Comments on: Does Roleplaying Matter?

by: Selete

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 03:23:08 +0000

Placing players into a group or clan which they are forced to cooperate with in order to level strikes me as a particularly good way to enforce roleplay, so long as the people in charge of leveling are always role players.

Not that I know so much…

by: Zoolander

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 05:33:41 +0000

Believe it or not Mud’s are limited to what users can experience, if not from a gamers perspective that at least from a programming perspective. It’s simple basics, no matter how vast a world you envision in creating a perfect game there will always be bottle necks. Whether it is graphical, text based, otherwise; If Mud’s indeed are the so called origin of rpg’s, why are their just as many flavors of Mud’s as there are MMOG’s??

It’s all about perspective, playing a game sucks you into a world where you measure its freedom by how you play. This niche does not change whether a game is ancient history or a rivaling technology, I don’t think games will ever change. I think peoples oppinions about games is constantly changing, it comes down what you like no matter how you look at it!!

by: Makkaio

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:56:13 +0000

Said right by Talaen: “I don’t think the problem is that people don’t want to role-play (although some don’t), I think it’s that the majority of games emphasize game play instead of role-play.”

As long as there are tangible rewards and goals in a game (XP, loot, etc.), those will win out over role-play. I used to be involved in a message board role-playing game based on vampire culture. The only rule was to create a vampire and stay in character. Playing was simply storytelling and passing off response cues to other players. It was fun and lasted months.

The reason it failed was because I decided to take the venue and turn it into a MUD. Tangible goals such as XP, “loot”, special powers, etc. became more of a focus to the players. The social interaction stopped.

I think it’s the same for most of today’s MMOs. In games I play with a group of long-time, real-life or game-life friends, we stay in character…but our goals are definitely not role-play…they are to try and be the best at the game as possible. That’s just human nature.

by: Ben Parkinson

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:57:59 +0000

Well, I think MMO RP is done completely wrong. RPG has its roots in the lounge of houses, where people sit around and sip coffee and roleplay here and there, when it suits them. Some are good at it and some think they are and are not. It surely isn’t done to get extra experience points, it’s done “for a laugh” and sometimes purely for intellectual reasons - “What would Mordenkainen have done in that situation?” Much of the enjoyment of rpg is after the event when you recount what you did last time and how you made some terrible decision which cut off the right ear of a compatriot….
RPG is not “serious” and it should never be “imposed”, but it should be serious when it needs to be. Does it need to be rewarded? Well reward normally comes from the other people in your group and maybe a system could work, where members of the group vote on who RPGed best that night for an RP point or two maybe?
MMO RPG needs to be voice (pref with options to alter voice a bit). You simply can’t RPG outside the tavern without slowing down the action and sometimes you jeopardise the adventure, if you’re typing when you should be fighting. This to me precludes the use of text emotes too. I would much rather have a WII style means of using physical gestures or simply describe what you are doing verbally. At least that’s how it would be done in an RP session.
Is roleplaying important in an MMO? Well I agree it varies vastly between types of MMO. DDO is actually very good for RP, whereas EQ2 and the other “plastic” worlds aren’t really very good. Thousands of players on a server also isn’t conducive to RP either, as it loses its “immersion” completely. No, I don’t think it is important in any MMO yet to have RP (bar perhaps DDO), but developing an MMO with RP at its heart will bring in a lot of players, who have been waiting for such a beast. None have really tried yet - maybe Bioware is the one to watch?

by: wearfannypacks

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:21:47 +0000

I would say that you shouldn’t worry about catering to Role Players. IF your game has a good set up that allows for them to foster a good Role Playing environment, then they’ll find a way. Star Wars Galaxies was a good example of this, and still is.

As for WoW, they don’t cater to RP at all and it shows. That’s fine, it’s a casual game aimed at the masses.. and for that they’re successful.

by: PlayNoEvil

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 03:53:35 +0000

The reason we all “role play’ in Real Life is that we have complex, conflicting, meaningful choices and relationships that matter. Role-playing is a consequence of that environment. Players “create” role playing by imagining such choices or having them provided by the game.

