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+--- Thread: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story (/showthread.php?tid=10391)
Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Kage - 03-02-2015
So I've been binge-watching The Wire a show that had 5 seasons. Mostly it dealt with several factions: Drug trade, cops, politicians, and the press. It has Lance Reddick (Fringe), Wood Harris (Remember the Titans, Dredd), and Idris Elba (Pacific Rim mainly). Oh an Diedre Lovejoy who I liked in Bones. And one of the detectives is a lesbian so yay for me.
Anyway I just passed a point where a young man was killed by the drug crew he used to hang with. It's a little bit of a remarkable moment and later I read an article about what this death meant and -why-.
But there's something that the series creator mentioned about his death that I thought was really apt to RPing (or not?). Â He hated to see the character die but the story came first. The story came first.
So I'm curious, have you made decisions to promote a better story? Did your characters ever go through something that, while it would not have been 100% in character at the time, would enrich the story? I'm not saying complete 180 but did you have to think of a way to steer your character a certain way to make it in character with the ultimate reason being a better story?
((You have no idea how much I was trying to imagine something like a Wire tap crew investigation working on a big drug trade organization like the Barksdale Organization or the Co-Op. @_@ Complete with Brass Blades of Ul'dah and some Maelstrom made high-potency drugs or something. And codes.))
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Cercil - 03-02-2015
It honestly depends on what your idea of what a better story could or would look like. No one like fridging a character, especially one that's liked, but sometimes - sacrifices do, and can be made for the sake of progression.
I feel like characters can sometimes be used as plot devices for progression, usually from all of their actions but hey, even death can work.
I know I have done it a few times for my own stories, but it really depends on what kind of story I'm aiming for, and trying to then look for a way to make that version of the story better.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Kou - 03-02-2015
I'm writing a little novel of my own on the side, as well as a few RP scenes I've had. And my six favourite characters? Are the ones that die. All for the sake of the story. Each death had the rest of the characters getting stronger and better, more mature.
And I absolutely hate looking at their death scenes. It hurts me in my heart zone.
One of the ones that died was this big bad bad-ass that one of my friends' characters had the "pleasure" of killing. He laughs and cheers, I sob and whine.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Nebbs - 03-02-2015
For me I try to do this all the time, starting by making characters that can help others and push their own stories forward. You really do get more out of RP this way.
That said I also am very strong on what my character will and won't do so most of the time I can help and stay true. Where I have to go against my character concept always leads to issues, and repeatedly doing this makes me feel I am just an NPC in someone's story.
So the other side to this is to also have your plots able to change and adapt.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Enla - 03-02-2015
It's why I have a fairly loose set of rules for what my characters will and won't engage in, within reasonable limits. As well as what other characters can do to them in turn. Players can maim them to the point of never being able to walk again or losing limbs, kidnap them, do very horrible things to them, and all I ask is that I'm consulted first. Even then, the consultation is more of a formality, to keep my character from becoming a notch in someone else's belt to make themselves feel superior. (Odd way of phrasing it, but I have met people like that in other games, so I keep these rules close to avoid letting them push my character around here like they might have done back where I came from.)
Only issue I take is with character death, and even then, if people can pitch the idea well enough to me and if it'll impact enough people in the right way I'm all for it. Sure, I could have months of fun left with that character but I'd rather sacrifice them for one glorious plotline than have them eek out the rest of their existence in safety. HOWEVER, just because I feel this way doesn't mean I expect the same from other people. If someone doesn't wish to put their character in the same amount of harm or they take the gloves off entirely - that's their choice and I do my best to try and respect that.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Magellan - 03-02-2015
The problem with MMOs is, I have trouble killing, maiming, or otherwise incapacitating a character I have spent literally hundreds of hours leveling, gearing, finding the right rp clothes for, and a lot of times spending real money on to deck out.
'For the sake of story' kinda loses out in the face of this. I'm a hobbyist writer, and I'm much rougher on my characters in my own stories, or even in forum rp, than in game. Because if I no longer like my character ICly (or if they are dead) I lose interest in playing them OOCly. A story is supposed to end, so you use at your disposal all the things that will add up to a satisfying conclusion, including killing off well-liked characters.Â
RP doesn't really end, until you're ready for it to. If you kill a character off, you have to be willing to face the consequence of another huge timesink, possibly spending real money, and having to find new characters to rp with.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Inessa Hara - 03-02-2015
What I noticed is that most people will usually have a main character that they will never kill off, then as they grow out from that character, they will have several alt's that they will use for the purpose of being used and disposed of for RP.
