Star Wars Performance University Blog

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SWAG 77 – Star Wars Actors Guild is produced in part by JDMaul Productions, and is a part of the ISCA a division of Ariafya LLC

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Here at SWAG 77 (Star Wars Actors Guild 1977), we highly encourage all fans of all “fanverses” to read the literature of their fandom. Of course when referring to us it is Star Wars books, comics, resource books, blogs, articles…

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What SWAG77 is all about.

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Performance tidbit: If you choose to Perform Improv on FB, BE CREATIVE! In order to be creative, you have study MORE than Wookieepedia – even they said it’s a jumping off point.

You got to get to the Star Wars Books. You need to read Star Wars Insider…

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Summary

There are many reasons to “perform improv” or “roleplay” or RP or pretend you are a character in your favorite movie, television show, videogame, novel or comicbook.

Star Wars Performance University is here to help fans who wish to perform improv…

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Roleplaying Terminology and Common Abbreviations – modified from ForceNet Jedi Council Forums

This list will be updated frequently

RPR - Role Playing Resource. Star Wars Performance University on FB is where we talk about how to roleplay (RP), techniques,…

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Performing improv on Facebook is NOT roleplaying on board games or video games. But there are similarities. This blog is one of them. Performing improv on Facebook is not about 20 sided dice. It is more like a TV show using creative writing and techniques.

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[[BEING VERY CLEAR: THIS NOTE WAS WRITTEN BY MS GEORGIA MOODY AND NOT THE OWNERS OF THIS BLOG. IT IS ALLOWED TO BE SHARED WITH YOU THE READERS OF THE STAR WARS RP UNIVERSITY. MS GEORGIA MOODY HAS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED]]

Role-playing game

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A role-playing game (RPG and sometimes roleplaying game) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development. Actions taken within games succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines.

Collaborative fiction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story. Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally.

Denizens of the Facebook Star Wars “RP”, which of the above options do you think this little enterprise more closely resembles?

I came here to play a RPG- a Role Playing Game. I have years and years of experience with RP, I know the rules, and I know when to bend them. I can flourish immensely within given boundaries, and create something beautiful out of raw material. I’ve met a few very gifted individuals (you know who you are) who I would be overjoyed and honored to sit down and throw dice with any time of the day or night. But RP does not equal creative writing.  If I wanted to join a writer’s group, I’d have done that instead.

But the very idea of a Role Playing Game in this “Galaxy” is a joke. No one ever loses. There’s OOC conversations and backstabbings and manipulation that, if I saw happening around my RP table, would get people kicked not only out of the game, but out of my house as well.

I love Star Wars, don’t get me wrong. And I can already hear the aggrieved shrieks of “We’re here because we love Star Wars!” No, we’re not. We’re here because we wanted to ROLE PLAY in the SW galaxy. Maybe we don’t have a local Saga Edition group, or maybe we don’t have the time to devote hours every week to RP with other devoted fans. Maybe some people don’t want to embrace their nerdliness, and remain in the RP closet. It’s okay, we won’t tattle on you. We might try to lure you out with cookies and beer, but hey, actual face to face RP isn’t for everybody for a variety of legitimate and understandable reasons. That being said….

If you joined this “RP” to get an audience for your own Star Wars fanfic, you are not a roleplayer. You’re treating what could potentially be a wondrous world-spanning role-playing opportunity into a badly mismanaged writing group, a set of yammering sycophants who, no matter how execrable the storyline or damaged the syntax, will set up caroling howls of joy, proclaiming every little digital scribble as the SW equivalent of Dickens or Homer. Give praise where praise is due, and give criticism where it is necessary. No one ever learns anything if they are lauded all the time. Every single person, myself included, has room for improvement in their writing abilities. But this is not the place. We are not “authors” of characters. We are PLAYERS of characters. That’s something completely different.

HOWEVER…a piece of a well-written backstory can give other players insight into the character. Endless bits of fluff and nonsense, drowning in misused vocabulary amid a deluge of adverbs- that is not well written. That is a waste of digital space. If you want to be an author, there are plenty of places out there on the Net for you to post your fevered imaginings and get good critiques and feedback. In a RP setting is not one of those places. We are here to PLAY. We know our stuff, and we want to use it!

If all you ever write is about how your character is doing something in a manner that can best be described by a word ending in –ly, I suggest you take a writing course. Self-aggrandizement is boring, m’kay? You’re telling us what you’re doing. In the words of my English professors, “Why do we care?”

If you think that just because there may be one tiny, infinitesimal, known-only-to-you flaw in your armor/ship/skillset/weaponry, that you have created a “balanced” character- I hate to tell you, you’re wrong. Every single canon character, from Palpatine to Thrawn to Wedge Antilles to Orn Free Taa has obvious strengths and obvious weaknesses. Playing godlike characters gets real boring real quick. There’s never any challenges, never any potential for growth, never any “whew, made that by the skin of my teeth” moments. It’s blase at best and a game-wrecker at worst.

If you are the kind of RP’er who thinks a weakness is having a 17 in a stat- you’re the worst kind of weaselly, headache-inducing, game-killing, rules-lawyering scum. And if you don’t know what the previous sentence means without having to consult Google, then I suggest you learn to play like the big kids. Put on your big-boy pants or your big-girl panties, and learn how to RP. Guess what? You’re going to lose sometimes, then have to figure out how to bounce back.

REAL characters have both the best and worst of the spectrum of human emotions- because no matter what race we are playing on the screen, when it comes down to it, we’re all Homo Sapiens. None of us like to see our characters, that we have put so much time and effort into- sometimes literal real-world years, in some cases – fall prey to someone else. However, sometimes your opponents roll a crit success, and sometimes you roll a crit fail. When that happens, paradigms shift. You can go from being on top of the Galaxy to having to beg in the streets for your next meal. It should be able to happen to any one of us. This is one of the areas where RP meets real life- a single cataclysmic event can change your entire personal world. There’s a five-dollar word that explains this a lot more succinctly- verisimilitude. And that verisimilitude is the very thing that makes RP work. When you feel the pain or joy or frustration of your character, that’s good RP. When you are depressed because something didn’t come out your way, or challenged by their challenges- that’s the kind of involvement that can make campaigns last decades.

No one likes to see unfairness happen, or even worse, a caste system develop. That is what we are creating here. There’s the “do as I say, not as I do” rule in effect in a lot of cases. Just because you can write a backstory that results in your character being the bastard child of a Wookiee and a bartending droid doesn’t mean you should. In journalism terms, it doesn’t pass the sniff test. Neither does a lot of other things in this Galaxy, but that leads me to my last thought.

To get to the final point of this message, assuming anyone has read this far, I am taking a hiatus from GSRP. I need to rediscover my love for my characters, for this galaxy, to bring back to myself what has been lost. Seeing as how I have managed to scrape, deal, inherit, and purchase a relatively sizable chunk of holdings for an individual, they will remain in my control under the protection of a few people I trust.

When/if I decide not to come back to GSRP, I will make a formal announcement of such and divide my holdings as I see fit. Who knows, if the Galaxy has actually learned how to RP properly, I may hold a contest where the winner could be named Emperor/Empress of the Erisians and “inherit” all my property, patents, companies, etc.

There are people in the GSRP ‘verse who I have come to love, and those I have come to hate. There are people here who have given me hope for the rest of humanity, and those who have confirmed the insidious whisperings of my cynical little black heart.  I don’t want to walk away, but I know I must, before this sad and warped version of the GFFA kills my love of it forever.

Roleplaying on Facebook is NOT roleplaying on games. But there are similarities. This blog is one of them. Roleplaying on Facebook is not about 20 sided dice. It is more like a TV show using creative writing and techniques.

What roleplaying is not is posting on random pages or in individuals’ chats and instigating a story. That is called trolling, which is called cyberbullying on Facebook.

You want to strike up a conversation with your favorite character and roleplay with them, then it is wise to read their character sheet and have yours ready. If the other person does not have one or a backstory, then ask. If they are not open to it, that should tell you something about the kind of roleplaying they do. Interacting with unknown roleplayers on comments and posts randomly is lazy and disrespectful on your part.

This sheet is an outline for character creation from the SWTOR game forums in 2010 (link archived). A character sheet’s purpose gives the audience a general description of the character and assists the writer in developing a character. You may also add to it if you wish. Create your own character using this sheet to use in roleplaying, developing story arcs and writing. Readers gain insights into your character, personality, background, and travels. Please remember that this is your character, and you do not have to follow this outline. We implore you to follow this recommendation.

