World of Warcraft®

I first posted this up on the CCSOE.ORG site, found here:
http://ccsoe.org/forum/rountable-discussion/73-analyzing-rp-creation
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I often feel like I'm on an eternal quest, seeking to discover some ancient long lost truth about creating, running, and understanding Role Play.

Just as I feel like I'm beginning to get a handle on it, either self-doubt sets in or I learn about a new aspect I hadn't considered. I'm endlessly google searching terms and phrases like "How to" build an RP scenario, create a character, write for Role Play, so on and so forth; all just to see what I can dig up. It's become almost a hobby of mine, I suppose. My endless search for understanding.

And so, in this spirit...
I’d like to go over some information I came across in a blog post found on Gamingsteve.com; titled The RP Creation Guide.
Posted by the site member PatMan33, it was last updated on 04/01/09.
Site:
http://www.gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?topic=12232.0

I’m interested to hear from all of you.
Is the information or guidance he offered still relevant?
Is it accurate?
What do you agree with?
What don’t you agree with?

For the sake of this exercise I took the liberty to provide a brief summary of PatMan33’s post. Each subject he covers has been condensed and paraphrased according to my understanding; but by all means please look over his original post. It's fairly short.
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Summary of The RP Creation Guide of PatMan33:

The Basics
What is an RP?
RP is a game, pure and simple. The moment it feels like work the game suffers, so keep it fun and play well with others.

Why RP?
Why else would you play a game but to have fun? So have fun.
However, the deeper your motive (which may be different for everyone) the more you will get out of your RP and the richer your experience.

Which RP do I choose?
No real way to know this, but above all gauge your interest in the subject matter. If it truly appeals to you then gauge its following. The more dedicated the group the better your outcome in the long run.

The Three Pillars
Explanation
While only half of the equation, these three things are so important that the form the foundation for your RP. As long as each are recognized in the creation of your RP you can rest assured it is built upon solid ground.

Structure
Story and etiquette.
The Story needs to be very clear in establishing the circumstances of our world, but vague enough to allow near infinite creative flexibility for creation and character development.
Etiquette is knowing that there is a time and place for everything. Respect for others Out Of Character, regular posting habits (dependability), and knowing how/when to say no.

Villain
In charge of the pacing of the RP and gives the hero(es) purpose. They need at least a basic plan from the beginning so they can keep the whole RP on track. The one player with the most work to do. Villains are not always mad men with guns. A sinking ship can easily be just as threatening.

Hero
Used very broadly, these are anyone who is not the designated ‘villain’. Good, Bad, Morally Ambiguous, regardless they are not the villain and so their role is to fill out the story as outlined (or presented) by the villain.
In other words; the villain presents the basic story structure while the heroes fill in all the details, dialog, and soul to these events. These are the things that the readers are looking for. The hero’s trials and tribulations.
The heroes also serve to keep the player characters together in some semblance of a group.

The Players
You and others like you involved in the RP.
Understand that Role Play requires some form of commitment upfront. While it is a game, it is very much a team effort and everyone should be pulling their own weight for the good of everyone involved as well as the RP itself.

Tips and Helpful Links are the final two sections that follow. I will leave it to you to read those over on your own. Full disclosure, I haven’t yet read them in full myself. My main focus is on the information he provided above. [i][/i]

It's an interesting read, but it seems like it's more focused on a RP Forum model (which I haven't seen in ages!), or that it might lend itself more to a tabletop RPG where things aren't necessarily happening in real time. Also, as the source describes, these guidelines are for creating scenarios--stories or plotlines that have a definite beginning and end, and a (vaguely) predetermined course of events to traverse the distance between the two.

I feel like what we do here is more multidimensional. We create characters, create backgrounds and lives for them, and *live* those lives. Most characters aren't designed for a single story, but to be a denizen of the world that's been built for us, as much as we're allowed by both in-game and real-life constraints to do so.

By these descriptions, many of the weekly events we have on our server wouldn't count as RP, because there's no overarching plot to them, save a consistent, weekly gathering of people. Sure, it's a chance to develop a character, but it's also just as likely to be static in terms of action. Walk-up RP would also be on the periphery, since there's not a lot of preplanning that goes into it outside of one's own character.

