Sebaya Keto posted Jan 18, 12
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Agent, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, Balkus, BioWare, Blizzard, Chiss, Darth Maul, Dromund Kaas, Dungeons and Dragons, Kaemrys, Kerri Knight, Khem Val, MacButt, Mai Cash, Mishka kalrook, Obran, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Sriin Knorei, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, Talos Drelik, Tatooine, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, TOR, Vette, World of Warcraft
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The Darker Side of Life; the SWTOR-RP weekly column where we discuss the prevailing RP issues of the day and take your opinions on them. For the past several months, I've taken your suggestions on topics from a wide variety of categories. Some of them are fairly static, others like our discussion on companions in roleplay were predictions, done before the launch of The Old Republic, based on what we knew about the game at that time. In this week's article, we're going to revisit several old topics with fresh opinions, both from old members who may have read the originals when they were first published, and fresh faces who have joined us recently, all to answer one question: how has the launch of The Old Republic changed your opinion on roleplay?
Companions aren't the only thing we'll be discussing though. Server communities was another hot topic we touched on. Many players voiced their opinions on separate servers for timezones, or RP-PvP, or even keeping everyone together. Now we'll look into how things have turned out in the first month of the game. Combat solutions, the classic dice, duel, and the emote debate can never truly be settled, but it varies by game depending on how the players feel about the options a developer provides. Lastly, we'll touch on a more recent topic, being our discussion of RP hotspots and how players are using or abusing them. Join me in this very special edition of The Darker Side of Life as we take a trip back and look at how getting to play The Old Republic has changed your thoughts on roleplay topics, if at all.
Sebaya Keto posted Jan 11, 12
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Aleris Antah, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, Brekke Keto, Chiss, Devolnir, Jor Doneeta, Kerri Knight, Korriban, Racism, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Satele Shan, Skygrave, Star Wars, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, Twi'lek, WingedThing
Racism is an ugly part of the real world, but in creating a virtual world, is it necessary to create a realistic environment? Star Wars lore has shown us over the years that characters can be extremely racist, just like real people. The Galactic Empire in the original trilogy was portrayed as being extremely humanocentric, and often discriminating or outright enslaving other species across the galaxy. Likewise, the Sith Empire of The Old Republic seems to use aliens as slaves as well. Pureblood Sith on the other hand are looked up to and revered. The Republic, being the good guys, is much more cosmopolitan but no doubt non-humans also face harsher lives in the poorer areas such as the Coruscant undercity.
In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life, we'll discuss your feelings on the issue as well as seeing some examples of racism in roleplay that you've seen. Racism is a touchy subject. We'll talk about times that it has gone too far in past games, and what can be done to keep that from happening again in future roleplay. As usual, I took your responses from the Darker Side of Life thread and will use them to try and weave a narrative together. Is it possible to roleplay out racism without being offensive? Let's dive in and see what everyone had to say on this touchy topic!
Sebaya Keto posted Dec 15, 11
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Amaris, Ashaeada, Asyria, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, Batty, BioWare, DarthRussell, Elspath, IOn, Jor Doneeta, Kilarin, Mar'eyce, Rabbly, Saizek, Siethe Assai, Sith, Solon Kanet, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP Giveaway, The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Old Republic, TOR
It's been an interesting couple of weeks. First we had over a dozen of you submit your works of art and writing to us. Then the staff got together and picked five finalists. Yesterday we asked you to vote and pick your favorite. All of the works we received were nothing short of impressive, and every one of our artists and writers who worked hard on this project should be congratulated.
Unfortunately though BioWare only provided us with one signed copy of The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic to give out. You voted without knowing the artists and writers that made the five finalists. Today we reveal not only the winner, but the submissions and names of all the talented authors and artists that worked hard on this competition. Our thanks and praise go out to everyone that took the time to enter. Now without further ado, I give you our grand prize winner, drawn by Seithe Assai.
Sebaya Keto posted Dec 14, 11
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Anarchy, Atreiyu, Batty, Chikt Tristar, Consent, Cuban Missile Crisis, Douglas Adams, Google, Guides, Kennedy, Khrushchev, Lord Adraas, Maincora, metagaming, MMO, Neo, Notification, OddjobXL, OOC, PvE, PvP, Riandora, Samurai, Sareth, Star Wars Galaxies, The Darker Side of Life, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Vaiken Spacedock, World of Warcraft, Xet
How much control do you really have over your character? That is the question at the heart of the matter we'll be discussing in this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life. Consent, notification, and anarchy. Three scary sounding words we'll break down and give meaning to through hands on examples. What is the best way to roleplay? If you're looking for that answer, then these aren't the droids you're looking for.
