"Dark" vs. "Mature"

[FreelanceWizard]

Way back in the day, I used to use tags like "dark" or "mature" to mean "conflict RP with high brutality" and "I take RP seriously, not as a joke."

 

Nowadays, the meanings of these have gotten so muddled up that they're more or less useless, IMO. What's dark for one person is normal for another; by way of example, I had someone act surprised when I talked about certain elements of L'yhta's past and how she's reacted to them IC, since I had previously told them I don't typically like "really dark RP." When I think of actual, honest-to-goodness "dark RP," I'm thinking brutal violence, torture, and other horrors with no evident end in sight. Conversely, I've met people who thought that any form of negativity involving a character constituted "dark RP" -- to the point where once a person said I must be a big fan of dark RP because they saw my character get into an argument!

 

As for mature RP, I found out several games ago really quickly that instead of meaning "RP more like a movie aimed at adults," it'd been co-opted to mean "ERP."

 

Labels aren't especially useful to me. What I do is make sure to keep OOC channels open so everyone has a good time.

[Burd]

Maaaan, I've just decided that when those words are used in RP context to never, ever assume that I know what they mean (though it looks like I'm on the same page as most of the above posters.) Everyone once in a while, my assumptions are wrong. I walk into a mature RP, my character stabs a guy at which point I provide a chaste description of the gore, and then all of a sudden it's "OMG THAT'S NOT OK" and I'm like "BUT U SAID MATURE" and they're like "GTFO I'M CALLIN THE POLICE HELLO 9-1-1."

 

Well, not exactly. But it's awkward and then I feel like a jerk.

 

So now I ask. If you use "Dark," you can bet I'm going to be PMing you all like "OK BUDDY OLE PAL, by 'DARK,' do you mean 'We're gonna deal with death and troubling themes?' Or 'SOMEBODY TURNED OUT ALL THE LIGHTS!?'"

[Kurt S.]

When I see Dark rp I think.

 

"Hey, there is going to be lots of death in here and or maiming. If not a lot, then a lot of feels that'll come from said death. Said death comes in a variety of gruesome flavors too. Things literally get dark. Like when you're all basking in the victory over the garleans then there's that one guy reminds you that you all just made a lot of Garlean orphans. And that those orphans would be overworking at a steel mill at less than minimum wage. Whether or not you guys care about being child killers isn't the issue. I'm just saying you guys are child killers."

 

Mature RP on the other hand.

 

...deals with more mature themes including realizing you're an orphan making, parent slaying machine. Like drugs or someone's sex escapades or that in law you hate so much, torture methods, actual torture, probably lots of cursing (since I don't run into that on a regular basis).

 

I'd say Dark rp is just a part of Mature rp much like Power Metal is to the Metal genre entirely. Since yanno, you gotta be mature for this dark stuff anyway. Unless you're a sick puppy >w>

But that's just me.

[Eses Fafa]

Dark and Mature can be quite similar to one-another, though the differences between the two for me would be this.

 

Mature: My vision of this is the acknowledgement of more serious themes in a game that rather downplays the gruesome nature of a lot of things that occur, such as certain halfbreeds who appear in the game, the deaths of certain major characters, and that courtesan EVERYONE QUESTIONS in Limsa Lominsa. As far as 14 is concerned, your character does not deal with things like that, they're a 'hero', something universal to all ages no matter the game. You are good guy. Good guy saves world from big monsters.

 

But what about the underlying matters behind the world that the hero is left unaware of? Crime, prostitution, racial discrimination, murder, corruption and rape are all present factors in Eorzea, much like our own world, and mature players are willing to accept and acknowledge those themes, unlike some who prefer to keep things more PG for a potential child audience. In all honesty, a lot of players, including myself, started off roleplaying before adulthood, and being exposed to certain things might drive others away, or enrage parents. Thus, sometimes it's best to make sure your audience is of a certain age rating before engaging in a mature RP.

 

 

Dark: Now Dark RP, I class as a theme within the mature theme, as it not only acknowledges these factors, but further attempts to embrace them within RP. While a lot might not agree with certain factors, and thus keep away from the 'dark' crowd, these people from what I've seen tend to focus towards a grimmer reality, and the unhappy truths of the world around them. While this doesn't mean comical moments couldn't be had, it just seems less likely for those that want to make things bloody, dangerous, blunt, cruel, immoral and with a chance of character mortality.

 

During my time in Argent Dawn, these sorts of things really picked up when Game of Thrones gained popularity, though there were always dark RP guilds around at the time. Ones that would wind up killing off their members in some of the most horrific fashions, placing themselves in locations that are rife with danger or crime, and often downplay the almost miraculous nature of healing magic.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing I do not string either of these two together with, is that neither are required to have characters ERP. That's a different type of 'mature' entirely, and completely detached from these two themes, making this act a potential addition to be had, but not a requirement in order to engage in either types of RP. Black-screening is very much a thing, even if you acknowledge the more sexual natures in the world.

 

'Course, these two definitions are my perceptions, but while most definitely not preferring Dark RP, I'm not going to jump on the hate bandwagon in calling them a bunch of 'grimdark losers fapping to Song of Fire and Ice and Hostel'...though it was pretty funny in my earlier years.

[Rusty Knight]

"Dark" Roleplay:

 

When a character/player is happy to participate in roleplay involving elements that traditionally you might not include (Eg Rape(not to be mistaken for actually roleplaying -the- rape), Torture and other controversial/graphic events which if thrown around could possibly cause distress to someone) out of courtesy to other players who do not wish to be exposed or involved in that subject.

 

"Mature" Roleplay:

 

From the communities I come from this is pretty much a more classy way of saying I engage in erotic roleplay.

 

Personally I don't use either, the roleplay tag is enough and I discuss with people OOCly if a roleplay is leading towards something I think should be mentioned to confirm they are happy to continue.

[GloryRhodes]

Dark RP: A tag that means that it includes people of questionable morals doing questionable things for the thrill of the player.  This could include rape, torture, genocide, murder or other titillating ideas based upon the concept that "Pain" and "Depth" are synonymous in terms of character development.

 

Mature RP: The same as dark, but with more navel gazing and a more obfuscated enjoyment of the forbidden pleasures only allowed to Not Very Good People.

 

ERP exists beyond tag or labels as an omnipresent theme possible in any RP cause even funny people like to get laid.