The more linear the games get, the less and less chances there is for RP.

In games where the "official story" drags you on rails with little to no chance to move by yourself, there simply is no chance to create your own story.

Originally posted by Adamantine

I think of my characters as real people. I give them name that fit, I try to make them consistent (no male orc necromancers riding an unicorn for me, thank you very much), and I definitely care a lot about making them look great.

But I dont make them the usual stereotypes.

Yeah, this.

I will go out of my way to make each character I create as close to well-rounded as I can, with a backstory, motives, and an overall feel for how I see them and what I want to do with them. I just don't see the need to act like my character when I'm in game, and if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't do it in the stereotyped way that people expect. For example, my little Hobbit Guardian isn't suddenly going to wax poetic about second breakfast and elevensies when I'm in the middle of a dungeon fighting. That's just lame.

Originally posted by Suilebhain

I recall the good old days of DAOC where, on the roleplay servers, nearly everyone roleplayed to some degree, even if it was just to say "Hail". Almost never did I encounter people who would approach my elf with their lurikeen and say "whatup dude?" Later, SWG provided a similar, even expanded immersive experience, as player cities became hubs of roleplay activity  where you could wander into a cantina and find people ready, willing and able to engage in improvisational roleplay nearly any time of the day or night.

Now, though, finding anything resembling a roleplay community that approaches that of Albion/Percival or the entire Nimue server is like finding hen's teeth. Not even on roleplay servers in alleged MMORPGS do people roleplay. I know this all started with WOW and the absurd and infamous Barrens Chat, but it has speard and now nowhere provides a welcoming place for people who prefer a greater level of immersion.

My most recent escapade came about in Runes of Magic. F2P games attract the most casual of players, but on the unofficial RP server there were only a few guilds and no casual roleplay that I could find. The folks in the guilds seemed like nice enough people, but the majority of their interaction was spent in an OOC channel labeled RP, which really was just a sign to those seeking others who enjoyed RP rather than providing any true outlet. There were little to no in-game opportunities to roleplay, as there was back in DAOC and SWG.

So, is it time to drop the RPG from MMORPG and just call it MMO.Com? Do people even value random roleplay ex periences or is it all about gear/level acquisition (AKA Achievement), raiding, and PvP?

There's something obvious that you're overlooking here -- voice chat.

Back in the early days of MMOs, it was all about typed text for conversation, which allowed for more active roleplay, especially in games with a hell of a lot of downtime, like EQ. These days, most gamers are hooked into Ventrillo or some other voice chat server so they can communicate with people faster, especially during raids or big boss fights.

It's one thing to RP when you're typing your words, but when you're in a chat server with your entire guild, staying in character and trying to RP tends to get shot down because most people aren't that willing to play along when their voice can be heard. On top of that, many players would rather just shoot the breeze about music and movies in their downtime, or give directions during a battle than try to act like their characters.

Originally posted by Lidane

Originally posted by Adamantine

I think of my characters as real people. I give them name that fit, I try to make them consistent (no male orc necromancers riding an unicorn for me, thank you very much), and I definitely care a lot about making them look great.

But I dont make them the usual stereotypes.

Yeah, this.

I will go out of my way to make each character I create as close to well-rounded as I can, with a backstory, motives, and an overall feel for how I see them and what I want to do with them. I just don't see the need to act like my character when I'm in game, and if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't do it in the stereotyped way that people expect. For example, my little Hobbit Guardian isn't suddenly going to wax poetic about second breakfast and elevensies when I'm in the middle of a dungeon fighting. That's just lame.

That's my take on it as well.  It's the same reason why I loved pen-and-paper RPs but could never 'get' LARPing.  I like to define what a character is and how they are motivated and focus on the decisions those characters would make.  I also like a character's story to develop as I play it rather than making up an elaborate story line ahead of time.  I prefer the 'show don't tell' way of roleplaying.  I like the actions of my character to portray what his personality is rather than just telling people what it is.   ie my dwarf is a badass barserker with a nasty streak not because that's what I say he is but becasue when I play him he is dual wielding massive axes at what is for other race groin level. 

Originally posted by Lidane

There's something obvious that you're overlooking here -- voice chat.

Back in the early days of MMOs, it was all about typed text for conversation, which allowed for more active roleplay, especially in games with a hell of a lot of downtime, like EQ. These days, most gamers are hooked into Ventrillo or some other voice chat server so they can communicate with people faster, especially during raids or big boss fights.

