Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Storyboard: Why I rejected your guild application]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/25/storyboard-why-i-rejected-your-guild-application/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/25/storyboard-why-i-rejected-your-guild-application/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/25/storyboard-why-i-rejected-your-guild-application/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Not pictured: Phillip J. Fry as an N7 operative. Yeah, that's life in this neck of the woods lately.
Explaining guilds to people who don't play MMOs is always odd. You have to explain the process of applying, getting interviewed, and generally being brought on some trial runs in a way that doesn't make the whole thing sound like an unpleasant second job. This is even worse when it comes to explaining roleplaying guilds, which often level all the same restrictions as endgame-focused guilds with the added benefit that you're being examined based on your character rather than your play ability.

So it feels like a real kick in the teeth to do all that and then get rejected.

At face value, this feels outright ridiculous. The only criteria for a roleplaying guild should be roleplaying, and if you're applying for one, you almost by definition pass. But there's actually a lot of valid reasons to say that someone just isn't right for your roleplaying guild. So you might not have been rejected because the guild is made up of judgmental pricks -- it might be for the best.

Continue reading Storyboard: Why I rejected your guild application

MassivelyStoryboard: Why I rejected your guild application originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredguildguild-applicationguild-interactionguildsopinionroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardFri, 25 May 2012 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The second anniversary of Storyboard]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/storyboard-the-second-anniversary-of-storyboard/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/storyboard-the-second-anniversary-of-storyboard/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/18/storyboard-the-second-anniversary-of-storyboard/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yes, I plan to have something bizarre for this every anniversary.
Last year, I had planned to change up the focus of Storyboard a little. The "high and wide" format had been working, but I was worried that the column just wouldn't have legs if I didn't start going for more focused and narrow applications. So I spent several months working on just the right way to do more game-specific columns in here.

You don't remember them, of course, because none of them was ever posted. Those several months of work did not produce a single viable column.

At the capstone of the second year of Storyboard, I'm forced to basically eat crow about one of my major plans for the last year because it turns out that not only did it not work but it didn't need to work in the first place. I managed to fill up another year of columns just fine without going into great detail about one game over another, and as it turns out, I'm a lot happier with this year as a whole anyway.

Continue reading Storyboard: The second anniversary of Storyboard

MassivelyStoryboard: The second anniversary of Storyboard originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 May 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anniversarycolumncolumnsfeaturedlooking-backopinionretrospectiveroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardFri, 18 May 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Why roleplaying is worth the trouble]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/storyboard-reasons-its-worth-roleplaying/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/storyboard-reasons-its-worth-roleplaying/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/11/storyboard-reasons-its-worth-roleplaying/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I need more stock images for these headers. Time to start digging.
Why bother roleplaying?

I've covered a lot of topics in this column that circle around that topic. I've talked about why roleplaying is important and how you can roleplay without tears, but I've never touched the central question, something that was brought to mind recently by a fellow Massively writer. Why even bother with roleplaying?

The usual answer is a shrug and a self-evident "because it's fun," but that's more a dismissal of the question than a functional response. That's not a good thing because there's a case to be made against roleplaying. Your character doesn't have an impact on the game world. Your roleplaying is, in the context of the game itself, irrelevant. The game doesn't care why your character wears weaker gear than normal; it just downgrades your stats and makes your life harder. You derive no benefit and wind up losing a lot of time for social interactions that are prone to drama and arguments. So why bother?

Continue reading Storyboard: Why roleplaying is worth the trouble

MassivelyStoryboard: Why roleplaying is worth the trouble originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advicefeaturedmotivationopinionplayer-motivationreasonsreasons-to-roleplayroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardFri, 11 May 2012 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Problem players]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/04/storyboard-problem-players/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/04/storyboard-problem-players/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/04/storyboard-problem-players/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Hopefully my internet connection is working as you read this.
I don't tend to talk about the players behind the characters in this column because more often than not it doesn't matter. A good roleplayer is a good roleplayer, and if your characters can interact well, you don't really need to be close friends behind the scenes. Sure, I promote communication out of character, but that's to avoid drama, and liking the person involved is more of a bonus than a requisite goal. The majority of roleplayers won't have issues beyond character or story-based ones, and thus I focus on those.

There are exceptions.

Even if most of the troubles you'll encounter are the result of characters that don't quite work for whatever reason (something we're all guilty of), there are certain players who are going to cause problems no matter what. And I'm not talking about the guy who always makes the same character with minor setting adjustments. I'm talking about the players who will make you actively dislike the game you're playing, the cases where you're going to need to address the problem beyond just shaking your head at one character or another. These guys exist, and even though they're not the majority, they have an unpleasant impact.

Continue reading Storyboard: Problem players

MassivelyStoryboard: Problem players originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 May 2012 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>culturefeaturedgroupsopinionproblem-playersproblemsroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpsocial-problemsstorystoryboardFri, 04 May 2012 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The growth of a plot tumor]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/storyboard-the-growth-of-a-plot-tumor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/storyboard-the-growth-of-a-plot-tumor/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/storyboard-the-growth-of-a-plot-tumor/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

As I approach two years of this, I'm still waiting to run out of headers to assemble.
Everyone has had that friend. Heck, almost everyone has been that friend at one point or another. It's the guy who just found himself in a relationship, and suddenly every single topic of conversation jerks right back to that relationship. It starts out subtle, but eventually your friend will turn everything back to the topic of his relationship, up to and including a car crash. And while said friend isn't a bad guy, you start enjoying your time with him less and less because he's down to a single droning note that's no longer interesting.

The exact same thing happens in roleplaying. It's not usually about a girlfriend, although it can be. It's any aspect of a character's plot that grows until it's all-encompassing and grows into the plots of other characters as well. It's a plot tumor. It's a growth bigger than it has any right to be, and it's the sort of thing that can really drive you away from roleplaying whether or not you liked the plot in the beginning.

