Roleplaying online is a pale, shallow reflection of roleplaying around a table with a group of good friends. I roleplayed for 20 years, running a couple of rpg gamestores when the fad was at its height, and no computer game is going to recreate that feeling of real creativity and laughs. Ever. Online MMORPGS are just glorified shoot-em-ups with chat facilities. Up to now, anyway.
I had exactly this P&P-feeling in a computer game and it was even better!
But it was no MMO. In Neverwinter Nights 2, it´s possible to play with a group of friends (it doesn´t matter, if you know them in real life or not) on your own server. You can invent the story, the DM is able to control the environment ,add quests or whatever you want. Additionally you have a great grafical environment, which makes it much easier to get involved in the story.
This way it is really better than playing around a table! You even can play with friends, who do not live in the same city!
I think, good RP is possible also in a MMORPG. But the trend goes to bigger game environments and more players on one server. I don´t think, this is good for RP in computer games. Community is important for RPers and in a smaller game world with less people on a server it is much easier to create a community.
psmChronicles of Spellborn CorrespondentMemberPosts: 14
There are three big problems, why RP is virtually non-existant in MOORPGs:
1. The Term RPG itself has been bleached, abused, misused and badly treated, that a normal gamer does not get it real meaning. For most, it is a game, where you manouver an avatar and that avatar can progress (by level, item, abilities etc). As long, as a game like, lets say Diablo, is considered a RPG, you will not be able to role-play in peace on any MMO. Most MMOs should not even carry the abbreviation RPG.
2. Most games developed today are not idea- but marketing-driven. A few years back, the CGI was run and lead by geeks and nerds, who come from a sub-culture, very close, or even involved with RPG and older computer-games. Today all the nice and small details that would make RP enjoyable are the first things that have to go, if the dead-line comes too close. So you end up with games, that some marketing-guy thinks will make money, but there is not a single chair in the game, you can sit on.
3. One of the biggest mistakes is to think, that role-players are a niche. They are not. Also most CG-Companies tend to believe that they favor a seperate type of game-style, which is also not true. Roleplayers can be PvEers and PvPers alike. And they play many games. But in an environment where roleplaying is non-existent they will not reveal themself, or, if they really want to go through the troubles, the gather in small conclaves. WoW is a good example that there are a big load of roleplayers out there. Even if only a thrid of the population of a rp-server is made up by roleplayers, you still have hundred of thousand worldwide. All that, while RPers often go back to freeshards, don't RP online at all, or hide their true joy.
Roleplayers should not need to hide, or huddle together in small conclaves in the genre they brought into existence. (MUDs; MUSHes and MOOs are the real ancestors). But roleplayers tend to fight over the small things, instead of gathering and voicing their opinion. There are games, that have a lot of potential. And if a big-enough number of role-players would stand as one and show their willingnes to support a game, if they are treated well with content and protection for the game-style, then the studios of those games might just accomadate them and give them a proper home.
Currently I try just that with The Chronicles of Spellborn, which will not be very appealing for the broad masse, but has a lot to offer to roleplayers. No itemization, no raid content, no farming and grinding and very much focused on the story. Hell there are not even stats on armors and a mage can wear full plate as much as a warrior, leaving only a cosmetical difference.
I decided to put my hopes into a currently developed game for once more. So I am working on a role-player portal for TCoS, trying to get the RPers together and form a single voice to be heard.
Because it comes down to that: You, as a roleplayer have to work for it, together with others that share your interest. And so I do...
Every MMORPG dev out there seems to have no respect for the RP community of MMORPGs. They would rather implement instance after instance, raid boss after raid boss, so on and so forth than put in a few features to make the roleplayers happy. Seriously, all the '1337' gamers want to do is get some retarded pixilated items to show people on their retarded pixilated character and say "Oh look! I have the same thing 5,000 other people of my class have on this server so I'm better than everybody but the others who have it!". As usual, when I'm posting here I'm posting to request any games that have an established RP community. EVE has an RP community but I just find the game not to my taste. I'm giving CoH a try -again-. Is there something out there for us RPers? I would like to give UO a try but to my knowledge the, Europa is the only server good for RP and I am not on the same time schedule as those people.
I'm afraid in a mmorpg the only "roleplaying" your gonna get is whatever people type into the chat channels. Other than that its all gonna be about gaining levels and farming phat loot. I dont think there are any mmos in which you can do anything other than that. They are all static gameworlds which you cant really affect or change so although you might have a great roleplaying idea in your head there really isnt any way to actually bring it into the game. Like I said you can just type whatever you like into the chat channels and pretend you are Lord Zarkon the mighty necromancer or some other fanciful character but I'm afraid in an mmo you are really no different to any of the other millions of cookie-cutter characters who all have equal access to all the same experiences and stuff you have.
Basicly to sum-up roleplaying is not really possible in an mmo as your experience is never going to be unique. You can have the same level of roleplaying in an mmo as you can with MSN Messenger because thats all an mmo really is - a simple single player game that can be played by lots of people at the same time and has an instant messenger attached to it.
If you want roleplaying then you are unlikely to find it in a computer game. I would recommend playing a proper roleplaying game with a group of friends. Then you are free to put your imagination to use, being able to do whatever you like and actually do things that effect the game world your character lives in. Otherwise I would just give up on the roleplaying aspect if I were you as you just arent going to get it. I'm afraid your just gonna have to grind away with the rest of the online masses.
