Post by Malum on May 11, 2010 14:21:58 GMT -5
There are many different forms of roleplaying. The general public is most familiar with RPGs like World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Knights of the Old Republic, Fable, Dungeons and Dragons, World of Darkness, etc. Games where you create a character and play as that character. Forum roleplay (also sometimes called post-by-post or play-by-post RP) is mainly what we do here on OoskaBoards.
Why? Because it is based on writing and storytelling skill, both of which are valuable to this community. Also, it's great fun.
Roleplaying can be best explained simply by watching (on in this case, reading) someone do it. Go ahead and read some of the roleplays in the sub-boards of the Roleplay section of our forum if you're curious.
Here's a pretty good article I found on Wikipedia that explains the basics of roleplaying:
Why? Because it is based on writing and storytelling skill, both of which are valuable to this community. Also, it's great fun.
Roleplaying can be best explained simply by watching (on in this case, reading) someone do it. Go ahead and read some of the roleplays in the sub-boards of the Roleplay section of our forum if you're curious.
Here's a pretty good article I found on Wikipedia that explains the basics of roleplaying:
Role playing games are fundamentally different from most other types of games in that they stress social interaction and collaboration, whereas board games, card games, and sports emphasize competition.
Both authors and major publishers of role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling. However, they are not considered true narratives like novels or films as there is no actual story within a role-playing game. Instead events, characters and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience. Like stories, role-playing games appeal because they engage the imagination. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player at a role-playing game makes choices that affect the story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story.
While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games such as "cops and robbers" and "cowboys and Indians", role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in a role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief. The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes.
Both authors and major publishers of role-playing games consider them to be a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling. However, they are not considered true narratives like novels or films as there is no actual story within a role-playing game. Instead events, characters and narrative structure give a sense of a narrative experience. Like stories, role-playing games appeal because they engage the imagination. Interactivity is the crucial difference between role-playing games and traditional fiction. Whereas a viewer of a television show is a passive observer, a player at a role-playing game makes choices that affect the story. Such role-playing games extend an older tradition of storytelling games where a small party of friends collaborate to create a story.
While simple forms of role-playing exist in traditional children's games such as "cops and robbers" and "cowboys and Indians", role-playing games add a level of sophistication and persistence to this basic idea with additions such as game facilitators and rules of interaction. Participants in a role-playing game will generate specific characters and an ongoing plot. A consistent system of rules and a more or less realistic campaign setting in games aids suspension of disbelief. The level of realism in games ranges from just enough internal consistency to set up a believable story or credible challenge up to full-blown simulations of real-world processes.