Forums » General
Roleplaying in the Vendetta universe, part II
"Self imposed rules" was imho the best suggestion I heard. I'm all for it. In the last week, on the boards, and in the game, I've asked people why they play the game, and how they view it. Most responses have been, "it's fun to kill people, I dont really care how much I die, as long as I can kill stuff too" "why do you take it so seriously? it's a game, I can and will kill whoever and whatever I want, when I feel like it" and the like. This isn't the attitude I'd hoped to find. Roleplaying must be taken more seriously. Note that I'm not talking about, "oh, my character advanced to level II macro-stealth last week, now I can kill that level 5.9934 monster with the +5hp bla bla bla" I'm talking about responsible playing and attitude, and also a bit of character-creation and development. Yes, this is/will be a "game", but it will be a Roleplaying game. I think people that want to find a release in games are normal, and there are titles, mostly FPS, that can satisfy that craving. I just think that we should take on a bit of moral responsibility towards others in the Vendetta Test. As of now, there is no account verification whatsoever, so my little 8 year old sister could sign up, and begin playing. This shouldnt be a problem, but there's always chat-filter dodgers, and more undesirable things such as purposeful exploiting, and spamming. Among those also are those that use the grace that Guild has given us to their advantage, in the form of re-creating characters and accounts, for the purpose of dodging a ban and/or mute. Is there really any reason for this? I know this is supposed to be a roleplaying thread, but I think these issues are directly tied together. This game is to be a MMORPG, and please take that into consideration when you play.
On another note, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and suggestions on self-imposed limits, rules, and conduct. I'm not going to try and start the standard, I'll merely try to piece it together from suggestions and intelligent debate. That said, this, when finished, will be a volentary <sp> pledge that I believe every player that is sincere in their intentions should make. I wont discriminate against anyone that does not see things my way, but I'd like to put this out here and see everyone else'e thoughts.
Please do your best to make any and all posts constructive, and on-topic. I know there will be a lot of disagreement here, but keep it good-natured, and things will go a lot more smoothly. Which do you think would actually mean something to someone else? "d00d, Usuk and ur ideas are $h|t, go find ur mom and bla bla" or, "Celebrim, <;)> I disagree with your policy on dealing with n00bs when they're mouthy, I see it this way...." etc etc. If you cant be constructive, and refrain from flaming, please don't post. Thank you for your time, and thoughts.
On another note, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts and suggestions on self-imposed limits, rules, and conduct. I'm not going to try and start the standard, I'll merely try to piece it together from suggestions and intelligent debate. That said, this, when finished, will be a volentary <sp> pledge that I believe every player that is sincere in their intentions should make. I wont discriminate against anyone that does not see things my way, but I'd like to put this out here and see everyone else'e thoughts.
Please do your best to make any and all posts constructive, and on-topic. I know there will be a lot of disagreement here, but keep it good-natured, and things will go a lot more smoothly. Which do you think would actually mean something to someone else? "d00d, Usuk and ur ideas are $h|t, go find ur mom and bla bla" or, "Celebrim, <;)> I disagree with your policy on dealing with n00bs when they're mouthy, I see it this way...." etc etc. If you cant be constructive, and refrain from flaming, please don't post. Thank you for your time, and thoughts.
In my opinion there are a few obvious, non-breakable rules for those that roleplay on the scale that I, toshiro, Archon, etc. do.
One: If you are roleplaying, it should be the norm and NOT the exception. At least on your RP characters.
Two: If you are not roleplaying (while you are using an RP character, it should be made obvious to those who can not tell the difference. (ooc/ic comes in real handy here.)
Three: Respect the laws of sanity, nature, and of course /me conflicts. If you get drawn into a oneupmanship match with the emote command, try to keep it realistic.
Four: Respect other player's RP characters. Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life.
One: If you are roleplaying, it should be the norm and NOT the exception. At least on your RP characters.
