For me, the hardest aspect to master in FK has been, and remains, staying in character as much as possible. When I first arrived, I didn't even appreciate this as a goal; now I try to do it, but still revert to OOC far more often than I would really need to, if I gave a situation a little more creative thought. FK is my first MUD, so I've been learning every aspect of MUD mechanics as part my being here. I think people in the same boat experience this as a greater challenge than those who are veterans of other MUDs...but it's still a challenge, so I thought it might make a good discussion topic.
I recall that as a wet-behind-the ears warrior in the market square, I appreciated no players more than those that helped me master commands. IGNITE, GET ALL.<THING>, WEAR <THING> AROUND, COMMANDS, SKILLS, SMOTE 'S brow wrinkles, and the like were just riveting revelations to me. It was frustrating to be a DnD veteran, and want to tell the DM I wanted to do x or y, but not knowing how to "code" it. I sometimes grew frustrated with those who tried to keep their counsel purely IC, especially when I didn't "get it": I felt like they were playing hard to get, especially when I couldn't figure out how to translate their IC hints into workable commands. There I was, scanning through the help files, trying this command and that, and they kept babbling and smoting, like RP was more important than my code question.
They were modeling a good example, but I just really wanted to know how to get my (*#& plain longsword out of its sheath! Anyway, I mention this because I think it underlies some of my resistance in this area. I'm still quick to jump to OOC when helping players newer than myself, especially when they are having trouble with code issues. But I'm coming to appreciate the disruption that more seasoned players experience when someone jumps to OOC in the middle of an RP, and I'm trying to reform, at least when around others with similar levels of in-game experience as myself!So, in the interest of sharing my experience (and in some cases my shame), here are a few concrete examples of what I mean:
Example 1: On many occasions, I share a code revelation very explicitly, in what I tell myself is an IC manner...something like
Raona notes Baldur's frustration, and explains "You have to SEARCH for it, lad, it's not sticking out in plain sight."
The all-caps = command thing was something I fell in love with as the aforementioned MUD newbie. But it's really pounding on the tack with a sledgehammer, in many cases! In this case, my fellow players were not newbs, so I could certainly have been more subtle. Just removing the caps would have been an improvement. Perhaps better still would have been a smote more precisely stating what Raona did, rather than telling someone else what to do. In the case of SEARCH WALL, perhaps:
Raona does a double-take as her search of the wall is rudely interrupted by her finger getting caught in a small hole.
Or, supposing the command was just SEARCH,
Raona does a double-take as her general search is rudely interrupted by her finger getting caught in a small hole on the north wall.
Most PC's will try variations on the suggested theme, command-wise, and come up with the code on their own. Yes, it's frustrating and sometimes embarrassing for the last one in a group, the one who hasn't gotten it yet...but maybe then an OTELL is OK...the others have had a chance to come up with it more on their own, and you are still in time to rescue this last soul from the frustration and embarassment of having everyone watch as they try in vain to get it to work themselves.
Example 2: Recently, a group I was in had been pounding it's collective head against one of Dalvyn's puzzles [which I, for one, adore, as devious as they sometimes are!]. We had reached what we thought was the eureka moment, having installed a control in a device, and were rubbing our figurative (and perhaps ICly literal) hands with glee at the prospect of finally operating it. Problem was, we tried a lot of command strings, and none of them had worked. Finally, I chanced upon simply using DOWN, all by itself, and it worked. Since I didn't think we wanted everyone to fiddle with the device until we had all come to the same revelation, but because I always feel frustrated when I don't understand what just happened, I O-blurted out
OSAY Just said DOWN!
My logic being that everyone would want to know how it was done, but that it wouldn't be IC for everyone to keep at messing with the device until they got it themselves. A gentle scolding from a veteran, though, and a little more thought, and I realized I could have, and should have, tried to give this information ICly. A workable IC explanation might have been
Raona jumps with a start, observing "My! It seems to respond to the mere suggestion of which direction one wishes to move, rather than any more explicit physical manipulation!"
That way I wouldn't have ruined the IC moment with an OOC blurt.
Example 3: This one is quite embarrassing, but perhaps underscores that you really haven't mastered "keepin' it on the IC" until you can do so under pressure and in a panic! Before I learned of the perils the hard way, I developed a habit of "cleaning up" dead foes by cremating them, even when traveling with others. I got so I did it as a matter of routine after a fight. After all, my own God was keen on that, and Raona's no small devotee of the teachings of the Church of Death. Problem is, after one particularly nasty (and rushed, because we were trying to rescue friends) combat, I did my usual enemy torching and COOKed not one, but both corpses of those we were sent to rescue! Aaaaa!
I immediately went OOC, apologizing to the players, weeping for IMMly aid on ASK...yeah, the usual. I was panicked, and felt terrible. It also seemed utterly OOC for Raona to torch the corpses of people she was on a rescue mission for, so I was telling myself that the OOC damage had already been done. But no! Had I thought about it, there would have been a good IC way to deal with even this tragedy. We had been battling through kobolds, and they were using traps and magic aplenty. So (had I been able to keep my cool, and think about it...perhaps a lot to ask in this instance), I could have SMOTEdRaona piles the kobold corpses in a pyre and sets them alight, bowing her head as they burn.
Raona leaps into the air as a vial of oil on one of the corpses catches fire, then quickly bursts, shooting flame everywhere. It is followed by another, and another, and the room is quickly engulfed in flames.
Raona dives to try to retrieve the bodies of *** and ***, but it is too late. They are already consumed by fire.
Raona kneels, ashen-faced, and beseeches her Lord for forgiveness.
Then maybe a PRAY GODS to see if anyone was online to make right of the mess, or an OOC apology to everyone and a discussion of what to do. But even in the worst of situations, I'm coming to appreciate, you should try to roll with IC...and with practice, you can often pull it off!
I'd love to hear some of your own examples...and also any thoughts you might have on at what point we should try to wean new players off of OOC completely...if ever, or from the get-go!
