Tips for better RPing and and OOC

[Vuul Garen]

Hello everyone,
I would like to know some useful tips on how to be better at RPing, and how I can be more active in OCC. Duncan has given me some tips, but I would like to hear what everyone else has to say.

[Aslyn Denethorn]

I'd try reading this section first, cover to cover. There's more than enough in there to keep you busy!

Beyond that...try actually RPing with us. Immerse your character in your environment: how does he feel to be there? Who does he like? Who doesn't he like? What does he want from us? What can he learn while there? I figure, if you're planning to join the Order, it might help to talk with us, learn something about what we do and why do it - all ICly, of course, because while you may know a great deal, your character will probably only know what they've seen on the Holonet, and that won't be much!

Also, place yourself in context: we're in the middle of a Galactic-wide war against a particularly deadly enemy. Any thoughts on that front? Do you want to be a Jedi in such circumstances? And so on.

Finally, remember to act normally. Be awkward, certainly, but engage us in conversation. Talk to us, don't just stand there staring for twenty minutes and then leave. Trust me, we don't initiate RPers who don't really RP. This isn't Fringe, and you're not an Observer! And don't be scared to make an idiot of yourself - we all do at some points! Better that than leaving nothing but a negative impression of your engagement.

[Isane Fenris]

The best thing you can do is to get online, see how others RP, adapt what you can from what others do, try it and make mistakes and then re-evaluate. Becoming a better RPer is a process you learn over time and not something that happens overnight because of a few pointers here and there.

I'd suggest that you try to formulate a framework for your character- their likes and dislikes and what makes them special and then put yourself in their shoes and interact with others, letting your character develop. Overtime, they will acquire traits and habits that will help mold them into a unique individual, just as any person would in real life.

During this I recommend healthy use of actions ::-:: (and here, you're going to have to work at it, as getting a hang of description can take a while) and trying to create habits and traits your character would be known for- for instances some characters are known for enjoying gardening, others like programming... just think of what your character would be up to in their free time.

Lastly, if you are a child, then please RP like a child would- but not excessively to the point that its annoying (even though kids can be a bother, sometimes). Its usually easier to portray extroverted characters (and for a lot of RPers more rewarding) while it can take a bit more experience to portray an introverted character who doesn't talk as often. But as Aslyn said, being social is a must for successful RP! You can be awkward, fidgeting in the background when approaching a group, but you'd still approach the group and interact.


If you haven't already, please read the following posts found in the Rules and Tips forum.

• Character Creation Guide
• The three Golden Rules

In the end, just come online, learn what you can and try and work at it. You'll do just fine.

[Delmi N'jork]

Observe, observe, and observe.

In JEDI there are so many different species, types of characters, back stories. Watch how people use the ::Actions:: or interact.

[Galen Sol]

The others may have done a well enough job to satisfy your question, but I felt the need to post on here as well, and share some of my wisdom on the subject as well. Given that variety of answers you'd probably receive from other members in the community, I'm sure mine won't exactly be the most helpful, but I'd hope it'd do something to help out. I'll cover some basic topics like OOC etiquette, IC immersion and compulsion resistance.

OOC Etiquette, what we rely on to keep immersion from breaking and to keep a proper and friendly establishment between players. JEDI loves when players keep their OOC banter to /tell, so it doesn't flood the game chat box, but even then it's not exactly nice for all the administrators who have to read the /tell messages back and forth. Being able to reduce the amount of OOC actions and messages to nearly zero is highly appreciated by all, and I assure you it'll save yourself strife. Be mature about your actions and don't knee-jerk response to things you find funny by announcing, "Lol!" to the community, because chances are, we probably all laughed at that same thing or were shocked, so we feel you there.

Secondly, IC immersion. A lot of things in roleplay depend on immersion to create a fun or otherwise interesting atmosphere, most specifically on JEDI's roleplay servers. IC immersion means putting soul and emotion to bland text, having your character experience real hardship and emotions, learning as you grow alongside your character and being as realistic as you can be (I know, realism in a Star Wars RP?!). ICly, we don't have a powerful, keyboard-using overlord controlling our actions, we're merely people going about their lives at a Jedi temple training and learning to deal with future situations for which we'll be taking on when we hit that ultimate goal, Knighthood. Emotion, realistic response, language and actions all contribute to immersion, as powergaming, metagaming and godmoding are a detriment to it.

