IC =/= OOC — Definition, examples, FAQs, and more

IC =/= OOC: a brief history

The concept of IC =/= OOC has its roots in traditional acting and storytelling, where a clear line between the performer’s identity and their role is maintained.

The term originated in early online roleplaying communities in the 1980s and 1990s. It helped players distinguish between their roles in the game and their real identities.

In roleplaying games, this distinction is just as important for allowing players to explore diverse roles and personas that may be quite different from their own.

Over time, the use of this term became more common as online roleplaying games grew in popularity. Communities developed guidelines to reinforce the importance of separating in-character actions from out-of-character behavior.

How it's used today

Many gaming communities use the phrase IC =/= OOC to maintain a healthy gaming environment. It is essential in both text-based and more immersive online roleplaying games.

How a game handles it varies. Some spell the rule out in a helpfile or a policy page, so a player can look it up. Others treat it as understood and only raise it when a problem comes up.

A game’s chat tools also make the split visible. A separate OOC channel, or brackets and parentheses around out-of-character speech, gives players somewhere to talk as themselves without it counting as something their character said. Games that ask players to find out in character apply the same idea to information: what a character knows and what the player knows are tracked separately.

You’ll hear this term used in places like:

multi-user dungeons (MUDs), MUSHes, roleplay MUDs (RPMUDs), play-by-post (PbP) games, talkers, MMORPGs, first-person shooters (FPS), multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs), chat RPGs, social media RPGs, hack and slash games, player versus environment (PvE) games, player versus player (PvP) games, roleplay-intensive games (RPIs), and roleplay-enforced games (RPEs).

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IC =/= OOC examples

• A player personally likes dogs but plays a character who is terrified of them after being bitten as a child.
• In an L&L game, a character expresses strong religious or political views that are completely opposite to those of the player.
• A player is very outgoing and friendly, but their character is reserved and mistrustful due to growing up in the slums.
• A character betrays their best friend in the game, leading to dramatic IC conflict, but the players themselves maintain a good friendship OOC.

Myths and misconceptions

1. A player’s IC behavior reflects their OOC personality or beliefs. This is not true, as roleplaying allows individuals to explore characters far removed from their actual selves.
2. Players cannot play characters completely different from themselves. Roleplayers regularly inhabit personas with backgrounds and beliefs—such as gender, age, education, socioeconomic status, and world views—that have little to do with their real-life experiences.
3. IC and OOC knowledge are interchangeable. However, maintaining a strict separation between IC and OOC helps prevent metagaming and preserves the game’s integrity and fairness.
4. IC conflicts must lead to OOC tension between players. In reality, many experienced players are able to keep in-character drama separate from their out-of-character friendships and collaboration.
5. Discussing OOC matters during a game session always breaks immersion or is inappropriate. In most gaming communities, OOC communication is not only normal but often necessary for collaboration, clarifying rules, and ensuring everyone is comfortable with the unfolding story.

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IC =/= OOC FAQs

How do players indicate whether they are speaking IC or OOC?

Players typically indicate their mode of speech by using specific markers or formats when communicating.

For example, text-based games often use brackets, parentheses, or special chat channels to denote out-of-character (OOC) communication, while in-character (IC) speech is presented as part of the narrative without such markers.

Why is the distinction between IC and OOC important in roleplaying?

The distinction is important to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts among players. By separating character actions and thoughts from those of the player, it ensures that personal feelings are not misinterpreted as part of the game. Keeping these two things separate can lead to a more enjoyable and respectful playing environment.

This is especially true when players play antagonistic or unpleasant characters. It’s important to realize that just because a character is being difficult, aggressive, or unfriendly, it doesn’t mean that the player is like that.

Can a player’s OOC knowledge affect their IC actions?

This is referred to as “IC/OOC crossover” and is generally frowned upon in roleplaying communities. When it involves a player using OOC knowledge for their character’s benefit, it is a form of cheating known as “metagaming.” Metagaming can disrupt the game’s fairness and narrative integrity. Maintaining the IC/OOC divide helps prevent this issue.

What should a player do if they feel another player is blurring the IC/OOC line?

If a player feels the IC/OOC line is being blurred, they should communicate their concerns to the other player or a game moderator. It’s important to address such issues respectfully and directly, aiming for a mutual understanding and reaffirmation of the game’s boundaries.

If IC and OOC are separate, do IC actions still have consequences?

Yes. The separation works in both directions: players are not blamed for their characters’ behavior, and characters are not shielded from the fallout of their own choices. Many roleplaying communities pair this term with the companion principle in-character actions equal in-character consequences (ICA = ICC), which keeps a character’s misdeeds answered inside the story rather than out of character.