Joe Blancato"You can't tell your story, no matter what it is, without others to listen. What's wrong with having a slightly off-kilt story to share?" Joe Blancato tels us of his past roleplaying experiences.
Issue 30: Casual Friday - Diseased Cur
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
Original Comment by: Eric Heitman
I used to run around UO, dressed like Superman, shouting, "Faster that a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Up in the sky... A bird? A plane? No! It's Superman!
Years later, when a friend heard that I had played UO the first thing he said was, "That was a crazy game. Do you remember that guy who used to run around dressed like Superman?"
I used to run around UO, dressed like Superman, shouting, "Faster that a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Up in the sky... A bird? A plane? No! It's Superman!
Years later, when a friend heard that I had played UO the first thing he said was, "That was a crazy game. Do you remember that guy who used to run around dressed like Superman?"
Original Comment by: Kai O'Donnell
One could argue that such play as 'super-man' and 'hulk-hogan' - deserving of hyphens now surely - is akin to 'griefing'. Aren't you acting in such a way as to drag other players out of the universe that has been created in game - affecting their immersion?
Funnily, it might seem, such behaviour would seem to result in the opposite - to the usual result of griefing - like 'santa-claus' bringing joy to jaded clients.
When such titles as WOW with all their pretentions to creating 'immersive worlds' throw icon after icon at the player, thereby disallow any kind of immersion, surely some kind of escapism is to be celebrated.
I briefly played WOW - dismayed at what seemed an absurdly high learning curve that I could barely be bothered trying to immerse myself - perhaps like doing so into a freezing cold bath - as much fun as I had, I climbed on a tree stump and started my friend's characted grinding and wiggling his polygonal behind in dance, only to be joined by a handful of others.
Finding myself smiling in spite of myself, I even felt the urge groove and grind my own polygonal behind - infectious, and yet such an absurd activity surely?
Perhaps it's getting 'out there' - communicating even in the most laughingly foolish ways with other people, even, perhaps, doing so safely through an avatar.
Sticks and Stones may never hurt me - and neither can pixellated fonts speak from brightly covered avatars extravagantly dressed as though to populate a drug distorted brothel.
Escapism at it's best.
One could argue that such play as 'super-man' and 'hulk-hogan' - deserving of hyphens now surely - is akin to 'griefing'. Aren't you acting in such a way as to drag other players out of the universe that has been created in game - affecting their immersion?
Funnily, it might seem, such behaviour would seem to result in the opposite - to the usual result of griefing - like 'santa-claus' bringing joy to jaded clients.
When such titles as WOW with all their pretentions to creating 'immersive worlds' throw icon after icon at the player, thereby disallow any kind of immersion, surely some kind of escapism is to be celebrated.
I briefly played WOW - dismayed at what seemed an absurdly high learning curve that I could barely be bothered trying to immerse myself - perhaps like doing so into a freezing cold bath - as much fun as I had, I climbed on a tree stump and started my friend's characted grinding and wiggling his polygonal behind in dance, only to be joined by a handful of others.
Finding myself smiling in spite of myself, I even felt the urge groove and grind my own polygonal behind - infectious, and yet such an absurd activity surely?
Perhaps it's getting 'out there' - communicating even in the most laughingly foolish ways with other people, even, perhaps, doing so safely through an avatar.
Sticks and Stones may never hurt me - and neither can pixellated fonts speak from brightly covered avatars extravagantly dressed as though to populate a drug distorted brothel.
Escapism at it's best.
Original Comment by: Mark
This article suggests to me that an excellent trait for an MMORPG to have would be a fragmentary backstory, something that explains nothing more than the immediate history of the current circumstances. Granted, that might turn away some customers... but it would make the experience all the more enjoyable for people who roleplay.
This article suggests to me that an excellent trait for an MMORPG to have would be a fragmentary backstory, something that explains nothing more than the immediate history of the current circumstances. Granted, that might turn away some customers... but it would make the experience all the more enjoyable for people who roleplay.
Original Comment by: Toast
The problem with RP situated partially or wholly outside world lore is that it makes it very hard to interact in an RP manner. Taking external references and internalising them is usually not a big deal (eg crime families with italianesque names, film references which can be made sense of within the lore as well as without it etc), but things like claiming to be from other planets in a medieval setting, breaking major rules of the world etc are a problem for a lot of people because they break in-lore RP and make it impossible to interact with such players. If I'm playing WoW and I'm in-character and you tell me you're an alien or you come from an alternate dimension outside WoW lore or what have you, how am I supposed to react? Sure, it can be fun for the people actually playing the "out-of-kilter" roles, but it's generally not fun for anyone else in an RP context. The reason we have carefully laid-out lore is to provide a structured framework/context for RP, which by limiting the playing field and answering key questions already allows you to work more with nuance and grey areas and the little details that make big differences, because it allows other players to understand and interact with you in a structured way. By breaking the structure, by playing "cool" "larger-than-life" characters, you damage or destroy the ability to play deep and interesting characters while you're around.
The problem with RP situated partially or wholly outside world lore is that it makes it very hard to interact in an RP manner. Taking external references and internalising them is usually not a big deal (eg crime families with italianesque names, film references which can be made sense of within the lore as well as without it etc), but things like claiming to be from other planets in a medieval setting, breaking major rules of the world etc are a problem for a lot of people because they break in-lore RP and make it impossible to interact with such players. If I'm playing WoW and I'm in-character and you tell me you're an alien or you come from an alternate dimension outside WoW lore or what have you, how am I supposed to react? Sure, it can be fun for the people actually playing the "out-of-kilter" roles, but it's generally not fun for anyone else in an RP context. The reason we have carefully laid-out lore is to provide a structured framework/context for RP, which by limiting the playing field and answering key questions already allows you to work more with nuance and grey areas and the little details that make big differences, because it allows other players to understand and interact with you in a structured way. By breaking the structure, by playing "cool" "larger-than-life" characters, you damage or destroy the ability to play deep and interesting characters while you're around.
