/me walks into her living-room, finally home from work. “It’s been a long day” she murmurs as she lets the dog out. Returning to the couch, she flips open the laptop and logs into SL. She can’t wait to chat with her friends and start to unwind and forget the world. IM’s start popping up on her screen and she makes a decision. Is she going to hang out with friends, or is tonight going to be a Role Play night?
Role Play in Second Life is like the skeleton in the closet. You know it’s out there, you may even know someone who roleplays. You may have run into people RPing in the mall near you and got freaked out by the ‘Mistress / Master’ talk. You might have even been intrigued by it, but you’re not sure you even want to try.
Role Play, or RP, is ‘acting’ out a story, improvising, adding third person details to flesh out the narration. Done well, an entire RP session reads like a novel. Done poorly and it ends up stilted and boring. Participating in RP can put purpose back into SL. It’s a way of interacting with the people around you in a way that expresses, not just what you want to say, but what you’re feeling or how you want the day to turn out.
Up until a few weeks ago, I looked askance at role play. It seemed…well….odd. Why would you want to write out narration, why not just SAY what you mean? Didn’t RP mean just hyper-sexualized / slave / Vampire type acting? I’m sooooooo not the hyper-sexualized person, I’m NOBODY’S slave, and I really have no thirst for blood. To be honest, the /me + long narration annoyed me when I wasn’t in a RP area, or when I was in a store.
One of my friends has been very active in the RP community at Midian for quite a while. She had been posting pictures on her flickr page with the roleplay narration included underneath. I started reading them and found myself drawn in, wanting to know more about the characters. It wasn’t until another friend of mine moved into role play that I started to consider joining myself. I’d known these two ladies for over 2 years, surely they’d not suddenly morphed into hyper-sexualized blood-sucking slaves.
A little while later, in a conversation with her, I told her that I was interested in RP but I wasn’t interested in the sex, rape and violence that I’d seen and heard in Midian. She invited me to observe her while she RP’d. It was interesting, and not as violent as what I’d expected. Then she hooked me up with the Midian City Parish…and I became a Nun…I’ve now been roleplaying for little under 3 weeks as a nun in Midian.
(I’ll pause here for a moment while you chuckle, guffaw or otherwise laugh.)
I tell you, RP is pretty challenging. You have to be able to improvise, write well and be open to influence in your story from the other people you’re working with. So far, I’ve not been raped, violated, had violence performed on me or been attacked, but I have had some very interesting situations where I’ve been able to interact, help, laugh and learn more about other people.
Role Play isn’t for everyone. But it’s not something to be disparaged or mocked. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Get an OOC titler and wander around a RP region and observe. Maybe you’ll find your muse…or maybe you won’t. But at least you’ll have formed your own opinion about RP, instead of parroting back someone else’s. And if you run into a “Sister Regina” in your travels, stop and say Hi.
Image courtesy Alpha Auer, aka. Elif Ayiter under a Creative Commons License.
Gabby McCullough on March 24, 2009
“surely they’d not suddenly morphed into hyper-sexualized blood-sucking slaves”
/me shakes head sadly. You say that like it’s a bad thing, Prad.
Oh..I mean, Sister Prad. So sorry.
/me runs away very fast.
Banana on March 24, 2009
Why hello Sister Regina!
/me chuckles, guffaws and laughs
Good on you for getting out there and looking in to things before judging! It gives the blog credibility.
paisley beebe on March 25, 2009
Talkd to the creator of eiry isle about how they do the role playing and how they keep it on track watch it on http://www.slcn.tv/tonight/live/paisley/beebe
Saffia Widdershins on March 25, 2009
Much as I’m looking forward to meeting Sister Prad, this made me think … what is role play?
It depends how you’re defining role play, of course. The vast majority of us are playing characters in Second Life who may be significantly different from the real life typists. So at what point does it become roleplay?
Is it when we become younger, slimmer, taller and living in that really cool apartment/beach house/castle that we could never afford in real life?
Is it when we wear Victorian clothes and move to Caledon, to live a perfectly blameless life of tea parties, balls and decorous amusements?
