Community Discussion #2: January 20th 2013

Part 2 of 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Sadrain: Well, for one thing, I like to play more than one character at a time, for personal interactions and displaying of their personalities to others and all that fun stuff. Reading, especially for a foreigner (like me), helps to grasp English language, what words and sentences to use when, all those little nifty things that make language interesting. It also spurs fantasy (getting inspired by character or setting isn't bad as long as you don't copy... or do a fandom). And it also works for seeing how to write in interesting way or what to avoid to become boring.


Loki: great point StarArmy, pacing is a wonderful thing


garoul17: Precisely. That kind of brings it back to not needing to be a narrator to keep a story moving. If it's just a general scene, it's up to EVERYONE in the scene to keep it flowing. If one important segment falls off, it could collapse the rest of the scene. This isn't true of every RP, obviously.


Rubix: By reading you can see how different styles mesh, you can get ideas for plots, and heck you can even learn from character building. Reading is reading, you should approach an rp like you do a book. Inspiration can rest in the sentences of a post just as much as they can in the climax of a book.


Tailbone: I'd argue that it brings it back to NEEDING to be a narrator. It's up to everyone to narrate for their own characters - that is a very important role, narration isn't about controlling anything else.


Earendill: I think everyone is the narrator in the end. We all try to influence other characters in a certain direction, wether we know it or not, and what happens depends on the other narrators! They can take your idea and go with it, or give it a twist.


Sadrain: I write too slow... xD Everyone manages to get my point before I do. But oh well! At least others think similarly.


Mellute: Kim: Well using my current RP as an example, I do three things.

React to the post of the others.
Lead the plot progress by inciting events that further things along. (Sometimes through hints.)
Describing my characters's actions and add extra fluff and stuff.


StarArmy: It should be noted that, while you should try it give your best and put out a great post to inspire your fellow players, sometimes you just won't feel 100%. But a 70% post is better than no post at all. If the story and RP doesn't keep moving, it's dwindle out and people will lose that spark, that excitement that makes them want to come back to the forum. So even if your post isn't epic, at least it's a post and your fellow players will appreciate having something to read when they log on.


StarArmy: it's = it'll


PenGryphon2007: Maybe that's my 'problem' then...I don't consider myself a narrator but as a scribe recording my character's actions and reactions. I don't "control" my characters in the sense that I know exactly what they're going to do until I write the scene. And sometimes that changes.


Sadrain: And true, we want to influence others, just like our characters want a certain situation outcome and we make our characters try to get things in this direction. I talk a lot with my partners usually, to discuss various outcomes and situation, to have most fun and most in character actions and outcomes. But it's not a necessity, it just adds to fun, especially at times. Certain unpredictability is fun, too, and ALWAYS remains, because no one recites Exactly HOW the character will say things and such.
Now I need to go for a some time, sorry. Have fun everyone!


Rynh: Oh, geez. my screen froze. Did I miss some- yes of course I did.


SeraphicStar: What Pen said applies to me too. Sometimes it's the characters that play us.


Lorvilran: Rynh, you missed my awesomeeness.


Kim: I think we may need to create a distinction here. People keep mentioning "fluff" as a negative, referring to excess information that adds nothing new, useful or meaningful to a scene. But some have protested that little details are important to fully flesh out a character and make them seem real. Should we refer to those pieces of information that don't instantly move the plot forward but DO deepen a character or the emotions of a scene as "flavor", as distinct from fluff?


SeraphicStar: Or play themselves, rather. Have a good one, Sadrain! It was good having you around.


Sadrain: Oh, PenGryphon, how I know how that feels... They often react differently when I actually start to write. I don't call my self narrator or scribe, but more of a scribe for sure. And I love it.


Earendill: Oh heck, Pen, I never know what my chars are going to do until they start doing it (and even then I'm confused sometimes)


Kim: StarArmy, that's a very important idea you just mentioned!


Loki: Yeah Pen, that's how I play my characters too


Tailbone: Pen, I think being a narrator and a scribe in that way exactly the same thing.


XinonHyena: Fluff isn't a bad thing of its own


Lorvilran: If theey add something they were never fluff to begin with.


XinonHyena: But too much of a good thing is bad


Kim: Pen: I don't think that's a problem so much as responsible playing... If you go in knowing what your characters are going to do without knowing what OTHER characters will do, you run roughshod over other people and write very unrealistic, forced scenes.


Earendill: It's the overuse of fluff. Sometimes fluff can brighten up a scene.


Mellute: Fluff is different from painfully describing everything going on,


Rynh: It depends on how often fluff is used, really


PenGryphon2007: I think "fluff" is being used in terms of a long post that doesn't move the action forward or cause a reaction. I could be wrong...


garoul17: Flavor is certainly better than fluff. Who's to say that butterfly that just landed on a leaf your character is sitting by won't become an important icon soon in the story?


Earendill: On an unrelated note, Celestina just told me to tell everyone hi because she can't be here herself.


Solar: Oh wow, I leave to go watch youtube and suddenly the chat exploded! o:


Kim: So how do you know you're going too far with fluff or flavor? Where is the line?


