The Hitchhiker's Guide to Emote Roleplay
Jun 26, 2019 21:05:55 GMT -5
Post by Austin on Jun 26, 2019 21:05:55 GMT -5
CHAPTER I : ROLEPLAY MARKERS/BASICS
In case this is your first time, we've included a handy legend to help you with roleplay markers:
In case this is your first time, we've included a handy legend to help you with roleplay markers:
- * and - are action markers
- e.g *He walks up to her* or -I walk up to her-
- ; whisper markers
- e.g ; Hey, wanna get some froyo? ;
- ;; thought markers ;;
- e.g ;; Damn, no one likes froyo but me. ;;
CHAPTER II : EMOTE ROLEPLAY AND YOU
By now I'm sure you're aware, but in case you aren't, this roleplay functions on an emote default basis. That means that when you engage in combat with another roleplayer, you must use emote unless the other roleplayer and you agree to do another method of combat roleplay. Now, you might be asking yourself what exactly emote even means. Well strictly speaking, emote roleplay was derived from the literal definition of emote which is to "portray emotion in a theatrical way." As you'll see, this was a very accurate word to describe this method of roleplay.
The style and goal of emote roleplay is directly correlated to the literal definition. Unlike spam or desc roleplay, emote doesn't focus on the typing speed of the user. Instead, it attempts to make all combat less of a typing test and more of a story telling tool. The goal behind emote roleplay is to take the time to craft lines with your opponent that makes the overall combat seem as if it's lines in a book. The readers should be able to envision what one another is trying to do rather than attempting to type faster.
By now I'm sure you're aware, but in case you aren't, this roleplay functions on an emote default basis. That means that when you engage in combat with another roleplayer, you must use emote unless the other roleplayer and you agree to do another method of combat roleplay. Now, you might be asking yourself what exactly emote even means. Well strictly speaking, emote roleplay was derived from the literal definition of emote which is to "portray emotion in a theatrical way." As you'll see, this was a very accurate word to describe this method of roleplay.
The style and goal of emote roleplay is directly correlated to the literal definition. Unlike spam or desc roleplay, emote doesn't focus on the typing speed of the user. Instead, it attempts to make all combat less of a typing test and more of a story telling tool. The goal behind emote roleplay is to take the time to craft lines with your opponent that makes the overall combat seem as if it's lines in a book. The readers should be able to envision what one another is trying to do rather than attempting to type faster.
CHAPTER III : HOW EMOTE WORKS
As mentioned above, emote is a style of roleplay that focuses on story telling. Due to that, it is heavily intertwined with portraying things with realism, but we'll get into that later. What you need to know is some common methods and misconceptions about how emote roleplay functions. Contrary to popular belief, emote is not a turn based combat system. In fact, the only time you're expected to let someone else take a turn is when you're directly interacting with them. It also is not required to say "did it hit? []" after every attack. Most of the time, you simply leave the action line open-ended and see how the other person reacts before responding with your next line.
For example, if Person A where to attack Person B, it would, in theory, look something like this:
Person A: *My fist flies towards your cheek as I charge towards you*
As you can see, Person A left the connection line vague so as to provide room for Person B to react. There is also a method to winning emote conflicts, but it requires strategic thought and planning. To get an advantage in the battle, you need to understand what you and your opponent can realistically accomplish. For instance, I'll continue my previous example to demonstrate what this means:
Person B: *I see the fist moving towards my face and I duck down beneath it*
Person A: *Seeing him duck, I raise up my knee towards his lowered head*
By acknowledging the dodge and using a move to counter the dodge, Person A has secured a hit in a realistic environment. Person B would not have time to both dodge the punch by ducking, and also have enough time to dodge the counter-attack. Therefore, Person B would end up being struck by the blow from Person A's knee. To reiterate, if you're having trouble just imagine what your character is realistically capable of doing, and try to act from there.
As mentioned above, emote is a style of roleplay that focuses on story telling. Due to that, it is heavily intertwined with portraying things with realism, but we'll get into that later. What you need to know is some common methods and misconceptions about how emote roleplay functions. Contrary to popular belief, emote is not a turn based combat system. In fact, the only time you're expected to let someone else take a turn is when you're directly interacting with them. It also is not required to say "did it hit? []" after every attack. Most of the time, you simply leave the action line open-ended and see how the other person reacts before responding with your next line.
For example, if Person A where to attack Person B, it would, in theory, look something like this:
Person A: *My fist flies towards your cheek as I charge towards you*
As you can see, Person A left the connection line vague so as to provide room for Person B to react. There is also a method to winning emote conflicts, but it requires strategic thought and planning. To get an advantage in the battle, you need to understand what you and your opponent can realistically accomplish. For instance, I'll continue my previous example to demonstrate what this means:
Person B: *I see the fist moving towards my face and I duck down beneath it*
Person A: *Seeing him duck, I raise up my knee towards his lowered head*
By acknowledging the dodge and using a move to counter the dodge, Person A has secured a hit in a realistic environment. Person B would not have time to both dodge the punch by ducking, and also have enough time to dodge the counter-attack. Therefore, Person B would end up being struck by the blow from Person A's knee. To reiterate, if you're having trouble just imagine what your character is realistically capable of doing, and try to act from there.
CHAPTER IV : REALISM IN ROLEPLAY
Realism is probably the biggest part of emote roleplay. This is the category you must understand and abide by if you're to become a successful emote roleplayer. Strictly speaking, realism just refers to things that could realistically happen. If one does not abide by realism, the find themselves committing powergame or metagame, which we'll talk about shortly. However, in order to stay realistic, one simply has to think about the scene and what both parties are capable of doing.