Original Comment by: Duncan
Someone comes up to me and tells me they are not some elf, but rather an alien from another planet. What do I do? I wholly ignore it in the most humorous of fashion. An example: http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20060123
Someone comes up to me and tells me they are not some elf, but rather an alien from another planet. What do I do? I wholly ignore it in the most humorous of fashion. An example: http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20060123
Original Comment by: Jake Was Here
http://www.busterbeckett.com
MARK: It's been tried, once. It was an experiment by Cyanworlds and Ubisoft. It was brave, it was ballsy, but leave it be said it was not successful - Cyan has since fired, for budgetary reasons, all but two of its original staff.
The reason it didn't work, I suspect, is that the game failed to involve fighting anything or competing with your fellow players (in fact, it encouraged cooperation), while most MMORPG players I know haven't the patience to explore a long story with no weapons-based action in it. Story? Plot? BO-riiiinnngg!! When do we get to KILL something?
http://www.busterbeckett.com
MARK: It's been tried, once. It was an experiment by Cyanworlds and Ubisoft. It was brave, it was ballsy, but leave it be said it was not successful - Cyan has since fired, for budgetary reasons, all but two of its original staff.
The reason it didn't work, I suspect, is that the game failed to involve fighting anything or competing with your fellow players (in fact, it encouraged cooperation), while most MMORPG players I know haven't the patience to explore a long story with no weapons-based action in it. Story? Plot? BO-riiiinnngg!! When do we get to KILL something?
Original Comment by: Mark
Well, of course, a bad game is a bad game no matter how bold and opportunity-rich its premise may be.
What was it called, anyway?
Well, of course, a bad game is a bad game no matter how bold and opportunity-rich its premise may be.
What was it called, anyway?
Original Comment by: parkbench
This was an excellent article and reflects my play experience, espeically in pseudo-RP bastard childs like The Specialists RP. Often, everyone is *so bad* at RPing that the only way to elicit reactions out of them is to go about with this alt- and often more fun form of roleplaying.
It's unexpected and it breaks the fourth wall, and chances are, people will be talking to/PMing *you* rather than the mundane fucker over there.
Incidentally, I plan to write an article on TS roleplay sometime soon...follows this theme.
This was an excellent article and reflects my play experience, espeically in pseudo-RP bastard childs like The Specialists RP. Often, everyone is *so bad* at RPing that the only way to elicit reactions out of them is to go about with this alt- and often more fun form of roleplaying.
It's unexpected and it breaks the fourth wall, and chances are, people will be talking to/PMing *you* rather than the mundane fucker over there.
Incidentally, I plan to write an article on TS roleplay sometime soon...follows this theme.
Original Comment by: Nenicirene
http://nenicirene.net
My reaction, on the other hand, is that you're an asshole. You're, admittedly, a rather literate asshole who can spin a lot of well-structured English bullshit about breaking walls and bending conventions, but you're still an asshole who seems to derive enjoyment from ruining other people's experiences.
When you join a MMORPG, especially on a role-playing-designated server, you're agreeing to abide by the conventions of the game world. Acting completely anachronistic and out-of-character while griefing other people doesn't make you cool. It makes you a jerk in the same way that deciding to play chess by picking up your pawns and throwing them at the other player's king isn't edgy?it's taking the social compact out back and raping it to death.
If you want to run around breaking conventions and doing bizarre things, why not organize spontaneous performance art or other forms of weirdness that don't involve being directly detrimental to others, and play with the conventions of the world you've chosen to work with, rather than ignoring them completely?
(Note that in a similar vein, those people who claim to be an half-angel from Planet 10 or whatnot are also completely violating the social compact of the game. The game world presents you with certain options, and you need to work within those if you chose to play. When I come across people claiming things that are patently impossible by the conventions of the game world, I brush them off as lunatics or liars, just as I do with people in the real world who claim things that can't be true.)
http://nenicirene.net
My reaction, on the other hand, is that you're an asshole. You're, admittedly, a rather literate asshole who can spin a lot of well-structured English bullshit about breaking walls and bending conventions, but you're still an asshole who seems to derive enjoyment from ruining other people's experiences.
When you join a MMORPG, especially on a role-playing-designated server, you're agreeing to abide by the conventions of the game world. Acting completely anachronistic and out-of-character while griefing other people doesn't make you cool. It makes you a jerk in the same way that deciding to play chess by picking up your pawns and throwing them at the other player's king isn't edgy?it's taking the social compact out back and raping it to death.
If you want to run around breaking conventions and doing bizarre things, why not organize spontaneous performance art or other forms of weirdness that don't involve being directly detrimental to others, and play with the conventions of the world you've chosen to work with, rather than ignoring them completely?
(Note that in a similar vein, those people who claim to be an half-angel from Planet 10 or whatnot are also completely violating the social compact of the game. The game world presents you with certain options, and you need to work within those if you chose to play. When I come across people claiming things that are patently impossible by the conventions of the game world, I brush them off as lunatics or liars, just as I do with people in the real world who claim things that can't be true.)