I also dislike the use of "villain" and "hero"; personally, I'd go for "antagonist" and "protagonist", especially, as you pointed out, as the antagonist in a scenario doesn't have to be a person. Heroes and Villains are a relatively gray area in a game like WoW. Each faction regales its PCs as "heroes" of their faction; however, how often do you hear people describing the Horde as the villains when trying to explain the game to people who don't play it? (Likely because most of the Horde doesn't fit into the prettier fantasy tropes like the Alliance does.)

I do see a lot of the principles of RP in a space like WoW embedded in the original post, which is good. When first starting out, one wonders where all of these rules came from! I think the original post can be very helpful for someone who might have trouble conceptualising storytelling beyond their own character, or who might feel like they have trouble interacting with other people.

02/28/2016 08:04 AMPosted by Thaettir

It's an interesting read, but it seems like it's more focused on a RP Forum model (which I haven't seen in ages!), or that it might lend itself more to a tabletop RPG where things aren't necessarily happening in real time. Also, as the source describes, these guidelines are for creating scenarios--stories or plotlines that have a definite beginning and end, and a (vaguely) predetermined course of events to traverse the distance between the two.

This is true, and your comments here spur to memory responses I've had from other Role Players more seasoned than I. When I've asked various questions centering around the nuts & bolts (the How To's) of Role Play I'm inevitably told that there is a difference between what we do in-game versus what others might do in forums, versus tabletop, so on and so forth; to which my response has usually been along the lines of a head nod followed with an "ooh" of discovery or understanding.

I don't dispute any of this, but lately I'm beginning to wonder if in fact all these forms are not really the same thing. Can't all these different types of Role Play be condensed and simplified into just simply RP? Clearly RP must need adapt to the medium at hand, but at their core aren't they all the same?

02/28/2016 08:04 AMPosted by Thaettir

I feel like what we do here is more multidimensional. We create characters, create backgrounds and lives for them, and *live* those lives. Most characters aren't designed for a single story, but to be a denizen of the world that's been built for us, as much as we're allowed by both in-game and real-life constraints to do so.

I agree with your multidimensional assessment. I'd like to push a little further though and ask: Isn't this the essence of any story ever told?

You have a character, someone with a background living their life within a dynamic environment (for as much as Blizzard allows). I put forth that each time you log in that character you are furthering their story whether you intend to or not. Infact, if we truly think of our characters as existing within this world then it matters little if we log them or not. Their story will continue along an undetermined and mostly mundane existence until we declare otherwise. Every story has a struggle. A beginning, middle, end. Not every struggle however is exciting, nor do they carry the weight of life and death.

02/28/2016 08:04 AMPosted by Thaettir

By these descriptions, many of the weekly events we have on our server wouldn't count as RP,

I only quoted a portion for brevity, but here is where I'll disagree with you. I'm thinking quite the opposite. We all have an overarching plot but it's so mundane to us that we overlook it. That is, as characters, simply to live out our days in a manner we deem fit.

The overarching plot of those social gatherings is to further these plots (our plots) through interactions and try to get something to spark. Like mixing different chemicals together in a beaker and swirling the mixture. Sooner or later something is going to pop. Will it fizzle into something? Perhaps not. Maybe this week it'll explode, so we tune-in like it's our favorite serial sitcom or drama.

Same can be said of random walk ups. It's always up to us to follow whatever narrative peaks our interest.

BTW: Thank you Thaettir for responding. I often enjoy the insights your bring to different conversations. :)

02/28/2016 08:04 AMPosted by Thaettir

how often do you hear people describing the Horde as the villains when trying to explain the game to people who don't play it? (Likely because most of the Horde doesn't fit into the prettier fantasy tropes like the Alliance does.)

I do. I actually hear The Horde referenced as Warcraft's Villain (Enemy) faction quite a bit; albeit in full disclosure it may be because I'm biased toward the Alliance, and so that's what I tend to hear the most.

