Roleplay

[jarenko]

I am curious about something. When in multiplayer games, how many of you incorporate some level of roleplay into your games?

Myself, I always try to roleplay my realm and pretender as it adds a level of fun in it for me. If I send Messages out, I put it in the form of a letter instead of something like an SMS message.

I can understand completely if some people might find this kind of play unnecessary, burdensome, annoying, irritating...

Myself, I think its great. Anything that envelops you more into the game world and gets a bit more into it I'm all for.

I've never played in an MP game though, so I don't know how it goes. How are the roleplay standards, and to what degree is the game "just played"?

[Karacan]

You get all sorts of people in mp games. Usually, however, there is quite some thematic feeling to the ingame Messages, at least in the few mp-games I am in. You certainly won't be looked down upon when formulating a message in roleplaying terms.

[Gandalf Parker]

I would like to but somehow it just never comes off.

I do enjoy when someone writes up a After Action Report (AAR) in a roleplaying style. I would like to see someone do a webbed Version of an AAR which is either split screen or has the option to flip back and forth between a roleplaying story Version, and a specific games steps Version. I think this game cries out for that type of writeup

[reverend]

I try and stay "in character" in my Messages. It just suits the general feel of the game.

[jarenko]

I agree with you completely.

[The Panther]

It is difficult to roleplay Messages in the game because of the horrid interface:
1. You cannot cut and paste.
2. You cannot correct mistakes without erasing back to the error.
3. You have a hard line limit on message size.
4. You cannot copy a message to more than one player unless you send to all.
5. Probably some other things I have forgotten.

I have done a bit of roleplaying in some of my Messages, but it is just too darn difficult to portray anything decent under the above gross restrictions. I think most people deafult to the bare minimum required to get the message across. Like numbers for provinces instead of names.

I will admit that I do like the role playing that Pasha Dawg is doing in one of our games, but he is doing it in the forum. Not in the game, for it is just too painful.

[Thufir]

I will admit that I do like the role playing that Pasha Dawg is doing in one of our games, but he is doing it in the forum. Not in the game, for it is just too painful.

Me too - and I'm not even playing in that game!

I think the answer to the bad message interface is to do an end around, as Pasha Dawg is doing in the MP game thread.

[PashaDawg]

I love the role playing bit, and it is fun to do it “in game” and on the forum. (I don’t get to refer to another person’s opinion as “fecal blather” very often in my real job.) The forum works as a sort of public newspaper that allows a player to do an AAR as it happens. Which is fun. I almost pee’d myself when Panther had a spy watch one of my battles against Boron and offered a more “objective” news report than my official Machaka news station. [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

The in game message system is pretty bad for the reasons stated by other players. However, in the MP game that caused the Last Norfleet brouhaha, the allied players were exchanging Messages with regular email, and that worked great.

[Cainehill]

It varies. Sometimes I make a concerted effort to stay in character, especially if some of the other players are doing the same. But some nations / pretenders are much easier for me to put myself in the role of, and since I rarely stick to the same nations .... (with about 10 MP games going, I think I only have one duplication of nation/theme.)

And then, when I'm exhausted but the turn is almost due - almost impossible to do Messages in character, especially with the paltry message editting facility. If you could at least cut and paste from a proper text editor, I'd send Illwinter some fresh roasted New Mexico green chiles.

[Kel]

jarenko said:
I am curious about something. When in multiplayer games, how many of you incorporate some level of roleplay into your games?

I never role-play. My pretender forbids it.

- Kel