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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Reference The Roleplaying Group

Discussion in 'Role Playing Resource' started by DarthXan318, Jan 15, 2012.

  1. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    A thousand times better explained than I ever could, you nail´d it Xany. That was exactly what I meant. Good there are interpreters for my almost incomprehensible denglish attempts to express myself [:D]



    Actually you mean "in-game" poverty? To be honest, I am very sure there is no rule like that. Oh no, there is. GM has the last word.

    Seriously, if I were you I would revisit that idea, because I think you ask for control over the gaming world here. Which is a right that belongs exclusively to the GM. It has to! If nothing your character has and does can be touched by anyone (let me guess, character death doesn´t sit well with you, too?) that kind of defeats the idea of being in the game of a GM. That means you should GM, because there you can decide what happens with stuff in game.

    Actually I think that above was a situation where one of you two had to leave. Because you demand that the GM railroads the other player into not doing something, that is absolutely within his power. It would be an exit-sign for me, if a GM told me: Sorry, you have to redesign your storyline, because Sithy has feelings for that ship. I know you are enemies. But could you pelase not harm anything that belongs to him?

    On a side-point I think it really takes out the suspense. The longer you play, the more thrilling the prediction of gaining something my characters wants or loosing something he feels strongly about becomes. Also I am aware that is not for everyone. If I had more time I would repost Sarge´s very friendly - but accusing - analysis of his marriage with Talia in 133 ABY and how I gave him sleepless nights because of it! :p



    Funny thing of the three GMs called the German Triumvirate (LordT, TheSithGirly and myself) I think I am the only one even aware of what you´re talking. That incident back then happened with Draco and especially Sirak and is probably none of our others business.

    But I think not that discussion, not Sirak´s post and certainly not your last one would have happened in a game of mine. Oh and I would have loved how LordT would have dealt with it. [face_laugh] When players start biting at each other, he usually introduces them to the only shark in the pool.

    Nevertheless: Actually I think the people once called "German Triumvirate" never had any problem with you. Just to get that right. I think most of them aren´t even aware of th
     
  2. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    I was appointed as a Co-GM running the jedi players within a flagship game, and when players complained of being bored at their current location, formulated an adventure that, with GM encouragement, led them to the Interdictor to use as a base.

    If I was wrong to consider I should have been asked first, then I know that now. :) Cool, I have learned something already!
     
  3. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    I just - no, Sithy, that's not what I was trying to say at all, and I apologise for it sounding that way. That was my opinion. I am not the foremost authority on RPing; my word is not law.

    It's not wrong to consider that you should have been asked first, that's perfectly valid, and your GM should respect you enough to accommodate that. (Though as Fins said, that would probably have resulted in a you-or-the-other-guy kind of situation, which is a separate matter.) I feel like I'd rather roll with the punch (or the explosion, as it were). That's a difference of opinion (and perhaps of morality, but - again - separate matter), not right and wrong.
     
  4. LordTroepfchen

    LordTroepfchen Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 9, 2007
    First of all, good to hear you liked the idea. It is one of the more exciting aspects I would like to do with that game, too! If it happens or not is still undecided, but if so . . . be my guest!

    To the topic.

    Actually I think the lesson to be learned here is, that players might have needs, that don´t work with certain GMs. Although I do not "get" the given situation anymore, as Co-GMs have totally the right to override player-decisions, usually . . . especially when you have to save involved player characters . . . but if a player expects the GM to make his "area of game" untouchable AND if he makes that clear from the start, that is something that will certainly make a player join or leave.
    It narrows the games you can play in and I would not like to adopt this as my only modus operandi, but that is personal taste. It IS interesting to see, how different we are. I would take the contrary position as a player and say in a perfect game, a really, really perfect game I can achieve anything, if I play it smart. Kill other players, change the galaxy . . . ANYTHING. If I play it smart. That is the point. Others will play too and usually they make sure you achieve more or less just the ordinary amount of success. Or fail in my illusions of grandeur. And I accepted characters death again and again (yeah, Imperi was meant to show up in 133 ABYs finale, so much for changing the galaxy), which is often a lot of fun. I mean, my real life isn´t flawless. But if it was, I think it would make things very . . . boring. My take. Not THE take on Roleplaying.

