Company
News
Screenshots
Recruitment
Gallery
Company
Ranks
Armor
Weapons
Guides
Rules
Roleplaying
Events
Links
Being a roleplayer is very similar to being an actor. Most people invent some kind of story or background to their character. This background leads their character to react in a given way to a given situation. As you may well know, actors call this MOTIVATION. People often place at least a small piece of this background on their character sheet bio (which can be edited throughout the course of the game).
Common backgrounds explain what drove the character to join a certain faction, or take on a certain profession. Try and come up with an original background bio if you can; examine the bio's of others to see what ideas they have come up with. Sadly, on SWG, there is an abundance of 'the Rebels killed my parents so I joined the Imps to exact revenge!!!' While this might be fitting for a few characters, it is simply not realistic to see it on EVERYONE'S bios! It has become a cliche now, and is looking very tired. I even saw one person whose bio read, 'I spend my time killing peoples parents so they will have something to write on their bios!'
So, you've got a blank character, how do you go about creating their background? Being a roleplayer can be as easy or challenging as you want it to be. If you create a character similar to your Real Life self, you will have little problem playing the character. However, if you create one that is very different to yourself, it will be dificult to not do things that would be seen as 'out of character' (in acting this is called cast-against-type, and is the mark of a good actor). When creating your character's background, why not ask yourself a few questions, like:
What planet is s/he from?
Does s/he come from a wealthy or poor family?
Does s/he have family left, parents, siblings, etc that might be influencing his/her life?
What are his/her hopes and fears?
What profession is s/he hoping to do and WHY?
How involved and informed is s/he with the Galactic Civil War?
the list goes on....
Hopefully by now you should have a rough idea of what your character is like. You could also make up an anecdote to go along with your character, but you'll probably find that enough crazy stuff will happen to you in-game, that you'll be able to tell (in a sense) 'real' anecdotes.
The good thing about roleplaying, is that your character will develop as you play him/her, much in the same way that a character in a TV show develops throughout the course of a TV series. You will end up with an immensely deep and complex character, and people will love to chat with you! As a roleplayer, you don't have to put anything on your bio at all. In fact, the best one I ever saw was on an Entertainer called L'ite, which read: 'I'm a roleplayer. If you want to know something about me, ask!'
There are a few unwritten rules which all roleplayers abide by. (well, now they're going to be written!)
1.) Don't mention out-of-character (OOC) information on spatial, group or guild chats. As well as breaking character, this could put you at risk, as you are disclosing personal details on the net. If you really must share real life info with someone else, form a private group to keep the info quiet and secret, or send /tells.
2.) Do not abbreviate sentences by shortening words or using numbers in their place. The only exceptions are 'ok' and ending '-ing' words with '-in' eg. 'I'm bringin...' You will find that by not shortening words your typing skills will actually improve!
3.) Just because you are roleplaying, do not go over the top. I have seen people being quite out of order to other players under the excuse of 'roleplaying'. Although it is realistic for characters to hold grudges against certain factions or races, it is simply not the done thing to go around insulting people you don't know. They may not be roleplayers, or may not realise you are simply 'in character'. Take this kind of anger out on the NPC's, that's what they're there for!
Actually, I think there's a few rules rolled into three basic ones there. Personally I almost NEVER disclose personal info of any kind. I just want people to take my character for who she is.
Well, I've done my best there. If you need more info on roleplaying, why not check out the SWG roleplaying forums? I'll see you in game!