The death of realism.

[Koko]

I'm not personally against things like overly-skilled characters (like the example of characters speaking multiple languages) because me myself I speak 5 languages. Now, I speak those 5 languages because of particular circumstances regarding where I was born and how I was brought up, paired together with a relatively good ear for languages. My gripe is with people who pick up a skill from zero in-game and master it within just a couple of days, or with backstories that don't make sense. You don't become fluent in Mandarin because you have a chinese friend that casually taught you over a couple (dozen) cups of coffee in the evenings after work.

 

If you justify it well, your character can have a variety of pretty spectacular skills they picked up growing up, particularly if they are from a relatively affluent background (meaning more access and time for hobbies and skills rather than just having to drop out of High School at 16 to work at a Gas Station somewhere). Internal consistency is key here.

 

Are these in the minority in real life? Yes.

 

Is RP a fantastic opportunity to play the sort of person you didn't get to be IRL? Absolutely.

 

Is the RP scene (overly) full of these exceptional people? Definitely.

 

But again, the people who wan't that sort of escapism aren't going to let go of it because others got there first. There's not a cap on how many brilliant characters the server hosts. Also, realism means different things to different people: are we going by real life rules? Because MOST of us on this server (not even the staunchest supporters of realism) don't play a 1:1 simulation of real life, because that'd be horrendous. Are we going by GTA realism? Because GTA is pretty out there in how insane and eccentric it (and the people living in its world) is.

[xdthe]

nothing will change.

 

 

people will continue to rp as 22 year olds who were at the top of their university class, who also happen to look like a super model while also having massive muscles and being 6 feet 6 inches. 

why? because in the end its a videogame, and while i truly wish that things could change, most people, especially on RP games want to rp something theyre not irl or something that they have fun with. for them this is rping as a person without any flaws.

tl;dr : ppl will rp as they want, you can't change it, but you can change who you rp with for a more realistic experience

Edited November 21, 2020 by xdthe

[MickeyO]

1 hour ago, xdthe said:

tl;dr : ppl will rp as they want, you can't change it, but you can change who you rp with for a more realistic experience

 

[Kenth]

While I understand that people will always RP however they want and most RPers will strive to ensure that their character is perfect, it is important to note that people who RP their character having flaws or unique attributes are the ones that one way or another end up attracting other RPers to them.

 

Reason behind is because those characters, the ones having flaws, will one way or another find a way to let their flaw emerge and therefore providing others with a unique RP opportunity. Not everyone strives for perfection, there are others who strive towards making their character and imperfect one! (it's kinda how gang RP works, I guess? The character is put into a bad neighborhood and that character does what is necessary to survive)

[shot 2 da vein]

Ahh the dreaded battle with realism... trust me dude, most people don't wanna know because they're all roleplaying an extension of their OOC desires. That's why most people are balling out in clubs and not taking any L's. 

 

Life is rough, people struggle with the day to day generally and it's probably one of the most common things in the world to fall addiction to substances as you try to get to grips with your reality. But most people don't really think like that and I think it may actually come down to an age thing. Most people around here I firmly believe don't have the life experiences to warrant how they would properly roleplay a situation, maybe just a vague idea.

 

I've been around suicide, drug addiction and alcoholism my whole life IRL and so I know a lot of fucked up shit and I've seen a lot of it first hand. It sucks, but that's life and people have to roleplay accordingly. Well, I say "have to" but they don't really have to, it would just make for a much more enjoyable experience if people did. 

 

Roleplaying fear, roleplaying addiction, roleplaying the aftermath of murder... roleplaying consequences... it seems so common and obvious yet nobody often does it. 

 

Just do you, worry about yourself and continue to set an example... the rest will either continue to be an embarrassment or they'll take inspiration and make the changes required to better their development. Deuces.

[SweetDaffodil]

I personally have no problems with people who RP a character who looks like a supermodel, speak multiple languages and are successful at a young age. As long as they have properly RPed the development of their skills and RPed earning their successes, no problems! I don't believe all characters have to suffer from personal demons in order for their RP to be consider "realistic." There are plenty people in real life who are content with their life with no major issues affecting them. 

 

However, it becomes a problem when said character acts in an unrealistic manner then ignores the consequences of their actions. It becomes a problem when they powergame their way through a difficult situation because they think nothing should go wrong for someone as "perfect" as them. It becomes a problem when they  give their player advantages on the spot when a problem arises for them (Example: Suddenly knowing the language of a foreign mobster to gain the upper hand, even though their character never knew that language before). If they are not doing any of this, then their character is acting realistically. 