Actually there is a game where your experience can easily be unique and the world is not static. The game is called Magic of the Gods. It has some weaknesses, like graphics, but it's the ultimate for role playing.
I know some of this will sound too good to be true, but from what I've seen, EVERYONE playing the game is in-character doing role playing ALL THE TIME. Not just on a role playing server, there's only one server and everyone on it is role playing.
The world is not static. It changes constantly, sometimes from the actions of player characters, sometimes from the actions of non-player characters. If you kill a monster or an NPC, they're gone forever. Not just in your instance of the game, but for everyone. There are no instances in MotG.
Unlike other games where you can never have a truly unique character or items or spells that other people don't have, in MotG, they actually have a special scripting language that allows each player to INVENT new spells that no one else has. It lets you create new crafting skills that no one else knows and use them to craft items that no one has ever seen before and that no one else can make unless you teach them your new crafting skill. None of that is easy, but it is real and it does work.
The game is held in two hour "sessions" on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 3:30 pm US Pacific Time. The game server is not online any other time. But when it is online, it's awesome. Last session, some characters got together and recaptured an island from the Ogre Raiders. Now Garon has been restored as the ruler of the island and he rewarded the people who helped by giving them ownership of pieces of land on the island.
When the game began, the island was only inhabited by a dwarf named Garon and his sheep. Then ogres attacked and Garon agreed to have his island be part of the Realm of Azmar and dwarves from Azmar set up a colony there. Then the Warlord Karleg of Azmar was killed by a dragon at the Battle of Ogre Island and his son Yarl has become the ruler of Azmar. Since Yarl isn't much of a warrior, Azmar has been losing and ogres took over Sheep Island and drove out all the dwarves. Then Garon got mad and decided to declare independence from Azmar. He asked the Realm of Stondar to help, but they refused. Then he asked some players to help and last session they went and recaptured it. But the sheep were all killed by the ogres during the occupation of the island by the ogres.
So even if you've been to Sheep Island before, you still don't know what you'll see the next time you go. First it was just one shepherd and a lot of sheep. Then there was a colony of Azmarian dwarves. Then ogres and no sheep. Now, various people trying to figure out how to build houses on their new lands.
In what other game would a flock of sheep be gone forever because the ogres ate them? In what other game would players be able to kill or drive off the ogres and have them not just respawn again later?
In what other game does it actually affect gameplay in unpredictable ways that Prince Yarl of Azmar still claims the island and might actually try to recapture it for Azmar? In what other game can players (like Thaero, the High Ranger of Azmar) be involved in arranging a peaceful settlement between the Lord of Sheep Island and the Realm of Azmar that might actually prevent a war?
This wasn't a quest that anyone can do. All of these are once-only events. They become part of the history of the game world, not just quests that can be repeated meaninglessly. If the players had failed to recapture Sheep Island, not only would the ogres still be there, but they might have started raiding the islands further south including the islands I have recently claimed for my new kingdom of Radnaria.
If this kind of role playing matters to you a lot and you're willing to put up with crappy graphics, awkward software downloads, scheduled game sessions instead of 24/7 access, and a game that still needs a lot of work, then Magic of the Gods is worth a look.
Oh, on the plus side, it is free to play and the game developers are a small independent group and it is extremely easy to talk to them by posting on their forum or sending them e-mail. They often participate in discussions on the forums about how the game should evolve and are easily influenced by player suggestions. Playtesting the game is like being part of the development team. Did I mention it's still in beta? Anyway, if you're a serious role player, help me develop my kingdom. My character's name is Radnar. If you are not into role playing and you just want to kill things mindlessly and "level up", then please don't play this game. There are hundreds of games like that. Don't spoil this one.
Games played:
Runescape -------------- www.runescape.com Magic of the Gods ------ www.magicofthegods.com Saga of Ryzom ---------- www.ryzom.com World of Warcraft ------- www.worldofwarcraft.com
It becomes very difficult to have high expectations and get satisfied answer of the MMORPGs after WOW, not to say RP of them. Lack of creativity, addictive to copy, similar graphics, similar gameplay and so on make the afer WOW MMORPGs so so...
Hrm, it would be nice if games made a few additions to help RPers. I think one of my biggest gripes though was the lack of respect people have for RPers in general and the fact that nothing ever seems to happen to these people until they get tired and leave. In the end what I started doing was just walking everywhere in WoW's cities (it takes a bit longer, but it's not terrible, and in a way "marks" you for RPing). Other than that, the only issue is, as someone else has mentioned, the RP community of WoW is... interesting. There's quite a bit of ERP going on, and someone who seems "normal" at first can quickly turn into a cat woman or a vampire. And if it's not that, then it's the Sues. I guess I just have much higher/stricter expectations for my RP, oh well.
------------------------------------------------------------ You can't win - if you strike me down I shall respawn more powerful than you could possibly imagine!
A great question! My answer is meant to encourage you to continue your quest for an enjoyable, immersive RPG experience in whatever MMO you choose!
So, to begin...first, you must realize that role-playing is something that the average MMO players is simply not interested in! (especially when you consider the average age and attention span of the players involved).
As a veteran of many MMORPG's(many of which I have gotten involved with simply to investigate the level of player involvement in the RP aspects of the game or universe), I can say that only a few offer a true effort at role-playing. Many of these have been listed in this very topic thread, such as LOTR and SWG( I cannot help but state my opinion that the major reason SWG doesn't live up to it's promise is *because* they don't encourage rp gameplay more prominantly). It is one thing to pick up a lightsaber and start offing wamprats, but it is a whole new level of dedication to actually *believe* you are a Dark SIth Lord when immersed in the SW universe!
