Advanced Role Plays...Do They Exist?

[Usagi]

I don't really mind, as long as it's clear for everyone. So I guess a shorter rules with two little sub-rules would be better than an overly huge one.

[SillyAndPerverted]

Yes, and it also makes it easier for someone to find back what they were searching for if they come back later for something specific.

Am I correct in assuming that I am now speaking to the mule of Maeve, by the way?

[Usagi]

Yes, simple rules are better. Prevent people from being confused and then going "But I didn't understand it that way..." when you tell them it's in the rules.

Yes, you are ^^
Normally it's written in my signature, but I took it off since I needed some space.

[SillyAndPerverted]

I agree with you on that part. The more confusing the rules are, the less likely people are to understand them correctly.

[Chu]

Cat says that she's fine with us working on it, Maeve. Though I'd like to re-do the rules and pass them by her before posting them. We should probably wait on moving threads until new rules are posted.


Let's start with the main thread:

[SillyAndPerverted]

Chu: Use "nudity without any sexual reasons behind it", perhaps, or something along those lines?

Anyway, they further look good to me.

EDIT: "nudity of a non-sexual nature" sounds better, I guess. With the examples you gave.

[ecco]

im pretty sure a strip-tease goes beyond PG13 though. XD

maybe you could just add to the bottom of the rules, if there is a scene someone wishes to act out but theyre not sure if its a rule-breaker or not, they should message a mod about it first?

[SillyAndPerverted]

It would work, I guess. -nods-

[Leingod]

Alright. I've got the guide. I don't think it's a 100%...still feel that something is out of place. So I'll just post what I have, and you can tell me what it needs. Sound good?

[Maeve]

Fine Chu ^^
Maybe just add something like "... and other explicit sexual behaviours..." after the touching thing. It should take care of all the strip-tease and other stuff that are not covered by touching.

And ecco and Silly have a good point. Though I consider people should always PM a mod when they're not sure if something is right, it could be useful to add a little reminder of that at the bottom of the rules.

@ Leingod -> Sounds good Just post what you have and we'll review it.

[SillyAndPerverted]

Maeve, quite a few people on sites such as this one have had bad experiences with staff on the older, larger avatar sites, Gaia being the "best" example of this. Getting no replies, or harsh replies, for example. I believe that many people have become afraid of contacting staff, and as such it would probably be a good idea to make mentions such as the one ecco suggested every here-and-there, so that the users know it IS okay to contact staff.

[Leingod]

Role Play Guide.

So you wish to role play right? I have to say, there is nothing better than acting as something else with a group of other players. But then you have to ask yourself this question: What kind of role plays would you fit into? Well with this guide, I promise you will be able to figure out where you belong! So let's get started, shall we?

First thing I will explain is the level of role plays. One thing I've learned recently is that not a lot of people know the real difference between them. This can create problems in the future, especially for those who do not know what they are really doing. So to prevent that, I will break it down to what they are.

Role Play Levels!

Anything Goes
If you are a well seasoned role player, you would do anything in your power to avoid this kind of role playing. Anyone who has just started their role playing growth probably went through this stage first, or skipped it. It's basically when you would use text talk as you type, 1337 $|*3@|< (Leet Speak) for shits and giggles, use very little grammar, and you insert a * symbol when you are trying to tell people what your character is doing. Not to mention, this is home to the one liners. Here's an example of what I mean.

Example: *goes 2 teh bar 2 ordr a glass of 1333R nd punch a rndm gai* yea i drunk noow nd i punch jooo! *punch em agan*

Ugh..I cringed when I typed that in. I can't even remember the last time I role played like that..the whole point is, if that is how you role play, find ones that are not strict on the way you do it. Stay away from the higher levels of role plays, for they will chew you up and spit you right back out.

Simi-Literate, and Literate
Alright, this is where familiar ground comes to play. I am very sure you've seen this word enough times to know what it means. Unlike the one above, your actually typing out all of your words, and using proper grammar as if you are writing a story. Your also giving detail with the actions your character performs. This means absolutely no 1337 $|*3@|< (Leet Speak), no text talk, and you are not allowed to use a * symbol to tell us what your actions are. So how can you tell someone when your characters are in the middle of an action? When your character speaks, just use quotation marks. Simi-Lit role plays also contains a good storyline, and not just one out of the clear blue. The creator has to know where they want the story to go, in order to keep it alive. Here's an example of what I mean.

Example.

Bodies constantly pouring out blood laid across the cold pavement along the ground. Those who are still alive groaned in pain as their life flashes before their very eyes, and wishing their suffering will end soon. Praying to their creator of all things to save them for all eternity. Others have passed on to a place beyond or below this very surface. A man with hair as white as snow was walking, leaving one corpse after another as he marched his way towards a large steel building. Humans armed with weapons stood there, trembling in fear of the man that approached the grounds that they are supposed to protect. They aimed their weapons at the white haired man, sweat tickled their cheeks, and their hearts raced so much, it felt like they were going to explode from within.

