ROLE-PLAY CLASS
by Catspaws
Sunday September 3
For this week's class, I had this really in-depth lecture prepared on the basics of role-play and characterization, in the expectation that there would be some fresh faces in the class. Alas, the classroom filled with seasoned players so, although we discussed aspects of my prepared lecture, we didn't really get down to the basics. As promised, however, I am included my beautiful lesson to share with all my readers who may not understand the concept of role-play and characterization.
The purpose of stressing thorough characterization is, of course, looking to the future, when we have our planets. Hopefully, this characterization will be the basis for some very unique planets. But, there's another reason we, the more experienced Fed citizens, should hone our role-play skills, our characterization techniques, even our descriptions and moods. We are the ones who teach the new citizens, who show them how to have fun, who teach them how to talk to mobiles, use role-play objects, and eventually, how to create their own little worlds.
Catspaws' Brilliant Guide to the Concept of Role-play and Characterization
Chapter One
Role-playing means acting a particular role. Role-playing is pretending. As children we would "play" school or doctor. We role-play when we act in a play. When we do numerous other things that involve us "pretending" to be something we are not we are role-playing. All of us have this intuitive ability. A role-playing game is just a place to give this unbridled creativity a few rules and an appropriate environment.
Since you will be "pretending" to be someone you are not, you must first decide who you will be. The creation of your character is an important first step in any role-playing game. There are certain things that are imperative to know when you're creating a character for Federation.
Before we actually begin to role-play, we must consider other aspects. A character background or history can answer most of these questions. The key to a character history is to ensure that your creativity fits within the boundaries of the environment in which you wish to play.
For Fed, ask yourself the following questions:
- How did this character enter the Federation? If you are, for example, a feline, this could be a really important issue, as you wouldn't normally expect a feline to be piloting spaceships and building new worlds. Which leads us back to the aforementioned character background or history.
- How does this character fit into the overall role-play of Federation? Yes, Fed DOES have a role-play. You can find a lot of information on the Federation role-play in the Encyclopedia Galactica.
- What is the purpose for this character? What drives him to do whatever he does, and what makes him unique? What makes him happy, and what gets his blood boiling? Who are his parents, his siblings, and how did they make him who he is today?
With a strong character background in place you are already starting to become attached to your character and should be thinking, "Wait, what does he look like?" This next step forces you to visualize your character. You must first decide what your character will appear to others.
Some of these character traits can be left for people to discover; if you want to advertise certain traits you may place them in your "character description", as well as in your "mood". Just remember that these are physical descriptions: what someone can see, smell, hear and observe when with your character.
A few examples of good descriptions are listed below; notice how each describes only things that can be seen or experienced by the senses within the game:
- Tall and muscular, this man saunters with a self-confidence that is obvious to all. His clothes fit his figure snugly and are obviously well-tailored.
- She skips from room to room, her eyes sparkling with a sense of adventure. Wearing brown shorts and a tee shirt, she has a comm unit attached to her belt and carries a clipboard and a package.
- This man is hideous, what could be considered his face marred by scars through which his eyes seem to bulge. His thick lips are twisted into a sneer.
In the next chapter we will discuss expressing your actions to the world: The power of the emote.
Join us for the next role-playing class, next Sunday at 4.00pm eastern.
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