Character RP vs Player Enjoyment

[Merji]

At what point, do you say, yes, this is what my character would do..and this is how he/she would behave..But *I*, the player am not going to enjoy this type of roleplay. How far would you go to drop certain aspects of your RP, to feel comfortable playing your character? What would you not compromise for? Or how far would your character go in their RP, even if You, the player knew, it was seriously damaging someone else's enjoyment of the game?

I feel if I really wasn't comfortable playing any of my characters for whatever reason..I would have to find a IC reason, to RP something differently. I would never wish to damage someone else's gaming experience, there would have to be for me, some line drawn between..yes this is my RP, but I can see that the people I'm trying to involve in it aren't really enjoying it.

In my mind Elanthia should be exactly what each player makes it to be for their character. Everyone pays to play, and everyone should be able to play without me going out of my way to make things difficult for them. Just a thought, and I wished to hear other's views on the matter.


The Muse, (really not trying to stir the pot)

[Stunseed]

< But *I*, the player am not going to enjoy this type of roleplay. How far would you go to drop certain aspects of your RP, to feel comfortable playing your character? >

I am all for keeping to your character's RP, but I feel there is a line to be crossed, where if you do not enjoy the situation, you simply don't feel like logging in, making it not really worth the subscription you pay. I, myself, am in this scenario with one of my characters, where at times I simply do not desire to assume that situation. I don't interfere with the other people involved, because I don't believe in affecting others RP for the sake of my enjoyment.

Since you pay to enter the world of Elanthia, you should make it worth your while. Merjinia is a GREAT character, even going back as far as when your character first learned to take a bleeding wound in good ol' Mule. Don't allow anything to detract from that, simply allow your prowess to shine in another way.

[Czeska]

As far as tedious things go, some days I can make it fun depending who I'm with, other days I'll just scrap it even though it may be perfectly within a character's RP. Even hunting can be this way for me. My main loves to hunt. She gets her inner strength doing it, she vents her anger doing it, it's a huge part of who she is. But sometimes I just space out (until I blow up loved ones in the Bowels, then I just laugh).

The hard thing for me is when IC stuff turns so frustrating it makes me stare at the log in screen and grimace. Major drama, unending soap opera crap.. I avoid it. If I'm not having fun, or at least feeling like I am gaining something, I'll find a way around it.

There are ways to adjust your RP and remain true to your character at the same time, in the vast majority of circumstances.

As far as negatively affecting someone else's RP experience, it depends. Being true to a thieving character, or someone more murderous (or just plan bitchy) is important. I believe it's easy enough to move to another room if you just don't like someone. But harrassing someone, even via "true" RP is shitty. You still need to realize there is a person behind the character, and some crap just has no justification. "My character is a stalking psycho who likes to ruin everyone's day" will cross you from RP into the Consultation room pretty damn fast, anyway.

[CrystalTears]

Apparently I read her post differently. I didn't see it as her asking if you're not in the mood to play, or certain tasks are boring or tedious. I thought she meant more along the lines of something happening which would cause your character to behave in a certain way due to the way they are roleplayed, yet for whatever reason, behaving that way would not be something the player would enjoy.

Czeska said it fine.

There are ways to adjust your RP and remain true to your character at the same time, in the vast majority of circumstances.
People decide to roleplay their characters in their own way. They have to (or should anyway) have the mental knowledge that what they do is affecting other characters, and that if it is something negative, that they take the time to decide if it's worth doing, and if in the same situation if they would enjoy it as well.

Some people are selfish and don't care how roleplay affects others, just as long as they are true to their character. I think there can be compromise, just as long as the player is considerate enough about his surroundings.

[Kainen]

That's exactly why my Dhe'nar sorcereress isn't as much of a racist as the "Proper Rp" of a Dhe'nar calls for. I play GS to enjoy my interaction with other people. I even wrote her background to reflect why she's like that. I fully agree with that "line in the sand". Besides.. whats the point of playing a game you don't like.

[Latrinsorm]

I would never wish to damage someone else's gaming experienceA very big point to make here is that base enjoyment (or pleasure) is not the only positive that can be derived from a gaming experience. I would argue it's not even the primary positive. I would further argue that Gemstone is a Role Playing Game first and a font of pleasure second (actually probably fifth, but certainly not first, anyway), therefore roleplaying takes precedence over enjoyment.

