(ThyBlackMan.com) I’m not the biggest online player at all. If it’s an MMORPG, I’m likely to try it out and I tend to stick around even if most of my time is spent solo-ing. When I finally played Destiny 2, my natural reaction to avoid online was chipped away but I’m not someone who had to play online. That is until I found out about roleplaying in these online games. Needless to say, roleplay saves online games.
Streaming Roleplay
Roleplaying is basically taking control of a character in a scenario or a setting and acting out what they do and say. When applied to online gaming, there’s a lot of interaction with other characters within the established rules of the game world.
It’s the same as tabletop roleplaying, LARPing, or roleplay through message boards. However, it’s interesting when you see players streaming their roleplay sessions while discussing the other players and the scenario with the chatroom. It’s just fun to see that contrast in the streamer and the character they’re playing.
It requires some acting and voice acting ability. That can be gained through regular play but seeing someone who might have a thick New York accent deliver a pretty decent Russian accent for their character is pretty entertaining.
Plus, the situations these characters end up in—sometimes, it’s better than television. I’ve found myself tuning in to a stream and being glued to the screen for hours as a storyline unfolds. Then you have other streamers involved in their own stories all of which might be taking place at the same time on the same server.
Honestly, you just need a good microphone, time to roleplay, the willingness to play with others, and the ability to follow rules. It also helps to have either a console game that has privately owned servers or a PC that can run these games.
What Are Best Games for Roleplay?
When I first started watching this stuff, ARMA 3 was the best game for it. A streamer, roleplayer, and developer who goes by Koil on Twitch, worked on the town of Silverlake. With other players helping out with design and other structures, the roleplay community there grew significantly.
With growth came the need for certain features. ARMA 3 is an open world military shooter, this community took it and made it a world all the characters had their lives, worked, and did most of the civil jobs.
There was a mayor, a city council, a police force, store owners, barbers, plastic surgeons—all kinds of jobs. What made things interesting was the crime element in the city and how they dabbled in politics and went toe-to-toe with the police force.
Three big events showed how great the community was during this period: the fight club, the cannonball race, and the lead up to the casino opening.
Other games that have proven great for roleplay are Grand Theft Auto V and ARK: Survival Evolved. GTA V especially shines because the game still looks good in 2020 and the city is already there, developers and modders just have to put systems in place that allow for banking and such—which has been done.
Day Z, based off of ARMA 2, is alright for roleplay but the nature of game and everything being spread out and sparse often results in some dry roleplay. Fallout 76 is a game that has caught my attention for roleplay potential and a couple of people are already building a community there.
Roleplaying Is Essential for Online
Online games can get stagnant after a while and people will start clamoring for more content. Just more stuff to do in-game. Competition tends to be the major area for online but it would be cool if more developers put in servers that encouraged roleplay.
Of course, rules would have to be established and moderators to oversee everything would need to be installed but there is a growing community that could carry an online game if roleplay was encouraged either by being regularly active or being ambassadors and the best examples of the community. Not only that but people will watch a streamer play a role and not just play a character.
Online can have many dimensions to it. After several years of it being mainly competitive, we’ve got a games that are online and fun for co-op such as Destiny 2. Roleplaying—whether the action is streamed or not—needs to get its shine.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.