Continue reading Storyboard: The growth of a plot tumor

MassivelyStoryboard: The growth of a plot tumor originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredopinionplot-tumorsplotsproblem-plotsroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardtroubleFri, 27 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: One hundred moments and done]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/storyboard-one-hundred-moments-and-done/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/storyboard-one-hundred-moments-and-done/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/20/storyboard-one-hundred-moments-and-done/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

No, I'm not ending the column, but now people will read the whole thing because they'll suspect I am. Unless, of course, you read the alt text.
All good things must come to an end.

Roleplaying is all about creating a shared space for your character to inhabit with other characters. It's about crafting trials and challenges that can be overcome through narrative means; it's about building a set of experiences together. And all of the columns I've written up to this point have been entirely about making that work well and creating a shared environment that's fun for everyone.

But it can end. One day, you may log in to find that the people you've been roleplaying alongside are no longer there -- that the friends you once had have left, the allies you once charished have moved on, and your universe has narrowed by degrees until it's just you. After all of the roleplaying you've done, it tuns out that your group of fellow roleplayers has slowly drifted away until the only person who remembers these stories is you. And it seems fitting, for the 100th column, to talk about what happens when you're left remembering a universe that never was.

Continue reading Storyboard: One hundred moments and done

MassivelyStoryboard: One hundred moments and done originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>communityconclusionsdepartureendingfeaturedleavingopinionroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardFri, 20 Apr 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/storyboard-to-say-nothing-of-cute-shoes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/storyboard-to-say-nothing-of-cute-shoes/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/13/storyboard-to-say-nothing-of-cute-shoes/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

During PAX East, I roleplayed a drunk man. It's a role I'm apparently quite good at.
Just as in real life, player characters in MMOs have more than one set of clothing for different situations. Sure, I don't divide my actual clothes up in usual MMO categories ("well, those are my PvP pants"), but I have things I wear around the house that I wouldn't wear out in public or when attending a funeral, for instance. But even that doesn't compare to a high-level roleplaying character, who has not only PvP gear and PvE gear and solo gear tand the like but also funeral gear and casual gear and so forth. It's all the joy of assembling a real wardrobe alongside the joy of stat comparisons.

Roleplaying outfits are universally important. Even if your character is in a game without visible gear (such as City of Heroes), you probably have different outfits for different circumstances (civilian clothes, for instance). But there's an art to putting together a good roleplaying ensemble, and it's not just as simple as equipping the same equipment you wore 10 levels ago and calling it a day. You want to create a distinct impression, and that takes a little more doing. So how do you assemble a good roleplaying outfit?

Continue reading Storyboard: To say nothing of cute shoes

MassivelyStoryboard: To say nothing of cute shoes originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appearanceequipmentfeaturedgearopinionoutfitsroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpstorystoryboardFri, 13 Apr 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Police state]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/06/storyboard-police-state/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/06/storyboard-police-state/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/04/06/storyboard-police-state/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

No, I don't know exactly why Saren's here.
Sometimes, column topics get away from you. When I sat down to write last week's Storyboard, I realized at the halfway mark that I had spent a lot of time not really hitting the core of the issue, and the overall article wound up being much weaker as a result. So I went back, started fresh, and instead delivered a column aimed squarely at the central question of whether or not it's important to have a flagged roleplaying server.

But there is an issue that I didn't really address in that column but still remains relevant. If you're going to talk about having an RP server exist even if it's not policed, you do need to address what policing a roleplaying server actually entails. A lot of it is just plain speculative at the moment, given the overall track record of the industry, but that doesn't mean it's not worth discussing.

Continue reading Storyboard: Police state

MassivelyStoryboard: Police state originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredopinionpoliciespolicingroleplayroleplay-serversroleplayersroleplayingrprp-serversserver-policestorystoryboardFri, 06 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Flag a server]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/storyboard-flag-a-server/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/storyboard-flag-a-server/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/30/storyboard-flag-a-server/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I need to spend either more time or less time getting irritated by the people of the Internet from now on. Depends on how this article is received, I guess.
A couple of weeks ago, Matt Daniel, Elisabeth Cardy, and I were talking amongst ourselves about the dearth of official roleplaying servers in Guild Wars 2. Lis was contending that the primary defense from ArenaNet was the idea that the GMs wouldn't be able to properly police these servers, so as a result the, studio didn't want to designate them that way in the first place. As she put it, she'd rather see them not do the servers at all than do them in a slipshod fashion, and she believed an unpoliced roleplaying server was worse than no roleplaying server at all.

This prompted me to ask whether anyone actually expected roleplaying servers to be policed, but honestly, that's a tangent to the real issue. I can convincingly argue that there are ways that the servers should be policed, but regardless of whether or not roleplayers expect this to happen, I think it's pretty absolute that not having a roleplaying server is much more slipshod than having one with inadequate support. The alternative suggests you really don't care whether your game has roleplayers or not.

Continue reading Storyboard: Flag a server

MassivelyStoryboard: Flag a server originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredopinionrantroleplayroleplayersroleplayingroleplaying-serversrpserver-flaggingserversstorystoryboardFri, 30 Mar 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Talk this way]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/23/storyboard-talk-this-way/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/23/storyboard-talk-this-way/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/23/storyboard-talk-this-way/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Nobody is talking in this picture. Ironic?
One of the great problems presented to roleplayers is the challenge of presenting audio via text.

We don't think about it all the time because most of the time it's easy to construct the sound of something from context. Sure, simply saying that your character sighs could mean any number of things, but contextually it's usually obvious whether it's meant as a gesture of exasperation or a sign of relaxed contentment. "Yes, I'm sure your new weapon will make a huge difference in the war" could be sarcastic or serious, but there are generally enough clues in the situation to make the difference obvious.

But there's one obvious case in which that breaks down, and that's in the matter of accents. After all, people from two different regions shouldn't quite sound the same... but there's also no effective way to communicate how one voice or another sounds different. And the most common solution is essentially a matter of making your character's words borderline unreadable in the hopes that you convey a sliver of your intention.

