Emotes, Not a Window to Your Mind

[hexer]

Here's a small pointer on using emotes, the primary means of expression in RP.


Emotes are to show what other people around you hear, see, feel (physically), and smell in regards to your character.

These are some examples of typical (albeit sparse and unimaginative) emotes:

*Smiles and waves.*
or
*Stinks of cheap booze.*
or even
*Speaks in a loud, deep voice*



Emotes are not a means of telling your inner thoughts (at least not directly). A person can't hear, see, feel, or smell your thoughts. They don't belong in an emote.

These are a few examples of bad emotes:

*Thinks: 'This guy is crazy'.*
or
*Struggles with his inner demons.*
or even
*Doesn't care about anyone but himself*



If you want to express how your character feels/thinks, use descriptions of your character's facial expressions, tones of voice, body language, etc. Physical aspects people can actually hear, see, feel, and smell

Example:

*He lets out a dejected sigh, his expression one of regret and sorrow.*
or
*His eyes twinkle merrily as he grins and holds out the gifts.*
or even
*A wicked smile crosses his face, his eyes gleaming with malice.*



So, in summary, emotes aren't windows to the mind of your character. At least not directly. Emotes are only physical cues. They're what your character is doing, not what he's feeling.

[heimdall]

*thinks, "that was a good post"*

Aw...wait...damn...

*scratches at his head with a thoughtful expression, his face scrunching up as if constipated*

Heheh....better. ;D

[Aodhan the Unusual]

*remembers something similar that was posted along these lines a while back and nods*

Err... I mean....

*looks thoughtful, as if trying to remember something, then shrugs*

This also helps so that people don't accidentally metagame anything, 'cause when you slip up and post something like *thinks that Myn would make a great slave* people tend to shy away from you.

[hexer]

aodhan said:

*remembers something similar that was posted along these lines a while back and nods*

Err... I mean....

*looks thoughtful, as if trying to remember something, then shrugs*

This also helps so that people don't accidentally metagame anything, 'cause when you slip up and post something like *thinks that Myn would make a great slave* people tend to shy away from you.

*Thinks Myn looks good naked.* Mhm. *Nod nod.*

[ShadowCatJen]

hexer said:

aodhan said:

*remembers something similar that was posted along these lines a while back and nods*

Err... I mean....

*looks thoughtful, as if trying to remember something, then shrugs*

This also helps so that people don't accidentally metagame anything, 'cause when you slip up and post something like *thinks that Myn would make a great slave* people tend to shy away from you.

*Thinks Myn looks good naked.* Mhm. *Nod nod.*

*thinks Myn would make a lousy slave as she's a lousy housekeeper and only a so-so cook, also regrets showing all the horndogs the Myn pic*

Oh, eh....

*eyebrows furrow and nose wrinkles as if she's smelling something bad, then sighs and shakes her head in a regretful manner*

I hate "reverse mindreading" just about as much as I hate descriptions that tell people what my character should think of theirs. (i.e. My character is so beautiful, blah, blah, you tell her all your secrets, blah, blah, her charisma is 18, so you have to like her.)

As been said, emotes are basically what other people see your PC doing. They can't see what your PC is thinking. Had one fellow emote this once:

*wonders if he offended her in some way now that she isn't talking to him anymore, thinks it may be best to leave and be alone again*

My IC response was:

*gives a laugh at her friend's words, completely unaware of any deep inner -thoughts- people are having*

Normally not my usual tactic, but his was such an obvious goad for attention that I had to do it. When I come across a player that tends to do this I give a kind tell basically stating that no PC is going to know that just by looking at them. And as Aodhan mentioned, I also bring up metagame issues that can come with that. Some players take advantage of people who RP like that. Using what information that's emoted to their PCs advantage.

Sometimes players just are completely unaware of what damage they are doing to their own roleplay and it's best to just guide them in the right direction.

[Munroe]

And sometimes the other players don't realize you're emoting your thoughts and actually think you said something along the lines of what you just "thought."

[whitepawn01]

The best emote I ever saw was a new players half Orc emoting *is very ugly* in a conversation. I couldn't stop laughing.

[Munroe]

That, to me, is a fine emote if he's really ugly. I'm not sure how else he could make that clear. He is describing himself as an ugly half-orc. Of course, like character descriptions in-game, it really is the other players' decision if they see him as ugly, but if he wants his character to be ugly, letting his appearance out in an emote is fine by me.

The ones I hate are the *is so beautiful you can't look away* or *her beauty charms you* ones, or I suppose the opposite extreme would be along the lines of *is so ugly you want to vomit* or *his ugliness disgusts you*. Emotes that tell the viewer not only a general appearance but also how they should respond to it.

[ShadowCatJen]

whitepawn01 said:

The best emote I ever saw was a new players half Orc emoting *is very ugly* in a conversation. I couldn't stop laughing.

At least that is something people can see. Not to mention it's rather straight and to the point. Especially good if he didn't have anything in his character description. *nodsnods*

[whitepawn01]

I just thought it was funny how it was fairly randomly inserted in the middle of a conversation. The context made it feel like an action emote, I guess I didn't convey that well enough in my original. But yeah. He was. Really ugly. So a fair call, probably.

[Nim_White]

my favourite will always be the player (on another server) whose character was round a corner from me (and others there) and who emoted '*prays silently*'

[Nim_White]

Well if they do that, why type the emote? And if there is no one in line of sight, no-one should know what they are doing.......

[Quadhund/Greenhouse]

Indeed. Emoting while you are alone is a good indicator to DMs that you are trying to do something specific, even if it is praying silently. Now if the emote said "*prays to azuth for a giant bowl of ice cream because it is a really hot day*" then we got problems.

[Nim_White]

Well I see your point. Perhaps if the player had emoted something like 'kneels in silent prayer' I would not have been jarred!

[Munroe]

I usually use the *kneels and prays* emote because putting "pray" inside of any emote will cause the character to do it and it is easier than reaching for the emote wand on my quickbar. The character who typed *prays silently* may have been doing so because it triggers the animation of the character kneeling and praying.

[hexer]

mezereon said:

Well if they do that, why type the emote? And if there is no one in line of sight, no-one should know what they are doing.......

I don't see anything wrong with someone emoting praying. Throwing out an emote every once in a while is a good thing, even if you think you're alone. For all you know, there's someone hiding nearby that can see you, or maybe a DM who might pick up an interest.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with emoting when no-one is around.

[catmage]

hexer said:

mezereon said:

Well if they do that, why type the emote? And if there is no one in line of sight, no-one should know what they are doing.......

I don't see anything wrong with someone emoting praying. Throwing out an emote every once in a while is a good thing, even if you think you're alone. For all you know, there's someone hiding nearby that can see you, or maybe a DM who might pick up an interest.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with emoting when no-one is around.

Yup yup, it's something to try and do, even though it does feel a bit silly, essentially talking to no one. Been trying to do it more, since it often turns out you are performing for an audience. Darn sneaky DMs, who happen to play darn sneaky characters.

[gneuklear]

Emoting alone can be good practice, too. I think that you shouldn't be concerned with who can or cannot see you. If someone emotes outside of your line of sight, just ignore them. That's your job to do, it isn't their job to figure out if anyone can see them. That's the whole point of emoting only observable actions, isn't it? If anyone happens to be around, they'll see it. If not, they won't.

[Talus]

I've been feeling a bit more telepathic recently so I thought I would sticky this.

[grehmalkin]

*raises hand*

Sorry... ...late coming.. but on the emote

*kneels and prays*

... i do that.... it makes the tune do the action...
although I never pray silently...

*grins with stained teeth*