(08-22-2013, 12:09 PM)Alexis Price Wrote: That solution is one I find really interesting, Uther! I think I'll give that a go sometime.Â
I found your entire answer interesting, really. Especially the "no one cares" bit! I'll agree with that. The reason I develop a detailed backstory at all is for myself so I can get into the mind of my character. I'm fairly sure no one else ever reads it! Saying that I find myself browsing random wikis when I have nothing busy going on at work, so there is that! But again, that's like maybe one a day, at that. (And while on this topic, I really enjoyed Uther's wiki and his history! The family history angle you did was an interesting read.)
How do you go about writing for your character after FFXIV, though? I know you have an idea for where you want your character to go, so you just use that? I'm the opposite to you in that regard! I plan a detailed backstory but leave the future of my character open to see what happens throughout RP.
I always find it interesting how people take different approaches! I think I'll give writing for Alexis after FFXIV a go. See how I do with it!
Edit: I'm terrible with spoiler tags AND quote tags, it seems.
First of all, I'm glad you enjoyed Uther Skystrider's wiki! I put a lot of work into that character, so thanks for the kind words.Â
As for writing about my characters' futures: I like to break my character up into three parts. Pre-FFXIV, FFXIV, and post-FFXIV. Obviously this is back story, game itself, and future. Back story I try to keep simple and streamlined like I said earlier. (I also edited that post to give an example of one of my character's back stories) I see it as sort of an origin story for my character.Â
That's a good analogy, lets roll with that.
If you think of your character like a Western (or American) Super Hero, you have your origin story (pre-FFXIV). Origin stories are easy to understand and easy to draw personality from. For instance, Bruce Wayne's parents get shot = Batman broods a lot, Clark Kent is raised on a farm by two loving parents = Superman is a really good guy, etc etc. Then you have your actual story, or FFXIV. This is like your hero's career. Batman starts off working against the law fighting mobsters, eventually working with Gordon to fight villains, Gets and loses sidekicks, villains become more intense, eventually the whole story goes from one guy vs. the mob to a bunch of heroes in outer space or whatever. Everything cool that happens to your character happens here in the "FFXIV" chunk. It's still full of call backs to the origin, or "pre-FFXIV" era though. Then you have your "post-FFXIV" era. The future. Sticking with the accidental Batman analogy, this is your The Dark Knight Returns era. The war is over. You're retired. But there are always references from your "FFXIV" and "pre-FFXIV" life that force you back into the game. Your character is old, experienced, and has nothing left to learn. This part of the story is just freebie time. Want to kill off your character? His or her career is already over, go ahead. Want to make your character live happily ever after? Up to you. This is my favorite part to write, because I can do whatever I want with my character and it won't effect how I RP them now. Plus, I'm a fan of the "seasoned hero" archetype and I love The Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come.
I hope that makes sense.
Also, I've read a ton of wikis too in my free time. They're nice, but I'll never be able to stick a face with a wiki at launch.