However, this is a fine distinction as roleplay is created by the player. A stagnant roleplay is not necessarily a good roleplay, so it is not necessarily bad for a roleplay to change. I suggest that the motivation for doing so should be character growth and not player pleasure, but obviously it's sort of hard to figure out what our motivations *really* are, so don't beat yourself up about it if your character's RP happens to change in accordance with what will bring you (the player) greater pleasure.

Secondly, the interference idea. A player's enjoyment is *always* secondary to a good RP. That being said, we again must note that an RP is created by a player, so an RP created *specifically* to hinder other players' enjoyment is not good even if the RP would have been good when created with the correct motivations. It is good to take the suffering of others into account, but perspective is required. It is not possible to hinder another's RP with your RP. It is only possible to hinder how another player wants to express his or her character's RP at any particular moment. As players we cannot demand that other characters act in accordance with how we want our character to progress.

This doesn't feel very clear, so I'm going to try restating it: We shouldn't purposefully go out of our way to make others' gaming experiences unpleasant, but at the same time we mustn't restrict our creativity when it comes to RP genesis.

The psychological wrinkles one needs to have a conflict between the creation and the creator are simultaneously praise-worthy and worriesome.

[Alfster]

"My character is a stalking psycho who likes to ruin everyone's day" will cross you from RP into the Consultation room pretty damn fast, anyway.

It's worked well for me so far......

[Fallen]

At what point, do you say, yes, this is what my character would do..and this is how he/she would behave..But *I*, the player am not going to enjoy this type of roleplay. How far would you go to drop certain aspects of your RP, to feel comfortable playing your character? What would you not compromise for? Or how far would your character go in their RP, even if You, the player knew, it was seriously damaging someone else's enjoyment of the game? >>

My characters will suffer to maintain their roleplay; both through mechanics and staying true to a situation that hurts them on an emotional level. I have only once reached a point in my roleplay where the situation was no longer convievably playable due to the amount of anguish it costed the player. Those that would care already know what I did, for better or worse.

I have never been in a situation where the inverse (?) were true, and it was me suffering to maintain another's roleplay. I hope that I would have the fortitude stay true to what the roleplay calls for, or lose the character rather than change due to outside influences.

[radamanthys]

I'm going on the Twilight Hall Invasion of the Nations trip, even though Rada's not really supposed to go to the nations for pretty much any reason. I just think it'll be a good time.

[Fallen]

????

[Ebondale]

RPing a character is in no way linked to how I would actually feel about something. Ebondale is a racist elitist bastard Dhe'nar. I'm nothing like him in RL. Sometimes I get bummed out when I'm mean toward nice characters but for by and large people understand that its just RP. *shrug*

If I'm bored from being a dick I can always chat it up with folks on PsiNet OOC and keep on RPing while 'recharging my batteries' so to speak.

[Czeska]

I'm going on the Twilight Hall Invasion of the Nations trip, even though Rada's not really supposed to go to the nations for pretty much any reason. I just think it'll be a good time.


See PM for perfectly legitimate reasons to go :hums:

[Shari]

Usually, I will scrap my chars RP in order to avoid upsetting myself or friends in the game. I usually have no problem upsetting those I don't like for any given reason. :D

That being said, I really isn't my intention though to be a malicious person to those I don't know. Here's a good situation I spoke about earlier.

Jesae was a devout Ivas worshipper. I RPed her as an insufferigable flirt (and maybe even a slut). The downside to that kind of character is that it translates to the supa-freaks that I like to cyber. Contrary to what SOME of you would like to hope, but I don't. Well...that gives way to some EXTREMELY situations: like the time this other Ivas worshipper did a strip down lap dance for Jesae..... I freaked. So I made Jesae politely make a hasty exit even though I know that her personality would have had her LOVE to participate in that. Get my drift?

So I guess I'm a bit of a coward when it involves stuff like that.

[Merji]

[QUOTE=Stunseed I am all for keeping to your character's RP, but I feel there is a line to be crossed, where if you do not enjoy the situation, you simply don't feel like logging in, making it not really worth the subscription you pay. I, myself, am in this scenario with one of my characters, where at times I simply do not desire to assume that situation. I don't interfere with the other people involved, because I don't believe in affecting others RP for the sake of my enjoyment.

