Are You in Yet?

Okay looks like most people are able to log in now, lets talk about the next step, picking your play style.  You know your handle, we have a game in mind, but now you need to pick your character.  Many games in the RPG (Role Playing Game) genre as well as quite a few games in other genres will require you pick a distinct class/race/role/type.  While you can just go with what looks interesting and see how you like it, it is often good to realize first how you play games, so that you can minimize time spent playing the way you do not like.  This may or may not reflect how you operate in the real world.  For some virtual representations are just more extreme representations (the guy with anger issues that can let them all out), for others it can be a chance to be someone/something completely different (the quiet meek girl in the back of the room bashing in some skulls, or the fraternity bro tossing out epic heals).

So what you should do is first have a sit and think about why it is your gaming.  Is it for stress relief, to pass the time, to escape reality, for fun, to explore, for story-lines, or to be someone you are not.  Knowing this can be a great first step in picking your character.  For instance if its stress relief, venting anger, picking a passive healing type character might not be as rewarding as a big warrior/barbarian.  On the other hand if you are playing for story, intrigue, and or finesse, maybe a rougeish character or brooding mage would be more up your alley.  Some people want to be right in the middle of the action, some people want to "melt faces" from a safe distance, and you can't do any of that for long without the supportive healer types.  Here is a series that has you look at your real life through the lens of RPG's, which might help you figure out what kind of character you are in real life.  Think about whether its who you want to be online or not too!

An important note though is to even after you make your choice, somewhere down the road, experiment, you might be surprised what you like.  I started out playing video games liking the distant mage types, dark brooding, powerful and frail.  I have discovered however as much as an affinity as I may have to these types, that I enjoy playing archer/hunter type characters better, and even sometimes big beefy tanky ones.  As much as I may love reading about mages I just don't play them that well.