"You are under arrest! Stopyour attack and cooperate with us!" One of the trembling humans spoke.

The white haired man stopped walking, and a smirk came across his face. His left eye glowed bright red before his left fist was engulfed in purple flame. "Unleashing Armagus.."

See how that works? That almost looked like it was right from a story, didn't it? Another note I will add is that simi-lit is supposed to be a paragraph long at best, while a Literate role play is supposed to be 2-4 paragraphs long. This means absolutely no one liners in the role plays. One liners give less players to work with, it makes it less interesting, and it removes the feeling of a good role play. So if your going to be in a simi-lit or a literate role play, remove the one liner habit. If you have trouble avoiding the one liner habit, try giving as much details as possible about your actions. Just like the one above. There are a ton of stuff I could have left out in that example, that would make a it one liner...for the hell of it, here's a one liner version.

The man approached the building and pointed his sword at the men saying, "Unleashing Armagus" <----- Do you see how dull that is? The one liner version has just killed how epic the story could have become in one blow. They are like a kick to the nuts I tell you.

Advanced Role Plays
Alright, now this is the juiciest of all role plays. These role plays are just like Lit, and Simi Lit types. However, the paragraphs are off the charts. While Lit and Simi-Lits can go up to four paragraphs maximum, Advance role plays may have up to eight paragraphs at best. Even more then that. Paragraphs in this type of role play will vary depending on the situation at hand. Describing one's surroundings and getting into major detail, to the description of the character, all the way down to the action of the character itself. These role plays are the most serious of all of them, as their rules are more strict than any other role play type, plus the expectations from the players are high. If you really believe you have what it takes, then go for it. Since the form is just a more strict version of Simi Lit and Literate..this won't need an example.

Role Play Do's and Don'ts -- A simple guide for all the literate types.

Alright, so now you know what role play level you are. But what if you happen to be in the higher level role plays, and have absolutely no idea on how to be a well seasoned role player? Well, here's some tips that will keep you out of the red zone. Other wise it would be like tossing you into the lion's din.

One Liners - You already know not to use em. You already know what they can do. Let's move on.

Damsel in distress - Ok...this is something I have seen a crapton of times in a role play. It's okay to get in trouble...but not every two seconds. You see, what most role players do not realize is that DIDs will slow down the role play. The more often it happens, the slower the role play will progress. Why? Because players have to take a moment to stop what they are doing, focus the story on the character in danger, get them out of the danger, and the story can progress again, along with the developing of charact--

HEEEELP!!! -- *Sigh* Alright...let me stop for a second, save their ass. (About thirty posts later) There, let's move on. As I was saying--

HEEEELP!! -- Sonova...this will only take a second..(Fourty posts later due to a bigger crises) Alright! Now...what I was trying to say is--

HEE -- *BLAM* Ah...much better. Well...after witnessing what I was just dealing with, you see why we can't have DIDs. We just can't get shit done that way. It's okay to get in trouble...but my rule is everybody gets one. I wouldn't be surprised if players decides to ignore the crises at hand. This isn't the Mushroom Kingdom. No Italian plumber in red overalls is going to curb stop everyone in his way to save you every time you get in trouble, got it?

"I know, what you know, before you can do it, because I read what is about to happen later on!"
This is a huuuuuge no no. It is not often I have seen this happen, but one thing I do not do is neglect the basics. Basically, when you are role playing, you have to remember that you are always in character. This means, that just because you read someone's post and it claims they are going to do some evil diabolical plan, does not mean your character automatically knows it. YOU, the reader, may know it. Your character does not. Always remember that.

Attention whore -- Everyone in the role play wants to have fun and experience something. Try not to suck all the attention to yourself all the time. Give somebody else a chance to have the spot light.

I'm in love! And I've met you for only five seconds! -- This may not be a bother to some players...but it sure does bother the hell out of me. Romance and relationships is usually the fun part in role plays because you will never know who will pair up with you. However, you have to treat these exactly the way they are treated in real life. They TAKE TIME TO BUILD. Just because everyone else around you has a pairing, does not mean you have to hurry up and get one. Just because one's character happens to be more eye candyish than others, does not mean you have to hurry up and get em before someone else does. Role Plays are supposed to have character, AND relationship developments. Build up your character. Take care of your character first. When the timing is right, make the move. Do not rush into it.

I'm sure I am missing a few other Do's and Don'ts. If I am, someone can add into it if they like. Why isn't God Moding up there? Because that deserves it's own section.

