Original Comment by: Cullen
"But who really does? Most according-to-Hoyle roleplayers I've met don't really seem to get along well with anyone outside their incredibly exclusive circles, incapable of bending their structured mythos. Every individual's story and premise is just too different to really jive with anyone else. Sure, your night elf Druid is actually a demon from the planet Zardo, but good luck getting along with the guy whose human Paladin is an avatar of light sent by a Judeo-Christian God to convert heathens like you. That's when the old adage, "Ignore them and they'll go away," comes into play, and the wagons circle closer around you.
That's what I don't get. It may be easier to pretend your personal story exists in a bubble, but is that really the point of online roleplaying? Is a story within the game's lore the only legitimate form of roleplaying? It just seems like bad acting if you can't find a way to merge your character with your fellow man, even if he's typing with a fake Brooklyn accent. Intermingling with other people, forcing yourself to become a part of the world, is what makes MMOGs more than the sum of some 5 million parts. What's the point of videogame communities if there isn't any communication between them?"
Don't you get it? What you describe here is not roleplaying: this is how people really are, all the time. Look around real life a bit- religious conflict, partisan politics, liberal vs. conservative, you name it- it's all about each of us living in our own little bizzaro world. At *best* we ignore each-other's fantasy worlds or give them a patient, dismissive smile and eye-roll. At worst we defend our own little Point Of View to the death. The only real difference in a MMRPOG is you get to resurrect after you're dead, and text the guy who killed you with "fsck y0u, l053r".
Your fantasy is all around you. Mine is all around me.
"But who really does? Most according-to-Hoyle roleplayers I've met don't really seem to get along well with anyone outside their incredibly exclusive circles, incapable of bending their structured mythos. Every individual's story and premise is just too different to really jive with anyone else. Sure, your night elf Druid is actually a demon from the planet Zardo, but good luck getting along with the guy whose human Paladin is an avatar of light sent by a Judeo-Christian God to convert heathens like you. That's when the old adage, "Ignore them and they'll go away," comes into play, and the wagons circle closer around you.
That's what I don't get. It may be easier to pretend your personal story exists in a bubble, but is that really the point of online roleplaying? Is a story within the game's lore the only legitimate form of roleplaying? It just seems like bad acting if you can't find a way to merge your character with your fellow man, even if he's typing with a fake Brooklyn accent. Intermingling with other people, forcing yourself to become a part of the world, is what makes MMOGs more than the sum of some 5 million parts. What's the point of videogame communities if there isn't any communication between them?"
Don't you get it? What you describe here is not roleplaying: this is how people really are, all the time. Look around real life a bit- religious conflict, partisan politics, liberal vs. conservative, you name it- it's all about each of us living in our own little bizzaro world. At *best* we ignore each-other's fantasy worlds or give them a patient, dismissive smile and eye-roll. At worst we defend our own little Point Of View to the death. The only real difference in a MMRPOG is you get to resurrect after you're dead, and text the guy who killed you with "fsck y0u, l053r".
Your fantasy is all around you. Mine is all around me.