    Therefore in a sandbox game Sith and I as players will never fit in together. At least not into the same corner. None of our approaches is right or wrong. How could it be? It´s a game. The rules are the only thing that defines how it is played. So, maybe that is something we should think more about when entering or leaving games. Looking at the rest of the cast as somep eople "confessed" above, might not be a flawed decision making, but smart criteria for your game-of-choice.


    I have a dim memory of this incident you guys are talking about. But actually no, I only remember it happened. I was involved at the sidelines as Max Payne, I believe. Poor Draco. Was his first game, was it? [face_laugh] Anyway, believe it or not, I usually hold no grudges anyway, really not!


    By-the-way where do I find Sith-I´s laugh factory? Hear about it for the first time!
     
  5. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
  6. Mikaboshi

    Mikaboshi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2005
    This is a very interesting line of discussion, especially as I consider myself as being a person who has had burnout/dropout issues a lot lately. Hopefully I can learn something here.

    From the perspective of a person who is dealing with that now all I can say is that it is really hard to deal with on a personal level, mostly because you feel like a complete loser for wanting to play in a game and get in touch with a very creative and fun community but end up dropping for what ever reason. It's not that you ever want to drop out or abandon a GM, so each time it happens it only reenforces the feeling of being unreliable.

    Eventually you (meaning me) just get to the point of actively trying to avoid the RPF so you can save the other players the hassle of having to deal with your own unreliability.

    Unfortunately the very group of people you would love to write with and get to know you end up isolating yourself from.

    It is a vicious cycle that I would love to break, but have no idea how to go about doing that. I used to love gaming, still love gaming when it happens, but for some reason it is hard to get myself to sustain it and keep going.

    Thoughts? Critiques?
     
  7. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    Despised1 wrote It is a vicious cycle that I would love to break, but have no idea how to go about doing that. I used to love gaming, still love gaming when it happens, but for some reason it is hard to get myself to sustain it and keep going.

    Thoughts? Critiques?


    Sorry that you find yourself in that situation so often, Despised'.

    What the-? Sorry, Yoda just appeared in a Vodafone coomercial on the tv next to me!

    Okay, my first instinct is to suggest a game that I am in, Star Wars: Intervention, which needs starfighter pilots for its endgame, so would be a finite period of membership, so might be suitable.

    My second thought is to say upfront, when contacting the GM about their game, that RL interrupted the last three games you were in, so that might happen here. That way, if it does come to pass that you have to leave, or you cannot post for a couple weeks, less of a wrench for both sides.

    Are you able to say what sort of issues interrupt your gameplay?
     
  8. Mikaboshi

    Mikaboshi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2005
    I wouldn't say that anything really interrupts gaming, it is just hard to find myself motivated to keep posting. I tend to find myself not connecting well with other gamers, having a hard time getting into the mix so to speak. Might just be my issue alone and nothing that anyone but myself can do anything about, which is why I started to just stay away from the RPF all together.

    The RPF forums are by far the most fun forums on this site, I have always enjoyed the community here more than other places I frequent. This also tends to be a place where reliability is needed, GMs and RPers need to be able to count on others and when they can't it makes it hard to get back into the swing of things...rightfully so...a trust is broken and nobody feels like investing game time into a player who won't follow through.

    It is what it is, can't really blame others for doing exactly what I would probably do. To me, the issues that need to be figured out are on my end alone.

    Hard to explain it any other way than simply being burned out, but wanting with all my heart to be involved and contributing to some fun arcs.
     
  9. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    Despised - I sympathize, but helping you identify why you personally can't seem to stay interested in the RPF isn't the purpose of the Roleplaying Group. If you want to talk about specific instances where you lost interest, that's fine, but "I keep burning out and I don't know why" takes us into the realm of armchair psychology.

    Let's stick to talking about RPing, guys?
     
  10. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    Maybe I can try and do both?

    I think there is an underlying problem a lot of people have around here that makes them join and leave time and again. So not talking about your burn out, but having a look at the whole situaiton you and certain other people find themselves in . . .

    I just got a suspicion what might go wrong on your end. And as it is a common player problem . . . no I think the most common player problem - and nobody will truthfully say it, even though it might be the answer to the question above in 9 out of 10 cases of drop out . . . I think most of us aren´t even aware of it when it hit us.

    I call it "slow-play-motivation-problem".

    Having replaced you once on a game, I realize Despised that you belong to the big group of people who drop out of games early. You barely see the middle part, do you? I think once or twice I have seen you deliver quality postings and then you were gone.

