Defining Bad Roleplay

[Leo Luncid]

Sometimes you can learn how to make a good story by reading bad ones. Sometimes you can learn good listening skills from people who have a hard time doing so. In the same sense, we maybe able to learn good roleplay by being able to accurately define what bad roleplay is.

[sanchez]

Some of this no doubt is up to personal taste, but I really dislike any roleplay that does not allow for others to participate. No matter how artfully you construct a monologue, or emote elaborate gestures, if you are demanding an audience but others don't have room to respond, it's not good play.

Things like swimming in cities are often examples of this type. It might be interesting with a small group of chars, but when many others are present to witness and busy doing other things, it only appears self-indulgent and disruptive on the part of the player.

[Helmaroc]

Well, there are certain things that can affect roleplay quality in my opinion.
One, is obvious things, grammar, spelling/punctuation/capitalization, basic stuff that pisses me off. Can't you take five seconds to hold down shift or perhaps add a period or two?
Two, are things like what sanchez mentioned. If you roleplay in a way that cannot be accurately or easily responded to, it's not good for anyone. This can tie in with grammar, if you word things like you just learned the language, no one will be able to understand what you're trying to say. (And if you -are- just learning the language, this does not apply to you!)
Three might be just low quality, common, cliche or whatever RP. One problem is all the bad people are bad in the same way, all the good guys are good in the same ways. That's why you should try to make your chars as original as possible, in their thoughts, actions, and words.

[CantrFreak]

Well, there are certain things that can affect roleplay quality in my opinion.
One, is obvious things, grammar, spelling/punctuation/capitalization, basic stuff that pisses me off. Can't you take five seconds to hold down shift or perhaps add a period or two?
Two, are things like what sanchez mentioned. If you roleplay in a way that cannot be accurately or easily responded to, it's not good for anyone. This can tie in with grammar, if you word things like you just learned the language, no one will be able to understand what you're trying to say. (And if you -are- just learning the language, this does not apply to you!)
Three might be just low quality, common, cliche or whatever RP. One problem is all the bad people are bad in the same way, all the good guys are good in the same ways. That's why you should try to make your chars as original as possible, in their thoughts, actions, and words.

I hate all the characters that are almost exactly the same. That's why I have rascist characters, cannibals and other stuff.

[Gran]

I hate all the characters that are almost exactly the same freaks. Role-playing psichotics does not automatically makes that a good rp. Being a plain psichotic is just as a plain worker, and both are damn common.

[SekoETC]

Well if someone is a "bad psychotic", can't you just kill them?

Stuff like swimming can be annoying if you're not participating, especially if you've seen it many times before. But I guess stuff like that is better than people just whispering.

One thing I hate is autohitting. It's okay if the target was surprised but if the target is aware or prepared to dodge, people shouldn't just negate their preparations by ignoring them. I don't have a good example now so I hope people understand what I'm getting at.

One word emotes are also annoying. They're okay in the middle of speaking when writing a whole sentence for something as simple as *sighs* would interrupt the speaking too badly, but when used as a stand-alone emote they usually reflect a lack of effort. You want to tell "I'm bored" or "I'm depressed", "I'm sad", but you fall to clichés because you're too busy to think how it could be said more elaborately. Also years back one of my characters had a long term relationship with a woman who couldn't write pretty much anything else than *gasps* and *moans* when they were having sex, which is a real turnoff after you've gone through the trouble of writing several lines.

And yeah, bad spelling and lack of punctuation can be damn annoying. I'm playing with someone who's a pretty good player but looks like they stopped using the apostrophe. I'm pretty sure they did use it earlier, or could I have missed such a thing? I feel like asking them OOC Can't find your apostrophe? but then they might get mad and not play with me anymore. I'd rather tolerate the lack of punctuation than not have anyone to play with, but if you can find the apostrophe, I would be very grateful.

[CantrFreak]

I hate all the characters that are almost exactly the same freaks. Role-playing psichotics does not automatically makes that a good rp. Being a plain psichotic is just as a plain worker, and both are damn common.

I hate those too, but if that comment was made to me, my characters are far from being plain psychotic. Mines actually has what things are "good" and what is "evil." I hate evil charries that are just comic book evil... that's just broing. It's a lot more entertaining when they're evil for reasons that could be considered good or things like that. For example, some will kill somebody in cold blood just for a tiny little thing and then help some newspawn right away and get them some weapons and shielding in a heartbeat. I really don't play psychotic... just different people...

[SekoETC]

My characters tend to go insane but I think I play them well.

[CantrFreak]

My characters tend to go insane but I think I play them well.

I've only had one or two on the brink of insanity... One recovered a bit, another has things holding him up.

[DylPickle]

I think in about every large scale city there's at least one character with the "depressed sad person" gimmick. I always found that to be somewhat annoying in general, and funny in an annoying way when they do the whole:
1234: Sad Cliche says: *sigh*
1234: Sad Cliche says: *gazes out into the distance, eyes watering with extreme sadness*
1234: You see Jimmy walk into town
1234: Sad Cliche says: Hi! Welcome to Siom. Take a look at the laws and the info note, and let me know if you need anything *smiles*
1234: Sad Cliche says: *apparently returns to crying*
1234: You see DylPickle's head explode in frustration

[CantrFreak]

I think in about every large scale city there's at least one character with the "depressed sad person" gimmick. I always found that to be somewhat annoying in general, and funny in an annoying way when they do the whole:
1234: Sad Cliche says: *sigh*
1234: Sad Cliche says: *gazes out into the distance, eyes watering with extreme sadness*
1234: You see Jimmy walk into town
1234: Sad Cliche says: Hi! Welcome to Siom. Take a look at the laws and the info note, and let me know if you need anything *smiles*
1234: Sad Cliche says: *apparently returns to crying*
1234: You see DylPickle's head explode in frustration

wtf?

[Gran]

I hate those too, but if that comment was made to me, my characters are far from being plain psychotic.

I just tend to sound rude. The thing is that psychos, mads and evil chars without a reason to be that way are far uninteresting. So are most of the pointless roleplaying in general, like the Sad Guy Stereotype. There is no reason to be sad, so goddamit at least make one. However, pointless sadness in rl also bothers many people, so at least those chars got a point.

[CantrFreak]

I hate those too, but if that comment was made to me, my characters are far from being plain psychotic.

I just tend to sound rude. The thing is that psychos, mads and evil chars without a reason to be that way are far uninteresting. So are most of the pointless roleplaying in general, like the Sad Guy Stereotype. There is no reason to be sad, so goddamit at least make one. However, pointless sadness in rl also bothers many people, so at least those chars got a point.

Oh, well my guys certainly have a reason to get evil or strange...

[Zanthos]

i had a psycho... well not "psycho" but more "mentally off his rocker by a half inch"

He was wounded to 70+% by boars, and then completly healed himself with mushrooms he had picked, and began to believe that the mushrooms were blessed by a god, became a priest of that god, wrote some things about that god, and in the end got a few believers, and later on died of a heart attack believing in that god. He was fun to play until the day he died.

[Leo Luncid]

I actually think the sad guy stereotypes may have a reason to be sad (especially for sleepers), whether they show it or not.

Of course its obviously unreasonable, for example, to be depressed on the spot from the spawn date on, but if they've been only briefly active between long periods of inactivity (as my charries have been), they'll be able to see how behind they are compared to other successful people, and respond accordingly.

Of course they may not visibly show it, but the influence is still there. And even if they do, of course it will be annoying and maybe ignored; there are people irl who don't tend to hang around such bad influences.