Hydaelyn Role-Players

Hi...I am still pretty new to rp in an MMO and while I have done a few rp scenes, I do a bulk of it here on the site in the threads. But....lately I feel like I don't really understand my own character. Like no matter how much I know his backstory and where he is kind of going, I don't get him. I feel like there's some kind of disconnect and it makes playing him IC....wooden? Not interesting? I don't know. Because of this coupled with other issues for me (shyness, etc.) I feel like every small rp scene is awkward and probably not very interesting for others.

I don't know...there are days when I feel like re-rolling and/or drinking a fantasia potion and moving on, but I like Ruru. But there are times when IC I dislike him.

And that feeling sucks.


Any thoughts?

Once during November during NaNoWriMo I stumbled upon a thread in the fantasy forums where author Rachel Aaron had decided to do a sort of AMA. One of the posts was in regards to struggling to write. She said that for her, whenever she is struggling to write something it is because it just wasn't working. At that point in time, continuing to write was pointless, because first she needed to take a nice big step back from the writing and look at it, objectively, to figure out what had gone wrong and where.

RP is not the same as writing a novel. But, it is writing, and part of it is the development and actions of the character. True, while we're all in character we don't have the luxury of do-overs. There is no editing once you submit the line, or paragraph, or short story -- it's done, it's out there.

But, I think even given that, we all have the opportunity to reflect upon what we did submit and figure out what felt off with that. I think that this is what you need to do now. A character (and people) are more than just the sum of their parts. You can, for instance, read a biography about a person and read interviews they gave and all of that and still not understand them; people sometimes do strange things that go counter to everything they've done prior to that moment. It's a constantly evolving thing that is a matter of circumstance, emotion, and interaction. And in that vein, don't feel bad for not getting him! When a person creates a character, you are creating a whole other person. From scratch! I don't care how many authors or writers or rpers there are in the world, and how many fictional characters: that's a Big Deal, and it ain't always easy! Nor should it be, in my humble opinion. Creating a believable and sympathetic character does take some work and thought.

So how are you gonna get around him feeling wooden? I can't give you the magical fix, but I can offer suggestions. For some people it's a matter of filling out questionnaires. For others, it's a matter of taking various personality tests with their character in mind. Sometimes it's doing up lists of likes and dislikes. Sometimes it's all in the history. Sometimes it's just picking a few personality traits and letting the rp figure out the details. Most people have a hard time getting into the skin of new characters, so sometimes it's a matter of continuing to rp. Me, personally, I like to write out the history and incorporate character strengths and weaknesses (be they physical or mental) into it: for example, Zhi committed to being a criminal because of the time she spent with Galine, and because of the situation she grew up in and the lack of a strong mother or father figure. On the other hand, she wound up in Galine's clutches because she is a stubborn brat who doesn't think things through. She's a stubborn brat who doesn't think things through because she resented her mother's occupation as a whore and the fact that her mother was not able to spend much time with her. She joined the gang because of that feeling of lack of acceptance and affirmation. She left the gang because it was not a replacement for a mother, and the budding paranoia it instilled in her lead to her making bad choices.

So, keep trying. That's the most important part.

As for feeling like your scenes are boring or not interesting to others -- man, that's a writer thing. It doesn't matter how often someone compliments me, or how many people write with me, or even whether or not I impress someone with my writing: I am in constant fear that you know, the next post or line that I write is bad, and therefore all the compliments that came before it were out of pity or I somehow fooled the person into thinking that my writing is likable. While that sort of thinking can lead to effort and not letting down your guard, you also have to not let it dictate how you write and how you feel about your writing. Separate it out from how you feel about your character and what problems you are having with him, because in the end whether or not someone enjoys your posts is different from the struggle itself. They might be related, true, but it is not the same thing.

