Roleplaying can be a fun experience on Animal Jam - you just make a character and follow the plotline as it goes along depending on whatever book series or movie or game it's based off of. However, it can get a little hectic sometimes, especially if you're roleplaying with other Jammers on Animal Jam. Certain problems can rise when roleplaying - others might not take you seriously, or they may think you're being unfair. However, there are ways to get better at roleplaying on Animal Jam - read the steps below to find out how.
Steps
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1See how others act when you're roleplaying in front of or with them. Do they seem to not take you seriously? Do they seem to correct you every time you make a mistake more than others? Do they seem to think you're being unfair every time you roleplay with them? Seeing how others act can help you decide what you need to get better at while you're roleplaying. Once you discover what it is that makes others have a certain negative feeling about the way you roleplay, you can then try to find out what it is you're doing that is causing this, and how you can solve it. However, if you normally roleplay by yourself, you may not need to do this.
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2Find out what it is that you're doing that may be causing problems while roleplaying.
- If you are roleplaying with other Jammers and you're doing something wrong, they'll probably tell you. For example, one may say, "You are rushing the plot," if you are getting a little carried away. If you're not sure how you are performing a certain mistake, ask them. For example, if you've been powerplaying and you haven't realized this (unless you're doing it on purpose), ask them and they'll tell you what you're doing or saying in the roleplay that could be considered powerplaying (e.g. you may have been rushing during a battle and you may have "killed" someone within, say, just the first 2 minutes).
- Look back to see what you did or said that may have been considered the mistake. If you've performed a certain mistake many times and every time the other Jammers have called you out on it, look back and see what you did or said. If it really was wrong, try to avoid doing it in the future.
- For example, you may have powerplayed without realizing it. Obvious powerplaying would be saying something such as, ":kills the enemy:"or "moves from every attack and ends her". Powerplaying that wouldn't be obvious would be saying something such as, ":with one blow, strikes the enemy's neck, killing him:". It would be reasonable in a roleplay to kill an enemy with only a blow to the neck, but you'd have to get the other person's permission whether they are okay with you killing their character or not (they could then create a new character), and it's better to patiently go along with the roleplay before killing another character within the first, e.g., 3 minutes of the battle.
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3Monitor yourself while roleplaying. This can help you keep an eye on what you're doing wrong and what you can get better at. If you're about to say or do something that you can at least guess wouldn't be a good thing for the roleplay, avoid saying it. For example, you may be rushing the plot. Before you do something that will move the plot forward, see if everyone else is on track and be patient until they're ready to move on as well.
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4Monitor the other Jammers that are roleplaying with you. By doing this, you can see the types of techniques they use and use them as well to get better. You can also see how they avoid making mistakes while roleplaying and you can follow along with that as well.
- For example, if you're having trouble with getting people to take you seriously while roleplaying, look at the ways other people are roleplaying and try to see what they may be doing that makes people able to take them seriously. E.g. they may be using proper grammar and spelling, as doing otherwise may make you seem inexperienced and not into the roleplay. Or they may be keeping their posts organized, e.g. using separators (such as colons : , certain letters ZZ , etc.). Use these techniques as well to get better at roleplaying and to avoid making mistakes.
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5Know what type of roleplay it's going to be. Some examples of roleplays could be a Harry Potter roleplay, a Warrior Cats roleplay, a Wings of Fire roleplay, or a simple roleplay, such as a family or school roleplay. You don't want to get mixed up with something else.
- Knowing what kind of roleplay you're going to do is important, especially if it's based off of a series, game, movie, etc. Then you'll know what components should be included in the roleplay based off of the same components in wherever the roleplay was thought of from. For example, if you were roleplaying Warrior Cats, you'd know about the Clans living in their own territories, and you'd include that in your roleplay.
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6Become experienced with whatever the roleplay is based off of and what it is about. Before roleplaying, make sure you know everything about what the roleplay will be about. If a roleplay is based off of Warrior Cats but you've never read the series, it's probably not the best kind of roleplay for you. If you're still in the process of understanding the source of the roleplay, ask whoever you're roleplaying with for a summary of the book series, movie, game, etc. the roleplay is from.
- Read the book series, watch the movies, play the game, etc. to find out what you can about what the roleplay is about and the thing it is based off of so that you know what will be expected of you when you do join the roleplay.
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7Learn all of the components of where the roleplay was derived from. This is important because the same components will be included in the roleplay itself.
