The tips in this guide are aimed specifically at newer players, but experienced players can find some helpful information in this guide as well.
Using the /me command is an essential part of any serious RP experience, not just Willard. These are a few key points to keep in mind when writing a /me that generally improve the experience, but are entirely optional. Do not feel obligated to use these points at all if you don't want to.
1. Writing '/me would'
While starting your /me's with '/me would ...' is tempting, it's technically improper English. You should only use 'would' if there's a condition for your action, for example:
Good: "/me would open fire if the man made a sudden movement." - The man making a sudden movement is the condition here, indicated by 'if'.
Bad: "/me would open fire" or any variation of this is incorrect, because there is no condition.
In this instance you should just write "/me opens fire." and if something is obstructing your action, you write "/me attempts to open fire."
The same logic applies to every other action you write, of course. While using '/me would' is technically incorrect, it's really not significant enough to matter so use whatever you prefer as long as the message comes across clear.
2. Writing your /me's from the third person perspective.
A proper /me is written from the perspective of another person. Simple examples:
Good: "/me flips open a book and begins reading it." or "/me raises their gun and aims it at their target."
Bad: "/me I flip open the book and begin reading it." or "/me I would raise my gun and aim it at my target."
3. Including your character's reasoning or thoughts in your /me.
Other characters should not be able to deduce your character's reasoning or thoughts in their /me's. A /me typically only describes a direct action, and does not include reasoning or thoughts, because those are never directly visible to other people. Examples below:
Good: "/me pulls the trigger and fires at their target."
Bad: "/me pulls the trigger and fires at their target because they hate the Combine."
Bad: "/me thinks to themselves "I hate the Combine."
Bad: "/me does a kickflip to kill the Civil Protection unit because I can do that, I guess?"
4. Feel free to experiment and make your /me's your own!
At the end of the day, everyone has their unique writing style that truly defines the way you RP and the effect it has on others, both positive and negative. Feel free to experiment with unique ways to formulate your interactions, short, long, combining actions and words in the same action, rhyming your actions, using puns, you name it! Willard is all about being creative and doing whatever you want with that creativity, so feel free to write however you like! (As long as the actions remain realistic, of course). These are just some tips I hope are useful to some and will contribute to creating a better experience for all.
