Hello! I hope I posted this in the right section.
I've been thinking lately, I have a number of characters that no one seems interested in playing with while a few others see a fair amount of rp and I have gotten compliments on. I'm not really sure what makes one character work over another but maybe I just need to start from scratch and rework a character or simply remove them?
What makes certain characters more appealing than others, is what I guess I'm trying to figure out.
I've been thinking lately, I have a number of characters that no one seems interested in playing with while a few others see a fair amount of rp and I have gotten compliments on. I'm not really sure what makes one character work over another but maybe I just need to start from scratch and rework a character or simply remove them?
What makes certain characters more appealing than others, is what I guess I'm trying to figure out.
The genre and mood of the rp is really important. For example, an innocent bubbly elf wouldn't work out well in a zombie apocalypse rp. Perhaps these characters haven't gotten much attention because they fit into a very specific setting that isn't requested often?
Well, there may be some answer to be found in these: Rekindling Stagnant Characters, Ideas for Profiles, Hijinx Character Development. Those are the relevant-seeming ones I could dig up, anyway, concerning your final statement.
And now for the random headstream.
I'm not sure there's a sure way to know when yo revamp or retire, or which to choose. I think a lot of it is how you feel about the character. I have a number of characters that I haven't bothered with because they were never developed enough to be compelling, as well as some sitting in my Misc profile because I'd like to do something with them, but I just don't feel they're deserving of their own slot (the ones in Misc do sometimes get shuffled in and out, though). These are characters that I I like some aspect of, but I just don't know what to do with.
I also have a few characters that do have their own profiles that also barely, if ever, get used. These ones are characters that, again, I may not be sure what to do with, but I've put too much into them to dump them or shove them into Misc (for example, Nashyll and Black Orchid), or I just enjoy having them around too much (like Sal and Green Mike).
It's mostly those profiles that I'm really attached to but just not sure what to do with that I end up revamping. Nashyll recently went through a second major overhaul, and she finally feels usable to me again. (Oddly enough, what worked for Nashyll wasn't changing anything so much as stripping away all the history I'd built up RPing with her, because that was what was making her unwieldy.) Black Orchid has also been getting work done, mostly converting "magic" to "psychic powers" to more smoothly fit into scifi settings. Loki is another one I'm working on, in his case because I liked part of his concept, but other parts were kind of annoying me. So revamps are good for characters you'd still like to use, but are currently having trouble finding placement for. The tricky part (as was proven with Nashyll needing a second revamp in a short period of time) is figuring out what part actually needs to change and what is already just fine. Sometimes, you only need some minor tweaks or additions. Others, the end result might seem like a completely different character - like how my Kyra was originally a pretty generic halfelf (elf father, black human mother) turned vampire, with a generically tragic backstory, who wandered for no particular reason; but now she's a second generation halfelf from a culture where that's actually pretty acceptable, basically tainted with unstable magic (that is just as much a weakness as a strength), who wanders in part because her culture is nomadic and in part because that magic taint got her exiled. A few basic points remain roughly similar, but otherwise, she's a completely different character.
A side note: sometimes when revamping characters, you might find it works well to separate concepts from one character into multiple new characters, or put concepts you like from multiple bleh characters into a single new one. For example, while working on Nashyll, I took one of the concepts that was being a problem, but which still seemed like it could work under different circumstances, and created Alchemy.
Retirement is trickier just because of sentiment. You've poured a lot into your characters, and you don't want to see them go down the trash chute. Well, give them some serious thought first then, try to determine what it might be that's being a problem, and see if you can fix it. If not, I personally think it's okay to keep characters around for sentimental value, especially if you can afford more character slots. Maybe you can't think how to fix them now, but might figure something out later. If you really just don't think a character will work, however, then sure, dump it. For me, it's usually a character that I just can't fit into. I pride myself on flexibility and variety, but I do still have to acknowledge that there are characters that I just can't pull off.
Well. I typed a lot, and I have no idea if any of it made sense... I hope so.