Species/Race:

Name:

Middle Name:

Last Name:

Nickname:

Gender:

Date of Birth:

Place of Birth:

Date of Death:

Place of Death:

Age:

Height:

Weight:

Hair Color/Style:

Facial Appearance:

Eye Color:

Body Appearance:

Home Planet:

Current Residence:

Ship:

Allegiance:

Profession:

Armor:

Primary Weapon(s):

Secondary Weapon(s):

Miscellaneous Item(s):

Biography (more detail and 2 paragraph backstory): —-

Additional Categories:

Bounty Hunter:

Number of Bounties Captured:

Number of Bounties Killed:

Sith:

Number of Jedi Killed:

Lightsaber Color:

Jedi:

Number of Sith Killed:

Lightsaber Color:

Smuggler:

Number of Shipments Smuggled:

Trooper:

Rank:

Specialties:

—-DO NOT DUPLICATE BELOW—-

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL:  WE, COLLECTIVELY OR INDIVIDUALLY, RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THIS PAGE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY INFORMATION, MATERIALS, TEXT, GRAPHICS, IMAGES, LOGOS, SITE DESIGN, AND THE SELECTION, ASSEMBLY, AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE PAGE (“CONTENT”). THE CONTENT MAY NOT BE COPIED, DISTRIBUTED, DISPLAYED, MODIFIED, REPRODUCED, PERFORMED, PUBLISHED OR REVERSE ENGINEERED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT OUR PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OR CONSENT OF OWNERS.

How To: Keeping it IC vs OOC in this FB World? How much is too much IC (in character) vs OOC (out of character) in roleplay while on FB in all its access points: Wall, Messages, PM, email, groups and pages? Who decides what? It is all too confusing? 

Getting to know people and make friends through an RP account can be easy and tough. Either way it takes skill and time. Some people easily go with the flow and then over time, RP can become dull. Some people RP full throttle and then leave abruptly because it is too much. And yet, some people watch over time and still RP to this day. But not any RP is ALL IC (in character) or ALL OOC (out of character), all the time.

The question is: How does one manage all these directions of communication? 

There are key concepts to keep in mind in the reasons why people roleplay on Large Format Social Media:

Most people RP for entertainment reasons. It is fun to pretend to be your favorite character on your favorite movie! When news events happen in real life, putting it the terms of your favorite character voice and trivialities, it can cause others to laugh and find amusement and carouse with you. We all strive for community and become a culture. Unfortunately, this process does not last forever.

For some people, RP is a good way to write serious stories, and perform them before a live audience. Some people do it as an artform, a social media creative venture to build their tales for their favorite movie. It is a good way to network and meet like-minded people and get feedback, because many times, writing, plotting and building are done alone, which is fine… But many times, it is lonely and some people want to get out, which brings us back to SOCIAL media… 

Realistically, you cannot extend yourself in your character 100% of the time. Your real life will intrude. You learned how to create friendships and pairing with people since you were a toddler, that real life lesson will be practiced in social media. You mind is unable to physically separate the two. So that means you go “out of character” and use “out of character” tools to manage those interactions.

MANY people on social media have real life social anxiety.  Take that as a given. Many of them do not go into public settings. Many have a tough time making real friends. Some people are lonely and use social media to supplant their friendships. It is harsh, to say to people, “go get a real life” when it is unknown what another person’s circumstances are! Be mindful of that.

The other issue to remember when you develop friendship in an OOC style: While everyone has trash and baggage — EVERYONE is of value and has gifts. If you strive to be better person, then try to help others with their gifts, and their beauties online… EVERYONE has something to offer!

Roleplaying, often helps people come to a decision about huge choices they need to make in real life. And being that support network that got them there makes life so fresh and enriches your life… Think about that when trying to strike a balance between IC vs OOC!

Also remember your purpose for roleplaying!

If you are casual: You will probably roleplay IC some days, and then RP OOC on other days. That happens and is okay.

If you are serious: You will probably spend roughly 50% amount of your RP time IC and 150% OOC. Because half the time your character is RPing and the other amount your time you could be defending your character’s actions to fellow RPers, you are writing the post hoc and insight metrics, and you are preparing for image searches.

If you are professional: You will probably spend 70% IC, because more often your character in your favorite movie is a canon character and you want to remain in character for that. Ironically, you are probably spending 170% OOC, because you are getting paid to play your character and someone else is designated to explain your character’s actions. This is RARE!

