Voice Chat

[LordOfThePitch]

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I've RP'ed over Skype a few times now, and the dynamics vs text based RP are definitely noticeable. For one, it's ad-libbed on the spot, and not well thought out, longer responses. You're always completely understanding that it's another person that you're talking to, and, well, romance can get very awkward, or very...erm, steamy, depending on the situation. Yeah. There's also the fact that infliction and tone instantly come across without the need for much more descriptor language needed. Thoughts? Anybody want to RP with me over Skype?


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[call me rae]

If your looking for a roleplay partner you'd be best served posting this in 1×1 interest checks 1x1 Interest Checks

 

[LordOfThePitch]

If your looking for a roleplay partner you'd be best served posting this in 1×1 interest checks 1x1 Interest Checks

Well, nearly all of it was discussing the differences between voice rp and written.

 

[call me rae]

Sorry then I misunderstood. Are you asking people to weigh in on their thoughts on Voice Chat or asking if they would be interest in doing one with You?

 

[LordOfThePitch]

Sorry then I misunderstood. Are you asking people to weigh in on their thoughts on Voice Chat or asking if they would be interest in doing one with You?

Asking people to give their opinions of the subject, and then I just threw in that last bit as a, "Might as well".

 

[Mishka]

Personally I'm a bit iffy on the idea. I haven't made a self insert character since I first started roleplaying, and I am a firm believer that anything that can blur the lines between your character and yourself should be avoided. This is because this can lead to hurt feelings, and obsessive people creeping on you. Roleplaying through voice chat is very very different from roleplaying through text. You are not capable of separating the character from yourself. There are some personas I'm comfortable with writing out, but being a shy person I wouldn't be able to play that kind of person out loud.


In addition to this, things getting "steamy" is no longer something you can separate from and write from a simply character development standpoint. It becomes phone sex, which makes me extremely uncomfortable.


If my character insults yours, I'm insulting you. This also makes me uncomfortable.


I dunno maybe it's just me but I would never ever ever do this because I don't want my character to be an extension of myself.

 

[LordOfThePitch]

Personally I'm a bit iffy on the idea. I haven't made a self insert character since I first started roleplaying, and I am a firm believer that anything that can blur the lines between your character and yourself should be avoided. This is because this can lead to hurt feelings, and obsessive people creeping on you. Roleplaying through voice chat is very very different from roleplaying through text. You are not capable of separating the character from yourself. There are some personas I'm comfortable with writing out, but being a shy person I wouldn't be able to play that kind of person out loud.
In addition to this, things getting "steamy" is no longer something you can separate from and write from a simply character development standpoint. It becomes phone sex, which makes me extremely uncomfortable.


If my character insults yours, I'm insulting you. This also makes me uncomfortable.


I dunno maybe it's just me but I would never ever ever do this because I don't want my character to be an extension of myself.

I suppose the locking of yourself and the character is the main minus/plus depending on who you ask. Either way, it's important.

 

[call me rae]

@LordOfThePitch - I see well @Mishka already raised a lot of my issues with this kind of format.


So I'll just add in - I don't have the equipment for this kind of roleplay nor would I be comfortable giving out my information to someone if I did.


I just would find it kind of invasive to roleplay with someone over Voice Chat. But that's my personal opinion.


If you like it than go for it. As long as your having fun that's all that matters.

 

[Grey]

It's a pretty standard practice for online D&D groups - they'll often speak in character but type OOC, or vice versa. Simulates a tabletop environment reasonably well.


Not everyone is as comfortable acting out their character as they are writing for them, of course, and may be better at one than the other.


Coming from primarily a tabletop and LARP background with some theatre in my past, the idea of not being able to comfortably distance yourself from your character sounds like a personal health problem. Nordic LARPs actually encourage you to break down those barriers in a controlled environment.

 

[Mishka]

Coming from primarily a tabletop and LARP background with some theatre in my past, the idea of not being able to comfortably distance yourself from your character sounds like a personal health problem. Nordic LARPs actually encourage you to break down those barriers in those a controlled environment.

I didn't really see it as a"personal health problem", but with you having a background in theater and me being an introvert, our opinions are destined to be incredibly different.

 

[LordOfThePitch]

I didn't really see it as a"personal health problem", but with you having a background in theater and me being an introvert, our opinions are destined to be incredibly different.

Yeah, 99% of what he said was good input, but the personal health problem thing was slightly insulting, regardless of whether or not he meant it to be.

 

[Grey]

Actually, I'm an extreme introvert. Inhabiting a character is one of the only ways I can comfortably interact with strangers.


The implication of absolutely evading immersion, to me, is that a person struggles to separate fiction and reality. This does not seem wholly psychologically healthy, which I say as an observation, not a judgement.

