
(08-20-2015, 12:02 PM)Diskwrite Wrote: Honestly, I hesitate at the language of "can" or "should" here. RPing is not a profession. We do it because we want to. Because it's fun. While some of us may also be writers, we're not setting out to create the next bestselling novel when we RP.
When you tell people that they shouldn't play outside their own limits, you're discouraging others. And someone who might have been eager to try a new concept, a new character, or even just play their current OCs and stories, it might make them feel like they should just give up. Like they shouldn't do it anymore.
That's not a healthy attitude to inflict on an RP community. Regardless of whether you feel like another player is "up to your standards," a healthy RP community is going to have people from all walks of life. And maybe they don't play that genius character in a way that's convincing to you.
If that bothers you... you don't have to play with them. But unless that person is specifically looking for feedback, it's not cool to criticize.
You can and should, of course, choose where you want to spend your time according to what you want. And if you or other people are interested in improving how you play a character, widening your own repertoire is something to explore.
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But when it comes down to it, we're just a group of people trying to enjoy a hobby. I think it's important to respect that.
We weren't really getting into that (it wasn't part of the OP), but yes, demanding people recognize traits about your character that they're very obviously not displaying because you aren't capable of displaying them is a good way to make them not want to play with you. Â And, of course, by the logic here, it's also a good way to get them to decide not to play with you without having any idea why they're avoiding you.
No one asked why their character wasn't matching their expectations, the OP very obviously asked the question of whether people should ask people to treat their characters as geniuses when they very clearly can't play that part.
If anything, I've found that the people who do that have absolutely NOT asked anyone for any criticism, they've just found themselves frozen out of RP because people find it irritating. Â I have no doubt that there are very few people reading this who are saying, "Yes, that's me. Â I'm the one that can't pull off the character I'm trying to play."
People have limits. Â We can fake knowledge, that's fairly easy to do. Â But to come off as witty and intelligent, you simply cannot do it if you aren't capable of being witty or intelligent. Â You can have bigger muscles; your physical appearance isn't present. Â But you cannot write an actually intelligent response to a conversation if you, yourself, aren't capable of it. Â Obviously, you wouldn't be able to write it.
It's not meant to be insulting, that's just how it is. Â Your character can be bigger than you, more skilled than you, but you can't write a character sharper than you. Â Especially not when you have to answer other characters' actions on the fly. Â People have to be mindful that there are simply certain traits that are going to be limited by your own mental acuity.
And it's important to know that, because writing beyond your ability is responsible for giving a character "unintentional traits", that is the things that make up your character that you didn't intend for them to have. Â It creates dissonance. Â As you've said, your character isn't the sum of what you intend, it's the sum of what other people perceive. Â If you try to throw out a witty comment, and everyone else finds it boorish and pathetic, then your character isn't witty, your character thinks he's wittier than he is. Â And that's likely not intended as the trait, it's simply the product of the writer thinking his character is wittier than he is.
Thus it's very important to know your own limitations. Â If you aren't intelligent yourself, there are certain things you can fake (such as the knowledge and products), but you'll annoy people in conversation by trying to sound intelligent and failing.
We've all known that person on Facebook who thinks they're a lot more intelligent than they actually are. Â Your character can be that person as well. Â And that person is annoying in both cases.