Continue reading Storyboard: Talk this way

MassivelyStoryboard: Talk this way originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>accentsdialoguediscussionfeaturedopinionrantsroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpsoundsstorystoryboardvoicewhat-is-this-I-cant-evenFri, 23 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Sadface]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/storyboard-sadface/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/storyboard-sadface/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/16/storyboard-sadface/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

For those of you who identify the middle picture, yes, I've beaten the game, and yes, I liked the ending. If you want to talk about it, do so via mail, not in the comments.
I have, on occasion, joked that all of my roleplaying characters are either looking for a tragedy or recovering from one. It's not an intentional thing, but for whatever reason, an awful lot of my characters tend to have a whole lot of pain and sorrow wrapped up in their heads. My attempts at making a joke character usually derail to the point that said character is even more depressing, like the mage I played who was supposed to be eccentric and wound up being desperately lonely due to her horrendous inability to focus on any one thing for too long.

While it's very easy to go into the depressingly morbid side with a tragic character, we're not going into that this week. (Another week -- you know how I roll by now.) No, this week's problem is much simpler. If you're playing a character who's beset on all sides by misfortune, eventually you're just going to wind up with sadness-induced apathy. You're going to get tired of the fact that your character always fails and never wins and that things get worse every time he or she tries to fix problems. In short, you're going to not want to play the character because said character is just plain depressing.

Continue reading Storyboard: Sadface

MassivelyStoryboard: Sadface originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>depressingdepressiondownersfeaturedopinionroleplayroleplayersroleplayingrpsadsadnesssorrowstorystoryboardFri, 16 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Out of the rut]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/storyboard-out-of-the-rut/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/storyboard-out-of-the-rut/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/09/storyboard-out-of-the-rut/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Yes, it's a Claire Shepard week. Can you blame me? Yes? Well, shut up.
Every day it's the same thing. You wake up, you go to work, you convince your boss that you're actually working for eight hours or so, you go home, and then you log into your game of choice for some roleplaying. Except lately, that's been feeling like just as much of a routine. If your characters are supposed to be like people, it's not surprising that sometimes they'll wind up in the middle of a boring routine just like anyone else.

Granted, depending on your roleplaying, that boring routine might involve several betrayals, affairs, and potential murders, but a routine is a routine.

The point is that your character can get stuck in a rut. No matter how much you might like a character, it's no fun to keep running through the same basic stories again and again. You need to kick your character out of that rut, preferrably without destroying the elements you like about the character in the first place. So how do you get out of stagnant waters and start churning things up again?

Continue reading Storyboard: Out of the rut

MassivelyStoryboard: Out of the rut originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>featuredopinionplayer-rutroleplayroleplayersroleplayingroutinerprutsame-old-same-oldstorystory-rutstoryboardFri, 09 Mar 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: An event with a touch of plot]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/02/storyboard-an-event-with-a-touch-of-plot/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/02/storyboard-an-event-with-a-touch-of-plot/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/03/02/storyboard-an-event-with-a-touch-of-plot/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The Rikku-hair is the most compelling thing I've seen from Allods in a long while.
In tabletop games, the GM is sometimes referred to as the player who doesn't get to play. Running a plot-heavy event in an MMORPG is fairly similar -- you're still technically there in the form of a character, but the focus is on an adventure that you're presenting for your fellow players. That means a whole lot of extra work on your part because you suddenly lack the advantage of letting the game handle most of that pesky worldbuilding work.

You probably don't need to be told that this can all go bad. No, what you really want to know is how to avoid going bad. And while some of the stuff that I've posted in the past about running in-game events is still entirely applicable, there are also some unique issues that you're going to have to deal with when your event is meant to be tightly scripted. Plan it right, and the whole thing can go off without a hitch. Plan it wrong, and... well, do I need to do another column on drama already?

Continue reading Storyboard: An event with a touch of plot

MassivelyStoryboard: An event with a touch of plot originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columncolumnscultureevent-managementeventsfeaturedherding-catsmanagementopinionroleplayingroleplaying-eventsrprp-eventsstoryboardFri, 02 Mar 2012 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Welcome back, whoever you are]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/24/storyboard-welcome-back-whoever-you-are/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/24/storyboard-welcome-back-whoever-you-are/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/24/storyboard-welcome-back-whoever-you-are/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I have some weird screenshots from game trailers.
It happens. Maybe you got sidetracked with an alt and another alt wound up gathering dust. Maybe you had real-life obligations pulling you away from a certain game for a while (like, say, a job that more or less relies upon a variety of game experiences coupled with apartment hunting). Or maybe one thing led to another and you just didn't think to log in for a while. Whatever the case, you've got characters who have been involved in roleplaying for a while but just dropped off the radar.

Of course, much like video game franchises, old roleplaying characters never really go away; they just go for longer period of inactivity. Unfortunately, diving back into a character you haven't played for a while prompts its own string of problems, namely the fact that from a story perspective said character apparently fell off the face of the planet for a while. So let's start small and lead your character back into the action, starting by figuring out where he or she has been for the past several weeks or months or years.

Continue reading Storyboard: Welcome back, whoever you are

MassivelyStoryboard: Welcome back, whoever you are originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>absenceabsent-characterscolumncolumnsfeaturedmothballed-charactersmothballsopinionplayer-absenceroleplayingrpstoryboardverisimilitudeFri, 24 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Not in control]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/17/storyboard-not-in-control/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/17/storyboard-not-in-control/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/17/storyboard-not-in-control/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Facemask theater! All facemasks. All the time.
One of the weird parts of roleplaying, at least for me, is the fact that I'm not really in control at all.

I don't mean in the narrative sense, although that's also true. I'm talking about the simple fact that my characters have minds of their own, and that's half of the entertainment value. I see something happening, I know it's going to be bad, and I find myself thinking that the best thing my character can do is keep his or her mouth shut. And then I'm hammering away at the keyboard because even though I think otherwise, he or she has a very different opinion.