And now for the random headstream.
I'm not sure there's a sure way to know when yo revamp or retire, or which to choose. I think a lot of it is how you feel about the character. I have a number of characters that I haven't bothered with because they were never developed enough to be compelling, as well as some sitting in my Misc profile because I'd like to do something with them, but I just don't feel they're deserving of their own slot (the ones in Misc do sometimes get shuffled in and out, though). These are characters that I I like some aspect of, but I just don't know what to do with.
I also have a few characters that do have their own profiles that also barely, if ever, get used. These ones are characters that, again, I may not be sure what to do with, but I've put too much into them to dump them or shove them into Misc (for example, Nashyll and Black Orchid), or I just enjoy having them around too much (like Sal and Green Mike).
It's mostly those profiles that I'm really attached to but just not sure what to do with that I end up revamping. Nashyll recently went through a second major overhaul, and she finally feels usable to me again. (Oddly enough, what worked for Nashyll wasn't changing anything so much as stripping away all the history I'd built up RPing with her, because that was what was making her unwieldy.) Black Orchid has also been getting work done, mostly converting "magic" to "psychic powers" to more smoothly fit into scifi settings. Loki is another one I'm working on, in his case because I liked part of his concept, but other parts were kind of annoying me. So revamps are good for characters you'd still like to use, but are currently having trouble finding placement for. The tricky part (as was proven with Nashyll needing a second revamp in a short period of time) is figuring out what part actually needs to change and what is already just fine. Sometimes, you only need some minor tweaks or additions. Others, the end result might seem like a completely different character - like how my Kyra was originally a pretty generic halfelf (elf father, black human mother) turned vampire, with a generically tragic backstory, who wandered for no particular reason; but now she's a second generation halfelf from a culture where that's actually pretty acceptable, basically tainted with unstable magic (that is just as much a weakness as a strength), who wanders in part because her culture is nomadic and in part because that magic taint got her exiled. A few basic points remain roughly similar, but otherwise, she's a completely different character.
A side note: sometimes when revamping characters, you might find it works well to separate concepts from one character into multiple new characters, or put concepts you like from multiple bleh characters into a single new one. For example, while working on Nashyll, I took one of the concepts that was being a problem, but which still seemed like it could work under different circumstances, and created Alchemy.
Retirement is trickier just because of sentiment. You've poured a lot into your characters, and you don't want to see them go down the trash chute. Well, give them some serious thought first then, try to determine what it might be that's being a problem, and see if you can fix it. If not, I personally think it's okay to keep characters around for sentimental value, especially if you can afford more character slots. Maybe you can't think how to fix them now, but might figure something out later. If you really just don't think a character will work, however, then sure, dump it. For me, it's usually a character that I just can't fit into. I pride myself on flexibility and variety, but I do still have to acknowledge that there are characters that I just can't pull off.
Well. I typed a lot, and I have no idea if any of it made sense... I hope so.
Novalyyn wrote:
Well, there may be some answer to be found in these: Rekindling Stagnant Characters, Ideas for Profiles, Hijinx Character Development. Those are the relevant-seeming ones I could dig up, anyway, concerning your final statement.
And now for the random headstream.
I'm not sure there's a sure way to know when yo revamp or retire, or which to choose. I think a lot of it is how you feel about the character. I have a number of characters that I haven't bothered with because they were never developed enough to be compelling, as well as some sitting in my Misc profile because I'd like to do something with them, but I just don't feel they're deserving of their own slot (the ones in Misc do sometimes get shuffled in and out, though). These are characters that I I like some aspect of, but I just don't know what to do with.
I also have a few characters that do have their own profiles that also barely, if ever, get used. These ones are characters that, again, I may not be sure what to do with, but I've put too much into them to dump them or shove them into Misc (for example, Nashyll and Black Orchid), or I just enjoy having them around too much (like Sal and Green Mike).
