General Roleplay Discussion

[Arenti]

2977-7.09: a man in his twenties says: "*thinks feathers in a bag are not unlike a puffball mushroom... ponders*"

THATS THE ONE!!!!!!! HAHAHA That's exactly what made me start this thread!!!!

I thought that came after this thread was made and was done because of this thread? But I mostly ignore such things.

[Surly]

I firmly believe that emoting thoughts is unnecessary and, frankly, lazy RP. That said, I would just ignore what isn't relevant to what my character could perceive. So if people like to play like that, it doesn't bother me.

Bottom-line: Bad RP is nearly always better than no RP (qualified with good reason. )

[SumBum]

I think it must be done by giving impression about thoughts.For example: *he examines the weapon and wrinkles his face like he is thinking it is useless*

Disclaimer: I don't see anything wrong with this emote as far as Cantr's rules go.

I'm hoping to demonstrate how NOT emoting thoughts can make for more interesting RP:

If instead of saying the "like he is thinking it is useless" what if you emoted *he examines the weapon with a look of disgust (or disdain)*? That opens things up for others who observe his expression to wonder.... Does he think the weapon is not good enough for him? Does he think it's ugly? Is he a nonviolent char who is offended by any weapon? etc etc.... And if those other chars are the curious sort, it opens up what might be a good conversation.

[Surly]

If instead of saying the "like he is thinking it is useless" what if you emoted *he examines the weapon with a look of disgust (or disdain)*? That opens things up for others who observe his expression to wonder.... Does he think the weapon is not good enough for him? Does he think it's ugly? Is he a nonviolent char who is offended by any weapon? etc etc.... And if those other chars are the curious sort, it opens up what might be a good conversation.

Bingo.

[Genie]

Oh yes perfect

[CrashBlizz]

Thats the way I think it should be done, rather than simply stating everything.

[SekoETC]

It could be compared to a movie or a TV series. There are series like the Bold and the Beautiful where the characters might have internal monologues but you rarely hear stuff like that in quality series and movies. Usually you're supposed to read things from visual clues. ...And also Cantr doesn't have flashbacks. Characters might have them but other characters or players aren't supposed to hear about them unless the character tells them about it.

[Alladinsane]

Don't the more 'informative' emotes sometimes help propel storyline too? In this game that calls itself "slow-paced" on its opening page, a conversation that would take app 30 seconds can turn into a 3 day affair. IF the information relayed is not crucial stuff that another character(s) can act upon, then are we showing a bit of consideration to any others that might be affected by the convo itself i.e. waiting for it to finish? It would seem that minor emotes that are not a crux of whatever 'plot' you may be currently engaged in could help expedite getting to the point (whatever that is?!) of the current players' actions.

I am still pretty green and defer to those who would call themselves 'expert RP'rs', but I have been guilty of enjoying a good story sometimes. Great actors have been in lots of lousy movies, but a great movie can often launch the further career of a relative unknown.

Ya'll keep chattin though; I love learning from the pro's.

Be well

[curious]

hi
are there times in a role play game such as this where a more 'intelligent' reading (not intended as a slur to anyone) of ' thoughts' should be attempted?

for instance, i have read examples where a stated thought could almost be a vocal statement to oneself and very much in the public domain
this may be more true of the more playful elements of the game, and in appreciation of the above suggestions about not entailing plot or advantage?

they can be seen sometimes to add a richness to an otherwise flat landscape of dialogue?

[SekoETC]

People often tend to react too strongly to details that might be taken as something important when in fact it was meant to be something minor and negligible. I think if an emote contains something that your character cannot see or is too subtle to spot, it's good to mention in your reply that your character is or seems to be oblivious to it because it tells the other player that you registered it and aren't ignoring it even though it was beyond the perception of your character. Always grasping every "handle" offered to you can get tiresome.

[returner]

hi
are there times in a role play game such as this where a more 'intelligent' reading (not intended as a slur to anyone) of ' thoughts' should be attempted?

for instance, i have read examples where a stated thought could almost be a vocal statement to oneself and very much in the public domain
this may be more true of the more playful elements of the game, and in appreciation of the above suggestions about not entailing plot or advantage?

they can be seen sometimes to add a richness to an otherwise flat landscape of dialogue?

A very wise thought-provoker. Written very well - except the non-capitalisation. Watch out, many people here hold a prejudice to that sort of thing. *rolls eyes*

[nateflory]

I'm in the camp that thinks the occassional "thoughtful emote" is useful, particularly in cases where the emote conveys the subtetext of the spoken words. To use a purposefully 'bad' example:

A man in his thirties say: "Yeah, I am really glad to see you too. *Scowls a bit, thinking back to the last thieves meeting"*

I try to avoid such things as much as possible, but am very willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's one thing to simply scowl, or to scowl and write something much longer like *scowls and stares down at his hands, his eyes slightly unfocused and shaking his head slightly, muttering something under his breath that sounds like it might have been 'eeves'*

While the latter is much more specific and neutral, most people do not 'think' that way, and translating your mental perspective to notice only what others may see is difficult. In real conversations, there are HUGE numbers of subtle signs from body language, and even shared context, that get lost in a purely written text. Yes, the challenge of Cantr is to put those cues into well roleplayed text, but not everyone is a writer. My first example may be 'wrong', but it gives me the same mental picture of the scene, mostly.

I'd much rather have entertaining and believable characters who emote 'improperly', than a very few 'expert RP' writers to interact with in-game.

[FrankieLeonie]

hi
are there times in a role play game such as this where a more 'intelligent' reading (not intended as a slur to anyone) of ' thoughts' should be attempted?

for instance, i have read examples where a stated thought could almost be a vocal statement to oneself and very much in the public domain
this may be more true of the more playful elements of the game, and in appreciation of the above suggestions about not entailing plot or advantage?

they can be seen sometimes to add a richness to an otherwise flat landscape of dialogue?

A very wise thought-provoker. Written very well - except the non-capitalisation. Watch out, many people here hold a prejudice to that sort of thing. *rolls eyes*

See I didn't even notice this fact until you mentioned it. But I know plenty of people who would want to rip thier eyes out because of it

[curious]

hi
are there times in a role play game such as this where a more 'intelligent' reading (not intended as a slur to anyone) of ' thoughts' should be attempted?

for instance, i have read examples where a stated thought could almost be a vocal statement to oneself and very much in the public domain
this may be more true of the more playful elements of the game, and in appreciation of the above suggestions about not entailing plot or advantage?

they can be seen sometimes to add a richness to an otherwise flat landscape of dialogue?

A very wise thought-provoker. Written very well - except the non-capitalisation. Watch out, many people here hold a prejudice to that sort of thing. *rolls eyes*

See I didn't even notice this fact until you mentioned it. But I know plenty of people who would want to rip thier eyes out because of it

now you see.. this does make me curious.
the possibility that there are people who would try and stretch the limits of a text based 'world'... and rightly so, to make it as inclusive of nuance as possible... but be so taken with the physical appearance of it on the page..?

[CrashBlizz]

It's called having a basic education, don't worry about it.