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In order to promote understanding of the playerbase and promote Roleplaying in FFXI and FFXIV I'm posting a series of topics in this topic over the next few weeks. Ie: This is currently in progress. As I add more material I will post in the thread.
What is Roleplaying and Who Roleplay?
Introduction
What is Roleplaying and Who Roleplay?
Introduction
As a Roleplayer in FFXI I can tell you the preception of us by the rest of the community is very different than the truth of the matter. For example I'll relate a few true stories to show what people commomly think roleplaying is:
A guy reads my female elvaan's bazaar comment that mentions I'm a roleplayer pluging my RPLS ( Roleplaying Linkshell) and sends me the following /tell.
Guy>>> So you're a roleplayer?
Me>>> Yep. Do you like to RP?
Guy>> Yeah I RP all the time with my gf.
Me>>> In game?
Guy>> Yeah.
Me>>> That means you cyber, right? That's not what I mean by RP.
Guy>>> So, you're whole group doesn't cyber together?
Or...
I was at the ah and these people started randomly emoting:
Player 1 whacks Player 2 over the head with a fish.
Player 2 falls asleep.
Player 1 picks up a AK47 and shoots Player 2
Random say>>> Roleplayers suck!
Or...
Random Mithra>>> You RP. Isn't that what we're all doing? I mean I'm a "manthra" so I'm roleplaying. I even have a background.
Me>>> No this is an RPG and Roleplaying is different. Who do you RP with?
Random Mithra>>>> My buddies and I mess around sometimes.
Me>>> So you all act like the characters you created?
Random Mithra>>>> Yeah like my background is I'm a slave of Nhaa Mihgo taken from the Mithra homeland in Khazaam so when me and my buddies get together they slap me around.
Often people are shocked when I say I roleplay when I'm in a party and know my job and have good gear. People often sneer when I say "as an rper I can tell you the lore surrounding _____ isn't that clear cut". The general assumption is RPers are not serious gamers and we make up whatever we want doing stupid things.
None of this is true and the people in the above examples are just playing around and not really roleplaying.
What is Roleplaying?
Roleplaying is basically improv acting in a certain setting as if you are a part of that setting. Comparing it to improv will help you understand just what real roleplaying is about so let's start with a wiki definition:
Improvisational theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of theatre in which the improvisational actors/ improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously. Improvisers typically use audience suggestions to guide the performance as they create dialogue, setting, and plot extemporaneously.
For a roleplayer the game world is the setting they are rping in so the defintion revised would be:
Roleplaying (Also known as RP or Rping) is a form of theatre in which the improvisational actors/ Rolyplayers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously. Improvisers typically use a character profile and game lore to guide the performance as they create dialogue, setting, and plot extemporaneously.
If you still aren't sure what I mean find episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway? to see improv in action.
Roleplayers start with a character concept that includes a basic personality and background which they use to interact with other people's characters. Here is the wiki definition of Roleplaying:
A role-playing game (RPG; often roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters.[1] Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization,[1] and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.[2] Within the rules, players have the freedom to improvise; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the game.[2]
Roleplayers in game are RPing in the sense of a Roleplaying game like Dungeons and Dragons though generally what we do is free-form. Our stories are mostly self directed rather than directed by any one person. Sometimes we will participate in a storyline which includes a lot of people and a basic over-all plot everyone conforms to.
Roleplaying Vs Playing An RPG MMO
This is different than what we've been conditioned to think as an RPG as also noted in wiki:
A genre of video game is also referred to as role-playing games. These games do not involve "role-playing" in the sense used in role-playing games;[1][4] they take their name from the settings and game mechanics which they inherit from early role-playing games.[5] Due to the popularity of video games, the terms "role-playing game" and "RPG" have both to some degree been co-opted by the video gaming industry;
So in summary a guy in real life partying in Korrolokka on a mithra claiming to be a "manthra" that occasionally emotes "stalks like a jungle cat" is not roleplaying a male mithra. Nor is the guy fooling around with his friends on a mithra inviting them to "spank" him. Nor is the girl emoting smacking people with mallets who wrote a story she put up on fanfiction.net. Why? Its just fooling around without any depth of characterization or regard for lore and other characters.
A real roleplayer if playing a male mithra considers in game lore that states they are rare outside of the homeland (which isn't Khazaam by-the-way). In one case of an actual RPer I knew his background stated he dressed in drag. He had to act like a girl mithra so he didn't call attention to himself and unless he really got to know you and let your character in on the secret you didn't know. He never called himself a "manthra" in character since that isn't a game word. When he leveled he did it as himself on a female avataar not as his character. For a true RPer OOC (out of character) activities are separate from IC (in character) roleplaying.
