Perception
No, I do not mean the human racial. I mean how do you perceive your characters? Do you think of her as a badass in plate/cloth/with a sword or “Captain Awesome with a Sensitive Side?” Did you make a bastard? A Nutter (Bricu slang for a crazy person)? A saint? A psycho?
Make a note of your perceptions. Now, ask your friends and guild mates, “what do you and your toon think of [insert your character's name here].” How similar are those perceptions? For bonus points, how many of these views assigned to your character actually apply to you, the player.
While there is no such thing as “quality assurance” for Role-playing (nor should there be), it helps to take stock of our Characters. For instance, if you main is supposed to be a Bastard and your circle thinks that they are, “so very nice and helpful,” something maybe wrong. Comparing notes with the people you RP with is one way of checking on your character’s arc.
I would venture to guess that the people we are to closest too are the ones who will have the perceptions that are the most similar to our own. While these are important to understand, as these are the people we RP with the most, it is equally important to see how others view the characters. I am not saying this as a prelude to either “change or your character” or “let others tell you how to play.” Far from it. Taking other peoples perceptions into account is only to see how your RP has come across.
For example, say your main is working on an achievement–one of the big ones–and you consider this to be an RP goal. If someone says, “Really? I don’t see [your toon] going after [that achievement] because of [reasonable reason here],” a number of people–myself included–would begin to think about the validity of the [reasonable reason]. If you are willing to examine this [reasonable reason], then I strongly suggest that a calm, reasonable OoC discussion can help direct the RP.
Communication about perceptions is easier said than done. Even though these are fictional characters, given the work we have put into them, we are bound to develop some attachment to them. Having discussions about our characters, their attitudes and how people PERCEIVE our characters is, at times, a bit difficult. If one can communicate some of the disconnect from player to player, then one can improve the RP, either through those conversations OR by developing new stories to show case how the character really is able to go for that Big Achievement.
So fill us in. Have you had conversations like this in the past? Do you see any value in it? Drop us a line!
Filed in Character Development,Info,RP,World of Warcraft 4 Comments so far
Israia on 14 Jan 2010 at 4:24 pm #
I totally have. Everyone for the longest time viewed Israia, essentially, as a bitch, because of a few nights of RP where she was largely made fun of by a few of the patrons of the Pig(now Riders). She retaliated with words and at least one threat, and ever since, despite this being /long/ after I’d been RPing on Feathermoon, that viewpoint of her stuck.
I’ve been working to get rid of that perception for over half a year now, and sometimes still have to deal with it. A lot less than I used to, though- most treat her much more like what I’d expect.
I should ask many of you what you think of Israia, though. I often feel like I *want* her to be one way, and she is that way in my head, but when I play her, she comes out very differently. Part of me thinks she has a different plan for herself than I do, and where I used to resist it, the past few weeks I’ve been letting it take me places.
Itanya Blade on 14 Jan 2010 at 5:16 pm #
Honestly, I think Dorri’tow is perceived as far nicer than she really is. Everytime I think I am getting to soft with her, someone makes a comment about crazy she is (like Yva and I talking about our respective characters discussing who’s the nuttier).
Pill came off far more harsh than I intended to have her appear at the start. She’s become much more of a clown. A lot of the change had to do with the big storyline I did with Bricu, Davien and company. This is not to say that Pill is less bitter about being dead (or any less jealous of her Father’s supposed return to his fleshy state) rather, she has decided that being bitter and resentful didn’t serve any purpose.
Anea on 14 Jan 2010 at 11:29 pm #
Hm… this is interesting to think about. While I don’t have a character I actively RP with at the moment, it strikes me as a valuable exercise.
When I imagine myself RPing (and doing it well) and setting the foundation for the character in my mind, of course I always imagine it as successful and coming across exactly as I see it in my mind. However, I can easily see how it may not be the case, especially for beginning RPers.
Bricu on 15 Jan 2010 at 11:55 am #
@Izzy: All I know about Izzy is that she’s abrasive and not terribly gullible.
@Itanya: Pill has lightened up considerably, and I have also associated that with the Pill/Bricu interactions. However, I trace it to Pill sheeping Bricu.
As for Dorri, the only interaction Bricu has had with her was the brief one at the Rose ball.
@Anea: Part of the problem with RP in WoW revolves around emotes and chat spam. We can’t hear the tone of voice in our character’s expressions. The dramatic pause inbetween statements may be due to a disconnect or other-channel-drama. Emotes get lost in chatspam. In traditional RP, tone of voice and body language help us get our points across as well provide cues towards perceptions. We don’t have that in WoW. We just have to keep open channels of communication.