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+--- Thread: Emotes for non-emotional characters. (/showthread.php?tid=5379)
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RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - suncitycat - 11-08-2013
Then I apologize for directly addressing you over nothing.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Macey - 11-12-2013
Getting back on topic, i.e. how do you make emotes for characters who don't show emotion.
If you think outside the box, you can actually make your character stand out quite a bit by doing actions contrary to social norms. e.g. "Harry glances at Jeff as he makes the joke, but doesn't laugh." In a movie, that's a quick shift of the eyes, but it speaks volumes of Harry and how he feels about Jeff or the joke he told.
Another idea is that often times these characters do feel, but they just don't want to show it to their companions. For this you'll again have to come up with visual cues/reactions. e.g. "Harry's jaw tightens for a moment, but then he carries on chewing his tobacco as if he hadn't heard anything."
In my experience as a writer, I find character like this often take more text to personify than vocal or boisterous characters. So if you want to play a brooding character, you actually have to work harder to play them. Otherwise you just become a silent a character who goes ignored. i.e. you may think you're RPing you character by saying nothing. But this is not a purely visual medium so you do actually have to say "something" that shows you saying "nothing".
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Kismet - 11-12-2013
(11-12-2013, 03:09 PM)Macey Wrote: So if you want to play a brooding character, you actually have to work harder to play them. Otherwise you just become a silent a character who goes ignored. i.e. you may think you're RPing you character by saying nothing. But this is not a purely visual medium so you do actually have to say "something" that shows you saying "nothing".
*nods* Couldn't agree with this more. Not enough people realize this.
I admittedly had trouble with it myself in other games, since I usually always have one quiet and/or brooding sort of character. It took some getting used to, but the difference is staggering once you apply yourself.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Myxie Tryxle - 11-12-2013
I agree with what Macey said. You have to let people know your character is still involved with the scene. Every once in a while do something like 'Myxie listens intently to the conversation but refrains from speaking.' Otherwise it can be hard to tell if your character is in the scene, or if you're distracted by the television, taking the dog out, or otherwise disengaged.
You may get some helpful information from the Wikipedia page on body language.
As far as depth of description showing that you're a better roleplayer, I agree to a point, and I think that point differs for different players. As an example:
1) Myxie glanced over her shoulder as she crashed through the underbrush of the Shroud, looking for any sign of her pursuer. She tripped over a fallen branch, crying out in pain as she landed on her wrist with a sharp, cracking sound.
2) Myxie's feet pounded the sodden ground as a light mist dissipated from the Twelveswood around her, a product of the early morning shower. A dappling of sunlight through the foliage mixed with the cryptic coloration of her coerlskin jacket to grant her a distinct advantage in terms of camouflage, but the clamour of her reckless retreat left no doubt as to the direction in which she fled.....
[continued through three to five emotes of flowery text to reach the same conclusion of a broken arm].
There's been threads on this forum and others about which is the 'better,' 'more experienced,' 'elitist,' etc. way to roleplay. Either is fine, so long as it enhances the roleplaying experience for all involved.