That said, my background in RP is one of spectacular hits and horrifying misses! When I enter my chosen universe, I try to *become* the character I have created for the time I invest in a game(not to mention the money...lol). This is not an easy thing to do! I try to create an atmosphere of fun and comraderie, but this is very difficult for a player new to the game. I have found that the variious sub-genres of many MMO's are extremely cliquish( Rp, PVP, etc), usually because they feel that by inviting new people to the community, they open themselves up to criticism by some immature 13 year old(and in some cases, 30-40 year olds who haven't grown up, as well).
As i said, I would like to encourage your pursuit of genuine fun-seeking, good old fashioned method-acting RP, so a few helpful tips:
A) Encourage *all* who join you to participate! This seems a no-brainer, but many MMO players are flexible, and will *go with the flow* when they find themselves on a competent, xp-oriented team!
B)DON'T BREAK CHARACTER! At all, for any reason! If the leader of the group can demonstrate how easy it is to answer any question...fulfill any request....and acknowledge any real-life concern in-character, the beginning rp'er will get a great insight into the dynamics of RP. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, I and 5 others were doing scanner missions in City of Heroes(one of 6 games I currently am subscribed to). The character I was on at the time was a magic-based tanker, and we were lucky enough to run with the same group for over 2 hours, pretty good for Thanksgiving! When the group broke up, and I said in character that the Lady Dark( my wife's character, who was not online at the time) had requested my presence at DarkeGable castle for a sumptuous feast, I thought little of it. But just before I logged off, three of the others I had run with for most of the morning sent me private tells, and basically said they had heard of RP-centric players, but had never realized how fun it was, and they couldn't believe I never broke character even when some (using the hated parenthases of out of character comments, as I am doing...lol) had said "phone..brb" or "gotta feed the dog", etc....! These were comments I took gratefully, and I was glad to inspire others to RP in the future!
C) Be patient with non-RPers! They may have many reasons for not participating, but until they become rude or insulting, they are helping you to advance as you are helping them! Experience, loot and money have a way of uniting even the most disparate of players
D) Most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT!
E)Lastly, never be discouraged by the kill-joy players you meet online! They have their reasons for playing, and we have ours! I never give a moment's thought to a rude or smart-ass comment, but I have remembered great players and comrades(many of whom I still run with) for over 10 years now!
THanks for the great question, and HAPPY HUNTING!
******************************"Impressive...most impressive! Your skills are complete!"
A great question! My answer is meant to encourage you to continue your quest for an enjoyable, immersive RPG experience in whatever MMO you choose! So, to begin...first, you must realize that role-playing is something that the average MMO players is simply not interested in! (especially when you consider the average age and attention span of the players involved). As a veteran of many MMORPG's(many of which I have gotten involved with simply to investigate the level of player involvement in the RP aspects of the game or universe), I can say that only a few offer a true effort at role-playing. Many of these have been listed in this very topic thread, such as LOTR and SWG( I cannot help but state my opinion that the major reason SWG doesn't live up to it's promise is *because* they don't encourage rp gameplay more prominantly). It is one thing to pick up a lightsaber and start offing wamprats, but it is a whole new level of dedication to actually *believe* you are a Dark SIth Lord when immersed in the SW universe! That said, my background in RP is one of spectacular hits and horrifying misses! When I enter my chosen universe, I try to *become* the character I have created for the time I invest in a game(not to mention the money...lol). This is not an easy thing to do! I try to create an atmosphere of fun and comraderie, but this is very difficult for a player new to the game. I have found that the variious sub-genres of many MMO's are extremely cliquish( Rp, PVP, etc), usually because they feel that by inviting new people to the community, they open themselves up to criticism by some immature 13 year old(and in some cases, 30-40 year olds who haven't grown up, as well). As i said, I would like to encourage your pursuit of genuine fun-seeking, good old fashioned method-acting RP, so a few helpful tips: A) Encourage *all* who join you to participate! This seems a no-brainer, but many MMO players are flexible, and will *go with the flow* when they find themselves on a competent, xp-oriented team! B)DON'T BREAK CHARACTER! At all, for any reason! If the leader of the group can demonstrate how easy it is to answer any question...fulfill any request....and acknowledge any real-life concern in-character, the beginning rp'er will get a great insight into the dynamics of RP. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, I and 5 others were doing scanner missions in City of Heroes(one of 6 games I currently am subscribed to). The character I was on at the time was a magic-based tanker, and we were lucky enough to run with the same group for over 2 hours, pretty good for Thanksgiving! When the group broke up, and I said in character that the Lady Dark( my wife's character, who was not online at the time) had requested my presence at DarkeGable castle for a sumptuous feast, I thought little of it. But just before I logged off, three of the others I had run with for most of the morning sent me private tells, and basically said they had heard of RP-centric players, but had never realized how fun it was, and they couldn't believe I never broke character even when some (using the hated parenthases of out of character comments, as I am doing...lol) had said "phone..brb" or "gotta feed the dog", etc....! These were comments I took gratefully, and I was glad to inspire others to RP in the future! C) Be patient with non-RPers! They may have many reasons for not participating, but until they become rude or insulting, they are helping you to advance as you are helping them! Experience, loot and money have a way of uniting even the most disparate of players D) Most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT! E)Lastly, never be discouraged by the kill-joy players you meet online! They have their reasons for playing, and we have ours! I never give a moment's thought to a rude or smart-ass comment, but I have remembered great players and comrades(many of whom I still run with) for over 10 years now! THanks for the great question, and HAPPY HUNTING!
this is why pople poke fun at RP ers. they try to take it to far.
i am a roll player from way back D & D . we did it in charter and had lods of fun. but if your invirment dose not lend its self to rping then go with the flow. rp a little hear and a little their. you will find you will have fun. is SWG i RP when i could and loved. it dose not take devs to make a rp server to RP.
