Character Rules - How to play

The Glitch and Floran one are pretty much a base rule to speech, but I don't think the apex one applies. Never really thought how an Apex speaks, but I assume you could use whatever sort or accent you wanted.

 

I think this thing - learning how to play out the characters - is a kind of responsibility of each individual player. You shouldn't be bogged down to rules if you have a sufficiently good and reasonable explanations for how things go. Taking your examples:

• Glitch: It is generally good to play by that rule, but I have met at least one Glitch who didn't use the "Statement. This is how Glitch speak" thing because she used her face visor as an emote to demonstrate emotions.
• Apex: I genuinely have not met one Apex who was russian, heh. I imagine their culture would be diverse enough that I don't mind a cowboy Apex around - and hell I welcome the variety.
• Florans kinda -have- to go with the extended s's because of anatomy (fuck that NPC Floran at the outpost btw). I think this is one thing I am harder to let go because it is Floran anatomy and not something cultural. (The Glitch gets a pass because, hey, robots. You'll have to ask someone who specializes in them though.)

Playing as a species that is not human should be enjoyable as a way to play out a new culture: Be a Hylotl and ask people if they are keeping their fins damp. Be a Novakid and casually admit you have no god damn idea how -you- even work as you toss ramen into your 'face' and let it digest there. Be an Avian and call eveyone a cloaca and disgust them and complain about how you have to keep clipping your talons. Otherwise, just play a human. I don't think there should be rules - I think people should be reasonable with the way they play and just have fun while they are at it.

 

There's also the thing that I haven't taken into account for the longest time. The avian facial expressions. They're literally just head tilts and brow movements. I used to smile as an avian until I realized how not possible it was.

 

Glitch should use emotions, but all the examples provided here aren't emotions. Usually player controlled Glitch DON'T use emotions. An example would be "Warm: Welcome to my home." or "Tense: We don't serve your kind here."
To say "statement" or "query" is repetitive. We already know they are statements and questions. Perhaps say "Interrogative" or "Questioning" or "Curious".

Apex in the game don't speak with any specific accent, and it's likely that rebels and free Apex are likely to attempt to diversify and break away from the uniform culture of the Miniknog as an act of... well, rebellion. We are talking about a homogenized people, it's not hard to believe that free Apex would adopt cultures that interest them as a symbol of their free will.

Floran hissing is particularly present when the sound they are pronouncing is a soft 's' and not a hard zed sounding 'zzz' 's'. But Florans have been shown not to hiss in the past. It's possible, but rare, and would likely take a considerable amount of adaptation to being around aliens or speech therapy of some kind.

That said, I agree with the general consensus. Aliens should be played as aliens, whether it is more or less so. If you wish to play a Human, you might as well just play a Human.

Birds can smile, though not much, a beak is not particularly flexible, however a smile is as much about how your cheeks move as to how our your lips do. Another thing to take into account about Avians is their feathers. Feathers can be immensely useful as a way to convey emotion. Saying that an Avians feathers 'drooped' or that they 'puffed up in offense' are examples.

 

This has always confused me. Why do people hate that and "Plantsuits" so much, considering the former is something Chucklefish themselves put into the vanilla game?

Don't get me wrong, none of my Floran characters have ever been "Plantsuits". But I've honestly never had a problem with them unless they start doing powergamey things, which is really not okay in any circumstance.