All the World's a Stage is brought to you by David Bowers every Sunday evening, investigating the mysterious art of roleplaying in the World of Warcraft.While many online gamers are famous for using "leetspeak," there's a certain portion of the community that places a great deal of importance on complete sentences and good spelling. Roleplayers, as a whole, are friendly and communicative, but nonetheless have special ways of interacting that other gamers may not understand.
As a new roleplayer, I remember having to figure a lot of these things out, although I was blessed to befriend many people who kindly explained things to me as well. The first and most important concept I had to get a grasp of was the idea of "in-character" versus "out-of-character" communication (usually abbreviated to IC and OOC), and in what situations the use of either sort would be appropriate.
It's fair to say that on an RP server where roleplaying is still the rule rather than the exception, anything in the /say or /yell channels should be "in character." That's to say, it should be phrased with good spelling and proper punctuation, and should only refer to happenings within the WoW universe. In situations where one must say something out-of-character in these channels, it is polite to at least couch your OOC words in double parentheses to clarify your meaning.
For example:
Annarielle says: How fair the night is! I wish every night could be so tranquil.Generally, however, even this much out-of-character speech in the /say or /yell channels is discouraged if you can possibly avoid it, as there are many techniques for "roleplay recovery" in situations like this. In this case, having dropped the ball, so to speak, Karavar needn't actually announce to everyone "I dropped the ball!" Rather he can just go ahead and pick the ball up, and continue in a natural way:
Annarielle smiles at Karavar.
Karavar says: I'm talking to her now. I sure hope she says yes!
Karavar says: ((erm... eh... mistype! >_<))
Karavar says: I'm talking to her now. I hope she says yes!Notice how Annarielle manages to gracefully finesse her way through the mistake too. She needn't nitpick on him, unless it makes sense for her to do so in the situation. But, alas, I'm getting ahead of myself. We must return to the topic of roleplay recovery another time.
Karavar says: Oh gods! Did I say that out loud? I meant... I was just thinking about... and I... oh dear.
Karavar rubs his face and forehead in awkward embarrassment.
Annarielle grins at him, leaning close to say, very quietly...
Annarielle says: Yes...
Annarielle says: ...I think now would be a good time for a little walk together, don't you?
Annarielle motions for Karavar to follow.
In other channels, such as /party, /guild and /whisper, the understanding of whether people speak IC or OOC by default varies from group to group, and often it will be clear from the context. If you unclear, however, you can always use the double parentheses to ask: "((Are we IC or OOC in this channel?))" or even something like "((Do you mind if I ask a question about the most important stats for my character?))"
Usually, whenever you join an RP guild, they'll let you know whether their guild chat is IC or OOC. If it is IC, they often have a special secondary channel set up for OOC chat in order to keep these conversations separate. Contrary to popular opinion, most RPers love to gabble on and on about the same stuff that non-RPers do, so these extra OOC channels tend to get lots of good use. Keeping guild chat in-character just helps to keep that feeling of immersion going strong -- it's a safe place for you to roleplay your character even if no one you know is within speaking range.
Some of you may be wondering how in the world people can roleplay through guild chat or whispers when usually these characters are on opposite ends of the world (or in another world altogether, perhaps even another time!). Indeed, many roleplayers are casual enough that they've never really thought to answer this question before. They just assume it's something everyone can do, and they don't give it the attention it would need in order to get in the way.
For the more analytical types among roleplayers, however, there are a number of solutions, varying from the assumption of universal telepathic capability to the use of hearthstones as a kind of magical cell phone, which let people communicate across vast distances. For most guilds, this use of hearthstones makes for a convenient way to make long-distance communication plausible, even if it's not officially part of Warcraft lore. It lets us interact together more often, so we tend not to worry about it too much.
As far as whispering is concerned, the "/whisper" command tends to be only for out-of-character chat, or else for in-character conversations happening across great distances via hearthstones or telepathy. It may also be used for true whispers where characters are very close to one another and for words that players don't want others to overhear, but generally it's better to include everyone by using a custom emote to type out the whispered words instead of using private tells, since this tends to feel more natural, and it lets anyone who happens to be nearby enjoy the story too:
Karavar whispers to Annarielle as they pause by the lake, "I... made something for you." He takes out a small package and opens it for her.Other players can choose to let their character be oblivious of such whispers, or to let them eavesdrop on it as they like, but either way, this practice includes them and creates a stronger sense of community.
