Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
I do not think you can role play in a video game; they are far to restrictive.
Table top games are where role playing belongs. There are far less restrictions.
It all depends onthe degree and type of roleplaying. If you're looking to gather at location x once a week and play out your character withthe other roleplayers, lots of MMOs allow that. In games like UO you can go well beyond that, as it offers far more tools and game mechanics to support roleplay and in-game storytelling.
What I define as role playing cannot be done in a video game. Since I am the one stating it we know it is my opnion. I will stand by it. You cannot RP in a video game.
The advantage to table top gaming isn't the lack of restrictions, as you're going to have about the same amount of framework to work within whether you're playing ADnD, VtM/R or even a homebrew. Where the tabletop proves far superior is in the presence of a DM or Storyteller -a person that can adjust the scenario and its variables to keep the game on track, entertaining and exciting.
That is plain down right ridiculous. A video game is restricted by the mechanics and enviornment that the developers put into it. Table top is restricted by your imagination.
MMOs currently don't have Storytellers, however several current and upcoming MMOs have live event teams whose job it is to infuse that extra level of depth and interactivity often missing from MMOs.
That has nothing to do with RP. Story telling is not RP. That is a DM/GM pushing players down narrow story board that they created where the players are nothing more than actors in the DM/GM movie. That is not RP. RP is where the players have complete freedome to do as they see fit. If they want to rob a noble and try and get away they can. That is not always possible in a video game. Players ability to use the free will of their charecters is what makes RP RP.
Players need the ability to allow their characters to eveolve as ingame actions happen and change them. Just like we evolve over time and our actions and encounters drive out personality.
To say RP belongs only in TT gaming is to ignore the incredible amount of engrossing RP interaction that occurs in MMOs, LARPing, NWN servers and other RP circles.
I have played on NWN servers and MMOs and I have never seen what I would call RP. I see alot of thee and thou. I do not know anything about LARPing. I have a feeling it is an off shoot of table top where there is no table top; therefore, it is probably falls under TT for simplicity
If dissagree with me on what RP is that is all good. We can agree to dissagree. I do not think RP can be done in a video game. You need real people and the freedom to change and make the rules as they need to be. The restrictiveness does matter because RP outside of situation is meanginless. Video games dictate the situation. You can choose to use the MMO as a IM tool, but at that point you are basically doing TT with a IM tool that happens to be a MMO. The character in game is no loger functioning as the vehicle for the RP.
RP at its core is about freedom and choice. Video games do not give you either.
I genuinely don't know where to begin based on those responses other than just... WOW.
"That has nothing to do with RP. Story telling is not RP. That is a DM/GM pushing players down narrow story board that they created where the players are nothing more than actors in the DM/GM movie. That is not RP. RP is where the players have complete freedome to do as they see fit. If they want to rob a noble and try and get away they can. That is not always possible in a video game. Players ability to use the free will of their charecters is what makes RP RP. " - MMOman101
Although you already stated that you are going by your personal definition of words and not the actual definition, I'll still try to explain this, probably because I'm a glutton for punishment.
You define your particular form of roleplaying as players having complete freedom to do as they see fit with minimal use of or abandonment of rules. Basically, a lawful good paladin can go smack around a woman for kicks. A Ventrue vampire can slap on a pair of deelyboppers and run into the streets, fangs bared, screaming "Blah! Blah! I'm a vampire!" completely violating the masquerade.* What you define is certainly a type of roleplaying. That type is called Storytelling. The interesting thing, though, is that even storytelling is bound by a set of rules and restrictions.
* - we all know that would never happen. There is no such thing as vampires.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
Ask an actor, they do it all the time. And just try to tell them they don't bring that character to life. If I'm a dm in a tabletop game and I set you in faerun of the forgotten realms on some spot on the sword coast is your free will suddenly gone? Well that's all a video game really does, it provides the setting, nothing more and nothing less. Whether that character comes to life or not depends on your skill at roleplaying, but you could be as skilless as a post and as constricted by a script that tells you exactly what to do and it would still be 'roleplaying'.
That roleplaying becomes something more for you when your doing it is fine, but you can't simply redefine the word to fit what you feel it ought to be.
I geneuinely don't know where to begin based on those responses other than just... WOW.
