Well, if I want a campaign to feel somewhat serious, I avoid using special character voices. I've been complimented on my impressions, but there's just something about doing that around a table which creates a mildly goofy atmosphere no matter what my intended tone was.

Quote from: Rift on June 18, 2023, 06:52:01 AM
In his world a perfect way to play and the long winded theatrics was for him the most important thing. For me, acting/theatre is the least important aspect of roleplaying games, I would be bored to death.

So, I was wondering if this is expected/normal, and if so, loud RPG theatre is simply not for me.

I wonder if this is another manifestation of the videogame / tabletop overlap problem? That is to say, videogames are so good at doing the tactical, mechanical stuff that a lot of people think tabletop should just move on from that and focus on what videogames don't do well (yet), which includes the drama club stuff your player prioritized.

Eh, it depends on the group. Some groups do it well, most don't. You certainly shouldn't feel pressured to do a character voice, but at the same time, learning about voice acting doesn't hurt. But it's a lot of effort and it's hard to get it to work with one character without everyone at the table feeling compelled to do the same.

Generally, I find a "favorite word, expression, or verbal tick" is more reliable than a character voice.  A wrestler who speaks in third person, an Orc who never includes articles and sometimes misses prepositions, a shopkeeper who starts every sentence with, "dude." Really easy to implement, easy to remember by referencing notes...it's just a better approach most of the time.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked on June 18, 2023, 07:57:18 AM
Well, If I want a campaign to feel somewhat serious, I avoid using special character voices. I've been complimented on my impressions, but there's just something about doing that around a table which creates a mildly goofy atmosphere no matter what my intended tone was.

Quote from: Rift on June 18, 2023, 06:52:01 AM
In his world a perfect way to play and the long winded theatrics was for him the most important thing. For me, acting/theatre is the least important aspect of roleplaying games, I would be bored to death.

So, I was wondering if this is expected/normal, and if so, loud RPG theatre is simply not for me.

I wonder if this is another manifestation of the videogame / tabletop overlap problem? That is to say, videogames are so good at doing the tactical, mechanical stuff that a lot of people think tabletop should just move on from that and focus on what videogames don't do well (yet), which includes the drama club stuff your player prioritized.

I think both coming from later computer games with loads of crappy voice acting has an influence, and also perhaps LARP, as they (understandably) are more immersed and try to create a total illusion - they bring this total illusion ideas into tabletop games.

Here's a story: I've trained martial arts for most of my life, and one day this guy showed up (turned out he was very much into LARP), and we did some extremely light boxing with almost no contact as I wanted to go very easy on him. Everytime I had contact, he shouted very loudly "AAAAARGH!!", "URRRGH", "HUUUURRR", knocked his head wildly to the side, and then stumbled backwards as we were in a bad movie looking like a drunkard his head all dangly and dazed looking. It was extremely odd and very distracting. After a few strikes I got annoyed and asked what the hell he was doing. He answered his aim was to "make the fight as realistic as possible".

Point being: He made it realistic for himself, but unrealistic for everyone else in the hall.

Quote from: Rift on June 18, 2023, 06:52:01 AM
I also don't mind if people do a few voices, but demanding that others do it and play 100% in character, is an entirely different matter. In my world less is more, overdoing it will ruin it for me (and my other player).

I think as a player, I want the GM to be able to speak in first person as an NPC; I certainly don't need voice acting or funny accents, but I rem one GM who was totally unable/unwilling to play his NPCs and it certainly felt weird. As a GM I speak in first perso when it seems appropriate, usually for important interactions; going to 3rd person to summarise and move on fast.

I definitely don't want players who think acting is the main point of the game; I want players who appreciate that it is a game, which means the main point is overcoming challenges.

Quote from: S'mon on June 18, 2023, 08:50:24 AM

Quote from: Rift on June 18, 2023, 06:52:01 AM
I also don't mind if people do a few voices, but demanding that others do it and play 100% in character, is an entirely different matter. In my world less is more, overdoing it will ruin it for me (and my other player).

I think as a player, I want the GM to be able to speak in first person as an NPC; I certainly don't need voice acting or funny accents, but I rem one GM who was totally unable/unwilling to play his NPCs and it certainly felt weird. As a GM I speak in first perso when it seems appropriate, usually for important interactions; going to 3rd person to summarise and move on fast.

