Kor's Random OOC Thoughts

[Kor!]

Ug Alla!

Here's some random thoughts I wanted to throw out to get some feedback on:

1. Orcish RP Speech. My general philosophy in a 100% rp guild is that there should never be a reason to go OOC (Out of Character).

(ie "brb, doorbell", "mom's ragging on me, I have to leave", "woo hoo the just scored!", "how do I use another chat mode?", "dat will be 10,000 shinies", etc)

I think it would be good though for us to have some sort of code/phrase meaning that you need help with a game/technical problem that is not in-game related. (ie, you are not sure how to use emotes, or how to set up chat channels, etc).

My suggestion is to just say "need to blah wit lat at da gruk'stunz" [thinking stones -- a place where orcs meet to discuss matters.] We would always have a chat room open called "grukstunz". This would only be for requesting help in learning the game and its controls. This channel would not be used socially. If you want to talk to someone about last night's hockey game or find out where people are from -- use this forum. When you are logged in-game with your orc (or an inferior tauren or troll) then you should be thinking and acting as your character.

2. In the literal sense, numbers are just that... numbers, not words. 10,000 is a number. "tehn fousand" is a word. Numbers should never be typed in IC (In Character) speech.

3. In every level based MMORPG that I have played, levelling was something that players declared. Even when I briefly played with Shadowclan in DoAC, levelling was declared, albiet in a rp'd manner. (ie: "me lurn'd mure stuff!") Hey, everyone likes to hit their new level, but from an RP point of view, your character may only notice that he his skills and abilities have improved slightly but would have no understanding of the experience/levelling system. I would like to see a rule against "lurn'n" declarations when characters achieve a new level.

What are your thoughts out there?

Edited April 11, 2004 by Kor!

[Wolf]

My personal view is nothing out of character or out of world situation i.e. "doorbell" should ever be spoken "out loud" in game by your character.

In guild chats or private messaging within game, I personally see no reason to require members to speak orcish on those channels the same way I don't speak orcish when I have Teamspeak on or other speech based chat programs when gaming.

[Balandar]

I agree with Wolf on the chat rooms. You can speak freely, OOC, in them. But when you speak in public channels, then use orcish.

E.G. /say /yell /shout /etc

And if you wish to announce your level, do so in guild/group chat. Nothing in /say.

Also, Gangs of New York is a pretty good movie.

[Graknor]

I think its fine to use OOC chat in the guild chat, and when you are talking to other people in game just go into character. We dont need to be in character all the time, sometimes it gets hard to understand certain Technical problems and such while in character, and its just not in character.

Im tired... today i just played 10 hours of paintball, no im not kidding. I whent there at 7am worked till 10am. Got 500 free paintballs, played 10am till 7:30pm.

[Hellhound]

Yea.. being in character 100% while playing can create some problems. Should just use common sense on when to be in character, and when not to be.

[Kor!]

IC would of course only apply to in-game speech.

Any other channels would be OOC.

What I was mainly getting at, is chatting in other channels should be done at a minimum, and perhaps none at all, other than for seeking help with the game.

Guild channel speak should also be limited to "organization speech". Basically a channel where people can go to coordinate where to meet.

Why?

Firstly, participation in OOC chat channels takes your attention away from RP'ing. Nothing annoyed me more in UO or EQ than to see a large group of people standing around for a long period of time, and nothing being said. (It appeared as though nothing was being said as they were in their own private chat channel). Not a very RP look in my books. Whether you are just shooting the sheet, having a serious long winded discussion or giving a motivation speech to the troops prior to heading into a battle -- this all can be done through normal in-game speech.

Secondly, limiting speech in the guild channel encourages people to meet up and just speak together in-game. One of the great (few) things about UO that I liked (before people started using mIRC) was that you had to go find your buddies to talk to them. In our case, we had to go to the Yew orc fort to see what was shaking.

Edited April 11, 2004 by Kor!