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+--- Thread: Emotes for non-emotional characters. (/showthread.php?tid=5379)
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Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Kheni'to - 11-07-2013
I once read from someone on this forum (sorry don't remember who) that being descriptive with emotes shows skill for an RPer.
For example, instead of "Fred becomes sad" it would be better for "Fred frowns, and bows his head low. He lets out a loud sigh".
However, the inherent problem I would have with the more descriptive one is it would take longer. More emotes like that would slow down a conversation unless an RPer was a very fast typist.
Also, what if a character doesn't often display their emotions? I would assume it would be easy to think of emotes for a bubbly character, but an introverted, or broody character?
I'd imagine the emotes should be more subtle, but something like "Fred makes a serious face" in every sentence would get a bit old, right?Â
Anyone have experience playing broody characters in a way to where people get the idea, or don't think you're simply being lazy with the emotes?
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Zope - 11-07-2013
Broody/introverted/ect doesn't mean short and simple descriptions to their less than extravagant actions or behavior, imo. For instance:
Ava laughs loudly, slapping her thigh. Is short and simple, but it's a fairly outgoing and...action...ful...emote. If I wanted to go into detail, I could have mentioned that her eyes closed and her head tilted back, or that she also leaned forward and back once or twice in the process of her boisterous laughter. Sure, that'd be a longer description with more words, but the action in my head looks the same. She isn't doing more actions or the like in the longer description of the action the description is just....longer.
Similar to broody: Ava exhales slowly through her nose, her head tilting downward to her left, eyes shifting to view the feet of the person next to her. Is longer than, Ava sighs, looking away. But the -action- is the same. She isn't less broody because I went into a more detailed description of her broody-ness.
@Edit to say that there's nothing wrong with short and simple emotes. To each their own, and from my days of multi guild/cross faction guild events in WoW, sometimes those long-winded emotes just aren't gonna work out. But the length of an emote doesn't exactly have to do with how interactive or hyper or physically expressive a character is.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Siha - 11-07-2013
I can understand where you're coming from when it comes to the descriptiveness of emotes, I myself can't type extremely fast and often find myself having to shorten down my emotes or being left in the dust. MOST of the characters I played before I came to ARR were broody, in fact, almost all of them and there was one thing I hated about playing them. With a quiet broody character, unfortunately, more emotive description is necessary unless you want to keep repeating your short phrases (emotes) over and over again. Now as a player of broody characters before I understand that and don't mind either waiting or seeing repeats but my personal experience with broody characters is that unless they're sarcastic and somewhat outspoken their little body languages are important.
A simple quirking of a brow or tick in their cheek is all they have to communicate unless they're a yeller and prone to outbursts so those little emotes are important if you want people to know what's going on with the scene in your head. If you don't give them that information they may have no idea that your character is getting angry or that they're even interested in what's going on in the conversation or scene. Now I could be a complete oddball here and the opposite of everyone but this is just my personal experience, broody characters are great fun but they take a little more effort to play sometimes, to add a some ease you can always give your character a temper or something to that effect.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Desmond Aryll - 11-07-2013
That was a great reply by Zope. I don't think I could say it any better.Â
I would only add that the length of your typed emotes can also add another layer to your character. What I mean in short, direct emotes (and dialogue) can convey a certain kind of tone and feeling, regardless of whether it's an extroverted or introverted personality. It's a way to set the mood.
The same goes for longer descriptions and dialogue. It's another method to paint your picture. In the end I wouldn't mind so much about Rp'ing within a set of rules as much as just doing what feels right for your character.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Kheni'to - 11-07-2013
Quote:Posted by Zope - Today 10:41 PMBroody/introverted/ect doesn't mean short and simple descriptions to their less than extravagant actions or behavior, imo. For instance:
Ava laughs loudly, slapping her thigh. Is short and simple, but it's a fairly outgoing and...action...ful...emote. If I wanted to go into detail, I could have mentioned that her eyes closed and her head tilted back, or that she also leaned forward and back once or twice in the process of her boisterous laughter. Sure, that'd be a longer description with more words, but the action in my head looks the same. She isn't doing more actions or the like in the longer description of the action the description is just....longer.