Annarielle says: [Crunchy Spider Surprise]?!
Annarielle stares at Karavar for a long moment, then smiles and replies, "It's my favorite! How did you know?"
Gloric can't help but overhear, chuckling to himself as he catches a fish.
As you can see from these basic beginnings, reserving "/say" and "/yell" for in-character dialogue can create an atmosphere of spontaneous storytelling, from which a myriad interesting and funny situations arise quite naturally from people's creativity. Even if you are not a roleplayer, it might be worth your time to seek some out, and stop to listen for a while. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you hear just wandering about the streets.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-28-2007 @ 8:05PM
fred said...
oh boy roleplaying.
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10-28-2007 @ 8:27PM
Jess Q. said...
Oh, yes, because who would ever think to "role play" in an MMORPG? God.
I'm sorry, but I don't understand people who REFUSE to roleplay in WoW. That's kind of what the game is all about. I don't particularly roleplay, but I'm on an RP server so I don't have to deal with PVPing douchbags killing me every five seconds, and as a general respect to the people who DO roleplay, I only say things that can be construed as roleplaying. I.E., no mentions of Chuck Norris or any other real life crap unless I'm talking to my friends in whispers, party chat, etc.
Sneer at RPing if you want, but remember what sort of game you're playing lest you come off as a raging hypocrite. I'm actually kind of sad that even RP servers are full of non-RPing people. When I first played WoW I really looked forward to RPing, even though I was shy about it, and then I realized NO ONE DOES IT.
Then, months later, I realized that's only really Alliance side. Apparently the morons hang out over there? Lots of leet speak and jerkwads thinking the word "thought" is spelled "thot" because, hey, "thottbot!" Good lord.
Like I said, I've maybe RPed once for real, but in general I like to say things that can be seen as being "in character," even if they aren't. It doesn't take much more effort than, "WHER IS BANK DUDE," and I get to go to sleep at night with the satisfaction that I'm not a total retard when it comes to language skills. Win/win.
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10-28-2007 @ 9:00PM
fred said...
Knowing the difference between "you're" and "your" doesn't make you a rocket scientist.
Perhaps someone else needs to realize what they're playing, lest they come off sounding like a jerkwad retard as well. When you play Super Mario Brothers, do you dress up like a plumber and make pizza? Do you shout "Heya honey, canna you getta me a soda froma da fridga?" to your husband in the kitchen?
It's a video game. They both are.
I'm personally more comfortable reading about new end game raid content that how to pick up night elf chicks for teh cyborz in teh tramz later.
Articles are published about guilds that engage in "extreme ageplay" where they pretend they're 8 and need to be spanked and molested, then get all pissy when people question that because HEY WE'RE JUST ROLEPLAYING. A classic example being the fuss that was raised in Second Life (oh boy, there's a hotbed of roleplaying fun) when Sasami Dreammaker was banned for distributing child porn. The defense was that Sasami is a chacracter based on the anime Tenchi Muyo, and although she LOOKS like a 9 year old earth girl, she's *really* an 800 year old space alien, so photos of the kid taking it in the butt and being peed on is totally cool.
Good luck with that.
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10-28-2007 @ 9:04PM
Pook said...
ahh... L2RP noobzorx.
I get ya :P
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10-28-2007 @ 9:19PM
Pent said...
Wow, I don't even RP, but fred's comments are completely worthless. I wish I was as cool as fred...
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10-28-2007 @ 9:32PM
kunukia said...
Wow, people get so hateful about RPing, on both sides. I don't RP much, and it is usually kind of simple. I love Dwarfs, so much of my roleplay is about how my characters are cool because they are Dwarfs. Even my druid THINKS she is a Dwarf, and comes up with all sorts of explanations for her height and ears when challenged. But when I see or interact with folks who really want to get into more complex roleplay, I at least try to respond in kind while I am in range. Except with the cyber stuff. Not for me, thank you very much.
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10-29-2007 @ 12:02AM
Cisie said...