"That has nothing to do with RP. Story telling is not RP. That is a DM/GM pushing players down narrow story board that they created where the players are nothing more than actors in the DM/GM movie. That is not RP. RP is where the players have complete freedome to do as they see fit. If they want to rob a noble and try and get away they can. That is not always possible in a video game. Players ability to use the free will of their charecters is what makes RP RP. " - MMOman101
Although you already stated that you are going by your personal definition of words and not the actual definition, I'll still try to explain this, probably because I'm a glutton for punishment.
You define your particular form of roleplaying as players having complete freedom to do as they see fit with minimal use of or abandonment of rules. Basically, a lawful good paladin can go smack around a woman for kicks. A Ventrue vampire can slap on a pair of deelyboppers and run into the streets, fangs bared, screaming "Blah! Blah! I'm a vampire!" completely violating the masquerade.* What you define is certainly a type of roleplaying. That type is called Storytelling. The interesting thing, though, is that even storytelling is bound by a set of rules and restrictions.
* - we all know that would never happen. There is no such thing as vampires.
That is the biggest strawman garbage I have read in a bit. Free will does not mean a lawful good character acts like a d-bag. It mean they can actually act lawful good. All you explained is that you missed the entire point of my post. I think you should take the time to go back and read what I typed.
If you are reading from a script you are acting. Even with improv it is still acting. RP is not acting.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
Ask an actor, they do it all the time. And just try to tell them they don't bring that character to life. If I'm a dm in a tabletop game and I set you in faerun of the forgotten realms on some spot on the sword coast is your free will suddenly gone? Well that's all a video game really does, it provides the setting, nothing more and nothing less. Whether that character comes to life or not depends on your skill at roleplaying, but you could be as skilless as a post and as constricted by a script that tells you exactly what to do and it would still be 'roleplaying'.
That roleplaying becomes something more for you when your doing it is fine, but you can't simply redefine the word to fit what you feel it ought to be.
Acrors act; they do not RP. You are confusing the two.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
Ask an actor, they do it all the time. And just try to tell them they don't bring that character to life. If I'm a dm in a tabletop game and I set you in faerun of the forgotten realms on some spot on the sword coast is your free will suddenly gone? Well that's all a video game really does, it provides the setting, nothing more and nothing less. Whether that character comes to life or not depends on your skill at roleplaying, but you could be as skilless as a post and as constricted by a script that tells you exactly what to do and it would still be 'roleplaying'.
That roleplaying becomes something more for you when your doing it is fine, but you can't simply redefine the word to fit what you feel it ought to be.
Acrors act; they do not RP. You are confusing the two.
No, I am not. Acting is "playing a role". That it is a scripted role doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.
I geneuinely don't know where to begin based on those responses other than just... WOW.
"That has nothing to do with RP. Story telling is not RP. That is a DM/GM pushing players down narrow story board that they created where the players are nothing more than actors in the DM/GM movie. That is not RP. RP is where the players have complete freedome to do as they see fit. If they want to rob a noble and try and get away they can. That is not always possible in a video game. Players ability to use the free will of their charecters is what makes RP RP. " - MMOman101
Although you already stated that you are going by your personal definition of words and not the actual definition, I'll still try to explain this, probably because I'm a glutton for punishment.
You define your particular form of roleplaying as players having complete freedom to do as they see fit with minimal use of or abandonment of rules. Basically, a lawful good paladin can go smack around a woman for kicks. A Ventrue vampire can slap on a pair of deelyboppers and run into the streets, fangs bared, screaming "Blah! Blah! I'm a vampire!" completely violating the masquerade.* What you define is certainly a type of roleplaying. That type is called Storytelling. The interesting thing, though, is that even storytelling is bound by a set of rules and restrictions.
* - we all know that would never happen. There is no such thing as vampires.
That is the biggest strawman garbage I have read in a bit. Free will does not mean a lawful good character acts like a d-bag. It mean they can actually act lawful good. All you explained is that you missed the entire point of my post. I think you should take the time to go back and read what I typed.
If you are reading from a script you are acting. Even with improv it is still acting. RP is not acting.
I just gave you two links defining storytelling, why it is a form of roleplaying and how your definiton of roleplay is the definition of Storytelling. Not sure how else to help you out at this point.
By the way, raging about strawmen and then putting that 'script' thing out there was a nice finale'. Goods on ya, mate!
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player. So I rarely if ever RP in games though I will if others do.
This is real simple. Video games cannot have RP. Why?
Let's say we want to do a very simple RP. In a bar. Someone wants to smack the bar maids butt and and make a comment. The bar maid thows a drink in his face.