It's mostly those profiles that I'm really attached to but just not sure what to do with that I end up revamping. Nashyll recently went through a second major overhaul, and she finally feels usable to me again. (Oddly enough, what worked for Nashyll wasn't changing anything so much as stripping away all the history I'd built up RPing with her, because that was what was making her unwieldy.) Black Orchid has also been getting work done, mostly converting "magic" to "psychic powers" to more smoothly fit into scifi settings. Loki is another one I'm working on, in his case because I liked part of his concept, but other parts were kind of annoying me. So revamps are good for characters you'd still like to use, but are currently having trouble finding placement for. The tricky part (as was proven with Nashyll needing a second revamp in a short period of time) is figuring out what part actually needs to change and what is already just fine. Sometimes, you only need some minor tweaks or additions. Others, the end result might seem like a completely different character - like how my Kyra was originally a pretty generic halfelf (elf father, black human mother) turned vampire, with a generically tragic backstory, who wandered for no particular reason; but now she's a second generation halfelf from a culture where that's actually pretty acceptable, basically tainted with unstable magic (that is just as much a weakness as a strength), who wanders in part because her culture is nomadic and in part because that magic taint got her exiled. A few basic points remain roughly similar, but otherwise, she's a completely different character.
A side note: sometimes when revamping characters, you might find it works well to separate concepts from one character into multiple new characters, or put concepts you like from multiple bleh characters into a single new one. For example, while working on Nashyll, I took one of the concepts that was being a problem, but which still seemed like it could work under different circumstances, and created Alchemy.
Retirement is trickier just because of sentiment. You've poured a lot into your characters, and you don't want to see them go down the trash chute. Well, give them some serious thought first then, try to determine what it might be that's being a problem, and see if you can fix it. If not, I personally think it's okay to keep characters around for sentimental value, especially if you can afford more character slots. Maybe you can't think how to fix them now, but might figure something out later. If you really just don't think a character will work, however, then sure, dump it. For me, it's usually a character that I just can't fit into. I pride myself on flexibility and variety, but I do still have to acknowledge that there are characters that I just can't pull off.
Well. I typed a lot, and I have no idea if any of it made sense... I hope so.
And now for the random headstream.
I'm not sure there's a sure way to know when yo revamp or retire, or which to choose. I think a lot of it is how you feel about the character. I have a number of characters that I haven't bothered with because they were never developed enough to be compelling, as well as some sitting in my Misc profile because I'd like to do something with them, but I just don't feel they're deserving of their own slot (the ones in Misc do sometimes get shuffled in and out, though). These are characters that I I like some aspect of, but I just don't know what to do with.
I also have a few characters that do have their own profiles that also barely, if ever, get used. These ones are characters that, again, I may not be sure what to do with, but I've put too much into them to dump them or shove them into Misc (for example, Nashyll and Black Orchid), or I just enjoy having them around too much (like Sal and Green Mike).
It's mostly those profiles that I'm really attached to but just not sure what to do with that I end up revamping. Nashyll recently went through a second major overhaul, and she finally feels usable to me again. (Oddly enough, what worked for Nashyll wasn't changing anything so much as stripping away all the history I'd built up RPing with her, because that was what was making her unwieldy.) Black Orchid has also been getting work done, mostly converting "magic" to "psychic powers" to more smoothly fit into scifi settings. Loki is another one I'm working on, in his case because I liked part of his concept, but other parts were kind of annoying me. So revamps are good for characters you'd still like to use, but are currently having trouble finding placement for. The tricky part (as was proven with Nashyll needing a second revamp in a short period of time) is figuring out what part actually needs to change and what is already just fine. Sometimes, you only need some minor tweaks or additions. Others, the end result might seem like a completely different character - like how my Kyra was originally a pretty generic halfelf (elf father, black human mother) turned vampire, with a generically tragic backstory, who wandered for no particular reason; but now she's a second generation halfelf from a culture where that's actually pretty acceptable, basically tainted with unstable magic (that is just as much a weakness as a strength), who wanders in part because her culture is nomadic and in part because that magic taint got her exiled. A few basic points remain roughly similar, but otherwise, she's a completely different character.
