Roleplaying on Facebook

November 22, 2009 by Jim Slate
Filed under twitter

Social networking technology has changed the way communication works. There are a variety of new levels of interaction that are possible. This is not only connecting people in new and unique ways, but it is also allowing people to tell stories across a whole new range of media. On the cutting edge of this new technology, creative individuals are experimenting with the basic elements of the story itself.

Roleplaying itself is just the creation of an interactive work of fiction. Each person in the group assumes the role of a character, and then you come together to interact and further the story through your individual actions. Everyone contributes, and the story moves forward mostly by consent.

Social networks such as facebook were created to allow people to tell stories. You are supposed to use them to tell the story of you real life, through the use of pictures, videos, and written submissions in a variety of forms.

This ability can be tweaked a bit, allowing a truly creative individual to tell fictional stories using this software. This allows you to sign up as someone else, a fictional character, and then to tell the story of that character the way you would with your own life.

This story can then be expanded by interactions with other characters, or even with real people across the network. In this way the tale becomes interactive, with new life being breathed into it by a variety of creative minds.

Most of the big social networks are not intended for use as fictional or roleplaying tools. You will find in the terms of service of most of these sites that the act of creating a fictional character is expressly forbidden, and can be punished. While these rules are not usually enforced very strictly, their mere presence tends to hamper your ability to engage in create endeavors.

http://www.RolePages.com is a community that was created to fill the void in creative social networking. Similar in structure to facebook, the site describes itself as being a social network for fictional characters. Members are encouraged to sign up as anyone that they can imagine, and then to tell the story of their character through a series of forums, blogs, chat rooms, as well as through the submission of pictures, videos, and audio files.

Social networks are a new frontier in the art of communication. Using them as a medium for telling stories is a trend that is just starting to catch on. As the sophistication of the technology increases the ability to create fictional works using these tools is only going to improve.

To read more about this subject visit RolePages.com an in character roleplaying social network where you can sign up as anyone or anything that you can imagine. There you will find more information on facebook roleplaying, as well as an eclectic cast of members including werewolves, vampires, fairies, psychics, aliens, madmen, monsters, demons, and anyone else that you can imagine.