It's one thing to RP when you're typing your words, but when you're in a chat server with your entire guild, staying in character and trying to RP tends to get shot down because most people aren't that willing to play along when their voice can be heard. On top of that, many players would rather just shoot the breeze about music and movies in their downtime, or give directions during a battle than try to act like their characters.

I've heard this excuse before and I just don't get it. Back in 1999 we were using Roger Wilco for grouping and raiding in EQ and it never stopped us from talking in character in game. When vent launched in the early 2000s, we still had no problem getting people to talk in character. Text chat still works just fine no matter what voice program you are using.

Originally posted by Lidane

Originally posted by Suilebhain

I recall the good old days of DAOC where, on the roleplay servers, nearly everyone roleplayed to some degree, even if it was just to say "Hail". Almost never did I encounter people who would approach my elf with their lurikeen and say "whatup dude?" Later, SWG provided a similar, even expanded immersive experience, as player cities became hubs of roleplay activity  where you could wander into a cantina and find people ready, willing and able to engage in improvisational roleplay nearly any time of the day or night.

Now, though, finding anything resembling a roleplay community that approaches that of Albion/Percival or the entire Nimue server is like finding hen's teeth. Not even on roleplay servers in alleged MMORPGS do people roleplay. I know this all started with WOW and the absurd and infamous Barrens Chat, but it has speard and now nowhere provides a welcoming place for people who prefer a greater level of immersion.

My most recent escapade came about in Runes of Magic. F2P games attract the most casual of players, but on the unofficial RP server there were only a few guilds and no casual roleplay that I could find. The folks in the guilds seemed like nice enough people, but the majority of their interaction was spent in an OOC channel labeled RP, which really was just a sign to those seeking others who enjoyed RP rather than providing any true outlet. There were little to no in-game opportunities to roleplay, as there was back in DAOC and SWG.

So, is it time to drop the RPG from MMORPG and just call it MMO.Com? Do people even value random roleplay ex periences or is it all about gear/level acquisition (AKA Achievement), raiding, and PvP?

There's something obvious that you're overlooking here -- voice chat.

Back in the early days of MMOs, it was all about typed text for conversation, which allowed for more active roleplay, especially in games with a hell of a lot of downtime, like EQ. These days, most gamers are hooked into Ventrillo or some other voice chat server so they can communicate with people faster, especially during raids or big boss fights.

It's one thing to RP when you're typing your words, but when you're in a chat server with your entire guild, staying in character and trying to RP tends to get shot down because most people aren't that willing to play along when their voice can be heard. On top of that, many players would rather just shoot the breeze about music and movies in their downtime, or give directions during a battle than try to act like their characters.

I agree with this one , its one thing to see a gnome and knowing the person behind the screen is a bold harsh real life person , not a squeky voice , even if some of the people I play with can really voice act very wel .

Its a bit different , and i am not even touching the males playing females , or females playing males toon subject.

Since those really ruins immersion in roleplay , even if i wouldn´t care one bit , who plays what .

But voice sadly brings out the OOC: too fast , and maybe its just me , when i hear a voice i get a automated picture in my mind of how somebody is .

The answer is nope, probability because it is just not that fun and it is restrictive.

It is much easier just to say and talk about whatever come to mind. I can certainly do the "hail, where art thou from?" talk but it gets old/boring fast. If i want to talk about starcraft 2 with my guildies when we wait for the next dungoen, i do see why we shouldn't do that.

LOTRO Weekly (LOTRO)

Dramatis Personae (WOW)

Hearthstone Tavern (WOW)

EVE RP Corps (EVE Online)

Great Lakes Roleplayers (UO)

RP Haven (WOW)       It's Thursday, so it's Gin and Juice night!

and then there's always... Furcadia.

Lots' of roleplaying in MMOs. You just have to look around and get involved in the RP community.

Originally posted by Flute

Originally posted by Onigod

i know many people that roleplay in Darkfall atleast in the europe server about NA server i dont know

There is a wide range, from Dwarf Only clans, Alfar Only clans, and Orc only clans, through to the anti-roleplayers who seek to war declare all roleplayers and kill them, in character of course as the vile and evil villian with no sense of humour and no mercy.  ;p

 

I have had ship crews who play pirate music over ventrillo every time we took a ship to sea, too, and didn't break character much  :)

I come across roleplayer clans often in Darkfall. Actually living with one atm. : )

Best game to roleplay in by far imo . ... that is, unless you want to know the end of the story before you begin (roleplaying in themepark games makes no sense to me??!?)

