Stop PERFORMING and Start ROLE PLAYING

he laughs upro look at me this is not who you are this is not who you are who am I you're not this why isn't my game as dramatic as this why is it always falling flat why can't I think of something cool to say like these trained actors and improvisers do I need to go to acting school just to play this [ __ ] game well I've actually been to acting school I've spent countless hours in scene study I've performed in plays and I've done voice over work professionally and I'm here to tell you that none of that matters when you're playing an RPG now these shows like critical role in dimension 20 are very entertaining and to be honest they've really given people a compelling Glimpse as to what a truly immersive role playing experience can look like and wanting your game to reach the sorts of dramatic Heights that you've seen on these shows is a good goal I mean why wouldn't you want that sort of experience but here's the thing the experience you have as an audience member of these shows is fundamentally different from an active participant at the game table this misunderstanding and confusion of your role at the table is going to rob you of the very experience that you're trying to capture here's what you need to understand not only are you not an audience member when you play there is no audience for you to perform for and when you're trying to capture that feeling that you get when you watch these shows whether you realize it or not you're adopting the mindset that you need to put on a dramatic performance for other people to see in order to bring the game to life this is why all of the bad YouTube advice out there is about how to bring your character to life with an accent or how to be a better voice actor all of this is actually just putting the cart before the horse because it's missing what role playing games actually have to offer as a medium these games are not TV shows they are not movies or books or radio plays there are something unique and fundamentally different being an audience member puts you in the role of a passive consumer of a story being told to you being a role player at the table puts you in the shoes of a character in the world there's no script or anyone telling you what comes next you and you alone decide what happens because you are in the driver's seat and get to make decisions as your character the reason it is so compelling to watch these shows is because you're actually watching The Players fully commit to the imagined world and individually experience that world for themselves so while you get to be entertained by the kind of result of this magic trick you are completely missing the real magic that those players are experiencing at the table when done right these players aren't putting on a performance for anyone they're living in the moment and for them the illusion of the game is becoming real so what does this actually mean in practice to answer this question let's take a look at one of the most interesting movies ever made a street car Named Desire is one of the Great American plays and movies from the 20th century but what makes the film version so unique is that you have two fundamentally different approaches to acting on screen at the same time Vivian Lee was one of of the great early film actors but she came from a classically trained stage acting background Marlon Brando on the other hand was one of the first method actors to really break through and make it onto the Silver Screen the result is this kind of bizarre combination of styles that really comes to life but the differences in the two acting Styles is extremely Stark take this scene for example how long you here for I don't know yet you going you going to shack up him I thought I would if it's not inconvenient for you [Music] all traveling where is me out well take it easy not those cats as the scenes play out it's clear that Vivien is deliberately putting on a performance of a character to an audience while Brando is simply living in the character while on screen Lee comes across as extremely theatrical one who is trying to create an illusion emote and provoke a reaction from the people watching her Brando on the other hand is so loose and understated that danger simply radiates off of him brand is not trying to portray his character he isn't putting on a voice to bring Stanley to life he's treating the film set as if it were a real place and that blanch was a real woman who had invaded his home the reason Brando is so convincing is that he's experiencing what is known in the RPG space as character immersion immersion is not about creating an illusion for someone else to witness it's about the illusion coming to life for you and for a brief moment becoming real experiencing this sort of hyper reality is almost Indescribable it's the reason so many people throw themselves into the world of acting when the career prospects are literally non-existent both the best actors and the best role players chase this dragon to the exclusion of everything else because once you've experienced it there is no substitute and the Stark difference here is that Brando is not playing to an audience Brando is submerged in the world to him in the moments he's on screen there's no camera or film crew there's no audience he's trying to entertain he is simply pretending to be Stanley so deeply that for a brief moment he has convinced himself that he is Stanley this commitment and concentration in the moment is what allows him to be so spontaneous and convincing on screen he isn't convincing because he's trying to trick you into thinking he is Stanley he's convinced himself that he is the character the performance you see is a result of Brando letting the world come to life only for himself There Is No Illusion because you're watching Something Real so what is the actual advice here what don't become a voice actor but just become the greatest method actor of all time no the truth is actually a lot simpler than that the best acting advice that you'll ever get is from friend of the show Ian McKellen how do I act so well what I do is I pretend to be the person I'm portraying in the film or play yeah you're confused you already know how to become immersed in a character and in a world children know how to do this you're simply playing make believe the difference in what you're doing now and what you were doing as a child is your own self-consciousness when you were a kid you didn't have any of the shame and your imagination was totally Unbound as an adult you've got a much better handle on how the world works and what is actually possible in any given genre what you need to do is combine this sincerity and enthusiasm that you had as a kid playing make believe with the focus and attention of an adult we are surrounded in the current culture by cynicism and commitment to irony and you need to throw all of that away you need to realize that what you're doing is not a performance for the benefit of others but an exercise and Imagination for yourself when you can throw off all of the concerns you have about what your character sounds like how you appear to other people at the table and whether or not you will look or sound silly you can make that world come to life in your imagination and in that moment where the illusion becomes real to you that is the fundamental experience that the RPG has to offer it will produce something that will appear authentic to other players at the table but that after effect of the true magic is not what you're chasing the moment is what you're chasing and the result of that will become fuel for everyone else at the table and that isn't to say that there is no overlap between acting and role playing there clearly is but the activity of role playing is different in both its character and its structure to acting in a movie or a play Brando may have been living authentically in the moment while he was playing Stanley Kowalski but he had something you'll never have at your table he had a script in a predefined artistic vision and months of rehearsal before the cameras started rolling all of this is is done to create a specific story to be told to an audience in a role playing game there is no script but there is a structure to the game every role playing game from D and D to vampire the Masquerade has a mechanical backbone to it these rules exist to service and simulate a particular genre and to create a believable world for your character to take action in knowing the rules of your game inside and out is imperative to creating an immersive experience this is not optional like an actor who knows their lines by rote you need to know the game system you are playing like the back of your hand knowing the rules and limitations of the world that your character exists in tells you what your character is capable of in the moment it allows you to make decisions spontaneously as that character the spontaneity is the precondition to an immersive experience and you should know the rules so well that they fade into the background and operate intuitively this way your character can take on a life of its own Beyond simply being a chess piece on the board if you know the rules you you will know what your character would do and this is a big mistake that people make when they choose games that are marketed as rules light there is a misconception that mechanics and roleplay are in opposition to each other this is a false dichotomy and something you also need to purge from your mind the truth is that just like actors need to put an effort to internalize the script you need to internalize the rules of your game for it to produce the intended experience so you don't need to go to juliard or DeVry you already have what you need to get the most out of your game and to have epic and dramatic experiences all you need to do is let go stop trying to put on a show for everyone else at the table and lean into your character your imagination and know the game system like you know your own reflection since you aren't putting on a performance for anyone you can be greedy about these moments of immersion because Greed for lack of a better word is good greed is Right greed Works greed will save your game chase that Dragon of character immersion for yourself and it will spill over into every other aspect of your game at the table when everyone does this together the game sings and you'll have moments and memories that'll make critical roll look like a candle next to the sun this is what makes RPGs unlike any other medium it's something that you experience and once you cast aside the distractions of Performing and putting on a show for other people you'll be free to actually roleplay this will transport you to places you couldn't have imagined previously and there will be no going back if you like this video go ahead and hit the Subscribe button below we've got a whole lot more content like this on the way and you won't want to miss it if you hated this video on the other hand please for the love of God tell us in the comments we are invulnerable to any criticism you have but we would love to see you try I imagined what it would be like to be a wizard and then I pretended and acted in that way on the day yeah

Channel: Black Lodge Games

Views: 326,957

Keywords: critical role, dimension 20, dnd, dungeons and dragons, voice acting

Id: DYpFKJxz8Gk

Length: 11min 5sec (665 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 19 2024