- For example, if you were in a roleplay based off of the Wings of Fire book series, you'd know one of the components of the series would be that there are 7 dragon tribes that live on the continent of Phyrria. Therefore, in the roleplay, you'd be a dragon from one of the 7 dragon tribes. Another component in the series is special abilities, including rare ones (such as firescales or animus magic). Perhaps your character would have one of those two special abilities.
- Knowing the components in a series can also help you introduce new ones that are based off the old ones. For example, if you were in a Wings of Fire roleplay, you could introduce a new special ability that your dragon character has, such as icescales. This ability would be like firescales, except it freezes anything it touches. Or, if you were roleplaying Warrior Cats, you could create a new Clan, along with new characters.
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8Create a character . Make sure your character looks how a character in a game, book, or movie you're roleplaying about would look like. Use certain items to enhance your look and make sure you choose the correct colors and animals as well.
- Pick the right animal. This depends on whatever you're roleplaying. Some examples could be:
- For example, if you're roleplaying Warrior Cats, good animals to use would be wolves, cougars, sabertooths, or direwolves for the rank of warriors in a Clan. Lynxes would be good for apprentices, and bunnies would be good for kits.
- If you were roleplaying as a human, an arctic wolf might be the best choice - just choose any skin color for the main color of the arctic wolf. You could also use foxes. If you're a non member, use wolves or bunnies.
- If you were roleplaying as a Wings of Fire dragon, crocodiles would be good - then you could just add the wings item to it. However, even other land animals could work, as long as you choose the right colors for it and use the right clothing items (especially wings from the shop).
- These are only some examples. Use whatever animals you think would match the appearance of characters in the canon universe as close as possible.
- Choose the right colors and patterns. This also depends on whatever the roleplay is based off of.
- For example, if you were roleplaying as a Warrior cat, you should choose natural colors like brown, cream, gray, etc., and you should choose natural looking patterns like leaves, stripes, swirls, lightning etc. rather than something like the heart pattern or the star pattern. In some roleplays like warrior cats, you may get hurt. Use red splotches or red lightning to imply this.
- If you were roleplaying as a human (from e.g. Harry Potter), you'd use skin color and maybe other natural colors like brown or black for the underfur, and then add clothing items to make it look more like a human. Patterns might not be necessary, but you could choose one if you want to. You can also make the main fur color (or the underfur, like for the arctic wolf) black or something else to represent the human's hair color. Then have any skin color for the underfur and/pattern.
- If you were roleplaying as a dragon from Wings of Fire, you could have more choices of colors since not every dragon in the series is a natural color. Pretty much any pattern would be good to use, except for the heart pattern.
- These are simply examples. Depending on what your characters would look like in the canon universe of what the roleplay is based off of, choose the best colors for your character. The same also goes for patterns.
- Use the right clothing. Certain clothing items also enhance how your character looks.
- If you were roleplaying as a wizard or witch from Harry Potter, use witch/wizard related items and put them on your animal, such as spell books, wizard/witch hats, any gown/robe-like back item or blanket, scarves, elf bracelets, etc. If roleplaying as another human, put on clothing items like any type of shirts, hats, etc.
- If you were roleplaying as a Warrior Cat, use items like bows and arrows, worn blankets, fox hats, pirate swords, etc.
- If you were roleplaying as a Wings of Fire dragon, make an outfit with items that includes wings (unless the animal you chose already has visible wings). Other items you could use would be epic dragon masks, elf bracelets or any other foot armor, stegosaurus tails or bonetails, etc.
- These are simply examples. Depending on what your characters would look like in the canon universe of what the roleplay is based off of, choose the best clothing items for your character.
- Give your character other certain traits depending on what it's based off of. For example, if the book series, movie, etc. has characters that can have powers, give your character powers as well if you'd like. If what it's based off of normally has characters with a certain kind of attitude, give your character that attitude or a similar kind as well if you'd like. Do whatever you want with your character, as long as it isn't overpowered or anything that would be inconvenient for you and the others you are roleplaying with.
- Don't add things to your character that would make it drastically different than how characters would be in what it's based off of. For example, if you were roleplaying as a dragon from Wings of Fire, don't make it something like a lizard-dragon hybrid (but you could give your dragon the ability to turn into a specific animal for a certain period of time).
- Avoid being overpowered. Don't give your character all the possible powers there can be in the series, or at least not so many. It wouldn't be fair toward the other roleplayers. If your character has few powers, don't make them extremely strong. For example, anyone who touches your character dies wouldn't be such a great power to have.
