(01-18-2018, 05:00 PM)Neneso Neso Wrote: TLDR: Just be careful, no one wants to get hurt. Rp is meant to be fun.
As someone who sees my character as a character and not myself, I just wanted to briefly mention it's a great way to explore something you wouldn't normally do. A great example being someone who is afraid of heights. Do I have that fear? No, but I've roleplayed a character with it. It's interesting to see how it's affected her life. It allows me to also learn from them, a barrier between their mistakes and my mistakes.
The one thing about roleplaying yourself is that barrier bleed is a lot harder to avoid. Even if you keep that separation, if your ic self is having a bad day, you might end up having one too. There's also the fact that it is a lot harder to get to know the character for someone like me. If you are your character, where's the line drawn? What if someone else suffers it, and is annoyed with your character? If you're a self insert, doesn't that mean they would also be mad at you? A brief comment like 'man your character really annoys me' can take on a whole different meaning when you are your character.
Then there's the chances missed out to give them backstory. Sure, you probably never had to kill people oocly, but what if your character had to kill someone they loved? How would it affect them? If it's not you, you get that barrier of safety, so that you don't get pulled 'too ic', and get startled when the bubble bursts.
Barrier bleed WILL happen. No one is immune. If your character is having a good day, then you will to! If your character is depressed, it's hard not to feel down yourself, even if it's just because it's not fun to rp them.
Just be careful roleplaying that way.
For sure. I'm not totally against the idea of having characters that are strictly characters and I'm even entertaining the idea of having alts for that exact purpose (if I can ever establish my main character somewhere QQ), plus as an actor I immensely enjoy roles that are very different from myself.
When I say immersive/self insert RP, I don't make my character 100% a mirror image of myself. It would defeat the purpose because, like you said, you would miss out on chances for backstory, not to mention it would just be boring. I don't live in a world of magic and beastmen in my real life and I have no idea how to use a bow or a sword so I'm already a character being in the game's world. I have a backstory for my character that is something I have never experienced but generally my character's personality and behavior reflects my own.
It's true that people can get hurt if they aren't careful. Keeping a level head and remembering not to take things too personally are important.