(and, for what it's worth, I've enjoyed the snippets I've read here and there of Rurutani)

So, now is the time to take a step back and evaluate your character. Understand that some characters you will never wholly empathize with due to them being just that different from you (I have several who I understand from a remote perspective, but do not emotionally understand -- take Zhi, for example: the idea of stealing or conning someone is abhorrent to me. I can understand why someone would be driven to behave in that manner, and I have fun exploring a character who has so few morals, but it is not something I can empathize with). Could be that's your problem with Ruru, or it could just be that you need to delve a little deeper into who he is as a person and what drives him -- you could try to point to moments in his past (be it recent or distant) that move him forward, and explore how they continue to emotionally/physically affect him.

I hope I was able to help even a tiny bit. For what it's worth, I'm rooting for you! Keep trying, take a step back, and try not to let your emotional dismay get in the way of evaluating your character. If you do decide that it's just not working and you're not having fun, try out an alt first. Sometimes you just reach a wall with a character and need some time to let things settle in your head so you can get past it.

The process is easy.
Wooden characters mean that there is often something missing (unless wooden is what you're going for) from a character's personality.  If it's popping up a lot, it is probably something that comes up a lot in RP.  Look back and see what is working, what isn't, and at what point it goes off the rails.  For instance, if you haven't worked out a character's reaction to confrontation, and confrontation appears, you may get sucked out to sea and set adrift.  See if there is a simple piece of personality that's missing that would fix it.

Wooden characters can also mean that you're experiencing "Dragonball Z" syndrome, in that you're constantly repeating the same RP and it's not going somewhere.  This happens if you're in a sort of small RP group and there is no variety.  In that case, a lot of people will act woodenly because this has all happened before and it feels like it's not going anywhere.  Check and see if it's that.

Finally, wooden characters might indicate forced scenarios.  This is actually one of the most common issues people get into in RP.  You have RPed with someone, and want to hook up your character to one of theirs.  Thus you force the issue, starting a romance, for instance.  But if that's not natural for the characters, you're constantly going to have to mute your character's traits.  That's going to come off as very wooden.

If it's not that, it is likely a fundamental issue and you'll need to wipe it out and start from scratch.  That means you're not working with enough information or there's simply too much conflicting information.  If it's that basic that you can't fix it with a simple tweak of personality or change of scene, you've got a fundamental problem that probably can't be fixed.  Go tabula rasa on the character and start again in a more measured way.

(05-05-2014, 11:31 AM)Rurutani Wrote: [ -> ]Hi...I am still pretty new to rp in an MMO and while I have done a few rp scenes, I do a bulk of it here on the site in the threads. But....lately I feel like I don't really understand my own character. Like no matter how much I know his backstory and where he is kind of going, I don't get him. I feel like there's some kind of disconnect and it makes playing him IC....wooden? Not interesting? I don't know. Because of this coupled with other issues for me (shyness, etc.) I feel like every small rp scene is awkward and probably not very interesting for others.

I don't know...there are days when I feel like re-rolling and/or drinking a fantasia potion and moving on, but I like Ruru. But there are times when IC I dislike him.

And that feeling sucks.


Any thoughts?

I can totally understand. I went through much the same with my original character, Silke. I loved her concept, her backstory, the personality I gave her. Everything I had imagined for her made me excited to play XIV (because, at the time, I was very much against this game but all my friend were coming here), and I just couldn't wait to RP her. But when it came time to RP her... I hated her. Getting into character for her was like having needles shoved under my fingernails and then being told to type.

In November, after a month of grimacing every time I clicked on Silke to log her in, I rolled Kara. I went into the character creator with no existing concept or design; I simply played with the creator until I made a character I liked the look of. Got some levels under her belt, and then went into a 100% blank slate RP with one of my best friends. I had no backstory, no nothing. The character that Kara is today is the result of keeping and discarding (mostly discarding) ideas that had popped up during that RP session. I will not say that Kara is the best character I've come up with, but she's in the top five and I enjoy playing her.