A side note: sometimes when revamping characters, you might find it works well to separate concepts from one character into multiple new characters, or put concepts you like from multiple bleh characters into a single new one. For example, while working on Nashyll, I took one of the concepts that was being a problem, but which still seemed like it could work under different circumstances, and created Alchemy.
Retirement is trickier just because of sentiment. You've poured a lot into your characters, and you don't want to see them go down the trash chute. Well, give them some serious thought first then, try to determine what it might be that's being a problem, and see if you can fix it. If not, I personally think it's okay to keep characters around for sentimental value, especially if you can afford more character slots. Maybe you can't think how to fix them now, but might figure something out later. If you really just don't think a character will work, however, then sure, dump it. For me, it's usually a character that I just can't fit into. I pride myself on flexibility and variety, but I do still have to acknowledge that there are characters that I just can't pull off.
Well. I typed a lot, and I have no idea if any of it made sense... I hope so.
It makes sense
thank you very much. It's always so tricky to find the right balance of intention and function with a character and even harder if a lot of work has gone into one only to see it collect dust.
0V3RL0RD-P4RR0T wrote:
The genre and mood of the rp is really important. For example, an innocent bubbly elf wouldn't work out well in a zombie apocalypse rp. Perhaps these characters haven't gotten much attention because they fit into a very specific setting that isn't requested often?
Thank you very much. I'll have to re-examine the settings I keep trying to introduce them to.
Something I've found can be helpful to is think of your characters from an 'Infinity' angle. How would their life be different if X happened instead of Y? I borrow the term from a Star Wars series; what if Luke had missed his shot vs. the Death Star? What if he'd been captured at Hoth and Leia had trained under Yoda? Etcetera.
Coming up with alternate angles can refresh a concept or otherwise make it fit into a game they might not have before. Shaylee here by default is a Final Fantasy character but that's a very niche RP group; I've adjusted her to Kingdom Hearts though, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and other like genres. Often the background and themes are just as doable with something as simple as a name change. Instead of a member of SOLDIER, she's an X,Y, or Z. Sometimes it just helps to look at a creation through the lens of a different genre and think 'what if?'.
Coming up with alternate angles can refresh a concept or otherwise make it fit into a game they might not have before. Shaylee here by default is a Final Fantasy character but that's a very niche RP group; I've adjusted her to Kingdom Hearts though, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and other like genres. Often the background and themes are just as doable with something as simple as a name change. Instead of a member of SOLDIER, she's an X,Y, or Z. Sometimes it just helps to look at a creation through the lens of a different genre and think 'what if?'.
Shaylee Spencer wrote:
Something I've found can be helpful to is think of your characters from an 'Infinity' angle. How would their life be different if X happened instead of Y? I borrow the term from a Star Wars series; what if Luke had missed his shot vs. the Death Star? What if he'd been captured at Hoth and Leia had trained under Yoda? Etcetera.
Coming up with alternate angles can refresh a concept or otherwise make it fit into a game they might not have before. Shaylee here by default is a Final Fantasy character but that's a very niche RP group; I've adjusted her to Kingdom Hearts though, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and other like genres. Often the background and themes are just as doable with something as simple as a name change. Instead of a member of SOLDIER, she's an X,Y, or Z. Sometimes it just helps to look at a creation through the lens of a different genre and think 'what if?'.
Coming up with alternate angles can refresh a concept or otherwise make it fit into a game they might not have before. Shaylee here by default is a Final Fantasy character but that's a very niche RP group; I've adjusted her to Kingdom Hearts though, Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and other like genres. Often the background and themes are just as doable with something as simple as a name change. Instead of a member of SOLDIER, she's an X,Y, or Z. Sometimes it just helps to look at a creation through the lens of a different genre and think 'what if?'.
Thank you so much. This all helps a lot, been in a creative road block lately.
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