Role Playing (Hereafter reffered to as RP) is a way to communicate with others by use of fictional characters.
In an RP post, there are 4 parts of speech that can often be seen, but only 1 is required at a time. These parts are: RP Speech, RP Thought, RP Action, and OOC (Out Of Character). These differ from regular posts, in that speech, thought, and action here are all relative to the active RP. OOC can be found in RP posts, but it does not at all relate to the RP. This is generally used to signify that something is going on in Real Life (RL) or elsewhere, and you need to say something in regular text to notify those that are RPing with you.
To seperate these different parts, various options are available. Everyone may have their own way to do so, but here is an axample of how one of my own RP posts might go;
LabTechMK
*He walked down the corridor, looking carefully through the windows as he passed*
Man, it sure is awefully quiet around here today...
*There is a creaking sound from behind a door to his left*
Hello!? Is anyone there??
(( Sorry guys, I have to go for a minute. Chores and such. >.< ))
Notice how different each part is, and how easy it is to tell them apart. You can do this in any way you choose, but I will highlight how I have done it, that you may learn something from it as well.
Notice the first line. It is colored green. I use this color to provide action and sometimes backstory to the current situation. It is also surrounded by asteriks. This is not necessary, but it helps since some people use colored text in their full post.
The second line is italisized. In my posts, this will most often refer to thought that my character is having at the moment.
The third line is more action text, but in red this time. I often use a second color when there is more than 1 set of actions in my post, though it is not always the case. You might see Blue as well, and that is when my actions involve the powers of my character.
Line four has regular text. This should be the bulk of your post, but is dependant on the situation at hand. In the example, there is very little speech, but it is only because the character is alone, and the action text is more important to what is at hand.
Last line here has smaller text, and it is in double parenthesis. This is OOC text, and it should be made at least this different from the rest of your post so as not to confuse RP with other conversation. More often than not though, the words here are important to a degree, so it should still be legible.
Now that we have covered a basic post, let's go over a few ideas behind RPs. I have a little acronym that I came up with that I use; ADD. Not Attention Defeceit Disorder, although I am quite sure there are those of use that have that as well. In this case, it stands for Action Direction Description. Action is vital to making an RP work. The amount is based off of the kind of RP in use. Direction is another very important thing to use in your posts. Be as sure as you can that if you are interacting with a group of people, but you are focusing on a single one, that your post is written in a way that the person you are directing to knows you are speaking to them. Last but not least, we have description. While Action and Direction make an RP what it is, Description is what brings life to it all. Try to use an ample amount of descriptive words in your posts, and you just might be amazed at the results.
RPs come in all shapes in sizes. Each requiring a different amount of people, a certain way for those people to interact, and sometimes there are other requirements specific to that RP. You have Medieval, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, so on and so forth. The types are seemingly endless, but whatever the case may be, be sure that your character fits the RP in progress. Trying to use a sci-fi character in a medieval RP might earn you the boot. This brings me to another point I wish to cover; RP Profiles.
Profiles, like the RPs themselves, come in many shapes and sizes. It can be a brief description of your characters demeanor, or something in depth as a full length biography. Most often, profiles will include your characters name, age, place of origin, and likes and dislikes. In example of the GCS RP, thse also include job position, weapons, any powers and weaknesses you might have, and character backstory of unspecified length. The GCS RP is Sci-Fi, based off of G Corp and other integrated stories. While profiles are not always required, it is generally a good idea to make one anyway, as it makes it easier for others to RP with you.
That is all for now. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please post them here, and either myself or a fellow RP regular will kindly tend to it as we are able.
Forgive me if something doesn't make sense/is incomplete. I write these things at 4 in the morning.
~MK, GCS Head of Operations
