April 8, 2014

Mini-Ramble: A Lengthy Description of Something MC Hates (Learn to Roleplay).

     Hello, all.  G-star here.  Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but we finally started the written work in business class and didn't have time.  But I'll make up for it today, with an in-depth article about something Patveli and MC treat with disdain...roleplaying.
     Firstly, roleplaying is not a chat room.  It can be if used the wrong way, but I try to avoid those kinds of sites.  Done right, it is no more and no less than multiplayer creative writing.  One person (sometimes two) come up with a plot, set up a thread, and gather users to play characters to certain conformities.  Sometimes there is a limit to the number of characters, sometimes you just make one up and jump in, but almost always there is a character "skeleton" with the required information the GM (Game Master) will need to know about your character.  Personally, I prefer skeleton threads, since the characters are a little easier to tell apart and look up facts about, but if you don't like spending time writing up a whole background then you might like jump-in roleplays.
     That being said, there are a couple different types of websites for roleplays.  The one I prefer has a couple different categories for the plot and you can make your own stories whenever you want, with an Out Of Character and an In Character thread, separately.  On the site I'm currently using, skeletons are required and admins have to check over each and every OOC thread.  It must be hard.
     A site I tried a while ago was completely different, though.  There were maybe fifteen roleplay 'worlds' in each genre category, and each one contained hundreds of threads.  You couldn't interact with every character at once like in the smaller stories I favor, but instead had to write a short plot somewhere within that world and invite some people to join you in it.  That was just too complicated and didn't have enough choices, so I ditched it.
     I enjoy roleplaying because you can write whatever you want, but you don't have to do it by yourself.  I've known some people to write short stories or even books about roleplays they participated in.  It can give inspiration for stories or just be practice for future writing.  And chatting is very rare and is usually limited to questions about the roleplay.
     Well, MC?  Do you understand my hobby a little better now?  Have Patveli read this.  I'll continue it tomorrow with how I make my character skeletons.  I had intended to do that today, but figured I had better make sure you understand what I'm talking about first.  (I never did that Pokemon, but oh well.  That's sort of to be expected.)  So instead, I'll talk about character skellies tomorrow.  Until then, this is G-star, signing off.


     Roleplaying Vocabulary

  • GM/Game Master - Creator of the roleplay, approves character skeletons and creates the IC.
  •  OOC/Out Of Character thread - Where a short summary of the roleplay plot is given and people can submit their character skeletons for approval.
  • IC/In Character thread - Where the real roleplaying goes on.  Any and all OOC questions and chatting is to be avoided here.  Timeskips and lengthy two-person interaction is common here.
  • Forms/Character skeletons (Skellies)- Short forms with relevant information about roleplay characters.  Often include anime-style pictures of the characters in question.  Ex:

    Name:
    Age:
    Gender:
    Appearance (pic please!):
    Personality:
    Short Bio:
    Other:
  • Thread - A part of a roleplay forum that can posted, taken down, or edited at will.  They are the first post of the IC or OOC of a roleplay.  This is where everyone involved in the roleplay posts.
  • Post - A submitted segment of your character's interaction with another.  I really can't summarize this.
  • Subscriptions - Specific threads that are set to send you notifications when posted on.
  • Signature (Siggie) - The pictures and/or text that appear underneath your posts.  Can be personalized to preference.
  • Bio/Biography - A short (sometimes) summary of your character's past, family, and experiences.  Sometimes includes their personality as well.
  • Accept - A function of GM's; to look over a character skelly and make sure it meets specifications.
  • Timeskip - A common occurance in more detailed roleplays where the GM skips any and all interactions until a set time (often used to avoid lengthy conversations before exciting or important parts).

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