Historically MMORPG’s where based heavily on the Solo RP games they originated from. Those games in turn had their inspiration from table top RP.
That was a long time ago now all that matters is graphics and PvP. Now called MMO’s they focus far more on single player elements. When introduced we were not concerned they did not have the best graphics, now they must; PvP was secondary now it is obligatory. RP tools are so down the priority list they usually don’t feature in modern MMO’s.
Look at the number of threads in this General Discussion forum. Role Playing discussion can’t muster as much activity as the Help Desk. We are well under half as active as Site Suggestions! This site reflects the cold fact that MMO’s are increasingly not about Roleplaying. There will always be those who truly play a character, but don’t expect to be seen as anything more than eccentric irrelevancy in a future MMO's.
i role play all the time in games people have no idea who i am in real life but my real life friends and i never talk about my real life to anyone in game i am there to have fun and if role play is following a set of rules to you then go nuts on a RP server i love my type of role play more
I just did a blog about this very emotion, is it so hard? I have heard time and time again, a policed RP server would gladly be paid for, so why is it such a forlorn subject? To have a server that makes twice or three times the money full of happy people?
I hate to say it, but untill we get the freedom that technology and communication are promising us (free, free to use, free to mod) RP may well become what the one poster said about the RP guy being the unimportent eccentric in a mmo.
All we really need is a rich guy with nothing to do who wants to RP in WOW, buy the liscenses and then have the community police itself.
I dunno, no easy answer to this question, not right now. DO what I do, go play Gemstone, where they make you pay, but you do get a RP community, however poor it may be.
--Names of characters, guilds and pets -must fit- with the content of the game, example: a game such as AoC could have a player named "sparks666" anywhere but on a RP server....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for name change continued abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server.
Gamers -must stay- within character in /chat, /guild, /shout and or /local at all times...speaking in /ooc is acceptable as long as said player does not abuse it, ooc in /tell is also acceptable....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for a one warning only any other abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server.--
This is the only way i know of to keep a RP server strictly for RPer's, which i believe is more effort than most places are willing to give considering that the server would have to be monitored 24/7...sure, RP'ers could 'police' the area for non-RP'ers but even that can only go so far.
On top of which you have the 'Anal RP'ers' the ones who get upset because you're not RP'ing like -they- want you too or how they planned it, the power-hungry guild masters who demand people act like he/she does...and so on and so forth.
There is RP out there in MMO's...but they tend to be the small flash or text based ones with 30 people who tend to be just a bit too xenophobic for my tastes.
--Names of characters, guilds and pets -must fit- with the content of the game, example: a game such as AoC could have a player named "sparks666" anywhere but on a RP server....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for name change continued abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server. Gamers -must stay- within character in /chat, /guild, /shout and or /local at all times...speaking in /ooc is acceptable as long as said player does not abuse it, ooc in /tell is also acceptable....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for a one warning only any other abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server.-- This is the only way i know of to keep a RP server strictly for RPer's, which i believe is more effort than most places are willing to give considering that the server would have to be monitored 24/7...sure, RP'ers could 'police' the area for non-RP'ers but even that can only go so far. On top of which you have the 'Anal RP'ers' the ones who get upset because you're not RP'ing like -they- want you too or how they planned it, the power-hungry guild masters who demand people act like he/she does...and so on and so forth. There is RP out there in MMO's...but they tend to be the small flash or text based ones with 30 people who tend to be just a bit too xenophobic for my tastes.
There is RP in all the major MMOs today.
WoW, WAR, LotRO, AoC...
I know for a fact that all four of those games have healthy RP communities.
EDIT: And remove Guild chat from the "Must RP in" column. Let the Guild Leaders decide that.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!
LoTRO seems to have a decent RP'ing community I believe on the Landroval server. Never tried it myself but you can actually mark (change color of characters Name) yourself as RP'ing. There appears to be plenty of people RP'ing in that game. But I also think it's how you want to present yourself. If you want to RP you should be creative enough to do just that, without all the bells and whistles provided by the devs. Anyway if I were you I would check out some of the RP posts in LoTRO. See if that is to your liking.
Loved roleplaying on my Hobbit Burglar on Landroval... being drunk and rude... flirting with every elf in sight.
i believe that many years ago it would have been difficult to imagine the role playing aspect of games, because they had to be completely creative. I'm sure that now it is quite difficult for the same reason; creativity is hard to come by. I'm sure that developers deserve a little bit of slack.
Hello. I am a new forums member here, but I think I know a game you all might be intrested in. Its a game focused entirely on roleplaying and has just recently been brought online in an open beta. The game, Underlight: Shades of Truth, has gone through several versions before this most recent release. It started out a pay to play game, and after the community took over management of the game, it became a free open-source game. Now, its graphics aren't top of the line like WoW or SWG, but its not like runescape.
In addition, it has a completely unique combat system that mirrors Oblivion in that it integrates both leveling up certain "attributes" while doing the actual fighting in a real time twitch based combat model, allowing even new players to effectively fight against vetrans if they practice.
