I have two different and totally contradictory views on this.
I enjoy reading well though out, funny, spoof biogs. Funnier the better.
OTOH, in a roleplay character I want to see some physical detail not obvious from the avatar, and (since this is a modern world with mass media) a little bit about anything you could read about the character in the gossip columns and newspapers.
I do not want to read the entire character history. I do not need to be able to read that this person is actually a demigod from the planet Flarg. I'd prefer to discover that by talking to them (or, preferably, to discover that they are something entirely more reasonable. 
).
Thankfully, the short length of the CoX Description box makes some of the more lengthy biogs impossible, for which I am eternally grateful.
PS. One of my characters has as her bio, a couple of lines from a song. That's what inspired the character, that's all there is in the Description.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
Ravenswing wouldn't like my biogs as I tend to put a short 'This is your life' type of story in my toons' biogs (those that have them at least). More of a history of how they became a hero/villian than a physical description or what would be general knowledge about the toon - but then I dont have any RP toons. If I did, I think I would do something more like he suggests.
OTOH, my plant dominator's bio just has 'Let's just say that sometimes Mother Nature can be a real [female dog]!'
UNION @Flitz 50, Lead Hose 50, Red Rag 50
DEFIANT Rose Bloodthorn 34
VIGILANCE Captain Caledonia 20 - Yeah, I made toons on the French server coz we only had 4 back then (might have to transfer/recreate them on one of the US servers)
..and many more!
Personally, I enjoy well written and believable bios (or at least believable in a Superhero comic style context). Imaginative without being overly "fantastic". There have been the odd really hilarious ones I've seen too!
My characters tend to be brief origin stories, without getting the full "Big Red Book" treatment. I write them to flesh out the character and give them a little more "substance".
@SteelRat; @SteelRat2
"Angelina my love, I'm a genius!"
"Of course you are darling, that's why I married you. Physically, you're rather unattractive"
http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/SteelRat
Calamity's bio reads "Happiness is a pocketful of shells..."
She's an Ar/Dev blaster - what more would you need? 
I enjoy a good bio every now and then, I've included 2 of my character's bio's in my sig if you're interested 
(I'm not to happy with them though)
I enjoy intelligent biog usage. Whether or not it's a humourous one, serious one or even just a couple of lines, the main thing is that someone's actually thought about what they're putting down.
But I really can't stand "i r teg reatest healer..EVAH!" ones. Especially when they're so very clearly not.
Defiant 50: Blonde Justice inv/ss; Lady Aminta emp/elec; Sierra Colt merc/traps; Tess LaCoyle elec/elec (blaster); Powerstorm elec/elec (brute);
Union 50: @Steel Dancer WP/DB; Blast Pulse Fire/Rad (corr); Bitter Twilight Earth/Psi (dom); Compassionate Emp/Psi;
Freedom 50: Incandescent Blaze ElecAm/Fire;
"Ultimate damz . . . . when that got shouted out, the people cheered and the villains ran. But no more . . . . . . that name has long been in the history books, a true hero struck down in the prime of his life by a bug (the crash when i team bug ).
Watched on helplessly as his peers went to take on the ultimate challenge in the form of hamidon, for them only to perish. Maybe if he had been able to team with them he couldv saved their lives or even . . . . . defeated hamidon?
NO! I must find a way to help my friends! I dont need no superpowers to save lives! I'll use decoys on the enemies so i can sneak up undetected and smash them with my temp power bat! I'll help train others to speed boost them onto glory!
YES IT CAN BE DONE! Life is only a dream waiting to end . . . . . . well hopy your ready for a long sleep then because Super Damz is back in action!"
I think thats the ONLY bio that iv used on one of my characters until the bug got fixed and was able to team again Had to keep it short too because of the damn limits 
I like reading peoples bios which show a bit of humour and a bit of originality to it, after all we'v all seen the classic "they killed my parents/im from another world BOO/protest against pineapples" bios.
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
I don't think there are any hard and fast rules about what makes a good biography - it depends purely on what the player writing it wants out of it. Personally I write bios firstly as a creative challenge for myself - its not always easy to sum up the essence of a character in the short space we have for bios, but it is satisfying when it all comes together.
Secondly I write bios to bring life to my characters - the bio is the final spark that fuses together their costume, their name and both powersets into a believable whole - I really cant motivate myself to play a new character until all of those elements come together. By believable I mean making a rounded character that I could imagine reading about in a comic strip, with a succinct bio that wouldnt seem out of place as the introductory blurb on the Wikipedia article about a franchised superhero/villain (e.g. like Marvel or DC ones).
My main objective when writing a bio is to explain how/why the character gained the powers they have, and how that led to them becoming a hero/villain (i.e. their motivations) - their origin story, basically. For my villains I also usually explain how they came to be in the Zig before the Breakout (CoV tutorial). Some bios take less than 30mins to write, some Ive spent days or even weeks thinking about - sometimes its tough to find a concept that will plausibly link together two powersets that I want to play for gameplay synergy reasons, but I usually manage it (justifying powersets for my Plant/Elec Dom was quite a challenge, recently).
