Many avid fans enjoy role-playing, the game where two or more players bring their ideas and characters together. On the Internet, this game is played either through Instant Messengers, on forums such as End Wars: Rebirth , and in chat boxes, and occasionally through e-mails. Role-playing is in general a fun past time which allows interested people put ideas together to create new story lines and events, or just to pass the time from boredom. There are many reasons for a role-play, but some also use role-play to improve their writing and characterization skills.
Plot:
There is not always a plot in role-playing but when there is the characters and their environment are important to that plot. The plot should never under any circumstances revolve around the characters. The characters must revolve around the plot. This helps to form a wide range of possibilities, but it does not end there. No. There is much to do when it comes to fitting the right character into the plot, and one should remember not all characters work well in certain types of role-play. See RPG Concepts.
Characterization in Emotions:
During role-play it is better for characters to display all types of emotions. From looking sad to downright happy to thinking they hate someone with passion. And each emotion is best typed out with a lot of considered thought. In story role-playing, details to their emotions helps other players respond accordingly. Example: Bridgette glared at him and shook her fist. "I hate you!" Here we can see she is angry..but we are only told she is angry. We can't see it as there is no show. A better detailed version would be: Bridgette glared at him as tears seeped out of her eyes. Why did he always do this to her? Make her look bad in front of all her friends, and the guy she had a crush on? He always embarrassed her. So what if she slept with a teddy bear at her age? Was there something wrong with being eighteen years of age and enjoying the soft feel of the gift their grandfather gave her before he passed? No, there wasn't. But he always did this. Always teased her and made fun of her. She hated him. Brother or no brother, she hated him. She shook her trembling fist at him, wanting to punch him. "I hate you!" she shouted with all her might.
There we can see a lot more emotion written out in detail. Putting it like this in story role-play makes it far more easier for the other player to respond. It is better to think of every action that can benefit the character and more importantly the other players.
Plotting in moving too fast.
Role-play is meant to be fun, but it becomes un-fun when scenes are skipped or end too quickly. Lack of focus to every scene and rushing other scenes in or out only ends the role-play sooner. Many players do not enjoy rushed scenes because it often throws them for a loop and forces them back track ideas or causes them to get stuck with no where to go. As a wise person once said, slow down and smell the roses. This should be applied to role-playing with a story type role-play. Even in random role-plays, scenes should not be rushed. Even during battles you see the fight begin, then you see the middle, and then the end. For action rps, the process is much quicker but still detailed. If you find yourself rushing scenes I recommend the following: Stop. Take a deep breath. Look at what you wrote. Consider these questions: What could I have added to make this scene deliver more? What would have happened had I added more details and events to that scene? What was my character doing? How did they feel? What about the other characters I played? Could I have given them more of a role?
Doing the above enables the event to be understood better and it helps the other players. It also helps you become a better writer detailed to focus.
Characters in spotlighting:
Often every role-player has one character they focus their attention on. This is fine, but sometimes if used too often in all role-plays it can get boring quick. Suppose you have three characters you play in a story role-play and you focus everything on one character. In fact, all your characters also focus on your main character. There is nothing about the other two, and thus they become one dimesional with flat characteristics. Consider these: What personalities do your characters have if anything other than programmed robotic thinking? Are they able to think for themselves? Is there a chance something could happen to them to where character 1 wasn't the focal point? It is better to bring equal attention to all characters, thus putting them in a spotlight of their own now and then rather than having them all focus on your main character. This helps to broaden the role-play and enables a better response from other players who may get bored with your character.
Asking these questions enable you to consider answers to those questions. Remember the five golden rule to writing: What? Why? When? Where? How? The more detailed and focus and equal attention put on all characters, the better the role-play will flow.
Conclusion:
This article is a how to guide and is not an authority on rules. These tips are only written to help improvement in character focus to plot, character depth and interaction, and scene specifics. Taking your time and allowing your characters to develop through the role-play brings them alive in the game. Remember it is always better to slow down a bit and make the role-play last longer without an abrupt ending. After all when is the last time you read a story that began and ended on one page only?
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