The leveling system is also completely unique to any game in the RPG Genere. In this new leveling system, the players seek out "Teacher's" (whom are both Game Moderators and actual players) and who give out certain tasks to complete in order to gain "Power" (experiance), "Orbits" (levels), "Spheres" (basically the allowance to progress from a certain set of orbits to another. If you reach say, orbit 10, you need to complete a sphere task in order to move on from orbit 10. These generally tend to be very involved and difficult, but also very fun), "Arts" (which are basically special abilites. I'll go more in depth on them later), and many other things.
Arts are unique as well in comparision to most other games, more because of the abilites themselves. Most games involve spells such as "Flameball" or "Lightening" or "Heal", but in Underlight, there are also a number of very unique abilites, some of which you start with, which make the game easier and more fun. Some examples of starting abilites (I don't want to take all the suprise out of the game) include:
1) Locate Dreamer - This is a buddy list and a tracker rolled into one. By searching for the name of a person on here, you're able to tell if they're online and where they are. As you train this ability further, your able to search for individual players and find out "very speciffically" where they are.
2) GateSmasher/SoulReaper/etc. - This ability allows you to summon the primary weapon of your class (see this link for the classes: http://underlight.ixios.net/focus.asp)
3) Sense Dreamers - This ability allows you to see the three most populated areas of the Dream (as the world is reffered to).
And many more.
And now, for roleplaying itself in the game. Roleplaying in the game is enforced in-character, therefore you are expected to always be "In character" or acting as your character would. This and the fact that the game has only been brought online very recently has lead to a rather small gamer population, but it is a very close knit community whom is very open to newcomer's regardless of their rp experiance. The Game Masters, or GM's, are very involved in the game by providing both random events and furthering the main storyline of the game. The game isn't just for hardcore rper's though. The game is equelly suited to both casual and hardcore roleplayers.
Even with everything I've said here though, I've only barely begun to scratch the surface of the game. So please, come check it out, you might like it .
Here is the forums for the game (feel free to post here if you have any questions or comments or just feel like talking to any of the players): http://underlight.ixios.net/forums/default.asp
Here is some other general links you may find intresting or necessary to play:
Comments
Roleplaying online is a pale, shallow reflection of roleplaying around a table with a group of good friends. I roleplayed for 20 years, running a couple of rpg gamestores when the fad was at its height, and no computer game is going to recreate that feeling of real creativity and laughs. Ever. Online MMORPGS are just glorified shoot-em-ups with chat facilities. Up to now, anyway.
I had exactly this P&P-feeling in a computer game and it was even better!
But it was no MMO. In Neverwinter Nights 2, it´s possible to play with a group of friends (it doesn´t matter, if you know them in real life or not) on your own server. You can invent the story, the DM is able to control the environment ,add quests or whatever you want. Additionally you have a great grafical environment, which makes it much easier to get involved in the story.
This way it is really better than playing around a table! You even can play with friends, who do not live in the same city!
I think, good RP is possible also in a MMORPG. But the trend goes to bigger game environments and more players on one server. I don´t think, this is good for RP in computer games. Community is important for RPers and in a smaller game world with less people on a server it is much easier to create a community.
There are three big problems, why RP is virtually non-existant in MOORPGs:
1. The Term RPG itself has been bleached, abused, misused and badly treated, that a normal gamer does not get it real meaning. For most, it is a game, where you manouver an avatar and that avatar can progress (by level, item, abilities etc). As long, as a game like, lets say Diablo, is considered a RPG, you will not be able to role-play in peace on any MMO. Most MMOs should not even carry the abbreviation RPG.
2. Most games developed today are not idea- but marketing-driven. A few years back, the CGI was run and lead by geeks and nerds, who come from a sub-culture, very close, or even involved with RPG and older computer-games. Today all the nice and small details that would make RP enjoyable are the first things that have to go, if the dead-line comes too close. So you end up with games, that some marketing-guy thinks will make money, but there is not a single chair in the game, you can sit on.
3. One of the biggest mistakes is to think, that role-players are a niche. They are not. Also most CG-Companies tend to believe that they favor a seperate type of game-style, which is also not true. Roleplayers can be PvEers and PvPers alike. And they play many games. But in an environment where roleplaying is non-existent they will not reveal themself, or, if they really want to go through the troubles, the gather in small conclaves. WoW is a good example that there are a big load of roleplayers out there. Even if only a thrid of the population of a rp-server is made up by roleplayers, you still have hundred of thousand worldwide. All that, while RPers often go back to freeshards, don't RP online at all, or hide their true joy.
Roleplayers should not need to hide, or huddle together in small conclaves in the genre they brought into existence. (MUDs; MUSHes and MOOs are the real ancestors). But roleplayers tend to fight over the small things, instead of gathering and voicing their opinion. There are games, that have a lot of potential. And if a big-enough number of role-players would stand as one and show their willingnes to support a game, if they are treated well with content and protection for the game-style, then the studios of those games might just accomadate them and give them a proper home.
Currently I try just that with The Chronicles of Spellborn, which will not be very appealing for the broad masse, but has a lot to offer to roleplayers. No itemization, no raid content, no farming and grinding and very much focused on the story. Hell there are not even stats on armors and a mage can wear full plate as much as a warrior, leaving only a cosmetical difference.
I decided to put my hopes into a currently developed game for once more. So I am working on a role-player portal for TCoS, trying to get the RPers together and form a single voice to be heard.
