Adding Drama to your RP
((The RP XP with MJ #54))
First: some ground rules. There’s a huge misconception when it comes to the D-word. Drama often gets a bad rap in the RP community because it’s usually associated with social-political issues within a guild or among your RP partners. “We’re a drama-free guild!” “I don’t have time for your drama!” “Stop being so dramatic!” See? Negative. The truth is that drama is a Greek term that describes action, particularly in fiction. It can include both good and not-so-good performances, bringing to mind the symbol for drama: the masks of comedy and tragedy.
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Think of “drama” as adding color to your RolePlay. Drama can allow you to paint a vast canvas of emotion with few words and describe emotes that, quite honestly, BioWare will never program into the game because they’re too complex. How you bring life to your character through drama is what makes your portrayal memorable. It gives you something other RPers will want to flock to. Let’s take a look at some ways to zap some life into your RP through the strategic use of drama in dialogue and exposition.
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DRAMA AND DIALOGUE
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One of the major rules of RolePlay is that you have to BE something. Happy, sad, angry, pensive, frustrated, anxious, nervous, etc. The list is miles long. If someone asks you, “How are you?” and you typically respond with a shrug and a mumbled, “Fine,” that’s fine in real life (RL). You have to remember that RolePlay is about action, excitement, adventure and — yes — drama. If you want “fine,” log out and look in a mirror. In SWTOR you’re a Jedi Knight, an Imperial Agent, a Bounty Hunter, or a combination Smuggler/Fighter Pilot. You are the adventuresome character you’ve created. You’re not “fine.” You’re awesome.
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Let’s start with this:
[Vemdin] says: “I just got back from Taris.”
[Krebble] says: “How did that go?”
[Vemdin] says: “Ok.”
[Krebble] says: “Just ok?”
[Vemdin] says: “There were rakghouls. I almost got bit. It sucked.”
[Krebble] says: “Bummer.”
[Vemdin] says: “Tell me about it.”
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Snore! Let’s break this down piece by piece and see if we can make it more dramatic. It looks like we have a couple of friends meeting up, probably for a Corellian Ale or a caf. Or, considering the use of common earthbound colloquialisms like “sucked” and “bummer,” they were probably drinking Jack and Cokes. /facepalm.
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[Vemdin] says: “I just got back from Taris.”
(Good. Vemdin has established a topic. Not too dramatic, but at least it’s a dialogue opener.)
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[.Krebble] says: “How did that go?”
(Excellent! A follow-up to encourage more dialogue. Dry, but ok as chit-chat goes.)
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[Vemdin] says: “Ok.”
(Did I already say “snore?” This is Role PLAY. Give us something MORE.)
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[Krebble] says: “Just ok?”
(That a boy, Krebbs. Make him work for it!)
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[Vemdin] says: “There were rakghouls. I almost got bit. It sucked.”
(Even if we forgive Vemdin’s player for not having any working knowledge of how terrifying an actual rakghoul attack is, this is such a blah response — and so totally out of Star Wars characterization — it stinks like the innards of a taun taun’s carcass dropped on Mimban at high noon.)
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[Krebble] says: “Bummer.”
(Oh, Krebbs, I had such high hopes for you. I’d say it looks like Krebble took a cue from Vemdin and decided “bummer” was an adequate follow-up for “sucked.” You’re right. Time to hop on your speeder bike and leave the bar.)
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[Vemdin] says: “Tell me about it.”
(No. Stop right there.)
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So, how can we fix this dialogue? Is there a way to spice it up without using exposition or emotes? Let’s take a look.
[Vemdin] says: “I just… got back from Taris.”
[Krebble] says: “Oh? How did that go?”
[Vemdin] says: “Ehh… I’d rather not talk about it, but if you really want to know… oh, man.”
[Krebble] says: “That bad, huh? Tell me.”
[Vemdin] says: “Rakghouls everywhere. We almost didn’t make it off-planet. There were swarms everywhere. Everywhere!”
[Krebble] says: “You’re lucky you made it out alive.”
[Vemdin] says: “I can’t even be sure I did. They were so /close/ I could smell their breaths.”