 

[LordOfThePitch]

Actually, I'm an extreme introvert. Inhabiting a character is one of the only ways I can comfortably interact with strangers.
The implication of absolutely evading immersion, to me, is that a person struggles to separate fiction and reality. This does not seem wholly psychologically healthy, which I say as an observation, not a judgement.

Our characters aren't, and shouldn't be, us. That's why it's RP. When your over voice chat, it can be hard to split yourself, and the other person, from your respective characters. It also makes romance ones either impossible or EXTREMELY awkward, as I learned the hard way. While I definitely see pluses to voice chat RP, saying it isn't mentally well to notice the cons is a bit uninformed. It's not splitting fiction from reality, but in fact splitting the character that we voice and control in real time, as well as refer to as I, from ourselves.

 

[call me rae]

I'd say that there is a bit of a difference also in where your coming from. In Theater you have the visual - the person is obviously a different person because they're in a costume and acting out whatever the play/performance is.


I don't do tabletop so I can't speak to that. But as I understand LARPing it is the same concept is it not? You dress in some kind of costume relevant to your character and you act out some kind of scene / scenario.


The difference is again in the visual and to a certain extent the context. You don't go to a theater saying - well these people on stage are sure comfortable acting like themselves in front of strangers.


And again I don't know LARPing but I am assuming again the idea is that you are putting yourself out there as a character. And you look different / act different / etc.


But in voice chatting your only getting audio. And you have no way of differentiating that person's voice in character from what their voice in real life is.


I mean unless they put on an accent or something.


But even still it's much harder to say - oh well they're playing a part - when all you have to go on is audio and possibly a script.


I'm not saying it's not possible. I'm just saying your asking people to go through a lot of hoops just to get to that suspension of disbelief.


And I personally would just not see the appeal.

 

[Grey]

I wouldn't say they're actually cons, but rather barriers to entry. 'You must be capable of divorcing yourself from your character to effectively employ this format' isn't exactly an indictment of the method, is it?


And when you're just voices over a Skype call, that's still a layer of removal from reality. Especially if you're putting on an accent for your character or something, and if you don't actually know this person.


Not to forget you can qualify stuff OOC, too - throw in a quick message saying 'I hope this isn't too intense; it's just appropriate for the character right now.' Hell, even say beforehand 'I think my character might pursue [x line of discussion]' or 'I think my character is gong to respond belligerently to [comment about religion], but it's not personal'.


As for romance, well, that's down to the group - in my experience people carry on the appropriate conversations and then fade to black, because there's a plot to pursue and this relationship doesn't forward it.


But I'm basing my opinions off fifteen years of roleplaying in IRL groups and sometimes over voice chat: I have seen my partner roleplay a sociopathic abyss sorcerer and laugh at my character with impressive venom and contempt; I have seen my best friend portray a drunken, enraged cultist inches from my face with barely concealed intent to do violence. I've seduced a dear friend with the appropriate fade-to-black and I've traded insults with someone I met ten minutes before the RP started.


The vast majority of people I have met in this hobby experience no difficulty keeping RP and reality separate.

 

[call me rae]

Than you my friend have lived a blessed existence. I have roleplayed in situations that the divide was a lot clearer to differentiate between player and character and still had several people over the years be unable to differentiate between my character and my own actions/thoughts/opinions/etc.


I'm not saying that it's not possible. I'm just saying I have been in too many situations where you give your partner the least bit of leeway or uncertainty and they will take that to the nth degree and concoct all kinds of drama.


So yeah to me Chat RP is like giving a toddler you don't know well a handful of candy.


Maybe that toddler will be responsible and only eat a few bites then give it back to you.


Maybe they'll eat the whole thing and be perfectly fine if a little bit hyper.


And maybe they'll turn into an unholy demon and be sick all over the place.


To paraphrase a recent movie : If there is even a once percent chance that I'm gonna deal with the hyper demon version of the toddler than I'm going to treat that as an absolute certainty. And I'm sorry that's just not my cup of tea.


Now that isn't me saying that people that can't differentiate between characters and the people that play them are any less valid a roleplayer than myself. I'm just saying I personally wouldn't want to deal with them for my own peace of mind.

 

[Grey]

Ah, so it's the classic problem of picking your group. Yeah, that's fair - the more facetime and effort you put in, the pickier you need to be with your fellow players. Bringing IC drama into OOC is kind of a hallmark of immaturity, so you really want to be sure everyone can be an adult or that the content is unlikely to foment any drama. Often best to filter players who'll do that so you don't get too many, because as you say, it doesn't invalidate them and it's not good to exclude them completely.


Especially since I think it's something you can grow out of and the experience of playing with veterans can be valuable like that.


Although sometimes you just don't have the energy, and it's not like anyone is obliged to educate.


Hell, I remember when I was young I obliviously played a self-insert with a bunch of much older roleplayers, and they just set a good example to learn from. Before it was over I was kind of ashamed of myself and resolved to do better, because they were just supportive but took no shit.