Lastly, in roleplaying on how much is IC vs OOC are the Roleplaying group’s rules: 

Some groups are casual groups to get to know people and gain a feeling about one another behind the character. There is a risk to that due to human’s inherent nature to gossip, and your personal information present on the internet, but if you can live through stuff, then it is fine.

Some groups are very serious and possibly 80% to 90% of their time in spent in character.  That is fine, too when you know you can roleplay, you can understand social dynamics easily and/or you have some mentorships. At the same time, your clout levels take time to build and tough to keep at it. Battles can easily turn personal and start to go out of character without any warning.

Needless to say, this is one person’s professional point of view on Roleplay on Large Format Social Media dealing with the IC vs OOC issues. This blog can be expanded and is not meant to offend anyone or belittle anyone.

This character sheet is modified from SWTOR. It is the bare minimum. Extending it is beneficial. This sheet is for your STAR WARS character only. Not for you. There are key concepts of Star Wars you would need to know building this character. These concepts can be found in our “Roleplaying Terminology and Common Abbreviations” blog

Species/Race: 

Name: 

Gender: 

Year of Birth (BBY or ABY): 

Age: 

Home Planet: 

Current Residence: 

Ship: 

Faction Allegiance: 

Profession: 

Armor: 

Weapon(s): 

Miscellaneous Item(s): 

Biography:

—-

Additional Categories to include if necessary:

Bounty Hunter:

Number of Bounties Captured:

Number of Bounties Killed:

Sith:

Number of Jedi Killed:

Lightsaber Color:

Jedi:

Number of Sith Killed:

Lightsaber Color:

Smuggler:

Number of Shipments Smuggled:

Trooper:

Rank:

Specialties:

————————————————————

DO NOT DUPLICATE

————————————————————

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL:  WE, COLLECTIVELY OR INDIVIDUALLY, RETAIN OWNERSHIP OF ALL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THIS PAGE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY INFORMATION, MATERIALS, TEXT, GRAPHICS, IMAGES, LOGOS, SITE DESIGN, AND THE SELECTION, ASSEMBLY, AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE PAGE (“CONTENT”). THE CONTENT MAY NOT BE COPIED, DISTRIBUTED, DISPLAYED, MODIFIED, REPRODUCED, PERFORMED, PUBLISHED OR REVERSE ENGINEERED IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT OUR PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OR CONSENT OF OWNERS.

RP tidbit: If you choose to RP on FB, BE CREATIVE! In order to be creative, you have study MORE than Wookieepedia - even they said it’s a jumping off point. You got to get to the Star Wars Books. You need to read Star Wars Insider Magazine. And learn how to write! You are lame if you don’t do it.

Added: Vordis Korrupto Starkiller adds: Wookieepedia is a guide, nothing more. A quick and easy research tool, or a search engine to find good books to read based on your interests. It should not be the sole basis of any roleplayer’s knowledge

Visit us more on Star Wars RP University on FB

Roleplaying Terminology and Common Abbreviations - modified from ForceNet Jedi Council Forums

This list will be updated frequently

RPR - Role Playing Resource. Star Wars RP University on FB is where we talk about how to roleplay (RP), techniques, writing, plots, storylines and performances, etc.  Anything that has to do with Star Wars and Roleplaying will be posted on the Star Wars RP University (SWRPU).

RP - Roleplay

RL - Real Life

IRL - In Real Life

FB - Facebook: WE USE THIS TERM ALOT HERE!!!

TT - Twitter less frequently used on FB or Twitter

Star Wars - SW

STAR WARS SPECIFIC COMMON ABBREVIATIONS 

Movies:

• TPM - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

• AOTC - Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

• ROTS - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

• ANH - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

• ESB - Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back

• ROTJ - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Television:

• TCW - Star Wars The Clone Wars

• SWD - Star Wars: Detours

RARELY discuss Ewoks or Droids, but… There are some of us geeks out there

Games currently used in the lexicon:

• TFU I and II - Star Wars The Force Unleashed I and II 

         USE - Ultimate Sith Edition 

         DLC - Downloadable Content

• KOTOR I and II - Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

• SWTOR - Star Wars The Old Republic

A more exhaustive list of all the games is on Wookieepedia

Novels in the current lexicon being used:

• TCW - The Clone Wars

• TFUI or II - The Force Unleashed

• NJO - New Jedi Order

• LOTJ - Legacy of the Jedi

• FOTJ - Fate of the Jedi

PLEASE be respectful on the novels, because there are quite a few RL Lucasfilm folks, Star Wars Authors, Artistis, Filmmakers and Actors following various RPers on FB and Twitter!