    Can it be you join those games buying some sort of hype? You see them, you love them and then you . . . get into them? Cool stuff. You think they will be good experiences. You will belong to those enigmatic groups joining them. And then they take time. RPing is a slow medium. Two weeks. Three. Introductions. No memorable scene yet, hell probably not even met someone of the other players. And you find it harder and harder to return. Actually you loose interest, because the next update won´t bring you nearer to any of those things you were looking for. You stop posting. I think we have a few of those guys.

    The problem obviously is, that any benefit you can personally take from any game usually only unfolds over the time of ONE COMPLETE GAME. From the beginning to the "relative" (often untimely) end. If you don´t keep up one game, you probably won´t "get into the mix" and probably won´t share enough stuff with people to really connect to them. We don´t meet, we don´t drink beers, we don´t dance, we don´t even flirt around here. Man, even charme is hard to use when all you got is writing. But hell, we share stories. Through this we connect. I have no single pal around here I haven´t played with. Those I never have, I know, but I am really not connected to. I am not in their mix. And I see that you need to get into the mix to enjoy things. This here IS a community. If you do good things you´ll be a respected part in no time, though. Especially these days where newbies are left outside the door by IGN I think it is easy to get in.

    So, a remedy for your situation? If I were you and I wanted to get into RPF, I would simply join one game. One game only. And really try to stick with it. Once you´re in, really in and beyond the intro diving deeper into the plot . . . you don´t wanna get out. That is the secret. Once you check the net for updates at work, you certainly won´t feel like "burning out" anymore.

    Until you begin to develop strange ideas about your position in the community and things like that, but those cases are proably for a very different day and a very different disucssion. :p
     
  11. Mikaboshi

    Mikaboshi Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2005
    Definitely something to consider, actually seems like that approach may just be worth trying Fins. Much appreciated insight. As Xan asked that we stick to talking about RPing, even though I thought what we were discussuing was directly related to the current topic being discussed, I will take my leave and go back to lurking.

    Thanks Sith-I-5 and Fins. [face_peace]
     
  12. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    I think what Despised1 describes there is the "self-fulfilling prophecy cycle" Fin described, which is a major reason for people to drop out. It is at least part of it. I actually remember when I returned to gaming after SoZ death. I took one game and almost left immediately after some mails. I really had to play myself back into the mood and over the pressure-point. But it pays of. RPF is fun and it is a cool way to share stories.

    Anyway, Fin´s observation that friendship around here develop over shared gaming experiences is something people are probably not conscsious enough about. Leaving a game means always letting people down. And they sometimes remember. That guy we´re all talking about, nobody mentions directly [face_laugh] He can rant and scream and beg for attention. In the end we all just wait for him to vanish again. I am not surprised he does. I am surprised he actually comes back. Therefore sticking with your game and having less of them is probably a lot more fairer to your friends.

    Anyway, I think LordTs check-list above is . . . as shocking as it is . . . more or less exactly what I check before deciding if I am interested. [face_blush]

     
  13. Saintheart

    Saintheart Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2000
    Just as a last thought, to summarise Fins' advice:

    [image=http://dickstaub.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/images.jpeg]

    One thing.
    Just one thing.
    It worked for Billy Crystal in City Slickers, it'll work here too. :)
     
  14. HanSolo29

    HanSolo29 RPF/SWC/Fan Art Manager & Bill Pullman Connoisseur star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2001
    I've been following this thread for the past couple of days and I have to say, there's been some interesting discussion going on. I wanted to take the time to jump in before the topic shifts:

    There's a lot of different factors that "keep me going," but the simple answer would be an interesting story with a fun cast/players. You need to be able to get along with the people you're playing with and likewise, you need a working relationship with the GM. If all of those click, then I'm pretty confident that I've found the right game. I don't really ask for much and I try to give each game that I join an equal chance to shine. Like Fins said above, sometimes it's really hard to get through the 'intros' to the story, but there's usually a big payoff for sticking with it and that's when you reach the point of constantly refreshing the boards, waiting for someone to post or reply to you directly so you can move the story along. And once you reach that point, it's an absolute blast!

    As for types of games, I've found my interest shifting lately from Star Wars to the games in the NSWRPF. I'm not sure if it's an overabundance of games focusing on the Old Republic/Legacy(two eras I don't really have much of an interest in) or just burnout, but I'm really digging the original stories that have popped up - namely, SotS and Darker Tides. It's just refreshing to play in something that's a little more down to earth and not set in the GFFA.