Because it comes down to that: You, as a roleplayer have to work for it, together with others that share your interest. And so I do...
I'm afraid in a mmorpg the only "roleplaying" your gonna get is whatever people type into the chat channels. Other than that its all gonna be about gaining levels and farming phat loot. I dont think there are any mmos in which you can do anything other than that. They are all static gameworlds which you cant really affect or change so although you might have a great roleplaying idea in your head there really isnt any way to actually bring it into the game. Like I said you can just type whatever you like into the chat channels and pretend you are Lord Zarkon the mighty necromancer or some other fanciful character but I'm afraid in an mmo you are really no different to any of the other millions of cookie-cutter characters who all have equal access to all the same experiences and stuff you have.
Basicly to sum-up roleplaying is not really possible in an mmo as your experience is never going to be unique. You can have the same level of roleplaying in an mmo as you can with MSN Messenger because thats all an mmo really is - a simple single player game that can be played by lots of people at the same time and has an instant messenger attached to it.
If you want roleplaying then you are unlikely to find it in a computer game. I would recommend playing a proper roleplaying game with a group of friends. Then you are free to put your imagination to use, being able to do whatever you like and actually do things that effect the game world your character lives in. Otherwise I would just give up on the roleplaying aspect if I were you as you just arent going to get it. I'm afraid your just gonna have to grind away with the rest of the online masses.
Actually there is a game where your experience can easily be unique and the world is not static. The game is called Magic of the Gods. It has some weaknesses, like graphics, but it's the ultimate for role playing.
I know some of this will sound too good to be true, but from what I've seen, EVERYONE playing the game is in-character doing role playing ALL THE TIME. Not just on a role playing server, there's only one server and everyone on it is role playing.
The world is not static. It changes constantly, sometimes from the actions of player characters, sometimes from the actions of non-player characters. If you kill a monster or an NPC, they're gone forever. Not just in your instance of the game, but for everyone. There are no instances in MotG.
Unlike other games where you can never have a truly unique character or items or spells that other people don't have, in MotG, they actually have a special scripting language that allows each player to INVENT new spells that no one else has. It lets you create new crafting skills that no one else knows and use them to craft items that no one has ever seen before and that no one else can make unless you teach them your new crafting skill. None of that is easy, but it is real and it does work.
The game is held in two hour "sessions" on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 3:30 pm US Pacific Time. The game server is not online any other time. But when it is online, it's awesome. Last session, some characters got together and recaptured an island from the Ogre Raiders. Now Garon has been restored as the ruler of the island and he rewarded the people who helped by giving them ownership of pieces of land on the island.
When the game began, the island was only inhabited by a dwarf named Garon and his sheep. Then ogres attacked and Garon agreed to have his island be part of the Realm of Azmar and dwarves from Azmar set up a colony there. Then the Warlord Karleg of Azmar was killed by a dragon at the Battle of Ogre Island and his son Yarl has become the ruler of Azmar. Since Yarl isn't much of a warrior, Azmar has been losing and ogres took over Sheep Island and drove out all the dwarves. Then Garon got mad and decided to declare independence from Azmar. He asked the Realm of Stondar to help, but they refused. Then he asked some players to help and last session they went and recaptured it. But the sheep were all killed by the ogres during the occupation of the island by the ogres.
So even if you've been to Sheep Island before, you still don't know what you'll see the next time you go. First it was just one shepherd and a lot of sheep. Then there was a colony of Azmarian dwarves. Then ogres and no sheep. Now, various people trying to figure out how to build houses on their new lands.
In what other game would a flock of sheep be gone forever because the ogres ate them? In what other game would players be able to kill or drive off the ogres and have them not just respawn again later?
In what other game does it actually affect gameplay in unpredictable ways that Prince Yarl of Azmar still claims the island and might actually try to recapture it for Azmar? In what other game can players (like Thaero, the High Ranger of Azmar) be involved in arranging a peaceful settlement between the Lord of Sheep Island and the Realm of Azmar that might actually prevent a war?
This wasn't a quest that anyone can do. All of these are once-only events. They become part of the history of the game world, not just quests that can be repeated meaninglessly. If the players had failed to recapture Sheep Island, not only would the ogres still be there, but they might have started raiding the islands further south including the islands I have recently claimed for my new kingdom of Radnaria.
If this kind of role playing matters to you a lot and you're willing to put up with crappy graphics, awkward software downloads, scheduled game sessions instead of 24/7 access, and a game that still needs a lot of work, then Magic of the Gods is worth a look.
Oh, on the plus side, it is free to play and the game developers are a small independent group and it is extremely easy to talk to them by posting on their forum or sending them e-mail. They often participate in discussions on the forums about how the game should evolve and are easily influenced by player suggestions. Playtesting the game is like being part of the development team. Did I mention it's still in beta? Anyway, if you're a serious role player, help me develop my kingdom. My character's name is Radnar. If you are not into role playing and you just want to kill things mindlessly and "level up", then please don't play this game. There are hundreds of games like that. Don't spoil this one.
Games played:
Runescape -------------- www.runescape.com
Magic of the Gods ------ www.magicofthegods.com
Saga of Ryzom ---------- www.ryzom.com
World of Warcraft ------- www.worldofwarcraft.com
the only thing you need to roleplay is text-it's very flexable.
mmorpgs in general where no meant for roleplying.
role playing referes to anytype of story-even stories that involve advanced tehnology.
Well, is few MMO games with a good RPG community. EQ2 probably have the best I seen in a MMO but it is far from ideal.