Do not be disrespectful to them and use profanity. That is just plain dumb! 

STAR WARS TIMELINES:

ABY - After the Battle of Yavin in ANH. The standard zero-year; all dates in the SW universe are usually given in years relative to the Battle of Yavin. Also refers to the ABYverse, a group of games set in roughly 130ABY. 

BBY - Before the Battle of Yavin in ANH. The standard zero-year; all dates in the SW universe are usually given in years relative to the Battle of Yavin.

ROLEPLAYING:

RPer - common abbreviation for Roleplayer.

CS - Character Sheet. The character sheet is a form that you fill out before playing in the RP; it lists some basic things about your character like his name, age, species, gender, and things like that. Most GMs will require you to submit your character sheet to them before you start. 

IC - In Character. It shows where you are writing the actual story of the character. 

OOC - Out Of Character. Can be used as:

• OOC
• ooc
• /
• //
• ((…))
• {{…}}
• [[…]]

You use it when you (as opposed to your character) want to say something in the feed. Typically you do it before your post.

In general, information posted on your OWN  wall or fan page is sometimes out of character. You can ask if someone is IC or OOC.

IF you post something in either IC or OOC and desire a respons, such as discussing RL events never related to RP, then you will invariably get responses, some you may not like.

Careful what you post because you are responsible for the information. And there are no First Amendment Free Speech protections on Social Media — you have the right to say what you want, but if what you say defames the other person, the other person can sue you for it… You are what you post. The Internet Is Written In INK—NOT PENCIL! Your boss may ACTUALLY BE watching…

EMOTION OR ACTION INDICATIONS:

*saying your favorite emotion or action* - wraping your phrases with the use of the

• *…*
• -…-
• ~…~
• {…}
• […] 

Are arbitrary “emotions” or “actions” you do on Social Media sites:

    e.g.: *She yawns* I think I am tired…  

It can be written into prose like this:

    e.g. She yawns, “I think I am tired.”

CHAT:

IM - instant messaging

DM - direct message — more prevalent on Twitter

PM - private message — on older forms of Social Media

Services for chat is: Tinychat, Meebo and Skype. Careful, some are videochat sessions. Careful what you say in them.

General terminology for Social Media can be found ANYWHERE! If you have questions, GOOGLE is your friend.

STAR WARS RP SPECIFIC TERMS:

COMMUNICATIONS: HUGE DISCUSSION AND CAN CHANGE!!! Most are stated as an emotion or action during RP.

OCC - Over Comm Channel

-comm-  - communications

-holo-  - have a Hologram communication

-holocom- - same as a hologram

comlink - Sometimes said, most times referring to Com

-villip-  - The organic equivalent of a communication device used ONLY by the Yuuzhan Vong

More to be added…

Star Wars RP University is here to help fans who wish to RP develop their creative artistry on social media.

A character can be part of the Star Wars canon or characters that are made up—non canon, but first and foremost we are FANS OF STAR WARS!

What is Role Playing on Social Media?

History of Roleplaying

Roleplaying (RP) in the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU) is not new. Since the 1970’s people have created many stories—also knowns as Fan Fictions. More excitingly, the advent of Social Media has shared these stories with millions of people.

For those new to RP this link provides the best explanation that is from the top Star Wars related video game design companies.

Star Wars RP University’s mission is:

To be the resource for SW RPers who roleplay on social media.

This group does the following, but not limited to:

• Storytellers
• Writers
• Readers
• Background researchers
• Promotional Campaign Organizers
• Advertisers
• Graphic artists
• Social Media account managers
• Customer Relations Managers
• Professional Liaison Managers
• Event Planners
• Online Event Managers
• Socialites

This list is incomplete…

Some of topics a RPer can learn are:

• Basic storyline and arc construction and tropes
• General writing techniques: grammar, spelling and conciseness
• Character development: Protagonist, antagonist, hero, villain, accessory character
• Writing combat maneuvers in Star Wars

If you think this is something you might be interested in doing, take our courses at Star Wars RP University on Facebook!