Who Roleplay?
The common perception of Rpers is that we always run around in character and live thorugh the character we create while in real life we are a nerd that sleeps in thier mother's basement unable to distinguish reality from fantasy. In MMOs they commonly think you are that guy that runs around claiming to be "Sepheroth" or "Legolaas" or "Inuuuuyaaasha" claiming to be "the most amazing half-demon half-elf paladin ever".
The truth is we hate those guys worse than you do since they hurt our reputation and are annoying. Imagine while Kate Winslet and Leonardo Decaprio were trying to act out his death scene at the end of Titanic with a guy swimming past "rping a scary shark" claiming they ate both of them. Would they be considered an actor? Would they praise the guy for his "amazing shark impersonation"? Of course not. What those people do is just tantamount to that.
The real roleplayer cares about lore and context of the scene. They never would name their elvaan "Legolass" but something that fits with the racial conventions in game set by SE. They don't try to upstage others but rp with them. Those people that do that are looked down on in the RP community.
In truth roleplayers come from all ages and walks of life. I've even Rped with married couples and most of us have a job or active lives in real life whether it be as a college student or housewife. Most of us are creative sorts being writers, actors or game designers. The other half of us never got to do any of those things as a job so we dabble in something we like to do in our free-time that incorporates these things.
So now you know what we're really like! Next time I'll address some of the rules we typically follow and some of the different types of Rpers within those accepted rules.
The Etiquette and Types of Roleplaying
The thing that confuses most people in regard to roleplaying is they will meet many different kinds of people who claim to be roleplayers and different roleplaying groups doing things differently from one to the next. Thus people, unfamiliar with it, will often assume we just do whatever we want not understanding there are different styles of roleplay. This section will help you see how roleplayers interact with eachother and dispel misconceptions of us being disorganized. From here on out I'll be not only talking in general regarding roleplay but specifically relating it to roleplay in FFXI.
LS Driven
Roleplaying is a group activity, and like most games and group actiivities, therefore its the consensus of the group that determines the type of RP and the rules you follow. Remember from the definition that "the actions" of a roleplayer "succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines". Its the group you roleplay with that determines what is acceptable and what is not and some take a more formal approach than others. In MMOs therefore Rpers usually form guilds or in some cases entire servers. Dedicated servers (for instance in Star Wars Galaxies the Starsider server is the unofficial RP server), whether formal or informal, though will have many different RP groups based on style. Generally a roleplayer will find a group that approaches it with the same philosophy as they do so its a good match and the group will seek members with that philosophy.
In FFXIs case we've never had a dedicated server so RP groups are scattered all over and often go unoticed. In FFXI the lifeline of an RP group is a Linkshell (LS) dedicated to RP. Generally the RPLS focuses on RP only so often we also have social LS or Endgame LS we also frequent so often you'll mostly see RP when the members are gathered specifically to RP.
Now I'll explain styles of RP and to simplify I'll be giving a general name to each style. I'll also explain how these people, while different, are all true roleplayers.
RP Styles
In general its the degree of formality that determines the feel and style of a group. I'll be using a dialogue example to highlight the difference also.
A casual RP Group generally is a group of friends that do a lot of game activities in game together who occasionally RP a little also. Often these will take the form of a sub-group inside of a social LS. These groups often have very few rules for their RP and they are often spontaenous when the get together. Often these groups know very little of game lore or don't care about how faithful they are to the game lore and the lines between IC (In Character) and OOC (Out of Character) might be blurred talking about activities IC which they did while they weren't RPing. They often will allow things a more serious group wouldn't such as emoticons, abbreviations (LOL, FTW, GTG etc) and non-world type of jargon in character (IC) conversation like so:
Hume Paladin: You just ate cow brains. LOL.
Mithra theif spits out cow brains on Tarutaru White Mage.
Taru White Mage: Ewww! @.@;
Mithra Thief: I just wasted 10 dollars on that stuff. ; ;
Hume Paladin: J/k!
Elvaan Red Mage: Sigh, you are all such idiots.
A Semi-Casual RP Group is essentially the same accept they often have a more regular share in it. Often these groups might lean toward more IC and OOC separation.