Originally posted by Murashu

Originally posted by Lidane

There's something obvious that you're overlooking here -- voice chat.

Back in the early days of MMOs, it was all about typed text for conversation, which allowed for more active roleplay, especially in games with a hell of a lot of downtime, like EQ. These days, most gamers are hooked into Ventrillo or some other voice chat server so they can communicate with people faster, especially during raids or big boss fights.

It's one thing to RP when you're typing your words, but when you're in a chat server with your entire guild, staying in character and trying to RP tends to get shot down because most people aren't that willing to play along when their voice can be heard. On top of that, many players would rather just shoot the breeze about music and movies in their downtime, or give directions during a battle than try to act like their characters.

I've heard this excuse before and I just don't get it. Back in 1999 we were using Roger Wilco for grouping and raiding in EQ and it never stopped us from talking in character in game. When vent launched in the early 2000s, we still had no problem getting people to talk in character. Text chat still works just fine no matter what voice program you are using.

It's not an excuse. It's a preference. It's also a reflection of how things have changed in the last few years.

The players and guilds using Roger Wilco back then were the more hardcore players and RP-ers, so you had people who were more inclined to speak in character and essentially LARP while they played. These days, voice chat is everywhere and used by nearly everyone, from the hardcore to the most casual players, and the chances are far greater now of finding people whose idea of voice chat was solidified in console and regular PC gaming. They'd rather talk about what interests them, like music, or movies, or whatever's on their mind than sit around trying to remember when to use thee and thou, or trying to voice act as their characters.

There are still players who actively roleplay. LOTRO has a pretty good community for it, both due to inclination and to the rich lore that Tolkien provided. It's there. You just have to know where to look, and you have to basically accept that it's a niche now, since a majority of players, especially if they're on voice chat, aren't going to be all that inclined to RP. That's just the way things are.

Originally posted by Suilebhain
*snip*

So, is it time to drop the RPG from MMORPG and just call it MMO.Com? Do people even value random roleplay ex periences or is it all about gear/level acquisition (AKA Achievement), raiding, and PvP?

Yes.  Roleplaying has never been mainstream, and when MMOs entered mainstream gaming...well, you already described what happened.

Originally posted by Sid_Vicious

Best game to roleplay in by far imo . ... that is, unless you want to know the end of the story before you begin (roleplaying in themepark games makes no sense to me??!?)

Depends on the "theme park".

It's entirely possible to create your own character story within the framework of someone else's world. Using LOTRO as an example again, Frodo's quest to destroy the One Ring was only one story among the entire mythology of Middle Earth that Tolkien created. There's a whole lot of room to move in terms of finding a place within that world. And just because we know how Frodo's story ends, that doesn't mean we know the way that the life of an individual Hobbit, Elf, or Rohirrim might end.

City of Heroes/Villains lends itself to a whole lot of roleplay, since you can write and create entire story arcs for your characters with the Mission Architect system.

Roleplay isn't the exclusive domain of the sandbox game. It CAN be done in "theme park" games too. It just takes actual knowledge of the lore you're dealing with and being able to carve out your own niche within it.

Unless you search out a MUD which strictly enforces RPing, you're never going to find a MMO where more than 50% of the playerbase RPs.  Totally unrealistic expectation.

You will, however, find RP aplenty if you look for it.  Personally I'm sort of sick of it on the WOW server where a couple of my chars are currently (went there to play with a friend who barely plays anymore.)  Constant spam from RP guilds, and tons of RPing spontaneously happening just about anywhere players gather.

It's never going to replace full-on tabletop RPGs where the game world can bend to be whatever the playing group wants it to be, but if you're honest with yourself you realize that videogame RPGs have never been (and might never be) about that.

Originally posted by Suilebhain

I recall the good old days of DAOC where, on the roleplay servers, nearly everyone roleplayed to some degree, even if it was just to say "Hail". Almost never did I encounter people who would approach my elf with their lurikeen and say "whatup dude?" Later, SWG provided a similar, even expanded immersive experience, as player cities became hubs of roleplay activity  where you could wander into a cantina and find people ready, willing and able to engage in improvisational roleplay nearly any time of the day or night.

