DYD: Solo Emotes?

[Larson]

Do You Do:

 

Whether you are walking down a busy street or playing FF14 in a quiet coffee shop, someone at some point noticed you. They may have noticed your clothes, your face, something you did. It didn't draw their attention, but they still registered it.

 

This is the concept behind something I do a lot which I call "solo-emoting".

 

I am what you could consider a "shy" RPer in that I don't often initiate conversations, and tend to let the RP come to me. But just because my character is not interacting with someone else does not mean he is just standing there motionless. He is doing things, and other people may notice just at a glance. In the event that someone felt the need to speak to him, it helps if they have a rough idea of what he is doing. This is what happens:

 

"Thoreaux takes a seat at an empty table off in the corner and buries his face in his book...or so it might appear. He observes the patrons of the Quicksand over the horizon of the tome; people-watching with what he hopes is the stealth of a Ninja."

 

If something interesting happens around him, I'll emote him noticing it and pretending not to notice. Ultimately Thoreaux isn't a very approachable person, so these emotes are unfortunately not very inviting to others, but serial people-watchers are everywhere. I'd rather a passing glance know what he is up to than just have my pixels taking up a seat pointlessly. I usually avoid emoting him noticing any degree of physical features of others he is not currently interacting with because...well..."takes notice of his skimpy swimsuit from a distance" looks like a cry for ERP at least in my mind.

 

Tell me, do any of you solo-emote regularly? Or do you prefer to keep your character's private actions...private?

[Teadrinker]

This is pretty much par for the course in my opinion. If you stand there silent and staring and no one talks to you.... Well. What were you expecting?

 

Your actions aren't private in public. Anyone can see you move, cough, read, drink, etc. Let people know you're available - or just talk to them yourself.

[SessionZero]

It's an easy way to invite other RPers to initiate RP when you're not feeling particularly ambitious yourself, so I've done it on occasion. Normally I am one of those self-starters however, so I tend to be the one responding to solo emotes. 

 

Or if I'm bored or waiting for a roulette/raid party, I'll stand in the Quicksand and creep on other people's RP. In that case I pretend to be a lamp, and emote lamp things.

[Larson]

So far I have had zero IC interaction with others. I'm pretty sure it's because I emote things like, "Vyce does his best to look unapproachable." or also that I'm not in a FC (I'm queued for recruitment for the one I want).

 

But if I don't emote the metaphorical "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from his neck, the social rebel in the room won't have the option of disregarding it and bothering him anyway. The struggle is real.

[SessionZero]

So far I have had zero IC interaction with others. I'm pretty sure it's because I emote things like, "Vyce does his best to look unapproachable." or also that I'm not in a FC (I'm queued for recruitment for the one I want).

 

But if I don't emote the metaphorical "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging from his neck, the social rebel in the room won't have the option of disregarding it and bothering him anyway. The struggle is real.

 

This seems to be a common theme for many roleplayers I've met. They crave the social interaction of RP but make incredibly antisocial characters that put off more social players. It's something I'll never really understand, but to each their own. 

 

I've learned through rigorous trial and error that, for me anyway, very open-ended characters are my best option for RP, since I tend to be one of those RPers who plays the game first and RPs when I have extra time for it. A character that can simply walk into the Quicksand or other designated gathering area and strike up a conversation with anyone can fulfill my RP needs without the need of a RP FC to facilitate it for me, and FFXIV's Linkshell system only assists in that endeavor. 

 

As I said, there's nothing wrong with being a wallflower RPer and waiting for the RP to come to you. I just don't have the time to wait for it between gathering and running dungeons and raids 8-)

 

If I see you in-game, I'll have Rukon come bug you.

[Nebbs]

Yes though mine tend to not be solo action based so much.

 

I have two macros set one for TPing in and another for getting through a crowed. They are a bit repetitive but I have been scoring RP with these.

 

The other thing I do is little RP exchange with NPCs, just now and then.

 

Lastly I will emote noticing someone with a smile for example.

 

After that I am prone to just walk up and RP at someone and see how it goes.