A character's death obviously has a dramatic impact on the story in general. Its not generally an easy thing to do but dying or killing characters out of RP is probably one of the laziest things to do to enrich a story.
A good example of this is Game of Thrones. While there was killing and stuff, most of the big characters usually fought using their head's and their fights were in politics.
You dont need to kill characters to have a good story. Yes, its a convenient tool in any relevant event, but there are other alternatives.
It's still the RPers decision in the end to choose if they want their character to die or not. Both party's have to consent to the killing beforehand.
By the by though, I would never tell anybody to kill their main off. Just by a phantasia and name change. 20$ spent is better than spending a month or more trying to level and gear and stuff. Especially if youve leveled all the crafting and combat classes.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Berrod Armstrong - 03-02-2015
I usually have an overhead idea of how I want a story to go. If I find that a certain path will make things more interesting, I stop and assess for a bit. Character death is usually out of the question, unless the character was written to die (I...do that a lot. RIP Tom). I want my characters to be a part of the interesting story, and so I usually take careful steps to preserve their lives -- even if they get knocked around a little. Or a lot.
I've often made the mistake of having my character do something that goes very much against his character to make things more engaging, but recently I've decided to let my characters be who they are, and make only minor tweaks to keep the train on the tracks -- even if there's a switch-turn or two. It's quite as much, if not more rewarding than a knee-jerk against-character decision. Of course, I wouldn't rule one out if it's absolutely needed.Â
All in all, the answer is yes! I've taken the wheel and turned it a little at times to keep a good story going, especially when it comes to being inclusive of more friends so that everyone can have a good time!
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Steel Wolf - 03-02-2015
I've had an end result--or at least a goal--for Steel for a while now, and an ideal on how to reach that goal. However, recent RP within my FC has sort of shifted the way I envision Steel hitting that character goal, and I'm now rather a bit unsure of how it will play out or where it will lead.
It's kind of thrilling and worrying all at once. Thrilling because, of course, the fluid and adjusting nature of RP is a big part of the reason why I do this. Worrying because now the headcanon story I had is in the bin and now dependent upon others. Others who might not be around as frequently as one would like.
S'kinda coo'. :3
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Bryn - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 09:11 AM)Steel Wolf Wrote: I've had an end result--or at least a goal--for Steel for a while now, and an ideal on how to reach that goal. However, recent RP within my FC has sort of shifted the way I envision Steel hitting that character goal, and I'm now rather a bit unsure of how it will play out or where it will lead.
It's kind of thrilling and worrying all at once. Thrilling because, of course, the fluid and adjusting nature of RP is a big part of the reason why I do this. Worrying because now the headcanon story I had is in the bin and now dependent upon others. Others who might not be around as frequently as one would like.
S'kinda coo'. :3
Psh. We both know Steel's end goal has always been eloping with Bryn and finding a way for the two of them to have a small horde of adorable Hyur/Roe hybrid babies. Somehow.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Kage - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 09:47 AM)Bryn Wrote:Aether.(03-02-2015, 09:11 AM)Steel Wolf Wrote: I've had an end result--or at least a goal--for Steel for a while now, and an ideal on how to reach that goal. Â However, recent RP within my FC has sort of shifted the way I envision Steel hitting that character goal, and I'm now rather a bit unsure of how it will play out or where it will lead.
It's kind of thrilling and worrying all at once. Â Thrilling because, of course, the fluid and adjusting nature of RP is a big part of the reason why I do this. Â Worrying because now the headcanon story I had is in the bin and now dependent upon others. Â Others who might not be around as frequently as one would like.
S'kinda coo'. Â :3
Psh. We both know Steel's end goal has always been eloping with Bryn and finding a way for the two of them to have a small horde of adorable Hyur/Roe hybrid babies. Somehow.
Aether shenanigans.
That's how!
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Dogberry - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 01:37 AM)Kage Wrote: ((You have no idea how much I was trying to imagine something like a Wire tap crew investigation working on a big drug trade organization like the Barksdale Organization or the Co-Op. @_@ Complete with Brass Blades of Ul'dah and some Maelstrom made high-potency drugs or something. And codes.))
