I've felt, for years, that the light/medium/heavy gradient for RP is worse than useless. It's actually obstructive, as they're totally subjective standards that everyone interprets according to their own feelings about what makes roleplay. I've frequently seen guilds in other games with absolutely nothing in common about their approach to roleplay both call themselves heavy, and at least one will consider the other to be medium or light. It doesn't mean anything without qualifiers specifying what you put this weight on.
Say one Free Company has a 100% IC policy and requires members to not only stay completely in lore but to avoid being anything special within lore, to the point where no one can have the Echo. That company, however, is populated mostly with alts, of players who concentrate on gameplay with their mains, mostly unlevelled. They have very little activity except during scheduled events a few times each week. Another Company has a voluntary members-only OOC Linkshell, is okay with gentle lore-bending so long as its plausible and adds something genuinely interesting, and encourages members to have the Echo and play with it within reasonable bounds. On the other hand, they're full of mains, who have been through much of the game's content frequently approaching it as in character as they can without creating contradictions. They're very active, bringing roleplay with them all over Eorzea into high-level regions and endgame activities as much as the cities and tamer areas.
Both Companies generally see themselves as the one true way for heavy roleplayers to also engage in endgame. They each think the other has made compromises that entirely defeats the premise of heavy roleplay, and can't stand one another.
They're both right, on both counts. This stuff is entirely subjective and what makes for strong roleplay is whatever aspect of roleplay appeals to the roleplayer, but one only decide what works for oneself.
To sum up, general gradients are useless, it's the details that matter. This is why hardly anyone claims to be a medium roleplayer (though I do if I don't feel like making a big speech). You're on the right track, Blade.
Say one Free Company has a 100% IC policy and requires members to not only stay completely in lore but to avoid being anything special within lore, to the point where no one can have the Echo. That company, however, is populated mostly with alts, of players who concentrate on gameplay with their mains, mostly unlevelled. They have very little activity except during scheduled events a few times each week. Another Company has a voluntary members-only OOC Linkshell, is okay with gentle lore-bending so long as its plausible and adds something genuinely interesting, and encourages members to have the Echo and play with it within reasonable bounds. On the other hand, they're full of mains, who have been through much of the game's content frequently approaching it as in character as they can without creating contradictions. They're very active, bringing roleplay with them all over Eorzea into high-level regions and endgame activities as much as the cities and tamer areas.
Both Companies generally see themselves as the one true way for heavy roleplayers to also engage in endgame. They each think the other has made compromises that entirely defeats the premise of heavy roleplay, and can't stand one another.
They're both right, on both counts. This stuff is entirely subjective and what makes for strong roleplay is whatever aspect of roleplay appeals to the roleplayer, but one only decide what works for oneself.
To sum up, general gradients are useless, it's the details that matter. This is why hardly anyone claims to be a medium roleplayer (though I do if I don't feel like making a big speech). You're on the right track, Blade.