 

Oh and I will emote and RP at non RP folks. Like the person on a chocobo that runs through me.

[Larson]

I'm totally the same way. I got lvl40 in under a week with a full time job. I'm already stressed by the idea that dungeons will be more than just me spamming Physick and the occasional Adloquium or Fey/Leeches. But ultimately I want those glorious A4S weapons, so I must take all the time I can to learn Scholar (and maybe Astro if I decide to main Astro OOC).

 

Me solo-emoting in the Quicksand usually means I hit a level cap on the main quest and the percentage of experience left to go disheartened me enough to take a break. It'll likely be this way until I'm in an FC, have an RP commitment, or reach level 60.

[Warren Castille]

Absolutely. A large portion of my random RP came from just standing against one of the pillars in the Quicksand in my AF and emoting something along the lines of

 

Warren Castille shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he watches over the patrons of the Quicksand.

 

That's not counting random ERP walk-ups, either.

[Larson]

Absolutely. A large portion of my random RP came from just standing against one of the pillars in the Quicksand in my AF and emoting something along the lines of

 

Warren Castille shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he watches over the patrons of the Quicksand.

 

That's not counting random ERP walk-ups, either.

 

Harden Dickenson attempts to lock eye contact with Warren from across the room. He casually cups the crotch of his pants and attempts to direct his attention from the fact that his lower jaw was blown off in the war.

[Berrod Armstrong]

For a season, every morning when I logged on to put on the FC buffs, I'd do a solo thing involving Berrod going to the levemete in the Quicksand to turn in and pick up various leves his company had completed. I don't do that anymore since there's a levemete in the house now, but I enjoy solo emoting when I can!

[Altitis Acquired]

Oh, I do that all the time.

 

"/em yawns slightly, seemingly bored, as he gazes over the people in the tavern."

 

Stuff like that.

[Larson]

For a season, every morning when I logged on to put on the FC buffs, I'd do a solo thing involving Berrod going to the levemete in the Quicksand to turn in and pick up various leves his company had completed. I don't do that anymore since there's a levemete in the house now, but I enjoy solo emoting when I can!

Wait let me make that sexy too. 

 

Berrod reaches a thick, generously muscled arm toward the Levemete. The veins are swollen fresh with the blood of the morning's workout. His skin glistens under the musk of sweat. In his tough, caloused hand he holds the completed guild leves.

 

"Ugh, what is that awful stench!?" An Elezen woman gags and then promply vomits on the Lalafell standing at her feet. The Lalafell reflexively vomits on her wind-up Tonberry, which kills everyone.

[Chris Ganale]

I like to call it either "fishing" or "posting into the wind" depending on how my mood is at the time. Just last night I spent about half an hour getting a character out of the coma she's been in. Put it squarely in the "posting into the wind" category.

 

Humorously, at one point she remarked on how dreadfully quiet the place was, and then I swiveled my camera around to find someone standing ten feet away. Who promptly ignored me.

[Larson]

The two things that definitely make it more fun is that there is head tracking, and population noise.

 

The game gives you visual and auditory proof that there are lots of people there and they are looking around. Sometimes you have to be super sneaky about examining someones armor and click away after opening the window.

 

[Tortles]

Solo emoting is a great way to show people that you're down to RP! It's a sort of social display. I think people nearby may make more of an effort to include or approach you if they see that you're roleplaying.

 

If you're emoting to make your character appear antisocial or unapproachable, that could get in the way. When in doubt, keep an eye out for other people who are into RP and don't be afraid to send a tell to someone who's open to it! Many people say "tells welcome", and I've had a few Quicksand interactions that started with me OOC asking someone if they're up for RPing, or if they would mind company at their table.

[Zetchryn]

I do it too! It's my common response to being bored and not having anyone to RP with. I'll start posting random RPs!

[Branson Thorne]

Yes I do. I think most everyone does.