Is it when we join the Caledonian airforce and start having dogfights over the Firth on a Sunday morning?
Is it when we join the Tiny Squadron and start having dog fights over the Firth in Caledon in the form of a pint-sized badger?
Is it when we change genders from our typists, or when we change lifeforms and become dragons?
Is it only when we consciously become part of a narrative? Or is it only when that narrative is far removed from our real lives … a cyberpunk city, a fantastic fairyland, a Roman city state …
But isn’t the domestic suburbia with a marriage and 2.4 adorable children as much a roleplay for many people?
Landsend Korobase on March 25, 2009
I’ve always found the concept of RP too time-consuming, but maybe that’s because I’ve never tried it. I don’t know how you keep up with and maintain consistent story-lines, especially when people are across different time-zones – do you have some master document you all read and update? I don’t see how the story-line can flow when people very often go afk for long stretches of time (wouldn’t you have to read a lot of material when you got back each time or maybe the play stops while each person is gone..?). As someone who can’t commit that amount of consistent time I’ve never thought seriously about RP.
I must say I do have a negative view of a lot of RPers because they sound a bit silly speaking in that manner in your average SL pub or non-RP sim – like their very long-winded and boring ways of saying un-necessary things is meant to be entertaining, but that’s going to be a matter of those people not knowing where to draw the boundary of when they’re playing I guess..?
If someone as interesting and vibrant as you Rrish can find joy in it, that does give me something to think about. Thanks for sharing your experiences (both here and on Flickr – that last picture and story on your stream was hilarious ^^).
stephen venkman on March 25, 2009
First off, I’d never look down on how anyone engages their second life… It’s their sl, not mine.
Secondly…a bit of rp is good for everyone. Finding the right person or group is key here. If done well one can forget all their troubles of their first life for an hour or more and escape for a bit of fantasy. How is this any different then reading a book or watching t.v.?
It takes some brains to rp and do it well. I’ve the utmost respect for those who done their “character” on a daily basis and engage in a bit of rp.
Nadine Nozaki on March 25, 2009
/me smiles, thinking some of the roleplay is lost if one used the long poses telling the world all and everything about once actions. From the guessing of what drives people to the speed of the roleplay. She remembers she really like the short statements, stating what seen and heard only, if that isn’t something second life as such gives. She then opens her mouth and smile still on her lips she starts to talk. “I liked you article, you would love your time in seven or lost angels as well.”
Dancien on March 25, 2009
You know, I tried RP in Second Life. I tried several sims but after awhile decided it wasn’t for me. It’s all either too sex related or entirely too freeform. I’m old school and prefer character sheets, rules, and structure. The whole “Hey I’m an undead neko cyborg half angel were-bunny” crap got old really really fast.
Bailey Longcloth on March 25, 2009
Roleplaying in Midian for me brought a bit of a spark back to SL. It’s a different way to interact with someone else. For me, it’s like stepping into a book where I’m writing my own characters story.
Roleplay isn’t for everyone. It takes some dedication of time and effort. I’ve met some wonderful people and I wonder some times what took me so long to walk into Midian.
This cat is quite happy she did. *purrs*
Great post Rrish! Oooh I mean Sister Regina *winks*
Dale Innis on March 25, 2009
I’ve role-played in CoLA a bit, and it was fun. I rolled up a human with no special powers, and RPd someone dumped in the city after being severely beaten up and robbed, with trauma-induced amnesia and drug withdrawl. So I could be clueless and confused, which was a nice easy part to play!
I didn’t know much about who the other players were being or their backstories, but I enjoyed what I saw just coming in in the middle, and my role gave me a chance to realistically ask just what the heck was going on now and then. Eventually, the drug shakes being on me really bad, I went out and huddled on a street corner for awhile, until a Good Samaritan came out and showed me a warmer place to stay. She had a little run-in with a cat-person who hated her for some reason, and I was caught in the crossfire and nearly killed (perfectly in character!) and then she took me back to her place and drained significant amounts of my blood. All in all a good time!
