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Old 09-22-2010, 10:54 PM   #1
Sombalance
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What do you enjoy about RP?

I thought I would try a different approach to the RP dialog that has been going on lately. We've seemed to be focusing on the negative stuff and what separates us as opposed to looking at the positive side of our hobby.

Many of us our RP oriented. So, why is that? Why is roleplaying important to you?

I like being lost in the character and event. That defines a good RP game for me. Mechanics, rules, system don't really matter if I can get lost in the characters.

I'd rather plot and scheme than actually fight. Roleplaying games normally don't require me to chase experience points. That means I can do more of what I want and spend less time grinding.

I enjoy depth in a game. Detailed histories with on-going long term conflict that dynamically evolves with the players. When it comes to creating my character histories, I prefer to start out small with just a basic outline and fill it in as I become more comfortable with the setting.

I love the surprises that come up. Not knowing how things will turn out in the end. I'm not just solving a quest, I'm trying to work with or against the other players to achieve goals that I couldn't do in a typical non-rp oriented game.
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Old 09-23-2010, 01:14 AM   #2
silvarilon
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

I love getting "in character" and thinking about things from a different perspective.

I love when my characters have very different opinions to me, it lets me think of things from a different perspective, and provides a mental challenge. For example, a character who believes in anarchy (the political system rather than just "everyone does whatever they want") - that one core aspect shaped so much of the rest of the character, it leads to having a very libertarian outlook, defining how interactions with other characters happens, etc. etc. - even though I'm often something of a conservative myself.

I also like the opportunity to approach problems and puzzles in a new way. In most computer games, the puzzles and solutions are very rigidly defined. You can kill the bad guy by dropping a box on them, shooting something explosive nearby, shooting them directly, etc. etc. - there may be many options, but they are limited based on the code of the game. In a social setting, there are infinite options, some of which will work and some won't work. If I'm playing Mass Effects, I can come up with a personality for my character, but that personality won't have a significant effect on the game, despite there being "in character" choices and dialogue. If I'm playing a social RP game, the personality I put into my character makes a very big difference. Heck, even just having a specific type of accent will change how others react to me, and thus significantly change the game for me.

I also like when actions have consequences. And I like when those consequences are organic and not necessarily obvious at the time. Nothing greater than finding out there was a well-laid and executed plot against my character, and now I'm IC in trouble...
or laying a plot, scrambling to solve any complications, and pulling it off.
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Old 09-23-2010, 01:33 PM   #3
WarHound
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

Cooperative storytelling. Even if the person on the other end is my arch nemesis, we're still working together to tell a story.
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Old 09-26-2010, 03:34 PM   #4
Milawe
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

This is also the most appealing aspect of RP to me, especially from an administrative standpoint. I like to build stories with other people and see where it goes. Multiple creative minds working together can often create amazing things.

I'll admit that I love fantasy settings more than anything others because I like trying to get into the mindset of my character. In addition, I love trying to figure out questions like, "Can I actually play a character who is smarter than I am, or am I limited by my own brain?" Would it make me smarter to try to play a character smarter than myself? Anyway, I like exploring other roles in alien worlds.

In a sense, I like to have my characters accomplish things that I'll never be able to do in real life. I'll never be able to keep my party alive as we drag ourselves out of a dragon's lair after fleeing from a thousand hatchlings. I'll probably never own a gigantic mansion inside a tree trunk that I can furnish with acorn furniture. I definitely wouldn't be able to do it in the fraction of time it actually takes on a roleplaying game as opposed to doing it in real life.

Roleplaying allows me to explore a lot of options that I won't ever have. It also lets me interact with people that I may never be friends with in real life. It's also a wonderful outlet for creativity when my cup runneth over.
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Old 10-07-2010, 05:41 PM   #5
Avalikia
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

Well, given that I'm only found on MUCKs anymore, this question should be a piece of cake, right? I agree with all of the points mentioned thus far, plus:

- I am truly terrible at any computer-managed combat system. (Not just in MUDs, but also in any computer or video game - I FAIL!) And since it's just not fun to die over and over again, without RP I wouldn't have much of a reason to be on anything remotely like a MUD would I?

- Since my entire focus is on the RP and I'm surrounded by many others whose entire focus is on the RP, we've all gotten to be very good writers. And in that kind of environment you're naturally inclined to want to get better at writing because there's always someone doing it better than you that you'd really like to be more like. Writing is a skill that easily translates into many other activities - I think that I've gotten A's in college English classes thanks to my many years of RP. (Your results may vary.) So I can at least partway claim that it all hasn't been a massive waste of time.

