ROLEPLAYING TIPS: OOCISMS

[theotherjohn]

Most players try hard to remain IC (In Character) while in the game to preserve our fantasy atmosphere and to make the world of Elanthia a more vivid place. But there are a lot of terms commonly used that are only thinly veiled OOC (Out of Character), and are in fact pretty much the same thing as just saying the OOC words.

It takes a bit of experience and thought to recognize these types of terms and to learn better ways of phrasing things. It is easier than it seems, and pays off in big ways. To give an idea of the type of things being discussed, I will give some examples of common OOCisms.

Weather: Many players use the term "weather" to refer to game lag. If it's rainy or sunny, it's rainy or sunny for everyone in that town. So saying one character has bad weather while another doesn't, simply makes no sense. Other ways to get the point across are to say things like, "I'm feeling really sluggish at the moment," or "I'm so tired I can barely move," or maybe on a hot summer day, "It's so humid out I just don't feel very peppy."

Gods: The word "gods" is often used to refer to GMs (GameMasters), but again, it usually makes little sense when given any thought. Gods in Elanthia are the Arkati and other immortals, and they rarely are interested or involved in the types of things where this euphemism is used. A "god auction" can better be referred to as a "grand auction," since the Arkati aren't actually selling their stuff! A "god wedding" can be referred to as a "cathedral wedding."

Age: It used to be that character age was connected to their levels, which of course made little sense. Now that we have an actual age system in the game that is separate from levels, it is appropriate for us old timers to wean ourselves away from this euphemism as well. If you ask a character how old they are, don't be surprised to hear they are 143 years old, even if they are only level 5. When talking about creatures, the age of the creature is not likely to be known, but what can be known is that a warrior of lord stature can probably take them on or not.

Trainings: This one can be hotly debated as to how appropriate it is. Many roleplayers strongly feel that trainings are just as OOC as levels, and feel the term has no place here. Others feel that it is an acceptable alternative term. However a player feels about it, it is yet another example of a term that can usually be stated in a more IC manner, given a little thought.

Pages to study: Some players try to translate experience needed into a more IC terminology, usually coming up with things like, "1,234 more pages to study in my book." But again, it is simply a thinly veiled reference that is not really any better than saying, "1,234 experience to level." It might beveiled reference that is not really any better than saying, "1,234 experience to level." It might be better to say something along the lines of, "I have been practicing my skills very hard, and feel that I will be seeing some improvement soon."

These are just a few examples of the OOCisms commonly seen within the game. For players who are interested in improving their RP (roleplaying) skills and making their characters into living and breathing Elanthians, it is a good subject to which you can devote a bit of attention. Of course, all of the above situations are also easily solved by using WHISPER to convey information that you want to be exact or is OOC in nature, thus bypassing any need to come up with a clever euphemism.

[Fallen]

This message was actually inspired by a rather heated debate spanning hundreds of posts on the official boards. I am glad to see that the GMs have become increasingly more responsive to the requests of players.
This announcement serves to better better define policy and clarify the GM's stances on issues of Semi-OOC speech and behavior.

[CrystalTears]

I'm very glad to see this kind of announcment.

[Fallen]

There were two or three other announcements concerning roleplay a while back. Can someone perhaps dig them up? I was looking to pin them in the SR RP folder.

[Edited on 1-31-2005 by Fallen]

[Bobmuhthol]

Good to see they're finally focusing on bringing up roleplay.

Just kidding, Brooklyn arrived at 4:13 pm.

[TheRoseLady]

They need to cease any and all of the hosts and GMs just poofing into the game if they want to start down this road. Jesus. So let me guess, weather will now be out of vogue and folks will just say "Must be a router down somewhere, or my internet connection sucks!"

I understand not referring to the GMs as gods, but let's be frank here. Gemstone is NOT the epitomy of an awesome roleplaying game. It's just not, it never will be. It's too big, imho.

I understand the announcement, but I kind of took it as being so clearly nitpicking that even those attempts at masking obvious OOC references are now frowned upon? If folks are that heated up over someone saying "weather" perhaps they are playing the wrong game. Really. Inferno has a much more intense RP atmosphere that is seriously enforced (or used to) - if someone doesn't like hearing someone talk about the "weather" they can just ignore it can't they? I mean, I don't correct folks who typo in game - as that's ooc.

I just think that Simu is trying to please so many folks that they are never going to succeed. I play Gemstone because it's not a strict RP environment. Been there, done that, not going there again.

But, I don't see any policy clarification anywhere Fallen. So if you are applauding this announcement I don't see it as anything but just a set of tips on how you can be better in-character. I seriously doubt you will find anyone getting a warning for saying "weather" or "gods".

[Edited on 1-31-2005 by TheRoseLady]

[CrystalTears]

You can't blame them for trying. I don't think anyone will be warned, but it doesn't hurt to put out pointers for future reference. Although I do agree that GMs and hosts showing up needs to go.

The "weather" one was always stupid because roleplaying-wise, it makes very little if no sense. Saying someone's weather is bad and the guy next to him saying it's fine just sounds ridiculous. I suppose everyone in GS has their own personal weather system. And don't get me started with "I need 200000 pages to train."

Masking OOC is just as bad sometimes as being outright OOC. I'm with them that if you need to discuss internet connections, lag, GMs or the like, then take it to whispers. Not everything needs to be roleplayed, some things need to be private.

[Edited on 1/31/2005 by CrystalTears]

[Sean]

Originally posted by CrystalTears
Masking OOC is just as bad sometimes as being outright OOC. I'm with them that if you need to discuss internet connections, lag, GMs or the like, then take it to whispers. Not everything needs to be roleplayed, some things need to be private.

I dunno, I'll take someone bitching about the weather 10 times out of 10 instead of of yelling about their lag. I don't view this as one of those situations where its all or none and think somewhere there has to be an accepted medium and to me although they are still veiled ooc references I don't have a problem with terms like weather being that medium.

[Edited on 1-31-2005 by Tijay]

[CrystalTears]

I guess what I'm saying is, why does it have to be said at all?

I wouldn't report anyone about them though. They don't need to be that picky. Having preferences in how they want to see people play, sure, but I wouldn't insist on anything since that's wasted effort for the GS crowd.

[Sean]

Don't get me wrong, I think it was a good thing for Simu to release the tips, in a if you want to better your roleplay these are some areas you might want to look at kinda way.

I can only assume as to why people find it necessary to say things like weather outloud, and my guess would be that generally you like to know if its just you or other people experiencing the lag. I suppose people could spam whispers asking about lag in an attempt to find out but I'm sure some people would find that equally annoying.