A character is not good at everything. No one is naturally a jack of ALL trades. Sure, characters will have things they are strong at, but to make for well-rounded characters and balanced roleplay, you must also allow your character to have faults and weaknesses. This is one of the reason we have limitations/weaknesses on the guidelines. Sometimes, you will not be able to win the battle, and that's okay. Losing provides a great narrative and incentive for growth. If you watch any series or movie with a character, they are never perfect at everything. Most stories have the character lose and slowly work on it to grow better at the skill. That should be your goal as well. The more you balance out your strengths with weaknesses, the better and more interesting your character will seem to those around you.
Among various roleplays, there's a common misconception that people have in which they believe their character is the main protagonist or antagonist of the entire roleplay. You must also work to avoid this as well. Storylines and story arcs will almost always center around those who are promoting it and roleplaying about it the most. It's a way to give those who are promoting such good roleplay a small reward. However, you shouldn't get discouraged if the main bad guy doesn't want to have a one on one duel with your character specifically. That's okay! You have to put things into perspective. As much as you want your character to be the center and star of the roleplay and storyline, so does everyone else. The admins and storyline committee will work hard to make sure people don't feel excluded from events, but understand that your character is no one special in the roleplay until they forge that path for themselves. The only way to become more special and well known is by roleplaying a lot and creating relationships with other roleplayers/characters.
Realism is probably the biggest part of emote roleplay. This is the category you must understand and abide by if you're to become a successful emote roleplayer. Strictly speaking, realism just refers to things that could realistically happen. If one does not abide by realism, the find themselves committing powergame or metagame, which we'll talk about shortly. However, in order to stay realistic, one simply has to think about the scene and what both parties are capable of doing.
A character is not good at everything. No one is naturally a jack of ALL trades. Sure, characters will have things they are strong at, but to make for well-rounded characters and balanced roleplay, you must also allow your character to have faults and weaknesses. This is one of the reason we have limitations/weaknesses on the guidelines. Sometimes, you will not be able to win the battle, and that's okay. Losing provides a great narrative and incentive for growth. If you watch any series or movie with a character, they are never perfect at everything. Most stories have the character lose and slowly work on it to grow better at the skill. That should be your goal as well. The more you balance out your strengths with weaknesses, the better and more interesting your character will seem to those around you.
Among various roleplays, there's a common misconception that people have in which they believe their character is the main protagonist or antagonist of the entire roleplay. You must also work to avoid this as well. Storylines and story arcs will almost always center around those who are promoting it and roleplaying about it the most. It's a way to give those who are promoting such good roleplay a small reward. However, you shouldn't get discouraged if the main bad guy doesn't want to have a one on one duel with your character specifically. That's okay! You have to put things into perspective. As much as you want your character to be the center and star of the roleplay and storyline, so does everyone else. The admins and storyline committee will work hard to make sure people don't feel excluded from events, but understand that your character is no one special in the roleplay until they forge that path for themselves. The only way to become more special and well known is by roleplaying a lot and creating relationships with other roleplayers/characters.
CHAPTER IV : POWERGAME AND METAGAME
Powergaming and metagaming are big no no's in the world of roleplay, but especially in the world of emote roleplay. They are normally done to provide an unfair advantage to one's character. Consistently engaging in metagame and/or powergame may exclude you from the roleplay. For this section, I'll first explain what each one of these terms mean, then we'll go into how to recognize and avoid doing them in your roleplay.
Metagaming is when you use information obtained through out of character knowledge, and automatically give it to your character in the roleplay. An example of this is if someone told me out of character that they planned to attack my character next time they saw them, and then I went to an instructor IC and told them that the person's character is trying to harm my own. If you're ever unsure if you or someone else is metagaming, use these tips to help identify it.
Powergaming is when you roleplay something that would be impossible or incapable of being accomplished in the universe. An example of this is if I were to get stabbed in the gut, but I continued to fight as if the injury did not take place or hinder me in any way. If you're ever unsure if you or someone else is powergaming, use these tips to help identify it.
If you feel as though someone has preformed either of these acts in their roleplay, you're encouraged to inform an admin or a mod. This will help discourage this sort of roleplay from taking place in the future.
Powergaming and metagaming are big no no's in the world of roleplay, but especially in the world of emote roleplay. They are normally done to provide an unfair advantage to one's character. Consistently engaging in metagame and/or powergame may exclude you from the roleplay. For this section, I'll first explain what each one of these terms mean, then we'll go into how to recognize and avoid doing them in your roleplay.
Metagaming is when you use information obtained through out of character knowledge, and automatically give it to your character in the roleplay. An example of this is if someone told me out of character that they planned to attack my character next time they saw them, and then I went to an instructor IC and told them that the person's character is trying to harm my own. If you're ever unsure if you or someone else is metagaming, use these tips to help identify it.
- Was something that should only be known Out of Character taken In Character?
- Was the character ever specifically told the information, or was it just the roleplayer?
- Did the roleplayer use information they already knew in real life as an advantage for their character in the roleplay?
Powergaming is when you roleplay something that would be impossible or incapable of being accomplished in the universe. An example of this is if I were to get stabbed in the gut, but I continued to fight as if the injury did not take place or hinder me in any way. If you're ever unsure if you or someone else is powergaming, use these tips to help identify it.
- Did that person use an ability or power they do not have to benefit themselves or others?
- Was the line able to realistically happen according to the rules of the universe?
- Was the character capable of performing such a feat without exceeding their limitations?
If you feel as though someone has preformed either of these acts in their roleplay, you're encouraged to inform an admin or a mod. This will help discourage this sort of roleplay from taking place in the future.
© Austin / Spiftec