Loki: I like to put little important things like that in my posts too garoul


garoul17: That's in the eye of the beholder


Earendill: That brings us back to last week's chat, Kim. Knowing your RP partners


Tailbone: Also, I define "fluff" not vitally unnecessary or excess so much as entirely useless information.


XinonHyena: When a post is 70% fluff, or even more


Kim: Surely it's in the eye of the beholder, but is there a general ballpark where we can agree?


Loki: I agree, I think it's different for every person. Which goes back to that style thing earlier, not everybody is going to match up


StarArmy: Character development comes from dialogue primarily in my opinion. What's it matter what's happening in the story if you've got no connection to the character or the character isn't changed? Fluff is detail for the sake of detail. But character dialogue is never fluff when it has a purpose.


garoul17: If you feel that spark of inspiration to write, then by all means! Write to your hearts content! Rp is as much for your pleasure as it is for the person whose character your interacting with


Mellute: Then are introduction posts to a RP full of fluff then?


Lorvilran: Okay A role-play I had DDimi in we had a little girl npc that turneed out important lateer but at the time other players posted up too much crap and I ended up forgeetting. the posts weree about 40%fluff and it wass hardd to wwaade through.


Earendill: garoul makes an excellent point there. Sometimes you just have that writing bug


garoul17: Amen


Kim: StarArmy: Do you think a mute character couldn't be developed to the same depth? Or just that it would be a greater writing challenge?


PenGryphon2007: (Suddenly has the urge to roleplay a mute character)


Kim: Mellute, what do you mean by that?


StarArmy: Body language is also a real language.


Earendill: Mute characters still have dialogue! They just used more body language, which does make for an interesting challenge for people who aren't actualy mute.


Loki: One of my good rp partners has a mute character, I think it just presents more of a challenge


Copper_Dragon: I look at Mute characters like I do with language-barrier characters-- it's a fun challenge to me. There's a different way to get stuff across in interactions, and the fun is figuring out how.


Mellute: Kim: Most Introductions I have seen usually just completely describe their character and the scene around them. No meat. Only Fluff.


PenGryphon2007: Overall, I'd say it's communication between characters. Communication isn't all in words. It's in body language and actions. How one character treats another, etcetera.


StarArmy: Besides, on a forum, the writing of a mute character is the same as the speech. We're all reading here.


Kim: So by dialogue what you're referring to isn't speaking, per se, just exchanges of information between characters?


garoul17: Mellute: An introduction is a bit different to me than just general RP. It's a scene setter. It's an opening of a chapter; key points should be made by the character for what they're doing what they may be thinking about, what they will say, etc. etc. They need to make sure the key information is posted in order to make the scene really begin. Especially if there's an important notation for the future of the RP that must be revealed at the beginning (such as that butterfly on a leaf)


Lorvilran: That's the only acceptable use of it to me though Mellute.


Rynh: Body language isn't always as easy to type out, though. You'd need good comprehension and a good roleplaying partner to pull it off


Mellute: Ooh, language barrier. I am going to have to challenge myself with that now!


Tailbone: Oh, it's absolutely a challenge just as much as it is for the character who must find different ways to communicate. So I suppose it is wise to make that distinction we speak of communication, yes, not necessarily dialogue.


Rubix: Yes, totally Kim!


Copper_Dragon: I'd argue that an opening post to an RP is meat and flavor, actually. Setting a scene is very important!


Earendill: Ohgod, language barriers. Those things hardly work in RP without a ton of people suddenly being fluent in your language due to some spell/potion or an ability to learn languages in a few seconds.


Earendill: And yes Kim! Not dialogue, but -communication-


SeraphicStar: What Earendill said. :c


Kim: Mellute: I don't think any of that is fluff -- if you don't describe the scene and characters, it's almost impossible to know what your character will do. A character might be quite at home in one situation, but less so in another, and I need to know what the situation is. In that sense, it's 100% meat.


Copper_Dragon: I had that happen to me, Ulrin. Oh gosh it was so obnoxious.


PenGryphon2007: I've only been in one RP where language barriers came up between characters...and fortunately there was one who could "translate".


Loki: I did an rp once where my character couldn't speak to anybody because nobody spoke her language, it was actually really difficult! But I think it helped me learn as a player


Copper_Dragon: Second time it happened elsewhere, I went "No you can NOT figure out my character's language, I LIKE the barrier"


Tailbone: I have characters with language barriers and that in itself makes for fascinating character interaction. I think too often we forget to consider how many characters should be speaking select tongues.


PenGryphon2007: hahaha


Earendill: Taking the strife and complications out of a character takes away a lot of possibility for future growth, and thus fun for the maker of said character!


Lorvilran: In any other post though it's fluff.


Mellute: Ah true.


XinonHyena: Language barriers are fun when it's not immediately solved by someone


StarArmy: Banter how people build rapport with others both in real life and the story. Get to know what your fellow characters are about. The motivations behind characters are going to make them better and more complex and defined. By looking for those in the RP you can often get other players to think about these matters as well, basically raising the level of RP for both of you.


Rynh: Yes, and they can be used to your advantage as well


Tailbone:

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3