    Characters have always been a struggle for me, especially coming up with one that I'll care enough about to stick with. When I drop out of games, this is the main reason - I just fail to connect with the character and I hit a roadblock. I find that it gets worse the more I stray away from characters that I'm used to playing, especially fighter pilots. I don't know what it is, but I just can't create an interesting enough fighter pilot to save my life. I just find them too boring for my tastes. From here on out, I think it'll be wise to stay away from them. :p Now, in terms of characters I do like playing, it's a no-brainer I tend to gravitate towards smugglers, pirates, mercenaries...etc. It's what I feel comfortable with and I can usually have the most fun with them. And I know I'm in the minority with this, but I also like picking up canon characters. I feel more connected to them for some reason and maybe it all goes back to my struggle with creating my own characters and finding one that I actually care about. I also find them much easier to write, especially with characters that I know rather well. I know it's not popular opinion to have a canon character show up in games too often, but I try to take them where I can.
     
  15. Penguinator

    Penguinator Former Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Despite the fact I am extremely guilty of doing exactly this(!) I do think that this is an issue many GMs could avoid. For example, the build-up to a memorable scene: I'm of the opinion that if a GM gives the player something memorable right off the bat, they'll be hooked instantly. The slow build-up let us get used to a character, for sure, but sometimes we're already in-character and we just want to do something. I know that's the case for me!

    I guess it falls more under a GMing issue, but as a player, the long grace period many games give you is pretty frustrating. I'd rather jump in than wade in, so to speak.
     
  16. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Well, considering character build up a grace period is . . . a view on it not everybody has to share, I guess. I must say I totally do not agree with that. And it is another problem of players around here. And it is the players problem, also they believe it is the GMs. They actually think that the GM has to endlessly sell a game to them, even after they joined. That´s not his job. And there really isn´t a reason why he needs to, if he has other buyers. Expecting the GM to "build towards memorable scenes to keep my interest" is therefore a death sentence to your participation, really. The game is what it is. Memorable scenes come from players, anyway. For imagining a game a GM doesn´t get paid. So he should do it exactly the way he wants to and I can decide if I am part of the ride as a player . . . or not.

    So yeah, I really think this is not a GM issue or a good topic for their group. It is nothing GMs really have to think about. It´s personal preference, I guess but . . . I hate it when GMs try to show off what kinda twisty game they have, only to lack substance afterwards. And doing memorable scenes is a players job in my book. If a GM can do it without us into the game, that´s REALLY something. [face_laugh]
     
  17. DarkLordoftheFins

    DarkLordoftheFins Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2007
    I think it really is a matter of taste and how a GM sees his players. As a GM I approach it different every time. As a player I prefer the time to get into character, really. Memorable scenes I usually try to do myself, anyway.:p GMs approach this topic very differently, I believe. If you want as many players as possible, you probably need to think of such things. Generally it is true though . . . once you joined, expect the GM not to sell the game anymore to you. Many don´t do it.
     
  18. Imperial_Hammer

    Imperial_Hammer Manager Emeritus: RPFs star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2004
    I agree with Solo that this is a great conversation. So nice to see the RPR buzzing! Props to the Mod Team for getting some life back in here!

    I've always been a stickler for game uniqueness here. I want an exciting, new way of doing gaming here. Or a game idea that hasn't been done before. A GM that runs that sort of a game takes a risk, and I take great pleasure in surprising him or her and working to change the way RPing is done or thought about! Plus experiences like that usually bind players in a way that more mainline games have a difficult time doing. Its like making history you know?

    New ideas, bold moves, plot twists and turns. An engaged GM that is unafraid to push the envelope and maintains his quality as the game progresses is always a wonderful turn-on for me. Games that are boring or stagnate makes me look for greener pastures and more interesting uses of my time.

    As for characters, I try to keep things interesting. I love Imperial officers because they are great places to develop wall-flower characters. And you get to play with a fair bit of power as well. ;)

    Other than that, just working with unique and interesting characters is a fun experience. Games that stuff players into Jedi or unpowered rogues do not capture my interest nearly as well as more opened games.