Silke sat on my character login screen until March, when I finally deleted her. I was only logging her in for holiday/event stuff so that I could have armor/item rewards it if I ever decided to play her again, but by March I was certain that it'd never happen. And I realized when I started liquidating her inventory that, despite how much I had really wanted to play her and how excited I was about her initially, I wasn't even flinching or second-guessing the gear and excess crafting materials I was vendoring off or the gil and materia I was passing to my husband's character to pass on to Kara. Silke was just simply a character I was never meant to play.


Sometimes a character is just missing something, and you can eventually find that that thing through various methods. Sometimes it's just a matter of needing to take a break from the character and when you come back, everything is fine again. But sometimes... you just need to admit that while the idea was nice, it just wasn't going to work out.

So, my suggestion would be to roll an alt and play that for a bit. Maybe in the process you'll get lucky and realize what the problem is with your current main. Maybe you'll come up with a totally new concept for a character. But whatever happens, as long as you rediscover/find a character you're happy with, you're doing what you should be doing. Nothing saps your creativity and enthusiasm more than a character you just can't stand.

Now I don't think I know you or your character, (if I ran into you, I'm sorry. I have played with MANY players) but I'm just going to make an assumption and you can take what you will from it, mate:

I think the problem is that while you understand your character and their back-story, you are trying to identify a piece of yourself that you can relate to, in order to personify them. The whole point of roleplaying is to create a character that carries some elements of an idea (whether it's how you would like to be, what you find fun and awesome, ect.) forward.

Another glaring issue is that you might be playing a Lalafell, that is too human. Remember, these are creatures that are a lot more different than a human (Hyur), in more ways then just size. Their social makeup is different, their ideology, expressions, everything.

If you stop trying to play him as yourself (which I assume you may be), meaning your ideas, morals, ect...  you might find a character you can identify with overall.

Also, another issue (in my opinion) of players who would like to play Lalafell but can't bring themselves to do it, is aesthetics... mainly 'romance' and what comes with it.

I'm sure no more then a small audience wants to imagine that scenario because of the way Lalafell look and as such, players looking for convoluted, romantic drama and turmoil might be turned off to the idea of romance with a Lalafell if that is their main draw to roleplay.

Now I'm not saying that people who roleplay anything then a Lalafell are doing it for romance, but it's a factor I've seen on a lot of other MMO's in the past. I think what you need is the right crowd and some time to actually get to know the character.

Like any story, you can identify with everything using exposition but if you're spoon-fed all the details rather then learning them along with everyone else, you're missing out on half the fun of roleplay. Just go with the flow, be more daring in expressing the character and overall, HAVE FUN! 

I know exactly how you feel Ruru. I have a character (was suppose to be my main alt) that I started up months ago, but I never could really nail down his character right. Like his back story was really fun to write out as I tied it all together to give him an excuse as to why he does what he does, but for some reason when it came to RP him; I just felt like I couldnt get into character. 

I think you met him actually. It was Dais . I keep him around because I want to some day be able to RP with him without feeling like I have to force out a personality with him. Honestly, I think the trick is to just RP...there is a lot about characters that come out as you RP with them and they get into more situations. And then playing them feels more natural and fun ^^

Personally I like Ruru. A lot of people play their Lalafells like children, but Ruru is normal. He is a grown man and he acts like one .

(05-05-2014, 07:34 PM)LandStrander Wrote: [ -> ]Personally I like Ruru. A lot of people play their Lalafells like children, but Ruru is normal. He is a grown man and he acts like one

You should meet Gus if you haven't...

Just wanted to say thank you to those who posted. I appreciate the opinions and and advice.

Just as an update, yesterday I ran into a friend decided on the fly to switch to IC and rp.....and it was fantastic! If I have my time right, we were IC and talking for more than 4 hours, and I feel like it went very well. I didn't stop to overthink everything, and just stayed in Ruru's head as much as possible and responded as Ruru would, and since I wasn't overthinking it, it felt much more natural and emotional. And I feel like I walked away with some new understanding of Ruru, which was awesome.