The Wire is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've always wanted to take Dogberry into a kind of Frank Sobotka direction, particularly involved in labor, and having the lives and livelihoods of others to consider in every decision he makes. It sounds like you're on Season 1, so I won't go into any detail. Sobotka doesn't show up until Season 2.
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Kage - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 09:50 AM)Dogberry Wrote:I'm not lying when I said I binge-watched.(03-02-2015, 01:37 AM)Kage Wrote: ((You have no idea how much I was trying to imagine something like a Wire tap crew investigation working on a big drug trade organization like the Barksdale Organization or the Co-Op. @_@ Complete with Brass Blades of Ul'dah and some Maelstrom made high-potency drugs or something. And codes.))
The Wire is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've always wanted to take Dogberry into a kind of Frank Sobotka direction, particularly involved in labor, and having the lives and livelihoods of others to consider in every decision he makes. It sounds like you're on Season 1, so I won't go into any detail. Sobotka doesn't show up until Season 2.
I -might- have wanted to see the last episode but I'm nicely into Season 2 already. He's the guy at the shipping yards right?
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Gegenji - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 09:06 AM)Berrod Armstrong Wrote: I usually have an overhead idea of how I want a story to go. If I find that a certain path will make things more interesting, I stop and assess for a bit. Character death is usually out of the question, unless the character was written to die (I...do that a lot. RIP Tom). I want my characters to be a part of the interesting story, and so I usually take careful steps to preserve their lives -- even if they get knocked around a little. Or a lot.
I've often made the mistake of having my character do something that goes very much against his character to make things more engaging, but recently I've decided to let my characters be who they are, and make only minor tweaks to keep the train on the tracks -- even if there's a switch-turn or two. It's quite as much, if not more rewarding than a knee-jerk against-character decision. Of course, I wouldn't rule one out if it's absolutely needed.Â
All in all, the answer is yes! I've taken the wheel and turned it a little at times to keep a good story going, especially when it comes to being inclusive of more friends so that everyone can have a good time!
This most closely matches kinda how I do things. I have a few overarching goals in place (become a Paladin, meet up with his brother again, etc.), but the specific path I leave mostly vague. As such, he's more or less free to engage in most of the events that happen around him, from going after cultists to making pies.
That said, I still have a pretty solid concept of "how he is" that I stick to. As much fun as it might be, there has been a couple occasions where I had to pass up on some things due to either Chachan not being the type for such things (barhopping, Grindstone for the longest time) or because there was no way I could feasibly have him stumble across it (impromptu beach party in Costa, a place he has never been IC).
Then again, there's been a couple times where he's been... smarter? wittier? than he actually should be. Mostly just so he can engage in some more interesting conversation. Word games are a good example of this, as is when he gets into some arguments, and I've let a few puns slip through as well. It all is pretty minor stuff, but there's definitely times where I've actively made him more mentally dextrous than he should be in order to help the conversation be more than "Let's explain things to Chachan."
RE: Decisions Made to Promote a "better" story - Dogberry - 03-02-2015
(03-02-2015, 09:54 AM)Kage Wrote:(03-02-2015, 09:50 AM)Dogberry Wrote:I'm not lying when I said I binge-watched.(03-02-2015, 01:37 AM)Kage Wrote: ((You have no idea how much I was trying to imagine something like a Wire tap crew investigation working on a big drug trade organization like the Barksdale Organization or the Co-Op. @_@ Complete with Brass Blades of Ul'dah and some Maelstrom made high-potency drugs or something. And codes.))
The Wire is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've always wanted to take Dogberry into a kind of Frank Sobotka direction, particularly involved in labor, and having the lives and livelihoods of others to consider in every decision he makes. It sounds like you're on Season 1, so I won't go into any detail. Sobotka doesn't show up until Season 2.
I -might- have wanted to see the last episode but I'm nicely into Season 2 already. He's the guy at the shipping yards right?
Yeah, Frank Sobotka is the leader of the Baltimore chapter of the "International Brotherhood of Stevedores" (basically the fictionalized version of the International Longshoremen's Association) at the Port of Baltimore. I'd love to see RP dealing with corruption in Limsa Lominsa's ports.