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General: MMORPG - Where's the RP?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Hot on the heels of last week's forum discussion about whether or not most player still role play in their games, Isabelle Parsley's latest Player Perspectives column wonders where the RP is in MMORPGs these days. Isabelle has impressive role playing credentials from back in the good old days but admits to sometimes having difficulty role playing in MMOs. Read on and then tell us about your experiences role playing (or not) in MMOs in the comments below.
Ironically for a relatively hardcore tabletop role-player, I've always found it rather difficult to RP in online games. As a very visual person, I have problems with the fact that everything is already imagined for me: it's sort of like having read a book and then seeing the movie adaptation, where what you see doesn't always match up with what you'd imagined for yourself. I also have issues with the whole keyboard/screen disconnect between me and everyone else I'm RP-ing with.
Read more of Isabelle Parsley's Player Perspectives: MMORPG - Where's the RP?
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Comments
Nice read & spot on.
Ty for your insight on the matter.
/bow
Great article! Best of the week tbh. And a fun one
My brother thinks that an RPG is any game that you level up/gain experience points in, and no one can tell him different. He says COD Black Ops is an RPG since you gain levels and weapons are obtained upon getting experience and spending CoD points. I (and everyone else should) strongly disagree.
Where is the role-playing aspect in MMO's these days? You may think you are in a sandbox , or theme park , but what you are actually doing is what every one is doing and that is trying to get to the highest level, getting the best gear, and bullying noobs. Does one actually care what their skill descriptions mean, or are they just clicking or pushing the hotkeys. Does killing that creature actually help out the town or is it just gonna respawn and patrol (or even just sit there)? Single player RPGs used to have the role playing in it where your actions actually meant something for the world, but now there are no roleplaying games out there in sight and that is why people have to make up their own story. Role players rejoice, soon enough we will have something to role play on.
-I am here to perform logic
Regretfully there will always be haters...RP haters, fanbois haters, haters haters (IMO troll haters are A-OK). I remember a few years back when I was saying 'chars' or 'characters' and so many people questioned me or downright laughed, I started using the terms 'toons' just to avoid the need to explain.
*shrug*
Playing on Faeblight in Rift ATM (and after launch). While I don't feel the need to flower my every sentence with thees and thous, I find myself hoping that the RP servers there are policed for OOC chat and stepped on when it occurs (when used beyond a minimum) If nothing else, it will keep the general chat quiet of the 'HRR HRR HRR YER MOM' stuff.
Sigh
Just depends on the person's definition for RP. For me, I agree on MMOG. RP should be reserved for table top, MUDs, and LARPing. For others, as long as they're not themselves online then they're RPing. (They're 'role-playing' the role of a goblin named 'Ur Mom' or 'Frenzied Monkey'.)
"I am the harbinger of hope. I am the sword of the righteous. And to all who hear my words, I say this: What you give to this Empire, I shall give back unto you."
-Empress Jamyl Sarum I
Any game can be a role playing game , if the group of players you play with have a little immagination. Thats all it takes.
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Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel
Thank you. Well written article.
+1
Gaming since Avalon Hill was making board games.
Played SWG, EVE, Fallen Earth, LOTRO, Rift, Vanguard, WoW, SWTOR, TSW, Tera
Tried Aoc, Aion, EQII, RoM, Vindictus, Darkfail, DDO, GW, PotBS
Could not agree more I hate that there is almost no rp in mmorpg's these days. I can tell you right now when swtor comes out I will be doing some big time rp, and anyone that does not like it bugger off, Nice read!
For me what you have to say here rings very true. Particularly this section
[object Window]I do still see a distinction between them and me, at least most of the time, and I don[object Window]t consider them merely a vehicle for representing myself in Norrath or Azeroth or wherever I happen to be.[object Window]
I see my characters in mmorpgs as like characters in a book. I am watching their adventure unfold, I have never played a character that is meant to be me. I may have stopped actively role playing these days but my characters are still that, they are characters.
Amazing post. Well written aswell. i can remember the first time i played a pen an paper. alo i remember the first video rpg i playes was LONG ago.. it was zelda btw.. i LOVE the legend of zelda.. hell even my father/mother.. who never realy got big into rpgs loved zelda and when it was available to download on the wii.. they bought a wii lol, along with super mario brothers 3.. ahh fond memories.. its a shame that most games anymore dont bring the same 'fealing' anymore.
