WoW: No Love for RP

In this week's RoleCraft, Jim Moreno tackles Blizzard's recent debacle with the RP-PvE realm, Wyrmrest Accord.

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Remember, modern day World of Warcraft is a "ROLLPLAYING game... emphasis on ROLL.

You know, you roll for loot, you roll to hit, you roll around on the floor laughing at Chuck Norris comments.

If you want to Roleplay, like back in the day when RPG where really RolePlaying events, might I suggest hunting out your local AD&D pen and paper group?

Honestly, I have to say that none of the MMO"RPG"s I've played so far really lend themselves to old style roleplaying like Neverwinter Nights, Planescape: Torment and other single player RPGs. I would argue that no MMO is very conducive to roleplaying. The best roleplaying experiences I've ever had have been on Neverwinter Nights persistent worlds with live DMs providing the action. Engine-generated and pre-scripted "roleplaying" opportunities really aren't the same.

MMOs are simply too limited in lending to RPGs.. you can't get into it by typing out emotes, I personally have never been able to roleplay by email even. MMOs are glorified video games. I love them and I love roleplaying but they are not one and the same.

I like WoW and I don't want it to die.

Well said, Bloodyleach. I agree 100%. I love MMOs and RPGs but they're not the same thing. Imight have to put that in my signature line. :)

Im sad to say I have absolutely ZERO doubt whatsoever that this RP server will go the same way as all the other RP servers.. inevitably ending up filled with non RP'ers who a) have zero clue whate roleplay is, b) could care less anyway and c) like the non pvp structure of the pve setup.

Its why I ended my WoW subscription some time ago and continues to enforce a statement I wholeheartedly believe is true.. namely that WoW is not partiuclarly a bad game, however the calibre of people it tends to attract and cater too.. is very questionable. Because RP'ers arent a majority over the leet speaking, five year old gankers who want to talk and play sh** we less numerous, more senisble rp'ers become a second class citizen within the game.

Which is why I am now an ardent fan of LOTRO a game whose devs continue to support and encourage roleplayers and non roleplayers alike equally and more importantly not at the expense of one group or the other.

Which is why I am now an ardent fan of LOTRO a game whose devs continue to support and encourage roleplayers and non roleplayers alike equally and more importantly not at the expense of one group or the other.

AMEN...I love LOTRO for precisely those reasons.

Nobody wanted to play with me in LotRO ='(

guitar:
Nobody wanted to play with me in LotRO ='(

what server were you on? Laurelin and Evernight both have very active and numerous roleplay communities (servers may be different if yo arent EU though). Best place to start looking and make RP contacts is the Prancing Pony in Bree, there are people roleplaying in there on the servers I mention day and night. Also check the official forums plenty of roleplay contacts and kins to be found there too.

I couldn't get into LOTRO, don't get me wrong I love the LOTR. My computer can't run it and I see no reason to upgrade it for LOTRO because: there are not enough character options, you can't play the bad guy, and you know how it ends.

I'm sorry, but when did Roleplaying mean we all had to walk around like little fairy boys and talk to each other in ye olde english?

MMORPG
Massive - Wow's pretty big
Multiplayer - Thats some damn good AI if it is.
Online - I have wireless internet, but I'm sure theres a line somewhere between here and the server, and I'm on it.
RolePlaying - I'm playing the role of a shaman, I'm not really a shaman in real life.... yet.. still working on lightning from hands, part of the shaman thing, but I suppose most of you guys are priests. lol.
Game - WoW might not be a game anymore, it might be a way of life, I'm not 100% on this one.

So unless all of you are literally lvl 80 shamans and warriors, dont tell me what I do is not RP... I just don't talk all g4y and crap. peace. (I made an account just to say this, cuz the writer of this article can't fing spell, or think for that matter)

This is a common response to Blizzard's RP policy and RP Policy enforcement. It's common for one simple reason: Nobody ever actually reads the RP policy, nor does anybody actually realize the definition of "Enforcement" in Blizzard's actions.

Enforcement (according to Blizzard):
If we become aware of a problem in the proper manner we will deal with it as the policy states. However, we do not have anybody sitting there and staring at everything going by, so we will not take action unless somebody brings it to our attention.

That's the first part. If nobody reports it, nothing will happen.

However, the "become aware of the problem in the proper manner" part is also the issue. Straight from Blizzard's RP Policy:
"If you find another player acting in a manner that contradicts the spirit of the guidelines detailed below, you must first verbally request that the offending player to discontinue his/her behavior. If the actions continue after this request, only then should you contact a Game Master (GM)."

People always skip that "you must first verbally request that the offending player to [sic] discontinue his/her behavior." part. If that action is not taken, the GM's will do nothing at all, because the reporter broke policy.

Last but not least, it's kind of like trying to bail out a sinking boat with a measuring cup. There are never immediately obvious results. One person can have a difficult time making an impact. Get a group of people informed and working properly though and it can have a HUGE impact.

Case in point: I play on Argent Dawn. Several years ago, a dedicated group started policing the policy fervently. The AD forums exploded a month later with the troublemakers griping about the results. Warnings. Repeat problem causers getting suspensions. Overall, it was highly effective.

If you really want to clean up a server, it's really player policing, GM enforcement. Some hints though:
1: Ask the person or persons to stop. Do it the instant it becomes a problem.
2: -NEVER- say "Reported!". NEVER threaten them with reporting.
3: If (when) they don't stop, write an email to the WoWGM at Blizzard spot com address detailing what server; who was involved; what "channel" they were in (Say, yell, general (in what zone), trade, etc) and where you were; the SERVER time and date of the problem; and make it clear that they were asked to stop. Send the email from the same email account that is used for your WoW account.

Don't believe this works? I had a friend with an otherwise squeaky-clean record with Blizz take a fall intentionally. Spoke to him over vent so Blizz had no record of the set-up. He intentionally told Chuck Norris jokes in Trade, I asked him to stop, and he told five more afterward. I sent in the report, and sure enough he got a warning a few days later.

That's the other important thing: The standard response is a WARNING, however Blizzard does use a discipline pyramid. Too many warnings for the same kind of offense and it escalates to a suspension and can go further.

It all works, but only if we as players make it work.

I remember rolling on an RP realm. I had me a nice duel with a rogue (being a mage, I challenged him to a battle of wits... what fun!), and then went into the city to search the Auction House. Trade chat was as bad, if not worse, than my regular realm in terms of trolling about real-life topics.

PerfectInsanity:

An increasing number of roleplayers are wise to above examples of Blizzard's seeming lack of RP fondness, and many have already left WoW as an effect.

Do you think they care about the... four or so roleplayers who have left compared to the thousands of people who subscribe every day? Don't get me wrong, I wish dearly that WoW would die, but let's face it; their business model works. And if that model doesn't include Roleplayers, they're not going to make much of an effort to keep them playing.

This has been Business 101...0101 by PerfectInsanity, a.k.a. the Cupking.

I agree with you there world of warcraft steals to many lives to gain any respect from me but they have a social networking method that spreads quickly and as you said their buissness model works.

Blizzard doesn't do anything to enforce their RP rules. I used to play on an RP server, had several characters there, and witnessed a total of 3 RPs, and participated in a total of 1 until the ratio of "people who can't spell 'Hello' " was higher than the rest of us.

The server was plagued with many of the same naming conventions, intolerants, and the same stigma against RP. Anyone I asked who hated RPers didn't even know that it was an RP server, and only rolled on it because their friends were there.

Funny, huh?

Lotro is a knockoff of WoW, always has been always will be and that is all there is to it. The only reason there will be left to go to Lotro is the fact the Turbine is closing down the rest of the games it supports, pushing you might say what few weak minded people it has to generate more funds to it's "baby".
Blizzard has never cared for RP. and the comment about 5 yo gankers? more true words were never spoken. the sad thing is is that I know of 30+year olds that act just as immature as the 5 year olds, and that is the reason i stayed with Dungeons and Dragons Online, but alas my house has been closed down and i will not give in to the bandwagon propaganda of WoW or Lotro so it is back to offline games for me

irrate:
Lotro is a knockoff of WoW, always has been always will be and that is all there is to it. The only reason there will be left to go to Lotro is the fact the Turbine is closing down the rest of the games it supports, pushing you might say what few weak minded people it has to generate more funds to it's "baby".
Blizzard has never cared for RP. and the comment about 5 yo gankers? more true words were never spoken. the sad thing is is that I know of 30+year olds that act just as immature as the 5 year olds, and that is the reason i stayed with Dungeons and Dragons Online, but alas my house has been closed down and i will not give in to the bandwagon propaganda of WoW or Lotro so it is back to offline games for me

and WoW is a knockoff of Everquest.

As for LotRO it's one of the few one's I liked, but I can't play it because I can't afford a monthly fee.

Draxe:
I'm sorry, but when did Roleplaying mean we all had to walk around like little fairy boys and talk to each other in ye olde english?

MMORPG
Massive - Wow's pretty big
Multiplayer - Thats some damn good AI if it is.
Online - I have wireless internet, but I'm sure theres a line somewhere between here and the server, and I'm on it.
RolePlaying - I'm playing the role of a shaman, I'm not really a shaman in real life.... yet.. still working on lightning from hands, part of the shaman thing, but I suppose most of you guys are priests. lol.
Game - WoW might not be a game anymore, it might be a way of life, I'm not 100% on this one.

So unless all of you are literally lvl 80 shamans and warriors, dont tell me what I do is not RP... I just don't talk all g4y and crap. peace. (I made an account just to say this, cuz the writer of this article can't fing spell, or think for that matter)

By that standard CoD4, Americas Army, Half-Life, Monster Madness, and Grand Theft Auto are all roleplaying games.
I'm not in the military, so it's a role I'm playing in a game. I'm not a scientist, another role, I'm not a woman fighting zombies, and I'm not black. WoW Basically turned into a MMOAdventure. In the fact it reacts more to adventure games then RPGs.

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Valiance:
Blizzard doesn't do anything to enforce their RP rules. I used to play on an RP server, had several characters there, and witnessed a total of 3 RPs, and participated in a total of 1 until the ratio of "people who can't spell 'Hello' " was higher than the rest of us.

The server was plagued with many of the same naming conventions, intolerants, and the same stigma against RP. Anyone I asked who hated RPers didn't even know that it was an RP server, and only rolled on it because their friends were there.

Funny, huh?

The problem is that there are FAR too many players and realms for people to police the roleplaying rules with their already strenuous job of controlling rude behavior/cheating. So they rely on community help to get it done, but since most people don't know/care about that, RP servers are that just in name :/.

Lothae:

Valiance:
Blizzard doesn't do anything to enforce their RP rules. I used to play on an RP server, had several characters there, and witnessed a total of 3 RPs, and participated in a total of 1 until the ratio of "people who can't spell 'Hello' " was higher than the rest of us.

The server was plagued with many of the same naming conventions, intolerants, and the same stigma against RP. Anyone I asked who hated RPers didn't even know that it was an RP server, and only rolled on it because their friends were there.

Funny, huh?

The problem is that there are FAR too many players and realms for people to police the roleplaying rules with their already strenuous job of controlling rude behavior/cheating. So they rely on community help to get it done, but since most people don't know/care about that, RP servers are that just in name :/.

They should have a written test before you can join one.

I remember when I played on the RP realm on WoW. Everybody on it turned into complete dicks after a while, and spazed out on you for the littlest thing

Valiance:

Lothae:

Valiance:
Blizzard doesn't do anything to enforce their RP rules. I used to play on an RP server, had several characters there, and witnessed a total of 3 RPs, and participated in a total of 1 until the ratio of "people who can't spell 'Hello' " was higher than the rest of us.

The server was plagued with many of the same naming conventions, intolerants, and the same stigma against RP. Anyone I asked who hated RPers didn't even know that it was an RP server, and only rolled on it because their friends were there.

Funny, huh?

The problem is that there are FAR too many players and realms for people to police the roleplaying rules with their already strenuous job of controlling rude behavior/cheating. So they rely on community help to get it done, but since most people don't know/care about that, RP servers are that just in name :/.

They should have a written test before you can join one.

That wouldn't solve anything, and would be very bad on Blizzards part. They'd have to devote people to reading these written tests to see if they're okay or not. Let's not forget a lot of people who RP don't spell right, atleast through my own experience.

LivemeLifefree:

That wouldn't solve anything, and would be very bad on Blizzards part. They'd have to devote people to reading these written tests to see if they're okay or not. Let's not forget a lot of people who RP don't spell right, atleast through my own experience.

I know it's completely impractical. I was kidding.

Valiance:

LivemeLifefree:

That wouldn't solve anything, and would be very bad on Blizzards part. They'd have to devote people to reading these written tests to see if they're okay or not. Let's not forget a lot of people who RP don't spell right, atleast through my own experience.

I know it's completely impractical. I was kidding.

'Kay I don't know what to expect from Escapist anymor really as one person suggested they put up a written exam for new users. They weren't even thinking of us here at WarCry or those over at Ultamite Anmie and other sister sites.

LivemeLifefree:

Valiance:

LivemeLifefree:

That wouldn't solve anything, and would be very bad on Blizzards part. They'd have to devote people to reading these written tests to see if they're okay or not. Let's not forget a lot of people who RP don't spell right, atleast through my own experience.

I know it's completely impractical. I was kidding.

'Kay I don't know what to expect from Escapist anymor really as one person suggested they put up a written exam for new users. They weren't even thinking of us here at WarCry or those over at Ultamite Anmie and other sister sites.

I don't blame you for not taking kindly to Escapists. I find it funnier that someone felt like quoting a post I made like a week ago.

Honestly, I wish Warcry was more active...Sorta why I come here, even though I have little to contribute most of the time.

But did someone really suggest that seriously? Like, what, because of this whole March Mayhem mess?

Valiance:

LivemeLifefree:

Valiance:

LivemeLifefree:

That wouldn't solve anything, and would be very bad on Blizzards part. They'd have to devote people to reading these written tests to see if they're okay or not. Let's not forget a lot of people who RP don't spell right, atleast through my own experience.

I know it's completely impractical. I was kidding.

'Kay I don't know what to expect from Escapist anymor really as one person suggested they put up a written exam for new users. They weren't even thinking of us here at WarCry or those over at Ultamite Anmie and other sister sites.

I don't blame you for not taking kindly to Escapists. I find it funnier that someone felt like quoting a post I made like a week ago.

Honestly, I wish Warcry was more active...Sorta why I come here, even though I have little to contribute most of the time.

But did someone really suggest that seriously? Like, what, because of this whole March Mayhem mess?

No, it was just a complaint they had because of people not typing correctly. Then one person suggested a total lock of users, closing registration, saying "We have enough users".

LivemeLifefree:

No, it was just a complaint they had because of people not typing correctly. Then one person suggested a total lock of users, closing registration, saying "We have enough users".

Wow.

Hell, I knew we were supposed to be elitist to a point, but that's no reason to value someone's opinion less at all.

You'd laugh, though. We have people who bitch about people not using the search button, yet they complain when someone necro's a thread that had already been done. It's funny really.

Anyway, I'm sorry to have offended you, and I'm so beyond off-topic that I won't bump this anymore.

I quit WoW cold after someone decided a character I made wasn't RP enough and reported me. I debated my position with Blizzard back and forth in a few emails that made nothing clear except that they didn't read what I wrote, and that they weren't budging. The whole idea that they can make their own pop culture references in the game, but then say that a player can report another player for doing the same thing and that they will login to your account and forcibly rename your characters is just mind-boggling. The hypocrisy of it was too much and I quit. I couldn't have fun with that hanging over my head, wondering who was going to report me for what. And I was one of about four people that I EVER saw RP on Moon Guard. I'm a lifetime LotRO subscriber, now.

altoholic:
I quit WoW cold after someone decided a character I made wasn't RP enough and reported me. I debated my position with Blizzard back and forth in a few emails that made nothing clear except that they didn't read what I wrote, and that they weren't budging. The whole idea that they can make their own pop culture references in the game, but then say that a player can report another player for doing the same thing and that they will login to your account and forcibly rename your characters is just mind-boggling. The hypocrisy of it was too much and I quit. I couldn't have fun with that hanging over my head, wondering who was going to report me for what. And I was one of about four people that I EVER saw RP on Moon Guard. I'm a lifetime LotRO subscriber, now.

I tried Lorto for a few weeks.. made it to level 20 with a loremaster.. I felt like I spent my time lobbing Molotov's.

Most people I know usually go play some other MMO for a bit, then come back once they realize that all the quirks of WoW pale in comparison to the messes you see with other games out there. Plus I'm still not over the royal screwing Turbine made on AC2 players when they shut down the game.

A few of us from the Twisting Nether server have put together a Common Role Playing Code. We've posted it up on WoWwiki:

www.wowwiki.com/Common_Role_Playing_Code_(CRPC)

Please feel free to edit this document. The idea is to create a common understanding among the role playing community. We are hoping to create an organic document that will reflect our collective structure. Savvy?

WoW players are too busy being dead inside to pretend to be someone that might have thoughts and feelings beyond "kill monster, distribute loot."

Lotro RP server users have an annoying habit of bitching about names. I couldn't be arsed with it.