Dear Fred,
I really do enjoy how you default to ERP to make the RP world sound both disgusting and totally unethical. While yes there seems to be several guilds who do entertain the thought, and seem to derive pleasure from what many would consider freak fetishes, from my experience I've found RP guilds to be rather mature (if not just a little imitative in the descriptions) and organized. I myself have joined on occasion a RP guild, even though I did not RP I enjoyed hearing the conversations and story developement that many of the people came up with. I can see the draw to Roleplaying, the escapism, the ability to be someone else besides the everyday office worker (sorry, stereotype :-( ), to be important!
However, while your wonderful words about Super Mario Brothers as an example were somewhat funny, they weren't accurate to pinpoint the exact way the roleplayers enjoy their time in game. A much better example would be to have them talk to other NPCs with their voice and have a friend beside them talk back, or completely remove the Super Mario game completely (there really isn't much interactivity to the game, it's mostly one path goal based, where as World of Warcraft is whatever the user wants to do with his character and time). Even my crummy example wasn't very good to depict the pleasure people get out of RPing (ERPing or otherwise, hopefully the latter). While your arguements are rather crude and unimaginative (mine weren't much better, I do understand that), you need to realise that there are different ways to play this game, there are different ways to Role Play, and not everyone who Role Plays loves to type in how much they enjoy a good spanking. I believe the game should be played how you want like to play it, and if you find a few friends who enjoy your way of playing, all the better!
Then again this is really a multiresponse, I started with your remark and spread from there. Sorry for singling you out from the crowd, Fred :-(
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10-29-2007 @ 12:47AM
Finnicks Daerkhiv said...
All of my RP Guilds have employed a "paragraph RP" style for Guild Chat, typically assuming that everyone participating is in a Guild Hall or other gathering place (usually assumed to be taking place BEFORE whatever you're actually doing in game).
Guild Chat would often look like this:
==================================
[Guild][Finnicks]: He scowls at Tarentella. "You're not paying attention!" He points jerkily back to the alchemy table. "You're never going to get this transmutation right if you can't be patient, and focus!"
[Guild][Tarentella]: She frowns, and returns her gaze to the table. "Forgive me, 'master,' but we've been at this for over an hour! I'm taking a break!"
[Guild][Finnicks]: With a gurgle of annoyance, he turns away. "You come to me asking for help, because you can't get your Iron to Gold Transmutation to work right. A BASIC, simple alchemical procedure. And now you want a BREAK, after asking for my precious time?"
[Guild][Tarentella]: "Yes," and with a swift punch, she sends Finnicks' barely connected, exposed lower jawbone soaring across the room.
To [Tarentella]: Gee thanks for the possibility of dodging your little blow.
From [Tarentella]: Roll with it. ^_^
[Guild][Finnicks]: Running after his jawbone and screaming in hissing, unintelligible slurs, he fishes his jawbone out of the fire, where it so unluckily landed. Fixing the slightly blacked bone back into place, he gives Tarentella a glare.
[Guild][Finnicks]: "Fine! Learn to do it on your own!" He stalks off, pouring a healing potions slowly over his slightly blackened hand.
================================
It's very "freeing" to do it that way.
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10-29-2007 @ 12:55AM
waltg66 said...
I dont understand why it is that people feel the need to belittle or downplay other peoples style of gameplay. I am not particularly interested in RP, but I do have some toons on an RP server. If and when I am approached by others and they are IC I try to respond in a like manner, to a point, this usually consists of someone either asking me for water, a portal or where I got a piece of my gear from. It takes very little imagination to respond with, "Hail to you (insert race here) it would be a pleasure to help those who follow the Horde". I mean good lord how difficult is it to just be civil to others? Now I am not a big fan of "ZOMG ken I haz phat lewtz plz". But its not like this is broadcast audibly over my systems speakers either.
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10-29-2007 @ 1:20AM
Merus said...
Man, I love that picture. I think it just sums up bad roleplaying, right there. The spotlight, the '2', the telling instead of showing, the whole 'announcement' thing going on there, oh it's just great.
I have not understood the hostility to RP. If the game is flexible enough to accomodate RP (and it is), then why not? Certainly some players will enjoy it, and others can go off and play the game a different way. I used to play an MMO where most of the top players did some measure of RPing (the theme was a bit easier to perform, however), and the dimension it opened up to the game, where you could earn the in-game l3wtz by impressing the top players with your wit (the equivalent of RPing on your raid guild application) was immensely satisfying.
Honestly, I think it'd be an improvement to WoW - there's really not much in the way of end-game activities, other than grinding, raiding or PvP.