A Casual RP LS is different in that the whole reason the LS was formed and the people get together is specifically because they like to RP. These groups are also more structured and have rules the members must follow to be a part of the LS. Some RPLS might still allow RP like in the above example but the line between OOC and IC is generally never blurred in an RP LS. OOC activities are never spoken of IC unless the group agrees to it. These LS often serve as a hybrid Social/RP LS switching back and forth between IC and OOC.
A Dedicated RP LS is one that's emphasis is mostly on RP and require an application process to join. These groups often require that OOC speech be marked and kept to a minimum while RPing. Also these groups have more emphasis on being faithful to the lore in the world, characterization and generally do not allow emoticons, abbreviations or non-world jargon IC. Unless something was done IC it usually will not be recognized ICly. Some also are stricter when it comes to grammar and try to make the RP more uniform and organized. Here is above example as a dedicated RP group would do it.
Hume Paladin: ::Casually glances sidelong at Pria with a smirk:: You do realize that you just ate dhamel brains, dont you?
Mithra theif spits out the dhamel brains on the Tarutaru White Mage cursing and swearing.
Taru White Mage: Ewww! ::Grabs the water glass and a napkin furiously wipping herself off:: This is so grossy-wossy!
Mithra Thief: Ya think yerrr sick? I just wasted 10 gil on that stuff. :: Places her hand on her head shaking it::
Hume Paladin:::Laughing:: It was just in jest.
Elvaan Red Mage: ::Sighing:: Merciful Altana, you are all such idiots.
As you can see actions are paired with the words that try to give more of a feel for that character's personality. Actions are emoted or added in with the dialogue to help give a feel of what's going on in the scene and in the character's mind. Also speech conventions seen in NPCs of that race are often observed and followed. Also note animal, money and expressions are done in concurrance with game (dhamel is used instead of cow etc).
Even with these differences there are some things that are universal rules and are considered the etiqutte of the RP world.
General Rules of Etiquette
There are certain lines that are traditionally never crossed in RP or are controlled. Often they are universally frowned on and thought of as unspoken rules even if not stated in a formal way. These all have to do with interaction between Rpers.
What actions are viewed as appropirate Private vs Public are things a group or individuals discuss before engaging in so that they are comfortable. Some Rpers are okay with graphic violence, cybering and swearing while others are not so doing those things in public without the consent of other Rpers and not considering Non-RPers who may be nearby is generally considered to be in bad taste. Understanding this a group often states what they will not allow in public but often understand that if someone wants to RP those things in private that is their right.
God-modding is an act of doing something that forces another player into a position they may not be comfortable with and is absolutely not tolerated by other players. This can include holding a character against a player's will, dodging every attack regardless of skill, dismemberment or death of another's character and stating how another's character reacts to a situation are all included in this catergory. An example of this taken from my RP LS rules would be:
Player A and Player B are fighting.
Player A swings a sword and Player B and Player B dodges.
Player B counters and comes in and stabs Player A in the stomach with a hidden dagger!
Player B insists Player A has to be dead
Meta-gaming is a character knowing something IC that clearly could not be known outside of an OOC source. This often happens when an RPer writes an IC Journal or a story of something their character did alone for the group to read but never intended it to be OOC knowledge. For example:
Player A is always kind to Player B IC.
Player B thinks Player A is their friend IC.
Player A writes in their character's IC private journal he in reality hates Player B.
Player B reads this OOC and IC starts saying Player A hates them though Player A is still treating them the same way like they like them.
IC fights becoming OOC fights is also a big no-no. Sometimes a person becomes so attached to their character they get angry when another person's character treats their's unkindly or does something to them. They then start OOCly harassing the player behind the character and start a real fued. This, though it occurs more often than the other offences, is still unacceptable in RP circles.
IC relationships being taken too seriously OOC is also a big no-no. Not all players will RP a romatic relationship but sometimes a person, generally a young person in rl, becomes so attached to their character they think a relationship should be pursued OOC. They then start OOCly harassing the player behind the character and start a problem. This, though it occurs more often than the other offences, is still unacceptable in RP circles.
Grandstanding is where an RPer not invited to a private situation pushes their way in or tries to take control of an RP scene and is considered rude. It is common courtesy to send a tell and make sure an RP isn't private before inserting yourself in or asking permission to change an RP scene ahead of time.
If you invite a non-rper into a group activitiy (Ie leveling party, Misson Party ect.) and suddenly start rping around them that is also considered rude by most Rpers I know.
Most Rpers recognize these above rules even in casual RP.
(continued in a post below)
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