Now, though, finding anything resembling a roleplay community that approaches that of Albion/Percival or the entire Nimue server is like finding hen's teeth. Not even on roleplay servers in alleged MMORPGS do people roleplay. I know this all started with WOW and the absurd and infamous Barrens Chat, but it has speard and now nowhere provides a welcoming place for people who prefer a greater level of immersion.

My most recent escapade came about in Runes of Magic. F2P games attract the most casual of players, but on the unofficial RP server there were only a few guilds and no casual roleplay that I could find. The folks in the guilds seemed like nice enough people, but the majority of their interaction was spent in an OOC channel labeled RP, which really was just a sign to those seeking others who enjoyed RP rather than providing any true outlet. There were little to no in-game opportunities to roleplay, as there was back in DAOC and SWG.

So, is it time to drop the RPG from MMORPG and just call it MMO.Com? Do people even value random roleplay ex periences or is it all about gear/level acquisition (AKA Achievement), raiding, and PvP?

You obviously have been looking in the wrong place. 

Laurelin server lotro..

The last two games that I played and RP'ed were DAoC and Shadowbane.  Voice chat doesn't hold up as a viable excuse.  My Shadowbane guild all used Teamspeak to coordinate PvP.  We didn't RP directions in PvP voice chat..  We also didn't hold hour long social conversations in teamspeak.  Teamspeak was a tool for a very specific purpose.   All in-game chat was expected to be RP'ed.  Espcially when conversing with other cities/guilds.  I think it had to do with the attitude toward the games at that time.  People were much more serious.  You didn't have that many casual players.  You didn't have cross-server grouping either.  You always saw the same people and you wanted to make good impressions.

As for recent/new games - I was going to try and RP with a guild in Xyson.  We actually had a lot of RP guilds on the official forums.  However, the continous delays caused me to loose interest. 

Someone mentioned RP and old English in one of the comments.  That doesn't have to be the case.  The Xyson guilds that were RPing weren't speaking in old English.  It is an apocolyptic world.   I think that is another misconception.  People speaking in wierd accents and running around with cardboard swords.  For me, roleplay is just a way to get into the lore and enjoy my character more.  Still haven't round a recent game though where I have enjoyed it.

if someone picks up a bone and yells murr grrl,seems to be master roleplaying in eyes of this generations MMORPGamers.

games that dont let you to use your own imagination which actually forces you not to use your imagination,forces you not to be creative seems to be huge hits nowadays but in eyes of RPGs or just players?

roleplay is nice in small group. when group becomes too big, it gets too fractured. strong personalities get more focus, reserved persons get less. it can be done as storytelling, with pre-aranged scenarion, but for improvisation, it would be one great hell of an effort.

I don't so much role play with people anymore, but I do have a habit of reading up on the lore of the game, and creating a back-story for whomever I create. It helps me feel more connected and motivated.

I typically do light or medium roleplaying. Make the background, name the character, make them look sensible (I'm really picky about this, chainmail bikinis don't do it), interact how I think the character would through emotes on people I meet on my journey but aside from that I don't actively seek RPing groups. I just don't have the patience to stay in character past a certain point and having to use certain channels to talk with someone casually isn't my thing most of the time. Almost always play on roleplaying servers though because I respect the people and find the community to be better.

There are alot of roleplayers out there still in games.. just have to find them. There was actualy a decent amount of rp in Aion belive it or not. Israphel is the nonoffical rp server i think.. they have their own channel there, Its /joinchannel RPlfg i belive.

anyway as for newergames with rp id  say your best bet would be swotor, or guild wars 2.

thoe i cant realys peak 2 much on swotors side, i can say guild wars 2 is lore driven.. and heavily at that. At character creation they actualy ask you questions to better start the personality of your character.. where did you come from? where you rich or poor, are you charming/ferocious/timid so on so forth. also you make choises threw your personal story that can actualy efect things. and they are permanent.

The end of the races trailor, otherwise known as 'uncertain allies" also ends with the phrase, "whats your story"

either way in some games its become increseingly harder for roleplayers.. there are those that activly bash roleplayers, or go to kill them in open world.. or spout out random things in the middle of others rp and try and cause problems.. it realy does seemt hat since the fps crowd starting hitting mmos that actual roleplayers are like some sort of disese. So realy you kinda need to look now, and as posted before.. it realy is hard to find people activly rping in say, due to those i mentiond above