Anyway, thank you all again. And Gus....that emoticon frightens me! *runs*

*comes back* Which one? Both! *runs again*

(05-05-2014, 09:21 PM)Pumpkinweed Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-05-2014, 07:34 PM)LandStrander Wrote: [ -> ]Personally I like Ruru. A lot of people play their Lalafells like children, but Ruru is normal. He is a grown man and he acts like one

You should meet Gus if you haven't...

Lol I had a little run in with him at Limsa where he tried to sell me pumpkins and I gave him a hard time :3. I think he ended up giving her some kind of pumpkin ale though.

Denn was in her super secret spy mode and Gus comes strolling up in his pumpkin head, hahahaha.

(05-06-2014, 07:37 AM)Rurutani Wrote: [ -> ]I didn't stop to overthink everything, and just stayed in Ruru's head as much as possible and responded as Ruru would, and since I wasn't overthinking it, it felt much more natural and emotional. And I feel like I walked away with some new understanding of Ruru, which was awesome.

Can't be overstated enough how important it is not to overthink a character in your head. If a character wants to happen, they will, forcing them out will just make you and them unhappy llamas.

I've suffered from bigtime from that exact issue -alot- in ARR. Specifically with one problem character that I've rethought and rebrainstormed her details/motivations/history multiple times before I would allow her to be unleashed on the world, and even after that, it was like pulling teeth. It got a lot better once I made the conscious decision to her have the reign a bit and be okay with not "knowing her".

One the opposite end, most of my fun, relaxing RP has been from a character that started out as a mook who I knew a total of 3 things about: His name, job, and how he got his job. Letting him form completely organically was a nice break, hadn't had a character like that happen in a long time.

Moral of the story: Overthinking characters can be a bad, bad thing. D:

Glad your guy is working out a lot better for you now!

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LandStrander
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Lol I had a little run in with him at Limsa where he tried to sell me pumpkins and I gave him a hard time :3. I think he ended up giving her some kind of pumpkin ale though.

Denn was in her super secret spy mode and Gus comes strolling up in his pumpkin head, hahahaha.
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We ought to meet up again! I'd like to have you added to the friendlist!

(05-06-2014, 03:13 PM)Illira Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-06-2014, 07:37 AM)Rurutani Wrote: [ -> ]I didn't stop to overthink everything, and just stayed in Ruru's head as much as possible and responded as Ruru would, and since I wasn't overthinking it, it felt much more natural and emotional. And I feel like I walked away with some new understanding of Ruru, which was awesome.

Can't be overstated enough how important it is not to overthink a character in your head. If a character wants to happen, they will...

This.

After a certain point, you're no longer making decisions for your character so much as you are relaying the decisions they would make to everyone else. At that point, you know the character has taken off, because the damned thing writes itself.

Osric, quit being an a-hole!

(05-06-2014, 05:29 PM)Melkire Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-06-2014, 03:13 PM)Illira Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-06-2014, 07:37 AM)Rurutani Wrote: [ -> ]I didn't stop to overthink everything, and just stayed in Ruru's head as much as possible and responded as Ruru would, and since I wasn't overthinking it, it felt much more natural and emotional. And I feel like I walked away with some new understanding of Ruru, which was awesome.

Can't be overstated enough how important it is not to overthink a character in your head. If a character wants to happen, they will...

This.

After a certain point, you're no longer making decisions for your character so much as you are relaying the decisions they would make to everyone else. At that point, you know the character has taken off, because the damned thing writes itself.

Osric, quit being an a-hole!

THISSSS

I think having had that RP must have been the best thing for you. Doing what Osric said is exactly how Kage has grown and developed into a character of his own.

I don't want to make trouble for people *cough*ROEN*cough* but Kage just goes and does it.

Me: Wait no Kage don't do that.
Kage: I do what I want!

(05-06-2014, 05:58 PM)ExKage Wrote: [ -> ]Me: Wait no Kage don't do that.
Kage: I do what I want!

Just like this, if you're not yelling at your character every 20 minutes, you're doing it wrong XD

At least, that's what I've been told