Metagaming, What is It?

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May 2012

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May 28 - Memorial Day

[Xaz Elephas]

Metagaming - This is when your character learns something that they could not possibly have learned, but they know it because you, their player, knows it. This is huge. Anything from OOC contact with other players, to IC posts that your character was not present at (don't do the 'I was outside standing under the window, I heard the whole thing!' unless the author gives you explicit permission), knowing things that you learned on another character, or it can be small things nobody would even think about. Say you are deep inside your castle and all the sudden you see a fight outside. Oh no! Rush and help! NO.

Your character sees with two eyes, directly in front of them. You do not have eyes in the back of your head, and you do not see from a 3/4 overhead view. You do not have X-ray vision, you do not see through walls. If there is a window, or it’s a thin house ( a.k.a. not in a big keep with 2 huge stone walls blocking the sound) you might hear the sounds of battle and investigate. If you think it is metagaming, just think, 'did my character learn about it? Or did I?'.

Lately a lot of us Black Caste have had to deal with this. This is a example that happen to me personally. I am in disguise. A beggar. False beard, dyed hair, raggy clothes. I am on a sim. Slave comes to serve me and her master who I have never met before pulls her away and says "He is an Assassin, not a beggar, he has a sword."  Ok it was obvioues he read my profile and... meagamed.

A lot of BC go though a lot to make disguses, spend a lot of lindens on these outfits. Its a shame when were medegamed because what you have just done is ruin role-play. This really needs to stop.


Please take the time to learn what medegaming is and DO  NOT  DO   IT  !!!

[Randall Reich]

Or say you are disguised as a nomad from the wagon people yet someone sees right through it instantly as though they have X ray vision granted by the Priest Kings?  Yeah, that's some quality RP right there.   

Agree 1000% Xaz.

[Gnookie Hubbenfluff]

...or

a) someone hearing through multiple walls and floors from 19meters away (~62 feet) of a hushed conversation between a man and an assassin.  then running off to tell the supposed mark, and in the process telling his real life girlfriend - who so happens to be the slave of the individual - who then decides to im the person and warn him that he may be the target of an assassination attempt.

b) to raid a northern trade village with the express plan of capturing a southern visitor - with zero knowledge ic'ly of the person even being there - as a direct result of said information gleaned oocly from the aforementioned slave in order to try to thwart said assassination attempt.

c) showing up on the docks in the city where the original rp took place, and then camming around the sim and writing down names of individuals there in case they show up on your sim later to kill the individual mark from a) and b).

that's just a bucket of awesome roleplay right there.  everyone involved should just do the world a favor and punch themselves in the face...twice.

[Nigaltwaddlesworthiii]

Chuckles... I love this thread..

I was once seriously shunned on a sim because I insisted to know how 'information' about the capture of one of the villagers was gotten.. this argument was all ooc of course.. my objections were firmly based in "we can't know that icly without realistic ic evidence and role play to back it up".. I was called any number of names and even told that I wasn't being gorean enough over the capture of one of my compatriots.. Thats when I knew there was absolutely no way I could stay there anymore..

So.. if you're bored on your sim and want some excitement of getting capped and all.. if you want a rescue.. you better be damned sure you leave a decent trail if you can..or convince someone from where you are taken to to send word you have been seen..and then also have a good reason why they would send such word..  cause otherwise you will stay right where you are if I have anything to do with it..

[Xaz Elephas]

Chuckles... I love this thread..

I was once seriously shunned on a sim because I insisted to know how 'information' about the capture of one of the villagers was gotten.. this argument was all ooc of course.. my objections were firmly based in "we can't know that icly without realistic ic evidence and role play to back it up".. I was called any number of names and even told that I wasn't being gorean enough over the capture of one of my compatriots.. Thats when I knew there was absolutely no way I could stay there anymore..

So.. if you're bored on your sim and want some excitement of getting capped and all.. if you want a rescue.. you better be damned sure you leave a decent trail if you can..or convince someone from where you are taken to to send word you have been seen..and then also have a good reason why they would send such word..  cause otherwise you will stay right where you are if I have anything to do with it..

I can't count the time that bored FW or bored slaves would get in the Treve Land group back when I was a Treve Admin/Mod and post that there on such and such sim capped though IC they left NO note, no knowledge Ic at all where they were. This was back when Carter owned the sim. The response back was '...and you want what??'  They were told, IC we have no knowledge where you are. Enjoy. I am sure this happens a lot in LG. I think Land groups are very bad for promoting medegaming and harms role-play a lot. Recently in Black Caste we have brought this up about groups and decided to not send messages via groups or notices meant for IC but to use caste IC Messangers slaves or lower rank camp BC to communicate from camp to camp.

[Delaynie Barbosa]

There's a lot of ways someone can metagaming. One of my "favorite" (ie least favorite) is by alting. You tell something to a fellow slave and her Master's companion comes to you with it and later you find out the slave and the Mistress are the same typist.  Bad form, passing information to yourself. Such manipulation! 

As far as protecting myself from metagaming, I never wear my group tags anymore, I have reset my meter tag to read ~.~ and I hide my groups. I do not have any information about my character or owner or anything.  Anything you want to know about me will have to be found out in roleplay.  I believe this is the only way to stop people from metagaming, by not publishing anything that they might have an opp to use against you.

[Shyla Timeless]

*sighs*

I am guilty of meta-Flaming.  Just about every day, I sim hop to ignite the camp fires at *coughs* two locations.  Now that I think about it and after reading this thread, I'm wondering if this activity counts.  Does it?  If so, I will quit.  Mind you, I'm usually not there long enough to interact or rp and I don't spy ... just setting fires and filling buckets.  Erhm, not setting fires ... lighting them!