Roleplays

Hello community,

Quick message: There is a TL;DR at the bottom if you don't have time to read through this entire document.

I'm here today to talk to you about roleplays. There are many mixed opinions about them throughout the server. However, the forums seems to be the primary place for hatred towards them. I'm here to give some history and talk about what they are. Basically a comprehensive guide.

"I think roleplays are childish."

Maybe, but most people also generally seem to not do roleplays for these reasons:

• They think they are "too mature" to sit down and pretend to be somebody else in a fun reenactment. It is simply too much of a childish thought for them.
• They're annoyed by roleplays themselves and do not wish to take part in annoying people.
• They feel as if doing roleplays will "lower their social status" or make other people judge them based on what they do in a roleplay.

Honestly, these are acceptable reasons, but obviously, everybody is different. If you think you're "too mature" to roleplay, go ahead. Nobody will stop you. Just sit down and do it. Mainly, you wouldn't do it because you think you're "too mature", but most people use that as a cover-up reason for they don't want to do a roleplay and be judged for their actions. Sit down and think now. Do you really care about what an arbitrary group of fellow players think about you? Even if you have close friends, they won't judge. In my experience, I have many friends who still roleplay, and I think it's perfectly fine.

"What's the point of roleplays. Sounds like a waste of time."

It's a great way to have fun and immerse yourself in a fantasy place where you can do whatever you want to do, and be whoever you want to be. If you play Minecraft, you should be willing to use maybe 15 - 30 minutes of your time to try out something new.

"What are roleplays?"

Roleplaying is the acting out or performance of a particular role. Taken from Google.
Roleplaying in Minecraft is basically: choosing a character who has certain physical appearances, personality traits, romances, and relationships or making up your own character as you go and then interacting with other players in (usually) a camping or high school scene, though lab-based roleplays are also making an appearance.

"People to tend to overdo it when they roleplay"

That may be true for some roleplays. When you are on Creative, you may notice a chat similar to this:

Bob: MY POWER LEVEL IS OVER 9000 *KILLS JOE*
Joe: *Dodges* *Kills Bob no dodge insta-death*
Bob: *Dodges*

Etc., etc.,

People do that sometimes, and your best bet is to stay away from actual fights in roleplays, as that may happen.

"What's the history of roleplays?"

An interesting question. The history of roleplays has developed (in my opinion, deteriorated), from previous stages to what it is now. Back in late 2013, roleplays used to be survival/plane crash/etc.-based and generally were more about romance and revenge. People used sense and fights ended shortly because both sides agreed on a certain outcome. Later (around 2014 - early 2015), roleplays developed into high school-based ones, which were actually pretty good at first. This was pretty much because the general age group of the roleplayers was equal to their age in the roleplay. Now, in late 2015 - 2016, lab and supernatural (special power) roleplays tend to be the most popular. People can't agree on anything in fights (refer to Bob v. Joe example), so fights tend to drag out for a really long time. People get really creative in builds and plot lines for roleplays these days, which is a good improvement.

"Rules?"

Some general rules to remember when roleplaying (to make it fun and nice):
1. Do not spam the exact same action/dialogue multiple times. That can be annoying because the plot line is really slowed down.
2. Try following the outlines specified for your character (unless MYOR) as best as you can. The creators made them that way for a reason.
3. Follow the specific rules at a roleplay designated by the creators.
4. In general, try to stay away from bloody fights, severing limbs, and killing.
5. Don't make yourself overpowered or "the best". Everybody has their faults, no matter what, so don't make yourself perfect, as it makes it boring.
6. Don't take other people's names or use names close to theirs (example: John and Jonathon) because people may refer to either of those people by a nickname.
7. Try to condense as much possible action/dialogue into a single chat message to prevent spam.
8. Don't be obnoxious (as in have wild mood swings or acting crazy).
9. Have fun! Roleplays are meant to be a fun pastime, not a test to prove how mature you are or a way for people to judge you.

Quick message: MYOR means "Make your own role" or basically, not conforming to any set standards for your character. Also, this guide may be out of order.

To the haters that think I spent lots of effort on a thread just to spam, please think again over that logic. I made this as a comprehensive guide to roleplays and it is not meant to spam messages.

TL;DR
Roleplays are a fun, great experience for everybody if you're willing to give it a try. This thread also details the history and general rules of thumb for roleplays.

Thanks,
ido_pieguy

 

Maybe you're doing the wrong types of roleplays?