I did get the feeling, though, that really getting into it seriously would require more of a time and effort investment than I was willing to give at the time; catching up on the various players and the plot and backstory and power groups, and weaving myself less peripherally into the story. I haven’t been back for awhile, but I probably will return eventually, and I certainly respect and admire the people who put the effort into it and really do it well.
Best of luck (or otherwise) to Sister Reg!
Guen on March 25, 2009
I’ve pretty much been immersed in roleplay most of my life from playing ‘dress up’ as a kid, to doing table top games like D&D, and then finally text-based RP before going onto Second Life.
I wandered to a few RP Sims like Midian to see what the difference was and I realized that it does take up a lot of your time just like my text-based RP was like after a while. In the end, I decided that I needed a break from all that for a while.
Typing out RP poses well does take work and a lot of practice, but you have to admit that seeing elegant text from someone you’re RPing with certainly makes them more intriguing.
At this point I do very ‘light’ RP with certain folks and the rest of my time on SL is ‘me’. Okay a skinner me with elf ears and red hair but you get the point.
Good luck with the roleplay, Rrishanna! Er I mean Sister Mary Regina
Lizzie Lexington on March 25, 2009
I was actually fascinated by the RP sim Avillion. It’s a medieval sim and I tried it a couple times with a friend. And to be honest, I role play as Lizzie in my blog and in my interactions at times in SL. I view her as an extension of myself and my primary avi, Elizabeth Hallstrom. So after spending some time role playing as Lizzie, I may take a whirl at a full blown RP sim.
Metaversally Speaking.. » Family on March 25, 2009
[...] post on Roleplay got me thinking that she only touched on the obvious aspect of the subject – sims which are [...]
Gabby McCullough on March 25, 2009
/me *facepalms*
I thought Prad wrote this. Durrr. I wondered why he wanted to be a nun.
/me skulks off into a corner…
Saffia Widdershins on March 25, 2009
Head >> Desk. Sorry, Rrish! I should have read the byline more carefully.
Bailey Longcloth on March 26, 2009
Actually…. Prad as a nun…. I could see it….
/me laughs and runs
Bailey’s Reach » Blog Archive » A day in the life…. on March 26, 2009
[...] no right off the bat, go follow them around a little, see what it’s all about. Afterall, Rrish did and she’s enjoying [...]
Salvatore Otoro on May 9, 2009
Sister Regina,
my congratulations on joining, understanding what roleplay is about, and explaining it to others. As an avid player of almost 3 years in the Lost Angels sim, I can tell you that it is an enjoyable experience to let go of real life and immerse yourself in a fantasy world of open ended roleplay. Not everyone understands it and though it requires some time and dedication to do it well, slowly getting into it is key to seeing if it’s for you or not.
@Landsend, yes roleplay requires time, but you don’t have to live in the sim to play your part in it. I personally have plenty to handle in real life where I don’t get to spend endless hours in the sim as many other players do. Even though my time is limited, I have been promoted within my faction, the Brood Demons, and have leveled up slowly. If you decide to join a faction they will require participation from you though how much time you put into your roleplay all depends on you. Weapons and
When you log back in after a few days off, as I do every week due to work/real life constraints, if you belong to a faction, the important things will sent to you as group messages. If you don’t belong to a faction, you are able to ask someone what happened during your hiatus. We don’t read extensive documents to catch up with current events. If they are important you’ll hear about them if not then you won’t. You have to look at it like a workplace that’s open 24 hours a day 7 days week. You go on vacation, come back, and nothing interesting happened. Most roleplay does not have players so important that if they are not back for a few days or weeks the roleplay stops. I’ve seen players disappear completely and whatever roleplay they were on simply ended or they were written out.
I write a blog about roleplaying that I recommend if you want to know about the sims, verbage, and before jumping in http://secondliferoleplay.wordpress.com. You’re also free to contact me online and come observe roleplay in the Lost Angels sim. It can be intimidating at first, but I’m sure once you see what happens in the sim among and within the factions, you’ll see why it is enjoyed by so many.