Two: If you are not roleplaying (while you are using an RP character, it should be made obvious to those who can not tell the difference. (ooc/ic comes in real handy here.)
Three: Respect the laws of sanity, nature, and of course /me conflicts. If you get drawn into a oneupmanship match with the emote command, try to keep it realistic.
Four: Respect other player's RP characters. Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life.
Well I already work under my own set of rules, that I try to uphold though I must admit I am not always very succeful.
I try to help any newbs asking questions no matter how annoying they are.
Not attack people unless they fire first, I am asked to help by somebody, they are griefers, or its a cap.
And even though my forum name and in game name are the same I try to keep them seperate and RP with Durgia ingame. On IRC and here I leave him ingame and am myself. I find this helps a lot with anger felt ingame after something happens.
And I try not to abuse the chat filters, (try not to curse much at all but I am not so good at this:) )
These are what I play by now and I find they work quite well. Sometimes I create a pirate char to let frustrations from RL out and such but I still try to follow these rules as much as I can. I attack people...but ask for cargo first and never attack people more then 2x in a day, stuff like that.
I try to help any newbs asking questions no matter how annoying they are.
Not attack people unless they fire first, I am asked to help by somebody, they are griefers, or its a cap.
And even though my forum name and in game name are the same I try to keep them seperate and RP with Durgia ingame. On IRC and here I leave him ingame and am myself. I find this helps a lot with anger felt ingame after something happens.
And I try not to abuse the chat filters, (try not to curse much at all but I am not so good at this:) )
These are what I play by now and I find they work quite well. Sometimes I create a pirate char to let frustrations from RL out and such but I still try to follow these rules as much as I can. I attack people...but ask for cargo first and never attack people more then 2x in a day, stuff like that.
First off, I agree alienb1212, self-imposed rules are a requirement for RPing, even if the self-imposed rule is "if it moves, I kill it" ('though some would hardly call that "self-imposed").
RPing rules can be boiled down to external and internal regulations.
The external deal with what you can and cannot do, and are off-limits to the individual players to consider. Spamming, verbal abuse, and their counters (muting and banning) are all external regulations that are nonnegotiable. Another example is friendly-fire (FF). You either cannot do them, or will get an OOC penalty if you do. For good, universal RPing, all external regulations need to be followed by all.
The internal rules are much more complicated, and may be influenced by a gamer's psychological make up, his (or, in some cases, her) past experience with other games, and his known relationship with some gamers outside of the game. Theoretically, the classic geek who gets picked on in RL will attempt to vent his frustrations in-game. This is a red herring, however, and is useless to try and nail down, it will keep flopping around, due to the slimy nature of the argument. So I'll leave that one at that and not say more. However, some players are truly mature and are capable of playing many roles. To vaguely touch on a now-infamous incident, a player saying "STFU" every other moment is not role-playing, and is making no intention thereof. However, Toshiro (for instance), who says "kurae!" before attacking does fit into his character. So does the DSG (or did, when I was in). Warnings such as "Please respect personal space and stay 100 meters away from my vessel," "Notice, pirate ship, cease all hostile actions toward that trader," and "This is your last warning, back off or die" all contribute to a role-playing atmosphere.
The biggest way to role-play in today's Vendetta is to lie a bit. Perhaps you want to appear as a "Defender of the N00bs," as Pirogoeth was alluding to in another thread. The best way to do this is to zero your score, change your name, and wait for the first newbie-killer to come along. Surprise him with your talent, and then let it be known that you will be protecting newbies from now on (and actually do it). This was the basis of my "Warrior of the Sun" character.
Others take the "easy way out" in role-playing and create the "assassin" (I was going to say "jackass," but then realize that's not RPing on my part) character, who goes around shooting anything that moves. Blitz is one who does this. Whether it's Lecent, Trim, Zirx, Zerk, or whatever, beware--he may not have the score, but he will strike quickly and in a deadly manner.
