"Toons"... are we playing Loony Toons?

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All kidding aside, it baffles me every time I see someone refer to their character as their "toon"... Maybe it's because I'm a P&P RPGer and not a video gamer, but where in the heck did that originate? I think it sounds pretty silly.

Thanks

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The first place I heard 'Toon' used was on The Realm many years back, where it was common. Apparently, the 'toon' vs. 'character' thing largely depends on what your introduction to online gaming culture was. There isn't really much of a difference.

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No difference you say?

No, no, no. This will never work. We need a difinitive decision on which is wrong and which is right! Otherwise what will we use to call other players silly?! The very forums will come crashing down about our ears!11one1youknowtherest....

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I agree. Whenever I hear or see "toon", I think of this.

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I've played and beta tested a bunch of MMORPGs and other games, played some MUDs before the MMO days, played text-based games, PnP RPGs for years, and so on. But CoH is the first time I had EVER heard an RPG character called a toon...and whenever I see or hear it, I always think of THIS.

I just can't help but hear Bob Hoskins in my head saying, "Toons!" with disgust.

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Been calling my little animated alter egos toons since EverQuest all those years ago, and the word mob (to me) means a single enemy for that matter, since it was the abbreviation for "mobile object" from the old MuD days. To all the younger players these days it has it's meaning as a mob of bad guys. I can't see that it's all that important who says what though, since this isn't exactly rocket science we're dealing with here. It's a game... lighten up... have fun for crying out loud.

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I have always felt that "toon" came from first time video gamers, typically drawn in by MMOs. I wonder how many FPS players actually use the word "toon" to describe their character. Not many FPS games had characters that were overly animated as to even call for a comparison between them and cartoon characters.

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I've used "toon," but I try to avoid it because I always felt weird using it. I prefer character. The only reason I used in the first place was because I kept seeing it, and thought it was the appropriate term to use in MMORPGs (this is my first MMO, btw). However, now that I've read this thread, I feel silly for even worrying about it. I'll be using "character" from this point on.

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I prefer "Alt" but I use "Toon" in hopes that it will subconsciously influence the devs to create a mallet AT for Scrappers or Tanks.

Maybe a boxing glove gun and anvil summoning in there too...

There are some slapstick heroes/villains in comics like Plastic Man, Deadpool, Mr. Mxyzptlk and... well... Slapstick.

I'd like to see some Bwa-hahaha action in this game aside from snowballs and emotes.

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Never referred to my characters as "toons", even if they do act cartoonish.

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Dungeoncleaners! (ID#125715): Slay the Adventurers! Rescue the Monsters! Return the Treasure!
Peppermint Cat-- Lv50 Mewtant Ice/Eng Bls

Perhaps it's too fine a distinction, but I originally understood "character" to refer to the complete package of concept, power, math, costume, personality that formed the little alter-ego I play, and "toon" to refer more narrowly to the visual representation onscreen.

Thus if I was missing a lot, or didn't like my concept, I might say "There's something wrong with my character"; if the graphics got messed up like Citadel's face, I'd say "there's something wrong with this toon."

It seems like a useful distinction.

But I doubt anyone else understands it quite that way, so it's not very useful as a term that communicates distinction from "character".

Sailboat

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If we are to die, let us die like men. -- Patrick Cleburne
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The rule is that they must be loved. --Jayne Fynes-Clinton, Death of an Abandoned Dog

I suggest some catchy acronym that'll put the "toon" disbelievers' minds at ease.

Something like, Totaly Obvious Oddity of Nature or
Terrific Organized Overpowered Notable

(sorry, couldn't think of anything better).

Anyway...

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I use toon, simply because my "characters" exist in the pen and paper rpg world. The ones I've created here simply don't have the same feel or intensity.

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I'd agree with this 100%.

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I use toon, simply because my "characters" exist in the pen and paper rpg world. The ones I've created here simply don't have the same feel or intensity.

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Well who's fault is that?

Each one of my characters has a background and motivation, even if I haven't committed them to text.

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i call mine charactoons. ba-dum-bump

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ZING!

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- Green Lantern
"Say, Jim...woo! That's a bad out-FIT!" - Superman: The Movie

Me 'n my posse: http://www.citygametracker.com/site/....php?user=5608

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I guess "toon" is quicker to type than "character", this is internet after all.

QFT easier than Quoted for Truth and LOL quicker than Laughing Out Loud.

And since C alone for Character would be very...cryptic, I guess Toon fits n the internet world.

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QFT

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Global: @Pandemonia

We're sorry. Due to the lack of adequate marketing, user patience has died 90+ days ago. Please try again sans "Soon."

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I guess "toon" is quicker to type than "character", this is internet after all.

QFT easier than Quoted for Truth and LOL quicker than Laughing Out Loud.

And since C alone for Character would be very...cryptic, I guess Toon fits n the internet world.

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QFT

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People talk about having poor typing skills and that typing "toon" is faster than "character". Well if you stop taking shortcuts and just type full words, you WILL learn to type faster.

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Verbally I say character, but in type I use toon; as I'm just lazy like that.

