Guess I can answer my own post. It's really interesting to read the responses others have posted. Even though I've been involved in MMO role-play for almost 10 years, I'm always learning and each community is a little different.
When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?Â
Creating characters has always been something that I really enjoy, but it's a bit different creating a character for a predefined setting than one that you have created yourself. It's a good kind of challenge, though, and I think it has helped me with my own personal stories. Limits can force you to be more creative instead of going with easy answers.
Like others have said as well, I try to have a balance of positive and negative traits. I probably usually lean more heavily on the negative type traits, though. Humans are inherently imperfect and I think that works well when creating a character. But they shouldn't be so "messed up" that they can't function, especially if you plan to interact with others. But I know that I have a lot of flaws and I'm usually observant of others around me, so I try to recognize those traits and add those that I think will help give my character that "human" and believable aspect.
When it comes to their background I try to give them reason for being an adventurer within the lore. I usually start with fairly humble beginnings and then add events that lead them to going out into the world. Since it's a character in a game, I want to have reasons to actually play the game and RP, so I often take class and skills into account as well. I look for ways to put them in that position to be X type of adventurer. So, for me, it's also a balance of gameplay and character development.
I'm not the most outspoken person IRL, so my characters tend to be a little understated, but I try to add a little bit of spice. I can easily fall into a trap of creating an overly flawed character and I've found that can lead to frustrating role-play. Like in real life, I don't think people want to be around someone that is always negative, quiet or complaining. So having some redeeming facets like kind or funny is the balance to the negative traits.
When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character?
I was in a heavy RP guild in EQ2 for a while and I learned a lot during that time and had some really memorable moments, but one thing that really turned it sour was when some of the members took things too seriously, they were basically inflexible. During a group event one of the members hit a mob that was a friendly faction to another player in the group. It broke out into an OOC fight and made many people feel uncomfortable. In this case, I think it would have been better to have RPed the conflict instead of blaming the player. So I think it's important to walk into RP with a general attitude of playing along and being flexible. It's important to realize the the other players are still human and instead of flipping out about something they did (unless they are griefing you) try to approach it as an RP challenge.
This goes back to the character development too, I try to setup my character so that when she starts the game I don't have any set plans for how she will develop. That usually comes later as I see how those I interact with can affect her or how the game story pans out. That's not to say that those that have a full story planned are going to cause problems, but I think it's always best to be flexible. Think of it like a group activity, let the others around you enrich your ideas instead of using them only as extras for your stage.
I think the social aspect of MMO role-playing is what makes it most unique to other forms for story crafting. It's organic and just like life, you never know what will happen next, and just like life you shouldn't attempt to think that you can perfectly direct it. Be open to randomness and think of how your character will change or react to it.
Just like sending a child off to school, when I develop my character I try to give them the tools to make it on their own, but beyond that I let the events of the game and the role-play shape them as I would in real life if I personally faced similar things.
Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience.
Like I said above, I think taking it too serious can cause problems. That's not to say that you can't be really into your story or the lore (I know I am), but, when interacting with others you need to leave room for them.
Other things I become weary of are characters that have specific skills or looks that aren't actually in the game. It might not be lore-breaking, but I'm likely not going to remember that your character had a wooden leg and a tattoo etc. While that may feel limiting to some, I think it's just better to assume that people won't remember those details unless they interact with you regularly. Having to always point out that you have these unique features can be a bit jarring, but there are ways to work it into your RP that can work, it just takes a certain kind of understanding that not everyone will remember those details so I wouldn't make that a focus.
Number one advice is to have fun. You won't please everyone. Always try to be courteous of others role-play, but if something isn't fun for you then just nicely exit stage left and move on instead of trying to force it. Or you could stick around and observe and maybe you'll learn something new that can enrich your role-play.
When creating your character, how do you balance between being too boring and too snowflake?Â
Creating characters has always been something that I really enjoy, but it's a bit different creating a character for a predefined setting than one that you have created yourself. It's a good kind of challenge, though, and I think it has helped me with my own personal stories. Limits can force you to be more creative instead of going with easy answers.
Like others have said as well, I try to have a balance of positive and negative traits. I probably usually lean more heavily on the negative type traits, though. Humans are inherently imperfect and I think that works well when creating a character. But they shouldn't be so "messed up" that they can't function, especially if you plan to interact with others. But I know that I have a lot of flaws and I'm usually observant of others around me, so I try to recognize those traits and add those that I think will help give my character that "human" and believable aspect.
When it comes to their background I try to give them reason for being an adventurer within the lore. I usually start with fairly humble beginnings and then add events that lead them to going out into the world. Since it's a character in a game, I want to have reasons to actually play the game and RP, so I often take class and skills into account as well. I look for ways to put them in that position to be X type of adventurer. So, for me, it's also a balance of gameplay and character development.
I'm not the most outspoken person IRL, so my characters tend to be a little understated, but I try to add a little bit of spice. I can easily fall into a trap of creating an overly flawed character and I've found that can lead to frustrating role-play. Like in real life, I don't think people want to be around someone that is always negative, quiet or complaining. So having some redeeming facets like kind or funny is the balance to the negative traits.
When role-playing with others, what character traits, personalities or actions have you found to be interesting and enjoyable to RP with and/or what have you seen just not work or appear too boring to engage your character?
I was in a heavy RP guild in EQ2 for a while and I learned a lot during that time and had some really memorable moments, but one thing that really turned it sour was when some of the members took things too seriously, they were basically inflexible. During a group event one of the members hit a mob that was a friendly faction to another player in the group. It broke out into an OOC fight and made many people feel uncomfortable. In this case, I think it would have been better to have RPed the conflict instead of blaming the player. So I think it's important to walk into RP with a general attitude of playing along and being flexible. It's important to realize the the other players are still human and instead of flipping out about something they did (unless they are griefing you) try to approach it as an RP challenge.
This goes back to the character development too, I try to setup my character so that when she starts the game I don't have any set plans for how she will develop. That usually comes later as I see how those I interact with can affect her or how the game story pans out. That's not to say that those that have a full story planned are going to cause problems, but I think it's always best to be flexible. Think of it like a group activity, let the others around you enrich your ideas instead of using them only as extras for your stage.
I think the social aspect of MMO role-playing is what makes it most unique to other forms for story crafting. It's organic and just like life, you never know what will happen next, and just like life you shouldn't attempt to think that you can perfectly direct it. Be open to randomness and think of how your character will change or react to it.
Just like sending a child off to school, when I develop my character I try to give them the tools to make it on their own, but beyond that I let the events of the game and the role-play shape them as I would in real life if I personally faced similar things.
Where do you find the line and when do you think it can be easily crossed while still being within the lore? What kind of advice would you give given your past experience.
Like I said above, I think taking it too serious can cause problems. That's not to say that you can't be really into your story or the lore (I know I am), but, when interacting with others you need to leave room for them.
Other things I become weary of are characters that have specific skills or looks that aren't actually in the game. It might not be lore-breaking, but I'm likely not going to remember that your character had a wooden leg and a tattoo etc. While that may feel limiting to some, I think it's just better to assume that people won't remember those details unless they interact with you regularly. Having to always point out that you have these unique features can be a bit jarring, but there are ways to work it into your RP that can work, it just takes a certain kind of understanding that not everyone will remember those details so I wouldn't make that a focus.
Number one advice is to have fun. You won't please everyone. Always try to be courteous of others role-play, but if something isn't fun for you then just nicely exit stage left and move on instead of trying to force it. Or you could stick around and observe and maybe you'll learn something new that can enrich your role-play.