 

I have characters on both ends of the spectrum too. I have a "supermodel" character who has little to none personal demons/flaws. I also have an unpleasant obese character with many major personal flaws. Both of them are interesting, enjoyable to play and act in a realistic manner. Unfortunately for my obese character, she gets targeted for her weight all the time. I'm not bothered by this issue because this is what happens in real life. There will always be bullies. It sucks, but people can be cruel. 

As long as these "perfect" characters do not possess a 'play to win' mentality, then they aren't destroying the realism of the server.

 

[Ms KarMagick 🖤]

I roleplay my character being fat as fuck and honestly some of the funniest interactions come from that very fact

[yerro]

On 11/21/2020 at 6:07 PM, Ms KarMagick 🖤 said:

I roleplay my character being fat as fuck and honestly some of the funniest interactions come from that very fact

Hey, without attacking you or judging your roleplay, can I just use that as an example to further my point? <:

 

I feel like a lot of people don't really try to keep their characters, their roleplay in check. What I'm saying is that we're going for the extremes a lot more often than these cases would happen in real life. Heroism, pity, fear and similar are all emotions that are drastically heightened in roleplay.

 

The same applies to the concepts of wealth vs poverty and so on. It's like if you're roleplaying having money, you're likely filthy rich. If you're poor — you go as far as to make your character nearly homeless, living in the trashiest pile you could find.

---

I'm not saying you shouldn't be allowed to roleplay an overly obese person, and I'm sure that was the source of a lot of great roleplay scenes. And hell, if anything, your concept is helping diversify the experience for other people on the server. But it seems that people aren't aware of or choose to avoid mediocrity in their RP. Instead of being beautiful or ugly, how about a character that's just a bit homely. Alright but kinda meh. Instead of a fat or fit character, could have one that's got a bit of beer belly, and so on.

 

Idk, just a point that's been on my mind for a while after watching the server.

---

I myself quit a character that I was RPing as a rather good-looking bloke going far because of his sports career, but it felt like the character was completely indistinguishable among many others. I think my portrayal was alright enough, but it looked like a lost concept to me.

[Trupiano]

1 hour ago, yerro said:

I'm not saying you shouldn't be allowed to roleplay an overly obese person, and I'm sure that was the source of a lot of great roleplay scenes. And hell, if anything, your concept is helping diversify the experience for other people on the server. But it seems that people aren't aware of or choose to avoid mediocrity in their RP. Instead of being beautiful or ugly, how about a character that's just a bit homely. Alright but kinda meh. Instead of a fat or fit character, could have one that's got a bit of beer belly, and so on.

 

Idk, just a point that's been on my mind for a while after watching the server.

Building off what @yerro said, people play caricature. Of black people, fat people, party animals, the mentally ill. Realism is subtle, a fat character being a massive slob who smells, is covered in Cheeto dust and constantly causes drama isn't realistic. It's a caricature, blowing one or two stereotypes WAY WAY out of proportion.

[Ms KarMagick 🖤]

2 hours ago, yerro said:

Hey, without attacking you or judging your roleplay, can I just use that as an example to further my point? <:

 

I feel like a lot of people don't really try to keep their characters, their roleplay in check. What I'm saying is that we're going for the extremes a lot more often than these cases would happen in real life. Heroism, pity, fear and similar are all emotions that are drastically heightened in roleplay.

 

The same applies to the concepts of wealth vs poverty and so on. It's like if you're roleplaying having money, you're likely filthy rich. If you're poor — you go as far as to make your character nearly homeless, living in the trashiest pile you could find.

---

I'm not saying you shouldn't be allowed to roleplay an overly obese person, and I'm sure that was the source of a lot of great roleplay scenes. And hell, if anything, your concept is helping diversify the experience for other people on the server. But it seems that people aren't aware of or choose to avoid mediocrity in their RP. Instead of being beautiful or ugly, how about a character that's just a bit homely. Alright but kinda meh. Instead of a fat or fit character, could have one that's got a bit of beer belly, and so on.

 

Idk, just a point that's been on my mind for a while after watching the server.

---

I myself quit a character that I was RPing as a rather good-looking bloke going far because of his sports career, but it felt like the character was completely indistinguishable among many others. I think my portrayal was alright enough, but it looked like a lost concept to me.

I mean, I don't portray him as fat just for shits n giggles, and by "fat as fuck" I didn't mean morbidly obese (hell I got a more serious weight problem than my character does), just very unhealthy. Running for a minute or so? Definitely out of breath, he'll need a minute. When I said "some of the funniest interactions", I also didn't mean it as in troll-y interactions either. Just, in the club, he's low hanging fruit for all kinds of fat jokes, it's generally just a good time. I get you weren't targetting me specifically with your response (or I think so anyways?) but I still felt like I needed to elaborate on it a lil ^^