Writers are familiar with the idea, of course. Characters wind up talking to you, even when you don't mean for it to happen. But it happens with roleplaying just as surely, and you wind up with a character driving in a totally different direction than you had planned, with your main-line character sitting on the side while some C-list concept takes center stage. And the funny part is that it all feels right, all the way through.

Continue reading Storyboard: Not in control

MassivelyStoryboard: Not in control originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>character-designcharacter-voicescharactersfeaturednarrativeopinionroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 17 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/10/storyboard-over-done-finished-finito/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/10/storyboard-over-done-finished-finito/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/10/storyboard-over-done-finished-finito/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yes, I know, there's no Mass Effect MMO. Not yet.
The best stories have an ending. And if you want to tell a decent story in a roleplaying format, you're going to need some sort of an ending eventually. The problem is that most endings have a pretty strict sense of finality to them, and really ending your roleplaying kind of implies that your character is riding off into the sunset and possibly sipping martinis. (Depending on the game, they may be space martinis. Lots of things are possible.)

So you want to end the story without ending your character's story on a whole. That's a good approach and one that can be handled. But it's also one that's a bit easier said than done, hence my devoting an entire column to it. So let's talk about creating a satisfying ending that manages to wrap up a story without subsequently wrapping up every aspect of your character.

Continue reading Storyboard: Over, done, finished, finito

MassivelyStoryboard: Over, done, finished, finito originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>character-arcscharacter-developmentscolumnconclusionscultureendingfeaturedopinionroleplayersroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 10 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: You guys must be the party]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/03/storyboard-you-guys-must-be-the-party/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/03/storyboard-you-guys-must-be-the-party/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/02/03/storyboard-you-guys-must-be-the-party/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I always wonder if people read more into these header images than they ought to.
A couple of weeks back, I wrote an article about dealing with a major ongoing storyline in an MMO. For those of you who neither read the article nor can spare the time to click the link and read it now: It talked about the problems presented by having a storyline and offered a few different solutions for handling such inconsistencies. Of course, as I noted, very few of these problems apply to open-world sandbox games that have no sort of ongoing developer-run story for you to stumble around.

No, those games have issues entirely their own, starting with the very nature of player-run stories.

A completely player-driven story has the advantage of not having several issues that can crop up when dealing with an ongoing in-game story, but it also still has some serious problems. There are still issues that you're going to have to have answers for when you're in a game that lets you craft the world to match your whims, and unfortunately the methods for doing so aren't quite as straightforward as the methods for dealing with an in-game storyline.

Continue reading Storyboard: You guys must be the party

MassivelyStoryboard: You guys must be the party originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>culturefeaturedopen-worldopinionplayer-driven-storiesroleplayingrpsandboxstoriesstorystoryboardFri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/27/storyboard-three-guys-walk-into-a-bar/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/27/storyboard-three-guys-walk-into-a-bar/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/27/storyboard-three-guys-walk-into-a-bar/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Never underestimate the power of gold trim.
My days of playing Magic: the Gathering are... well, they're not over, exactly, but I'm certainly not in my heyday any longer. Despite this, I've made no secret of the fact that I still avidly read Mark Rosewater's Making Magic column because the stuff he says in the column is applicable to game design in general. There are a lot of ideas that I've drawn out of there over the years, and one of the ones that's stuck with me is the Timmy-Johnny-Spike split that Rosewater's quite fond of explaining at length.

For those of you not interested in reading a decade's worth of columns just to understand what I'm talking about, the three names in questions are the so-called "psychographics" for Magic's audience, three psychological snapshots of why people play and enjoy the game. They're useful tools for understanding the reason certain cards resonate well with some players and not with others. And they're applicable to almost everything -- even roleplaying.

Continue reading Storyboard: Three guys walk into a bar

MassivelyStoryboard: Three guys walk into a bar originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appealcolumncolumnscreativityfeaturedinterestjohnnyopinionroleplayingrpspeculationspikestoryboardtimmyFri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: We are (among) the champions]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/20/storyboard-we-are-among-the-champions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/20/storyboard-we-are-among-the-champions/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/20/storyboard-we-are-among-the-champions/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Wait, there can't be two of them!
The night before I started writing this column, I finally managed to clear Chapter 1 in Star Wars: The Old Republic with one of my characters. I overcame great obstacles, beat back horrible odds, and defeated a great menace to the galaxy. I was hailed as a hero by the authorities in charge, and while it had been at great cost to myself, I was now more than worthy of respect, accolades, and the gratitude of a galaxy unaware of how close it had been to almost insurmountable danger.

But then I finished the quest.

This problem is not unique to Star Wars: The Old Republic at all, though. By the end of my career in World of Warcraft, I had slain several unique individuals dozens of times on multiple characters, including several kills that were noted by NPCs as being once-in-a-lifetime achievements. Final Fantasy XI made me a pivotal figure in historic events that I could then jump right back into any time I had a friend doing the same quest. And let's not even get into the chronological strangeness that can erupt in Lord of the Rings Online. What's to be done when there's an ongoing story that your character is part of and not a part of?

Continue reading Storyboard: We are (among) the champions

MassivelyStoryboard: We are (among) the champions originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backstorycharacterscolumnfeaturedin-game-storyloremissionsopinionquestsroleplayingrpstorystory-progressstoryboardFri, 20 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: They all laughed]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/13/storyboard-they-all-laughed/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/13/storyboard-they-all-laughed/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/13/storyboard-they-all-laughed/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

What's the secret of comedy?
Over the past 80-odd columns, I've covered ways to improve dramatic tension, to provide interesting character interplay, to improve out-of-character communication, and to enhance the experience of roleplaying. What I have not covered, somewhat to my surprise, is an important but often forgotten component of good roleplaying: humor.

I realize that there are circles in which humor is anathema, where the mood moves between "somber" and "depressing" with nary a chuckle between, lightless pits into which no good cheer is allowed. Far be it from me to say that you're doing it wrong if you happen to be one of those people, but there's a reason why people don't want to join you in a roleplaying session. You guys are kind of depressing just to be around, and your roleplaying has all the verisimilitude of a goth kid's poetry while his parents are getting divorced.