“Leveling” is a one-dimensional incentive scheme - it is not surprising that no one role plays in games where the only incentive is to level.

If you want role-playing in games, create complicated, conflicting goals that matter. Make people part of families, clans, etc. (whether they want to or not) that impose requirements on their behavior.

Preferably that cannot be simultaneously satisfied.

If your character’s father wants you to settle down and marry a farmer, you have to role play the consequences of running off to the BIG CITY to SEEK YOUR FORTUNE.

Maybe you get more XP for marrying the farmer?

by: Rhyke

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:51:56 +0000

Role-playing in EE would be wonderful.
“Rewarding” players for RPing is not your job. It’s the job of the players. If the founding generation is as RP-oriented as it seems, then we will do penty to maintain the atmosphere. For one, the “noobs” will want to fit in. And the “I do not understand your babbling” responses will get them to rethink their speech.

EE will never die. We won’t let it.

by: Wolfe

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:14:34 +0000

Do you remember how the Horizons beta and early community labeled itself as a roleplaying heavy type of group?

My memories of that game indicates that roleplaying only works if the “gamey” sides of the game actually are well built, or everything will degenerate to a destructive competition where the roleplayers always gets owned by power gamers and everyone gets to be unhappy as a consequence.

I think Damion’s men in Tights talk brushes this topic somewhere http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/09/08/agc-damion-schubert-moving-beyond-men-in-tights/

by: cl

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:19:59 +0000

Role playing matters. But historically it requires culture and a self policing society. And that is a problem in an open world. The responsiblity is on the group and the group lacks any and all avenues to enforce the culture.

In a small table-top setting the DM/GM/ST dude (or dudette) sets the standard and can enforce it. Players who commit to an alignment that do not follow through with it can be dealt with. Those that wish to alter their character can be given opportunities to do so over time.

In an MMO there is no DM following the players around. No one to make sure that the Paladin is not off doing nasty things with dead bodies. No one to throw some rewards the way of the guy who decided he is mute and will not speak.

Instead it is up the other players to police themselves. Should it be? Yes and no. The world should help. The world can do a lot, but it can not do it all. It would be very difficult to code for every behavior or word.

I welcome the day when someone can code not only a really good AI, but a really good alignment system that allows me to be held to task on some basic role playing things…

by: Talaen

Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:54:52 +0000

I don’t think the problem is that people don’t want to roleplay (although some don’t), I think it’s that the majority of games emphasize gameplay instead of roleplay. I run into a lot of people in the games that I play that will sort of silently fall into character if they see other people doing it. It’s just that most of the time, they’re not focused on being in character, they’re focused on levels, loot, and their quest journal.

In order to encourage roleplay in graphical games you need to not divert the players attention from the parts of the game that would bring them into character. Meaning that you need to find ways for them to focus on the setting, the backstory, the lore, and so on, rather than on their experience bar. Metagames that heavily reference or influence the behavior of the game world and that give players a sense of ownership are a good way to do this. For example, if you have a diplomacy metagame where players can influence various kingdoms or nations to sign treaties or go to war, that relies on extensive knowledge of the existing backstory and lore, you’ll find that a lot more players are getting into that - and getting into character as well. Especially if the effects of the metagame are readily visible in the game world to other players.

The trick is to give players a reason to identify with parts of the setting and thus get into character. If there’s a reason to do that, then people will naturally fall into character and roleplaying will occur. On the other hand, if it’s purely optional and you can go through the entire game without ever thinking about it, then it won’t happen. Even simple things like the dialogue options with NPCs can help with this. For example, if you are having a conversation with an NPC and you have to pick an appropriate response, the more in-character the dialogue options are, the closer you get that player to actually roleplaying.

Ultimately I think that a game that encourages roleplaying will:

- have a strong setting and backstory that’s easy for players to identify with.
- de-emphasize advancement
- have metagames that promote playing in-character (usually through strong association with a particular NPC group/faction)
- have a lot of customization tools and emotes available.
- have mechanisms to help the player feel a sense of ownership in the world (housing, dynamic events, etc).