The internet roleplayer.
...ok, cut the melodramatic music and move on. This isn't exactly a documentary. In any case, I think my first experience with online role-playing is different from most for a few reasons not the least of which is that it was Ultima Online. I had heard about that game when it first came out but had really had no money to buy it, let alone pay the monthly fee [with my grades as borderline as they were my parents weren't buying me books to read let alone games to play]. When I came to college I had a group of friends I played games like StarCraft with in the Honors College computer lab, and it was late into the second half of my freshman year that Ultima Online came out with the 'Second Age' expansion.
I bought it, played it, and liked it. I wasn't exactly roleplaying, but it was incredibly interesting to be able to interact with a fantasy setting rather than have to read about one. My first character was a short-lived theif that died alot under the swords of offended citizens and automated gaurdsmen. later, with some friends and a stranger who I began to talk to one night and don't think I saw again, I was guided through the process of making a real character. The guy was also kind enough to outfit me with a decent outfit and weapon; thus was born Mea Culpa. From shortly after I began using him until, well, this very day [my girlfriend's mother plays the game and I gave her my account after I quit...she said she hasn't had the heart to delete a three-skill Grand master character] he was the toughest of my groups characters and usually led the way when there was trouble.
It was while playing UO that I began to visit the forums at Stratics. At first I was just another face in the crowd, but after a while I thought it'd be pretty funny to come up with a consistant name to go with my many postings and to make the name a unique spin on the other handles present. I took an animal and an adjective ['Strong Horse', 'Snake', 'Black Panther' were all names of people around when I did this] and came up with Crazy Fish, a "new character who was replacing a multi-GM character I accidentally deleted." In any case, I spent so much time over that summer playing UO and talking in that forum that I quickly became a regular and [when I actually made a Crazy Fish character for one of the servers] began to be recognized in-game by name alone. By the time sophomore year started I wasn't really playing as much, and after a bit I had already developed a new past-time.
I was roleplaying.
So the time of UO passed, and I was LARPing. The only problem with the LARP was that we only had it once or twice a month, and far as hobbies go that's really not enough for me. So, I began to look for places to roleplay online. I tried a few MOOs [and the variations...most of the links I tried didn't work, and the one or two I had to apply to in order to even try to go to never got back to me. Anyone else have a similar problem?], a few websites, and even the WebRPG program. None of them really worked for me though...and so I ended up trying somewhere I'd almost forgotten about. I had gone there once or twice when goofing around with some friends in the computer lab but hadn't really thought about it because it had seemed so wierd to me at the time.
The Vampire Court, in Chathouse's East Wing. I went into the experience not knowing very much about what exactly I was getting myself into, so in order to better acclimate I figured I'd start with a mortal character. His name was Ike Crockett, and he was a former adventuring type that'd had alot of bad luck as far as the supernatural was concerned, but not enough to actually kill him; for those that this will anything to think a more laid back, less mystical, American John Constantine with a big sidearm. He even ran a small collectibles and antiques shop when he had the time.
Anyway, after a few months I finally got to know more people and found that while the majority of the place was V:tM there were still alot of freestyle players around [I had found out by that point that the Court had originally and for sometime been all freestylers]. I also, in my opinion, got pretty good at playing the game and knowing the rules. There was the board where people would post stories detailing the "out of Court" action of their characters as well as alot of general short-stories, out of character discussions and sometimes entire story-lines. This was a great place for me to practice writing in general, and it was just alot of fun to get to know people.
Hell, one of my frist characters even has his own, rarely used...look at the date of the last entry, OpenDiary. Yes, James was one of my more "serious yet not" characters. Adam Dani, my first vampire character, was an irishman with an eye for small lies and lots of fun...he lasted surprisingly long in an environment like the Court.
Now, some of you may be asking "What is this freestyling? Is this what happens when my character pulls some mad-skillz-demonstratin' skateboarding moves?" to which I can only reply; depending on the type of character, this is exactly what I mean. You see, technically freestyling is roleplaying without dice or any real rules...it's theoretically just the player and an deep understanding of their character's personality and capabilities.
In actuality it, more often than not [there are a few notable] exceptions, was someone going around saying that their character could do this and that. Combat with these people was usually a trial for me because most of the time I was in the Court I didn't do alot of it and it was trial whenever a character of mine fought, but also because you could have your character try to do something to them and they would either: A) Say that they dodged, B)They "stumble back in pain, and then..." ignore the damage, or C)Whip out some made-up and undefined power that would save them.
This was very annoying, especially because with some of these people the number of actions you could take a "turn" basically boiled down to how many actions they could type in before you did yours; infuriating when you're putting together rolls and copying and pasting them and...well they're not.
But, some people have asked time and again, when playing online how can you even trust rolls? Well, most of the time you really can't. I'll be honest, most of the time all rolls posted do is give the reassurance that you're playing by the same rules and the hope that they might [and this is more likely if you actually know them] be telling the truth. There is, however, at least one place that has helped with this problem in recent times; the White-Wolf online dice roller. They have provided a great service with this thing, as any re-rolls can be caught and all rolls can be seen in order.
Anyway, roleplaying online, from what I've experienced, is alot more work than roleplaying with a table-top group if you want to get the same kind of experience. Any coherent storyline has to be agreed upon [or at least generally outlined] ahead of time in no-ST sections like the majority of the Court [although there are Chronicles that take place alongside the Court's continuity, such as Metropolis]. In things like Play By E-Mails [PBEMs] things are even more difficult to work our properly, although I've heard of alot of good sessions that are done this way.
Then there are the ST-run, chat-based chronicles that seem to do very well with the right group and the right Storyteller; the biggest problem I've heard about these is the compatability of the chat program used for all palyers, and getting everyone together for a certain time. A few of these are being run in the White-Wolf unmoderated chats, found on their site, and they've also got the gigantic New Bremen totally moderated chats under their 'Interactive' section. New Bremen is pretty well run, if a bit restrictive sometimes, and I really wish I'd had more time for it.
So, there it is pretty much. Alot of people will tell you that online gaming isn't worth it, and others will tell you that I'm wrong about this or that aspect, but in general what I've said here will hold true; it's a possibly fun and rewarding experience, and at the very least you can meet new people. I know that some people, for instance, don't even have the option of a local gaming group [at least not one that they can find] and so are either relegated to online gaming or no gaming at all. I've met more than my share of people like that, or people like myself who can't get enough TT action where they are to satisfy their entertainment factor.
Sadly I've gotten more responsible over time, and last summer had to quit a rather stifling PBEM but still fun player-driven chronicle set in the fictional city of Meridian. These days I hardly roleplay online at all, except with people on my chat lists and then only sometimes. I guess I miss it, and I likely would have started up again this summer but I'm going to be away from a computer for a whole month so...
Well that wouldn't be fun for anyone, now would it. Hehehe, but maybe when I get back hmm?
In any case, I hope this little rant and the links provided help those interested in the subject rather than bore them, and I look forward to writing again soon.