In a video game you cannot make those things happen. You can type them. The actual character cannot do them. Typing them in the game does not mean the vidoe game allowed for the RP. The video game restricted the RP. The players did what they would do in skype or at the table.
The most basic forms of RP are not appliciable to games. just beucase you use a chat function in a game does not mean the game allowed for RP. Communication and free will allowed for RP. The game was skype or IM.
You cannot make your character on screen do what you want them to do. You can only bypass that character.
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be intersting to see.
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
Familiar with NWN. I was thikning more down the lines of a system produced specifically as basically a massive online DM toolkit and adventure system.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
Familiar with NWN. I was thikning more down the lines of a system produced specifically as basically a massive online DM toolkit and adventure system.
I don't know how viable that is, even in NWN trying to dm an event with more than 6 people was a nightmare.
This is real simple. Video games cannot have RP. Why?
Let's say we want to do a very simple RP. In a bar. Someone wants to smack the bar maids butt and and make a comment. The bar maid thows a drink in his face.
In a video game you cannot make those things happen. You can type them. The actual character cannot do them. Typing them in the game does not mean the vidoe game allowed for the RP. The video game restricted the RP. The players did what they would do in skype or at the table.
The most basic forms of RP are not appliciable to games. just beucase you use a chat function in a game does not mean the game allowed for RP. Communication and free will allowed for RP. The game was skype or IM.
You cannot make your character on screen do what you want them to do. You can only bypass that character.
And you can in tabletop games? So what are you going to do smack the butt of the player next to you? I'm sorry but this is a silly argument. Whether it's said with words over a table with little plastic figures as your avatar or typed out in chat over avatars that can move around on screen you still have to use your imagination to follow through on many of the actions you take. Either way it's roleplaying.
I rarely rp. Most rp'ers ive met are tools When someone comes up to me saying :' Sir, would you be so kind to direct me to the nearest tavern'. And I answer 'Bugger off!' , they somehow think that Im not roleplaying That, while Im actually are playing my toons role. I never play a knight or other boring rp stereotype yawnfest.
I once rp'd as someone similar to Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler ( from Discworld series) and was flamed for not using trade channel!(which wouldve been funny if they werent serious ) And that I was interrupting other people's roleplay. You know the kind of roleplayers who panic if something doesnt go according to script.
I'll do a bit and reciprocate if somebody else is doing it, helps game immersion and just generally makes things more fun. But there's a thin line...if I have to start doing any kind of research or feel like I'm under pressure to roleplay then I'll pass, just becomes a bit of a job.
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
Familiar with NWN. I was thikning more down the lines of a system produced specifically as basically a massive online DM toolkit and adventure system.
I don't know how viable that is, even in NWN trying to dm an event with more than 6 people was a nightmare.
I'm not suggesting anything larger than the standard sized group. Currently, to play a DnD campaign, everyone has to be in the same location. That's not always feasible. Without derailing into any business models, let's look at just a possible system :
DM logs in and picks a system, picks a campaign (or uploads one) and sets a few variables like premade or not, level range, etc. He then posts an event (private or public) to the lobby calendar. Others can sign up for that event. In the case of wanting to play with just his friends, he'd post it as private with a password that his friends would have.
At the time of the event, each player logs in. What they would see would be very much like what would be on the table if they were there. DMs could use stock art and miniatures graphics or upload custom work. The service would handle the voice chat, dice rolls and however much of the rules management that the DM decides, with the option to override the system always available for the DM.
The service would have hundreds of campaigns, user created and developer created – all with a rating and comment system to help sort through to find ones that your group would enjoy.
Basically, the table, the supplies and the shelf of campaign sets are replaced by PCs the internet and a central server with ahost of additional features added in like
- complete libraries of core books, splats and reference tables
- dungeon, character and scenario generators
- calendar and lobby system
- a community portal like My IGN or the Bioware Social Network for blogging, finding out about cons and meetups, and chatting with others in the RPG community.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player.
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
Familiar with NWN. I was thikning more down the lines of a system produced specifically as basically a massive online DM toolkit and adventure system.
I don't know how viable that is, even in NWN trying to dm an event with more than 6 people was a nightmare.
I'm not suggesting anything larger than the standard sized group. Currently, to paly a DnD campaign, everyone has to be in the same location. That's not always feasible. Without derailing into any business models, let's look at just a poissible system :
DM logs in and picks a system, picks a campaign (or uploads one) and sets a few variables like premade or not, level range, etc. He then posts an event (private or public) to the lobby calendar. Others can sign up for that event. In the case of wanting to play with just his friends, he'd post it as private with a password that his friends would have.