    So yah! In short, make things interesting! Be creative! Take a chance! Do that, and its much more likely I will be interested in both playing and staying around. :)

    -I_H
     
  19. Winged_Jedi

    Winged_Jedi Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 28, 2003
    Some intriguing thoughts here. It took me some time to read through them all, but I'm glad that I did. And it's always good to see you back here, I_H!

    Regarding the question at hand, I remember something I saw on Penny Arcade on GMing (or DMing).

    I think the sentiment translates to the player experience, too. The reality will never be exactly as you envisioned when you were busy putting your dreams together. Sometimes it surpasses what you envisioned- but usually the opposite is true. And that long, painful realisation- that's the heart of burnout, in my opinion.
     
  20. Sith-I-5

    Sith-I-5 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2002
    True dat.
     
  21. Penguinator

    Penguinator Former Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    May 23, 2005
    Let me rephrase: the GM should be setting up these memorable scenes from the word "Go" onward. There should at least be a kernel of something that can become memorable right from the GM's first game post. Yes, of course a lot of the responsibility is on the shoulders of the players, but the player is not God in the game-world (unless of course it's that sort of game). It's give-and-take, symbiotic, and it grows with each post; the greatest GM is nothing without great players, and the greatest players might as well just write original fiction or fanfic without a GM.

    There's an Aaron Sorkin-ism that I think has credence here (reworded to apply to the RPF, of course); if a game starts with lots of action/dialogue, then the audience immediately feels like they need to pay attention, and they somehow feel that it's up to them to stay up-to-date and follow along. Suddenly the audience isn't just a passive participant but an active one.

    That's why I like starting things off quickly, getting the engines running and seeing what happens.
     
  22. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    Hm. To some extent, I agree. To take an example from videogames - I loved Mass Effect 2 from the beginning because it opened with the Normandy getting blown up and Shepard dying. Holy crap, what the hell, after an opening like that I just had to keep playing. And I can think of several RPF examples where the game cemented my interest by having something big happen in the first act.

    But ... I'm not a fan of the "GM needs to do xx to keep me interested" school of roleplaying.

    To some extent it's true - the GM's involvement can make or break a game, yes. Good GMing really does make a difference, yes. But so can the RPers, and good RPing. I have had loads of fun in games where I just RP with a few others and the GM's input is minimal (or even a negative, to be honest ... there have been times where I'm like "Aw hell, GM update :("). It is nearly always possible to make a game work for you so long as the GM isn't magnificently awful, and magnificently awful GMs are actually quite rare here nowadays.

    But! It is nearly time for the next topic in the queue! So get your last thoughts in, guys, and tomorrow morning (my time) we'll move to the next topic - roleplaying techniques/approaches, suggested by Peng.
     
  23. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    I actually thought a bit about it and had a more or less complete list of games I ever was in and looked how they began. especially those who really captured me. And my judgment on the topic is . . . skillfully done any beginning can be amazing, an you loose players anyway. I would say you really need to evaluate if a GM fits you. Especially since the "attractive GMs", you know those whose games get crowded . . . usually do not change their style to fit their players.

    Well, I saw the fast and dirty approach in act one work very fine on some games. Respectively Man Cubs, where the antagonist showed up right at my third post and the group had just introduced themselves, when the bad guys hit us and sacrifices and flight was the plan. Actually I liked it, although I felt a bit like watching others fate fulfill. I was still very thrilled with the fates, so seeing one at work was amazing.

    The second example was 133 ABY - The Dark Odyssey. Fin was GM there and basically did a classical in media res beginning. Post 1: The space battle is going on for several minutes, the black ops enter a space station on which Sarge and me are slowly tortured to death! After post 120 or something we were victorious and free and stumbled right into the rest of the adventure. I found there wasn´t that much room to develop Kira Romar, my character after the interrogation at the beginning and those black ops really stayed rather flat until we saw them in private later on, but . . . it set the mood and it was a thrill ride, certainly.

    I saw other examples which I won´t name, where it didn´t work at all. Before oyu even have a developed character you are epxected to fight something and care or have a galaxy changing dialogue, although you read about the problem to be solved a post before? I often, very often is railroading for the spectacle. If you are looking for that, certainly . . . they deliver. the three exmaples I found I was in were all quite successful for a while, so people seemed to like that, too!


    Slow burning beginnings. Funny enough I found two by the same GMs above.