But let's not kid ourselves. Doing humor effectively anywhere is hard, and in roleplaying it's made even more difficult due to a variety of circumstances. So let's start out by examining some common pitfalls and laying some ideas down for what you can do to make your humor go over better in a game.

Continue reading Storyboard: They all laughed

MassivelyStoryboard: They all laughed originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>comedyfeaturedhumorjokesopinionroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 13 Jan 2012 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Let the gate be]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/06/storyboard-let-the-gate-be/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/06/storyboard-let-the-gate-be/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/06/storyboard-let-the-gate-be/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It's been a while since a Rhio picture.
Over the past two weeks, I've been essentially playing politics. That's a bit glib, sure, but if you have a better term for arguing two sides of the same issue over the course of two separate essays, I'd love to hear it. Of course, turning around and arguing the other side of my own points is something that I've been doing for years now; it's really not surprising.

For those of you just catching up, we've been discussing player-generated story in games -- whether it deserves to be the only form of story and whether or not it's any good at that goal. Today, I'm going to try to wrap up this discussion forever, or at least for the purposes of this little mini-discussion. That requires a bit of re-framing, since I think that like a lot of other issues, this one isn't nearly as monochromatic as we like to pretend it is. There are virtues to both sides, and the real danger lies not in preferring one but demonizing the other.

Continue reading Storyboard: Let the gate be

MassivelyStoryboard: Let the gate be originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columncolumnsfeaturedloreopinionroleplayingrpstoriesstorystoryboardFri, 06 Jan 2012 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The other gatekeepers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/30/storyboard-the-other-gatekeepers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/30/storyboard-the-other-gatekeepers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/30/storyboard-the-other-gatekeepers/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Was Sascha Baron Cohen a major NPC in Vampire? I think that sounds right.
If there's one thing that I've proven incapable of doing with tabletop gaming, it's remembering the names of NPCs.

Not the ones related to this week's adventure, mind you; those I remember just fine. But throw out a big signature NPC and I suddenly find myself completely blank. It's bad enough that the only character I can think of off the top of my head is Caine from Vampire: the Masquerade, who mostly occupies a spot in my head for totally unrelated reasons. I can't help but think that if some clever GM tried to insert a major storyline character into an adventure, I'd wind up being the guy in the party who asked someone breathtakingly important if I could borrow some money.

In the case of MMOs, I often have a bit more of an advantage. After all, Statesman and my character have a bit more interaction in City of Heroes than my characters in other games have with the setting-specific NPCs that I'd really like to be able to name off the top of my head. But even though I can remember who Thrall is, he suffers from the exact same problem as all the others -- as long as I'm not playing him, he's just plain not important.

Continue reading Storyboard: The other gatekeepers

MassivelyStoryboard: The other gatekeepers originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columnculturefeaturedopinionroleplayingrpstorystoryboardstorytellingFri, 30 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The gatekeepers of story]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/23/storyboard-the-gatekeepers-of-story/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/23/storyboard-the-gatekeepers-of-story/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/23/storyboard-the-gatekeepers-of-story/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Storyboard
There's a notion floating around the MMO mindspace, one that you've no doubt heard over and over again, especially in light of the recent heartbreaking closure of Star Wars Galaxies. It's the idea that creating a capital-S story in an MMO is by definition a flawed enterprise. According to this argument, the whole point of an MMO and the point of good roleplaying is to create a story that's unique to the players. Real memorable stories should come from players, not from developers.

I could just write "no" here and be finished, but instead I've gone into full-on rant mode on this one. About a year ago, I wrote up a piece explaining that players are not individually storytellers, not even if you're roleplaying. That extends further, though -- a group of roleplayers does not suddenly become a storyteller, like a version of Devastator that's made up of literature majors. This isn't right, and it's doing a great disservice to the things that roleplaying actually does well.

Continue reading Storyboard: The gatekeepers of story

MassivelyStoryboard: The gatekeepers of story originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columnfeaturedin-game-storyloreopinionrantroleplayingrpstoriesstorystoryboardFri, 23 Dec 2011 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Different points of view]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/16/storyboard-different-points-of-view/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/16/storyboard-different-points-of-view/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/16/storyboard-different-points-of-view/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

If you're reading this, I've been in my house for days playing SWTOR. Please help. This hasn't happened as I write this, but you know, I know where this is going.
There are blanks spots in the lore.

This is not news to anyone who has been reading this column for a while. I've talked about dealing with the lore twice, both times pointing out that there are spaces for you to drive your character. Sometimes it's comfortable, and sometimes it's like wedging a needle into your gums and trying to kill a dental nerve at the root. But whether or not it has parallels to my recent dental surgery, there are places in the lore where you sort of have to just fill in the blanks.

Unfortunately, this creates major issues when you intend to interact with another player, which is something that will be happening roughly all the time in roleplaying. So you might very well come up with an answer for something that isn't just different from everyone else's answer, but you might wind up with an answer that's outright mutually incompatible with someone else's. And while you sometimes can take comfort in the fact that the lore will eventually steamroll both of you, sometimes it's just the two of you trying to deal with a part of your fictional world that is now being disbelieved by someone else.

Continue reading Storyboard: Different points of view

MassivelyStoryboard: Different points of view originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backstorycolumncommunicationcommunityconcessionculturefeaturedloreopinionroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 16 Dec 2011 19:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: From beyond the boundaries]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/storyboard-from-beyond-the-boundaries/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/storyboard-from-beyond-the-boundaries/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/09/storyboard-from-beyond-the-boundaries/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The space between realities generally includes lizards.
Every game world has a basic setting premise. Your character in Guild Wars can come from all over Tyria, but he certainly doesn't come from Alderaan. Even though your captain in Star Trek Online is proficient in unarmed combat, she cannot bend the Matrix to her will. And no matter how similar the settings might seem, when WildStar finally comes out, you will not be able to claim that your character used to smuggle cargo on a Firefly-class vessel out in the black.