- My characters come in all shapes and sizes with a wide variety of personalities and each of them does something different for me when I RP with them. The angry ones allow me to vent. The brave ones allow me to be strong. The old ones allow me to be wise, while the young ones allow me to be playful and innocent. In short, in RP I'm able to express myself in a wide variety of ways - many of them in ways that I wouldn't be able to express in the real world because I'm too nice of a person to be that mean, too nervous of a person to be that bold, etc. RP allows me to be all of those in a safe place where I know that the other players will be okay with whatever it is that my characters are doing.

- Have you ever read a book (or watched a movie or played a video game with a real plot) and thought that what the main character did was stupid or wondered what would have happened if they'd done something else? That's what makes RP better than all that less-interactive and customizable stuff. Even choose-your-own-adventure stuff has nothing on RP.
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Old 10-08-2010, 08:39 AM   #6
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

I love inventing philosophies and cosmologies, then arguing about them with other characters.
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Old 10-09-2010, 10:43 AM   #7
Fifi
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

If you aren't playing muds because the flavor of the rp on muds holds no appeal or because none of the muds available look interesting to you, then you're not missing anything, and you should go ahead and feel free to skip to the next post.

But if you've ever thought, 'Wow, that looks like something I might enjoy, oh wait, stupid combat code, ugh! Never mind.' Then I'd like to have a chance to persuade you to give muds a try.

I have only really played (though I've tried many and never made it out of newbie school because ugh, stupid code and ugh never mind!) a handful of muds seriously. But I've played the hell out of them, and while I was intimidated by the code I've gotten past that. I personally play Armageddon. If you love RP then I very much recommend it. And if I can convince you to try muds and Arm doesn't do it for you, check out Atonement when Beta starts or try SoI. (As an Arm player I feel compelled to mention that Arm is in fact the best RP experience on the internet, there is scientific data that backs this claim. I can send you the results of the clinical trials. Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, code. Anyway, I hear you about the code intimidation factor.

Don't let this be the thing that stops you. Every RPI has helpers. If they don't have official helpers, guides or mentors listed somewhere then go on the forums and ask someone to be one. The Non-RPI's have that help available in game on ooc channels or people that run to greet you and help. They'll walk you through the aspects of code that are intimidating you. NW recently pointed out that I never recommend non-RPI muds. But I bet Newworlds has helpers who will help you. So, if an RPI isn't your thing, maybe try there.

Personally, I unlike much of the mudding community am not a geek. I wish I were. I'm not. Many geeks have the advantage of a learning style that lends itself best to text. My eyes glaze over. I can read the same thing over and over and never absorb it. So, when people say READ THE DOCs, I'm sunk. A helper will translate text to dialog for easier absorption. And from there the code becomes more accessible. If the helper helping you you isn't helping, just find another with a different communication style.

Anyway, if you're happy with MUCKs or if MUDs suck eggs, or if the idea of playing one gives you a headache and induces vomiting, never mind. But if the only thing holding you back is learning syntax, then don't be afraid. We're waiting on the dark side to ease you in on the shallow end, cause the water is fine.
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Old 10-09-2010, 10:56 AM   #8
Fifi
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Re: What do you enjoy about RP?

I think I may have posted this once before on these boards.
I was once explaining to someone why they should mud. I said:
Remember when you were a kid and someone got a new fridge and they left the box at the curb and everyone played in it? It was a house and a rocket and a pirate ship, and it took you to the Gold Coast and to desert islands? Remember that?
Well, you can’t go play in the box anymore cause the neighbors will talk and you’ll end up on the sex offender registry. But mudding is like that box. And you get to pretend with big words and no annoying children.

Sometimes the worlds we create are more interesting than the one we live in, or sometimes they’re a place to go when real life gets too interesting.

I have been writing fiction for about 15 years. Been published a few times online, once in print, once on a coffee mug and once in a voice recording done by an actor. But mostly I don’t get published and damn I want to be read. And when I am read on the internet, in a magazine, on a coffee mug, I’m not there to enjoy being read. RP is an immediate gratification of the read me urge.

Writing is lonely. Mudding is social. And it’s like getting to write your favorite novel. It’s like getting to read your favorite novel and being able to influence where it goes. Or being pulled along with story kicking and screaming. It is fully immersive fiction. That’s delicious.
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