So what does it all mean? When you're roleplaying, no one can force you to do anything with your character, right? Or do you give up a bit of that control when you step out into a wider world with other players? To be sure, there is no way we can all agree one way or the other, but that's why we have many servers, for different types of people, more then just PvE and PvP, though there is some parallel thinking going on.
Are any of you even reading this? You're playing The Old Republic aren't you? Aren't you? Google can tell me if you are. For those of you too busy grinding to read the full thing I'll cut to the chase. Compromise is essential if we're going to coexist. Ultimately, surrounding yourself with only a small group of like-minded souls will eventually fall apart. There is no right way to work together – but more wrong ways then we can count – and many of them boil down to stop being such a jerk.
Sebaya Keto posted Nov 9, 11
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Adlai, Alyxander, Anzat, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, Bielduwyn, BioWare, Catgirl, Cathar, Dragon, Dune, ERP, Extended Universe, Fallout, Hayden Christensen, Jedi, Jor Doneeta, Juhani, Knights of The Old Republic, Malcom Reynolds, Mary Sue, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Sith, Smuggler, Sriin Knorei, Star Dragon, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars The Old Republic, SWTOR-RP, Terek, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, Tieran, TOR, Twi'lek, Vampire, Warhammer 40000
In this week's edition of The Darker Side of Life, we delve into the dark side of character creation using outside lore. Making a character can be difficult. As we discussed in the Mary Sue article, it can be easy to go off the rails. You might think looking to other fantasy or Sci-Fi sources might be an easy way of getting some inspiration, but is it really the best idea?
On one hand it can be a great way to get inspiration for a character that breaks the mold of traditional Jedi and Sith, but once again we find ourselves asking the question, where do you draw the line? Inspiration is different then ripping characters directly out of another lore source. Malcom Reynolds from Firefly is a great inspiration for Smugglers, but when they start adopting all his mannerisms and using quotes he made, has it gone too far?
As if things weren't already complicated enough, Star Wars has been around for so long that legitimate writers in the Extended Universe have already cannibalized outside lore for their own books. Have you ever heard of Star Dragons in Star Wars? Would you want to RP with one in The Old Republic? We'll be diving into this, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section, but for now, read on!
Sebaya Keto posted Oct 26, 11
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Adlai, Amaranth, Atreiyu, Author: Sebaya Keto, BioWare, DSoL, Duke Nukem, EA, Electronic Arts, Emotion, Hermione Grainger, IC/OOC, Imperial, Jor Doneeta, LucasArts, Mandalorian, Mary Sue, Mishka Kalrook, MMO, role-play, Roleplay, RP, Sendra, Sith Lord, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars The Old Republic, Sven Pek, SWTOR, SWTOR-RP, The Darker Side of Life, The Old Republic, TOR, Twi'lek, Twitter, Voc'khan
Welcome back everyone to this week's The Darker Side of Life. In this edition, we will be discussing our characters and how we create and become attached to them. The two main issues here are called Mary Sue, and the IC/OOC divide. Mary Sue refers to the complexity of a character, their balance, and how much of ourselves we put into them. The IC/OOC divide is a term for how we keep ourselves as players separate from our characters, sometimes not always successfully.
When I think of Mary Sues, I like to think of Duke Nukem. He represents an unstoppable killing machine bubbling over with testosterone that is out to kick ass, get the ladies, and nothing else. When it comes down to it though, it's not much fun to be in Duke Nukem's universe if you aren't the king himself. Mary Sues tend to put other roleplayers in a similar position, since they are often all powerful or unstoppable. The question is, where do you draw the line? How much is too much?
The IC/OOC divide is an even more convoluted topic. We often put a bit of ourselves into our characters, but again, how much is too much? How do you know when you've become so attached to a character you cannot bear to see them harmed? Every roleplayer has become too attached at some point, and the question here is more how to deal with it when it happens, otherwise it can be a problem for everyone around you.
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