Finally, compulsion resistance. It's the thing man-kind has been looking to master for a long, long time but has ultimately failed over and over again. There will be urges to do OOC things and do something you think would be really, really funny. When you see someone with a funny name log in, don't immediately blast the OOC with LOL, look at it, laugh, and continue on like the rest of us. If you see a tower of crates, that means someone put time and effort into stacking it up that high, and with our game mechanics, that can be a frustrating task, so don't kick it or Force Push it, just admire it and think of how your character would react. If that is to kick it, well... who can stop you? As long as you're capable of separating your IC compulsions and actions from OOC and are able to make that clear to the person(s) affected by them, then you should be fine.

Needless to say, we don't really discriminate by lexis or grammar here in JEDI, though it does help us understand what you are trying to say and how you express yourself. If you're capable of good grammar and spelling, then please do it, it'd delight everyone! I've seen you type, you're pretty good at it, Vuul. Just be sure to follow the rules, take what you want from our responses to mind, apply them how you think they should be applied and enjoy the roleplay, but try not to make something that was meant to be fun a hassle for others. If it would annoy you if someone else did it, don't do it. That's about all I have to say in regards to your topic and I hoped my response helped you out in some way. Enjoy the roleplay and stick around, we've always got something awesome going on!

(This is coming from about 9 years of roleplay experience, and I still haven't explained about a fifth of what I think constitutes a good roleplay. I've all but given up on most roleplays because of how games limit the amount of characters you can type in a single message, kind of like JEDI. This doesn't mean I've given up on JEDI, I've had so much fun here it is nuts. But my own personal struggles came from writing essays per post to writing little more than four lines at best. Struggle is a bit of a strong word, too, as it was pretty easy to adapt.

Just as I've learned ICly while training with Silas, it does take mistakes to have wisdom and to learn. If you make a mistake on the server OOCly, don't feel down or upset because of it, just let it strengthen you in the future. Use that experience to help you better yourself, and as Delmi said, observe all that you can. I know it can be a hard task because sometimes observing people is just impossible and you want to RP, but it can help if you put your mind to it.)

[Wen-Ordo]

The best thing you can do is to get online, see how others RP, adapt what you can from what others do, try it and make mistakes and then re-evaluate. Becoming a better RPer is a process you learn over time and not something that happens overnight because of a few pointers here and there.

I'd suggest that you try to formulate a framework for your character- their likes and dislikes and what makes them special and then put yourself in their shoes and interact with others, letting your character develop. Overtime, they will acquire traits and habits that will help mold them into a unique individual, just as any person would in real life.

During this I recommend healthy use of actions ::-:: (and here, you're going to have to work at it, as getting a hang of description can take a while) and trying to create habits and traits your character would be known for- for instances some characters are known for enjoying gardening, others like programming... just think of what your character would be up to in their free time.

Lastly, if you are a child, then please RP like a child would- but not excessively to the point that its annoying (even though kids can be a bother, sometimes). Its usually easier to portray extroverted characters (and for a lot of RPers more rewarding) while it can take a bit more experience to portray an introverted character who doesn't talk as often. But as Aslyn said, being social is a must for successful RP! You can be awkward, fidgeting in the background when approaching a group, but you'd still approach the group and interact.


If you haven't already, please read the following posts found in the Rules and Tips forum.

• Character Creation Guide
• The three Golden Rules

In the end, just come online, learn what you can and try and work at it. You'll do just fine.

^this

[Wik Maro]

This isn't Fringe, and you're not an Observer!

<3

[Ilaine Strias]

You always search me out on server because we are friends! But you'd do better if you make friends with everyone! Ask about their character and history but do it when it makes sense! Just don't walk up and interrupt them, for instance.

[Vuul Garen]

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to thank you all for responding to this page. I don't have much experience in RPing, so it has been difficult for me. Everyone's advice has been very helpful to me, and I plan to implement it as soon as I can. Again, thank you all.

[Wen-Ordo]

Another thing I might add, please do not disconnect in front of everyone randomly. That's a big no no.

[Nico Keztor]

I've got just one tip: never go on spec to find other players.

[Zander-Bo Umra]

While everyone has added their suggestions and pretty much completed the picture, I'd give you my own advice:

Don't be a Quatro Frommaggi Pizza. There is such a thing as too cheesy.

That is all.