Ways of the God Mod.

Alright. God mod is another big factor of role playing. This belongs in the Do's and Don'ts section, but there is a lot to cover in god mod. That is why I gave it a section of it's own.

Can't dodge this! (Autohit)
This is when you attack a character, and it automatically hits them. You give them no room to dodge, you tell the effect, and you expect it to work the way you said it. This is why most fighting type role plays fail, because people expect the player they are fighting to just stand there and take it.

Bad Example: Character A throws an apple at Character B's nuts and it hits him directly.

Good Example: Character A throws an apple as hard as he can, aiming it straight for Character B's nuts.

Character B saw that the apple was traveling too fast to dodge it entirely, so he smacks it away with his hand.

Can't Touch This! (Invincible)
This means there is not a said thing that can harm you in any shape, size, or form. You claim you are unharmed by dodging everything where it's clearly not possible, or using some stupid ability that out prioritizes another. So to avoid this, it's up to the creator to determine weather or not a character is too powerful.

Example: Character A fires a nuke at Character B. Character B absorbs it so he is now unarmed.

Well you know what, Character B is dead after that. He absorbed a crap ton of radiation. So if you catch someone doing this, try to turn their own god mode BS on them. If you can't you can always call em out on it.

The Puppeteer. (Character Control)
The name speaks for itself. For some lame reason, you control someone's character as if it was an NPC. Never, ever do that.

Example: Character A pushes Character B off a cliff. Character B has no way of saving himself as he falls into a body of water and drowns because he can't swim.

Overpowering Weapons and Abilities
No one likes an overpowered character. Players should have enough sense not to make a handgun that can change into a plasma sword, and morph into a bazooka, and transform into a big friggen gundam, and...well you get the point. Not a single weapon should be that powerful. The same goes for abilities. Manipulating Space and Time, mastering EVERY element, able to read someone's mind....those are some examples of god mod powers. I am sure there is more then that, but if we come across them, we shall let you know.

[Tianfu]

I totally agree about the Advanced Roleplays section. I went in there once, saw that all the games there consisted of posts of a paragraph or less, and then left.

However... The above Roleplay Guide sent my inner grammar nazi into overdrive. For me, literacy and advanced literacy are less about length (although length does have a lot to do with it) and more about polished paragraphs and correct English usage. And I'm afraid that Advanced Roleplaying guides that have bad grammar and misspellings make me twitch a little.

From what I've seen, most of the games here would qualify as what I think of as semi-literate. The posts are about a paragraph or less and pretty forgiving as to typos and punctuation use. I think that "literate" would be at least two well-crafted paragraphs, with effort taken to make sure that everything is spelled right and the grammar is correct. And "advanced" is at least three or four paragraphs and the spelling and grammar is perfect (barring the occasional typo, we all make mistakes). Eight paragraphs is a bit much for every post, as at that point what you would tend to get is "filler" paragraphs (such as rhapsodizing on the weather) meant to take up space and add very little to the story, which consequently slows down the action.

If I could add one thing to a roleplay guide, it would be about what I call "reactionary playing". This is when a player merely reacts to what's going on in a game without ever adding anything to further the action or plot. For a quick example, Player A posts:

Character A approached Character B with trepidation. She was not sure how Character B would take her sudden re-appearance into his life. They hadn't parted on the best of terms. Character A handed him her business card, hoping he wouldn't notice the fine sheet of sweat on them, and bowed respectfully. "It will be a pleasure to work with you."

Player B then posts:

Character B took the business card and scanned the name quickly. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "Welcome to CompanyX," he said with a vague smile.

Player A set up a few things that Player B totally ignored, such as a traumatic past, and initiated the interaction. Player B simply responded, but didn't expand on the action, leaving Player A to take up the slack in their next post. Playing with a reactionary roleplayer can be like pulling teeth because they never give you anything to work with and leave it up to everyone else to move the story along.

[Maeve]

First thing, it's semi, not simi

I've mostly role-play on some less-than-perfect sites recently (i.e. Gaia), so my ideas might be a bit wrong. But anyway, here's my personal list of role-plays requirements.

[Leingod]

@Tianfu: My apologies for making your Grammer Nazi go off xD I don't have a word processor soooo...my mistakes are usually out in the open. And that's a very good point...it IS quality that makes a role play more life like than paragraphs. It makes a lot more sense. Oh, and as for the reaction guide, that should be added! I've seen that in a lot of other role plays too! (Mostly on Gaia)

@Maeve: This guide is actually more accurate than my own. I had a feeling that with mine, people would most likely have trouble understanding the concept of role play levels. So thanks for showing this one! We should use that one to better explain the levels here. As for your other question, it sounds like a good idea. Things can be a bit more organized that way :3