I've noticed there always seems to be players interested in roleplaying, but unsure how to go about it. I thought it'd be nice to explain the concept and give some tips for players who want to take up roleplaying or those who may want to enhance some aspect of it.
The plot is one of the most important things in a roleplay. If there is no plot, then there's nothing to roleplay about. In roleplaying, a plot is theme or background information that acts as a guide for writing the roleplay. They can range from simple to complex in format, depending on the kind of roleplay you prefer. Most often the simple plots give roleplayers the chance to include a broader range of ideas to into their roleplays, while the complex plots depend on certain details that must be followed. Plots can come in a variety of topics ranging from mystical creatures to romance. You can even make them up as you go along.
Here are a few examples:
Simple: High school
Complex: You never really understood your father. He never told you much to begin with. Being the king, he always thought he knew best and of course you never had a say in the situation. Well apparently now he has set up an arranged marriage with a guy you've never met. You could care less, not wanting to marry in the first place. What are you going to do?
After you've decided on a plot, its time to pick your characters. The characters are the people within the roleplay in which you will write for. In most roleplays each player picks two characters (a man and a woman) that they will write for. You could simply just pick two names for your two characters and be done with this step. However, many roleplayers find pictures of people from the internet to use as their characters, and then give them fake names (I swear it's less creepy than it sounds). A lot of roleplayers may also make their own site where they post pictures of their characters along with their names.
Here are some examples:
Post character names: Tina & Jeff Post character names and pictures: Jade & Colton *Jade's link* & *Colton's link*
Now let's get to the good part: the writing. Roleplaying is initially the writing of a story that is done between two roleplayers. One of the player's writes the story for their characters and sends both to the other player. When the other player receives the story, that player responds to both stories using their characters. There are two ways to write your roleplays: Story mode or UK mode. Most often on virtual popstar, I find that people use story mode. In story mode you write in third-person, like an author would write a book. Most often you use the past tense when writing, also. In UK mode you write the actions the characters does. There's no need to include their names or words such as "he" or "she" when writing for the characters in this mode.
Here are some examples:
Story Mode: Joe wandered to the cupboard and looked for food. "Aww, why is there nothing in here?" he asked and started to frown.
UK Mode: Joe: Wanders to the cupboard and looks for food. "Aww, why is there nothing here?" Frowns.
Secondly, you may want to chat with your roleplaying partner about the length of each of your replies to the roleplay. Some people may prefer to only write a few lines for each reply, while other people may like to write at least 10 lines per reply.
Here are some examples:
A couple lines: Jessie couldn't believe what had just happened. She curled her body up into a ball and started to cry. She wondered what she could do.
A good amount of lines: Jessie couldn't believe what had just happened. She curled her body up into a ball and started to cry. She wondered what she could do. James was her best friend that she had grown up with since grade school, but how could she let something like this go? He couldn't expect everything to be okay after he sold off their beloved Meowth.
Now that the basics are covered, it's important to know how to start a roleplay with anther person. Roleplays are written via personal messages between players or in a topic within the "ORPG" forum (which can be found under the "Social" tab). Also, roleplays can be strictly between two players or between multiple players through the forum. Getting started is as easy as messaging another player or creating a topic within the "ORPG" forum.
Other useful tips:
- It's very much appreciated if you let your roleplaying partner know if you are not able to reply for a while, or if you're uninterested in continuing the roleplay. - On the other hand, be patient with your roleplaying partner. You shouldn't spam them with multiple messages or spam the forum by posting your reply multiple times.
- Be open to creating new ideas and accepting new ideas from your roleplaying partner as the role-play progresses. Sometimes it's nice to change up the roleplay.
~ I do not in any way consider myself an "expert" when it comes to roleplaying (if that is even a thing). I thought this information would be useful for those starting out roleplaying or those who may want some extra tips.