At the time of the event, each player logs in. What they would see would be very much like what would be on the table if they were there. DMs could use stock art and miniatures graphics or upload custom work. The service would handle the voice chat, dice rolls and however much of the rules management that the DM decides, with the option to override the system always available for the DM.
The service would have hundreds of campaigns, user created and developer created – all with a rating and comment system to help sort through to find ones that your group would enjoy.
Basically, the table, the supplies and the shelf of campaign sets are replaced by PCs the internet and a central server with ahost of additional features added in like
- complete libraries of core books, splats and reference tables
- dungeon, character and scenario generators
- calendar and lobby system
- a community portal like My IGN or the Bioware Social Network for blogging, finding out about cons and meetups, and chatting with others in the RPG community.
Yeah, that sounds pretty neat. OPENrpg does that to a limited extent, but nowhere near to the degree you're talking about.
Role play: to assume or act out a particular role.
Role play is to breath life to a character. To give that character reason and free will. To allow their actionss define them and allow them grow without prejudice. If you are following a script you are not role playing. Role playing is when you let go of yourself and allow your character to be what they would be if they were real and had gone through the series of encouters that you role played them through.
To often people think of RP as my character is this and they will always be this. Or I want my character to be this and this how I will play them.
That is not the defintion of RP. RP only happens when you let go of yourself and allow the character to be real without you.
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
Ask an actor, they do it all the time. And just try to tell them they don't bring that character to life. If I'm a dm in a tabletop game and I set you in faerun of the forgotten realms on some spot on the sword coast is your free will suddenly gone? Well that's all a video game really does, it provides the setting, nothing more and nothing less. Whether that character comes to life or not depends on your skill at roleplaying, but you could be as skilless as a post and as constricted by a script that tells you exactly what to do and it would still be 'roleplaying'.
That roleplaying becomes something more for you when your doing it is fine, but you can't simply redefine the word to fit what you feel it ought to be.
Acrors act; they do not RP. You are confusing the two.
No, I am not. Acting is "playing a role". That it is a scripted role doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.
Acting, roleplaying... there are similarities and roleplaying usually consists of a bit of acting. But then again... you can give Vin Disel a D&D character sheet and he creates "the great elven warrior princess" and that will work, but you could never give him the same role for on-screen acting. Also, he descides the next moves, motivations etc for his elf character, his creation; as Riddic he represents a figure from a story writer and acts accordingly with a bit of his style as input. The roles are more or less reversed as in that in Riddic he is the char played by the Storywriter. Who could be a she, and never be able to play the role herself nor wished to (pure example, I have no Idea who Riddics writer really is and am too lazy to google it right now).
RP in the sense of D & D pen and paper is imaginative and fun.
most toadstool chomping forum trolls on the other hand are just snarky anxt ridden moms basement 20 somethings with nothing better to do and thus arent very good at RP
Acting, roleplaying... there are similarities and roleplaying usually consists of a bit of acting. But then again... you can give Vin Disel a D&D character sheet and he creates "the great elven warrior princess" and that will work, but you could never give him the same role for on-screen acting. Also, he descides the next moves, motivations etc for his elf character, his creation; as Riddic he represents a figure from a story writer and acts accordingly with a bit of his style as input. The roles are more or less reversed as in that in Riddic he is the char played by the Storywriter. Who could be a she, and never be able to play the role herself nor wished to (pure example, I have no Idea who Riddics writer really is and am too lazy to google it right now).
The motivations behind what he plays doesn't matter, in both cases he's playing a role and both are therefore roleplaying. I guess some people want to believe what they do around a tabletop is something special and different and therefore the term used to describe it should be special and different, but there's really nothing special behind the word. It's a simple word with a simple definition. It's the people and the enjoyment that makes the roleplaying around a tabletop or anywhere else special, not the word.
RP comes alot easier and sometimes by itself if the game itself is made in such a way that provides a solid ground for rp.
Imagine an mmorpg for example where players apart their usual goals they also have a standing in the game's society..some could become ambasadors,other are woodcutters as profesions, or carpenters,bounty hunters, free road killers,thiefs,or even have a job as militia for towns,soldiers for their factions,others have managed to become barons claiming castles as properties or land titlesclaims etc etc...