People do these things anyway. People gleefully import characters wholesale from other settings and expect it to be accepted that they come from another time and place, often bringing with them plenty of baggage. It's flagrant disregard for the rules of the setting and the game as it exists, and it's a hallmark of bad roleplaying...

And yet it doesn't have to be. This is an element of fiction that's always been very popular, and in some games (such as most superheroic ones), the idea of slipping from one world to another doesn't seem that far-fetched. So let's talk about why it tends to be done and how you can actually do this without being obnoxious.

Continue reading Storyboard: From beyond the boundaries

MassivelyStoryboard: From beyond the boundaries originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>contextculturefeaturedloreopinionroleplayingrpsettingstoryboardFri, 09 Dec 2011 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Family legacy]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/storyboard-family-legacy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/storyboard-family-legacy/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/storyboard-family-legacy/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

The guy looking through the binoculars is my self-insertion character.
The problem with providing systems for roleplayers is that pretty much every system developers try hits snags. Case in point: Star Wars: The Old Republic's Legacy system.

For those of you who haven't yet heard about the system, please let us know how you're getting the site in 1980s Siberia. But I'll gloss over anyway: The core element of the system is that when you hit a certain point with a character, you pick a surname to unlock as your "Legacy" for all characters on that server. As you advance with more characters, you gain more benefits from the Legacy and so on and so forth. What we're really concerned with is the surname part because that's the part that matters to roleplayers.

Being able to make a character's overall tree a tangible thing is a powerful element. It allows you to actually play a family, or at the very least, a linked coalition of characters. Unfortunately, while the idea works well, the problem is that surnames are so important that I almost wish that the system had a different way of tying the elements together.

Continue reading Storyboard: Family legacy

MassivelyStoryboard: Family legacy originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columnfeaturedgame-mechanicslegacylegacy-systemopinionroleplayingrpstar-wars-the-old-republicstoryboardswtorsystemsthe-old-republictorFri, 02 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: There are no bathrooms on Coruscant]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/25/storyboard-there-are-no-bathrooms-on-coruscant/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/25/storyboard-there-are-no-bathrooms-on-coruscant/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/25/storyboard-there-are-no-bathrooms-on-coruscant/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

I'm on a whatever.
A couple of weeks ago, someone raised a very reasonable question about characters in EVE Online -- do they date? They're all clones, they're born pretty much just to pilot ships, and they have a culture that keeps them in some variety of ship pretty much all the time. So do they date? Do they even know what differentiated genders are all about? Would they be capable of having a child in the conventional sense? Would the concept even occur to them to try?

The problem is that we look at these characters and see human beings because they are human beings. They behave, by and large, in ways that we understand human beings to behave. And yet there are some pretty huge obstacles in the path of their natural behaviors, things that the developers don't seem to address. When you start to think about it hard enough, not only does it seem like they shouldn't date, but it seems like they wouldn't even know where to start dating. And if the idea of dating doesn't exist, a lot of our assumptions fall apart.

Continue reading Storyboard: There are no bathrooms on Coruscant

MassivelyStoryboard: There are no bathrooms on Coruscant originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columnculturefeaturedgame-mechanicsgameplayhumorin-universeloreopinionroleplayingrpstoryboarduniverseFri, 25 Nov 2011 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The hook brings you back]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/18/storyboard-the-hook-brings-you-back/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/18/storyboard-the-hook-brings-you-back/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/18/storyboard-the-hook-brings-you-back/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Spaceships.
We're told, at a young age, not to judge a book by its cover. The problem with that statement is that when you're out buying a book, the cover is pretty much all you have to go by. Publishers understand that, and while a great book can overcome a lackluster cover, pretty much every book goes out of its way to try to attract your immediate attention. There are entire schools of thought on cover design for precisely that reason.

The same goes for your characters in a roleplaying setting. You can develop a deep and engaging character with a lot of different potential stories, but without something to draw in other players, no one will ever know. You need something to get other players curious, something to get them invested and interested in what you want to do. You need a way to show them from the beginning that this isn't just another generic warrior or mage or whatever. You need a hook.

Continue reading Storyboard: The hook brings you back

MassivelyStoryboard: The hook brings you back originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>character-developmentcharacter-hookscharacterscolumnfeaturedhumoropinionroleplayingroleplaying-addonsrpstoryboardFri, 18 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The couple that roleplays together rolestays together]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/11/storyboard-the-couple-that-roleplays-together-rolestays-togethe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/11/storyboard-the-couple-that-roleplays-together-rolestays-togethe/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/11/storyboard-the-couple-that-roleplays-together-rolestays-togethe/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We've come a long long way together, through the hard times and the good. I want to celebrate you baby, I want to raid with you like I should.
When Ms. Lady first got into MMOs, she had a very firm opinion on roleplaying, filled with subtleties and coherent arguments. Her overall thesis was "roleplaying is dumb," backed up with further evidence such as "you're dumb for liking it" and "let's talk about something else." This lasted until she really tried it, at which point she changed her thesis to "roleplaying is awesome" and supported it with "I was dumb to say that" and "you'd better not put this in an article several years from now."

What I'm getting at is that we roleplay in-game together. Quite a lot, actually, to the point that a good number of my roleplaying anecdotes involve her in one capacity or another.

Roleplaying in a committed relationship poses its own unique set of issues, however, the sort that just don't happen when you are roleplaying with people who live at least in another house. So here are a few tips to ensure that while you and your significant other will probably still argue about pointless things, roleplaying will only be an infrequent guest star to the stupid argument party.

Continue reading Storyboard: The couple that roleplays together rolestays together

MassivelyStoryboard: The couple that roleplays together rolestays together originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>culturefeaturedhumoropinionrelationshipsroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 11 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The reflection lies]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/storyboard-the-reflection-lies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/storyboard-the-reflection-lies/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/storyboard-the-reflection-lies/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Maybe at some point I should try to do a mosaic of all my various characters. That would be kind of crazy.
When I was younger, I got very excited at the thought that therapists would ask people to roleplay. In my mind, this was a great idea. After all, if Joe and Jane go to see a marriage counselor, they could walk out of the session realizing that each of them always has the other's back, especially when facing down an ancient red dragon as a cleric and a fighter. Plus, it's something for the couple to do together. It wasn't until I was older that I found out that the roleplaying under discussion was something different.