I definitely don't want players who think acting is the main point of the game; I want players who appreciate that it is a game, which means the main point is overcoming challenges.

I totally agree.

Quote from: Omega on June 18, 2023, 12:12:59 AM

Quote from: Zelen on June 17, 2023, 09:13:27 AM
Honestly feels like sour grapes that you aren't good at doing voices. Just because you aren't good at it doesn't mean it's wrong.

Sometimes it feels that way.
 
But I totally get why some dislike it. An early bad experience can also mar the outlook too.
 
But like everything D&D there are those sanctimonious fucks who try to suck every last drop of fun from RPGs. It seems to have gotten worse with the so-called OSR.

I'm not good at voices at all, but I don't carry any grudge against people who have that skill.

A more realistic assessment is that people who are, for lack of a better term, theater kids tend to be annoying for interpersonal reasons to more introverted or mathematically-brained types.

Quote from: Zelen on June 18, 2023, 10:30:44 AM

Quote from: Omega on June 18, 2023, 12:12:59 AM

Quote from: Zelen on June 17, 2023, 09:13:27 AM
Honestly feels like sour grapes that you aren't good at doing voices. Just because you aren't good at it doesn't mean it's wrong.

Sometimes it feels that way.
 
But I totally get why some dislike it. An early bad experience can also mar the outlook too.
 
But like everything D&D there are those sanctimonious fucks who try to suck every last drop of fun from RPGs. It seems to have gotten worse with the so-called OSR.

I'm not good at voices at all, but I don't carry any grudge against people who have that skill.

A more realistic assessment is that people who are, for lack of a better term, theater kids tend to be annoying for interpersonal reasons to more introverted or mathematically-brained types.

If they have the skill, awesome, sadly the vast majority don't and just try too hard. It cannot be unseen.

I apologize if I lunged at you earlier, I agree on your post here. I am somewhat introverted and mathematically brained, and loud people pretending in an obviously bad way really ticks me off, because the veil is just too thin to make any impact.

The guy I'm in group with is an Archaeology Professor and a quiet and straight forward, serious type of person.

None of us have the strong need to pretend we are our character.

Quote from: Eirikrautha on June 17, 2023, 03:09:51 PM

Quote from: Rift on June 17, 2023, 10:28:27 AM
But having a particualarly annoying voice AND demanding attention. That sucks even more.

I never wrote first person was an issue, I use it as well as third person as I see fit, it does not matter one bit. It's more how you want others to play theater or you wont play with them at all (like forcing people into character with ridiculous voice, dress up and all that..) That is a no from me. It's not a Hollywood production, just a fucking game.

Dude, you've pretty much answered your own question in this thread.  Look at how many responses you've gotten here that immediately want to turn this personal (against you and puffing up themselves).  There have been people getting high off sniffing their own farts since the beginning of the industry.  Sometimes it manifests in cringy voices or theatre wannabes.  But, look at the posting history of some of the folks who tried to make this personal with you, and you'll see that the big problem is exactly what was stated from the beginning: they want to make everything about them (and, specifically, how they are better than you).  Avoid these people and their opinions, and be happy that one person left your group.  You'll be better off, and your game will be more fun...

Or maybe people are responding to how the OP comes off in the starting post and the implication that voice acting is such a rarity that just got introduced into the hobby in recent years, as opposed to being there almost from the onset. I had to read most of the first page to get that apparently this player was particularly pushy about being a pretentious voice acting wannabe. And even then most of the OP's focus seems to be about hating voice acting in general, as opposed to this particular player being a dick, which makes me think there's more to this story than just one guy being a dick.

I tend to find excessive voice acting and LARP stuff cringey and get why people might be uncomfortable with it, but don't care enough to make a point about it. And if I get a player that's particularly LARPy I just roll with it. Trying to stay in first person when RPing can also help immersion, particularly for the player to get into the character's mindset and think more how the character would think. But it's not always easy to do.

Quote from: Grognard GM on June 18, 2023, 06:09:33 AM
Hey look, another "people that game differently to me are wrong" thread.

30+ years ago I started with just changes in inflection or tone, and over the years I've realized I can do a few accents and personas that players and GM's like, so I do. I consider it part of my maturing skill set, like producing better handouts and soundtracks.

Who plays for any length of time and still talks in third person? It's a ROLEplaying game, not a Wargame.

Hey look, another "people that game differently to me are wrong" post.

The only thing I encourage players to do at the table is to pay attention and cut the chatter.

Quote from: VisionStorm on June 18, 2023, 10:49:31 AM

Quote from: Eirikrautha on June 17, 2023, 03:09:51 PM

Quote from: Rift on June 17, 2023, 10:28:27 AM
But having a particualarly annoying voice AND demanding attention. That sucks even more.

I never wrote first person was an issue, I use it as well as third person as I see fit, it does not matter one bit. It's more how you want others to play theater or you wont play with them at all (like forcing people into character with ridiculous voice, dress up and all that..) That is a no from me. It's not a Hollywood production, just a fucking game.

Dude, you've pretty much answered your own question in this thread.  Look at how many responses you've gotten here that immediately want to turn this personal (against you and puffing up themselves).  There have been people getting high off sniffing their own farts since the beginning of the industry.  Sometimes it manifests in cringy voices or theatre wannabes.  But, look at the posting history of some of the folks who tried to make this personal with you, and you'll see that the big problem is exactly what was stated from the beginning: they want to make everything about them (and, specifically, how they are better than you).  Avoid these people and their opinions, and be happy that one person left your group.  You'll be better off, and your game will be more fun...

Or maybe people are responding to how the OP comes off in the starting post and the implication that voice acting is such a rarity that just got introduced into the hobby in recent years, as opposed to being there almost from the onset. I had to read most of the first page to get that apparently this player was particularly pushy about being a pretentious voice acting wannabe. And even then most of the OP's focus seems to be about hating voice acting in general, as opposed to this particular player being a dick, which makes me think there's more to this story than just one guy being a dick.

I tend to find excessive voice acting and LARP stuff cringey and get why people might be uncomfortable with it, but don't care enough to make a point about it. And if I get a player that's particularly LARPy I just roll with it. Trying to stay in first person when RPing can also help immersion, particularly for the player to get into the character's mindset and think more how the character would think. But it's not always easy to do.

If you read my post you'll find I am asking if it is the norm, a new thing or always been there, since I was surprised it was such a huge deal for many people. For me bad acting still ruins it.

Quote from: VisionStorm on June 18, 2023, 10:49:31 AMOr maybe people are responding to how the OP comes off in the starting post and the implication that voice acting is such a rarity that just got introduced into the hobby in recent years, as opposed to being there almost from the onset. I had to read most of the first page to get that apparently this player was particularly pushy about being a pretentious voice acting wannabe. And even then most of the OP's focus seems to be about hating voice acting in general, as opposed to this particular player being a dick, which makes me think there's more to this story than just one guy being a dick.

THIS.

From title on down, this thread opened with a confrontational tone, and painted with a mile wise brush. When met with resistance, it turned in to an explanation as to the problem is a certain type of player, but it definitely originally came off as an invitation to join in dunking on the chodes.

Quote from: hedgehobbit on June 18, 2023, 11:12:12 AM

Quote from: Grognard GM on June 18, 2023, 06:09:33 AM
Hey look, another "people that game differently to me are wrong" thread.

30+ years ago I started with just changes in inflection or tone, and over the years I've realized I can do a few accents and personas that players and GM's like, so I do. I consider it part of my maturing skill set, like producing better handouts and soundtracks.

Who plays for any length of time and still talks in third person? It's a ROLEplaying game, not a Wargame.

Hey look, another "people that game differently to me are wrong" post.

The only thing I encourage players to do at the table is to pay attention and cut the chatter.

Voice acting in RPGs is just silly, pretentious, and very self-indulgent.

Also - Voiceacting should not be construed as 'good roleplaying' as they are separate skills.

Carry on.

Massive Rollplaying vibes from some of these posts. There's a country mile between wargaming using a single mini, and Matt Mercer flouncing around.

I have been playing since the mid-80s and there has always been mixture of different types in our games. Some people like to do voices, some don't. Some are good at it, some aren't but still have fun making them. I personally don't like doing voices, but I think it is one of those things where you are going to have a person who gets into talking in character, even acting in a group, you will have the person who just wants to fight things, you will have the person who is really into planning and tactics, etc. Where all this stuff can be bad in my experience is when it becomes a default assumption that one of them is the right and only way to go

The OP is correct: Playing Pretend whilst wielding silly affectations is fkn fascist! Everybody that like stupid voices take a week off and don't come back to this thread.