Let’s break this one down. We’re still not 100 percent, but this is a huge improvement over our original snore-fest.
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[Vemdin] says: “I just… got back from Taris.”
(Unlike actual spoken dialogue, you have to SHOW when you’re pausing by using an ellipse (…). This written pause almost makes us feel like Vemdin is out of breath, or at the very least reluctant about talking about Taris. Oooh, drama!)
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[Krebble] says: “Oh? How did that go?”
(All Krebble did here was add an exclamatory question. Both ask the same thing. Putting “Oh?” and “How did that go?” together gives some emphasis to his interest in Vemdin’s story.)
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[Vemdin] says: “Ehh… I’d rather not talk about it, but if you really want to know… oh, man.”
(More good use of the elipse, and Vemdin also uses a non-verbal verbalization. “Ehh” isn’t a word, it’s a sound like “Meh,” “Uhh,” or “Hm.” It breathes life into the character and his story.)
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[Krebble] says: “That bad, huh? Tell me.”
(Good job, Krebbs.)
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[Vemdin] says: “Rakghouls everywhere. We almost didn’t make it off-planet. There were swarms everywhere. Everywhere!”
(He’s really emphasizing “everywhere.” I’m guessing there were a lot of them. “Swarm” is a great noun here because it paints a picture outside the reality. Naturally, rakghouls don’t “swarm,” but everyone can visualize a swarm of bees or hornets. This paints an interesting image and creates a new thought: Swarming Rakghouls. Yikes.)
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[Krebble] says: “You’re lucky you made it out alive.”
(Yup. That’s a dramatic observation.)
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[Vemdin] says: “I can’t even be sure I did. They were so /close/ I could smell their breaths.”
(Always remember that you have other senses in addition to the ones you use most. Smell and touch are often forgotten in RP. They usually play better in exposition, but as you can see, they work in dialogue too. Also, notice the slash marks bracketing the word ‘close’? These are emphasizers. In written fiction you’d read that in italics (“They were so close I could smell their breaths”). Italics add punch by putting stress on a word or phrase. I personally like the slashes because they make it look like the word is leaning (ie. Italics), but you can also use any of these: *close*, >close>, [close], -close- or CLOSE. Just make sure your meaning is clear. All CAPS typing is generally used for shouting, yelling, screaming or simply being LOUD.
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DRAMA AND EXPOSITION
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Let’s take our example and punch it up with a little exposition and see where else we can take it. Exposition (ie. “emoting” through description by using /e instead of a canned action) is an awesome tool for bringing life to a virtual situation. (NOTE: The orange type signifies the default emote cue. You get this in game by typing /e.)
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Vemdin practically collapses on the bar. “I just… got back from Taris.”
[Krebble] says: “Oh? How did that go?” He turns to face Vemdin, almost leaning back to avoid close contact.
[Vemdin] says: “Ehh… I’d rather not talk about it,” He winces. “But if you really want to know… oh, man.”
Krebble eyes his friend suspiciously. “That bad, huh? Tell me.”
Vemdin is almost breathless as he speaks. “Rakghouls everywhere. We almost didn’t make it off-planet. There were swarms /everywhere/. Everywhere!”
[Krebble] says: “You’re lucky you made it out alive.” He takes a half step back.
Vemdin winces as if in pain. “I can’t even be sure I did. They were so /close/ I could smell their breaths.” He touches a gash torn in his greaves.
Krebble notices the gash for the first time. He rests his hand on his blaster.
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What a difference! Did you see it? Did you feel it? Let’s do the breakdown.
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Vemdin practically collapses on the bar. “I just… got back from Taris.”
(The physical action adds to the elipse, giving us an “emote” that helps to explain the pause. You can easily imagine he’s breathless.)
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[Krebble] says: “Oh? How did that go?” He turns to face Vemdin, almost leaning back to avoid close contact.
(The first hint of Krebble’s suspicion that something’s wrong without actually saying it. He leans back to avoid his friend. Notice also that he put his exposition AFTER his dialogue. That’s perfectly fine and doesn’t require “/e”.)
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[Vemdin] says: “Ehh… I’d rather not talk about it,” He winces. “But if you really want to know… oh, man.”