At least, it's theoretically different.

I've talked many times about how roleplaying is many things to many different people, but one of the big potential pitfalls comes when you're roleplaying with people you know because some people play characters that are still, fundamentally, part of the player. And if you're plaing alongside someone whose characters are more personal than yours, it can cause some very odd disconnects that you might not even recognize until after the fact.

Continue reading Storyboard: The reflection lies

MassivelyStoryboard: The reflection lies originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columndramadramasfeaturedopinionperspectiveroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 04 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Navel-gazing cardboard cutouts]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/28/storyboard-navel-gazing-cardboard-cutouts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/28/storyboard-navel-gazing-cardboard-cutouts/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/28/storyboard-navel-gazing-cardboard-cutouts/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Shocking!
When you create a character for roleplaying, most of the time your creation is something of a mess. He or she has a huge pile of issues, regrets, fears, mental blind spots, and possibly even physical ailments that should have a lasting impact on telling stories and creating drama. And your goal as a player is to take all of those flaws into account to tell stories about someone less than perfect, whose imperfections you can hopefully see even if the character can't.

Unfortunately for everyone, there are two very compelling ways to do this, and neither one of them is right or wrong or even evident at a glance. It's only by roleplaying with someone for a while that you get a sense of what she's aiming for, and it often turns out to be after it's too late to do anything. You might be going for character arcs or character development, and the two are frequently incompatible over the long term.

Continue reading Storyboard: Navel-gazing cardboard cutouts

MassivelyStoryboard: Navel-gazing cardboard cutouts originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>character-arcscharacter-developmentcharactersfeaturedinteractionsopinionplayer-created-contentplayer-created-experienceroleplayingrpstoriesstory-arcsstoryboardFri, 28 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Rubicons]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/21/storyboard-rubicons/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/21/storyboard-rubicons/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/21/storyboard-rubicons/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

ALL FACEMASK EDITION
It was a great time for a character to die. The problem is that roleplaying isn't a novel.

Ms. Lady's character had just had one of her eyes put out, had been left to die by the people she had been working for, and was blubbering for her life to another woman who had every reason to take that life. That other woman, D, had been betrayed twice over by the newly minted cyclops. She was a spy, and she had every reason to tie up a loose end by killing Ms. Lady's character.

But she wouldn't do it without permission out-of-character. And Ms. Lady turned to me and asked, "So... should I let her die?"

It's not always a matter of death. But your characters will face their own rubicons, moments when their lives will be changed irrevocably if they step forward. The question is, when do you take that step? When do you march forward into a permanent change, and when do you take a step back and let the opportunity pass?

Continue reading Storyboard: Rubicons

MassivelyStoryboard: Rubicons originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>changescharacter-developmentcolumnsfeaturedin-game-eventsopinionroleplayingrprubiconsstoryboardFri, 21 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Army of me]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/14/storyboard-army-of-me/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/14/storyboard-army-of-me/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/14/storyboard-army-of-me/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

I'm not really a huge Bjork fan, although I do like her music, but I've made the Billy Idol reference often enough.
There are, sadly, more character concepts in pretty much every game on the market than there is time for me to play them all. This is a horrible setup, and I've lodged a complaint with the management, but I'm not expecting any sort of response. Mercifully, in the vast majority of games, you can at least somewhat sidestep this issue by using up all of your character slots on alts. If the game gives us 12 character spaces, the odds are good that many of us will have 12 characters within a month, with that number only changing as we kill off some of that number or get more slots.

All of this leads to another problem, though. If you play Alice and someone else plays Bob, there's plenty of space for the two of them to interact. But if you play Alice and Claire and Bob interacts with both of them, eventually, logic would dictate that Alice and Claire ought to interact with one another. And that's not just problematic from the standpoint of interacting with yourself; in many cases the game outright disallows that sort of login-juggling. Suddenly you need two characters to talk, and there's no way to even get them sharing the same room.

Continue reading Storyboard: Army of me

MassivelyStoryboard: Army of me originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>altaholismalternate-charactersaltsfeaturedopinionroleplayingrpscenesstoryboardFri, 14 Oct 2011 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: The leveling effect]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/storyboard-the-leveling-effect/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/storyboard-the-leveling-effect/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/10/07/storyboard-the-leveling-effect/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

You're in some grand company.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at some of the issues that crop up when you start considering in-game details in the context of roleplaying. Today, I'm doing something very similar but in the opposite direction. Instead of fitting verisimilitude into the game world, I'm trying to fit game mechanics into the game world. And if you've ever tried to explain in-character what level you are, you should understand that this is an arduous task to say the least.

Of course, to some people, the very idea is ridiculous. There's a reason why gameplay and story generally remain in two different baskets: When you start trying to mix them too closely, everything gets dicey. The problem, of course, is that level isn't just a mechanical concept; it's tied to almost everything in the game world. And that begets all sorts of questions, the same sort that you start asking when you ask yourself about time, but from a different angle.

Continue reading Storyboard: The leveling effect

MassivelyStoryboard: The leveling effect originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columncolumnsfeaturedicin-characterlevelsmeta-issuesmetagameoocopinionout-of-characterroleplayingrpstoryboardverisimilitudeFri, 07 Oct 2011 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Mistakes I know I was making]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/30/storyboard-mistakes-i-know-i-was-making/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/30/storyboard-mistakes-i-know-i-was-making/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/30/storyboard-mistakes-i-know-i-was-making/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Having a header image I need to whip up fresh every week is probably among those mistakes.
When I write this column, I talk a lot about what works within the context of roleplaying. I make suggestions, declare certain things as being bad ideas, and otherwise make a point of speaking as someone who knows what he is doing. This is not unfounded; I've been playing MMOs for eight years and roleplaying for fifteen, so I at least have some benefit of experience to work with. But a lot of the conclusions I've reached and the ideas that I've formed have been the result of trying something, failing, and learning from the experience.