Problem is that people who don't roleplay still make chars on the RPG servers.
I guess you could have hard moderating and move chars to a none RP server after several offences but it is hard to do so.
It becomes very difficult to have high expectations and get satisfied answer of the MMORPGs after WOW, not to say RP of them. Lack of creativity, addictive to copy, similar graphics, similar gameplay and so on make the afer WOW MMORPGs so so...
Hrm, it would be nice if games made a few additions to help RPers. I think one of my biggest gripes though was the lack of respect people have for RPers in general and the fact that nothing ever seems to happen to these people until they get tired and leave. In the end what I started doing was just walking everywhere in WoW's cities (it takes a bit longer, but it's not terrible, and in a way "marks" you for RPing). Other than that, the only issue is, as someone else has mentioned, the RP community of WoW is... interesting. There's quite a bit of ERP going on, and someone who seems "normal" at first can quickly turn into a cat woman or a vampire.
And if it's not that, then it's the Sues. I guess I just have much higher/stricter expectations for my RP, oh well.
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You can't win - if you strike me down I shall respawn more powerful than you could possibly imagine!
A great question! My answer is meant to encourage you to continue your quest for an enjoyable, immersive RPG experience in whatever MMO you choose!
So, to begin...first, you must realize that role-playing is something that the average MMO players is simply not interested in! (especially when you consider the average age and attention span of the players involved).
As a veteran of many MMORPG's(many of which I have gotten involved with simply to investigate the level of player involvement in the RP aspects of the game or universe), I can say that only a few offer a true effort at role-playing. Many of these have been listed in this very topic thread, such as LOTR and SWG( I cannot help but state my opinion that the major reason SWG doesn't live up to it's promise is *because* they don't encourage rp gameplay more prominantly). It is one thing to pick up a lightsaber and start offing wamprats, but it is a whole new level of dedication to actually *believe* you are a Dark SIth Lord when immersed in the SW universe!
That said, my background in RP is one of spectacular hits and horrifying misses! When I enter my chosen universe, I try to *become* the character I have created for the time I invest in a game(not to mention the money...lol). This is not an easy thing to do! I try to create an atmosphere of fun and comraderie, but this is very difficult for a player new to the game. I have found that the variious sub-genres of many MMO's are extremely cliquish( Rp, PVP, etc), usually because they feel that by inviting new people to the community, they open themselves up to criticism by some immature 13 year old(and in some cases, 30-40 year olds who haven't grown up, as well).
As i said, I would like to encourage your pursuit of genuine fun-seeking, good old fashioned method-acting RP, so a few helpful tips:
A) Encourage *all* who join you to participate! This seems a no-brainer, but many MMO players are flexible, and will *go with the flow* when they find themselves on a competent, xp-oriented team!
B)DON'T BREAK CHARACTER! At all, for any reason! If the leader of the group can demonstrate how easy it is to answer any question...fulfill any request....and acknowledge any real-life concern in-character, the beginning rp'er will get a great insight into the dynamics of RP. For example, on Thanksgiving Day, I and 5 others were doing scanner missions in City of Heroes(one of 6 games I currently am subscribed to). The character I was on at the time was a magic-based tanker, and we were lucky enough to run with the same group for over 2 hours, pretty good for Thanksgiving! When the group broke up, and I said in character that the Lady Dark( my wife's character, who was not online at the time) had requested my presence at DarkeGable castle for a sumptuous feast, I thought little of it. But just before I logged off, three of the others I had run with for most of the morning sent me private tells, and basically said they had heard of RP-centric players, but had never realized how fun it was, and they couldn't believe I never broke character even when some (using the hated parenthases of out of character comments, as I am doing...lol) had said "phone..brb" or "gotta feed the dog", etc....! These were comments I took gratefully, and I was glad to inspire others to RP in the future!
C) Be patient with non-RPers! They may have many reasons for not participating, but until they become rude or insulting, they are helping you to advance as you are helping them! Experience, loot and money have a way of uniting even the most disparate of players
D) Most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT!
E)Lastly, never be discouraged by the kill-joy players you meet online! They have their reasons for playing, and we have ours! I never give a moment's thought to a rude or smart-ass comment, but I have remembered great players and comrades(many of whom I still run with) for over 10 years now!
THanks for the great question, and HAPPY HUNTING!
******************************"Impressive...most impressive! Your skills are complete!"
this is why pople poke fun at RP ers. they try to take it to far.
i am a roll player from way back D & D . we did it in charter and had lods of fun. but if your invirment dose not lend its self to rping then go with the flow. rp a little hear and a little their. you will find you will have fun. is SWG i RP when i could and loved. it dose not take devs to make a rp server to RP.
Historically MMORPG’s where based heavily on the Solo RP games they originated from. Those games in turn had their inspiration from table top RP.
That was a long time ago now all that matters is graphics and PvP. Now called MMO’s they focus far more on single player elements. When introduced we were not concerned they did not have the best graphics, now they must; PvP was secondary now it is obligatory. RP tools are so down the priority list they usually don’t feature in modern MMO’s.
Look at the number of threads in this General Discussion forum. Role Playing discussion can’t muster as much activity as the Help Desk. We are well under half as active as Site Suggestions! This site reflects the cold fact that MMO’s are increasingly not about Roleplaying. There will always be those who truly play a character, but don’t expect to be seen as anything more than eccentric irrelevancy in a future MMO's.
i role play all the time in games people have no idea who i am in real life but my real life friends and i never talk about my real life to anyone in game i am there to have fun and if role play is following a set of rules to you then go nuts on a RP server i love my type of role play more
I just did a blog about this very emotion, is it so hard? I have heard time and time again, a policed RP server would gladly be paid for, so why is it such a forlorn subject? To have a server that makes twice or three times the money full of happy people?