I grant that The Horde isn't cut and dry. There is a lot of gray mixed around there and I enjoy many of their stories. Infact, the few horde characters I've created were incepted as villains. After delving into the factions deeper storytelling I've been rethinking their progression. But! I digress. The Alliance has its share of gray areas and conflicts. They're often hard to see even if you favor the faction. Lo and behold, I thank the Warcraft writers for that as it's evident that Red gets a lot more love than does Blue. It's easy to push the Alliance aside and pigeon hole them as being trite.

Dynamic stories aside, I still think that The Horde fits the term "Villain" of Warcraft. As he used them in his posting I understood them in the very broad sense of the term, but perhaps "Antagonist" would better suit them. *nod*

(I will digress for a moment)

Horde evil?

I would argue that it’s pretty even. Some may tout that the forsaken are evil, but to those that actually RP them and know the lore, would explain that they aren’t, as they had little choice in their existence. Every race has good and evil if you look hard enough. The Tauren even have a dark side and the draenei have the Auchenai and Sargerei. Blizzard has done a good job in showing all races doing nefarious deeds whether they be the masters or the minions. And if I were a goblin, I would hate the Alliance.

(Now to reply to your topic)

I don’t read on how to RP although I do read lore. From what I learn of the lore I develop my character. My main is what some would call a ‘villain’ but a carefully played villain as they often have a short lifespan if you take things too far.

I have three characters that have extensive backgrounds, rules and storylines (to include my main). Creating the backstory’s and ground rules for the characters was very enjoyable, but when attempting to play the character I found that I had backed myself into a corner becoming unable to interact in other people’s plots and storylines. Even now I still have to just watch from a distance.

Now when I create a character I leave things vague and let the character grow and develop dynamically. I’ve just enough of a back story that keeps myself in check but am open to a broader amount of interaction.

I'd agree with a lot of the conversation above.

To me, RP is many things, and one of those is collaborative creative storytelling. Those stories can be planned and structured, entirely spontaneous, have a rich and detailed plot, or no goal at all beyond a conversation between characters. Completely valid RP can also include a character who stands on the sidelines, and doesn't interact with others at all, as long as that action is true to the character.

Being true to a character's personality, background, culture, and desires, regardless of the context or framework, seems key to successful RP.

What is an RP?
RP is a game, pure and simple. The moment it feels like work the game suffers, so keep it fun and play well with others.

Enjoyment is important, absolutely. I'd disagree with this source, however, about the moment it feels like work the game suffers. Sometimes it is work to craft a response in a thread, to create a character, a story, or another piece of creative fiction we're proud of. It's not the feeling like work or not that's key to me. Hard or easy, it's the enjoyment and fulfillment derived from the activity that makes it worthwhile.

Maybe a better word than work would be a chore? (Why does that word remind me so much of Garrisons...anyway...)

When we're interacting with other people, weaving their creativity with our own, there can also be moments of pushing through blocks or making time for obligations to other people within our chosen RP community. I don't think those moments make the RP experience any lesser. To me, it's just another part of the collaborative nature of the endeavor, which as whole can be incredibly rewarding.

Playing well with others? That part I agree with wholeheartedly.

03/03/2016 08:02 PMPosted by Eleya

To me, RP is many things, and one of those is collaborative creative storytelling. Those stories can be planned and structured, entirely spontaneous, have a rich and detailed plot, or no goal at all beyond a conversation between characters. Completely valid RP can also include a character who stands on the sidelines, and doesn't interact with others at all, as long as that action is true to the character.

Being true to a character's personality, background, culture, and desires, regardless of the context or framework, seems key to successful RP.

Well said. I couldn't agree more.

03/03/2016 08:02 PMPosted by Eleya

Maybe a better word than work would be a chore?

There it is. Chore. I agree with that assessment. The work behind a story or character can be rough but very rewarding. I personally love this sort of labor. The pure act of creating can be addicting. When that work loses its luster then it becomes a chore, and nobody likes chores.

...well... most don't like chores anyhow. ^.^ Which is terrible come to think of it. We creative types can be very messy creatures.