More internal rules, which are implemented on a varying level of perfection: Hostility. How hostile are you to other craft?
Your mouth. While this is harder to control, controlling your temper is a key to changing personalities. Many people guessed who WotS was due to his "you attacked and got your butt whupped" attitude, which, incidentally, is the attitude I normally take.
Generosity. Do you dole out a certain amount of money randomly to newbies? Bribes are the best way to get a good name, and newbies will swear by your generosity later in the game.
This is all I'm thinking up for now, but I'd like to take issue with Verd's post a little...
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1. Agreed.
2. I would rather see OOC chat in a global chat outside of the game, however, this is a different topic for a different thread, and has been discussed elsewhere.
3. Again, OOC chat should be outside the internal game.
4. "Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life." Wrong. Go read a few good history books, find a role-model, then choose to emulate him or her. Whether it be Charles the Bad or Henry VIII, you don't have to treat people like you would in real life. Heck, you don't normally go around blowing up people (hopefully) in real life. That's the beauty of computer games.
RPing rules can be boiled down to external and internal regulations.
The external deal with what you can and cannot do, and are off-limits to the individual players to consider. Spamming, verbal abuse, and their counters (muting and banning) are all external regulations that are nonnegotiable. Another example is friendly-fire (FF). You either cannot do them, or will get an OOC penalty if you do. For good, universal RPing, all external regulations need to be followed by all.
The internal rules are much more complicated, and may be influenced by a gamer's psychological make up, his (or, in some cases, her) past experience with other games, and his known relationship with some gamers outside of the game. Theoretically, the classic geek who gets picked on in RL will attempt to vent his frustrations in-game. This is a red herring, however, and is useless to try and nail down, it will keep flopping around, due to the slimy nature of the argument. So I'll leave that one at that and not say more. However, some players are truly mature and are capable of playing many roles. To vaguely touch on a now-infamous incident, a player saying "STFU" every other moment is not role-playing, and is making no intention thereof. However, Toshiro (for instance), who says "kurae!" before attacking does fit into his character. So does the DSG (or did, when I was in). Warnings such as "Please respect personal space and stay 100 meters away from my vessel," "Notice, pirate ship, cease all hostile actions toward that trader," and "This is your last warning, back off or die" all contribute to a role-playing atmosphere.
The biggest way to role-play in today's Vendetta is to lie a bit. Perhaps you want to appear as a "Defender of the N00bs," as Pirogoeth was alluding to in another thread. The best way to do this is to zero your score, change your name, and wait for the first newbie-killer to come along. Surprise him with your talent, and then let it be known that you will be protecting newbies from now on (and actually do it). This was the basis of my "Warrior of the Sun" character.
Others take the "easy way out" in role-playing and create the "assassin" (I was going to say "jackass," but then realize that's not RPing on my part) character, who goes around shooting anything that moves. Blitz is one who does this. Whether it's Lecent, Trim, Zirx, Zerk, or whatever, beware--he may not have the score, but he will strike quickly and in a deadly manner.
More internal rules, which are implemented on a varying level of perfection: Hostility. How hostile are you to other craft?
Your mouth. While this is harder to control, controlling your temper is a key to changing personalities. Many people guessed who WotS was due to his "you attacked and got your butt whupped" attitude, which, incidentally, is the attitude I normally take.
Generosity. Do you dole out a certain amount of money randomly to newbies? Bribes are the best way to get a good name, and newbies will swear by your generosity later in the game.
This is all I'm thinking up for now, but I'd like to take issue with Verd's post a little...
---------------------------
1. Agreed.
2. I would rather see OOC chat in a global chat outside of the game, however, this is a different topic for a different thread, and has been discussed elsewhere.
3. Again, OOC chat should be outside the internal game.
4. "Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life." Wrong. Go read a few good history books, find a role-model, then choose to emulate him or her. Whether it be Charles the Bad or Henry VIII, you don't have to treat people like you would in real life. Heck, you don't normally go around blowing up people (hopefully) in real life. That's the beauty of computer games.