    Winged did Lea Monde 2 with a real character only beginning. We had scenes like an artist having a walk in a garden and fathers talking to a bureaucrat. really you don´t get more character and less action. It worked splendidly fine, though and introduced the theme of the seven plagues really well. it also allowed some players to develop unqiue and amazing personalities. Especially TGI would probably never have had such a layered sick character, had he not been given room to develop it and TEE might never have showed this funny side and light-hearted approach that was part of her later characterisation.

    Fin again did the slowest of all slow burns in SotS with the Corben´s Inn. People in a diner in Nevada. Ordering coffee. Talking. A son and his father. An old priest. Two service women and now comes the highlight, a celebrity in form of an down-and-out former country star! Oh yeah! Although it was obvious something bad was happening, when the amok-shooter turned up I really thought I would have lurked these people for round of updates, really! When things happened then, they were really ,really defined and I really felt for them. The same approach he took with Hamburg. Other storylines he jumped into and pushed them into immediate crisis. The contrast was nice, although I still feel the slow burners became the more important ones, later.

    So I really think it is the question if you try to impress your players early on, which is good if you have to sell them something (both Fin and Winged had some unqiue angle they showed in effect in their intros) or if you just let them room to develop, which is risky - probably there isn´t happening anything - but can be very rewarding.

    All in all, I think I stay with my opinion. If you don´t fit a GM, that really isn´t his problem. It is yours. Or nobodies, as we have a few of those and you should probably try another.
     
  24. DarthXan318

    DarthXan318 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2002
    New Topic: Roleplaying technique/approaches, suggested by Peng

    This is a good one, I think. We all have our own personal (and perhaps idiosyncratic) styles of RPing, but what we call our 'style' is really a collection of many specific techniques and approaches and angles we've developed over the years. So what are yours? How do you bring a character to life? Are there any things you've always liked the idea (or admired in other RPers) of but could never quite pull off yourself?



    [b]The Queue:[/b]

    1. Atonement - how to get your good reputation back. Possible or not? (Sirak)
    2.

     
  25. SirakRomar

    SirakRomar Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 30, 2007
    Indeed an interesting topic. My approach to playing a character is usually quite much a "method-playing" of them. I try to get an idea what they are and who they are and then I get myself into their heads. If I cannot do that, I generally loose my interest very fast. If I manage to do so, I usually have an easy time writing them, as long as I do not hit a wall. What is a wall? When plot demands something of me (through the MG and Co-players) which I actually feel my character wouldn´t do. It really becomes a problem. I experienced this twice, basically and both times it was quite a bit effort to keep the character in the game.

    It actually limits me to games with a certain playing style, but I personally believe I usually add quite a bit to those games that find my loyalty, as I take my characters very, very serious. Loosing them usually is quite painful for me, but can also be a relief. I therefore usually prefer layered characters who are not clearly good or evil, but more of realistic persons. My attempts in "one-sided" characters usually mean less to me, also I can have fun with them, really. Nevertheless chatacters like my Asari in Ashen or my Sith in Depth of Madness were more like interesting to watch than close ot my heart.


    Concerning techniques, I must say they often come with the characters. I am actually writing quite a lot for work, but I found out recently, that my style of writing in English is totally different to my style of writing in German. First of all I use a lot "comic-esque" methods like unfinished sentences and commenting on what I see. I read a bunch of graphic novels, maybe it was because of that! It sounds cooler in English than in German, where it is a well known method of showing subjective views in third person narratives. I also like mixing memories of past events with description of the present, as I feel it is more like the stream of consciousness that I feel does justice to my char. My probably best known technique is the "internal dialogue" in which I use an internal voice to argue with myself and show the decision making process. I feel that one is great to portray occassional changes of mind and especially the ambivalency of a character. It also adds a nice touch of suspision about my chars, as these voices often give extreme council.

    All these decisions above are rarely made consciously, they just seem to be the natural pool of methods that seem natural to me when I write. I am not unaware of them, though.


    Usually I prefer long and deep posts, but I also find the short post to be a sharper tool, for example for games like SotS, where you have a real TV_series feel to things and the GM keeps up his speed. When you write epic fiction, you always feel like you got time, while the main theme plays and the camera shows a bit of the cg landscape, you know?

    I do not like the combined post that much, but I love ot have GM input I can use to make the post a bit more "novel"-like. And strong dialogues are probably best done in combines. I nevertheless feel the need to "deny'2 combined posts when approached and then usually seels the need to do so for me.