Similar to broody: Ava exhales slowly through her nose, her head tilting downward to her left, eyes shifting to view the feet of the person next to her. Is longer than, Ava sighs, looking away. But the -action- is the same. She isn't less broody because I went into a more detailed description of her broody-ness.
@Edit to say that there's nothing wrong with short and simple emotes. To each their own, and from my days of multi guild/cross faction guild events in WoW, sometimes those long-winded emotes just aren't gonna work out. But the length of an emote doesn't exactly have to do with how interactive or hyper or physically expressive a character is.
I saw your edit at the last second before making a reply. Thank you, that answers my question. I wanted to basically know what people thought of descriptive emotes, and also wanted advice on how one might go about making emotes descriptive for a character without ruining their broody-ness.
I should have asked the questions that way, but sometimes my mind has a way of putting a bunch of fluff into what I write without properly getting to the point.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Zope - 11-07-2013
Quote:sometimes my mind has a way of putting a bunch of fluff into what I write without properly getting to the point.Good lord Thor above do I know what you mean. This is probably one of the only responses I've written that isn't overly fluffy.Â
But yeah, I played a very dark, broody, uninterested in anything character for about two years on WoW. My emotes varied between long and short, detailed and simple, depending on how I felt, what time it was, or what/who I was RPing with. It really is up to how you feel comfortable with. You can be like an old friend of mine who posted 3 posts worth per emote, or just post one or two lines. Either way can get the message across once you get the hang of it.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Kismet - 11-07-2013
It's been said already but I'll echo it for emphasis -- yes, Zope has the right of it.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Kheni'to - 11-07-2013
Thank you Moxxi. I think you gave me some ideas on emotes.Â
And Desmond, I would not disagree with you on the do what is right for my character thing. Thanks for the encouragement. I just get my best ideas and inspiration by observing. I am curious about what others with introverted characters do, because they seem less common. That could simply be the result of them being introverted LOL.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - suncitycat - 11-07-2013
My creative writing teacher always told us to "show the reader not tell them" our story/message. Even though that piece of advice went towards writing novels and the like, I find it very much has a place among role playing as well.
"Fred becomes sad" sounds and looks bland. Plus, there isn't a whole lot of characterization in it. As a reader, I'm just being told Fred is sad.
"Fred frowns, and bows his head low. He lets out a loud sigh" shows me how Fred is feeling. This shows a picture of what is happening while giving him more life.
Yes, the second sentence takes more time to type, but the results are vastly better from a creative standpoint. It has more meat and flavor like a soup or stew, and every reader should prefer that over a broth made from skinny bare bones. Of course, a writer can run the risk of being overly descriptive, which can be as equally as dull as "Fred becomes sad." Show a message and get to the point rather than loiter on every little detail. A soup with too much spice loses its flavor after one or two spoons after all.
On the subject of a character who doesn't display their emotions, you're right with using subtle emotes. A broody character could clench their fists, tense their muscles, sneer, etc. An introverted character could show more insecure emotes like hunching their shoulders, unconsciously play with their fingers, bite their lip, etc. Off the top of my head, the only time I think a character not expressing emotion being valid would be to purposefully convey they're eerie or otherworldly.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - KitKat - 11-07-2013
I subscribe to the school of thought that the shorter and more concise your emotes, the more quickly the conversation flows. One or two sentences with the /em function, followed by one or two sentences of dialogue works best for me. I dislike paragraph emotes because it halts roleplay. In my opinion, it's very easy to convey what your character is doing in two sentences.Â
It does not make me a poor roleplayer just because I choose to remain simplistic in my approach to emotes and I'm offended by anyone who would claim such a thing.
I am fully capable of typing out long, descriptive emotes, however, this is not the medium for it. This isn't writing a novel. This is roleplaying, which means we're interacting with other people. The slower conversations move, the less interaction (and less actual roleplaying) that is going on.