[Sig]

Before Sigurd got stuck in his current glut of "hide from constant IC assassination attempts," I'd enjoy RPing him in public places like the Quicksand and had a few solo emote go-tos:

 

• Smoking moko grass in public;
  
• Drinking large amounts of wine alone;
  
• Carving wooden objects;
  
• Cursing while reviewing dense business transaction documents;
  
• Buying amusing patrons wine; 
  
• Pacing about the room in a large circle. 
  

I usually draft the solo-emote posts on the spot, and they're normally around 3-5 sentences.  It's a great way to warm up for substantive RP and meet new RP'ers!

[Faye]

It's how I initiate/fish for RP, but I've also done it while leveling alts. I'll go to a quest hub to turn something in, see some people RPing there, have my character react to whatever's going on, etc. It's just a nice (even if incredibly brief) break from the monotony of leveling and helps me feel a bit more involved with the game and still in touch with the RP community even when I'm focusing on PvE. Since I don't directly address other characters, or often times I dash off quickly, I usually don't get any responses, which is fine, but sometimes people do acknowledge my character which is always a pleasant surprise and gives me a small break from leveling.

[Mia Moui]

I have been using /say to openly question NPCs.  Sometimes I react to what they've said.  Other times, I'm following the plot inside my head that involves Mia looking for her sisters. I question them and reply to their answers in a way that let a reader (if there was anyone around) intuit what the NPC must have said. It's not as complicated as I'm making it sound.

 

I was mocked once, RP'd twice, and the rest of the time, nothing happened or no one was around.  I feel pretty good about it.

[Larson]

I've been experimenting with more detailed solo posts. Yesterday I played out a scenario where Nell (Vyce's fairy) taught him a sigil that could illuminate metal objects in a small body of water when written and channeled in his tome. (She kind of indirectly taught him through inspiration).He discovered a brass earring in the scrying pool in the center of the quicksand, which Nell threw back in because who cares about a brass earring.

 

I found it interesting but a little disheartening that a man rolling up his sleeve and shoving his arm into the water after doing something glowy with his tome did not attract even glances from the maybe 12 RPers in the immediate area at the time. These were pharagraph posts that I waited a few minutes in between so as not to clutter up the chat.

 

I really think there is bubble-syndrome in a lot of groups.

[Branson Thorne]

I've been experimenting with more detailed solo posts. Yesterday I played out a scenario where Nell (Vyce's fairy) taught him a sigil that could illuminate metal objects in a small body of water when written and channeled in his tome. He discovered a brass earring in the scrying pool in the center of the quicksand, which Nell threw back in because who cares about a brass earring.

 

I found it interesting but a little disheartening that a man rolling up his sleeve and shoving his arm into the water after doing something glowy with his tome did not attract even glances from the maybe 12 RPers in the immediate area at the time. These were pharagraph posts that I waited a few minutes in between so as not to clutter up the chat.

 

I really think there is bubble-syndrome in a lot of groups.

Ehh, it happens sometimes.

 

I once fired an arrow into the ceiling of the Quicksand pinning a flyer to the roof in front of a supposed "guard" who'd been emoting what a boring night standing at his post he was having. Nothing......

 

Other times I skip a pebble into the fountain and *BAM* instant RP.

[Cliodhna Eoghan]

generally when i go to the quicksand or other cafe type set up area; i have clio bring her workbook, drop it on the table (usually fairly loudly due to size) and have her order either a drink and/or food and just em her eating and working. i tend to keep the em's about ten minutes or so apart but leave it open for anyone curious about what she's doing.

 

 

if i'm at an even i usually em checking out the contests and stuff if no one grabs my attention first. so far it's all worked pretty well :3

[Sigil.9054]

It's an easy way to invite other RPers to initiate RP when you're not feeling particularly ambitious yourself, so I've done it on occasion. Normally I am one of those self-starters however, so I tend to be the one responding to solo emotes. 

 

Or if I'm bored or waiting for a roulette/raid party, I'll stand in the Quicksand and creep on other people's RP. In that case I pretend to be a lamp, and emote lamp things.

 

Pretty much exactly this.

[Elena]

I kinda do this if I'm hoping someone will notice them, and come up to me to say hi, start something up, or just emote back!