Im not a roleplayer though - I write bios purely for my own amusement and as the finishing touch to a newly created character.
[ QUOTE ]
I really cant motivate myself to play a new character until all of those elements come together.
[/ QUOTE ]
This is basically *exactly* how I operate also!
Its probably worth adding that while I enjoy reading humorous bios, I rarely write spoof/joke ones like that myself unless its for a silly-themed character (and I dont tend to play those often, though I did make a semi-silly character recently) - plus I find comedy really hard to write because whether something is funny can be really subjective. So I prefer dramatic bios with interesting twists/quirks, weaved seamlessly into the official lore/story of the game, and without glorifying the player/character - that shows creativity, attention to detail and humility - traits I admire.
Imho theres nothing worse than an egotistical self-glorifying bio with a bad grasp of lore and an even worse grasp of grammar/spelling - and they're often sported by the disruptive kinds of players I don't enjoy socialising or teaming with.
Which brings up another point I wanted to add - often when a player compliments me on one of my bios, or I complement another player on theirs, we discover that we share similar interests in comics and other storytelling mediums - good chats and even friendships have arisen out of those moments - so a bio can be a great "icebreaker" for starting conversations and finding like-minded players. I just wish more players could be bothered to write them.
[ QUOTE ]
I enjoy a good bio every now and then, I've included 2 of my character's bio's in my sig if you're interested (I'm not to happy with them though)
[/ QUOTE ]
Hehee... I clicked the links - nice work, Imoba! Were the accompanying Google ads for social worker jobs and child protection training part of the plan too?
I wish I'd seen yours when you had it up on your avatar too, Damz - that's the kind of funny I like! 
Like others who've posted here, I tend to write brief 'how they became what they've become' type bios for my avatars rather than the whole 'CV - childhood experiences - costume measurements' shebang. It can be hard to be really original sometimes though; I will confess I have resorted to the old 'from another planet' cliche on at least one occasion! 
Weirdly enough, the bios I write for my heroes tend to be spoof ones, whilst my villains ones are generally serious. Don't know what that says about me as a person...
Um, Im kind of with a few people here in that sometimes I like comedy ones and other times I like serious ones. I write both, but I do always write one (some of mine are rather weak though, I must say).
I always check every team member for a bio and make an effort to comment on them as I think its good to see that the effort has been put in. If I dont find any bios in the team I tend to lament on that as well. I even stand around in the auction houses and read other peoples.
Essentially I just like bios good, bad or indifferent. Even the ones that just say, These are my characters
or some such.
When GR is around and does the planned updates for the Defiant Heroes section of the forum, there will even be a sticky thread to put bios for those heroes people want to show off. <small hint>
It depends really on the character. Zortel has a pretty serious bio that gives some information known about her, while The Maintainer's is a more humourous, but still IC one. It also has a reference to the Half Life series of video games, plus some other FPS games.
[ QUOTE ]
Edward J. Sawyer is a prime example of what some scientists have come to call the 'Freeman Effect', named after a popular fictional character. An example of what happens when in the course of ones everyday job, an event happens that changes things forever.
Ed was working the building sites in New Overbrook one day when he spotted the Clockwork trying to relieve a young woman of the new kitchen utensils she had bought, and anything else metalic she carried. Spotting no heroes around to come and save her, Ed did what any good American and gentleman would do. He picked up a wrench, wandered over and beat the scrap out of it until it stopped twitching. Then a little more to be sure.
Sheer grit and determination can count for a lot, and finding something else to do in his spare time, Ed picked up the moniker of 'The Maintainer' and began a side job of percussion mechanics in the name of justice, renovation and good workmanship.
[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Calamity's bio reads "Happiness is a pocketful of shells..."
She's an Ar/Dev blaster - what more would you need?
[/ QUOTE ]
A gun?
@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
Pretty well sums up my mindset when writing bios for my characters as well. I also find that unless I have at least the framework of a bio in the back of my mind (even if I don't get round to putting into words) I can't really get "in" to the character I'm playing. Two of my favourite toons (Fire / axe tank, and Stone / Fire Brute) I rolled and deleted half a dozen times, but kept coming back to because their back stories were so strong in my mind.
@SteelRat; @SteelRat2
"Angelina my love, I'm a genius!"
"Of course you are darling, that's why I married you. Physically, you're rather unattractive"
http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/SteelRat
I have bio on some of my alts. But every alt has a bio in my mind, one day I'll get down and write them all.
The problem is I'm too lazy
Happy to be on Defiant.
Global name @mereman
Member of P.E.R.C. Representing Defiant
Alts http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/4488
CoH faces http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/mereman
[ QUOTE ]
I will confess I have resorted to the old 'from another planet' cliche on at least one occasion!
[/ QUOTE ]
1. "From another planet" (e.g. Superman) is just as valid as any other bio.