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The first place I heard 'Toon' used was on The Realm many years back, where it was common. Apparently, the 'toon' vs. 'character' thing largely depends on what your introduction to online gaming culture was. There isn't really much of a difference.

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The Realm!!! That was my first online game, and it was a fun time, though it was a lame thing compared to anything today.

And I agree, me and my circle of friends used to call our characters "toons". We got away from that when we moved over to UO and subsequently EQ. Maybe it was because the game was almost cartoon like in its graphics that led to the "toon" usage? I don't know, but we did call them that.

We had some fun times there. Maybe we even ran into you _Castle_ If you were a roleplayer at all, we probably did.
Honor Among Thieves (HAT) coleader here.

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I use toon or alt because it's a lot faster to type than character.

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I think "toon" is some european thing. I don't like the term.

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[ QUOTE ]
All kidding aside, it baffles me every time I see someone refer to their character as their "toon"... Maybe it's because I'm a P&P RPGer and not a video gamer, but where in the heck did that originate? I think it sounds pretty silly.

Thanks

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I cringe a bit when I see the word 'toon'. As far as I'm concerned it originated in the film 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' (Holy Smokes! He's a toon!).

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All kidding aside, it baffles me every time I see someone refer to their character as their "toon"... Maybe it's because I'm a P&P RPGer and not a video gamer, but where in the heck did that originate? I think it sounds pretty silly.

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

The first place I heard 'Toon' used was on The Realm many years back, where it was common. Apparently, the 'toon' vs. 'character' thing largely depends on what your introduction to online gaming culture was. There isn't really much of a difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, I found someone else who played The Realm....awesome!

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You can call your Hero a toon, but you can't toon a fish!



I swear, I oughta charge for this [censored]!

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You could charge. Just don't quit your day job

I use 'char' or 'character', and I always thought it was because I cut my teeth on P&P games. However, one of my best friends and a fellow P&P veteran from many of the same campaigns says 'toons'. My guess is it's because the folks he hangs out with in the game (besides me) all use that term.

Edit: Can't spell, can't type

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Simple, they're animated characters.
Cartoon -> Toon.

If this seems frivolous, consider that perhaps your exposure to mature animation is more limited than your exposure to gaming or comics.

I would not call, for instance, "Graveyard of the Fireflies" frivolous or childish. It is a fairly straightforward drama and one of the few movies that can make me cry sober.

On the American side, consider something like "Cool World" which was certainly frivolous in its own way, but was definitely not a 'kiddie' show. Still, many of the lead characters in that were animated.

For me, toon is a reference to an animated character not directly derived from real life imagery. Your 'character' happens to be animated in real time by a computer, but is no less animated than Bugs Bunny.

My 2 influence of course.

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References to Fireflies or Cool World aside, the fact is that "Toon" is a very specific term outside of games that, while derived from "cartoon", carries the connotations of the "Looney Tunes" set of characters and the later "Tiny Toons".

So while, yeah, it refers to any animated character, some people are going bristle at the application of it as much as a mechanic might when called a "grease monkey".

Personally, I prefer to think of my characters as characters. They are not tied to the medium of the game. I would submit that players that prefer not to be called or not to use the term toon do so, whether consciously or not, because they feel their character supercedes their representation in one medium or another. For example, Superman isn't a "toon". He's a character, and has a life beyond comics, cartoons, or whatever.

So, similarly, they are not "toons", but the characters have been made into "toons".

I also feel weird being compared (unintentionally) to Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny.

PS: You're despicable.

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Wow, I found someone else who played The Realm....awesome!

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You found 2.

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We're tiny.

We're toony.

We're all a little looney.

And in this MMORPG, we're invading your PC!

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Simple, they're animated characters.
Cartoon -> Toon.

If this seems frivolous, consider that perhaps your exposure to mature animation is more limited than your exposure to gaming or comics.

I would not call, for instance, "Graveyard of the Fireflies" frivolous or childish. It is a fairly straightforward drama and one of the few movies that can make me cry sober.

On the American side, consider something like "Cool World" which was certainly frivolous in its own way, but was definitely not a 'kiddie' show. Still, many of the lead characters in that were animated.

For me, toon is a reference to an animated character not directly derived from real life imagery. Your 'character' happens to be animated in real time by a computer, but is no less animated than Bugs Bunny.

My 2 influence of course.

[/ QUOTE ]
References to Fireflies or Cool World aside, the fact is that "Toon" is a very specific term outside of games that, while derived from "cartoon", carries the connotations of the "Looney Tunes" set of characters and the later "Tiny Toons".

So while, yeah, it refers to any animated character, some people are going bristle at the application of it as much as a mechanic might when called a "grease monkey".

Personally, I prefer to think of my characters as characters. They are not tied to the medium of the game. I would submit that players that prefer not to be called or not to use the term toon do so, whether consciously or not, because they feel their character supercedes their representation in one medium or another. For example, Superman isn't a "toon". He's a character, and has a life beyond comics, cartoons, or whatever.

So, similarly, they are not "toons", but the characters have been made into "toons".

I also feel weird being compared (unintentionally) to Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny.

PS: You're despicable.

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Photon theekers, GO!!

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