| Subject: Emotion is Key |
Author:
Ryan Austin
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Date Posted: 22:09:12 09/02/02 Mon
A role-playing game is, by definition, an exercise of psychology. The greatest weakness I see in the online Role-playing I see is simple; People get too wrapped up in the description of their conversation or their actions. The reason why role-playing games are special, as compared to say, an action movie, is that in role-playing the characters’ emotions are played through players and their posts. Read that: EMOTIONS. Not actions and conversations. If we wanted that, then we’d all turn on CNN.
Now, I know what you are thinking, as I always do: “Ryan, honey, what would an RPG be without action and drama?” Well, what is action and drama without raw human (or lupine) passion? When we come down to it, our club is GIGANTIC. I mean HUGE; Oprah isn’t this big (take that any way you want.) Is this what we joined to see? One-hundred and fifty people typing “I walk down the road and see Jane. ‘Hi Jane,’ I say”? I can tell you, that isn’t what I want out of this!
So what are we supposed to do? Emote. Send emotion through your messages. The emotions shouldn’t be used to explain the wolves’ actions; rather, the actions should define the characters’ emotions. Don’t write “ ‘Damn you!’ Mike Growled angrily, as he lunged for Jack’s throat.” Instead, try “Mike’s rage swelled in his throat, and he found himself blindly lunging towards Jack.” Isn’t that more interesting?
This propels my idea of limiting characters. Unless you happen to be relatively talented at Characterization (Such as Maile seems to be) you really should concentrate on making your character deep. When you have a character who says “I want Power” then everyone says “Blimy, what an arse! God Save the Queen!” When you have a character who says “I want Power…” and then has a flashback about his father who beat him everyday if he didn’t try to “be NUMBAH ONE! DON’T BE NUMBAH TWO!” Then everyone says “Oh my gawd… poor Bobby-boy! Get him a cleanex and try to make him feel like part of the group!” Doesn’t that make for more entertainment?
In the case that you WANT to be hated, Make yourself out to be a monster.... On the INSIDE. Remember, and this is a vital part of most organized RPG’s, that your Outside Self isn’t the same as your Inside Self. You have a Nature and a Demeanor. Your nature is what you feel and want in actuality. Your demeanor is what you show yourself to be. Even the most valiant and pious person, or wolf, is a snake-in-the-grass. Few (read: practically no) characters show EVERYTHING they feel. If you want people to know that you are crying on the inside, do you say “hey, Little-Ryry has a boo-boo in his little heart?” No. you act evasively and angrily, or blandly and uncaringly, and show what you really feel through emotion, and description of reaction.
Act that note, I will leave you to it. Now I am gonna go cry, cause Bad ol’ abusive daddy’s Numbah One speech gave Ryry a Heart boo-boo. See Ya’ll Around, Eh?
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