Other Blocking (the writing term, not like, blocking a user)

[Idea]

Hey peeps!

So recently I've been doing some 1x1 sparing matches again, and after reading a comment hear on the forums about an incident where players couldn't tell what should happen because neither was keeping track of the character's exact positions, the thought crossed my mind that this might be an important discussion to have or bring awareness to.

So, for the record, "Blocking" is a term that refers to establishing the position of character relative to each other and their environment. If I say that a character is "on the far end of the room" or "on the opposite side of the table from X" that's blocking. I am indicating how far or close the character is to things.

Here's the kicker though: not everyone makes a point of "blocking" on a consistent basis. And while in some roleplays this isn't a problem (some games like D&D often employ maps due to game mechanics, which makes it easier to track relative positions , and in some cases the position can be assumed to be a default or be irrelevant) , in other cases knowing whether characters are far or close and to what can be crucial.

So I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Do you think it's important? Do you do it? What are you experiences with it and do you think it should be made mandatory? If so, how do you think a GM should go about tackling the issue? If you don't think it should be mandatory, how do you think the potential issues of it not being used should be dealt with?

Thank you all for reading!

 

[duegxybus]

It's an essential, about as much as describing your character's actions.

Recently, I've found that I tend to lose interest in 1x1 RPers that have a habit of not describing spaces, simply because it really makes the story feel "flat." While I never expected a full description every single post, knowing what an environment looks like is very helpful.

I always thought that describing a character's location relative to the described environment tends to fill up the world more than any amount of characters can. What's the point of having 5 characters if you don't even know where they are? If five people are in a room, isn't it going to get stuffy? Yes, but a lot of writers overlook the importance of it.

Blocking even opens the road to conversation. I don't mean dialogue, I mean conveying the feelings of the characters to the reader. Human beings take up space. Having someone too close to you might make you uncomfortable, while a friend sitting too many seats away from you may make you wonder what you did wrong.

Or in a more drastic example, say I'm a petite 5'2 supervillain who lives in her basement, which has a low ceiling and even lower beams. Feels cozy to me! After all, all I need are computers to control my little digital minions mwahaha-

One day a superhero, a barrel-chested, bearded man of seven feet tall, comes to my home and demands an interrogation. I tell him it's okay to come to my basement. It's quite messy, but I don't have a problem wading through piles of computer manuals and other books to get to my basement. The superhero, on the other hand, has to hold his cape and avoid crushing any of the books.

When he gets to the basement door, he almost hits his head on the top part of the frame. For the rest of his time inside, he hangs his head low in order to stop himself from putting his cranium through one of the low hanging beams.

Meanwhile I'm just here nearly pissing myself, because he's massive. The fact that he's taking up so much space in my own basement, which is usually only occupied by me, is a scary thought. If he saw anything wrong, I couldn't escape cause all he'd do is probably beat the ever loving shit out of me.


So...tldr, yes it's very important. Not just because it keeps track of characters, but also makes them take up space like they should.

 

[Idea]

Never thought I would have to bump a roleplay discussion thread

 

[QuirkyAngel]

A lot of times I do it, sometimes I don't (when I feel like writing paragraphs upon paragraphs of internal monologue for a post~). It really depends on the situation and whether I determine the setting and location of my character is important in the scene or not. More often, I just let my words flow when writing a post. While it's always nice to have a player detail their relative location in their post, it isn't a big deal to me when players don't because I can easily ask them occ for additional details I need, if I need it.

I like writing action and dialogue, but wouldn't call myself a very descriptive writer tbh. When I don't think it matters, I may write that my character stopped next to another character without specifying 'left' or 'right', then let the other player decide to look left or right to greet my character (or ask me ooc, in which case, I will randomly decide on the spot cause I really didn't care ). If another player decides I need to be on their 'left' to do something they've got planned, I let them. I don't deny that details inspire creativity. However, lack of detail can give other players room to expand as well...or, at least, that's my excuse for being lazy^^ However, once a position has been established, I don't want it changed.

What do I think about blocking? It's the the only way I know how to describe setting, tbh =P Rather than listing the things in a room, I’ll use my character’s position relative to it to establish its existence. Sometimes, I’ll need it to get a better grasp of the scene. Other times, I go off of what the other player wrote and add details (that they didn’t think of or were unwilling to write) from there. With combat writing, players who don’t use blocking may find themselves disadvantaged, because what they don’t write is another player’s freedom to do so~ Basically, blocking only brings benefits in terms of clarity. However, I don’t believe it's necessary to make it mandatory either.

GMs that don't require blocking should probably promote communication between players to prevent confusion. GM's that do...well, it's easy enough to request detailed posts. Just tell players to always be clear on their location (make them describe their character’s relative location in parentheses at the bottom if they can’t fit it in their post). Whatever works. If it's to promote clarity, I don't believed many players would mind...especially if they consider themselves detailed rpers.