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Sanvean · 12-28-2004, 12:43 PM

An RPI is, plainly and simply, a game where the main focus is roleplay, and which offers the player a chance to create and act out a role. The intensity is a difference of degree, and not something that disqualifies a place because they don't match some numerical criteria or have OOC mechanisms to help the player.

To my mind, the factor that makes a MUD successful at being roleplay intensive is having things that facilitate getting inside the role. Delerak mentioned some -- the think command's another noteable one.

That's where a lot of the code being decried as tedious comes into play, I think, such as getting one's clothes dusty when walking through a sandstorm, or finding that cooked food is more filling/satisfactory than uncooked. They're not intended, though, to slow things down for the player and keep them from wandering off to spam kill fidos - they're there because they make the game world slightly more "real". And that degree of adherence to gritty detail is not everyone's cup of tea - which seems fine to me.

I like the occasional ramble on a hack and slash, and the drive to level, because it's a fun way to explore the game. I've built a few areas on such games, and enjoyed the heck out of it, as anyone who's played Everwinter or the Midsummer Night's Forest on DarkCastle can testify -- they're silly and full of little pop culture references and jokes. I like playing some console games because they're fun for different reasons, often revolving around graphics. But if I want storytelling, a character and plotlines that makes me laugh or cry, I go to an RPI, because that's where they really shine.

Some hack and slashes get a bad rap because they're stock Diku (or ROM, or whatever flavor) and therefore tend to be the same as any other. I like innovativeness and cool little features that I can explore, and so far I've found them more consistently on RPIs. Which is not to say they don't exist elsewhere.

It seems a little disingenuous to me to say that the best roleplay doesn't happen in the environments that facilitate and encourage it the most. Sure, it can happen elsewhere in lands replete with gossip and auction channels, but it's not going to flourish and self-perpetuate in the way it does when you're in an atmosphere where it's the main focus of the majority of the players.

12-28-2004, 12:43 PM	#38
Sanvean Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 99	An RPI is, plainly and simply, a game where the main focus is roleplay, and which offers the player a chance to create and act out a role. The intensity is a difference of degree, and not something that disqualifies a place because they don't match some numerical criteria or have OOC mechanisms to help the player. To my mind, the factor that makes a MUD successful at being roleplay intensive is having things that facilitate getting inside the role. Delerak mentioned some -- the think command's another noteable one. That's where a lot of the code being decried as tedious comes into play, I think, such as getting one's clothes dusty when walking through a sandstorm, or finding that cooked food is more filling/satisfactory than uncooked. They're not intended, though, to slow things down for the player and keep them from wandering off to spam kill fidos - they're there because they make the game world slightly more "real". And that degree of adherence to gritty detail is not everyone's cup of tea - which seems fine to me. I like the occasional ramble on a hack and slash, and the drive to level, because it's a fun way to explore the game. I've built a few areas on such games, and enjoyed the heck out of it, as anyone who's played Everwinter or the Midsummer Night's Forest on DarkCastle can testify -- they're silly and full of little pop culture references and jokes. I like playing some console games because they're fun for different reasons, often revolving around graphics. But if I want storytelling, a character and plotlines that makes me laugh or cry, I go to an RPI, because that's where they really shine. Some hack and slashes get a bad rap because they're stock Diku (or ROM, or whatever flavor) and therefore tend to be the same as any other. I like innovativeness and cool little features that I can explore, and so far I've found them more consistently on RPIs. Which is not to say they don't exist elsewhere. It seems a little disingenuous to me to say that the best roleplay doesn't happen in the environments that facilitate and encourage it the most. Sure, it can happen elsewhere in lands replete with gossip and auction channels, but it's not going to flourish and self-perpetuate in the way it does when you're in an atmosphere where it's the main focus of the majority of the players.