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+--- Thread: How do you connect with your character? (/showthread.php?tid=9156)
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RE: How do you connect with your character? - Guy Tower - 12-05-2014
(12-05-2014, 12:24 PM)Oli! Wrote: This sort of advice certainly isn't for everyone (I'm big on whimsy), but from time to time, I've found that people tend to lose their touch with characters because they're taking them too seriously, or they're super hung-up on only one facet of their characterization or personality.
Do something silly with them. Go on a misadventure. Or, if that's not that character's style, look for characters to interact with that serve as a foil for them, or make a character to contrast them yourself.
That's always a good thing to do, imho! Human brain enjoys funny, silly things. I am sure that you (whoever it is that bothers to read my scribble) get along easier with funny, chilled out people that can crack a joke and take one with a smile. Same thing goes for characters in role playing, even if it's your character. Back when I was playing Guild Wars 2, my char, Nat Chapel, was a bit of a goof. Whenever it happened, 'twas a refreshing change of pace from his more serious, single-minded stance. Give your character a funny accent (y mean, g've yór char'cter ae funny axe-ent), make his only living relative an old Uncle that used to tell him his war misadventures when he got drunk, make him buy himself a golem pet who, while obeying his master, cracks sarcastic one liners at him...
Fun is fun, but drama is also important. Not only can it dramatically (badum-tisch!) push your character's development forward, it also serves as an emotional link between you and that pile of pixels you made. Implement a flaw into your character that can turn a usually random situation around, like make him/her afraid of deep water due to some trauma. Make him lose an arm (and then, later, get him an awesome, FMA/Trigun/Berserk style arm with a cannon! Rawr).
Hope that helps
.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Gegenji - 12-05-2014
I have an... odd method to connect with my character.
He's childish, adventurous, and spirited. A lot of what he does is drawn from, well, my inner child. I look at the situation presented and think back to when I was a little kid and think about how "little me" might approach it. Then I adjust for the differences between Chachan and that, like how he might focus on someone's armor since he's had years of smithing experience that I don't.
But, whenever I want to think about how he'd act when trying to be "heroic," I find it easy to go back to the times where I was riding in the car... looking out the window and imagining this little hero with a laser gun hopping from scenery object to scenery object, lasering aliens and monsters.
Seems to work well enough, but then Chachan's a goof.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Miryn - 12-05-2014
I talk to myself in my character's voice, usually while pacing back and forth. If I come up with any good lines, I jot them down in a Word doc. If I feel I'm losing her, I go back to those lines and read through them.
It's not often I have trouble wiggling into my character's shoes, though. I've RPed for long enough that I know not to try playing personality types or archetypes I'm just not good at. It has never ended well.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Coatleque - 12-05-2014
My character connection is based on those around me. If something interesting is going on, I can usually find a way to interject where appropriate. If left to myself, I generally get bored and move on to another game.
Example: Last night, I was about to log off for the night when I noticed someone else had come online that I was waiting for. I went out to the Quicksand to engage her. 3 hours later, it's 1am and I'm surrounded by 5 other people because things only escalated from there.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Reshie - 12-05-2014
Thank you guys so much! I've taken notes and am going to try some of this. I'm hopeful that maybe I'm just in a rut and some of these will snap me out of it. You guys are the best!
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Artigan - 12-06-2014
I reach deep down and cup my balls to really get in touch with my masculinity.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - Naunet - 12-06-2014
I talk with my friends about what's going on with our characters' stories and work together to try and breathe some life into the waning character. Oftentimes they're quite helpful in pinpointing what my "problem" is and/or coming up with solutions.
Sometimes it helps to draw them.
I also spend a lot of time laying in bed before falling asleep thinking about "what if" scenarios, that helps keep things lively.
RE: How do you connect with your character? - ArmachiA - 12-06-2014
Here's all my advice, as a roleplayer of 16 years (I'm so old) I've made plenty of mistakes, even with just Armi over here (I rolled her in FFXI back in 2003 and kept rolling her to try to find her niche):
1. The biggest thing that made me lose connection with her in Aion - despite the fact I had played her pretty much the same in World of Warcraft and FFXI (Armi always has the same basic personality, with some differences and a different background) was the fact I pigeon-holed her into a gimmick and refused to let her grow out of it - without the gimmick she wasn't Armi. I didn't make her a whole person, there was THAT gimmick and if she grew out of it I had no idea what to do with her. So I never had her grow. People tried, then got bored of trying and eventually she just stagnated. Make sure your characters are fluid, if they have some kind of issue, try also seeing how they would be if they got over it. If you're stubborn about keeping your character exactly the same way, making it so they are the same a year ago as they are now, you're going to get bored. They become less interesting.
2. Keep a Journal! I just tried a journal for the first time in FFXIV because I read Eva's journal and enjoyed it immensely and I'm finding it a great place for solo RP and rediscovering your characters inner thoughts. Even if it's not one you share, I'm finding knowing what Armi's thinking and her inner monologues are super helpful and make her really interesting to me. I don't get to rp Armi's issues or Armi's story much (Since I GM stories for people and can't make it all about her) - but it's okay because I have that journal as a back up to get those things out. She has a few very close friends she can talk to about things and she has her journal if they can't be pulled off for one on one time. It's made me really bond with her.
3. Kind of piggy backing on the above -- if your character is only really "on" when your rping with people, it's going to become a frustrating experience. If you're character is doing nothing in your mind except waiting for RP you may lose connection with them if you aren't rping as much as you like. Make sure to take the time to think about what your character would be doing beyond RP. Even beyond just "Training" or "Reading." What are they reading? What are their favorite books? Where do they get those books? Do they know anyone at the shop they get them? Are they in a book club? Do they like fiction? Are they writers themselves? Is their a book series that's their favorite?
Making sure your character has a rich background life is also important. For Armi -- I don't get to do her Bard stuff a lot, because for a long while she was shy and didn't share her stuff and I'm not part of a Free Company that is entertainment inclined. Right now, I have her playing in small cafe's and shops in Ul'dah when she can. I write songs people may or may not hear, which is fine. I'm doing it for my characters benefits, not anyone elses. She enjoys Romance Novels, or Romantic Fairytales, and hunts bookshops for good ones, filling her bookshelves to the brim when she can. I have a list of her favorites... and some she read for curiosity (Hyur written Miqo'te/Hyur romance novels for instance). She was an herbalist in her preisthood and likes to make tea. If she's off screen she's looking for different herbs and studying different cultures tea recipes.
All kind of things. This stuff may bleed into regular RP too, so it's really good to have it somewhere.
4. If you feel like your character has derailed and that's the reason for the missing connection. You probably need to pull her and try to figure out how to realign her how you want her to be. A lot of people don't like the prospect of pulling a character for awhile, but it may be best because you would be playing a character you're only half interested in anyway.