Here is where many RPers drop the ball because of a missed RP-friendly setting in your preferences. You’ve established the setting, you have your stance now to consider engagement and blocking. Other actions upon approaching a bar may include looking around the room, checking out the other patrons, or keeping your eyes straight ahead in an unspoken warning that you’re minding your own business. Since BARPing is the most common form of casual RP, I’ll use that as my basis for examples going forward. Obviously, these actions have to be described in your exposition using the emote command “/e”prior to describing your action.
Bar patrons, for example, may step up to the bar and rest their arms on it, or lean on it, or set their palms on it–perhaps raising a hand to flag down the tender droid. Don’t assume everyone you RP with has their shading set to max and their shadows turned on.Īs your character enters a scene, or bellies up to the bar, keep natural actions in mind. “Natural” shading caused by the shifting shadows of trees or buildings will make for great settings, but they’re also very taxing on your graphics card. NOTE: Not everyone has a computer with a top-of-the-line graphics card, and even some who do don’t run with shadows turned on. Now that you’re on the stage, set your stance and block your character. Keep general lighting in mind, whether or not the scene takes place indoors or outside, and whether or not the ambient sound of the location makes sense (the sky traffic of Coruscant, for example, or the thunder and rain of Dromund Kaas). Choose a location for the mood of your scene.
If you are the one hosting or “GMing” the scenario and you’re using one of your own characters as an NPC catalyst for the story, use your character to herd your RP “actors” into the area for optimal exposition. Make sure you know ahead of time what’s expected of the scene and position your character accordingly. If you are hosting the RP, consider the following: Will there be any action to the scenario? Will your RP group expect to move around in this location, perhaps to search for something, or to attack spawning mobs nearby? Or, is this simply a conversation piece with the area selected for mood, perhaps under a chilly mountainside on Alderaan, a dusty cave on Korriban or a landing platform on Makeb? Naturally, you can’t expect everyone in your RP group to understand the blocking technique, but you can at least establish yourself on the stage and use the technique effectively. Whether you’re just diving in to some random extraneous BARPing (Bar RP) around a cantina, or setting a scene inside a hangar, spaceport or back alley on Nar Shaddaa, there are some considerations to make based on your expectations for the story. Let’s start by examining the stage where your RP will take place. The same techniques can be applied to your RP. Establishing locations for actors to sit or stand, or setting directions for them to move, helps the cinematographer establish mood and scene (as well as focus and knowing where to point the camera).
That’s called “blocking” and it’s used regularly in TV and film.
The technique is called “blocking,” and it’s something you’re already familiar with if you’ve ever seen a movie, play or television show.ĭid you ever notice the way people stand or face, particularly on TV in comedies or live audience productions where the sets are essentially three walls with the fourth wall open to accommodate the audience and/or the camera? In the original days of stage plays, directors had their casts play directly to the audience, marking positions for them to stand, angles for them to face, and props or furniture for them to use that would establish their positions on the stage. There is a RolePlay technique that’s incredibly easy to perfect and adds countless options to your RP affectations.