- Pick the right animal. This depends on whatever you're roleplaying. Some examples could be:
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9Don't powerplay while roleplaying. Similar to being overpowered, except you don't need to be overpowered to powerplay. Powerplaying is when you unfairly dodge every or too many attacks or when you kill someone far too quickly. An example of powerplaying would be: ":dodges every single attack and then pushes enemy off the cliff, ending him:".
- Powerplaying also includes the use of abbreviations such as nn , nm , and nd . These stand for "no nothing", "no miss", and "no dodge". For example, powerplaying while using abbreviations may be, ":swipes sword through his neck nm nn nd:". Avoid using these abbreviations - it makes you far too overpowered being able to dodge everything and being able to make every one of your attacks count, and it makes the roleplay less enjoyable for the others.
- If the other Jammer allows you to kill their character, then you can do so if it's part of the plotline. However, don't do it so quickly (e.g. ":kills nn:"). Go along with the battle until enough time has passed and then you can finish them off in the roleplay (if they have allowed you to). The other Jammer can then create a new character.
- You can dodge attacks, but don't do it so often. If you were to dodge an attack, an acceptable thing to say would be, ":twists to the side and ducks under him, avoiding his attack:" since this would make more sense instead of blatantly saying ":dodges:".
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10Vary your words while you roleplay. Avoid saying obvious things. It may make you seem inexperienced and other Jammers may not take you seriously. For example, when you arrive to Sarepia Forest, don't say, ":is cat:" or ":is a dragon:". Instead, describe yourself. You can say, for example, ":the lithe, gray furred wolf prowled through the forest floor stealthily:". Vary your wording to make what you say more descriptive and to avoid sounding repetitive. Don't go too far, however. You can say, ":the azure dragon dived into the sparkling ocean swift as a bird:". Don't say something like, ":the large, dark gray, masculine, muscular, benevolent, wise, majestic powerful wolf nodded his head:".
- Anatomy is fine to use in some roleplays if everyone you're roleplaying with is also using it, or if they're okay with you using it. You don't want to be the only person or at least one of the few people using anatomy while everyone else can't understand what you're saying. If anatomy isn't allowed, don't use those words. If you want to use anatomy, join a group of more advanced roleplayers instead, unless you're fine either way.
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11Use proper grammar and spelling. Again, people might not take you seriously if you say something such as, "the cat bit his leg no miss and ran off". It makes you seem inexperienced. Use the right grammar, spelling, and punctuation while roleplaying. It will make what you say easier to understand for the others and yourself.
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12Use symbols. These can be almost any symbols, such as dashes, colons, periods, commas, exclamation points, question marks, and apostrophes. The chat system of Animal Jam doesn't allow any other symbols to be typed into the chat unfortunately. Anyone with free chat can use dashes, apostrophes, exclamation marks, question marks, and colons to symbolize what their character is doing in the roleplay. Anyone without free chat can use commas and periods.
- Use parenthesis to say things out of the roleplay. If you have a question about what's going to happen, surround it in parenthesis so that you don't confuse the others. If you don't have free chat, use something like three periods or three commas.
- When your character speaks, either don't surround it in any symbols to show that you are speaking or use apostrophes.
- You can also use letters to symbolize what is happening in the roleplay. This works with free chat and no free chat. If you don't have free chat, the letters you can use are NN, YY, ZZ, OO, QQ, UU, GG, MM, and AA. If you want to use single letters and you don't have free chat, you can use R, Y, U, I, O, and A.
- Here are some examples of using symbols to indicate certain things while roleplaying:
- :he prowled through the grass without making a sound:
- -he prowled through the grass without making a sound-
- . he prowled through the grass without making a sound .
- , he prowled through the grass without making a sound ,
- ! he prowled through the grass without making a sound !
- ? he prowled through the grass without making a sound ?
- ZZ he prowled through the grass without making a sound ZZ
- "Follow me," :she whispered to the others:
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Tips
- Consider whether you want to narrate your character while roleplaying (you'd be narrating what he/she is doing) or whether you want to just "be" the character while roleplaying. If you were narrating, you'd say something like, ":she jumped and grabbed the prey between her paws:". If you were just saying what your character is doing as if you were the character, you'd say something like, ":jumps and grabs prey between paws:". Choose between the two, depending on you think would sound better.Thanks
- Don't control others' characters. For example, if someone says, ":clings onto the edge of the cliff:", don't say, ":you fall off the cliff and die:". Don't control what they say either, unless the person allows you to, or they allow you to take over their character for the day.Thanks
- Don't overdo it when you're describing something. Don't use so many words that it begins to confuse the others or even yourself. Don't use the same words over and over again either.Thanks
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