Back on track thoe rp'ers in rpgs do seem to be dieing out.. Some of that reason i think could be directed to those who activly attack rpers ing video games... funny thoe isent it? playing video games at one point was probably one of the nerdiest things you can do.. no everyone and their family has played or is currently playing one..
That's just silly.
By your definition, I'm roleplaying while playing Madden football.
Roleplaying is much much more than moving one's character around the screen and mashing buttons. Until games are developed with the Roleplayer in mind, and have even a loose set of roleplaying rules enforced...this is what we're stuck with.
I played DnD PnP and it was much more enjoyable experience then today's MMO's.
The question is why do we play? For myself it's the experience, I do not wish to power level my way through nor want hand me downs. I like to experience the world from day one and live it. Of course you'll find out that is not what today's mmo's are about. You have to Power Level your way through to get the most epic raid gear so you can ... ... brag? Personally I don't understand that world. I normally play mmo's from low to mid content since higher is normally polar opposite to my personality.
RPing is not supported in MMO's today. I'd like to see them make a world in which we could experience the fun of creating a character along with a personality too.
I saw some cool content from D&D itself but I never saw anything come of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWZ2WdeTo1M&feature=player_embedded
I've always wanted to try role playing....but never found a good community in which to try it. It was a good read, ty for posting!
Currently Playing: FFXIV:ARR
Looking Forward to: Wildstar
I've been saying this exact thing for years.
But you'll find a lot of people who disagree, because, since you're playing "someone other than yourself", you're roleplaying. According to them, anyway.
I miss pnp D&D.
Follow my tweet (:
I agree with many of your points, however it does bear mentioning that many PnP and table top games were similar in experience to what we see in today's MMO's. Think about it, how many times did "that guy" try to tell you how to best play your character, or the GM use "the voice all the villains have" thereby giving away the surprise turncoat character. I think it is more likely that the reason Rp players get so much grief is that you can't tell "that guy" not to come back. Since you cannot tailor your "gaming group" to eliminate the lazy, uninspired, bullying or even down right dumb people, all the disruption that I, and anyone who has played PnP with multiple groups, hated at a session happens far, far more frequently.
It's the same as going to an open gaming session at one of the old conventions (think RP pick up game). You met some great casual friends, but the numbers were far outweighed by the number of horrible people you had to deal with.
The difference between confidence and over-confidence is that you must first be wrong to be over-confident.
RP is as dead as a dodo. That's a shame. The last time I tried playing in character I was laughed at. RP takes imagination and a little work, something lacking in today's kiddie Klown Klub.
There was a time when I was semi interested in RP, I've tried it a couple times in a few different MMOs but it didn't have any lasting appeal for me.
I think people who want to RP should find like minded people to RP with in a guild or what have you, and not force it on other random people. Something about it is just kinda annoying when someone randomly tries to RP when you're just not in the mood for it.
My DCUO server has been deemed by the RP community as the unofficial RP server, and I was like WTF?
Also, I don't think RP will ever spread to the MMO masses unless it's enforced somehow
Nice read. I got into Rping on an online forum about 6 years ago. I didnt know it was Rp at the time, just thought it would be fun to make a character with thier own traits and personalities and interact with each other. Sort of like a large story collaboration.
I currently and actively Rp in MMORPG's. I can understand and agree with every word of this post. I Rp out openly, and could care less if others laugh at me or what not. Its what I enjoy and part of my enjoyment in any MMORPG is Roleplaying. Ive roleplayed in every single MMORPG ive played, because to me thats just 2nd nature. On occasion I find other Rpers. Its a large realization that RP is a minority now. In the current MMO I play, Runes of Magic, Im struggling to hold the Rp community together.
yes i try to always to RP in what ever game i am playing, even if i am the only one to do so.
When I started playing mmos I "assumed" that rp would come into it... and I just happened to chance upon the right group on the right server. It's HUGE fun when done right... it's one reason I just never liked WoW... the game feels souless when it comes to the rp. I admit to being a light rper nowadays but I like to at least feel semi immersed in the world that I'm playing with.
One issue I do have with many of the rp communities in mmos nowadays is that they often treat the game their in as a role playing forum. They don't act out their character. Which is partially the fault of the game in general. If you arn't given the tools why do it? Aka most storylines have some sort of conflict... well... if you can't ambush group B because they're on your side faction.. how are you really going to play it out?
