"Advanced" use of virtual worlds? (Re: [MUD-Dev] MMORPGs & MUDs)

[Miroslav Silovic]

>From Freeman, Jeff:

> However, self-labeled Role-Players, from what I have seen, tend to
> reject definitions that broad.  If you OOC, ever, then you aren't
> roleplaying, even if you refer to your avatar in the 1st person.
> Roleplaying means, from that perspective, never breaking
> character.  Or maybe it's never breaking fiction, since being
> yourself means you cannot break character.

> But if you don't OOC, then we're not interacting with on a
> player-to-player level, I'm interacting with your character, or
> not at all.

> So, I'll revise that original statement: Not ever breaking-fiction
> in an MMO means denying yourself a great wealth of interaction
> with other people.

This definition is just plain wrong, though. How about this one:

    You are roleplaying if you clearly delineate IC and OOC interactions.

Real roleplayers usually only communicate OOCly using the proper
channels (usually chat lines and OOC mail/bbs). This doesn't
diminish their communication with other players on any level I can
imagine.

The 'no OOC communication' definition is wrong because it's
impossible to roleplay without certain level of OOC communication
(just go to, say, Threshold and... try to roleplay. Bletch.). I
think there was a discussion on immersion vs roleplaying on this
list - basically, the two are not the same thing; immersive play is
not necessarily roleplaying, nor is roleplaying necessarily
immersive.

    Miro
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