Problem is i cant think of an mmorpg today in the market that have this complexity in design terms ,rp tools etc,and therefore the rp lvl design/support is minimal and completely up to the players.
I think the devs in future instead of focusing in designing endless farming proceedures maybe should try to consider what RPG stands for in the term mmorpg.
Comments
You have the definition right to begin with, but then you try to pigeon hole it into something it's not. The simple definition for roleplay is exactly what you said "to play a role." Period. And yes acting falls under the definition of 'roleplaying'. As I said in an earlier post, you're trying to redefine the word to fit your preconceptions. Free will or lack thereof has absolutely nothing to do with it.
How can you play a role if you are not free to act as that role? I am not sure how you cannot see the inherent contradiction. My bet is that it is you who are trying to expand the word to fit your meaning, when it clearly does not.
--John Ruskin
I genuinely don't know where to begin based on those responses other than just... WOW.
"That has nothing to do with RP. Story telling is not RP. That is a DM/GM pushing players down narrow story board that they created where the players are nothing more than actors in the DM/GM movie. That is not RP. RP is where the players have complete freedome to do as they see fit. If they want to rob a noble and try and get away they can. That is not always possible in a video game. Players ability to use the free will of their charecters is what makes RP RP. " - MMOman101
Although you already stated that you are going by your personal definition of words and not the actual definition, I'll still try to explain this, probably because I'm a glutton for punishment.
You define your particular form of roleplaying as players having complete freedom to do as they see fit with minimal use of or abandonment of rules. Basically, a lawful good paladin can go smack around a woman for kicks. A Ventrue vampire can slap on a pair of deelyboppers and run into the streets, fangs bared, screaming "Blah! Blah! I'm a vampire!" completely violating the masquerade.* What you define is certainly a type of roleplaying. That type is called Storytelling. The interesting thing, though, is that even storytelling is bound by a set of rules and restrictions.
* - we all know that would never happen. There is no such thing as vampires.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Ask an actor, they do it all the time. And just try to tell them they don't bring that character to life. If I'm a dm in a tabletop game and I set you in faerun of the forgotten realms on some spot on the sword coast is your free will suddenly gone? Well that's all a video game really does, it provides the setting, nothing more and nothing less. Whether that character comes to life or not depends on your skill at roleplaying, but you could be as skilless as a post and as constricted by a script that tells you exactly what to do and it would still be 'roleplaying'.
That roleplaying becomes something more for you when your doing it is fine, but you can't simply redefine the word to fit what you feel it ought to be.
That is the biggest strawman garbage I have read in a bit. Free will does not mean a lawful good character acts like a d-bag. It mean they can actually act lawful good. All you explained is that you missed the entire point of my post. I think you should take the time to go back and read what I typed.
If you are reading from a script you are acting. Even with improv it is still acting. RP is not acting.
--John Ruskin
Acrors act; they do not RP. You are confusing the two.
--John Ruskin
No, I am not. Acting is "playing a role". That it is a scripted role doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.
I just gave you two links defining storytelling, why it is a form of roleplaying and how your definiton of roleplay is the definition of Storytelling. Not sure how else to help you out at this point.
By the way, raging about strawmen and then putting that 'script' thing out there was a nice finale'. Goods on ya, mate!
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I like to RP but my main problem for it is I am a longtime storyteller, GM, DM, creator type so I'd far rather run that side of things than play as a player. So I rarely if ever RP in games though I will if others do.
This is real simple. Video games cannot have RP. Why?
Let's say we want to do a very simple RP. In a bar. Someone wants to smack the bar maids butt and and make a comment. The bar maid thows a drink in his face.
In a video game you cannot make those things happen. You can type them. The actual character cannot do them. Typing them in the game does not mean the vidoe game allowed for the RP. The video game restricted the RP. The players did what they would do in skype or at the table.
The most basic forms of RP are not appliciable to games. just beucase you use a chat function in a game does not mean the game allowed for RP. Communication and free will allowed for RP. The game was skype or IM.
You cannot make your character on screen do what you want them to do. You can only bypass that character.
--John Ruskin
A solid DM-driven online RPG system would probably be interesting to see.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
It already exists in Neverwinter NIghts. Unfortunately it's getting pretty old and the player base has shrunk considerably. I had a few good years on an NWN server tho.
Familiar with NWN. I was thikning more down the lines of a system produced specifically as basically a massive online DM toolkit and adventure system.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I don't know how viable that is, even in NWN trying to dm an event with more than 6 people was a nightmare.