This is why games like TOR really are going to be great for such things. It'll force you to rp one way or another and it should be fun. It may not be perfect but it and GW2 seem to be the two games that really are trying to put rp back into out mmos. Guided rp but still it's rp and I'd say that's a lot better than pretending you're a cyborg headless horseman in goldshire when your character is obviously an elf with a perfectly fine head on it and no metal to speak of.
Well from what I can tell SWTOR is really trying to turn that around for the MMO community. I have to respect them for that. It would be cool to see servers deicated to bring back some RPing at least in the sense that people could be immersed and not have to be rediculed for it.
Good read. RP to me has always centered around the developing of my avatar. Choosing the race, initial looks and size are a small part. Spending stat points, allocating talent points, choosing gear, developing reputation with factions are a more significant part of RP to me. These are all my choices as opposed to another players choice so it is RPing.
SWToR will probably push that a little further along with making light side and dark side choices. Other games could stand with a little more impact from ingame player choices.
Right now it is hard to RP in many games as players are pushed more and more into very narrow cookie cutter characters. I remember my guild in WoW trying to tell me how to spec my druid. Probably the worst example is a game that has an extensive facial creation system and then players slap a helmet on at level 5 and the other players never see the face again.
First, someone said that even single player games don't give your actions weight in the world. Last fall Fallout: New Vegas and Fable 3 came out, both of which allow the player to create a character who can(and will) change the world.
Second, saying thee and thou isn't roleplaying. Given how obsessively formal that style of speech is, I have serious doubts that the average person ever spoke like that, even in England, in Earth's past. Since I haven't ever played an MMO set in England, in Earth's past, it just seems like a lazy way to fake RP.
My main in EQ2 is a troll who's speech is something along the lines of LOL-speak. Before someone cries that this can't possibly be RP, I'll give an example:
You meet another character:
"Greetings, how are thee today?"
vs
"Hellos littlebitty!!! Vurns are liking littlebittys! U are being Vurnfriends now?"
I feel the later sentence better captures the fact that Vurn Bloodyeyes is both very excitable, and barely capable of coherent speech. Also he thinks everyone is a friend, unless someone ELSE has giving him the task of killing 20 of them and returning body parts for a reward of some sort.
Roleplaying has always been seen as a typically "nerdy" hobby. But now we've got teenagers desperately trying to look cool while enjoying a roleplaying game. How can these nerdy kids avoid looking nerdy to their high-school buddies? They denounce the roleplayers as being even nerdier, the same way roleplayers look down on LARPers, LARPers look down on furries, and furries look down on... well, I think it ends at furries.
The anti-roleplayers just awkward little kids who are uncomfortable with roleplaying. That's why it's so fun to roleplay in front of them as much as possible, refuse to break character, and don't back down. It scares the hell out of them.
I am a scientist and an artist in the real world. I would like to help clear things up.
First and Foremost, I will give you real definitions
The world "Roleplaying" means "To act out" and there is a field, an occupation of people who "roleplay" professionally. We call them "Actors" and their majors are in Theater Arts. This isn't an illusion, or an idiotic make-believe idea. It is not an OPINION either. It is the "actual" definition. Of course people in the U.S love to take Opinion and pass it as fact under "argumentum ad populum" which means "the belief something is true because the majority say it is true."
Acting is a physical thing. It involves emotion, expression and even some skill. Sitting in front of a computer and typing out lines means trying to make up for a "loss of voice" through smilies and other things, forcing people to learn and assume certain things...where the illusion of expression exists. Think of how we type lol to mean laughing out loud but we use it to simply show we are there and listening and are agreeable or disagreeable to something...Think of how every other expression has problems...
Paradigms may change over time as an illusion, but underneath it all its really the same thing.
You want "roleplaying?"
Go watch your favorite TV show or movie and judge if the "acting" is good or not.
If you are like me, and truly know roleplaying well, I am sure you have all read through all the volumes of "Adventures in Roleplaying" which is a series of compiled stories from different roleplaying sessions from tabletop roleplaying to freeform roleplaying and even abstract roleplaying which have been all collected into stories for roleplayers to read, try on their groups and inspire people into sharing their best moments...
Once you read any of that, you will truly learn....and though its not designed to drive you away from MMOs, you will learn that what you believe you play and what you actually "defend" are two different things.