Playing With Yourself

I just made a new AE arc to replace my original one (made that one back when we first got AE), and about half the missions my main character is there playing along with the player. When I went and did the test run, I just found it incredibly fun playing alongside myself, and was wondering how many (if any) others were arrogant enough to put themselves in their own arcs.

I made an arc where every ally, enemy and even the contact are myself. It was quite fun, but I think my friends enjoyed it more than me - they got to punch me hundred times in just one mission.

Hell that isn't arrogance. That's what AE is for! Well one reason at least . Many authors have done it and it's an opprotunity to further establish your character's identity.

People love to see themselves. Like in my arc Timeshift Vietnam I used the Doppleganger mechanic because like you said. People love playing with themself! Of course it's an overused mechanic but definitely one of the coolest.

Other than that I used my main as the nameless mastermind among the rabble in Dating Ms. Liberty. Also my main is the contact for the Origins Pack Preview.

Anyways. Some of the greatest directors, writers, and filmmakers have inserted themselves within their work. Hitchcock will probably be remembered as one of the most famous for doing so.

I have an arc that revolves around my main, Nalrok Ath'Zim. Part of his "lore" if you will is possessing six tomes that were written by his ancestors. A crazy cult manages to steal five of these tomes and uses them to divine power into themselves. Nalrok would normally be alright with this but he can't stand hearing them pray to his power every wednesday night (don't ask).

He makes a guest appearance in the final mission to take back all of his tomes (after helping you put down a particularly vicious AV), causing you to (technically) fail your mission to the contact who sends you even though the mission completes.

Yup! The arc in my sig is filled with my own personal characters. You should all check it out

Clowns Fast Food and McArchvillain ArcID:1197

You can fight my Dom, also there is alot of humor in it.

I did do that with a number of my heroes. The really sad thing is the NPC FF defender is heavily enamored with detention field.

Of my four arcs: One I created an original villain for the final mission who then became one of my player characters because I liked him so much. Two I created all new mobs based on a common concept used for many of my character (Burnt Matchstick) and have one mission where many of them show up as optional bosses on an outdoor map. And a third one makes heavy use of the doppleganger feature, so that when I play it, I'm always playing with my character.

I've done it in reverse. The arc in my sig has a Carnival of Shadows Ring Mistress as the contact. After I won a Ring Mistress costume code a couple of weeks ago, I made the contact into a character, as a Mind Dom.

My "main" is the contact for my published AE arc, but he does not appear in the arc. If he had time to appear in the arc, why would he be asking the heroes to investigate in the first place?

I put in my level 20-ish Scrapper in one of my arcs as....a level 20-ish Scrapper. It's a level 40+ arc, so of course she needs rescuing and isn't very powerful.

Cut to a few months later, said Scrapper is now level 50 and IOd to the gills, and is the one who runs the arc after every patch to see if it's broken. Rescuing my younger self never gets old.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleeting Whisper If you write with a modicum of tact and taste, people won't know. If you write a Mary Sue/Marty Stu, people will assume.

This. Is the arc about your character or is it about the player's character? If your character is a part of the player character's story, you're doing it right. If the player character is just an audience for the author insert's story, you're doing it wrong.

One of my arcs has my (first) main as the contact; she also appears in the final mission. As she's an FF defender, though, she's hardly uber or likely to overshadow the player character(s).

I've included many of my favorite characters in my arcs. Usually they are contacts or hostages. In one of my sillier arcs, I had my favorite tanker of all time being held hostage because he forgot to replace his SOs when they got outleveled.