And you can in tabletop games? So what are you going to do smack the butt of the player next to you? I'm sorry but this is a silly argument. Whether it's said with words over a table with little plastic figures as your avatar or typed out in chat over avatars that can move around on screen you still have to use your imagination to follow through on many of the actions you take. Either way it's roleplaying.
I rarely rp. Most rp'ers ive met are tools
When someone comes up to me saying :' Sir, would you be so kind to direct me to the nearest tavern'. And I answer 'Bugger off!' , they somehow think that Im not roleplaying 
That, while Im actually are playing my toons role. I never play a knight or other boring rp stereotype yawnfest.
I once rp'd as someone similar to Cut-My-Own-Throat Dibbler ( from Discworld series) and was flamed for not using trade channel!(which wouldve been funny if they werent serious
) And that I was interrupting other people's roleplay. You know the kind of roleplayers who panic if something doesnt go according to script.
I'll do a bit and reciprocate if somebody else is doing it, helps game immersion and just generally makes things more fun. But there's a thin line...if I have to start doing any kind of research or feel like I'm under pressure to roleplay then I'll pass, just becomes a bit of a job.
I'm not suggesting anything larger than the standard sized group. Currently, to play a DnD campaign, everyone has to be in the same location. That's not always feasible. Without derailing into any business models, let's look at just a possible system :
DM logs in and picks a system, picks a campaign (or uploads one) and sets a few variables like premade or not, level range, etc. He then posts an event (private or public) to the lobby calendar. Others can sign up for that event. In the case of wanting to play with just his friends, he'd post it as private with a password that his friends would have.
At the time of the event, each player logs in. What they would see would be very much like what would be on the table if they were there. DMs could use stock art and miniatures graphics or upload custom work. The service would handle the voice chat, dice rolls and however much of the rules management that the DM decides, with the option to override the system always available for the DM.
The service would have hundreds of campaigns, user created and developer created – all with a rating and comment system to help sort through to find ones that your group would enjoy.
Basically, the table, the supplies and the shelf of campaign sets are replaced by PCs the internet and a central server with ahost of additional features added in like
- complete libraries of core books, splats and reference tables
- dungeon, character and scenario generators
- calendar and lobby system
- a community portal like My IGN or the Bioware Social Network for blogging, finding out about cons and meetups, and chatting with others in the RPG community.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Yeah, that sounds pretty neat. OPENrpg does that to a limited extent, but nowhere near to the degree you're talking about.
Acting, roleplaying... there are similarities and roleplaying usually consists of a bit of acting. But then again... you can give Vin Disel a D&D character sheet and he creates "the great elven warrior princess" and that will work, but you could never give him the same role for on-screen acting. Also, he descides the next moves, motivations etc for his elf character, his creation; as Riddic he represents a figure from a story writer and acts accordingly with a bit of his style as input. The roles are more or less reversed as in that in Riddic he is the char played by the Storywriter. Who could be a she, and never be able to play the role herself nor wished to (pure example, I have no Idea who Riddics writer really is and am too lazy to google it right now).
RP in the sense of D & D pen and paper is imaginative and fun.
most toadstool chomping forum trolls on the other hand are just snarky anxt ridden moms basement 20 somethings with nothing better to do and thus arent very good at RP
The motivations behind what he plays doesn't matter, in both cases he's playing a role and both are therefore roleplaying. I guess some people want to believe what they do around a tabletop is something special and different and therefore the term used to describe it should be special and different, but there's really nothing special behind the word. It's a simple word with a simple definition. It's the people and the enjoyment that makes the roleplaying around a tabletop or anywhere else special, not the word.
RP comes alot easier and sometimes by itself if the game itself is made in such a way that provides a solid ground for rp.
Imagine an mmorpg for example where players apart their usual goals they also have a standing in the game's society..some could become ambasadors,other are woodcutters as profesions, or carpenters,bounty hunters, free road killers,thiefs,or even have a job as militia for towns,soldiers for their factions,others have managed to become barons claiming castles as properties or land titlesclaims etc etc...
Problem is i cant think of an mmorpg today in the market that have this complexity in design terms ,rp tools etc,and therefore the rp lvl design/support is minimal and completely up to the players.
I think the devs in future instead of focusing in designing endless farming proceedures maybe should try to consider what RPG stands for in the term mmorpg.
I've tried roleplaying in the past, but in the end, it just feels like larping without the physical exercise