Join us as Andreja breaks down how she roleplays in Final Fantasy XIV, a game which has no official RP Server yet has some of the most vivid and deep roleplaying among MMOs today. Andreja has been part of a lore-focused roleplaying linkshell on Balmung for years now and she breaks down how the roleplaying community has grown and how it has branched depending on people’s needs and expectations. And how it doesn't take kindly to erp (erotic roleplay).

Just how do you implement the game mechanics in roleplaying? How can raiding be part of a story and how much emoting is too much emoting? How does elements like housing, gear, level and crafting work into the greater weave of a story? Fashion, after all, is one of the strongest motivator for a roleplayer and games like Final Fantasy XIV offers a lot of options for the fancy RPer. Especially gear that binds on pickup are highly sought after since doing a raid is probably the only way to get access to them.

While the mileage of the RP Quality may vary, it’s a fact that you have your own avatar in the game that acts and speaks the way you want them to. This is certainly an advantage for someone who might feel awkward or otherwise be limited in their ability to face-to-face roleplaying. It is a fact that we base a lot of our assumptions of another person on visual input so having your avatar look the way you want them to for other people really is a strong enhancement to your roleplaying.

Let’s not forget that Game creators go out of their way to implement roleplay-enhancing features in their games. Hidden areas, housing and things like that exist on some level as an enhancement to the immersion and aesthetics of the game.

One of the strangest features for MMORPGs is, however, that in a lot of ways you don’t really need a GM. The game does the mechanics for you, after all, and the role of storyteller is regularly shared between roleplayers. Collaborative storytelling is a very strong element of MMORPG RPing.

Then you have games like Eve Online, which blurs the border between Roleplaying and Real life to a strange point. A game that uses economy as a cornerstone of gameplay certainly encourages players to do things that usually goes with economy, like, say, piracy. Or long-cons.

Finally we do a little aside to talk about the importance of body language and emoting in games to reinforce the emotions behind the text you’re conveying.

So if you’re ever on Balmung and see someone from AEON or LUCKY, give’em a wave and a thumbs up!

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