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10-29-2007 @ 3:13AM
Valdris said...
Roleplaying gets such a laughable reputation in this game because people are really, really bad at it. I hate to generalize, but the majority of RPing I've seen has just been an outlet for mundane teenage angst. In fact, scroll down on the main page and check out the latest Addon Spotlight. The picture is HILARIOUS because it's dead accurate - everyone "in character" is a cookie-cutter dark, brooding protagonist with a deep sadness inside and an eye scar. Nobody wants to roleplay the cobbler who makes your boots. Nobody wants to be Fergus the Farmhand. Everyone is the lead from a Final Fantasy game, with a deep sorrow just begging those around to say, "Hey, why the brood?"
That's fine, if you're still angsty enough to buy into it, but when you look at WoW the game, it really doesn't support that sort of character. It's an extremely lighthearted and humorous game, plus it breaks the third wall itself every other quest.
The other thing is that RPing really amounts to writing fiction in real time, without the benefit of editing, or, for that matter, skill. So you've got all these generic, cookie-cutter personas and everyone is roleplaying the same dang role. If you think your RPing is different, well, so does every other RPer. Fact is, you probably read like an emo lyric sheet just like everyone else.
In conclusion, be thankful people don't roleplay all the time, because it would only become more transparent. Watching people dive headfirst into literary pitfalls is easier to take in small doses.
Standard disclaimer: I realize there are some RPers out there fighting the good fight. Rock on, you guys, and if you're insulted you can just pretend you're one of these people. If you do flame me, as I appear to be flaming the RP populace, at least do it eloquently.
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10-29-2007 @ 5:43AM
plixer said...
@11
I respect it, although I don't RP myself.
You're right, it is kinda funny because of how bad people can be at it.. Pretending to be a character from Naruto is funny... heh
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10-29-2007 @ 6:52AM
ajaxsirius said...
@ Fred,
Yeah totally. All role players are pedophiles in the making, just like everyone who plays video games is a serial killer. Remember kids! People are getting shot because children are playing counter strike! Next thing you know, you'll have 8 million WoW players in the streets with greatswords and crossbows. BAN WoW.
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10-29-2007 @ 7:58AM
Kanuris said...
Double brackets... the bane of RP.
Seriously. Just whisper what you meant to say. What is the point of going ((LOL you kicked ma arse)) in /say anyway? Could easily say the same thing in character.
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10-29-2007 @ 8:02AM
Kadamon said...
I just wish I could find some Roleplaying on my server. I've been thinking of actually transfering just to get some. That's part of the reason I play WoW, I don't PVP, I'm not 'hardcore' enough to raid...I just want to enjoy my time playing in a pretty game.
So I RP. I'll even play a Gnome.
I've said it before in another comment on another RP article, I've been doing it for abouts a decade, and now a days, you can't find squat in Yahoo chat unless it's ERP...with furries and Herms and...ick.
What is a good server to transfer to for an Alliance?
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10-29-2007 @ 2:07PM
Badger said...
@ 15: We could always use more interested folk over on Moon Guard, Kadamon. ^_^
Some players seriously need to come terms with the 'RP' part of 'MMORPG.' Yes, I know, filling a 'role' in a group as a Tank or a Healer could technically constitute the same thing, but some of us just choose to take it a bit further. It's a nice, neat little escape from the boredom of weekday living (though personally I would hope we could all find something a bit more worthwhile to do on our weekends, heehee).
There will always be certain pathetic assholes, unfortunately, who have nothing better to do than grief. Personally I think if Blizzard actually bothered to enforce their RP policy (nine million people worldwide subscribing, yeah right ... like they're gonna change anything at this point) then it would be a lot easier on the rest of us, but still, so long as the other play isn't harassing you, why not be friendly?
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10-29-2007 @ 2:10PM
Badger said...
As for Fred's comments, just ignore him. He probably came here to stir shit up because no one will listen to him in any of the other million worthwhile topics posted here on the site.
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11-10-2007 @ 8:57AM
Aja said...
I will agree with Badger.. As far as I'm aware Moonguard on both sides is well known for the high level of RP on teh server. Yes we still have our ERP'ers the hard core ones but most of them are known to players and we mostly avoid them. I have played both alliance and horde on Moonguard and have tried other RP servers I always come back to MOonguard for the quality level I have found.
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