Begeren Colony: Putting the RP back in the MMORPG

Hello fellow swtor players!

To start, my browser won't let me make a post that isn't bold and I apologize. Not sure why...

(This thread has been posted on multiple gaming sites. It’s not quite a guild recruitment thread, as there is of now no guild to speak of, which is why I have not posted it in the guild recruitment forum. If it has to be moved, I apologize in advance. Be warned, this is for roleplayers. If you think roleplaying is beneath you, move along to the next thread )

To begin, I’ve recently moved from the east coast to the west coast and I’m no longer able to play with my old guild, as their ops and group playtimes no longer mesh with my new work schedule and the 3-hour time difference. Despite having several characters on east coast servers, I’ve had to start fresh on the west coast. Previously, I was on PVE servers, but decided this time around to roll on an RP server, as I’m a huge fan of roleplaying in MMOs. My experiences on Begeren Colony, so far however, have not been ideal.

I’m a seasoned role player, having been in several roleplaying guilds across several games, remembering Star Wars Galaxies and Final Fantasy XI the fondest. Since joining Begeren Colony, I’ve been a part of 2 “roleplaying guilds.” To me, these “roleplaying” guilds are no closer to roleplaying than any non-RP guild I’ve ever been a part of. Having a half-hour “event” on Tython once a week is not my idea of roleplaying. I may have simply chosen poor guilds and there may exist several true RPing guilds, but I have yet to find one and I refuse to join a guild that spams recruitment messages in general on Coruscant and the starter worlds. I’d like to explain how I envision roleplaying in an MMO, based on the best of my experiences:

In character: to me, roleplaying is about being in character. Not 24/7, mind you, but during the majority of your play time (when you're with fellow RPers, of course).

General chat: general chat is for just that: general chat. I’ve known people who RP in general, but I think that's often a waste, especially in a game where general chat on most worlds resembles the horrors of Barrens’ chat. Talk about football, Chuck Norris, your heroics LFG - what have you. Its a general chat.

Guild chat: Guild chat is about roleplaying. It can be great fun to meet in a specific cantina, at the Jedi temple, or aboard your starship, but to me, the best roleplaying takes place in guild chat. SWG was great to roleplay, as you had chat bubbles. TOR, not so lucky. But my Final Fantasy linkshell didn’t have chat bubbles, yet we had some of the best role playing experiences of my gaming career. You have to use your imagination, here, which shouldn’t be a problem if your a true role player - especially if you have roleplayed in chat rooms, MUDs, or around a table behind thick books and character sheets. As such, I firmly believe that it is more than possible to remain in character within a text-based chat that only you and your fellow guildies can see.

This doesn’t mean you have to ‘pretend’ you’re all using communicators nor does it mean you have to ‘pretend’ you’re all in the same room. By all means, create your own stories, locations, and characters! The general thing to take away from this is the simple fact that you can remain in character within a party, operation, or guild chat. Need to say something out of character? Follow your guild’s ruleset: ((blah blah blah)), (ooc: blah blah blah), or whatever specifics your guild has come up with.

So what is the point of this long-winded post? Well, I think its time a guild like this existed, and I’d like to form one. How am I qualified? Let me tell you: I’ve been a subscriber since early access, I was a beta tester for 6 months prior to swtor’s December launch, I have multiple level 50’s decked out in - at minimum - Rakata gear (I haven't taken them through RotHC yet), I have two degrees in game development, and I, myself, am a professional (employed) game designer. I’ve also been a roleplayer in multiple tabletop RPGs, MMORPGs, and text based roleplaying forums and/or “chat rooms.”

Now I could simply create a guild with 3 other random players and go from there, or I could do it how I consider to be the “right way,” as I'm completely opposed to spamming general and/or accepting anyone and everyone who shows the slightest bit of interest. I don’t want to rush this, either. To do all of this, I’m going to need help. First, I’ll need officers, or co-founders, if you will. We’ll need a name, of course, along with a website, which I can handle (as I have a degree in interactive design, as well).

There will be requirements and rules to follow, and I’ll be drafting a “constitution” of sorts, which I’ll be open to other founders helping to craft. For now, these members will need to be subscribers. F2P players are more than welcome to join, when the time comes, but my founders/council/what-have-you will need to be made up of dedicated subscribers. I won't be requiring a specific level, as I myself am fairly low (considering I’ve only been on the server for a week). While I’d prefer players who know their stuff, if you roleplay, and you roleplay following the soon-to-be drafted guidelines, you’re more than welcome to help out and roleplay. Ops teams will happen at some point, but the major chunk of attention (at first) will be towards roleplaying.

So to end this, if you’re interested in helping found what I hope will become an amazing guild, please let me know. Reply to this thread, send me a PM, or - especially if you have questions - contact me through google chat. Through that, I can be reached at [email protected].

I’m looking forward to hearing from any and all of you,

-Schnuffles