(Winces? Uh oh! That’s typically a sign of pain, or at the very least discomfort. We didn’t really get that in the dialogue-only version, but now it’s palpable.)
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Krebble eyes his friend suspiciously. “That bad, huh? Tell me.”
(And now he says it: I’m suspicious of what’s going on.)
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Vemdin is almost breathless as he speaks. “Rakghouls everywhere. We almost didn’t make it off-planet. There were swarms /everywhere/. Everywhere!”
(Breathless, plus the emphasis on “everywhere.” Double uh-oh.)
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[Krebble] says: “You’re lucky you made it out alive.” He takes a half step back.
(Krebb’s paranoia continues to show in his actions; in this case adding distance. They player may actually move Krebble farther away with just a simple tap of the A, S, W, or D, but you don’t really want to put emphasis on anything physical at this point. It’s all about the description and the rising drama in the air through their dialogue and exposition.)
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Vemdin winces as if in pain. “I can’t even be sure I did. They were so close I could smell their breaths.” He touches a gash torn in his greaves.
(Another wince, but this time making it clear that he could be in pain rather than just winded or breaking wind. Then, oh boy, he calls attention to something through a physical action the player couldn’t otherwise actually do. There is no /gashtouch emote.)
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Krebble notices the gash for the first time. He rests his hand on his blaster.
(No dialogue, but Krebble sets the tone for what could happen next. The drama reaches a crescendo as Krebbs fears that his friend may be infected with the rakghoul plague… and what he would do if it’s true.)
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Well, there you have it. A simple, rather blah moment of BARPing becomes the setting for a dramatic confrontation between two friends. This scene could have easily ended on a comedic note if all of Vemdin’s posturing and wincing ended with him dumping a pebble out of his shoe instead of finding a rakghoul gash in his pants.
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Keep in mind as you spice up your dialogue and exposition that too much can be a detriment to your RP. Even if you’re a rocket-fast typist, you’re going to bore (or worse, intimidate.) your RP partner by “showing off” with a novel-sized slice of grossly unnecessary fiction. The best tip I can give is this: If you have to use some kind of continuation flag (<c>, +, >>, etc.) because you’ve run out of space, you’re doing too much unnecessary typing.
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Vemdin wanders close to the bar, his shoulders slumped and his head hung low. There is a deep resonant breathing from inside the helmet as he approaches his friend, Krebble. Ah, Krebble. He hadn’t seen him in, what <c>
>> three years? No, four. He trusted his friend with his life, but there were certain things he had to hold back and he knew that. Every muscle and bone in Vemdin’s body ached as he shuffled up to the bar and collapsed on its hard duroplast su<c>
>>rface. He removed his helmet and a hiss of escaping air filled the din around the cantina. He smirked and winced, then looked at his friend. “I just…got back from Taris.” He eyed his friend, curious to know how he would res<c>
>>pond to his obvious pain.
[Krebble] says: ((Wake me when it’s my turn))
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SIDEBAR: Hey, friends of the RP XP. I wanted to take a moment to apologize before getting into this week’s topic. The past couple of weeks kind of steamrolled me with real life obligations. Upon starting the column up again, I swore I’d stick to a tight schedule with a weekly dose of RP goodness, but the godmodders of fate had other plans. That said, I’ll give you my best pouty face and come right out and say it: ((The RP XP with MJ)) may not be a weekly occurrence going forward. I’ll still TRY to have something for you every Friday, but chances are I’m going to skip a week here or there. /kneel /apologize. But don’t give up! There are ways to get more RP goodness out of me. One is to follow me on Twitter @MJswtor. The other is to write to me with your comments, questions or ideas at mjtorrp@gmail.com or swtorliferp@gmail.com. I answer ALL emails.
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(What are your experiences with drama? Comedy? Have any stories to share about a favorite RP moment? Let me know. @MJswtor on Twitter, or write to me at mjtorrp[at]gmail.com or swtorliferp[at]gmail.com. ((The RP XP with MJ)) appears exclusively on swtor-life.com …ehh… almost every Friday. If you’d like to know more about MJ, RP or getting the most out of your RolePlay, drop me a line.)