2. The superhero genre is FULL to the brink with cheesey cliches, such as "he's a mutant, and his powers were revealed at the age of X" (X-Men, for example), or "He was somehow caught up in an accident at the lab" (Spider-man, etc). There is no shame in that whatsoever.
3. If I want to avoid the cheese, I just say why the hero is here and what they do and avoid all mention of their past.
Please fight My Brute: http://2hero.mybrute.com
Mission Architect 54161 - Michael Mundano, Megan Malloney and the Secret Senate.
Mission Architect 91838 - Constantinople Jones' Family Secret. A One Mission Story arc.
[ QUOTE ]
I have bio on some of my alts. But every alt has a bio in my mind, one day I'll get down and write them all.
The problem is I'm too lazy
[/ QUOTE ]
Almost the same, even if I create a character simply to start with my brother or friend I find myself thinking up the beginnings of a backstory.
Becke Kinsley is probably the prime example of this as I found myself writing her backstory on my laptop, whilst creating the character on my pc.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I will confess I have resorted to the old 'from another planet' cliche on at least one occasion!
[/ QUOTE ]
1. "From another planet" (e.g. Superman) is just as valid as any other bio.
2. The superhero genre is FULL to the brink with cheesey cliches, such as "he's a mutant, and his powers were revealed at the age of X" (X-Men, for example), or "He was somehow caught up in an accident at the lab" (Spider-man, etc). There is no shame in that whatsoever.
[/ QUOTE ]
Theyr all fine and dandy but we want new original bios!!!
Wanna find someone who was created after swallowing the worlds largest pineapple that it got stuck in his throat and thus the "spines" of it got fused with his DNA and he is now able to create huge gigantic spines from his body!!!
"If there are any kiddies reading this then please refrain from eating giant pineapples as it is dangerous to your health and shouldnt be attempted without a friend holding a camera"
@Damz Find me on the global channel Union Chat. One of the best "chat channels" ingame!
I have a bio on every single one of my characters - I can't play them unless they have a weight of history behind them, even if I'm the only one that knows it.
"Idealism is such a wonderful thing. All you really need is someone rational to put it to proper use." - Kerr Avon
Myopic Aardvark on Twitter
All of my characters have a bio...although I do not always write them down. But same as some people said before...if I character doesn't have a story behind them I can't play them.
The M.A.D. Files - Me talking about games, films, games, life, games, internet and games
I'm not good at giving advice, can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?
@Lyrik
[ QUOTE ]
All of my characters have a bio...although I do not always write them down. But same as some people said before...if I character doesn't have a story behind them I can't play them.
[/ QUOTE ]
Now this raises a few interesting questions (if anyone is willing to answer them).
Do you think about the background before you design the character? Does the character background come after youve picked the AT or before?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All of my characters have a bio...although I do not always write them down. But same as some people said before...if I character doesn't have a story behind them I can't play them.
[/ QUOTE ]
Now this raises a few interesting questions (if anyone is willing to answer them).
Do you think about the background before you design the character? Does the character background come after youve picked the AT or before?
[/ QUOTE ]
Well, for most of the time I think up characters on my way to work or on the way back. Not specifically for CoX though. I write lots of stories in my spare time. If I can fit something within an AT I'll try it out to see if it indeed does fit.
Although sometimes it's the other way around and do I want to play with a certain AT and think up the story based around that.
The M.A.D. Files - Me talking about games, films, games, life, games, internet and games
I'm not good at giving advice, can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?
@Lyrik
For me the bio is normally after the alt. But not everytime.
Happy to be on Defiant.
Global name @mereman
Member of P.E.R.C. Representing Defiant
Alts http://cit.cohtitan.com/profile/4488
CoH faces http://faces.cohtitan.com/profile/mereman
I don't know about anyone else here, but I get quite a kick out of reading other Heroes/Villains' biographies. There are some truly imaginative players out there - and looking up the info on other characters often yields surprises. That player with the ho-hum costume sometimes conceals a brilliantly-crafted biography... and I'll admit that when I see a player with a fantastic costume but no biography I'm always a little disappointed.
)
So what makes a good biography? What's the preference in the community - the straight, serious-roleplaying stories or the the tongue-in-cheek, laugh-out-loud funny ones? On the flipside, what makes a bad biography?
My thoughts:
Good biography = imaginative whilst still being believable (as in 'logical within the realms of the game world.') Bonus points if it fits in with the character's name and costume too. And I do love a bit of humour, as long as it's not stoopid, schoolboy toilet-humour (as in 'comparable to WoW spam on Chat channels by 12-year-old boys who wish they could get a girlfriend.')
Bad biography = ones that are simply a blatant advert for some Facebook/MySpace/other website created by player, ones that consist purely of something like "I'm the best, I rock, I'll pwn you 4evah" -type stuff. Oh, and badly-spelled biogs; the odd typo I'll forgive, but when it's so bad it looks like it was written in gangsta-speak then it gets a thumbs-down, I'm afraid. (Yeah, I'm a pedant - so sue me.