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[Meta] A request to roleplayers, old and new.
Lin
BlackbirdThe Moonglade
This is a repost of this thread from the old forums. Please excuse the language I was using at the time.
No matter whether your character is young, old, new, quiet, noisy, violent or timid, you should post RP that you found particularly enjoyable. I know all of the logs posted here are godly RP or Lin Picks Nose, Has Monologue #5, and I know that in the face of such grandiose claptrap it can seem like posting a cute little scene of picking apples or attacking a Moghedu miner might seem humdrum. But honestly, variety is the spice of life, and I will tell you what, when I read your logs and I personally find your character to be pretty cool, it puts that name in my attention. More often than not, I'll find an excuse to run into them.
It's metagaming, but it's the good kind of metagaming, the kind we don't talk about.
So yeah, post your damn logs! And comment on them, too. An upvote is nice, but not enough.
It's metagaming, but it's the good kind of metagaming, the kind we don't talk about.
So yeah, post your damn logs! And comment on them, too. An upvote is nice, but not enough.
10
Comments
Omei gives the corpse of a headless cadaver to you.
Omei offers you a quick wink.
Maybe if something really cool happens that I don't mind leaking OOC though.
On a serious on-topic note, soon as I stop being lazy and start trimming logs. And start taking part in meaningful RP. And start RPing.
Hi.
First off, I believe that when people post logs of their roleplay on the forums, its because they are going "Look at me. Look at how cuul I can write. Look at the amazing opportunity and people I had RP with. I'm a special snowflake guyz!!
Secondly, I don't trust the forums or playerbase to not demand me for RP, and then when I say no, they get all cry baby on me. I've already had players in the past go out of their way to make sure I can't play the game or have fun... I really don't need to feel that again.
It's a way of advertising yourself and your character. Aetolia, unsurprisingly, is full of introverts who do not like to approach people for RP. Instead, a lot of them prefer to be the one who is approached and take offense or get hurt when they feel that no one is interested.
The reality is that it isn't that no one is interested, but that very few people want to be the one who goes out to initiate. Posting your logs here tells people, "Hey. Look at what I can do, this is my character, I'm open to you having interactions with me!" This can be good for those of you who are too shy to initiate on your own or are intimidated to go interact with certain people.
I can say out of personal experience that after I posted logs here, I got a ton of RP initiation from people on both sides of the game and I've responded in kind. I can safely say that I would not have a good deal of the new relations that Seir has now if I didn't put myself out there. You have to view it as an investment.
Yes, there's always the risk of metagame, but nothing says that you have to post something that is sensitive in nature. Your logs can be lighthearted rather than super srs.
But basically, you get what you give.
I'm in complete agreement with @Lin and @Seir. I also love reading RP logs, not just because it's a story, but because it also helps me develop my own style. Anything from simple phrasing to the way something is described could bring a realization I hadn't had before.
Case in point, I'm unsure of how people are using the THINK command. Is it something for just providing an internal monologue? Or, do people use it to describe complex emotions or thoughts?
I've been flitting between both during the course of RP but your logs could help me develop ideas on how to use them better!
Showcasing slices of your character's life is a great way to advertise, I agree with @Seir.
Showcasing a new turn of phrase or sentence structure is something I love to find in logs too, @Benedicto.
Something I'll point out: It's totally okay if you don't want to share! But sharing might entice new players who are browsing the forums and want to know what type of shenanigans that we get up to.
I love one off pieces and slice of life stuff more than world-shattering events. Sometimes it might seem boring but I love playing the shopkeeper, the cook. The hairstylist. It is good to hear that those types of smaller, more personal rps are something that people are interested in too.
SO! Perhaps a fun way to engage people into posting more logs!
I think a lot of us get hung up on this idea that something needs to be "log worthy", as though everyone is going to judge the ever-living-unicorns out of us (like Rhyot up there just did) should we post something that isn't just AMAZING.
How to avoid this?
I encourage you all (and myself!) that anytime we have an interaction that we feel like deserves an ESTEEM, we post a log of it. Because, I don't know about the rest of you, but generally, I post logs because I feel like everyone ELSE did a kickass job and we want to encourage them while also getting some feedback on our work. Also - still EXPRESS ESTEEM - because esteems just absolutely make my day and I know I should even do them more often. Ya'll deserve them!
I don't care if your log is sappy, mundane, sketchy, skeezy, emotionally indulgent, gory or anything else in between. Honestly, I'd LIKE to see more of all that. Those are often quite engaging!
I definitely understand the concerns over the fact that you're engaged in some sneaky things that you don't want to get out to the playerbase. But, maybe try to save those logs and retroactively post them after the sneaky event has settled!
tl;dr - If you just esteemed someone, post a log showing the interaction that sparked it!
Let's flip this around. Why do people post combat logs?
- So others can learn from them
- Because they're proud of what they accomplished
- Because they pulled off something not everybody else playing can
- To show others they can fight so that more people will fight them
- Because sometimes they're just downright entertaining
- To help establish a reputation
- So that they can receive criticism and learn where they can improve
- To compliment whoever it was they were fighting/say thanks for a good fight
If you replace combat logs/fight with RP, the motives behind posting them are exactly the same, yet there's only an issue with one here. Strange.
