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Falconer · 03-13-2003, 02:10 PM

Exactly.

This is an approach that I've seen a multitude of players take, and it seems to be one that works. Often times, the flash of satori that helps a player to develop their character's background is spurred and assisted by the interactivity on a MU*. On the other hand, this can be an excuse and an escape for players that often results in either melodrama or an unconvincing character. Take, for example, a character who has not charted out a personal history and has verbally assaulted a character of a higher rank (because the player has defined their 'personality' as subordinate.)
When arrested or questioned by the authority, the player decides that their must be reasons why their character is in trouble and creates a scenario where the character suffered abuse in the past which is the reason for being a subordinate. The result is melodramatic and contrived - I've seen it happen multiple times on the three RP MU*s that I served as an RPA on and I'm comitted to having my players avert this with The Cathyle Project.

How? There's a plethora of methods that the administration of a game environment can take to ensuring that the characters in their realm are well thought-out ahead of time. The traditional (and simplest) method is to install an application-based creation system. This works well - it weeds out players based on stereotypes and ensures that they are creating a character pertinent to the thematic information provided. It also can have negative side-effects, from a diminished playerbase to what newbies (both to the game and roleplaying in general) will describe as an 'elitist environment.'

So there's other methods:
1) Ensure that you have provided plenty of thematic information on your website, within helpfiles and other foyers accessible to new players. Give a history, show varying factions and organizations, emphasize what makes your theme specifically different from the stock. For reference: Armaggedon RPI, Outremer MUX and Wes Platt's Join the Saga worlds all do an outstanding job of this.

2) Incorporate this thematic information into the character creation process. If you aren't using an application-based system, it's neccessary to weave thematic documents into the creation process. This also makes the process of learning about a world interactive - a technique that always builds player interest - especially if they feel that the information gleaned from reading will help them make better choices for their character.

3) Provide them with an instant roleplaying opportunity. Whether this is by flagging willing players as RP/Newbie emissaries, having a staff member contact the new player when they enter the game, or placing characters in an RP-intensive area/room when they begin, the intial RP scenario is invaluable. It allows new players to ask questions (both IC and OOC) and provides an example of the RP atmosphere that they're expected to fit into.

I apologize for side-tracking.

This thread might be better named: desribe one of your favorite characters. And no, it isn't a matter of simple semantics.

03-13-2003, 02:10 PM	#17
Falconer Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Paris Posts: 35	Exactly. This is an approach that I've seen a multitude of players take, and it seems to be one that works. Often times, the flash of satori that helps a player to develop their character's background is spurred and assisted by the interactivity on a MU. On the other hand, this can be an excuse and an escape for players that often results in either melodrama or an unconvincing character. Take, for example, a character who has not charted out a personal history and has verbally assaulted a character of a higher rank (because the player has defined their 'personality' as subordinate.) When arrested or questioned by the authority, the player decides that their must be reasons why their character is in trouble and creates a scenario where the character suffered abuse in the past which is the reason for being a subordinate. The result is melodramatic and contrived - I've seen it happen multiple times on the three RP MUs that I served as an RPA on and I'm comitted to having my players avert this with The Cathyle Project. How? There's a plethora of methods that the administration of a game environment can take to ensuring that the characters in their realm are well thought-out ahead of time. The traditional (and simplest) method is to install an application-based creation system. This works well - it weeds out players based on stereotypes and ensures that they are creating a character pertinent to the thematic information provided. It also can have negative side-effects, from a diminished playerbase to what newbies (both to the game and roleplaying in general) will describe as an 'elitist environment.' So there's other methods: 1) Ensure that you have provided plenty of thematic information on your website, within helpfiles and other foyers accessible to new players. Give a history, show varying factions and organizations, emphasize what makes your theme specifically different from the stock. For reference: Armaggedon RPI, Outremer MUX and Wes Platt's Join the Saga worlds all do an outstanding job of this. 2) Incorporate this thematic information into the character creation process. If you aren't using an application-based system, it's neccessary to weave thematic documents into the creation process. This also makes the process of learning about a world interactive - a technique that always builds player interest - especially if they feel that the information gleaned from reading will help them make better choices for their character. 3) Provide them with an instant roleplaying opportunity. Whether this is by flagging willing players as RP/Newbie emissaries, having a staff member contact the new player when they enter the game, or placing characters in an RP-intensive area/room when they begin, the intial RP scenario is invaluable. It allows new players to ask questions (both IC and OOC) and provides an example of the RP atmosphere that they're expected to fit into. I apologize for side-tracking. This thread might be better named: desribe one of your favorite characters. And no, it isn't a matter of simple semantics.