How much of an emotional connection to your character do people think is too much?
I'm not talking about being pissed off and angry when they die, but more, sharing the
emotions your character is feeling. Zvaka, and I have no idea how this came on, has
this kind of sadness to him, and urgency. However, some of this seems to be flowing
back.. and I enjoy it, I like my emotions being twisted.. but how much do people think
is too much?

I think only you can decide that for yourself. Personally, if a game isn't fun for me, then I really don't want it affecting me in a negative way.

My very first IRE character was an evil dwarven knight, and the roleplay atmosphere often made me angry, frustrated, and even depressed. I dumped that character and started over in a new city and guild, playing him until it was no longer fun (i.e., everything was political turmoil and combat).

Choose your role here based on what you enjoy and go with it. It's a game, and it should make you happy. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, but when you start spending more of your time upset than not, it's time to consider a change.

I've been trying my best to instill Iasmos with qualities that I am lacking in myself, as a sort of behavioral conditioning experiment. If I play the game as a character with a good, kind heart, maybe it'll make me just a little bit better as a human being. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I still revert to my old ways. My wife would still say that it's much, much better than when I try to RP evil, though!

I guess it depends on what you mean by upset... I feel sad, but the kind of sad you feel when reading a book, or watching a movie.. your emotions have been affected, but you wanted it.

I dislike sad movies, and I try very hard to avoid reading books, too.

If it's the kind of "upset" that spills over into other aspects of your normal life, it's the bad kind. If it's the fleeting kind that hits you and you very quickly get over it, maybe it's not so bad.

I pretty much RP my character the same way I feel. If I'm cranky, paranoid, and bored, then my character will be too. It's more fun that way, and helps to immerse myself into the character.

I've always been of the belief that people play muds to escape from themselves and the real world and real problems around them, to become someone they would rather be, or someone completely different from themselves. This being the case, it is natural for people to associate themselves and their emotions with their characters, and the reverse will occur as well. The trick is to discover for yourself where your own limitations are, and being able to withdraw from your character and what is happening to it when that limitation has been exceeded. Personally, I tend to have a variety of alts which I play, all with different goals and personalities, which I then play according to my moods. When, for the first time in all my mudding life, what was occuring to my character was affecting me very badly in person, so much so I was constantly filled with negative emotions just from being online, I removed myself completely from the character and refused to play it for several months. I must say it has helped. So my advice remains, know your limitations and know what makes the game fun for you, and work around that.

Enjoy.

if something bad happens to your character and this happens then your probably taking it too seriously.




EDIT: spelling. blah: