Post by Editor in Chief on May 25, 2008 3:50:45 GMT
-By Elera
Griffin was still an active force in the RP world when I started playing, and I vaguely recall him helping me out when I was a wee n00b. What sticks out most in my mind now is how low-key he was about being a role-player: he didn't pronounce it from the rooftops. Either he considered role-playing a small aspect of his being, or he managed to incorporate his n00b-helping seamlessly with the character he was playing. I certainly didn't notice anything dodgy about him, anyhow.
Griffin's description, still available for anyone to see, is brief and descriptive, nothing elaborate. His refer is more detailed, showing his past and how he came to where he was when he wrote the account. But when I think of role-players these days, I usually don't think of Griffin, or those who follow in his footsteps.
Typically, I think of delusional teenage boys describing themselves as vampires or hawt chicks with huge boobs. Unfortunately, they outnumber the Griffins by a considerable margin. How do you recognise them, without getting close enough to be drowned in their secretions? Here's a couple of indicators:
1) Their physical description has no flaws. No wrinkles, no awkwardness, no -character-. They look like perfectly drawn anime characters, and their description is accordingly two-dimensional.
Example: Erianthe
She is a young, yet distinguished, member of the faculty of the Conlegium Sicariorum. Standing at just over five feet tall, she is rather petite, with a slim frame and soft, feminine curves. Her clothing reflects her profession, sumptuous fabrics in the delicious shades that black can only begin to describe and she holds herself with grace and poise. She has porcelain skin, with a slight pink flush to her cheeks and pretty greyish blue eyes. Her hair is dark auburn and falls to her shoulders in rich, glossy waves.
2) Their physical description tells you what you think when looking at them, or how they react to you looking at them and how you react to their reaction. They aren't trying to describe themselves - they're imposing their poorly conceived fantasy on you.
Example: Kitiara
As you explore her face, her eyes met yours. Strangely illuminated, at first, they darken into pools of sheer black, drawing you in. A glint of light catches your attention as she grins, the tips of fangs show slightly from under full lips.
As you can see, descriptions can be technically well-written while still having no connection with reality, on any world. The prevelancy of these cliches, however, reduce even the most imaginative description to pointless drivel. When a vast number of players all have beautiful eyes and beautiful hair and beautiful bodies, beautiful becomes boring. And, of course, it is completely unrealistic. Discworld is not perfect - and that is the world these people are supposed to live in.
This brings us to another issue: vampires (aka vampyres), furries (aka pet-sex0rs), elves, and other ilk. If you're going to roleplay a vampire on a mud based on Discworld, playing a friggin' Discworldian vampire! And I'm fairly sure there are no humans with cat faces in Discworld, other than in the (perhaps admirably) twisted minds of those playing them. As far as Elves ... well, be sure to die horribly if you come in close contact with iron, for starters. It'd make -my- day, anyhow.
This is not to say that people shouldn't be able to be as delusional as they want - but don't expect me to play along.
Griffin was still an active force in the RP world when I started playing, and I vaguely recall him helping me out when I was a wee n00b. What sticks out most in my mind now is how low-key he was about being a role-player: he didn't pronounce it from the rooftops. Either he considered role-playing a small aspect of his being, or he managed to incorporate his n00b-helping seamlessly with the character he was playing. I certainly didn't notice anything dodgy about him, anyhow.
Griffin's description, still available for anyone to see, is brief and descriptive, nothing elaborate. His refer is more detailed, showing his past and how he came to where he was when he wrote the account. But when I think of role-players these days, I usually don't think of Griffin, or those who follow in his footsteps.
Typically, I think of delusional teenage boys describing themselves as vampires or hawt chicks with huge boobs. Unfortunately, they outnumber the Griffins by a considerable margin. How do you recognise them, without getting close enough to be drowned in their secretions? Here's a couple of indicators:
1) Their physical description has no flaws. No wrinkles, no awkwardness, no -character-. They look like perfectly drawn anime characters, and their description is accordingly two-dimensional.
Example: Erianthe
She is a young, yet distinguished, member of the faculty of the Conlegium Sicariorum. Standing at just over five feet tall, she is rather petite, with a slim frame and soft, feminine curves. Her clothing reflects her profession, sumptuous fabrics in the delicious shades that black can only begin to describe and she holds herself with grace and poise. She has porcelain skin, with a slight pink flush to her cheeks and pretty greyish blue eyes. Her hair is dark auburn and falls to her shoulders in rich, glossy waves.
2) Their physical description tells you what you think when looking at them, or how they react to you looking at them and how you react to their reaction. They aren't trying to describe themselves - they're imposing their poorly conceived fantasy on you.
Example: Kitiara
As you explore her face, her eyes met yours. Strangely illuminated, at first, they darken into pools of sheer black, drawing you in. A glint of light catches your attention as she grins, the tips of fangs show slightly from under full lips.
As you can see, descriptions can be technically well-written while still having no connection with reality, on any world. The prevelancy of these cliches, however, reduce even the most imaginative description to pointless drivel. When a vast number of players all have beautiful eyes and beautiful hair and beautiful bodies, beautiful becomes boring. And, of course, it is completely unrealistic. Discworld is not perfect - and that is the world these people are supposed to live in.
This brings us to another issue: vampires (aka vampyres), furries (aka pet-sex0rs), elves, and other ilk. If you're going to roleplay a vampire on a mud based on Discworld, playing a friggin' Discworldian vampire! And I'm fairly sure there are no humans with cat faces in Discworld, other than in the (perhaps admirably) twisted minds of those playing them. As far as Elves ... well, be sure to die horribly if you come in close contact with iron, for starters. It'd make -my- day, anyhow.
This is not to say that people shouldn't be able to be as delusional as they want - but don't expect me to play along.