Relationships in an RP setting
Relationships are tricky things that are fraught with pitfalls, rough spots and numerous crises, which is why cinema is so enamored of them for movies - relationships come in endless forms, from buddy pictures like the 'Lethal Weapon' series to much more intimate and romantic movies like "The Frensh Lieutenant's Woman". What I want to try and discuss (and generate a few comments from readers) is RP'ing a romantic relationship in CoX.
This kind of thing is not something I am very familiar with, and my experience is limited at the moment, but here we go. I see this as a great way to explore characters outside of the missions, it provides a very different perspective on the character and allows a different line of character growth. When RP'ed well, it can affect how situations are handled in missions, without endangering the other members of the team. This involvement also can provide others with tension and entertainment, and hopefully give them something to develop more background for their characters.
The downside, and a big one in my mind, is keeping it in perspective. The romance really does characters well, but the big pitfall is taking it personally. There has to be a level of disconnect, or things may spiral out of control and not only hurt the two involved in the in-game romance, but cause unwanted and unneeded distress in the players on the periphery of the relationship. Communication is tantamount here with all this, keep your relationship in perspective. They are, I'm finding out, a lot of fun, and they really allow some good role-play and character development, but that closeness also makes both people in it vulnerable. Make sure you both know that it is just a game and keep it that way. That doesn't mean make it shallow, what it means is have that level of disconnect so you can let it go.
This kind of thing is not something I am very familiar with, and my experience is limited at the moment, but here we go. I see this as a great way to explore characters outside of the missions, it provides a very different perspective on the character and allows a different line of character growth. When RP'ed well, it can affect how situations are handled in missions, without endangering the other members of the team. This involvement also can provide others with tension and entertainment, and hopefully give them something to develop more background for their characters.
The downside, and a big one in my mind, is keeping it in perspective. The romance really does characters well, but the big pitfall is taking it personally. There has to be a level of disconnect, or things may spiral out of control and not only hurt the two involved in the in-game romance, but cause unwanted and unneeded distress in the players on the periphery of the relationship. Communication is tantamount here with all this, keep your relationship in perspective. They are, I'm finding out, a lot of fun, and they really allow some good role-play and character development, but that closeness also makes both people in it vulnerable. Make sure you both know that it is just a game and keep it that way. That doesn't mean make it shallow, what it means is have that level of disconnect so you can let it go.
posted by JD at
12:59:00 PM
2 Comments:
Make sure you both know that it is just a game and keep it that way.
I've discussed this ad nauseum all throughout my blog so I won't repeat myself here. However this is one reason I started playing male characters. It blew up in my face when some of the women I was flirting with actually thought I was male. (And some of the men I was playing with were a little shocked, too.)
The flirting is a game, it's harmless, right? Ehhh... in order to play a character well you need to have some feeling. You can't turn it off like a switch. At least I can't. I can't log off and just walk away - why else would I be writing fiction on the side, be it for myself or others? For me, it's to find that sense of closure - then I can turn the switch off.
Frosty and Mase's relationship is perfect because I know that the person who plays Frosty isn't like that, and, obviously, a female plays Mase. Rusty and Cimbala is good too. But once I start playing female and a guy comes on to me, then says, "It's only role-playing" the bubble bursts.
Regardless, in my opinion, if you can handle the emotional roller-coaster as a virtual thing, then by all means go for it. Because, you will be tugging emotions no matter what, guaranteed.
(signed)
Queen of Angst
QFT, especially if you're a channeler and you can *feel* what the character feels.
I really enjoying developing relationships with other characters, and not just romantic relationships. For me, character development hinges, at least in part, on the relationships that character cultivates. Friends, family, acquaintences, enemies...it all adds something to the character.
Romantic relationships are interesting challenges to me because they typically involve actions or behavior that only the people in the relationship experience. So with Notion, for example, people see "playboy" for the most part. They don't see how he comforted Kit, or how he coped with being attacked, or how he talked to Masonry during his "I love E" episode. Take those moments and others, and Thad Raynes is a hell of a guy, which is why Kit's so into him (plus, as Kit says, "He's got a great CD collection and he's really good in bed.").
Another reason why I like what romance introduces to a character is you, the player, have to deal with problems that arise IC, and in some cases that means tolerating something the character (and maybe even you, personally) would NEVER tolerate if the romantic interest was anyone else on the planet. It could also mean doing things the character would never do unless it was for that romantic partner. It invites the player to really see how far a character stretches.
Romantic relationships are definitely worthwhile creative mechanisms for character explorations, but can get dicey if the players aren't on the same page.
In the same vein, you should establish what you're comfortable with RP'ing. For some people, simply typing, "[Toon A] holds [Toon B] close and strokes his/her hair," is uncomfortable.
(I'm not touching cybering with a 10-foot pole and a hazmat suit, but that's out there, too.) Sometimes it's enough to leave things for the storybooks. Sometimes it's fun to let the characters do their PDAs. Sometimes the characters need to have deeply personal discussions about each other. Sometimes they don't. It's whatever you're comfortable doing.
And keep track of yourself. Is it your character who feels this way about another character? Are you, the player, into the relationship or the other character?
For the character, the romantic relationship should be an emotional experience, but unfortunately as the player, you have to channel that. So you could find yourself deeply moved, incredibly angry, giddy, or saddened by the things that happen in the course of the character's relationship.
Like we discussed privately, my comfort zone is clearly defined for how I handle my RP romances. It hasn't stifled my ability to explore or develop my characters, and I feel these romances have contributed to my characters overall.
Finally, I found it helpful to identify what the purpose of the relationship is. If it's just because I, as a player, want my toon to have a warm body to snuggle up to at night, then there is no real goal. Is my character normally introverted? Would she open up more around a romantic partner? Has she been in bad relationships before that would impact how she would be in a new one? Is she an ice queen who melts into a puddle around the romantic partner? What kind of character would do that to her? I originally designed Carrion as a single, smart, self-sufficient, self-starting ass kicker. But then she ends up meeting a guy who brought out something else in her. Until that whole thing went kablooey for reasons we all know, it was a great experience.
So keeping in it perspective involves both players realizing that it's RP, both players identifying and recognizing personal comfort zones, and both players identifying what their individual goals are for the relationship (in the sense of degree of character exploration).
--Kit, the Romantic
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home