mostly what I've seen is people who will have a "one at a time" thing with a lover - when he dies, say "oh gee, that's a shame," and move on to the next one. Life is too short to embrace the angst, ya know what I mean? Some will have multiple mates - and the game's theme supports the notion so there's no stigma attached to it, and in general jealousy is a waste of emotion in that kind of atmosphere.

So those are my experiences with IC relationships, in three different games.

09-02-2004, 08:26 PM	#2
Jazuela Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New England Posts: 849	Heh. Well in one game, a commercial pay to pay, we had to pay extra for GM-sponsored weddings. So I dished out my half of the $200 (yeah - I was an idiot), got a bunch of neato verbs and custom objects, fun atmospheric echos, and a honeymoon suite in some special place where my character's husband and her did a quickie "fade to black." A few days later, hubby's player informs me via IM, that he has found the girl of his dreams in that game, and he will just pretend our characters got an amiable divorce so he could spend all his gaming time with his new girlfriend's character instead. When I protested - he said I had real feelings for him and was just jealous. I tried to explain that yeah I like him just fine, but no, this has nothing to do with any real life amorous feelings. It has to do with roleplaying. It just didn't make any sense at all, and I didn't know how to RP it. That was a real eye opener - finally realizing that the game isn't even remotely a roleplaying game. It's a trading card game where you can buy and sell characters and equipment on e-bay to the highest bidder, and pay extra money for extra perks that you can't get any other way, even though you're already paying for the privilege of playing it in the first place. So I moved to another game that was RP enforced - and the code did a much better job of supporting the roleplay. I became a staff member after my first month, so I kinda kept clear of any IC relationships with other characters. Favoritism is a nasty thing, and staffers can easily be accused of it when there's even a hint that a staffer's avatar is having a "thing" with another player. I left that game and went to where I am now, and I have to say they address this in a very unique way. Marriages - official "til death do we part" kinda arrangements, are done mostly for business purposes. To join two clans, or create alliances between noble houses. Anyone else who wants to have an exclusive relationship is welcome to do so, but in the eyes of the city they live in, they aren't married. And there's no shame in it either - it's just how it is. Many characters will have multiple mates, or mates of the same sex, or mates of both genders, no mates at all, mates of different races, and some will have exclusive relationships with only one mate at a time. The problem with the exclusive thing, is that it's a permanent death game - and people die fairly easily. So you might think "til death do we part" about your character's lover, but that death thing ends up happening tomorrow and you now have to roleplay out mourning the loss. Mostly what I've seen is people who will have a "one at a time" thing with a lover - when he dies, say "oh gee, that's a shame," and move on to the next one. Life is too short to embrace the angst, ya know what I mean? Some will have multiple mates - and the game's theme supports the notion so there's no stigma attached to it, and in general jealousy is a waste of emotion in that kind of atmosphere. So those are my experiences with IC relationships, in three different games.