I'm also kind of with @Fezzix, there's some real good metagame potential but I don't do anything important enough to merit it changing things.
- Gives away meta-information about how you fight.
- Really does not encourage sparring-RP (I found that people around rather prefer OOC methods to get their PvP discussions in webs and tells anyways)
- Provide you visibility, but sometimes having none is more advantageous in battles.
- I would care less about establishing a reputation via logs.
- You can receive criticism and improve your combat without OOC-log posting. Seriously as a RP-PvPer, it is more valuable for me if someone says ICly "You should work on your control upon the crystalline vibrations, apprentice. Only harmonious thing about your technique was the harmony vibration! And your stonespikes are rather dry, slap some venoms upon them. Also remember to get a tinderbox, those herbs will not light themselves on their own." instead of reading my log and saying "You should align your stonespikes with your tunes better and do not forget to use venoms with stonespikes. And get a tinderbox, noob!"
- To show yourself that you can fight, there are several IC avenues already.
Though mind that I am not against logs which might be absolutely hilarious. Short, not much descriptive and to the point.
Case in point, @Koda , I have never once posted a combat log to the forums, and I'd like to think Fezzix has a reputation as someone who kills people reliably. As for your list:
If you post a combat log to brag about something cool you pulled off, it's kind of a douchy thing to do. You look like an arrogant prick as a player who is rubbing the other player's nose in their loss. So your assumption about how "nobody has a problem with PvP logs" is pretty off the mark. In my experience, people bragging about their own PvP logs is much more distasteful than posting to brag about their RP logs.
That being said, I'm a private person. I don't want people to know much about Fezzix's history or personality or goals unless it's in character. I'll let the in game reputation run its course.
Regarding seeking people out for RP because you like the way they write, I can see where you're coming from there, but I think there's ways to do it that isn't so heavy handed. If I see a log from Zaila and go "Oh hey she writes well, I wanna RP with her" I can keep alert to see where she's at in public and just so happen to bump into her and emote from there. I don't necessarily think that's forcing anything, or really truly metagamed (if I run into her in a shop, I could emote my character checking out shop wares and see if she emotes back) or forced. My intention there as a player was to RP with Zaila, but from a character perspective they're two people that bumped into each other while shopping.
But, at the end of the day, everybody likes what they like and there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that. Where it becomes an issue imo is when people start being rude to others for their preferences, as was seen earlier in the thread.
It has been fascinating seeing everyone's different opinions on sharing logs, however I think we have really diverted from the purpose of this post; to encourage those who WANT to share their logs, to share them with other, like-minded people.
It will never be everyone's cup of tea, but for those whose it is, here is the place they can come to.
Personally, I have always found enjoyment in reading snippets of people's stories!
I have played muds for...well for a long time now and while the game mechanics can be fun all of my favorite memories are RP interactions (The first time a Divine spoke to me will be with me forever
I have been reading some of these logs and I admit I am completely intimidated by the high quality of the writing (I just finished reading an old log of an interaction between @Benedicto and @Rashar and seriously guys, total wayne's world I am not worthy moment). That said, I love seeing how the various emote commands can be used. Reading these logs inspires me to try something new the next time I log on (though I wish more people kept the game commands echoed, yeah it detracts from the immersion but it really helps us newbies).
I am also sympathetic to @Jaymi's concerns. It takes a huge amount of courage to share your creative work with strangers knowing you will be judged. All of you who have posted logs completely rock in my opinion.
So! I promise to post some newbie roleplaying logs (complete with multiple HELP EMOTE commands to triple check syntax) to help inspire everyone to learn and improve.
emote mumbles something about remembering to turn on the really annoying, does not save the scroll back buffer, nexus client logger more often.
That and I play on the HTML client more often than not and just don't bother? I'm a lazy little shit, I guess. I never seem to have trouble finding RP, but I also make -heavy- use of ESTEEM as @Zaila suggested so I suppose that's a start. I guess I'll try to post more logs in the future. Had a really cool religious-y scene the other day that I think highlights the work I'm doing. But it was on HTML
Anywhoes, @Lin, overall, I think makes a pretty good point and I'll try and slap some crap together going forward
Don't be intimidated by what you read in other people's logs. People like @Lin or @Ingram will tell you that I had (and still do to some extent) a bit of RP worship/anxiety because they were/are people who I massively look up to.
In the end, whether you write a couple of lines that are succinct but accurate or a 15 line beast that contains sweeping long descriptions about the reflection of light off a pond, the main thing is, you get involved. Emoting and use of the various functions is something that you learn and become familiar with through practice.
Even the best RP'ers make mistakes (like using the same adjective twice in the same emote - God the thought of it haunts me), just don't let them bother you and, above all, HAVE FUN!
I've cringed so hard immediately after rereading emotes, or logs posted, nitpicking every single phrase or running into "omg I used that same word three times in an emote" and would hate it. When I'd point this out to other people the reaction would almost inevitably every time be, "Oh, I didn't even notice that."
We all typo, we all rehash phrases sometimes, and we're almost all the biggest critics of our own writing. Focus on the fun and the interaction that resulted instead of the semantics like that and you'll be golden.