Day 19&20: A Talent & Hobby of Yours
Sunday, May 23, 2010 @ 10:31 pm.
Um... I write? It's a talent and a hobby, sort of. Assuming I write well, of course.
Though lately I read over my writing and I realise it's nothing special.
Also lately I notice myself forgetting certain words while writing, then I have to work around it. It's frustrating. And scary.
--
Anyway, to extend upon the "hobby" theme, I think I should probably talk about role-playing.
Role-playing games (in this context at least) are usually defined as players taking on the roles of characters in a fictional setting. This definition can apply to a lot of games, like MMORPGs (e.g. MapleStory), and, say, Dungeons and Dragons or something like that. It's a very wide category.
So the sort of role-playing games that I usually associate myself with (besides MMORPGs) are text-based ones.
Here's how a usual text-based roleplay goes:
Someone creates a setting or a plot. Then people join and create a character. Then a collaborative narrative results of sorts, where people take turns (or go for a free-for-all) to post in the character's POV, and interact with one another.
There are two settings where this can take place. You can have it at a single thread, conversation, IRC channel, whatever. These are pretty simple, and often short-term, with a basic setting. People can join and leave within minutes, and the plot usually moves very fast, or doesn't move at all and the game stagnates and aborts itself eventually.
Otherwise, you can have it at a full-blown forum or website, with many different threads for different character interactions. For example, threads may be posted in different boards according to venue. Often the plot is more developed and long-term, and events are organised by members or administrators to move the plot along. Often characters need to be vetted and approved by administrators before a person can join this type of roleplay.
Here's an example, a Naruto-based role-playing game. If you have time, note the incredibly detailed, original plot, and the sheer complexity of its organisation and characters. I'm considering joining that.
Here's a simple example:
Player 1:
Grace walked into a cafe, ordered a drink, and sat down. She stared out the window, wondering if she was going to spend the whole day alone.
Player 2:
Rachel ambled slowly down the sidewalk, twirling her hair. She stopped at a cafe window to check her appearance and saw Grace sitting at a table. Her eyes lit up, and she lifted her hand to waggle her fingers, and hoped she would catch her eye.
Player 1:
Upon seeing Rachel, Grace's eyebrows shot up and the corners of her lips turned up into a smile. She stood up and waved at her through the glass for a few seconds before turning around and realising that everyone was staring at her. She sat down, embarrassed.
Player 2:
Rachel smiled at Grace's mad antics and decided to join her in the cafe. Elegantly swinging the door open, she strode into the cafe, her coat billowing about her, and sat down in the chair opposite Grace's. "So, how are you doing?" she asked, grinning.
Player 1:
Grace found herself giggling at Rachel's innocent question. How had she been doing? She would be talking all night, detailing every single day of the five years that they hadn't seen each other. The graduations, the failures, the school transfers, the job transfers, the loves, the losses. Everything. Yet, all Grace could do was plaster a large smile on her face and force out a "Oh, I'm doing fine. How are you?" and curse herself for her idiocy.
And so on.
Note that many sites/forums/games would expect much, much longer posts and considerably more detail, as well as more developed characters.
So anyway, that's my hobby. It sounds insane, but it brings a certain amount of satisfaction. I often find myself on long-term role-playing games online rather than short-term ones, and often I have to leave, or die out because I don't post. But somehow I always keep going back.