From what I have seen there are a variety of thoughts on this matter, and the rigidity of that line that exists between IC and OOC. Â Two - in particular - seem to stand out being more regarded than most, and neither is exactly invalid.
For myself I try to keep IC and OOC completely apart. Â If Eva or Ben has a bad day it doesn't mandate that I be upset in "teh meatspace" or any other such thing. Â I'm invested in the characters only so far as their stories go and that's really about it. Â I've jibed that I sometimes view them as I might children, but it really is much different than that, and I'm not going to OOCly get upset if someone picks on my character or whatever.
The other school of thought seems to suggest that player become more integrated with their character and feel as they feel. Â While there's really nothing wrong with this, and I will admit at times to having come down from time to time with a severe case of "the feelz" at particularly dramatic moments in the game, it has never really asserted itself after I log out. Â I ponder or speculate and such, but I have known of RPers that do seem to invest their own emotions into what happens to their character and I've seen this lead to some pretty awful stuff in a few cases.
So I guess for my part, some allowance to more completely experience and understand a character's emotions and motivations and thought process might not be such a bad thing. Â Stress comes in a variety of forms and those who manage guilds are apt to feel a certain amount of this no matter what - so I wouldn't dream of saying that if the game is causing stress you should log out or such. Â There are absolutely rewards - and good RP experiences is one valuable take-away that is worth whatever aggravation may come for me every single time.
But I think if you're so over-invested in your character that any sort of negative things that happen to him or her are negatively impacting your life as a player than I think it's time to take a step back and evaluate your level of bleed-through, whether you're taking things personally that you shouldn't be, and possibly whether you are in the right guild or not.
For our own guild, we prefer to experience the full spectrum of grittiness that Eorzea offers including some more mature topics like death, loss, and various other tragedies. Â This isn't to say that there aren't lighthearted moments as well, but I have known some RPers that only want to be the heroes of all the stories and who always have to be saving the day and such. Â Again, there is nothing wrong with this, but these types often don't fit in with us because they can be perceived as being somewhat Mary Sue. Â This is the reason that a variety of different types of RP guilds exist. Â Some favor that sort of always-lighthearted "cake and frosting" style RP and others want to cut right into the meat of things.
That got a little longwinded.  lol  For the rest of it though, where RL thought processes might permeate the IC/OOC divide, it happens sometimes, and the best we can do is look for some sort of IC reason/excuse for it.  I see it often when folks want to "ship" two characters, but often the reason is as simple as the character wants to see the other two characters together as well.  I sometimes go in with a sort of OOC plan of what might happen on any given evening, and often when I log out I'm left thinking, "Well that totally went a different way than I expected."  I just don't think that's a bad thing - particularly in Eva's case as she is more prone to get swept along with things than Ben who is more steadfast and set in his ways.
For myself I try to keep IC and OOC completely apart. Â If Eva or Ben has a bad day it doesn't mandate that I be upset in "teh meatspace" or any other such thing. Â I'm invested in the characters only so far as their stories go and that's really about it. Â I've jibed that I sometimes view them as I might children, but it really is much different than that, and I'm not going to OOCly get upset if someone picks on my character or whatever.
The other school of thought seems to suggest that player become more integrated with their character and feel as they feel. Â While there's really nothing wrong with this, and I will admit at times to having come down from time to time with a severe case of "the feelz" at particularly dramatic moments in the game, it has never really asserted itself after I log out. Â I ponder or speculate and such, but I have known of RPers that do seem to invest their own emotions into what happens to their character and I've seen this lead to some pretty awful stuff in a few cases.
So I guess for my part, some allowance to more completely experience and understand a character's emotions and motivations and thought process might not be such a bad thing. Â Stress comes in a variety of forms and those who manage guilds are apt to feel a certain amount of this no matter what - so I wouldn't dream of saying that if the game is causing stress you should log out or such. Â There are absolutely rewards - and good RP experiences is one valuable take-away that is worth whatever aggravation may come for me every single time.
But I think if you're so over-invested in your character that any sort of negative things that happen to him or her are negatively impacting your life as a player than I think it's time to take a step back and evaluate your level of bleed-through, whether you're taking things personally that you shouldn't be, and possibly whether you are in the right guild or not.
For our own guild, we prefer to experience the full spectrum of grittiness that Eorzea offers including some more mature topics like death, loss, and various other tragedies. Â This isn't to say that there aren't lighthearted moments as well, but I have known some RPers that only want to be the heroes of all the stories and who always have to be saving the day and such. Â Again, there is nothing wrong with this, but these types often don't fit in with us because they can be perceived as being somewhat Mary Sue. Â This is the reason that a variety of different types of RP guilds exist. Â Some favor that sort of always-lighthearted "cake and frosting" style RP and others want to cut right into the meat of things.
That got a little longwinded.  lol  For the rest of it though, where RL thought processes might permeate the IC/OOC divide, it happens sometimes, and the best we can do is look for some sort of IC reason/excuse for it.  I see it often when folks want to "ship" two characters, but often the reason is as simple as the character wants to see the other two characters together as well.  I sometimes go in with a sort of OOC plan of what might happen on any given evening, and often when I log out I'm left thinking, "Well that totally went a different way than I expected."  I just don't think that's a bad thing - particularly in Eva's case as she is more prone to get swept along with things than Ben who is more steadfast and set in his ways.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook