Tutorial #3 - Speaking for Others

Each SIMmer in training, and on your future ship, has thought-out their character, and has an idea of how their character behaves, speaks, and thinks. We learn about other characters by reading the SIMs of other writers. In our group, we ask writers to limit how much they speak for others, to respect the boundaries that each person has for their character. We do this because, until you know another SIMmer’s character, you won’t know how that writer wants their character to act.

For example, if you were to speak for Joe Bloggs, you might have him say the following in one of his SIMS:

CREWMAN: Cadet Bloggs, do you fancy a drink of wine? Its from my parents vineyards in France.
BLOGGS: Sure thing, that sounds swell buddy.

But consider this: is that really how Joe Bloggs speaks? And do you know, for sure, that Joe likes wine? Perhaps he doesn’t call his crewmates “buddy,” and perhaps he hates wine!

Until you the other characters on the crew, you should avoid speaking for them whenever possible. On the other side of the coin, however, if you have to stop your SIM every time you want another character to speak, you’ll find your SIMs short and dull. If you need to speak a lot for another character, or you’re unsure how their character will react to something, send a copy of your SIM to that player first and ask them if it’s okay. Or, another option is to simply leave a place in your SIM for that player to respond. Here’s an example:

CREWMAN: Cadet Bloggs, do you fancy coming for a quick game of holoball in the holdeck?
BLOGGS: [Tag, Bloggs]

By saying “Tag, Bloggs,” you’ve notified the writer of Bloggs that you want him to respond. Now that writer will know to insert a response into his SIM to fill in that void.

Standard responses are fine, for things that should be obvious. For example:

CREWMAN: Hey Joe, what’s your rank?
BLOGGS: Cadet!

Basically, when speaking for others, be considerate and try and imagine how you would feel if someone spoke for you. As you get to know other players, you will find yourselves comfortable inserting speech, and that’s fine – as long as all the people involved are okay with that.

Speaking for your Commanding Officer (CO)

Problems start when you begin speaking for your CO's. This is a very fine line to judge, and everyone in UFOP has stepped over it at one time or another.

It is normally okay to have your CO speak for minor things, which they would respond in an obvious manner. However, the only people who can authorize an away team are a captain or a first officer. Always use common sense and consideration. If you are unsure about anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact your CO and ask for advice.

Using Other Player’s Characters

The above information is generally only valid for conversations. Let’s say three of you have been ordered to take a shuttle and fly out to do something. Two of you arrive in a shutlebay and are waiting for the third person, who doesn’t SIM. This is obviously inconvenient, but there are two ways around this

1. If the character does not SIM in three days, you are allowed to speak a little for him/her; just enough to get the plot rolling again.
2. You can move the plot forward a little by including the character but not speaking for them.

For example:

((Shuttlebay 1))
Bloggs and Jones had been waiting for a couple of minutes, when the third officer appeared. All three officers then boarded the shuttle and launched as they had been ordered.

As you can see, you haven’t spoken for the third officer -- just filled in something they should have done anyway. You should always give a player a chance to give their input to the plot, though. Perhaps the third officer wants to disobey orders and not take part in the mission. By SIMming the above, you have taken this opportunity from the player.

Generally, use your common sense. If someone hasn’t responded in a couple of days then move the plot on, but don’t repeatedly do that, as you may be taking fun away from others. Just try to treat other people how you would like to be treated yourself and you should be fine.