Does this mean I won't roleplay with people who use paragraph emotes? Certainly not. But it does kind of kill my immersion as I'm waiting for the next passage to pop up and I'm wondering if the chatbox killed their text or if they went AFK unannounced.
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - K'nahli - 11-07-2013
Whenever I want to couple emotes with a sentence I just write the emote down first and copy it so that I can paste and send it immediately after I send the actual message so that there is no delay ;
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Brave - 11-07-2013
Something else dawned on me when reading this.
Don't forget we also have Macros. Â I feel everyone has quirks and mannerisms that they do. Â If there's a certain action that you do rather often, making a macro for it in RP might be another way to accomplish a "trademark" move that your character does lol.
(examples include Cloud shrugging, Squall and his "...Whatever", Zidane "staring", or Snow pounding his fists together.)
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - suncitycat - 11-07-2013
(11-07-2013, 08:22 AM)TheCurls Wrote: -snip-I believe you're response is geared towards me, correct? Never in my post did I promote paragraph emotes over one or two sentences with dialogue, I even wrote going over board was a bad thing. The topic was about using effective emotes to convey characters not necessarily a role player's skill level. It was never my intention to offend others, but I can't really help if you feel that way.
Yes, novel writing and role playing are two different things, and you're allowed claim that as much as you want. However, role playing is still writing. You created a character, you gave them a backstory, and now you're writing their adventures based on interactions experienced within Eorzea among other role players. That is very much story writing.
Me: "Show a message and get to the point rather than loiter on every little detail."
You: "...the shorter and more concise your emotes, the more quickly the conversation flows."
In all honesty, if feels as if you skimmed over my post, because we're essentially saying the same thing. The only difference is that you emphasize speed. "Fred frowns, and bows his head low. He lets out a loud sigh" should only take a few more seconds longer than "Fred was sad."
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - Tobias Nightbringer - 11-07-2013
I skimmed over most of the posts here save for the Original Post and Zope's post in specific.
However, that being said, I do not believe anyone is calling out anyone or anything like that.
Now for my two bits. The topic of the thread is a little different than what has actually been discussed I believe? It is a very subtle difference, though. Or at least that is what it feels like to me because the tone seems to have diverted from "can non-emotional characters be 'emotive'" to "are descriptive emotes better than short emotes".
To be simple and simplistic (since people like Zope already nailed it on the head) in my answer to the original post, yes, yes you can absolutely be emotive with a non-emotional character.Â
To give yet another example as many have already demonstrated:
Tobias glances over to his left with an expressionless gaze. No inflection in his voice to hint at a passing of emotions.Â
_________________________________
On to the next issue that inadvertently arose! "Long descriptive or short and sweet?!"
The truth of the matter is this. Neither are better than the other. Everyone has their own style. Everyone has the right to their style. To each their bloody fucking own! There are RPers,like me, who will conform and meld to make whoever their RPing with feel more 'comfortable/at ease' (PLEASE RP WITH ME! Please? I have no friends T.T) and they themselves are comfortable with doing any style of RP.
In a writing a novel/story perspective, I believe it is all about pacing. Pacing. Pacing. Pacing. There are times when you really want to slow down the moment and delve into the minute details of the scene, but then there are times when you make the description broad and general to progress the story quickly.
Slow down. Speed up. When that is done (and everything that it entails) is what matters. Lest we have page after page after page...after page...about walking through meadows and trees and plains and mountains and more trees and more meadows in glorious, beautiful, descriptive detail...my apologies Lord Tolkien 
RE: Emotes for non-emotional characters. - KitKat - 11-08-2013
(11-07-2013, 09:07 PM)suncitycat Wrote:(11-07-2013, 08:22 AM)TheCurls Wrote: -snip-Lots of things...
My post wasn't in direct reply to anyone. It was a general statement. I have known people in the past who look down on people who roleplay as I do (short and concise while keeping the scene moving) and not as they do (writing novels in the chatbox).