I hate to say it, but untill we get the freedom that technology and communication are promising us (free, free to use, free to mod) RP may well become what the one poster said about the RP guy being the unimportent eccentric in a mmo.
All we really need is a rich guy with nothing to do who wants to RP in WOW, buy the liscenses and then have the community police itself.
I dunno, no easy answer to this question, not right now. DO what I do, go play Gemstone, where they make you pay, but you do get a RP community, however poor it may be.
--Names of characters, guilds and pets -must fit- with the content of the game, example: a game such as AoC could have a player named "sparks666" anywhere but on a RP server....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for name change continued abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server.
Gamers -must stay- within character in /chat, /guild, /shout and or /local at all times...speaking in /ooc is acceptable as long as said player does not abuse it, ooc in /tell is also acceptable....refusal to follow this rule is grounds for a one warning only any other abuse is grounds for moving said character to a non-RP server.--
This is the only way i know of to keep a RP server strictly for RPer's, which i believe is more effort than most places are willing to give considering that the server would have to be monitored 24/7...sure, RP'ers could 'police' the area for non-RP'ers but even that can only go so far.
On top of which you have the 'Anal RP'ers' the ones who get upset because you're not RP'ing like -they- want you too or how they planned it, the power-hungry guild masters who demand people act like he/she does...and so on and so forth.
There is RP out there in MMO's...but they tend to be the small flash or text based ones with 30 people who tend to be just a bit too xenophobic for my tastes.
There is RP in all the major MMOs today.
WoW, WAR, LotRO, AoC...
I know for a fact that all four of those games have healthy RP communities.
EDIT: And remove Guild chat from the "Must RP in" column. Let the Guild Leaders decide that.
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Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!
Loved roleplaying on my Hobbit Burglar on Landroval... being drunk and rude... flirting with every elf in sight.
Currently restarting World of Warcraft
i believe that many years ago it would have been difficult to imagine the role playing aspect of games, because they had to be completely creative. I'm sure that now it is quite difficult for the same reason; creativity is hard to come by. I'm sure that developers deserve a little bit of slack.
If you want RP try Face of Mankind... its kind of a fpsmmo sandbox with real poltics and such
Hello. I am a new forums member here, but I think I know a game you all might be intrested in. Its a game focused entirely on roleplaying and has just recently been brought online in an open beta. The game, Underlight: Shades of Truth, has gone through several versions before this most recent release. It started out a pay to play game, and after the community took over management of the game, it became a free open-source game. Now, its graphics aren't top of the line like WoW or SWG, but its not like runescape.
In addition, it has a completely unique combat system that mirrors Oblivion in that it integrates both leveling up certain "attributes" while doing the actual fighting in a real time twitch based combat model, allowing even new players to effectively fight against vetrans if they practice.
The leveling system is also completely unique to any game in the RPG Genere. In this new leveling system, the players seek out "Teacher's" (whom are both Game Moderators and actual players) and who give out certain tasks to complete in order to gain "Power" (experiance), "Orbits" (levels), "Spheres" (basically the allowance to progress from a certain set of orbits to another. If you reach say, orbit 10, you need to complete a sphere task in order to move on from orbit 10. These generally tend to be very involved and difficult, but also very fun), "Arts" (which are basically special abilites. I'll go more in depth on them later), and many other things.
Arts are unique as well in comparision to most other games, more because of the abilites themselves. Most games involve spells such as "Flameball" or "Lightening" or "Heal", but in Underlight, there are also a number of very unique abilites, some of which you start with, which make the game easier and more fun. Some examples of starting abilites (I don't want to take all the suprise out of the game) include:
1) Locate Dreamer - This is a buddy list and a tracker rolled into one. By searching for the name of a person on here, you're able to tell if they're online and where they are. As you train this ability further, your able to search for individual players and find out "very speciffically" where they are.
2) GateSmasher/SoulReaper/etc. - This ability allows you to summon the primary weapon of your class (see this link for the classes: http://underlight.ixios.net/focus.asp)
3) Sense Dreamers - This ability allows you to see the three most populated areas of the Dream (as the world is reffered to).
And many more.
And now, for roleplaying itself in the game. Roleplaying in the game is enforced in-character, therefore you are expected to always be "In character" or acting as your character would. This and the fact that the game has only been brought online very recently has lead to a rather small gamer population, but it is a very close knit community whom is very open to newcomer's regardless of their rp experiance. The Game Masters, or GM's, are very involved in the game by providing both random events and furthering the main storyline of the game. The game isn't just for hardcore rper's though. The game is equelly suited to both casual and hardcore roleplayers.
Even with everything I've said here though, I've only barely begun to scratch the surface of the game. So please, come check it out, you might like it
.
Here is the forums for the game (feel free to post here if you have any questions or comments or just feel like talking to any of the players): http://underlight.ixios.net/forums/default.asp
Here is some other general links you may find intresting or necessary to play:
Game Guides: http://underlight.ixios.net/guides.asp
Character Creation Page (requires a forums account): http://underlight.ixios.net/account/login.aspx
Full Client Download Page: http://files.filefront.com/Underlight+Client+16412exe/;9857856;/fileinfo.html