I think that it's really going to take a lot of dev-initiated changes before the population at large is reformed. We, however, can provide them with suggestions on how to form those changes.
Missions will bring groups together.
wow...um...words of wisdom from dave;P :]
"4. "Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life." Wrong. Go read a few good history books, find a role-model, then choose to emulate him or her. Whether it be Charles the Bad or Henry VIII, you don't have to treat people like you would in real life. Heck, you don't normally go around blowing up people (hopefully) in real life. That's the beauty of computer games."
Reread the original line... "not do to the other character if THEY knew them in real life." In other words, he's saying keep your character in character. Don't go and blow up some friend of yours on another team just for kicks... because your character, if it was truly reality would not go and do that... unless he IS likely to do that and that's just another layer of character developement, you see my point?
One flaw that I'm not sure how the devs are going to address is the issue of "respawn"... in regard to roleplaying it's somewhat important to know how we keep just coming back for more even though the ship we were flying in is in a million pieces? At least from a roleplaying perspective that is.
-outrider
Reread the original line... "not do to the other character if THEY knew them in real life." In other words, he's saying keep your character in character. Don't go and blow up some friend of yours on another team just for kicks... because your character, if it was truly reality would not go and do that... unless he IS likely to do that and that's just another layer of character developement, you see my point?
One flaw that I'm not sure how the devs are going to address is the issue of "respawn"... in regard to roleplaying it's somewhat important to know how we keep just coming back for more even though the ship we were flying in is in a million pieces? At least from a roleplaying perspective that is.
-outrider
OK, I misunderstood. I thought Verd meant IC actions, not OOC ones. For instance, I know a couple of guys in RL, but made it clear to them that if I'm on my SirCamps char, and I catch them trading, they will die. They give me a hard time about it when I see them, but no hard feelings.
What do you all think about my definitions of internal and external regulations?
Allow me to explain number four.
The text reads: "Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life."
Simply put, what I want is that players who are roleplaying to treat other roleplaying characters in a manner that they would as if they (the character) actually knew the *other* RP character. Follow standard social etiquette rules.
In more complex terms, this means that if you've studied the background on character X and *know* that X would not appreciate a backhanded comment in his presence about his Serco heritage, and would likely attack you for it, DON'T DO IT.
The text reads: "Do not do anything your character would not do to the other character if they knew them in real life."
Simply put, what I want is that players who are roleplaying to treat other roleplaying characters in a manner that they would as if they (the character) actually knew the *other* RP character. Follow standard social etiquette rules.
In more complex terms, this means that if you've studied the background on character X and *know* that X would not appreciate a backhanded comment in his presence about his Serco heritage, and would likely attack you for it, DON'T DO IT.
SirCamps: I thought you expressed the way a roleplaying environment has to operate. In my own experience (three years straight on a text-based mud) the best RPers were the ones who knew the "external regulations" like the ten commandments and had their own "internal" ones... which they adhered to religiously. Roleplay really begins when one persons characteristics really begin to show and others see this and interact using theirs.
As for your comment regarding the "jackass" type of player: Personally, I think Outrider would have fit into your category, yet on the other hand (mostly right before i went afk from ingame) I was really roleplaying him... he had quirks and he had perks. Players on his team would see him entirely different from the trader newbies and experts he repeatedly tried to kill (and had a pretty good success rate at). I guess the distinction is the difference between BEING a jackass and roleplaying one.
-outrider
As for your comment regarding the "jackass" type of player: Personally, I think Outrider would have fit into your category, yet on the other hand (mostly right before i went afk from ingame) I was really roleplaying him... he had quirks and he had perks. Players on his team would see him entirely different from the trader newbies and experts he repeatedly tried to kill (and had a pretty good success rate at). I guess the distinction is the difference between BEING a jackass and roleplaying one.
-outrider