Blog Fácil

When the words “roleplaying game” are mentioned, chances are Dungeons & Dragons is the first thing that comes to mind. For a sizeable chunk of the internet community, however, this is not the case.

Roleplaying has morphed into a text-based game over the years with the help of the ever-growing internet. Forums are created on a daily basis by the people who participate in this intriguing hobby, while hundreds–perhaps thousands–of members from around the world and from all walks of life join up to play out some fictional character's life. But what are forum-based RPG's and how exactly do they work?

A good definition for this type of roleplaying is “collaborative writing.” Members of the forum will create their own characters that somehow fit into the world that the forum is based upon. For instance, a forum based around the supernatural may allow members to act as vampires, werewolves, or witches. Once a member has created their character–usually with an in-depth, biographical application–the forum's administrator will accept it, and they can begin to post.

Posting around the forum is where the real fun begins. Unlike the majority of forums on the web, RPG forums often only have a small area for general chat between members; most of the boards will be dedicated to the setting of the forum. For example, an RPG might take place in a fictional city named Chocoville, and the boards will bear the titles of important places in the town: Chocoville Shopping Center, Chocoville Park, Chocoville High School, and so on. A member will then choose one of these areas and post a thread. This thread, instead of acting as a discussion, as on most forums, will be a detailed narration of that member's character's actions in that specific area of the town. In response, a second member will post their character's reaction to the first, and this back-and-forth will continue until they have finished the plot they wished to play out. By the end, the thread can be read like a short story that shifts focus from one character to another repeatedly.

RPG posts can range from one single line, to ten or more meaty paragraphs in size; it all depends upon a member's personal preference and writing ability. They are commonly written in third-person point of view and often in past tense, much like most novels. A single post will only concentrate on the thoughts, action, and dialogue of one character, and it is generally frowned upon to write another member's character's reaction without their permission.

Below is an example of something one might see when reading an RPG thread:

Post 1: Johnny was tired; his alarm had gone off an hour earlier that morning, and he had gotten only three hours of sleep that night. With a sigh escaping his lips, he lifelessly fell onto the couch in his living room and reached for the remote. “I hope there's something on TV,” he said as he began to flip through the channels.

Post 2: “Nothing good's on,” declared Sarah as she entered the room, “I already went through every channel earlier.” The brunette glanced over at the TV and shook her head at one of the shows she saw whiz by. I sure hope he doesn't decide to watch that, she thought.

Post 3: “Yeah, well, I'll find something!” The teen boy was more than determined to find an interesting show or movie to watch.

Etc. This would continue until they finish the “scene.”

In short, forum-based roleplaying is much like writing a novel, except each character is written by a different person. It's an amazing hobby for those who enjoy reading and writing, and it can surely help develop one's creative writing skills.

Sources: Personal Experience

Forum Discussions