Since you pay to enter the world of Elanthia, you should make it worth your while. Merjinia is a GREAT character, even going back as far as when your character first learned to take a bleeding wound in good ol' Mule. Don't allow anything to detract from that, simply allow your prowess to shine in another way.[/QUOTE]

Exactly how I feel about things most of the time. I don't want to interfere, but I also want to enjoy my character.

The Muse

[radamanthys]

Meh... I try not to get involved in the Drama of the worlds. I have enough self-creatd drama as it is.

[Artha]

GS is just a game. If you're not having fun, something's wrong.

[Back]

A good role-player separates themselves from their character and plays them consistently.

A really good role-player does the same but ultimately understands that once their role-play is not fun for someone else its time to remember that this is a game for everyone to have fun with and either tones it down or moves on to someone who will enjoy their style.

The difference is a good role-player can be an unintentional griefer and the really good role-player may sacrifice a little to avoid that.

[Drew]

A good role-player separates themselves from their character and plays them consistently.

A really good role-player does the same but ultimately understands that once their role-play is not fun for someone else its time to remember that this is a game for everyone to have fun with and either tones it down or moves on to someone who will enjoy their style.

The difference is a good role-player can be an unintentional griefer and the really good role-player may sacrifice a little to avoid that.


Actually I'd flip that around. A good role player will let his personal feeling overcome his role play. A really good roleplayer will realize that we are writing a book and not all books have happy endings.


Maybe the good roleplayer is a better person, but he's not a better roleplayer (by definition).

[Fallen]

The responses from this thread are about what I expected. There is no even loosely based uniform belief as to roleplaying under less than favorable circumstances. Good thread.

[Warriorbird]

That "not always a happy ending" translates to evil folks, too. A lot of them seemed to forget that for a while.

[Jolena]

A good role-player separates themselves from their character and plays them consistently.

A really good role-player does the same but ultimately understands that once their role-play is not fun for someone else its time to remember that this is a game for everyone to have fun with and either tones it down or moves on to someone who will enjoy their style.

The difference is a good role-player can be an unintentional griefer and the really good role-player may sacrifice a little to avoid that.

Not only that, but I've found that many people seek validation from others that are considered 'good roleplayers' in the fact that they DO feel what their characters feel during RP interactions. I have found more often than not that people are very similar to me, in that we attempt to make our characters as 'real' as possible while playing the game through character development on many levels. That requires emotions as well for our characters and there is really no viable way to do that without channeling those emotions from the player to the character for the situation.

The fine line that is more often than not crossed, is whether or not you can shut down your computer and walk away without those emotions coming with you. Personally I can do just that. While I might experience anger, nervousness, happiness, sadness and any other variety of emotions while playing my characters, when the game is shut down, so are those feelings. I return to being Bree and my emotions are no longer linked to the world of Elanthia. There's nothing wrong with this approach, in my opinion, and I hate that so many other roleplayers out there feel that they are wierd or wrong to do the same.

[Jolena]

I should add that by channeling your emotions into a character, who is experiencing a very sad or negative RP scenario, it is not unthinkable for the player behind the character to not desire to really play that character for a while (if it's an extended RP scenario that is), because the player themselves just gets *tired* of playing the depressed, saddened, upset character that is normally not this way. I know there have been times I didn't want to play Jolena because she was involved in something that made her feel very negative emotions. I didn't stop playing her mind you, I kept doing it because I like to see things through to the end, even the negative things. But I would never judge another for feeling strongly enough about it that they decided to take a break for their own enjoyment.