Today, I'm going to look back to three characters whom I played, characters I was excited about, characters who absolutely failed to work. Beyond just that, however, I want to talk about why they failed to work and what I might have done to overcome their innate problems and make them fun to play after all. These are points I've touched on before, definitely, but it never hurts to fit these things into an actual context.

Continue reading Storyboard: Mistakes I know I was making

MassivelyStoryboard: Mistakes I know I was making originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sometimes my headers are just images I have on my hard drive.
How often do you actually think about time in-game? I'm not talking about how long you spend in the game or how much time you have to play or anything like that -- I'm talking about the actual passing hours when you're playing the game. My guess is not frequently, if ever. Most people just use real-world time as a shorthand if they even consider time, and that's all that needs to be said. Time isn't interesting. At best, historical dates are interesting, and even that's only in the event that the game gives you some sort of context. Who cares, right?

But whether or not you find time interesting, it's important. Time has a bigger impact on the game world than you might think, and it's one of those facets that you can't un-see once you look at it. It's as problematic an issue as character death, and in some ways even more so, because there's no comfortable way to skate around how screwy time is in the game. And the proof lies entirely in a simple question: What did you do today?

Continue reading Storyboard: A matter of times

MassivelyStoryboard: A matter of times originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>columnfeaturedin-game-timekeeping-timeopinionroleplayingrpstoryboardtimetime-systemsverisimilitudeFri, 23 Sep 2011 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Duel me!]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/storyboard-duel-me/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/storyboard-duel-me/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/storyboard-duel-me/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

I'm not good at taking screenshots at the best of times, much less when I'm in the middle of combat.
Let it never be said that roleplaying lacks drama if it has no violence. Many times, the confrontations and conflicts in roleplaying happen without a single threat of physical injury or even interaction. Even when threats are involved, frequently that's all there is -- a threat, a wayward mention, a confident statement that if one party undertakes an action, there will be very short and brutal repercussions. Not every scene, or even most scenes, end with characters locked in combat.

That having been said, when you have a couple of characters whose day-to-day lives involve turning vicious critters into fine red mist, sooner or later someone is going to solve other problems with the same toolset.

It's not like violence isn't a valid means of dramatic expression; look at how many of Shakespeare's plays ended with some kind of swordfight if you really need backup. (Several of them, and the ones that don't merely lacked a way to add in a CGI army at the end.) The problem is more that MMOs do not handle this sort of conflict between players very well, if at all.

Continue reading Storyboard: Duel me!

MassivelyStoryboard: Duel me! originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You put your right hand in, you take your right hand out...
We've all got goals. Some of them are short-term objectives (get lunch, figure out how to get home early today, don't get eaten by that tiger) and some of them are larger in scope (cook better lunches, work on a flexible schedule, develop an anti-tiger field), but they're an important part of our day-to-day activities. Knowing a character's goals is a clear way to make it pretty clear what your character wants out of any given exchange.

If it weren't already obvious, today I want to spend time talking about goals. We've talked about motivation before, but goals are the tangible results of what keeps your character motivated in the first place. And while I was originally going to use one of my characters as a model for mapping goals, I realized that I've got a much better example I can use, one that helps demonstrate just how relevant goals are to real people. So I'm putting myself under examination as we talk about the many, many aspects of goals as they apply to characters.

Continue reading Storyboard: Go for the goal

MassivelyStoryboard: Go for the goal originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advicecharacter-goalscolumnfeaturedgoalsopinionroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 09 Sep 2011 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Balancing the failing act]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/02/storyboard-balancing-the-failing-act/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/02/storyboard-balancing-the-failing-act/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/02/storyboard-balancing-the-failing-act/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Storyboard graphic
Two weeks ago, we talked about the essence of roleplaying and making your character miserable, helped substantially by having your character fail at pretty much everything he or she sets out to do. That's all well and good in the abstract, sure, but I also mentioned that there's a distinct problem with having your character go too far in the direction of self-pity and hopeless failure. Eventually it starts to be something of a downer rather than an endearing character trait, and that's no good either.

Unfortunately, noting that a balance is important is very different from actually providing some guidelines on how to achieve that balance. And while there's always some room for fuzziness, having some idea of what to aim for is a good place to start off. So this week, I'm going to take a closer look at bringing your character's failures right into that sweet spot between hopeless misery and mild inconvenience. You want to fail, sure -- but you don't want your character to be a bummer to interact with.

Continue reading Storyboard: Balancing the failing act

MassivelyStoryboard: Balancing the failing act originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advicecolumndramafeaturedhumoropinionroleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 02 Sep 2011 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Storyboard: Talk about the passion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/storyboard-talk-about-the-passion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/storyboard-talk-about-the-passion/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/08/26/storyboard-talk-about-the-passion/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

One of these screenshots was actually taken during a romantic moment. The rest were not. Enjoy guessing!
Two of the earliest columns I did for Storyboard were all about romance in roleplaying. If you've forgotten them, they can be found here and here, but if you don't feel like reading a couple thousand words just to continue with this column, the gist was pretty simple. In short -- don't. But since you're going to anyway, take the usual steps to avoid any sort of spilling drama.

Actually, I should just make a column of usual tips to avoid spilling drama in roleplaying and save myself a lot of time.

It's been more than a year since those were written, and to my great joy they're still relevant and useful. But at the same time, there's more to be said on the topic, albeit in bits and pieces. So (possibly against my better judgment) I'm diving face-first into the sea of love once again to talk about a couple of points that I either didn't discuss the first time around or only briefly touched on.

Continue reading Storyboard: Talk about the passion

MassivelyStoryboard: Talk about the passion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advicecolumndramafeaturedhumorinteractionsopinionroleplayingromanceromantic-roleplayingrpstoryboardFri, 26 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EST