[Merji]

It is indeed a good thread, and while everyone has their own standards when it comes to RP, I would never seek to hold someone to mine. I believe that if my character reached a breaking point, then that would have to be it. They would have to find an IC way to remove themselves from the situation. Because all characters if being portrayed as "real" would indeed have some breaking point. I would have to find an IC reason for things to change, or to somehow remove my character from the situation. As Fallen stated, either loosing such character (sell, give away, retire etc), or for myself to be strong enough to continue on, feeling lousy for my character, and building resentment for the other characters(not players) involved. The problem with this is, it may or may not have a negative impact on the story line that other characters are involved in.

the muse

[Jolena]

The lovely thing about Gemstone, Merj, is that it's like a never ending book. Each action your character takes has a reaction/consequence when it comes to RP situations. That's what I love so much about the game. That I can count on others to shape and help me RP my characters due to their interactions with me. It would be rather boring if I could always guide my character's RP completely and never have any surprises or twists in the path. So yes, while your character might be very viable to get resentful towards the other characters involved due to the RP, you shouldn't worry about how that will affect their storyline. That's part of having a RPing character. The changes that others make in your character give you something new to go off of each and every time. Make sense?

[Firefly]

I run into this line all the time. I'm surely guilty (if that's the right word) of getting too involved with the emotions my characters are feeling and sometimes it can be quite difficult. But, I've found great roleplay in difficult situations and I don't want to miss out on that, along with wanting to be as true to my character as possible. It's often most interesting to see how these characters, these people you imagine out of your own imagination deal with their own difficulties and how they emerge, hopefully stronger for them in the end.

There have been a few situations where I've had to tell the person I was roleplaying with that we'd have to imply the action and skip ahead to the results, when I didn't feel I could or wanted to roleplay a particularly terrible event, such as a rape, torture, etc. So I found my line, stopped at it, and found a way to continue with the story but without the particular scenes played out.

When or if a character's story seems too depressing, I've other characters to play until I'm in the mood to deal with a dark storyline again. Or I can go do something else, being able to walk away from the computer and forget things is always the final measure, if I'm still bothered I need to remind myself it's just a game.

[Drew]

I have to say that I'm almost always detached from the emotions of my character. Since I'm not playing myself and my character has a different emotional response than me to some situations I find that to be a good thing.

[Firefly]

Often I almost feel like I'm channeling another personality, my character's personality, I'll type something so perfectly in character for them and then wonder where the heck it came from. I mean really surprised, just sometimes things happen that I wasn't really planning on or expecting. Maybe that makes some sense, since these characters have a full life history so unlike mine and are subjected to situations I obviously have never been. Combine those together and unexpected and unusual (for my mundane frame of reference) emerge.

I've been told that my mannerisms at the computer are slightly different depending on which character I play too. Some shrink should probably study me.

[The Ponzzz]

I have rules that I've made....

I won't have an in game relationship. This cuts out the waiting, the buying, cybering and so on with a SO. I am in amazement how many people cyber in this game.

Other than that, I enjoy about every aspect of my characters. As Dhask, I(Mario) get labeled as a griefer, but that's far from the truth. But if I'm not enjoying something, I ignore the situation, close the FE and play another character(or go do something else).

There is no point to sit there as a player not enjoying yourself because you are caught in a situation you know your character wouldn't leave...

Heh, though, one time, some dumb bitch tried to cyber with me and took me back to her place, it was hilarious when I garroted her and left her dead in her house.

[Latrinsorm]

There is no point to sit there as a player not enjoying yourself because you are caught in a situation you know your character wouldn't leaveWhy is your (the player's) pleasure more important than a character played to the best of your ability?

[Drew]

I won't have an in game relationship. This cuts out the waiting, the buying, cybering and so on with a SO. I am in amazement how many people cyber in this game.



This is my rule as well.

[Shari]

You know, there's another side to that relationships thing. Nalina and Alfue are "together". And while Alfue now plays WoW..its kindof nice to have that "I'm taken" label on your forhead so that way it keeps the freaks away. :D

Though, Alfue is kindof a freak, but its tolorable.

[The Ponzzz]

Heh, so my characters could be "taken" as well and their SOs live in the Human Empire... There a plenty of ways to RP being taken and not having to deal with a crazy bitch. But I just take the crazy bitch part completely out of the equation...

And...

>>Why is your (the player's) pleasure more important than a character played to the best of your ability?

Wtf? Hope that was a joke...

[Latrinsorm]

Wtf? Hope that was a joke...No.

[Shari]

Fair enough.

[Alfster]

Nalina gives the best cyber sexorz

[Shari]

Yeah...but nothing beats a 12 second blow job. Right, Alf?

[Alfster]

Yeah...but nothing beats a 12 second blow job. Right, Alf?

let me clear the 10 second mark and i'll find out